Friday, November 27, 2009

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 5

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

In keeping with the Thanksgiving holiday spirit, today's post features our favorite illustrated friends gathering around their table. Also on exhibition (besides their enviable place settings) are at least three different light sources. Happy Thanksgiving! 




Supplement lighting

"Balanced lighting isn't necessarily brilliant lighting. Sometimes, supplementary lights can be placed inside a china cabinet or hidden in its top. Torcheres for indirect or reflected light come in both floor and table styles. But whatever sources you choose, try to have an equal balance of light throughout the room.

If you do use supplementary fluorescent lighting, remember that the tubes come in several shades. It's important to select the lamp color first, then choose your wall covering, drapery, and the rug under the same shade of lighting."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 4

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

Wiring is the subject of the day; specifically, the benefits of a well-planned outlet system. Confession: our lovely model below at first looked to us a bit more bird-like than was probably intended. It's more likely she is simply thrilled at her splendid new floor outlet than she is growing a beak in manner of Kafka... right?



Locate outlets for use

"Acquiring adequate wiring is the first step to decorating with light. Figure out all the appliances you want serviced, and all the light fixtures and lamps you will need. Then call in professional help to do the actual wiring job.

Conveniently placed outlets are next in importance. Temporary remedies are devices approved by Underwriters' Laboratories for carrying a cord along a baseboard. Metal strips with outlets at 1-foot intervals can be placed along baseboards or tops of work counters. Install floor outlets for 'island' groupings."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Project 2097: Weaving the Past with the Present, part 2


Weaving the Past with the Present
(This is the second of a two-part blog highlighting Project 2097)


The First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin, commissioned Fire Farm to do the lighting for the new addition to their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meeting House, and to update the lighting in the original historic structure.

One important element of the job was that the original copper roofing off the Wright structure was to be recycled into the new light fixtures.


Years earlier Mrs. Wright, along with volunteers from the Society, had hand-woven 120 feet of curtain on the looms at Taliesin to be used in the original Meeting House. Symbolically “Weaving the Past with the Present,” bridging the old structure with the new, and with a nod to the historic work of Mrs. Wright and the congregational volunteers, Fire Farm utilized this recycled copper in a functional, yet uniquely sculptural way.


The material was sheared into linear strips of various widths and loosely woven into rectangular panels for wall sconces. The exterior surfaces with green patina were alternated with the raw copper surfaces of the under sides, symbolizing the weaving of the new with the old. Each piece was individually handwoven by Fire Farm's Howard Mayer into a different pattern so no two would be the same.

Light was allowed to filter through the cracks in the face and spill out behind and around the fixtures creating a halo effect. The bright copper picks up ambient light in the room and reflects it warmly back while the natural patina adds a character only possible from 50 years of exposure to nature.

Click here to visit the Product page.


Jim Walch of Fire Farm

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Monday, November 16, 2009

Project 2097: Weaving the Past with the Present, part 1


Weaving the Past with the Present
(This is the first of a two-part blog highlighting Project 2097)


The First Unitarian Society of Madison, Wisconsin, commissioned Fire Farm to do the lighting for the new addition to their Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meeting House, and to update the lighting in the original historic structure. Earlier this year, the Fire Farm crew took a field trip to see the fruition of their labor.

Upon arrival we immediately knew that we had been part of something truly special. Over a half century earlier an icon of American Architecture, Frank Lloyd Wright, had designed what is now considered one of the prime examples of Twentieth Century Architecture.


After an extensive tour of the Historic Meeting House, in a physically seamless, but aesthetically distinct transition we were led into the new addition. With only a slight elevation on the landscape of Wright’s structure, one is awestruck as the corridor opens into a cavernous space. Where Wright’s structure soars upward, the new addition hosts an environmentally friendly flat membrane roof with vegetation reaching out and away. Wright’s structure was conceptualized using T-square and drawing board, the new addition with CAD and computer.

Video courtesy of FUS Madison

Kubala Washatko Architects of Cedarburg, WI., with lead architect Vince Micha very cleverly integrated the new structure into the landscape in a way that is both complementary and deferential to the historic structure. The new construction, executed by the craftsmen of J.H. Findorff and Sons, Inc., has received a LEED Gold Rating from the US Green Building Council, as well as the 2009 SE2 Merit Award from the Wisconsin Green Building Alliance, and the 2009 Sensitive Addition to a Historic Structure Award from the Madison Trust for Historic Preservation.


The attention given to every detail by The Society was inspiring. It was a wonderful opportunity to see our work in its final home. Very often we work from afar and are specified in a way that separates us from a comprehensive vision of the project. This project allowed us to work closely with the architects from the very early stages of development, leading to an evolution of design that was uniquely suited to its environment. Luckily the Madison church was within a few hours of our studio which allowed us to all visit our work in its permanent home, providing a satisfying closure to the project.

Custom fixtures designed for the First Unitarian Society of Madison:

                                                                                Click here to go to Product page


Click here to go to Product page                        Click here to go to Product page

Jim Walch of Fire Farm

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What do you think? Have a comment?
Click "Leave a comment" below.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 3

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

The latest installation in our (gripping) series dissects the psychological--and physiological--effects of good lighting. Because upon returning home from a night on the town (as our couple in the rocking illustration presumably are), one does not want to be greeted with poor lighting.

Light Rooms Evenly

"You're happier on a sunny day. And scientists say a cheerfully lighted room gives the same emotional lift. Best for your spirits and your eyes, too, is fairly even lighting throughout a room, with extra lamps at special work areas. It's the spotty, uneven contrast of dark, shadowy corners and glaring illumination that overexercises eyes.

Your eye has a built-in exposure meter and automatic lens control that widens and narrows the lens opening to compensate for less or more light. Cooperate with the control by lighting evenly to avoid eyestrain."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]