The resilient prominence of midcentury styles in the residential design sphere can be credited, in-part, to the appreciatively clean forms of their vernacular and an inclination for melding indoor and outdoor space—something even more appreciated these days as open-air spaces skyrocket in general value. In the ample fresh airs on Lake Winnebago’s eastern frontage in Wisconsin, principles of midcentury design bloom in a recently renovated residence that seemingly unfolds about the lake’s edge. The four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom, 6,300-square-foot structure merges newly built aspects and several existing additions that it has collected since its original build in 1949. The project is the work of dSPACE Studio Ltd., an architecture, interiors, and landscape…
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Abbreviated design
In Grand Rapids, Michigan, the full-service architectural, interior, and product design firm Via Design Inc., whose work appears throughout the city’s commercial and residential sectors—and their many sub-categories—has added a new brand to its identity. Since its establishment in 1989, the firm, which is headquartered downtown, has continually added services to its repertoire, including sustainable design, furniture procurement and design, and an expansive in-house architecture and interior design library featuring samples and resources compiled from around the world. Recently Via Design’s service offerings have been joined by Abbreviated Design, an online home décor shop curated by the firm’s own professional designers. “[The brand] still has the same themes as Via,…
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Modern retrospective
In December 2019, the Cranbrook Art Museum in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan unveiled three textile and craft-centric exhibitions that will run until March 2020 exploring how innovative people and teaching methods influenced design for generations. One of the exhibitions showcases the lifework of one of Detroit’s formative figures in interior and textile design. The exhibit, titled “Ruth Adler Schnee: Modern Designs for Living,” posits designer Ruth Adler Schnee’s prolific, influential, seven-decade career and pivotal—if underrepresented—role in design history in a bright and full account. “I think a lot of times her textiles are looked at in isolation and maybe that is what gets lost, is that she is most famous for her textile designs; and rightly…
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Behind the camera: Tony Soluri Photography
Photography has been an important tool in documenting the human experience since early experiments in the heliograph and daguerreotype captivated both innovator and subject alike nearly two centuries ago. It is an art and practice in visual communication; both objective and subjective in recording the cultural, social, and natural world. It is a craft that is arguably one of the most significant inventions since the printing press, with genres and artistic styles that run the gamut from objective photo-journalism and montage portraiture to abstract landscapes and naturalistic architecture. Great Lakes By Design Magazine spoke with some of the photographers in the region to learn more about their work, inspiration, and…
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Behind the camera:
MILLER + MILLER Architectural PhotographyPhotography has been an important tool in documenting the human experience since early experiments in the heliograph and daguerreotype captivated both innovator and subject alike nearly two centuries ago. It is an art and practice in visual communication; both objective and subjective in recording the cultural, social, and natural world. It is a craft that is arguably one of the most significant inventions since the printing press, with genres and artistic styles that run the gamut from objective photo-journalism and montage portraiture to abstract landscapes and naturalistic architecture. Great Lakes By Design Magazine spoke with some of the photographers in the region to learn more about their work, inspiration, and…
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Behind the camera:
Landre PhotographyPhotography has been an important tool in documenting the human experience since early experiments in the heliograph and daguerreotype captivated both innovator and subject alike nearly two centuries ago. It is an art and practice in visual communication; both objective and subjective in recording the cultural, social, and natural world. It is a craft that is arguably one of the most significant inventions since the printing press, with genres and artistic styles that run the gamut from objective photo-journalism and montage portraiture to abstract landscapes and naturalistic architecture. Great Lakes By Design Magazine spoke with some of the photographers in the region to learn more about their work, inspiration, and…
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Light house
In Western Springs, Illinois, a young family aspired to create a modern, light-filled suburban residence that would integrate the openness of their previous urban loft with a seamless transition to the outdoors. It was then the award-winning, full-service, architectural design firm of dSPACE Studio in Chicago was tapped for the residential new build. The team sought to leverage minimal thresholds between indoors and outdoors with privatized living spaces and a fortified thermal envelope. The site of the future 4,100-square-foot home—an average, flat, suburban lot bordered by neighbors, and positioned on a street corner—warranted an equally innovative solution to maximize privacy in the busy neighborhood. The result was a precedent-setting, new…
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Behind the camera:
James Haefner PhotographyPhotography has been an important tool in documenting the human experience since early experiments in the heliograph and daguerreotype captivated both innovator and subject alike nearly two centuries ago. It is an art and practice in visual communication; both objective and subjective in recording the cultural, social, and natural world. It is a craft that is arguably one of the most significant inventions since the printing press, with genres and artistic styles that run the gamut from objective photo-journalism and montage portraiture to abstract landscapes and naturalistic architecture. Great Lakes By Design Magazine spoke with some of the photographers in the region to learn more about their work, inspiration, and…
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The edible medium
A cake is a symbol of celebration often found at the center of special events such as birthday parties, weddings, and important milestones; and having one to mark the occasion has become tradition for many. For Heather Leavitt, owner and cake designer of Sweet Heather Anne in Ann Arbor, Michigan, designing custom cakes for clients is not only a tradition, but also a career she is passionate about. Established in 2010, Sweet Heather Anne, a boutique cake studio, offers online ordering for signature cakes and desserts, a temporary in-shop dessert counter for holidays and special occasions, by-appointment tastings in shop, and custom cakes made specific to a client’s needs. Leavitt,…
