If you're escaping to The Cape . . .

Speaking of Summer, many people equate summer with at least a some time spent at the shore, and if they are lucky, or family tradition dictates it, that shore might belong to Cape Cod in Massachusetts. There are quite a few Moderns on the Cape, and they seem to take preservation seriously there. Here are a couple of websites that are well worth the time poking around on to learn about what's there, what what's being done to prevent demolition or descent into decrepitude – earlier this Spring, there was an auction to benefit restoration projects where you could bid on and win a week in one of three restored houses (the Lechay House, which is pictured here at the top, is still available for  October 3 – 10 for a current bid of only $800).

Cape Cod Modern House Trust is Here and Modern Cape Cod is Here. Don't forget your bathing suit! – GF

Summer simplicity

Growing up, I always assumed I'd have a Summer house – weekend house, second house, whatever you want call it. It would be small, simple, clear and clean, airy and welcoming, easy to maintain and to come to and go from. All the miscellaneous accouterments of daily living would be pared down and simplified, clutter-free. Situated high with its back to the woods, it would face deep views from a wide deck where I could watch every part of the day and night roll by. . .

Sadly, it doesn't look like my little refuge is ever going to happen, but, luckily, a few of those qualities are present in my one and only home.

I believe that in Scandinavia, or Sweden at least, a "Summer house" is not necessarily one's weekend hideaway on a tiny isle in an archipelago, but it can also be a small structure right on one's primary property – like a gazebo – a place to be at home outside, for meals or a teatime chat. I'd settle for something like that if building one wouldn't make our property taxes double!

Here are some small houses that have caught my eye and rekindled my Summer house fantasy. There are so many more, but this is enough to set me daydreaming.

Top is the View House in Argentina, via Blue Ant Studio

Second is the Stribrna Skalice House in the Czech Republic by Prodesi | Domesi, via ArchDaily


Third is looking through a house on Corsica by Philippe Steubi


Fourth is a renovation by Franklin Azzi via Designboom

Bottom 2 are from an article in Home + Entertainment magazine from '06; Architect is Richard Mora, the house is near Aukland, NZ

Jens, yet again

So nice to read that our friend and neighbor, the estimable furniture designer Jens Risom, is being celebrated yet again. Rachel Day over at The Mid-Century Modernist wrote about Risom and the story behind the collaboration that resulted in nine pieces of Risom's furniture from the '50s and '60s being reissued, faithfully adhering to the designers strict manufacturing requirements. This nice little website was created just for the reissued pieces; it has lots of photos of the furniture, and tells you more about the collaborators.

I love reading about how the great mid-century designers [architects, graphic designers, etc.], in their bright, I-can-do-anything youth, somehow met others who were similarly idealistic and talented, and through seemingly magical connections, then met the right people to support and facilitate their ideas and yet others who were willing to manufacture these crazy new things. . . All that fell into place for Jens 7 decades ago, and it's just great that it still seems to be happening for him today. – GF