Over the weekend I got the first real taste of summer, spending some quality time on the back porch of one of my favoritelocal watering holes.  Unfortunately I found myself lacking a quality pair of sunglass, something I intend to change soon. While the exact pair I get is still up in the air, I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that they don't come in a case anywhere as attractive as this one by Tanner Goods. Made of Horween Chromexcel leather, they are burnished, dyed, waxed and stamped with their signature mark. Perfection

Tanner Goods sunglass case $62

Via

It looks like local realtor / home remodeler Geoff Tice has done it again.  You may remember him from his well detailed home on Jupiter way or Herbert. His latest project is located in Salt Lake City on the benches near capital hill. Once again he has taken a good solid MCM home and gone through it and updated all the important parts. Like his other projects, chances are this thing will be sold before it ever even makes it onto the MLS, so if you want to get a peak at it tomorrow may be your only chance. Check out his Facebook event for all the details on his latest open house.

199 E South Sandrun Rd. Open House

I have had the pleasure of being on the Salt Lake Modern committee for a couple of years now. As a part of Utah Heritage Foundation, Salt Lake Modern is dedicated to preserving and promoting the region's mid-century modern architecture and design. I'm excited to announce that we now have our own official website, full of great information about local MCM architects and buildings. Make sure you check it out, join as a member, and register for our upcoming modern homes tour. We have some amazing homes lined up.

SLModern.org

I always love Pecha Kucha, and I have a good feeling that this Fridays is going to be one of the best yet in SLC. Some of my favorite people will be speaking and it's at a great venue. If you have never been to a Pecha Kucha night before, it's time to repent and go. If you've been, you know how much fun they are. My only regret is that I'm going to miss this one due to my trip. I expect all of you to fill in for me.

Pecha Kucha SLC

Pecha Kucha SLC on Facebook

Tickets available from the State Room.

As some of you may know, I'm on a subcommittee of UHF that focuses on Mid Century Modern architecture in Salt Lake City. I'm excited to announce that our fall event is coming up this weekend! We are going back to the roots of modernism and having an open house at a Taylor Woolley home. One of Utah’s first modernists, Taylor Woolley is known as the architect that introduced the Prairie School Style to Utah in 1911. Outside the state, Woolley is known as Frank Lloyd Wright’s trusted draftsman and a prominent fi gure in the popular book “Loving Frank.”

Saturday, October 8 · 10:00am - 12:00pm

1408 E. Yale Ave. (approx. 1150 South)

Salt Lake City, Utah

Salt Lake Modern Facebook page

Event info

Ben Kafton is a local artist that I have been following for some time.  I first saw his work at Craft Lake City last year and I really love his architectural style. He sent me a photo this week of some of his recent work, as well as a link to his Etsy shop where he has some prints for sale. More after the jump.

This Monday I had the opportunity to walk through one of my favorite mid century modern homes in Salt Lake City. Designed and built in 1965 by one of Salt Lake City's more prolific modern architects Ed Drier, the home has heavy Miesian influence. The exterior roof line is defined by a massive steel H beam that is contrasted by a white tile soffit that continues into the home. The continuance of surfaces is actually one of my favorite aspects to the home. Everywhere you look flooring, walls and ceiling materials seamless cross the indoor outdoor plane. This is made possible through a significant amount of glazing and careful attention to detail. Considering the amount of glass in the place I expected it to be a huge energy hog, like some of the other MCM glass and steel houses in the area, but I was pleasantly surprised to find just one furnace in the basement. The fact that it has a pool and close to a half acre sitting on the side of a ravine makes this house ideal for me. Unfortunately the $800,000 price means it's about 4 times out of my price range. I propose 3 other people go in on it with me. First pool party is on me.

3182 Millcreek MLS listing

More info on Ed Drier

Full photoset

Long time readers may remember how I started the blog. My wife at the time and I had just bought a 700 square foot home in Salt Lake, and we were determined to ad a 600 square foot modern addition on a shoestring budget. (If you missed the story the first time, it starts around here..) It was a lot of hard work, but it was literally one of the best experiences of my life. In fact I'm ruined now because all I want to do is design and build houses, more on that later.

Anyway, getting to the point. Just as we mostly finished up the home we sold it. The new owner did an amazing job finishing up the remaining projects and really bringing it all together. Flash forward a few years, and he is moving on and the house is back on the market. Priced at $249K it's hard to find a comparable modern home for the price anywhere in Salt Lake.

Check out the MLS listing for all the details.

Here's a little insider tip for all my Salt Lake City readers with kids...

We've covered some cool Airstream remodels on GRM before, but never one quite like this. The Creative Capsule started its life as a normal Airstream trailer, but recently got completely gutted and refinished inside with one purpose in mind. Entertaining and teaching kids. Tenfour industries is using the space to teach children's craft projects and host birthday parties. They are making their inaugural appearance tonight at the Millcreek Community market from 4 to dusk.

Follow the Creative Capsule on Facebook to see where they will be next.

In Utah, modern comes in all sorts of different shapes and sizes. Sometimes you will even find amazing modern interiors hiding inside the 4 walls of an innocent looking bungalow.  Such is the case with 2250 Keller Ln. This 1950's bungalow has gotten a complete overhaul inside and has some really tasteful modern touches. Check out more pictures after the jump and let me know what you think.

Also for more great modern real estate in Salt Lake City, make sure you check out City Home Collective.

All photo's by City Home Collective

Salt Lake has its fair share of hidden modern architectural gems, but perhaps one of the best is virtually unknown to locals, let alone the rest the world. The recently completed Saint Joseph The Worker Catholic Church is in my opinion, one of the best examples of modern architecture in the entire state. In fact, it's one of the better projects built anywhere in the last couple years.  The background story to the project is just as interesting to me as the building itself. The original parish was a relatively conservative group, in a conservative state. The found an unlikely partnership with Sparano + Mooney a local architectural firm known for its modern aesthetic. Sparano + Mooney was able to connect with the client by infusing the design with symbolism until the parish felt a sense of ownership and pride in the design.

From specific details like the 12 amazing color windows that infuse the chapel with light, representing the 12 apostles, to broad but perhaps more subtle things like a material pallet of board formed concrete and cedar appropriate for Saint Joseph The Worker.

My favorite space is a small intimate chapel separate from the rest of the buildings. The interior is lined with cedar and light is funneled down into the space by a skylight positioned over the altar.

LOTS more photo's after the jump.

Sparano + Mooney

View from the parking lot looking into the main courtyard. Small chapel to the left, administrative area straight ahead and the main chapel to the right.

The small chapel with the cedar interior.

Inside small chapel.

Looking towards the back.

Main Chapel.

Projected color windows.

The two large concrete panels are from the original church that was built in the 60's.

1st photo courtesy of Sparano + Mooney. Additional photo's by Grassrootsmodern. See the entire photo set in HD here.

Here's a snipet of video from the House 2 project that wrapped up last year. Video (and cabinetry) by Modern Union. Enjoy!

I've been posting a lot of Kickstarter projects lately, and I keep finding more great ones. Gypsy Modular based right here in Utah is this weeks find. They have designed CNC cut modular furniture for kids that can be assembled without any hardware. They have stools, tables, chairs and more. The styling reminds me of some other modern kids furniture I've seen before, but the prices seem crazy inexpensive. Stools are $25, chairs are $45. I believe those prices include shipping.

Gypsy Modular on Kickstarter

Did you miss Pecha Kucha night SLC two weeks ago? First off, shame on you. Second off, don't despair, video is now available. There were some fantastic speakers, and I highly recommend browsing through the rest of the videos after the jump.

A special thanks to everyone that made it out. Over $950 was raised to help with the Architecture for Humanity project. Donations are still being accepted online.

PKN SLC website

PKN SLC Facebook page

Salt Lake City Mid Century Modern Realtor Mony Ty listed this amazing home this month. I had a chance to walk through the amazing 4,660 square foot home a few weekends ago, and it was nothing short of amazing. The home was originally built in 1962, and had a tasteful pool added in 1982. The home was designed by one of Utah's most well know mid century modern architects John Sugden who drafted for and was mentored by Mies van der Rohe. The influence of Mies is obvious as the home has extensive use of steel and glass.

An open house will be held this Saturday from 10:00 to 4:00.

MLS Listing

Mony Ty Architectural Realtor

What happens when you put work from some of my favorite local artists in my favorite local modern furniture and lighting store? A party, that's what. And you are all invited.

This Thursday April 28th at 7PM Mondo Fine Art is celebrating spring with a Spring Group Show at Light Spot. They've asked their artists to bring their freshest new work for this special event. This show will feature works by artists: Aaron Bushnell, Angie Renfro, Carlisle, John Bell, Lane Bennion, Olivia Pendergast, Pilar Pobil, Roland Thompson, Zachary Proctor, as well as featured artist Sunny Belliston Taylor. For those of you new to Mondo, this will give you a nice introduction to their artists and their work. Many artists will be present for the show. Music will be provided by Mr. DJ Jesse Walker and delicious appetizers will be provided by Fleur de Sel Catering.

A percentage of sales will go to the Mondo Art Project for future art exchanges.

Special thanks to Light Spot for hosting in their beautiful modern design space.

Full event details available here.

Another great modern house project in Salt Lake City has just wrapped up. The designer and builder was Geoff Tice, so you might notice a few similarities with the project he completed last year. The house is located at 360 East Herbert Ave, and is joining a few other modern homes as neighbors.

The original house was a 1922 brick bungalow, with two bedrooms and one bath packed into 851 square feet and a shelf basement. The new house is 3,049 square feet, with three bedrooms, two baths, a loft/study area, and a full-height basement. The second story was built on the rear half of the house, so the original bungalow still maintains its curb appeal and neighborhood feel. The photos after the jump show how much work was actually done to the house.

The house has already been handed over to the new owners, who have been busy settling in.

As always, Geoff is more than happy to share information and answer questions here, so post any questions you might have. If you want to contact him personally, you can send him an email at geofftice@gmail.com.

PechaKucha is one of my favorite events to go to. If you have never been, I highly suggest you go. This Saturday's event is part of a global fundraiser for Japan.

“After the Haiti earthquake last year, the founders of PechaKucha Night organized a similar global fundraiser,” said local event organizer Tristan Shepherd. “With all the money that was raised for Architecture for Humanity, almost $100,000, they are now building a new school in Haiti. We are hoping to receive enough donations from this event to make a significant impact for the country of Japan.”

This Saturdays event will include speakers Mikell Stringham (Happy Birthday!) of Mondo Fine Art (previously featured on GRM) talking about her non-profit Mondo Art Project, Photographer Kim Guanzon (see House 2 post), Architect Dave Brach (of the Zevon house) among other fantastic local talents.

Making this event even more meaningful, many of the 400 cities from around the world where PechaKucha has taken hold will also be hosting events on the same date. The presentations will simultaneously stream live, and then be uploaded online to make a database of positive inspiration for Japan. Salt Lake City is proud to be one of the cities participating in this important event. Donations are accepted at the door (Brewvies is a 21-and-older venue located at 677 South 200 West) or online at http://global-day.pecha-kucha.org/. Reserve your tickets online at http://pechakucha-slc.eventbrite.com/, remaining tickets available at the door. Seating is limited to 160 guests.

Last week I gave you a little peek of the completed House 2 project, and many of you were asking for more interior shots. I've pulled a couple off of the Modern Union Flickr page, and added a few off of my Flickr page as well. As is typical, the photos really don't do the space justice. The thing I'm most impressed with is how the house feels, not looks. The proportions are just so nice. All the VG fir woodwork by Modern Union really does a lot to warm the space up too. White walls and concrete floors can sometimes come across cold and sterile, but all the woodwork really makes the whole house feel very warm.

Builder Mark Haslam did a fantastic job with the entire project. I need to get over there and get some more photo's of the exterior too. The whole thing just turned out so nice.

See the whole House 2 project.

Modern Union on Facebook

Lots more photo's after the jump.

Photo by Modern Union

Photo by Modern Union

I took the following photo's a while ago, before everything was totally finished.

Hallway with built in storage and desk niche.

Master bedroom. I love how the 12' run of cabinetry has no fillers. Perfect fit.

Master bedroom. Looking the other direction is a full wall of glass with two big sliding glass doors.

Kitchen looking towards the front of the house.

Kitchen with dining table in foreground.

This bookcase is 8' x 8'. That should give you a bit of an idea of the scale of the room. 10' ceilings feel perfect for the space.

Alright readers. Are you ready for another inspirational DIY adventure? It all starts in this humble little 700 sf cabin you see above in the sleepy little town of Midway Utah. Inspired, or just crazy, Calder and Starr were able to turn a lot of hard work into a fantastic modern meets rustic home. But that was just the beginning. Keep reading after the jump. I promise this is one story you are not going to want to miss.

Downstairs is a simple, but modern kitchen/living room with a nice island. I really like the contrast of the clean modern lines of the kitchen with the log walls. You can see from this picture too that the space is not huge. I'm pretty sure this is entire width of the house we are looking at.

Upstairs is the bedroom and bathroom. Again, I love the contrast of the white walls and wood. I also love how minimal and clutter free the room is. It looks like there is good storage built in on the sides too.

Calder didn't mention much about the work that went into the cabin, but from the next part of the story, I think it's safe to assume it was a lot of DIY labor.

So, what do you do when you have a 700 square foot home, and you are looking to expand your little family of two? Get an architect.

This is basically what they had to start with. You can see the cabin in the foreground, and in the back is a barn. It should be noted that the barn wasn't originally on the property. The entire thing was disassembled, moved to the property, and reassembled. Yeah, that's right. This family moves barns for fun in their spare time. Hardcore.

This is the plan that architect Todd Drennan came up with. Todd also has a modern home in Midway. The new modern structure actually connects with the original cabin, keeping a nice separate but together juxtaposition.

Once construction began I have a good feeling that a family that can move barns is willing to pitch in and do a lot of the construction themselves. This DIY spirit and some resourcefulness I think is one of the keys to keeping construction costs down on modern projects. I love the fact that Calder seems like the kind of guy that doesn't know what the word impossible means. Want an example? A two story home needs stairs right? Stairs need stair treads right? So what's the obvious thing to use for stair treads if you are a guy that moves barns. Why reclaimed wood from a bowling alley of course.

Another example you say? Sure. Here is my favorite. What do you clad a beautiful modern home like this with? Some nice stonework would be a great choice, but that would be crazy expensive right? Not if you collect all the stone from a old city building that was torn down and cut it down to the right dimensions yourself. Yeah, that's right. I said splitting your own stone. I didn't even know that was possible.

This is the building the stone came from.

After what must have been an incredible amount of stacking, moving, splitting, the stone was ready for the house. For all the details, and some fantastic pictures of the process, check out this post on their blog.

The end result?

Impressed doesn't seem to do justice to the way I feel.