This past weekend, I went to the National Building Museum to check out some of the new, and very interesting, exhibits. They have the best gift shop in all of DC: Fun games, household items and every design book under the sun! I picked up a few postcards from Monkey Designs which contain parts to build models of some houses -you can see a few above.
I bought 7 and thought I might build 1 or 2 for some fun. I built 4, just couldn't stop myself! I started with the Georgian house you see to the far right, then progressed to the yellow Greek Revival style house which was a bit harder. I then moved onto the pagoda which, while it had a lot of steps -wasn't as hard as the French Styled house with lantern on the roof (a lot of swearing went into the creation of that TINY lantern). These houses stand about 1 1/2" high - TINY pieces to cut out with an exacto-knife!
But it was a lot of fun, I plan on digging up a miniature train set from micro-machines (do they still make those?) and putting them under my mini christmas tree this year!
a blurry picture of my weekend projects. The 3 left are a Greek revival house, Buckingham Palace and Chartres Cathedral.
a blurry picture of my weekend projects. The 3 left are a Greek revival house, Buckingham Palace and Chartres Cathedral.
The memorial was first conceived after WW I. However, a competition for the design of the structure wasn't completed until 1928. Because of the great depression, the monument then wasn't finished till 1941. The style remains Art Deco which was popular at the time. Housed in the building is also an Australian military museum.
interior of the dome above the Hall of Memory. Stained glass depicting the virtues of soldiers surround the space, you can see one of them above. They were completed by Napier Waller, a 1-armed veteran who also did all of the mosiac work here in the hall.
The central courtyard. 
Released in conjuntion with a show at the Guggenheim (of which there is also a model, seen above) called 
Also in the series is a BEAUTIFUL (but expensive at $299) set of the Taj Mahal.
The Empire state building above and the Seattle Space needle below are just as fantastic and a much more reasonable $20. For nieces, nephews, children -anyone? I can't wait to see what comes out next in the series!
Here you see Beth of 
Michele from 
Allie from 
Strawberry shortcake, croissants, tea sandwiches and some other snacks all proved popular!
And the spread afterwards -chaos and empty plates show that everyone had their fill! I used my Harebell by Coalport china for most of everything, but couldn't resist using a plate from my strawberry cream service by Royal Doulton for the tea sandwiches to go along with the strawberry theme!
The peonies even got some showtime in the bathroom - I put one single flower in a bud vase to liven up the sink.
As little 'host' gifts, I gave away my favorite carrotcake cupcakes from 
Recently while reading the 
The current owners, who wisely are remaining anonymous (trust me, they'd be getting numerous phone calls and emails from me otherwise!) wish to tear down this architectural treasure for something slightly smaller, more modern and 'with air conditioning'. Seriously - tear down a gem so you can get something as basic as air conditioning. With a little ingenuity and a good architect & mechanical engineer you could have AC anyway. NEWS FLASH -that is not an excuse to tear this place down. And I have to ask -why did you buy it in the first place?
The house is filled with beautiful details that are painstaking to reproduce and rarely are. The house was $3,000,000 to build back in the 20s (more than what the current owner paid for it) -imagine what it would cost today? Tear it down? What?! 
A quality made piece like this is worth the investment. If you buy a vintage, dated-looking cabinet like this (the blonde ashen wood isn't very popular now, even if some readers do like it!) it's easy to update-especially if it has great lines like this! 
I would start by lightly sanding it, priming the exterior then spray painting it a glossy black with a few coats. I suppose a more adventurous decorator could go for a bold color, but thats not my style. I would leave the interiors and even the edges of doors and drawers the natural wood to prevent sticking. Next I would update the hardware. 
I love this 
Small loggia over the front entry.
Statues from Bali flank the front entrance which ward off evil spirits and invite good spirits.
You enter into a tiny vestibule with marble walls and an ornate ceiling.
Looking back into the vestibule from the central hall.
The most impressive space in the house is the central hall. You can see why!
The skylight rises up 3 floors, letting in tons of light. Even with all of the dark finishes the room felt very bright.
Detail of a banister.
The skylight.
Sconce in the central hall.
To the right of the stairway was a room with another prominent doorway. I wasn't sure if this was originally the main entrance or if this was a type of reception room.
To the left of the main staircase is the salon. In honor of the day an Indonesian band was playing.
The ceiling in the Louis XIV styled room is incredible. I love the juxtoposition with the Indonesian parasols.
More of the salon. 
The ubiquitous crystal chandelier.
Above a doorway. Doesn't this remind you of a carousel?
This doorway led to the Conservatory.
While it is named the music room for the enormous organ in the corner, I questioned if this was originally a dining room of. It clearly is used as one now.
The room is lined with these (china?) cupboards which now house Indonesian crafts.
The fireplace in the music room.
