"Tree" House

Another amazing spot we found in St. Louis is the Missouri Botanical Garden. Last summer, they hosted a special event, "Extreme Tree Houses." Local designers and architects created unique structures, many from upcycled and recycled materials, that adorned the already amazing grounds. I always love going places that are inspiring, in a design sense. In some cases, I feel inspired (and bold) enough to say, "Let's try to build one of those."
Prior to the visit, I had been drawing up planes for an uber-modern playhouse for the kids--think corrugated sheets of metal hung horrizontally on a simple rectangle structure.
Then I saw this....




I was in awe of the simple, yet smart, design. The skeleton of bent boards provided an excellent frame for weaving branches to form organic walls. As you can see from the photo above, they also bent branches for arched doorways.
This was it. Instead of buying and cutting up a lot of materials with scraps that would end up in the dump, why not upcycle the branches that always fall in our yard after a storm? Further, we are always trimming back overgrown branches from various vegetation. Instead of paying to have them hauled off (and hopefully ground up for composting), I would have a continuous supply of materials.
The next weekend I got started. (Like I said, I was pretty inspired.) Below is my version that is the result of months of casually weaving branches as they became available in the yard. (Next to the hut is a stacked wood climbing wall with holds.)




So how was it done? The most important piece is the top that holds the bent frame. Below is a photo of what I came up with for this "cap." Eight thin boards were attached to this top to create what looks like a giant spider.




To get boards that are pliable enough to bend without breaking, I ripped leftover 10-foot, treated (not the greenest or toxic-free option, I realize) 2x4s into half inch strips. I then created a makeshift "tub" out of a tarp to soak them for about 30 minutes (see photo below).




After I connected the boards to the top frame ("cap"), I measured out evenly spaced stakes for attaching the bottoms of these boards. I also placed pavers in the top of the "cap" to weigh it down and create a yurt-like structure instead of a cone. (The wet boards makes this more possible.) After that, it's preparing the roof for cedar shingles and creating frames for weaving a lot of branches.




I'm pleased with the results. The house continues to evolve as we add more branches to strengthen and thicken the walls. The organic look works just fine with a modern aesthetic, and more importantly, the kids love it.

St. Louis in Spring (or, well, late winter)

Ok, so it's been awhile. The last post was two months ago, and I have a lot of catching up to do. We've been busy working, getting the garden together, completing an endless list of house projects, and finding time to enjoy the end (I hope) of winter.

This week is spring break here, so yesterday we decided to get in our St. Louis fix. It was a perfect day for visiting old favorites and some new spots. First up was lunch at Pho Grand. Last year, Sauce Magazine listed it as the best Vietnamese Restaurant in St. Louis. Our meal was ok. I just think we need to explore the menu a little further next time. We had asked for suggestions, and it seemed like we got the lowest common denominators (i.e., mild beef dish and a basic chicken curry). Why we didn't opt for something with lemongrass, I have no idea.

via Pho Grand

Next, we headed to The Future Antique. We've been in search of a mid-century china cabinet, and I think we found a winner. (More on that later.)

via TFA

Then, we headed over to a garden supply store I read about in a recent issue of Organic Gardener. Bowood Farms is an amazing space (converted from an old auto garage) with a fantastic restaurant, Osage Cafe. For the garden, we picked up asparagus, red potatoes (no fingerlings, unfortunately), rhubarb, arugula, and onions. We also had a mid-day snack. It was the perfect stop and a place we'll visit again. By mid-April they should have chili pepper starters (just in case my seeds don't take off).

via Bowood Farms

Next, we headed to The Loop area of Delmar Avenue. What a great spot. Our favorite stops are City Sprouts and Star Clipper.

via The Loop

Finally, we ended the day with our Trader Joe's run. We had considered having dinner at Schlafly, but decided to get home a little earlier. That night, we curled up with the latest issue of Sauce Magazine and planned our next culinary adventure in the Big Brick City.

via Sauce Magazine

Why We Love St. Louis

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had been jonesin' to see the Eero Saarinen exhibit at the Kemper Art Museum in St. Louis. This morning we headed to the city and made a few stops (and discoveries) along the way. We first landed at the City Museum. This is an amazing place that's basically an indoor and outdoor urban playground assembled from you-name-it salvaged architectural structures. We took the above photograph to show a portion of the outdoor play structure. On the ground floor, there's a ball cage connected to five stories of tunnels, towers, salvaged fighter jets, and slides. Oh, and there's more...but I'll just leave it there for now. Next, we stopped at UMA (Urban Materials and Accessories), a very cool store. After that, we made it to the Saarinen exhibit. Finally, we headed over to Delmar Street Loop to grab a bite before we left for home. This was a great find for us. Basically, it is a six-block section of Delmar Street filled with shops, restaurants, and clubs. Highlights include: City Sprouts (baby), Blueberry Hill (food), Pin-up Bowl (bowling), Subterranean Books (books), Ziezo (clothing), Componere (gallery) and Good Works (furniture). We'll be heading back for more.

Oh, that Eero Saarinen

Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum via kcmodern

In our fascination with all things modern, we've grown quite smitten with Eero Saarinen's furniture designs. Big favorites are the Womb Chair (1948) and the Executive Chair (1957). The latter was part of Saarinen's innovative use of a fiberglass frame that fits to the body and flexes with its weight. Covered with cloth or leather, it makes for an incredibly comfortable chair. On a much larger scale, his architectural design pursuits included one of the icons of the Midwest, the St. Louis Gateway Arch. Through a post on kcmodern, I saw that the traveling exhibit, Eero saarinen: Shaping the Future, has made its most recent stop at the Mildred Lane Kember Art Museum in St. Louis, MO. The January issue of Metropolis magazine reviewed the exhibit, which is now in St. Louis through April 27th. We cannot wait to go.
—Grant