Inkwell or Inkbottle Octagon House, Lake Landing, Engelhard, North Carolina

Inkwell or Inkbottle Octagon House, Lake Landing, Engelhard, North Carolina

8-sided houses have been built for centuries, but there was a wide-spread movement in the 1850s.  Orson S. Fowler wrote The Octagon House: A Home for All in 1848. Fowler was not a professional architect. He was a phrenologist (he measured skull bumps for mental 

Yurts: from Traditional to Modern Sustainable Housing

Yurts: from Traditional to Modern Sustainable Housing

A yurt is a round tent-like temporary or semi-permanent house. They have a circular footprint with a wooden frame covered in fabric. The roof is domed with a center opening where the roof poles connect to a heavy center compression ring or wheel. Yurts originated 

Yurts: Sustainable Traditional Central Asian Housing

Yurts: Sustainable Traditional Central Asian Housing

From the steppes of Mongolia and Kazakhstan to the mountains and valleys of Kyrgyzstan, nomadic people in parts of Central Asia traditionally lived in yurts. Lightweight, easy to breakdown, transport and re-assemble, they are ideal for shepherds and herdsmen as they move around to find 

Aspirational Libraries and Our Guestroom Library

Aspirational Libraries and Our Guestroom Library

I absolutely love Baroque libraries. I have torn pages out of magazines and now I collect them to Pinterest. My goal is to have the look by connecting sturdy bookcases and add some millwork to make them look built-in. This is the National Library of 

Inside Louis Penfield House Usonian Design by Frank Lloyd Wright

Inside Louis Penfield House Usonian Design by Frank Lloyd Wright

Discover how Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian homes provide practical strategies for a cohesive and comfortable home that reflects your lifestyle and tastes. Usonian homes have a deep connection to nature, functional efficiency, and an inviting aesthetic. Although they were designed nearly 100 years ago, you 

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian Design: Louis Penfield House and RiverRock House

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian Design: Louis Penfield House and RiverRock House

The Louis Penfield House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is one of his Usonian homes. A second Usonian style house was designed for the same site. The RiverRock House was completed in 2025 from plans Wright created in 1959, not long before his 

The Modernist Ben Rose House (in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

The Modernist Ben Rose House (in the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

When I posted about the Farnsworth House, I was asked if it was from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. It’s not, but there is some crossover. The house they are talking about isn’t Ferris Bueller’s house. It’s Cameron Frye’s house. It is the Ben 

IKEA One Room Living Inspiration

IKEA One Room Living Inspiration

One of my favorite things about visiting IKEA is wandering through the display houses. These IKEA display houses demonstrate Small House living. They are in the Jacksonville, Florida IKEA store. This display in the Jacksonville, Florida IKEA store looks like a beach house. They had 

IKEA Home Office Inspiration

IKEA Home Office Inspiration

When you first walk into an IKEA store, there are rooms to wander through for inspiration. This IKEA display demonstrates a home office with a sofa-bed living area. It is in the Jacksonville, Florida IKEA store. The office has a comfortable rolling chair, full-sized desk 

IKEA Small House Inspiration

IKEA Small House Inspiration

These photos are from one of the display houses at the IKEA in Jacksonville, Florida. It is a model small, not tiny, house. This model has a semi-open floor plan with a dining room that easily seats eight, a large kitchen with four bar stools