Staircases

Interesting round up of staircases, over here.

These two were the most steampunk -- quirky traditional and fantastic:

designer: Rodney Miller, Wood Innovations

Yes, it's a 17 ft mahogany slide, a job which took 15 months to finish

designer: Dave Stewart

Carved from one giant 140 ton kauri log taking a total of 500 man hours.

See the original post for more staircases, details, and pictures.

Happy Halloween: Necromance for your Home

I've been saving this for Halloween. For all you mad (or not so mad) scientists, Necromance has some wonderful old fashioned scientific supplies.

I liked this hot plate of a skeletal hand:



Pigeon Skeleton:


Turtle Shell:


Anatomy charts:


Plenty of other good things, including specimen jars and vials (these would be great in a kitchen -- or full of scary things on a mantel). Many are quite dark. Their prices are quite reasonable -- where else are you going to get a full size plastic replica of a skull for $36?

In addition to their website, Necromance has two storefronts in LA. Both look like lots of fun.




Other shopping posts.

Peter Tansill Sculpture

It's amazing when you start looking, what you find and where. I was bowled over to discover the artwork of Peter Tansill in Göreme, a small tourist town in the Cappodocia region of Turkey. We had to fly 15+ hours to find a steampunk artist who just happens to live in Virgina...



Anyway, take a look at his work. He calls it "Compositions of Sculptures with Found Antique Objects." I think the arty word for it is assemblage. While he doesn't use the word steampunk, it's full of old dolls, military references, and reused industrial and mechanical parts. This is what I think a steampunk automaton should look like.



Peter said to mention that most of his work is for sale -- you can contact him via his website.

More art posts.

Steampunk Room Plans by Faryndreyn

Tinkergirl was so kind as to send me a link to these wonderful "plans" developed by Melissa Koch/Faryndreyn on deviantArt


Gear Up Cafe by *Faryndreyn on deviantART

The Gear Up Cafe -- It's like someone from 1890 time traveled to the 50s and brought the traditional diner concept back.

Speaking of time, doesn't the clock at the end of the space just work? Want to do something similar? I found a seller on Ebay who makes a couple varieties of 48" clocks (which means it can be done...).



There's a similar 40" clock available online:



Her second room is a boy's room.


Boy's Room by *Faryndreyn on deviantART

It's a typical boys room -- dirty laundry and all -- but it just happens to be on an airship. I like all the references to pirates, robots, and aliens -- this is obviously an airship that travels between the stars.

TinkerGirl spotted the inspiration for the robot on the right -- do you recognize him? It's Tik-Tok who first appeared in L. Frank Baum's Ozma of Oz book.

Great job, Faryndreyn. You have a knack for taking the commonplace and making them steampunk. (Which is, after all, what this blog is trying to do as well.)

Airship Fantasy Room

I keep imagining a room made to evoke the feeling of an airship. There are lots of different ways you could do this, from a 1930s cocktail lounge feel that just happened to be suspended under a baloon to a sky pirate ship. What I'm thinking about, however, is more structural. How can a room feel like an airship? I didn't start with the question, but I keep stumbling over things that would work well, and since I don't have an actual room to decorate I'm doing to decorate an imaginary one here.

First, furniture.

The Balloon Chair at Horchow.

Gondola Day Bed. This is one of my all time favorite pieces.

"Basket" like Cocktail Table.

Lights

These lights at Pottery Barn look like something you'd use in WWI to spotlight airships in the sky, don't they?



They come in a variety of sizes and shapes -- tabletop, spot, and task.

Walls

This is the hard part. I'd consider this Balloon WallPaper.



But it might be a bit kitschy. Perhaps some seagrass wallpaper wainscoting, to evoke the gondola of a small balloon, and then perhaps paint the walls sky blue (with clouds?) above the chair rail.

Don't forget airship posters.


Finishing Touches

I like the idea of a compass on the floor.


These playing cards on the table.


And a stormglass hanging on the wall.



There. Now that I've gotten that out of my system I can return to daydreaming around rooms I actually have.

Steam Pumpkin Rides Again

Steam Pumpkin Rides Again
Originally uploaded by Cherie Priest

Unfortunately unattainable, as the owner found this happy automaton (I think he looks happy, don't you?) at a Walmart years ago and hasn't seen anything like it sense.

Art Nouveau -- and my 100th post!

This is the 100th post to The Steampunk Home, and I spent some time to find something appropriately festive for such an auspicious occasion: Art Nouveau.

You probably know by now that my idea of a steampunk home is not one that is trapped in the Victorian era, but one that embraces the Victorian era but builds into an imaginary future from there. In reality what this means is that I like Art Deco and Art Nouveau, too.

Art Nouveau was a shortlived artistic movement (1890-1914) between the Victorian era and Art Deco. The introduction to Art Nouveau at the National Gallery of Art's feature on the era (a must read) does a good job introducing us to the influences of Art Nouveau: Many artists, designers, and architects were excited by new technologies and lifestyles, while others retreated into the past, embracing the spirit world, fantasy, and myth.

Art Nouveau was in many ways a response to the Industrial Revolution. Some artists welcomed technological progress and embraced the aesthetic possibilities of new materials such as cast iron. Others deplored the shoddiness of mass-produced machine-made goods and aimed to elevate the decorative arts to the level of fine art by applying the highest standards of craftsmanship and design to everyday objects.

I think this line sums up why it has an appeal in steampunk: excited by new technologies and lifestyles, while others retreated into the past, embracing the spirit world, fantasy, and myth. Isn't that basically the appeal of steampunk? A tension with modern technology and a attempt to deal with it through fantasy? Art Nouveau taps into that fantastic aspect of Steampunk I've talked about earlier.

My favorite architect, especially for interiors, is Victor Horta. The stairway above is from the Horta designed Hotel Tassel and the interior below is from his own house. Both from Victor Horta by David Dernie and Alastair Carew-Cox.

Getting the Look

I found three good articles on decorating in an Art Nouveau style:
The Art Nouveau Home (thanks, Doc Sinister!)
BBC Homes page on Art Nouveau
Home Decorating Ideas -- Art Nouveau

Original Art Nouveau Tiles are available from around US$150. You could use one or two as a centerpiece of a bathroom tile project, or framed on a wall.

I find Art Nouveau furniture relatively easy to come by (and suprisingly affordable) at my local auction house, and I suspect any place that brings in containers of antiques from different countries (England seems to be the best) would have similar goods. In my house we have a sideboard and a shelved wardrobe with Art Nouveau styling. A recent auction had these pieces:

























Art Nouveau stencils would be an affordable way to add some style to your walls. I'm also currently lusting after this wallpaper dado for underneath a chair rail (available at Cumberland Woodcraft and Design Your Wall).



If you need doo-dads (ahem, accessories) Past Times has some nice reproductions, including these metal pieces.

So I hope you enjoyed the Art Nouveau eye candy. Thanks for sticking with this blog for 100 posts -- and here's to the next 100!


Like this post? You might also enjoy:
Casa Battló
Steampunkish Design Templates
Edison Bar
(Thanks to Doc Sinister for recently suggesting Art Nouveau as a post topic.)