Lethal Chandelier

M, over at Curious Expeditions, recently pointed me to this amazing church chandelier crafted of the detritus of war -- shell casings, swords, and cannon parts.

M asked if it could be considered Steampunk decor? With all the power invested in me simply by editing and writing this blog, I'm going to say "yes". After all, it is a Victorian object (chandelier), made from reused industrial age objects (cannons and shells), with a touch of both the Gothic (not required to be steampunk, but definitely does not hurt) and the post-apocalyptic. Oh, yes -- I forgot to mention it is brass.

The whole idea of "trench art" is fascinating -- jewelry and decorative home goods wrought by soliders in the trenches of WWI (and most every war before then). Two other expamples from the Curious Expedition post:

Child Caves, Gypsy Wagons, Ship Cabins, and more

Heather, over at Cabinet of Wonders, has this long paean to the architectural pattern called the "child caves." She starts with Gypsy Vardos, meanders through childhood literature and her personal childhood fantasies, along the way touches on the modern Tiny House trend and the animal and people calming Squeeze Machine, and ends with a very meta realization that her Cabinet of Wonders is basically this cozy tiny place she's been seeking for -- a place "to store yourself, when you're deactivated".


It's lovely. Go read and enjoy. "Snug as a Bug in a Beautiful Box" at Cabinet of Wonders.

Victorian Baths

Last month, the New York Times had an article titled "Victorian Baths, unrepressed" that, while totally over the top, featured some perfectly dreamy Victorian, Edwardian, Art Deco and Art Nouveau bathrooms. Make sure to peruse the slideshow.

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. :)

Magic and Fantasy

On my recent vacation to Turkey, I read Perdido Street Station. Reading it, I realized that one of the things I'm missing is a sense of the fantastic or magical in steampunk. It's there, I know, in books and comics and movies. But how do you make it part of your home?

I think there are two ways to do this.

Looking around me on my trip, I realized that Turkish -- as well Indian and the broader Arabic -- style was "fantastic" to Victorian England. One of the more exotic trips you could take was the Orient Express steam train. Where did it drop you off? In the middle of Istanbul. (In a lovely old train station that is still used today.) These countries were the "other", the exotic. As such, their style represented the unknown and can be used to conjour up a feeling of magic in today's steampunk homes. Here are some examples:

• Datamancer's Arabic arch bookcase
• A Turkish lamp, like this one that I purchased in the Grand Bazaar (too bad it was broken in transit...)
• Armillaries, like this one, have a magical feel to it, likely because they were developed by Muslim astronomers in the 17th century.
  
• Wunderly has wonderful stuff from Morocco and Yurdan has many things from Turkey.
  

A second way to conjour this magical or fantasic feeling in your home is to introduce fantastic objects:

• Rayguns
• Artwork
• Perhaps a Cthulhu Spawn?
  

Some would argue that the fantastic would push your home over the edge into cheesy, but I say it's the personal touch -- the something different -- that makes your house your home. Go ahead -- add some swirls, some arabesques, some magic!

Bowery Hotel

(from the NY Post's Blog.)

I've run across pictures of New York's Bowery Hotel twice in the last week, and each time, I've peered at them and said "Hmm.... could that be steampunk?" I don't mean steampunk-steampunk, but rather the ambience and style that, with appropriate projects and devices, would fit into our little fantasy of what steampunk is.

I'm still undecided -- the style is described as "Old World" and "Bohemian." I do like the colors and richness of the look -- nothing minimal here!

Since I haven't actually been there, I thought I would present some quotes and pictures from around the aetherweb and let you decide:



Designer Sean MacPherson told the New York Times: The look? "Everything is handpicked, all antiques and old rugs, like our version of the Algonquin."


(via TripAdvisor)

More pull quotes from a recent NY Times article:
Dripping candles and mismatched wooden chairs gave the large space the feel of a Transylvanian inn.

...the Lobby Bar, a music-free space that recalls old New York with dim lamps, wooden ceiling fans and tapestries. A couple snuggled up and sipped Champagne, while larger groups languished on leather couches and velvet benches or in the gated outdoor patio.

“The British colonial-era vibe is such a great change from all the mod, stiff hotel bars that are taking over New York.”



From a different New York Times review:
the hotel evokes the Gilded Age of red waistcoats, hand-set bricks and wood-paneled elevators.

The handsome lobby, a dark and moody space, feels like an Old World drawing room, with faded tapestries, Moroccan tiles and iron lamps.

The room was graceful without being dainty, with décor that suggested Restoration Hardware with a boho-chic twist: accordion brass lamps, old Oriental rugs, sturdy wood tables and hunter-green velvet chairs. There were some nice custom touches — cast-iron stars on a wall, a recessed headboard

Reminiscent of a prewar bathhouse, with old marble floor slabs, white subway tiles and antique brass fixtures




I'm not so sure about the bedrooms:



But the bathroom is pretty sweet, with lots of brass:


(Last 4 pictures from TripAdvisor.)







(Previous 3 photos from Hotel Chatter.)

Want more? There are more pictures on Danny Seo's blog and some more on flickr.

A peek into Datamancer's workshop

As you know, workshops represent the heart and soul of a steampunk house -- I daresay many of you have workshops with more steampunk style than the rest of your house -- and the Wall Street Journal online has been gracious enough to give us an intimate look at Datamancer's.





The video is about his lovely projects, but let's see what ideas we can get from the glimpses of the workshop it affords:



First, Mr. Datamancer himself with some lab bottles over his shoulder and an intiguing (just what is it?) brass lattice in the background.



Second, a lovely starboard ship lantern casts a red glow over the entire room.



Third, a "parts clock" (it's feet are now part of his steampunk laptop), but it sits on a nice sideboard and has a another ship lantern in the background.

Of course, the most glamorous shots of Mr. Datamancer's shop are on his website, so be sure to check it out.

Update: Datamancer points out that there are some nice shots of the corner of his workshop with the computational engine on his website. I love the arabesque framing around the shelves full of steampunk equipment.