In the March 2012 issue of Architectural Digest, actress Brooke Shields admits she’s a sucker for older homes. (Who isn’t?) Of her and husband Chris Henchy’s relentless real estate search throughout Manhattan, the actress said, “Our shared ideal was the sort of confident old house that has been lived in for generations.”

Eventually, they found it in the form of a four-bedroom brick townhouse built in 1910 and located in posh Greenwich Village. A self-proclaimed “real-estate romantic,” Shields teamed with decorator David Flint Wood to outfit the home with many classical elements blended with modern sensibilities.

Dark woods and monochromatic paint schemes are contrasted by white baseboard and crown molding. Elegant fireplaces are located in the living room as well as the kitchen, which also includes a custom dining table just feet from the stove top — a perfect arrangement for any foodie.

You can see more of Shields’ gorgeous townhouse here.

Writing for Houzz.com, Marianne Lipanovich shares some thoughts on traditional landscape design:

Traditional landscaping can get a bad rap in design circles. It’s not daring; it doesn’t push the envelope; it’s something you can see everywhere. However, traditional gardens that are done well have a lot going for them. They’re instantly appealing, they work well with any number of house styles and they evoke a sense of graciousness and a connection to the past.

One of the core elements of traditional landscaping, she explains, is greenery: well-manicured lawns with clean lines provide the foundational canvas, and trees often play a major role. The garden beds are often filled in with shrubs and leafy green plants.

Marianne’s post is full of more detail, more ideas and loads of beautiful photos. Check it out.

[photo courtesy of Winn Design & Remodeling via Houzz.com]

To meet the owners’ desire to bring a little taste of Texas to their new Maine home, Jesse Thompson of Kaplan Thompson Architects designed a modest abode built to withstand the brutal winter cold while also considering the couple’s love for horses.

This 2011 myMarvin Architect’s Challenge winner sits atop a two-stall horse barn featuring a steeply pitched gable roof and double hung windows. Cedar shingles and clapboard were also used to fit the rustic Maine archetype.

Sustainability was a priority. The building plan allowed for extensive use of local woods and energy efficient insulation (R-30 to R-60 values on all surfaces) to stand up against the harsh winter conditions. Thompson utilized windows and doors from Integrity by Marvin Windows and Doors to help ensure a tightly sealed thermal envelope and options consistent with the woodwork.

With its breathtaking view of New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington and sweeping pastures for horses to roam, Thompson was able to meet the owners’ needs by creating a sustainable, yet modest home with just a touch of Texas.

Mill around on Pinterest long enough or flip through the latest issue of Elle Decor and eventually you will find a brilliant home library complete with dark-stained shelves holding hundreds of tattered hardcovers, along with a cozy leather chair and an antique floor lamp. Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

HomeDesignFind.com asks, “Is the home library dead?” It’s a good question. Fact is, while most of us would love a home library, they have typically been reserved for the very wealthy whose sprawling homes could allow such a limited-use room. Cost aside, other factors threaten the future of home libraries, as well.

• The rising popularity of e-readers means fewer books to take up physical space and storage. (A blessing and a curse.)
• Modern design favors open floor plans and multifunctional rooms. (No one ever accused a home library of being versatile.)

The HomeDesignsFind.com article (linked above) shares some helpful tips for integrating the more practical elements of a library throughout your home. The gist:

• Find a quiet, out-of-the-way corner of your home and dedicate it to reading. Make sure your seating is comfortable and the lighting is right.
• You can’t go wrong with adding bookcases, whether in your office, bedroom or living room. And even if you’ve quit buying books since you purchased an e-reader, several websites actually sell “faux books” to fill your shelves. (We’ll keep it a secret!)

[Photo from HomeDesignFind.com]

A company’s heritage is built on vision, determination and an abiding commitment to core beliefs. At Marvin, our heritage of excellence goes back more than a century. It reflects an unwavering dedication to quality, service, innovation and community. That dedication has been passed on through four generations of family leadership. And thousands of our skilled workers have been steeped in our heritage through a lifetime of family connections to our company and the communities we proudly call home.

Now, that history and heritage is on full display on Marvin Windows and Doors’ Facebook page, through the beauty of the site’s new Timeline layout. Jump over to Facebook and scroll through the years. You’ll see photos and milestones dating back to 1912, when the Marvin Timber & Cedar Company was founded in Warroad, Minnesota.

We devote plenty of space on MLuxe to the latest trends in home design, but today, we’re going a slightly different route to look at furniture and accessories that are quickly going extinct.

The list comes from Brie Dyas at AOL Stylelist Home, and it was inspired by her friend’s recent proclamation she no longer required a coffee table in her living room. Preposterous, right? Perhaps not, because Dyas’s friend instead elected for a low ottoman, which can act as a more functional centerpiece and as a coffee table with use of a tray.

Now, just because you may have an item or two on Dyas’s list doesn’t mean you should purge perfectly good furniture and accessories in a spring cleaning frenzy. But don’t be surprised to see the following items slowly disappear from existence:

• The coffee table - Dyas writes, “They used to complete the living room, now the ottoman (or, side tables) are the more favored option.”
• The loveseat - “It’s either a three-seat sofa, or a side chair. No in-betweens.”
• The sideboard - “We love them because they give us options (buffet, storage or a bar), but it’s harder to find these pieces in stores.”
• The nightstand - “But if you don’t have nightstands, where are you putting your books?”
• The full-sized bed - “Even in guest rooms, the queen-sized bed reigns supreme.”
• The landline phone – “In the age of smartphones, why bother with another bill?”
• The tablecloth - “During the holidays, you’ll find a few choices. But the rest of the year? Good luck. When it comes to dining room tables, the average home prefers them bare.”

Are there any other furniture items or accessories you believe are on the way out?

Excellence in design and energy efficiency has long been the M.O. for architects based in the Pacific Northwest. Year after year, the region produces some of the  most innovative homes which feature sustainable materials and generous use of natural elements.

For that very reason, we sent some questions along to Eric Drivdahl, a Seattle-based architect who specializes in custom residential design, historic buildings and religious facilities. Drivdahl is a senior project manager for Gelotte Hommas Architecture.

What’s your favorite design trend right now? 
While the work in our office has historically been very diverse in style, I am seeing a larger trend in both the production and semi-custom markets towards a greater diversity in style. Here in the Pacific Northwest, craftsman style spec homes have been extremely popular. However, that seems to be changing.

I’ve seen several projects in the last 24 months locally that have branched out and have included other traditional and contemporary styles such as traditional farm house, Santa Barbara/Mediterranean, English Tudor and other historical reinterpretations as well as what we affectionately refer to here in Seattle as Northwest Contemporary. Consumers are seeking out great design in the things they buy, and I’ve observed this trend is impacting housing as well.

The floor plan for modern homes continues to open up each year and designated rooms are going the way of the dinosaur. As an architect, how do you feel about creating more livable homes with multifunctional spaces? Do you miss designated rooms? 
I think designing in flexibility to a home is essential. A home generally far outlasts the initial family it is built for. Some homes live on long beyond the third, fourth or fifth family that occupies the brick and mortar structure. It’s interesting that, historically, designated rooms were really the result of the common person trying to imitate the elite. Drawing rooms, libraries, studies…all were initially developed for the well-to-do aristocracy in Europe. When we started building homes for the middle class in America, we somehow thought adding these rooms would elevate the status of the common man…and perhaps it did in the eyes of the world. Winston Churchill even said, “We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us.” However, the reality of the family today is that we rarely have the leisure time to ‘draw away’ to the drawing room for a good long sit or to spend our time studying linguistics in the study.

Modern families live busy lives of activity and generally want the most out of their time. Therefore, it makes sense that the ‘great room’ with the kitchen/living/dining/study all combined has caught on as a most popular design feature. All of these activities can happen at once and there is a sense of togetherness a family can share as well, even if the individual members of the family are engaged in the separate activities of cooking, resting or working on projects from work or school.

When budget and space allow, there are still good reasons to have designated spaces to keep either messy or intrusive activities from impinging on a family’s ability to enjoy the shared space. Exercise rooms, laundry rooms, and the like come to mind. However, when designing a new project, architects and builders should view even those spaces with an eye toward flexibility. Could the exercise room function as a guest room? Could the laundry be used as an art studio? While a client may not explicitly ask for this level of future flexibility, the one thing we ought to remember is what we design and build will eventually outlast the initial use for which it was designed.

A section of the Gelotte Hommas website explains the six components of quality design, including beauty, form, light, materials and rhythm. Perhaps this is like picking favorite child, but what do you see as the single most important component? Why? 
Truly magnificent design and architecture indeed incorporates all of these components. Can you imagine the Pantheon without its oculus casting radiant light into its perfectly proportioned floor plan? Or Fallingwater without its dramatic cantilevered materials cascading down the slope in delightful rhythm? If a client held a gun to my head and demanded to know which was most important, I suppose my architectural career would necessarily come to a speedy end. “Go ahead and shoot me…I just can’t decide…”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview originally appeared on the Builder Blog from Integrity Windows and Doors.

At some point, you’re going to downsize. Whether it’s because your children have grown up and moved out or you’ve decided a smaller home is simply more sensible, downsizing is a major decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Luckily, HomeDesignFind.com has laid out some thought-starters to help you transition to a smaller abode when the time comes. (Warning: The following might be upsetting for anyone who struggles to discard old stuff.)

In your old larger space:

• Before you do anything, consider the place you will be moving to
• Once you’ve developed an idea of what you’d like your new space to look like, life gets so much easier!
• Decide on how you will get rid of unneeded goods
• Avoid the storage option

In your new smaller space:

• Choose multi-functional furniture
• Opt for an open space floorplan
• Rid yourself of one-purpose gadgets
• Opt for quality and get rid of the flimsy and rickety

Do any MLuxe readers have tips for downsizing?

[Photo from Houzz]

5 kitchen design trends for 2012
Housing Zone
“Each year, the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) surveys its members to identify the latest design and specification trends in kitchen and bath design. This year, 350 NKBA members took part in the survey. Here are five emerging kitchen trends they identified.”

The Psychology of Colour in the Home
Home Renovation Guide
“Given the bold hues chosen by the likes of Pantone (Tangerine Tango) and the Color Marketing Group (Boyz-N-Berry) as the 2012 Colours of the Year, some people will naturally question the impact of colour within their home and how it effects mood. Though there are differences of opinion based on things like culture and geography, there are general rules of thumb regarding colour’s psychological impact. Let’s begin with the Colours of the Year, and their more muted counterparts.”

Kitchen Workbook: 15 Elements of a Traditional Kitchen
Houzz.com
“Traditional kitchens are defined by their details, and creating eye-catching detail is not just as simple as putting legs on an island. But whether they’re Old World or Mediterranean flavor, traditional kitchens all share the same basic elements. Here are 15 details that help you create traditional kitchen style.”

Hardwood Floors for Every Mood
Home Design Find
An article full of eye-candy photos, this piece from HDF should give any hardwood-floor hunter what she’s looking for.

The most famous New York City brownstone in television history is up for sale. Again.

The brownstone in which Sarah Jessica Parker’s lead character Carrie Bradshaw resided in HBO’s Sex and the City just hit the market for a cool $9.65 million. Located in the West Village, the 4,100-square-foot home features five spacious bedrooms and six fireplaces, but you wouldn’t know it watching the show, where the brownstone was a cramped one-bedroom loft.

The hefty price tag may not be the only major hang-up, though. The brownstone was just purchased for $9 million in November, but rumor has it the steady stream of SATC fans who come to ogle the stoop Parker made famous has created such a nuisance, the current owners have been driven to sell.

Too bad the $9.65 million price tag won’t pay for privacy.

[Photo from Global Grind]