Gamble House by Green & Green

[Ben from Vic.]

No this is not an add for the local, it's the web site for a house designed by the Green brothers around 100 years ago, and is an extrodinary display of Arts and Crafts furniture and design.

Checkout "Photographs" on the right. My favorites are the staircase and the dinnig room.

http://www.gamblehouse.org/

[Carry Pine]

Ben,

Thanks for the 'heads up' on that site. Very interesting. Have to admit it was a bit over the top for me but I appreciate the workmanship in the house.

Graham

[seriph1]

G'day Ben - glad you added your 'voice' to mine regarding their work and workmanship!

Those guys and others were so far beyond their time it's just crazy - check this style out as well ..... from the late 1800'S!!!!!!!


http://architecture.about.com/od/periodsstyles/ig/House-Styles/The-Robie-House.htm



If you're ever up Kilmore way, come in for a cuppa and I will show you our books and magazines on American Arts and Crafts style stuff.

If you can't wait, you can subscribe to American Bungalow magazine online - every page is a feast (even the bloody ads!!!)..... one day I aim to have a business here in Kilmore that makes furniture in the style.

[Ben from Vic.]

Ben,

Thanks for the 'heads up' on that site. Very interesting. Have to admit it was a bit over the top for me but I appreciate the workmanship in the house.

Graham

I agree Graham parts of the house can be a little bit much, my personal thoughts are that some of the rooms are a little dark and also that some of the rooms would also benifit from a little less timber. The staircase is fantasticly OTT, and an extrodinary bit of workmanship. The dinning room is my favorite room because it has less timber and more light. I think this makes it look brighter, warmer and more inviting.

Seriph1

I particularly like the more modern looking work, the pieces that don't actualy look old. Some Arts and Crafts/Shaker/Craftsman work can, to my eye, can look a little basic and rough, although this work may not actualy be Geen & Green's.
As well as some of the older work, I am particularly impressed by some of the modern takes on the style, especialy some of the work by Berkeley Mills (http://www.berkeleymills.com/).
I have the book In the Craftsman Style which I find quite inspirational. Again I don't like all the furniture in the book, but some of it I really like.

I really love a good Morris Chair (http://www.eldoradowoodworks.com/arts/pix_01.html), and plan to make a pair and matching side table one day.

Thanks for the offer Seriph1, I may take you up on that one day. How are you doing with the fires?:(

Ben.

[Waldo]

FWW sent me an online survey about the last issue which had the Greene & Greene - I don't like the style at all. :no: But that's just me :shrug:

[thkoutsidthebox]

I can appreciate the workmanship......but there's something about the house which gives me a shiver, and I can't put my finger on it.....is it haunted? :(

[seriph1]

Morris Chairs are brilliant - I once thought I didn't like A+C stuff but I was looking at English items - I find the US stuff to be well balanced .... much nicer in the flesh than in pics. Working in the restoration architecture field, I love simple country style furniture (and homes) - Pine is my fave by far.... obviously not Radiata Pine, but that scrubbed pine of ten used in old farmhouses etc. We have a fair bit of it here at home. The things with it is (or was) though, I became pretty complacent about it and got honestly sick of seeing Pine meat safes and similar poorly made gear turning up at auctions.

Finding my first American Bungalow magazine at Borders one lazy afternoon really woke my interests up again. Obviously not for Victorian.Edwardian pieces, but for the whole 'true' bungalow style. It all made a lot of sense, especially with the deeper overhangs on homes etc. With its rich earth tones and quartersawn Oak interiors as well as the totally stunning appointments like room dividers with cabinets, stained glass and amazing kitchens, these homes really do it for me. I actually have a sketch somewhere of what I reckon would be a great A+C home to build .... will try and dig up some pics of what I am going on about.

BTW I think some of G+G stuff is breathtaking, but I totally get that people could find it ugly - no matter your feelings, it is exceptionally well made stuff that fetches HUGE bucks in the US used market

[seriph1]

Here is a pic of a new home designed as one of (from memory) seven styles going into a bungalow community in the US. All homes are on lots that form the perimeter of a working farming estate of around 500 acres.

[seriph1]

Some A+C furniture

[sailingamerican]

No this is not an add for the local, it's the web site for a house designed by the Green brothers around 100 years ago, and is an extrodinary display of Arts and Crafts furniture and design.

Checkout "Photographs" on the right. My favorites are the staircase and the dinnig room.

http://www.gamblehouse.org/


I live 45 miles east of the house. I take my university students through the house on tour several times a year.
If you you have any pictues of the square ends of beams at a 90 degree angle to the beams they are sheer pins. The are not long beams protruding through the beams. They are short. They are flush on the back side. They are notched half way into both beams. They keep the big beams from shifting and sagging. the Green and Green brothers built many homes. One of the best in the arts and crafts movment.

[Ben from Vic.]

Steve,

I agree that all of the A+C furniture I've seen looks to be well made, even the not so attractive pieces. I believe that this was a specific goal of the style, hence the joinery on display.

The style of home certainly made an impact, so much so that the home with the highest official asking price in the world borrows from the style......
Hala Ranch (http://images.google.com.au/images?q=hala+ranch&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=mqaQSfbeD8nWkAXEnKGzDA&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title), btw, not all the pics under the Hala Ranch heading are actualy the Hala Ranch. The pics that all have the timber theme are the right ones.

SailingAmerica, that seems like an attractive and sturdy way to build a home.
I can't imagine the time and skill required to build an entire home with the detail of a piece of furniture.

Ben.

[seriph1]

Obviously most folks would realise this, but this architectural style borrowed heavily from the Japanese timber homes, whose construction techniques were astounding. I once saw a documentary on their buildings, which showed the most incredible joinery which by the way, wouldn't ever even be seen unless the house was demolished! Things like super-accurate and complex blind dovetails for rafters...... beyond belief

check out - Amazon.com: The Complete Japanese Joinery: Hideo Sato, Yasua Nakahara, Koichi Paul Nii: Books - this is more like architectural sculpture than building!

[Ben from Vic.]

Here's a list of websites with examples of the style that pleases my eye. I'm particularly taken by the First link at the moment, and Berkeley Mills is a perenial favorite. Thos Moser has a huge range of furniture on list, but also appears to put time and effort into their furniture. Enjoy.

http://www.furnituremaker.com/
http://www.berkeleymills.com/Category/Arts_Crafts/23.aspx
http://www.dbhellman.com/index.html
http://www.thosmoser.com/product.list.php?family_id=3
http://www.kevinrodel.com/
http://www.artistcraftsman.net/

Ben.

[Darrell Peart]

Ben - thanks for listing my webiste (furnituremaker.com)
I just posted some photos of my work in my photo album on this site.
A really great site for learning more about G&G is the G&G virtual archives:
http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/architecture/greeneandgreene/


Darrell



Here's a list of websites with examples of the style that pleases my eye. I'm particularly taken by the First link at the moment, and Berkeley Mills is a perenial favorite. Thos Moser has a huge range of furniture on list, but also appears to put time and effort into their furniture. Enjoy.

http://www.furnituremaker.com/
http://www.berkeleymills.com/Category/Arts_Crafts/23.aspx
http://www.dbhellman.com/index.html
http://www.thosmoser.com/product.list.php?family_id=3
http://www.kevinrodel.com/
http://www.artistcraftsman.net/

Ben.

[paddy_oshea]

We travelled to the states in the late 80s and stayed in this amazing hotel in yellowstone nayional park. Follow links to Old faithful Inn
ExperienceYellowstone.com - Yellowstone National Park Lodging (http://www.experienceyellowstone.com/yellowstone-lodging.htm)