Ed's Office Tour

Ed Skoudis is an information security geek with a good sense of humor. He's recently completed his office, and is sharing it with us:

I've long been a reader of your Steampunk Home blog, and it has greatly inspired me. You've posted amazing articles over the years, and have really helped me refine my sense of fun and style. Inspired by your work, I conducted a massive office redesign and implementation for my workplace, which is located above my garage. The whole project took about 6 months... I got so many ideas for items in my office from your blog. I'm sure you'll see various things you've linked to over the years throughout the office.

I'm so glad The Steampunk Home helped Ed "refine his sense of fun and style," because that's exactly what I try to do here. Style shouldn't be pretentious, it should be fun. It isn't just for designers or cool kids -- you can apply the same otaku and analysis to your abode as you do to coding, or gaming, or whatever your passion is.

He sets the tone from the first approach, up a darkened set of stairs (complete with a runner and stair rods), to a Van De Graaff generator on the landing.


I've recently come to the realization that most of the steampunk style lies in accessories and light fixtures (layered on top of an old fashioned background), and I think you can see that from Ed's room.

Lumen disk with some of the security books Ed has written.

Meters and robots and Dr. Who references, oh my!

The main light fixture is all pipes

What Ed describes as "a science experiment from the 1880's gone wrong"

What I didn't realize was that secret rooms are becoming a mainstay of steampunk design. (Although it doesn't surprise me -- what good mad scientist doesn't hide her laboratory?) First, Holly Black's Library, now Ed's office.




The Secret Room is where Ed hides his minions -- and if you are going to have minions, wouldn't you get better work out of them if you provide them with a workspace as resplendent as this one?


Did I say "secret room"? I'm sorry I meant to say "secret rooms", because this office features not one, but two secret rooms!


There are many more delightful details in this office. You can see the full tour, with many more pictures, even more secrets (just what one would expect of a sneaky hacker information security specialist), sources, and Ed's amusing commentary, at his web site.

Thanks for sharing, Ed!

Gothic Ikea?

If you've been following this blog for a while, you know that I was pleasantly surprised by the Liljestad cabinets at Ikea that I chose for my kitchen renovation. Amber just alerted me to another option that will be arriving at Ikea stores in the near future -- a black traditional style door.

Here's some pictures from the Toronto 2011 Design Show:


Above from Cherish Toronto.



Above from Core77.

What do you think?

Glass Tools

These tools/works of art have been haunting my thoughts since Tree sent them to me.




By artist Lou Lynn, who says:

"My sculpture is informed by architecture, archaeology and industrial objects. The recent body of work references the function and aesthetics of hand-tools and functional objects that have been used throughout history. I am interested in combining the fragility, strength, and optical properties of glass with bronze or aluminum to create contemporary forms that are reminiscent of artifacts from times past. The juxtaposition of contrasting materials invites the viewer to explore the tension that exists between strength and fragility."

Screen Door

My sister saw this when she was in Brasil recently and thought of us.


If I'm not mistaken, those are bicycle parts.

Iron and Glass

This iron and crystal decanter struck me with it's juxtaposition of an elegant glass vessel and the pitted iron stopper. That tension is what lies at the heart of steampunk style -- pretty, but rough around the edges.

By Jan Barboglio