July 2012

Recently Spotted…Slag Glass

So both the summer issues of House Beautiful and Elle Decor feature a styling accessory that will be dear to my glass obsessed readers hearts – slag glass, lumps of leftovers from the glass blower’s furnace at the end of the day. Like Japanese glass fishing floats and bottles, they are essentially found objects that brings in that translucent watery blue-green color just perfect for beach house interiors.

Both spaces feature a ton of interesting details, like the knotted rope window treatments and the upside down industrial baskets-turned coffee tables in the Marin County, California house below. This space is full of fabulous re-purposing! The rest of the house is no less fascinating – a must view – including a fabulous bunk room and kitchen window-deck pass through. You’ll be seeing more of it here on the blog in coming weeks.

The Amagansett home in Elle Decor is the very best kind of casual warm modern, but it is the slag glass on the table that pulls this room together and links the inside to the exterior. The soft shimmery colors and rustic curiosities lift the house out of an ordinary mid-century modern design – be sure to see the rest of it here.

What is it about water colored glass that speaks to us so strongly? And why am I so sure there are going to be lots of google, eBay and Etsy searches for it in the coming months?

Image credits: 1. House Beautiful July/August 2012, photo credit: Alec Hemer, 2. Elle Decor July/August 2012, photo credit: Jason Schmidt

Jul 11, 2012 By tokyojinja in Glass, Interior Design Tags: beach house, fishing floats, glass, slag glass

You’re A Grand Old Flag

Happy Birthday America! There is nothing like being an expatriate to make you enjoy celebrating the 4th of July!

Is this my beach house? Well no, and if you read my last post you knew that already. But this extraordinary dwelling is across the street from my little cottage and I get to look at it everyday. One of the most amazing hotels from the hey day of Ocean Grove, it has been turned into a giant single family residence. With its bilateral gull-wing roof and carpenter gothic detailing, it is almost exactly as it appeared when it was built in 1884.

A view from a postcard sent in 1944.