Early 19th Century Craftsman Homes

Lately, I've been missing the bungalow lined streets of Seattle's Queen Anne, Capitol Hill and Wallingford neighborhoods. And yesterday, I happened upon Antique Home Style, a website that features hundreds of original floor plans and elevation drawings. I've always understood homes as a reflection of society's values. That's why its so fascinating to watch residential architecture change over the decades - it reveals a set of shifting values. The Arts & Crafts era of architecture has always resonated with me. Take a look...

The Conservatory

Oh, what I wouldn't give for access to a green house or small conservatory! I'm knee deep in winter sprouting experiments. My little green babies line the studio windowsill waiting for the frost to break and a shot at life outdoors. I'm running out of room quickly!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if...

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Basically, I just mined THIS beautiful board on Pinterest for all of these lovely photos.

Small Scale Living in Portland, OR

I used to live in Northeast Portland. I was only there briefly, but I loved it. This weekend I came upon a fabulous house from my old stomping ground in the home section of The New York Times. It's a small, 704 square foot wonder. Read the full article HERE or just marvel at the lovely photos below.

All photos by Aaron Leitz for The New York Times

Sarah Saw Something

It's time for another installment of Sarah Saw Something, where I share little odds and ends that I found interesting around the blogosphere this week. 

This home is awesome (via Bliss).  The architecture is fun, rustic, modern and perfectly frames the environment that surrounds the home.   

This week, I found a beautiful blog (I'm sure I'm the last one to know about it) called Miss Moss.  I was totally captivated by these beach photos from the gahetNA National Archives.  Here are two of my favorites. Click HERE to see more.

Last night my husband showed me this beautiful video from GetUp.org and I can't stop watching it.  We all know it's time.

If these walls could talk...

My home was built in 1971.  There is nothing special about my walls.  Their construction and their history is pretty mundane.  But the walls in the photos below have a story to tell that begins well before the Nixon administration.  If these walls could talk, I wonder what they'd say.

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Two by Two

I don't know about you, but I find great comfort in the use of symmetry.  Whenever I see an out of control corner of my home, or an overly disheveled area, I use a little natural symmetry to restore a sense of calm and order.  Maybe this is due to my OCD nature, or maybe as Paul Valery pointed out, "The universe is built on a plan of profound symmetry, which is somehow present in the inner structure of our intellect. "

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"I don't know if it's a sign of all the chaos that is happening out there or not, but I've lately craved the structure and order of classical music and the balance and symmetry."   - Helen Reddy

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“The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry, and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful."  - Aristotle

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"The most general law in nature is equity-the principle of balance and symmetry which guides the growth of forms along the lines of the greatest structural efficiency. "  - Herbert Read

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And I wanted to thank Laura of Built With Dreams for featuring my home this weekend on her lovely blog.  According to Laura's About section, Built With Dreams is dedicated to "real homes, where real people live – not “homes” that have been put together for a decoration magazine, but homes that people put together to make of them a cozy place to live."  So head on over and check out the new blog on the block!