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.

Mechanical Iris Peephole

Maker Chris Schaie has created this wonderful irising peephole for his workshop -- and yours too!

Chris says "It was created via a long discussion thread on brassgoggles (Due credit goes to Robo Von Bismark on said forum for the design inspiration) and a lot of trial and error." He's also working to "create a full sized door incorporating this design for [Bruce Rosenbaum's] upcoming 20,000 leagues exhibition in Foxboro."

It's available at Maker's Market for $385.

Is That an Octopus in your Garage?

Decorative Painter Lynne Rutter created this mural of a steampunk aquarium

It's.. sort of unusual for me to paint a mural on a garage door , but actually that's a great place for a mural. My client is a friend, who shares my interest in Victoriana and curiosities... She's also a scuba diver, and wanted for a giant purple octopus. So I came up with a Jules Verne-inspired "aquarium" to house this giant creature!

You don't realize what an incredible job this was until you see the "before" picture:


I love how Lynn incorporated the building, the decorative corners, and the crossbars into her design.

See more details on Lynn's blog, The Ornamentalist.

Happy Victorian Gothic Halloween

Someone pointed that I had been remiss in my Halloween posts this year, especially compared to last -- who could forget Steam Pumpkin -- but I did stumble across a lovely set of Gothic Victorian Party Decor on MyHomeIdeas.

I can't get enough of red velvet curtains -- but tying them back with a noose is innovative...

Modify portraits with lace masks, decorate old spools with black lace for candleholders, use tarnished silver for a bouquet...

The best use of apothecary jars I've seen -- to hold creepy crawlies...

Many more photos and how-tos here.

Zeppelin House?

Ok, so the designers think it's more like a canoe, but Ecogeek likens it to living in a zeppelin, and I'd have to agree.



All those ribs! Curving surfaces! Not quite your everyday steampunk home, now is it? (If only it came in a darker wood....)

More on the CanuHome.

Thanks to Cristi for pointing this out to me.

Homes and Cities of Dinotopia

Waterfall City

After reading Dr. Fabre's post on Dinotopia a week ago, I was determined to lay my hands on some of the Dinotopia books by James Gurney. Today, I spent my lunch hour delightfully browsing the first Dinotopia book, with 2 more in "the pile" for when I'm finished with that one.

Bonabba

Are you familar with Dinotopia? Not distinctly steampunk (too few things are), but with some decidely steampunk aspects -- for instance the idea of time as a helix is a delightful one, and a helix pocket watch one of the interesting inventions of this world. It's a series of lavishly illustrated young adult books that have been turned into a movie, a miniseries, and an animated movie. (I'm holding off on the movie and miniseries until the steampunklet is a bit older and we can enjoy them together.)

Chandara -- echos of Istanbul for me!

For my purposes, I focused on the buildings of this land. Mr. Gurney (whose works both invite and delight) builds an incredible fantasy world that blends the architectural styles of many cultures and some straight out of his imagination.

The village of Bilgewater, made from the hulls of sailing ships -- the most imaginative of places.

Are you or your own steampunklet as enamored as I am? Did you know you can get a wallpaper mural of any of 8 different scenes from the books as large as 9 feet tall? For the more moderate, there are also posters available on Gurney's website.

Also worth browsing is Gurney Journey, the artist's blog. His love for his art and his teacher's patience both come through.

Hundertwasser's Incinerator Works, Vienna

I was struck by the steampunk whimsy of this incinerator works in Vienna, designed by architect and artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Most of his other work isn't very steampunk, but I liked the brass pipe, the swirling mural, and the minaret on top.

(thanks to my sister for pointing out Hundertwasser's work.)

Home Under a Hill

Not all steampunk is Victorian.... this house, featured on Apartment Therapy, evokes the more fantastic feeling I mentioned yesterday.


(Yes, it's basicaly a Hobbit Hole, and yes, I know, hobbits aren't steampunk.)

What's to love about it? How the center of the home is a wood stove, the feel that it was built as an escape after civilization collapsed, a home outside of time... All they need is a nice brass lantern hanging over the doorway. :)