Wednesday
Feb162011
Reader's home update (sort of)
Wed, 16 Feb 2011Right before Christmas I blogged this dreamy modern home belonging to Anne and her husband Sam. I fell in love with it immediately and I really should show some photos of it to my architect. Anyway, back in August there was a photo shoot at their home and published last month in the magazine Design Bureau (check out the story here). It was photographed by Alan Foreman and his photos are GORG. I think there is something to be learned with the following photos...if you're not really keen on how you've decorated, a half naked model sprawled around your house can help as a distraction! (This wasn't Anne's case though - her house was FAB before the model showed up). Thanks Anne!
Reader Comments (48)
In my intro there is a link to these photos in colour without the chick in them.
Actually, i don't really care if the lady is naked or not, or if it's a guy .... what i care is that she is blocking the view. Yes, the pics are great and nicely taken, but i would prefer to have design as the main point as this is the reason that makes me a follower to this blog in the first place ....
However, if they are the only pics available in order to see the beautiful house, i'll take the girl.
P.S. Kim, you go girl, you got guts. As you said, you have the right (to post beautiful pics, which they are).
I appreciate that you posted this. Why not? The photos are great - but I do think they are more about the model than about the house. The house seems kind of so-so to me. But the girl makes the pics cool and interesting. Love the kitchen shot with her in her socks. And the yellow front door is cool. In any case, it brings up the interesting fact that architecture does house actual human beings. I dare say that without her the bathroom would be a bore. ??
I LOVE your blog....don't stop!!! Thanks for the daily inspiration.
Haha ... now that i went to your other link to see the house without the model, i realised that i seen that house before. I'm surprised with how great a difference between the two. I guess the two photographer have individual taste.
So I see you have started censoring.
FUN!
My post was taken off and it as saying that I liked the house.
Why would you delete a positive comment?
Tom, what did I censor? And I did not delete any comments.
Kim, I had the first comment posted yesterday saying this was a beautiful house and that the design worked even without the models.
Nothing negative in my comment but it's gone :(
Oh well I guess anything that comes out of my mouth is taken as a negative.
Again, this is a beautiful house.
Tom
I LOVE this house...
However, these photos lack any type of inspiration, and really failed to illustrate the article or this gorgeous house for that matter. While the model is a beautiful girl, the poses seem out of context for a Rock ‘n’ Roll Refuge. I really don’t know what benefit the model or specifically what the selected poses added to the shoot. Not the models fault as I assume she was being directed by the photographer. It has nothing to do with the hint of nudity, it just doens't seem to have a purpose.
Would have been better to have the owners in the photos…or the Vizsla. Would have brought some interest back for this reader.
Thanks for sharing them....
Tom I DID NOT remove your comment!!!!
Art shouldn't need a purpose....
It´s amazing how people get upset by a girl in her underwear - we all look something like that underneath our clothes. Maybe not as great looking as this girl, but...=)
I think the home looks great as well and fully understand why you posted this.
Love your blog!
I believe this comment was in response to my missing comment
"actually, i find the model somewhat annoying - she's covering up bits of the scenery and that's what i'm interested in. you're right - great home!"
As for art not needing a purpose I totally agree and I like the model in the pics, I think she adds some character to the post.
I'm with you on the model not against you :)
Tom
Hi--I don't usually comment, but I just wanted to say 'keep posting what YOU want to post'. I love this blog. It doesn't mean that I have to LOVE every picture in it, but I appreciate your efforts and I like that it stretches my design esthetic. As for the girl, meh. I think she looks a bit more of a fashion mag woman, but nothing pervy. She's more distracting from the cool house!
Thanks for your blog. You and Jo are a morning stop.
:)
PS Have been looking for roll-up bamboo blinds for my bay window... Nothing yet, but I will find them! Thanks again for your advice on that!
I recently visited this home in Austin as a part of the "Austin Modern Home Tour" and it was fantastic! The photos are great and really give it the cool vibe the home has in person. The vintage bits were fantastic and the kitchen island is super awesome (which the photo doesn't really give any justice) with wood slats on the front and sides. The kitchen floor also has cork tile in between the island and counters behind it...GENIUS! All in all, two thumbs up to this super cozy nest!
As I was one of the first to say that I found the photos "annoying" (meaning distasteful and inappropriate) I want to clarify that I stand behind the bloggers 100% as far as their right to post anything they like. Having said that though, I assume they are interested in getting feedback and hearing what their readers think. Otherwise, why bother having comments at all?
I, for one, thought the home was well styles and appropriately appointed.
I too like to sometimes have scantily clad, tiny assed women sprawled
about my newly furnished apartment... just to bring it.
Oh, I bring it.
Sure, there's been a time or two that my girlfriend has come home to
"discuss" why there was a half naked, emaciated white girl spread eagle across
the Le Corbusier leather sofa...
"it was a design choice dammit. Respect my vision"
After we split, I wondered;
Maybe I should've had some clothes on also...
Anyway Kim,
Keep doing what your doing.
This has been the best read post ever!
Well I'm off to the bathroom to "read" this again...
Those who complain about these photos should open any issue of Wallpaper* to see that this kind of shooting combining beauty/fashion design and architectural design is not only often tasteful, but also pretty common.
Depicting human beings in architectural pictures is what often keep them from being bland, and doing so in a fashion-like shoot (the Wallpaper way) is usually cooler and classier to me than doing a fakish "see how we 'really' live in our house" shooting (the Dwell way).
...and anyways the shooting was probably done for another purpose than being published on a deco blog.
(And to those saying that the model is "too young", I used to live with a photographer, and her models were all 18+ (many 21+). And many looked as young as the girl in this shooting. Sometimes people judge without knowing.)
It's your blog, Kim and Jo.. and you are free to post what you want to post! Your style is what brings us here every day (several times a day, for me!) :)
While I find the model a little distracting, I still found the photos provocative and beautiful. While the model was provocative, I don't consider it "kiddie porn." I didnt see her baring her breast (or other things) in any of the photos. Thus, I don't categorize it as "porn." There are paintings of a naked Venus in many famous pieces of art (Raphael, Titian and Bronzino come to mind)
And I love Love LOVE the last photo! So great!! Keep on posting!
Jo,
It's good to have an open discussion and get various points of view on these issues. Would you care to weigh in with your thoughts?
It seems that every one who posted negatively about the article using photos of the girl is a middle aged woman. Maybe that's why they cant understand that it's not pornography, but rather intended to cut the coldness out of the shots. The point is to connect. A girl her age wouldn see the photos and probably wouldn't think anything other than "she looks cute, that house is cool, i wish i were her." and of course a man her age would think "she's cute, that house is awesome, i wish i was with her." The people who can't get that are clearly not the target audience for the shoot. art is pornography, to those who are not capable of opening their mind. I love that you were willing to put this post in here Kim, and that you've stood by your decision to do so and keep it up here. Maybe after people look at the photos a few times they'll see they're over reacting and loosen up a little bit.
PS: your site is my favorite for everything in the home. I dig through it multiple times a day. keep it up! =)
I thought the model was nice, something different. And hey, look at all of us commenting now... neat.
Apparently, design blogs also attract a few older housewives with nothing else to do but to have a stick up their butt. Get a life. I don't see what is so bad about a pretty girl in a pretty house taking it easy. And BTW, the model is not a little girl, grandmas.
the first thing that popped into my head after reading the negative comments was that maybe these commenters are middle-aged soccer moms or maybe older cause i dont see anything wrong with it...for the younger gen though,these kinds of photos are a norm.. i totally agree with simon, he couldnt have said it any better!