• Laura KostelnyExecutive Editor

    • Friday Fun with ID Collection’s Jim Williamson

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      May 17th, 2013 2:23pm
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      Hi. It’s Friday. I’m trying to finish D Weddings, so without further ado, here are the wise words of ID Collection’s Jim Williamson. For the non-bloggers out there, spamments are SPAM that appear on websites. They are disguised as friendly comments. Some people call them “ham”; some refer to them as “yam.” I prefer to use the word “Spam,” as I only like ham on holidays.

      Typically the comments are something like this: “My first time here. I really like your site. And let me tell you, you have hit the hammer upon the head. I am no expert, but you really sound like you know what you are talking about. This has been helpful to me. I will be back more soon. Keep on keeping up.”

      When you initially read a comment like this, you think, “Wow! That’s so nice! Someone is actually reading my stuff. Obviously, they are not from here because this English doesn’t sound quite right. How exciting to have a following overseas!”

      Unfortunately, it turns out that these things are merely computer-generated comments that pick up on SEO words. These seemingly nice comments are actually hiding RSS feeds. So when you post these comments showcasing how fabulous your writing is, you are really adding their RSS feed to your site.  And usually those hidden feeds are coming from places like BUY MICHAEL KORS CHEAP, MONTCLER AT UNBELIEVABLE PRICES, and UGGS LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN.

      I am glad I figured this out before posting one particularly nice comment. It linked to male enhancement products.

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    • Visit the New Gracie Showroom Today

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      May 15th, 2013 11:26am
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      gracie289Hello. I am very busy trying to finish the Fall/Winter 2013 issue of D Weddings. But when I get a free moment, I am going to pop over to the Dallas Design Center (Ste. 620) to check out the new Gracie Studio showroom, which opens today. I think you should do the same. Then let’s eat cupcakes and talk about how much we like it. (I’m very, very hungry today.)


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    • Friday Fun With ID Collection’s Jim Williamson

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      May 10th, 2013 5:55pm
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      It’s Friday. You know what that means. It’s time to hear from our friend, ID Collection’s Jim Williamson. Recently, while enjoying a Sunday afternoon in Fair Park, my friends and I decided to stop in at Craft and Growler. It was fun. We posed for pictures and posted them to social media, like you sometimes do when you’re having fun. Unfortunately, the result of one particular self-portrait featured a certain body part rather prominently. It had implications that I certainly was not expecting. It revealed something I certainly didn’t want people to see. I am speaking, of course, about my dreaded double chin.

      At first, I was in denial.

      Denial finally passed, and I started thinking: What do I do about it? Where do I start? And what if I start undergoing work—and just like on Property Brothers—and they tear something out only to find something else wrong? I called my good friend, Dr Vu Ho, and made an immediate appointment for a consultation to see what we could do about my little friend. We talked, we looked, we pulled, and we decided I was a good candidate for Lazer Lift. Basically, this is lipo for a  double chin.

      Here is how it went down the day of the procedure.

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    • Architecture360: Talking About Architecture

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      May 7th, 2013 3:02pm
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      Chris Grossnicklaus is editor for AIA Dallas’ magazine, Columns, and works as a designer at RTKL Associates.    

      As Architecture360 wraps up for the year, we have learned that people are extremely engaged and interested in architecture within our city. We saw this in the thousands of people who attended the myriad events organized by AIA Dallas and the Dallas Center for Architecture. These activities helped expose visitors to the creativity of architects working in Dallas while also giving behind-the-scene tours of our local landmarks.

      Events like Architecture360 give architects the opportunity to have an effective dialogue with the public—an important accomplishment because we often don’t speak the same language. The practice of architecture often requires specific, technical terms and those don’t always translate well to the non-architect. We presume that everyone else knows what we are saying. Since few people outside the profession have a working knowledge of architectural terminology, our jargon and insider terms might cause a message to get lost in translation. So my advice to fellow architects is this: We need to lose the jargon.

      As a first step, here is my list of 10 architecture terms I am striking from my everyday vocabulary. Instead, I’ll stick with the definitions and help de-mystify the important work we do.

      1. Poche: The colored in parts of a plan.
      2. Charrette: A period of intense design work.
      3. Parti: The big idea.
      4. Fenestration: Organize of windows in a wall.
      5. Curtain wall: Glass exterior wall.
      6. Plinth: A support or base.
      7. Porte cochère: Porch over a driveway.
      8. Parapet: Low wall forming the edge of a roof.
      9. Vernacular: Traditional methods and style of a region.
      10. Vignette: A quick sketch or view.

       


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    • Visit 505 Ranch Club in the Latest Issue of D Home

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      May 6th, 2013 3:35pm
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      lake_662I am desperately in need of a vacation, but for the time being, I am going to have to be happy just staring at this pretty photograph (by the lovely and talented Scott Womack). This month’s issue of D Home includes a look at a sleek and modern lake house at the 505 Ranch Club. You should check it out. You will laugh. You will cry. You will be ready to buy a lake house of your own. And then you can invite me over, and we will have a wonderful time.


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    • Enjoy the Hollywood Home & Garden Tour This Weekend

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      April 27th, 2013 3:58pm
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      house662

      Marcel Quimby, FAIA, is a principal with Quimby McCoy Preservation Architecture, LLP – a Dallas architectural firm that specializes in historic preservation – and lives in a 1936 home in Hollywood/Santa Monica. Hollywood Home and Garden Tour is part of Architecture360, Dallas Center for Architecture’s and AIA Dallas’ version of Architecture Month.

      Hollywood Home and Garden Tour: Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, April 28th, 2013

      Hollywood/Santa Monica, a unique, historic neighborhood in East Dallas, is hosting its 22nd annual Hollywood Home & Garden Tour this weekend. This home tour celebrates the unique 1920s and 1930s architecture of the neighborhood, nestled in tree-covered hills just south of White Rock Lake. It offers a glimpse of this delightful, historic East Dallas neighborhood and its remarkable collection of Tudor cottages. Events include:

      Home and Garden Tour:  Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, the 28th, noon to 6:00 pm

      Walking Tour of the neighborhood: Sunday, April 28th, 11:00 am to noon (free)

      Home and Garden Tour:  Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, the 28th, noon to 6:00 pm

      Home and Garden Tour:  Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, the 28th, noon to 6:00 pm

       Walking Tour of the neighborhood: Sunday, April 28th, 11:00 am to noon (free)

       Hollywood Art in the Park: Sunday, April 28th, noon to 6:00 pm (free)

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    • Architecture360: What To Do Now (and Later)

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      April 26th, 2013 2:29pm
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      Greg Brown is Program Director for Dallas Center for Architecture, which was founded by AIA Dallas and is devoted to bringing the public more actively into the conversation about the importance of architecture and design.

      We are in the final days of Architecture360—AIA Dallas’ and the Dallas Center for Architecture’s version of Architecture Month—with lots still to do. Visit the Architecture360 website for all the details, but here are a few highlights.

      This weekend, it’s all about tours. We’ve expanded the boundaries of our architectural territory to include Fort Worth, so head west for the AIA Fort Worth Homes Tour. Showcasing residential architecture, the tour includes two homes architects built for themselves. Closer to home in East Dallas, the Hollywood/Santa Monica neighborhood will hold its events celebrating the area’s unique 1920’s architecture. The home tour is Saturday and Sunday with a special walking tour and art show on Sunday.

      The Dallas Center for Architecture will kick off its third walking tour with an inaugural walk through the historic West End this Sunday afternoon.  Join me as we explore the “birthplace” of Dallas, paying special attention to the railroads’ role in developing our city, as well as the tragic defining events of November 1963. We have our “normal” tours this weekend also:  Main Street at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday and a free Skyline 360 tour in Klyde Warren Park at 2:30 p.m. the same day.

      The grand finale comes Tuesday at Klyde Warren Park as we end the month with Skyline 360 tours, Build Your City!, food and drink, and live music. Come help us celebrate!

       


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    • Friday Fun with ID Collection’s Jim Williamson

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      April 26th, 2013 2:12pm
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      Hi! Happy Friday. Let’s have a listen to my dear friend, ID Collection’s Jim Williamson, shall we? In the design industry, one needs to know about fabric, furniture, finishes, framing, and sometimes even flame-proofing. A person also has to be somewhat of a sleuth to seek out that “perfect” piece that pulls everything together. It could be that bridge fabric that makes what seems like a bunch of disparaging elements work together, the perfect piece for the entry, or a bench for the foot of a bed. This sleuthing can take hours, weeks, months, and sometimes years. (But really, I suggest that you try to avoid the “years” timeframe.)

      Having the gift and talent of sleuthing is great, but it’s not the only ability you need. It pays to have something I like to call “interpretation by vocalization of approximation.” Let me explain. It begins when someone attempts to describe what he or she wants. Unfortunately that person, place, or thing currently exists solely in his or her imagination. (This is similar to how I imagine Amanda Bynes spends her days.) Anyway, the description often involves hand gestures and air drawing.

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    • What To Do Tonight: Drink Drinks and Admire Design at ROCKITECTURE

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      April 25th, 2013 10:27am
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      Greg Brown is the Dallas Center for Architecture Program Director and on the ROCKITECTURE Planning Committee. ROCKITECTURE is part of Architecture360, a month’s worth of public programming in April being presented by AIA Dallas and Dallas Center for Architecture.

      Each year, the Dallas Center For Architecture chooses an architectural gem it wants to celebrate, then puts on a soiree in it perfectly suited for those into architecture and design. That evening is known as ROCKITECTURE, and it is tonight at downtown’s recently renovated, totally cool, Renaissance Revival-styled Federal Building and Post Office (which originally opened in 1930.) There are still a few tickets available, which you can purchase here.

      If knowing you’ll get to hang with D Magazine’s Krista Nightengale isn’t enough to sway you, how about a sneak peek of some items sure to draw off the gloves for hand to hand silent auction combat:

      Art is always a highlight and this year is no exception. We’ll have a number of large-scale works, including the geometric Mad Men-ish work by the late architect John Barthel, shown above. (Barthel once worked with George Dahl, designer of the Texas Centennial Exposition and the Dallas public library adjacent to the Statler Hilton.)

       

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    • In the Spirit of Earth Day, Mary Dickinson Gives Us Some Tips

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      Post date:
      April 24th, 2013 5:28pm
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      Mary Dickinson, Assoc. AIA, RID, LEED AP, is an interior designer and sustainable leader for Perkins+Will architecture firm. We asked her to share top tips on making homes greener in the spirit of Earth Day.

      Last year, I had the pleasure to work on the Reisenbichler residence of Highland Park, one of the most sustainable homes in Dallas. One of the project goals included breaking the stigma that sustainability and luxury cannot be delivered in tandem. We did just that and attained Gold certification under LEED for Homes. The modern style of the residence reflects the emerging preference toward modern design, while using a large home proportion to fit into the context of the traditional neighborhood. This home, though 8,356 square feet, has an average electrical bill of $220 per month—up to an eighth of the cost of neighboring homes with standard construction. While a few sustainable strategies employed throughout the residence carried a premium, many of the “green” decisions did not, due to greater demand in the market that has driven down costs. Most of the time, it was just about making well-informed decisions. Jump for my top items that any homeowner can look to employ:

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