Is Stickley is the New Ikea?

June 23, 2017

...nk of the lifestyle adjustments that would justify a weekend in the garage making a copy of the L. & J.G. Stickley dinner gong. How exactly would a dinner gong work out in our 1,000 square foot house occupied by just two people? Would its existence prompt more inspired daily meal prep? Would reheating a frozen Trader Joe’s meal (what a friend calls the Ikea of food) in the microwave justify a bang on the gong? Would it cause the cats and dog to sc...

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America’s Worst Remodeling Disaster?

Mr. Homegrown

June 21, 2017

Design

8 Comments

...should have to prove their worth, and that’s a high bar. But, perhaps, I’m making the same mistake. Only time will tell. Sources Biography of Greene and Greene, An Enlightened Client. Post-remodeling Dunn residence photos: https://calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/kt538nd8wj/ “Outside In: The Architecture of Smith and Williams” Edited by Jocelyn Gibbs, Debi Howell-Ardila, Anthony Denzer, Lilian Pfaff, and Alan Hess. “This Pasadena House . . .” Sunset...

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3 Mules the Movie

Mr. Homegrown

June 16, 2017

Animals, Thoughtstylings

...ed from my first encounter with the mule man on Sunset Boulevard. Sears is making a point about public space and our rights to travel and use the commons. It’s a stance that often puts him at odds with law enforcement, local governments and, perhaps, modernity itself. You can see some excerpts from McDonald’s film on YouTube and make a tax deductible contribution towards completing the project. You can follow Sears via his Facebook page 3 Mules. M...

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SolSource Review Part I: Assembly

Mr. Homegrown

June 17, 2016

Appropriate Technology, Solar, Solar Oven Summer, Water and Power

4 Comments

When we wrote our second book, Making It, I wanted to include a parabolic solar cooker project. I found a castoff satellite TV dish and covered it with aluminum foil. The problem was how to position a cooking surface in front of it while simultaneously tracking the sun. If you knew how to weld this might be possible– if still a challenging project. I just couldn’t figure out a way to do it without custom welding and gave up on my dream of solar g...

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How to Design and Fabricate Homestead Projects

Mr. Homegrown

January 14, 2016

Design

6 Comments

...Brain. Once you go through that you’re ready for a fun book I’m currently making my way through called Sketching for Architecture + Interior Design. Modeling Lastly it’s time to get those ideas in the free version of the 3d program Sketchup. You can learn Sketchup in an evening or two and it has really helped separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to my many bad ideas. With Sketchup you can rotate the object and really see if it works ae...

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