i’m all sorts of busy and frazzled today so please excuse the short posts. and it doesn’t get much shorter than this: how gorgeous are these sleek interiors by all the bells and whistles of san diego? click here for more of their lovely work…

lately i’ve been paying more and more attention to architecture. after spending the last two years in an apartment with room shapes and walls that make no sense at all (why would anyone make a hallway door that is less than 2 feet wide?) i’ve really come to appreciate great architectural planning. so i was psyched to see the work of architect fiona winzar land in my inbox yesterday. fiona is an architect who also specializes in interiors and runs a firm outside of melbourne, australia (click here for anne’s recent regional roundup on melbourne). fiona winzar architects have done a wide range of work including residential and commercial projects- each one lovelier than the next. i’m particularly fond of the cafe/coffee shop and modern, angular “eyelid” house. click here to view more of fiona’s projects and read more about her work. [thanks, fiona!]

when ac and i lived in williamsburg we lived in a crowded, albeit nice, studio apartment that i constantly dreamed of waking up to find transformed into a breezy, sunny home. something like this new kithaus that was just installed in williamsburg, brooklyn. available through dwr, this kithaus’ location required each module to be carried, by hand, through a 3 story brick rowhouse. the builders then added custom decks and wedged it in between warehouses and light industrial buildings to create this compact urban oasis. if we could have one of these houses maybe i’d consider moving back to our old neighborhood. that deck is really calling my name. click here for more information on the kithaus.

ac and i have been contemplating a west coast move for a while now and this home from los angeles-based architect rachel allen is right up my alley. homes in southern california always seem to be so clean, open and filled with light. this particular home (the pesenti-williams house in echo park) is a new project of rachel’s and is around 1700 square feet with a 400 sq. ft detached carport. i love some of the detailing she used around the house (like the moroccan-inspired tiles outside) but if you’re in the LA area you can check this out in person at the open house (sept 6th from 1-5)- click here for more information and to view more work from rachel allen architecture. [more images of the home right here]

well hello, awesome european houses i’d like to buy! the modern house estate agency keeps track of some pretty incredible homes in england, france, and spain. click here to explore the site and imagine your fantastic getaway home abroad….

[ps: don't forget to enter the lena corwin pattern contest! you could win one of her pillows and a signed copy of her new book!]

i love west virginia. like, love love. i have the best memories of summer camp, time at the greenbrier, and freezing summers spent rafting down incredible rivers. i think the state gets a bad rap (especially up where i live) so i love seeing modern homes like this pop up in such a beautiful place. if you’re looking for an incredible place to get away from it all, connect with nature and reconnect with life outside of the office, may i suggest this fantastic modern cabin, lostrivermodern, in west virginia. this modern prefab cabin was on materialicious (i’m really into that site right now) yesterday and i’m seriously already considering packing my bags for a last-minute summer trip. if you’re looking for a getaway click here for more information- even if you’ve never been to “wild, wonderful” west virginia this house should be a fun place to relax for a few days.

i grew up going to summer camp in west virginia and i have a real soft spot for the state, it’s beautiful rivers and the greatest hotel in the world, the greenbrier (which is a serious festival of dorothy draper inside). so i was psyched to see this cool “shack” that architect jeffery s. broadhurst built for his family in west virginia. accessible only by off-road-vehicle, this small home looks like the perfect place to unplug and fall off the grid for a while. i can imagine driving out there and catching up on some good books and maybe even a little sewing. [via materialicious]

back in my pr days i had the pleasure of working with the guys at blu dot. i think there wasn’t a pr girl, designer or editor i talked to in those days who didn’t have a crush on blu dot’s charlie lazor. my pr days are long behind me now and charlie has since gone on to great fame for his flatpak project but i’ll always have a little design crush on him. the flatpak team sent over these new pictures of some homes they’ve constructed recently and i was really blown away. normally i’m not actually a big modern home person (i’m actually more of an “old house/lots of character person) but these are really gorgeous. if i ever won the lottery i’d love to have an old historic townhouse somewhere and then a big, open, modern home like these. to view more photos of recent flatpak homes click here. [aspen photos above courtesy of koru, ltd.]

[ps: emmet at the walker sent in a funny link to a graphic designer's behind-the-scenes report on the making of the latest blu dot catalog.]