Becky's Americana-Inspired Apartment — House Tour

Name: Becky Emmett and Cheeky the cat
Location: Hove; Sussex, UK
Size: approximately 500 square feet
Years lived in: 5 years

A light-up McDonald’s sign, a pair of buffalo horns, a miniature Ghostbusters tableau, framed graffiti on the walls, a gumball machine in the living room: Becky’s one bedroom apartment in central Hove packs a lot of personality into a small space. She has transformed the basement flat of a tall, skinny, very English Victorian townhouse into an Americana-inspired Aladdin’s cave of vintage, retro and salvaged finds.

The homage to American pop culture and design runs all the way through Becky’s home. Her fondness for all things stateside comes from her British mother who was raised in Palm Springs: “I have happy memories of California and I love New York for its art and vibrancy.” On trips to New York, Becky has added to her impressive graffiti collection with pieces by Claw Money, Cope2 and Cap. But the most eye-catching piece is outside, a 6 foot high spray painted ‘B is buff’. It was a surprise Valentine’s message from a now ex-boyfriend. Luckily they are still on good terms. “I can see it through the window when I wash the dishes, and it makes me smile.”

Becky’s apartment is full to the brim with her many and varied collections: Nikes in every hue, the letter B everywhere, toys from the 70s and 80s. “It’s a childhood nostalgia thing for all the toys I was never allowed.” But somehow she makes it feel curated and not cluttered. Becky has an admirable ‘one in, two out’ rule and doesn’t buy things on a whim. Everything in Becky's place is actively hunted down at Dodo Vintage where she works, on Ebay, at markets and in thrift stores. It’s kitschy, it’s retro, it’s colorful, but mostly it’s fun.

My Style: Eclectic. I love collecting anything different or unusual. I'm not a hoarder, but there is a fine line between clutter and collecting.

Inspiration: Toys, graffiti, Americana. 

Favorite Element: The McDonald's sign. I was searching for years, and I finally found one on Ebay.

Biggest Challenge: Not overcluttering. I have to stick to my 'one in, two out' rule or it would be terrible.

What Friends Say: "It's a fun place to come to."

Proudest DIY: I painted the front of the house.

Biggest Indulgence: The artwork, which is all based on graffiti. I feel lucky to have some of the pieces in my collection. I'd like to get something by KAWS next.

Best Advice: Don't follow the rules. Go with whatever makes you happy.

Dream Sources: There is a sign graveyard in Las Vegas. I'd love to go there. Also the Old Cinema in Chiswick, London for vintage furniture.

McDonald's sign: ebayBuffalo horns: Dodo VintageGumball vending machine: thrift storeFisher price record player: ebayGraffiti: by Tox, Cope2, Claw Money, Cap and INSAPull down light: ebayChalkboard coffee table: found in skip
Leather armchair and footstool: Dodo VintageRed vinyl wall stickers: DomesticExpedit shelves: IKEAPiano keys as doorstop: Dodo Vintage
Sofa: HomebasePrint maker's tray: Dodo Vintage
Curtains: homemade with fabric from Brighton Saturday market

Letter B stencil: Not on the High Street
units: installed by previous owner
Bed:IKEAFlower garland: homemade
Bedside table: old ballot box from Dodo VintageFrench factory chair: Dodo VintageBedside lamp: Maclamp by Conran from Brighton Saturday marketBotanical wall print: Dodo VintagePink chair: found in a skip and repaintedMetal lockers: Dodo VintageBlanket box: garage saleBMX: custom madeBookshelves: crates from Dodo Vintage
Chest of drawers: present from my motherHatbox: garage sale

Thanks, Becky!

(Images: Rebecca Bond)

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Monday, August 19, 2013, by Amy Schellenbaum

Photo via Gizmodo

Tasked with creating a vacation home that could be sealed off and safe from the elements and vandalism for long periods of time, Paraguayan architect Javier Corvalán designed a dwelling in a corrugated, windowless box. To get inside, the owner, a filmmaker, uses a hand winch to tilt open the box's lid like an architectural sweater gift-wrapped at the department store. Sitting just outside the country's capital, Asunción, La Caja Obscura plays on the camera obscura concept ("caja" means box), and indeed, when closed, a pinhole at the top of it all allows for a projection of the surrounding scenery to color the walls, which almost almost makes up for the utter lack of windows. Watch how it all works, below.

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Authorial Abodes: Do check out Curbed Ski's map...

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The Printed Page: How an Arch Digest Editor Decorates a Pad for Arch Digest

Friday, August 16, 2013, by Amy Schellenbaum

Photo by Roger Davies/Arch Digest

This month's Architectural Digest has a look inside the Manhattan apartment of the magazine's own international style editor Carlos Mota, a stylist ("I had no formal training") whose penchant for "more crazy, more messy, more unexpected" translates easily into his own cramped, glammy interiors. While the master bedroom boasts an elephant bust that may or may not be made of aluminum foil and a bird cage occupied by fake avians, the living room has got tufted couches in silver velvet and avocado green silk carpeting. "I like color. I like to combine looks and periods. I don't like just any one style," he told AD. "I hate the word eclectic, so maybe I should call my look globally chic."

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On the Market: An ornate, ping pong table-equipped historic...

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[Video] Manhattan’s tight non-luxury housing market on Bloomberg TV’s Market Makers 8-7-13

Posted by Jonathan Miller - Thursday, August 8, 2013, 2:02 PM

Yesterday, Oshrat Carmiel’s real estate piece: Manhattan Homes Under $3 Million Never Harder to Buy hit the terminals and web site rising almost immediately to the most emailed and most read article of the day. The starting point for her article was based on my firm’s data – extracting the luxury market data from the overall market – to observe what’s happening to “non-luxury” real estate. I define luxury real estate as the top 10% of all sales prices in a period. This analysis looked at the remaining 90% and as it turns out – the Manhattan market is a lot tighter there.

I had a fun discussion with Erik Schatzker and Alix Steel about the “non-luxury” Manhattan market on their Bloomberg TV show “Market Makers.”

I also did an interview with Kathleen Hays and Vonnie Quinn on Bloomberg Radio’s “The Hays Advantage” and also used the data I compiled in my weekly column on Curbed covering the same topic.

As of today, the Bloomberg article is still the most read on Bloomberg worldwide. Apparently there is interest in the housing market beyond the super wealthy’s real estate exploits.

It was a busy day.

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Miniatures: Business bigwig Dan Gilbert (he founded...

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2 Rooms, 2 Kids: Share a Bedroom & Gain a Playroom?

It seems that, increasingly, it's becoming the norm for kids to have their own bedrooms, especially if there's adequate space for it. But what if you have two rooms, two kids, and no playroom? Is it a better use of the space to have the kids share a bedroom? 

In my experience, young children don't feel much of a need for a private bedroom. They would rather have ample space to play. While it's possible for each child to keep his/her toys in the bedroom, a designated play space can be extremely nice if there are shared toys, and it can also help in establishing the bedroom as a place to sleep. (I'll be the first to admit that when I had my own bedroom as a child, there were many late nights spent reading or quietly playing after my parents when to bed. A tattletale sister might have curbed that tendency.)

As adults, I think we assume that kids have a need for privacy similar to our own, but my boyfriend fondly recalled bunking up with his brothers, and he has told me that he was actually a little sad when he got his own room. 

But it's true that when kids get older, they might each want a space to call their own, especially if your children are of different genders. No twelve-year old girl wants to share a bedroom with a ten-year-old brother. 

Here are some examples of shared playrooms:

Here are some examples of shared bedrooms:

Some potential considerations to keep in mind as you consider the issue: How far apart in age are your kids? Do they have different bedtimes? Are they the same gender? Do they have similar interests? 

For more on this topic, see:

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San Francisco's Finest: Platner Table, Rope Chair & Goodform Chairs

You never know what you'll find in our Classifieds section! Each day we bring you a selection of favorites from a major city. Whether it's from a local vendor, or an individual just wanting to sell their stuff, chances are good you'll either find what you're looking for, or discover something you never knew you needed.

Shoppers and sellers, check out the Classifieds in your area, or add your own listings! 

(Images: As linked above)

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AirBnB Watch: Turns out AirBnB will go to...

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Abandonment Issues: Decades Later, Photographing Pennsylvania's Closed Resorts

Thursday, August 15, 2013, by Amy Schellenbaum

Photo via Matt Hurst

Intrigued by the afterlives of abandoned buildings, Philadelphia-based photographer Matt Hurst took a trip to Poconos, Pa., to capture the slime-coated interiors of the region's old Unity House, a modernist resort building that closed 23 years ago. Once a retreat for the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union for nearly seven decades, Unity House has suffered through enough Pennsylvania winters to crack the paint and enough springs to foster the growth of brand new inhabitants, namely smudges of moss and swipes of mould. Since that trip, Hurst—whose work was recently spotlighted over at The Atlantic Cities—has visited other resorts nearby. Photos from his excursions are below.

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House of the Day: Bizarre California Compound, Built on Spec, Tries for $36M

Thursday, August 15, 2013, by Rob Bear

Have a nomination for a jaw-dropping listing that would make a mighty fine House of the Day? Get thee to the tipline and send us your suggestions. We'd love to see what you've got.

Location: Carmel, Calif.
Price: $36,000,000
The Skinny: Built on spec to designs by architect Ron Mann, this 12,500-square-foot hilltop mansion is a far cry from the typical spec house. The idiosyncratic design hardly appeals to a broad range of buyers, but, then again, there isn't a huge pool of buyers waiting to shell out $36M for a (presumably) second home. Set under three Corton steel roofs—hence the name, Tres Paraguas—the sprawling compound consists of five independent structures, housing four bedrooms and eight bathrooms, oriented around a swimming pool and staggering views of Monterey Bay. The 4.75-acre estate includes a half-acre courtyard and ample parking.

· Tres Paraguas [Sotheby's International Realty via Homes of the Rich]

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San Jose is #1: Real estate website Redfin has gathered...

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On the Market: Restored Colonial Compound Gets No Love from Buyers

Tuesday, August 13, 2013, by Rob Bear

In what is probably a sign that modern, iPhone-toting, jet plane-riding, McMansion-buying Americans don't really want to live in the land of our colonial forebears, this immaculate pre-Revolutionary compound in Gilmanton, N.H. has as yet failed to sell, after more than two years on the market. The collection of buildings were moved to this 12.4-acre site and reassembled, a process that was completed in 2010 and includes a main house that dates to 1665, plus "carriage house, a magnificent barn, water tower, corn crib, and a late 1700's one room school house." This private village was listed for $1.85M when it first hit the market, but has just seen its price chopped down to $1.75M. The colonial charm is certainly present, but so too are the colonial inconveniences, particularly the oppressively low ceilings throughout.

· Masterpiece restoration [Sotheby's International Realty]

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Nathan Pyle’s NYC Basic Tips and Etiquette Book Coming Soon!

Posted by Jonathan Miller - Monday, August 12, 2013, 12:15 PM

If you’re a reader of Matrix, then you’ve been subjected to my fandom of the work of my friend Nathan Pyle, here, here, here and here will have his very clever observations about NYC published in 2014.

Here’s a nice write up in Gizmodo and The Daily Dot. Don’t forget to “like” his Facebook page so you’ll know when the book is published!

DISCLOSURE: the fact that we disagree on the pronunciation of GIF (I’m in the “like the peanut butter “Jif” camp.), his work is smooth, not chunky.

@jonathanmiller @SAI As someone pointed out, he's fighting basic phonetic intuition, momentum and the fact the G stands for GRAPHICS

— Nathan Pyle (@nathanwpyle) May 22, 2013

The following is a recent batch that “probably” didn’t make the book (imagine how good the images in the book will be):

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