Concrete jungle? Slice it up and make it green

While the remodeled barn I discussed earlier this morning has been logging clicks galore, one gallery that I assumed would be a hit with readers last month went largely unnoticed. It's a DIY solution that could help a lot of urban yards, so let's give it a second look, shall we?

The project is a twist on something you've no doubt seen: Concrete broken up into rough-edged chunks, the borders planted with ground cover for a green, more naturalistic look.

But landscape designer Stephanie Bartron offers a different approach: Renting a power saw (and a saw operator), then slicing up a patio or driveway into geometric patterns for a clean-edged finish.

In the project pictured here, the cut-out concrete was then stacked to create an entry fountain. Debra Prinzing details the process in her article and accompanying photo gallery, which includes a step-by-step look at the process and a peek at a few finished designs.

Sketch out the cuts yourself, then hire a pro to handle the heavy machinery. Cost for a day's equipment and labor: about $1,000.

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credits: Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times

Costa Mesa barn turned into a slice of loft-like living

The story of Corey Gash and the Costa Mesa barn he turned into 700 square feet of loft-like living has been racking up some pretty amazing traffic on latimes.com. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, you'll find much amusement in the place. That dining table pictured above? It used to be part of a bowling alley. The tree stump used to create the coffee table? Gash bought it out of the back of a pickup truck in a Home Depot parking lot.The lights are IKEA, and the wood paneled was reclaimed from a church.

You can read Barbara Thornburg's full article, and don't miss all 16 images in Don Bartletti's photo gallery. What's nice about both is how a sense of humor shines through, whether you're looking at daughter Lilly's playroom lined in artificial turf or Gash's pretension-free library, stacked under the stairs.

-- Craig Nakano

Photo credits: Don Barletti / Los Angeles Times

Christmas: Marcel Wanders hits Target. (Or does he?)

Dutch design superstar Marcel Wanders, known for bold prints and witty takes on traditional forms in collections like New Antiques, has generated a big buzz for his first Christmas collection with Target. (His clever 314-page online look book of the line, posted alongside high-end pieces from his firm Moooi, certainly helped get design junkies jazzed.)

Wanders' line of 30 products for decorating the table, the bar and the tree is a good deal more accessible than Target's ornate 2006 collection by his whimsical fellow Dutch designer Tord Boontje. About half of the '09 items are already stocked online; more should be posted soon. A quick glance at in-store product availability showed that Target stores in Glendale, West Hollywood, Los Angeles and Burbank were a bust, but the outlets in Culver City, Pasadena and North Hollywood had the goods.

I checked out the collection at the always-reliable Eagle Rock store, which had more than 90% of the Wanders Christmas line in its dishes and gift card aisles. Not everything was a winner, but the porcelain pieces -- some reminiscent of the flowerpot hats that the '80s pop group Devo wore -- were irresistible. Note: They look best in black, gold and silver; white looks a tad ordinary.

I dropped $77.95  to create the tabletop tableau above, filled with pieces I'll be happy to use all year long. From left: taper candle in ceramic holder, $14.99 a pair; a 12.5-inch silver porcelain vase, $29.99; a set of black, gold and white stacking bowls, $14.99; and a packet of 20 red and black printed paper napkins, $2.99.

See more from the collection and get an appraisal of what's worth buying after the jump.

Decorating ideas from a pro party house (or two)

How's this for a sign of a successful remodel: Friends want to throw parties at your home.

Sherry Walsh, a former fashion designer, and husband Miguel Nelson, an artist, took those requests and turned them into a business, renting out two spaces for parties, weddings and more -- venues with unusual designs that do-it-yourselfers will want to steal.

The first, a free-flowing indoor-outdoor space they call Marvimon, had been auto showroom. That's it pictured above, with the couple's Woolly Pockets creating a vertical garden along one wall. Walsh and Nelson's second venue, SmogShoppe, is a former smog-check station in Culver City.

Both spaces are loaded with ideas: tables stained with coffee grounds, bookshelves wrapped in metal mesh, glazed brick used instead of tile, old doors lined up to form wall paneling. Check out our 19-image photo gallery here.

-- Jan Molen

Photo credits: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Escher GuneWardena house in Glassell Park balances city with nature, the formal with the casual

A new house by noted architects Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena rises to great effect in the Glassell Park neighborhood of L.A. The architects created a promenade that leads visitors down a tunnel-like hallway lined in plywood, above, and then up stairs to a top floor that's something else entirely: an open, airy room, at right, whose floor-to-ceiling windows and doors at both ends allow for views of Burbank to the west and Elyria Canyon Park to the east.

"When we first went over there 10 years ago, we had a picnic on the site," GuneWardena said. "We identified two wonderful but distinct views -- one urban, the other natural. We wanted to highlight this contrast for those inside the house."

You can read the whole story or click through the 15-image photo gallery.

-- David Hay

Photos: Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times

Metropolitan Home magazine closes

The publisher of Metropolitan Home announced this morning it was shutting down the magazine and laying off the staff. The December issue will be Met Home's last.

Hachette Filipacchi Media said it will focus on its other shelter title, Elle Decor, which the company touted as "the ad-page leader within the U.S."

The entire home magazine category is suffering because of the housing slump. Ad pages for the first half of 2009 were down 27.8% compared with the first half of 2008, according to the Publishers Information Bureau.

For the first nine months of 2009, Met Home's ad pages were down 32.7% compared with a year earlier. That compares with a 34.1% drop at Elle Decor, a 49% drop at Architectural Digest, a 45.8% drop at Dwell, a 29% drop at Martha Stewart Living and an 11.9% drop at Sunset, according to the PIB.

The closing of Met Home, which stated its circulation at about 560,000, follows the demise of Domino, Home & Garden, Cottage Living and O at Home, among others.

-- Craig Nakano

Why do cute forest critters run away from humans?

Because they saw these new holiday candles and were as creeped-out as we were. Those birds to the right must feel like self-roasting holiday dinners.

We'll protect the identity of the retailer and simply say the name rhymes with Lottery Yarn. The same store has some equally cute pine-cone critters that you don't light on fire -- warmer and fuzzier than watching little Rocky Raccoon's ear drip down his back.

We're accepting nominations for the weirdest, most disturbing holiday decor at home@latimes.com. Include a photo and your own caption. Best entries will get posted on this blog.

The Deal: Wisteria's Thanksgiving candles on sale

Wisteria has chopped 30% off a collection called the First Thanksgiving candles. They come in two assortments: as a pair of 7-inch-tall Native Americans, right, or as pilgrims who look like a cross between Fisher Price toys and Hummel figurines. In a six-pack, each candle is about 5 inches tall. 

So with Thanksgiving less than three weeks away, why are they on sale?

And does anyone else suspect that people just don't want to set fire to candles depicting human beings? (Or at least they won't pay full price to do it?)

If you collect such things, just give thanks for the discount -- or for the fact that you don't have 2-year-olds who cry when you set toy people on fire.

The Pilgrim candle sets have been reduced from $21 to $14.70 each.

The Native American candle sets, originally $19 apiece, are now $13.30.

I find it interesting that the Native American man and woman are the same height, whereas the male pilgrims are taller than their female counterparts. Must be the hat.

-- David A. Keeps

Photo credits: Wisteria
 

Datebook: Events, exhibits, classes for the week ahead

We've listed select home and garden events below. Suggest your own via reader comments. Submissions must be fewer than 75 words and must be for one-time events with legitimate value to other readers. No store promotions and no frivolous links, please. L.A. at Home staff will determine which submissions will be made public, but we won't edit the comments.

Nov. 11: Frank McDonough guides visitors through the Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden’s African and Australian section plants as part of the series “Around the World in 127 Acres: More of the Arboretum’s Plant Collections.” 1:30 to 3 p.m. Wear comfortable, rugged shoes, a hat and clothes you don’t mind getting dirty. Bring drinking water too. $5 to $7. 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Registration: (626) 821-4623.

Nov. 12: Thursday Garden Talks With Lili Singer continue with “A Tour for Home Gardeners With Jill Morganelli,” the new curator of the Kallam Perennial Garden. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. $20. Los Angeles County Arboretum & Botanic Garden, 301 N. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia. Registration: (626) 821-4623.

Nov. 12: Nursery woman and seed specialist Ginny Hunt will discuss annuals that do well in California’s climate in a lecture sponsored by the Southern California Horticultural Society. 7:30 p.m. $5. Friendship Auditorium, 3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles. (818) 567-1496.

Nov. 14 and 15: The Los Angeles Asian & Tribal Arts Show will feature art and antiques of Asia, Africa and the Americas. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 14; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 15. $10. Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Main Street at Pico Boulevard. (310) 455-2886.

Nov. 14: A variety of California native plants and wildflower seeds will be available for sale at Under the Oaks 2009, the annual sale hosted by the San Gabriel Mountains Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free. Eaton Canyon Nature Center, 1750 N. Altadena Drive, Pasadena. (626) 476-4163.

Nov. 14: Descanso Gardens hosts a walking tour of the downtown flower mart, pictured above, with florist Ray Tucker. Learn how to select and care for the best flowers and where to go for supplies. Wear comfortable shoes and register early to receive a map of the meeting place in downtown Los Angeles. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. $18 to $20. (818) 949-4200. 

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times

The Deal: Sunset Junction sidewalk sale today offers discounts of up to 75% off on furniture, accessories

Don't stop your Saturday shopping with the organic-produce stalls at the Silver Lake Farmer's Market. Venture farther down Sunset Boulevard, where several stores will be participating in a sidewalk sale with discounts of up to 75% off.

Several of the stores, including the Living Room, Mercado (pictured above), Mas Boutique, Funkie Town and Isac Orchids Etc. (pictured on the jump) will have reductions on furniture, apparel and accessories, including discontinued and overstocked items and floor models.

"We’re going to start doing this every other month," Living Room owner Steve Melendrez says.

Look for a big awning shading food and beverage. And if that's not enough of a lure, the Silver Lake Art Crawl also is today, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more pictures, go to the jump.

The dirt on dirt: Do you know what's in yours?

What's in those bags of soil we buy at garden centers? Scotts, the company that makes soils under the Miracle-Gro, EarthGro and SuperSoil brands, uses discarded grape skins and seeds from Napa Valley, rice hulls from Stockton, even pecan and walnut shells. Other brands might contain bat guano, chicken manure, Canadian peat moss, Sri Lankan coconut coir or Norwegian kelp meal.

Susan Carpenter, who writes The Realist Idealist column on green home improvement and sustainable living, looks into bagged soil and how it's made for her latest report. It's a follow-up to her experience this summer, when Carpenter grew some beautiful chard in raised beds filled with store-bought soil -- then discovered her leafy greens were abnormally high in lead. For this latest column, she and colleague Don Kelsen also produced a video from their visit to one of the California facilities where bagged soil is made. Read Carpenter's findings, and then if you're eager to test your soil, click here.

For some gardeners, the bagged stuff just can't compare with homemade compost. The problem, of course, is that compost takes time and patience. For so many households, those food scraps are more likely to land in a garbage bag than a worm tray. Earlier this week Emily Green reported on San Francisco's new mandatory food-scrap recycling program and why our neighbors up north have pulled ahead of L.A. in the quest to divert trash from landfills. You can read that column by clicking here and see the archive of Green's weekly column on sustainable landscaping, The Dry Garden, by clicking here. 

Ask three experts for their recipe for the perfect potting mix, and you'll get three answers. That's what Ilsa Setziol did, and the three recommendations for the ultimate potted-plant dirt are revealed here.

-- Craig Nakano

Photo illustration credit: Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Experts talk on adapting homes to reduce wildfire risk

Two of the region’s most respected experts on wildfire, local ecology and post-fire regeneration -- Richard W. Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute, and Jon E. Keeley, research ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey -- will discuss "Southern California Wildfires: Protecting Our Homes and the Natural Environment" on Saturday.

This free discussion, co-hosted by the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers & Native Plants and the Glendale Department of Public Works, will address how communities can adapt to fire-prone environments and the importance of nature education. The event's hosts also have invited local fire officials.

The talk runs 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Clark Magnet High School auditorium, 4747 New York Ave., La Crescenta.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

CanvasPop lets you turn photos into wall art, and it's pretty cheap

We've seen online services that let you put your own image on T-shirts, coffee cups, throw pillows and shower curtains, so why was I so excited to hear about CanvasPop, a new company that will print any image onto a stretched canvas for low-cost wall art?

Maybe it's because CanvasPop recognizes that (rightly or wrongly) many of us consider the photographs we take as worthy of hanging in our home. (Hey, what picture could be better than that photo I shot of the waves at Abalone Cove?)  Maybe it's because the price point is so reasonable: $30 will get you an 8-by-10-inch canvas printed with a photo of your choosing but not stretched, and a 3-by-6-foot canvas will run you about $500 stretched. Or maybe it's because absolutely everything about the site makes sense. It's easy to upload a photo, and an actual person will get in touch with you to show a proof of the cropped image and to help you with other tweaks you might want.

I can think of at least three photos in my iPhoto library that I feel are worthy of display in my living room, and apparently I'm not the only one. CanvasPop's founder, Adrian Salamunovic, said the company has taken hundreds of orders, and it's only been around for a month.

-- Deborah Netburn

Photo courtesy of CanvasPop

CB2's Can Do campaign to benefit L.A. food bank

In a feel-good holiday move, CB2 stores in California, Illinois and New York are partnering with local food banks to combat hunger.

Beginning Monday at the L.A. store, customers who bring in five nonperishable items for the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank will receive a 15% discount on in-store purchases. This includes budget-conscious items for holiday entertaining such as decorations and dinnerware, as well as furniture (but not Flor carpet tiles).

The event runs through Nov. 25. CB2 is at 8000 W. Sunset Blvd. For a map click here.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

 

Crestline's overlooked antique rows

On the way to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, most folks drive past Crestline, the rustic mountain town on the shores of Lake Gregory. That's all the better for shoppers with a taste for vintage Americana at reasonably priced stores that don't have websites. 

Crestline boasts two short shopping strips on and around Crest Forest Drive and Lake Drive, and each has a new kid on the block. Remember Me at 23805 Lake Drive is strong on early American and Victorian pieces, including wicker baby carriages, birdhouses and the rosewood settee, above left, $895. For cottage and camping furniture with a 1930s and '40s vibe, Lambs & Ivy Boutique at 23447 Crest Forest has tray tables with an ivy print, above right, $14.95, and McCoy-style cups and plates, $2 each. 

Midcentury modern fans might find Crestline somewhat lacking except for barware and decorative accessories. During a recent visit, I found a few bargains: The 1960s vinyl vanity stool, right, was $14.95 at Gogue Studio's & Trinket Trader, 23832 Lake Drive, and a vintage package of Donald Duck drinking straws, far right, was $4 at Antiques on Springwater, 23948 Springwater Road.

Click here for a Crestiline map. For more shopping information, consult the Crestline/Lake Gregory Chamber of Commerce website and scroll down to "retail stores."

-- David A. Keeps

Photo credits: David A. Keeps / Los Angeles Times

The Deal: Artemide and Rezek lighting up to 80% off at Culver City warehouse sale

Yes, we mentioned a sale on high-end Artemide lighting a few months ago, but this weekend's warehouse sale, featuring bargains of up to 80% off, is even better. 

The Artemide and Rezek  sale will include a variety of lamps including discontinued, reconditioned, "as is" showroom samples and production seconds. Reduced items include the Tolomeo Micro LED table lamp, above left, which can move up and down and swivel to various positions (now $145, down from $730), as well as the Mezzachimera table lamp, above right (now $175, down from $740).

The sale will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Artemide/Rezek warehouse, 4200 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City. Walk-in sales only; no Internet or phone transactions. More information: (310) 836-1572.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credits: Artemide

Sculptor-woodworker Alma Allen logs his work at Heath Ceramics; reception tonight

Alma Allen didn't come up with the idea of transforming tree trunks into side tables and stools, but during the past decade, the sculptor and woodworker behind the now-defunct Venice gallery Pearce has certainly refined the concept. His work has found its way into the vocabulary of art collectors and decorators, and his pieces helped to create a look that's been dubbed "rustic modern." Even West Elm has taken notice.

Allen, above, uses a chainsaw and lathe to turn salvaged woods into sleek forms. The interiors firm  Commune Design commissioned the artist, now based in Joshua Tree, to create side tables, above left, for the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs and stools for the Oliver Peoples store in Malibu, above right.

Allen recently teamed with Commune and Heath Ceramics to create a collection of Bauhaus-influenced pottery. The line includes canisters with lids that Allen crafted from solid walnut, right. They are priced $125 to $325. 

Heath Ceramics' L.A. store will be displaying and selling other recent work by Allen. Among the highlights: highly polished ironwood bowls and sculptures in marble and bronze that recall the work of modernist Constantin Brancusi and architectural tables made from slabs of solid wood and metal bases. You can see them after the jump.

From 5 to 8 p.m. today, Heath will host an artist's reception. It is free and open to the public. Allen's pieces will be in the store through the end of the year. 

The Dry Garden: L.A. trails San Francisco in the quest to divert food scraps from landfills

Jorge Santiesteban estimates that food scraps constitute roughly 15% to 25% of what goes into black garbage bins in Los Angeles. The city's solid resources manager has been struck by the seasonal changes in how much food we throw away since 1997, when, in the week after Thanksgiving, he had a garbage truck empty its contents for him. Santiesteban picked through the trash, putting like objects with like until a clear picture emerged. This is what is known in recycling circles as “waste characterization.”

As bad as it must have been for Santiesteban during that November audit of rotting giblets and pie crusts, his San Francisco counterpart might have had it worse. Waste characterizations done there show that as much as 30% of San Francisco’s garbage has been composed of food scraps.

Now the race is on to see which of the two cities can divert more kitchen waste from garbage trucks to composting programs. With the introduction of mandatory food-scrap recycling in San Francisco on Oct. 21, the Bay Area has taken the lead.

The challenge began 20 years ago, when overflowing landfills led California to pass the Integrated Waste Management Act of 1989. This required jurisdictions to divert 25% of their trash to recycling programs by 1995 and 50% by 2000. If cities failed, they faced fines of thousands of dollars a day.

It soon became clear that not every city had the same trash profile. While Los Angeles produced huge amounts of lawn clippings, garbage trucks in the more urban San Francisco showed a higher proportion of food scraps. 

La Casa del Camino opens surf-and-skate suites in Laguna Beach

Former pro skateboarder Pierre Andrés Senizergues, founder of the footwear and apparel company Etnies, is designing more than sneakers these days. Senizergues, whose Newport Beach pad was featured as one of our Homes of The Times last year, has teamed with action sports firms and designers to redecorate 10 suites at La Casa del Camino, a Laguna Beach hotel. The project was spearheaded by Riviera Magazine. Among other participants is Los Angeles architect Barbara Bestor, who designed the striped 1960s Mod-accessorized room, above right.

"Our vision takes you out of the water and onto the street," says Sernizergues, who collaborated with interior designer Eve Lowey of Studio Chameleon. "We incorporated materials, shapes and concepts inspired by a skateboarder's daily life and blended them with green elements."

Indeed, Room 207, above left, features a wall shadowbox filled with salvaged skateboard wheels and a headboard made from scraps of shoe fabric.

The bathroom includes a cast concrete Pool sink, right. Senizergues says the inspiration comes from the first Orange County kidney-shaped pool built specifically for skating instead of swimming. The sink was a custom design incorporating fly ash (an incinerator waste product) instead of  Portland cement; it also uses a water-based sealant and beeswax finish. It was produced by Hart Concrete Design in Costa Mesa. 

The rooms will be available for occupancy starting Nov. 5. Current nightly rates are $269 to $369. A portion of proceeds will go to charities chosen by the participating surf and skate fashion houses.

Check into some of the other rooms after the jump.

The Deal: Tufted Nurseryworks furnishings for kids 50% to 70% off at Fawn and Forest

The Nurseryworks American Collection, created by the Los Angeles design studio Lawson-Fenning, uses early American elements such as tufting and wing backs in a playful and contemporary way. The result has serious attitude -- perfect for kids' rooms. And unlike some modern designs for children, the furniture looks really cozy. It's easy to imagine my kids propped up against the twin headboard above reading "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" long past bedtime.  

The furniture can be pricey, as children's designs go, but they have been reduced substantially at the online retailer Fawn and Forest. The Empire Rocker, normally $1,100, is on sale for $550; it's available in velvet or microsuede. The tufted twin Vale headboard, normally $625, is on sale for $187.50; it comes in microsuede, twill and velvet. You'll pay no sales tax, but shipping is $99. All sales are final.

-- Lisa Boone

Photo credit: Nurseryworks