Yesterday, I was pleased to find United by Design: Homes of Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket from Schiffer books on my doorstep. It features coffee-table worthy work representing a wide range of design by twelve teams of architects and designers.

The West Tisbury House, which Geoffrey Koper Architect and I designed, has a nice six-page spread, and the Edgartown Dormer Renovation I designed got some welcome coverage, too.

I understand that United by Design will soon be on shelves in a bookstore near you. Perhaps your coffee table is calling out for it.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Spartanette trailer coach home to Willis' Captain Sharp in Moonrise KingdomI think I may have missed my calling. My inner set-designer is dying to work with Wes Anderson on a project. Have you seen his latest: Moonrise Kingdom? Like many of his other films – Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou -- the sets and production values/details of Moonrise Kingdom are exquisite. Anderson has a real knack for what we architects call the building section. It’s more than a knack, really; I think he has a crush on the building section. 

A building section is a drawing device which slices or cuts through a space (usually vertically). Architects use the building section to communicate building component relationships. Wes Anderson uses a movie-set interpretation of the building section (adjacent rooms/spaces filmed from the vantage point of the missing fourth wall) to communicate character relationships to each other and to the spaces they inhabit. In his hands, the section implies a somewhat magical world, not unlike a dollhouse, in which the audience peeks into the adjacent inner realms of his characters. Anderson pans across and up and down the set sections he and his collaborators create, setting the movie in literal motion while unabashedly revealing that this is a not the real world, it’s something alternative, dreamy, and enhanced. He’s quoted on NPR’s Fresh Air program as describing the fictional setting of Moonrise Kingdom as “a memory of a fantasy”.  Or a fantasy of a memory.  This could be said, perhaps, of most of his films. 

Moonrise Kingdom is the story of an innocent first summer love, set in 1965 on New Penzance, a fictional island off the east coast. New Panzance reminded me of Bustins Island on Maine, a summer escape which is of a similar size and appearance, and also has only a single emergency vehicle (or two) circling its dirt roads. However, much of the movie was shot in Newport, RI, while the interior sets were created in a nearby empty Linens ‘n’ Things. Anyway, the lead characters Sam and Suzy are misfit twelve-year olds who realize they fit each other. They decide to runaway together, which causes various semi-dysfunctional adults (played by Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, and Tilda Swinton) to search for them on the island. It’s a quirky, highly stylized delight.

It opens, as I recall or at least as I choose to recall, panning across the section of Suzy Bishop’s summer home on the Summer’s End portion of the island. I read that Anderson and production designer Adam Stockhausen’s concept for the Bishop family home was inspired by Clingstone in Jamestown, RI and a converted lighthouse from the 1800s. The Island look was also influenced by Ten Chimneys in Wisconsin and a house in the Thousand Islands area at the Canadian/US border.

The 1948ish Spartanette trailer coach home for bachelor Captain Sharp, the Bruce Willis character, was particularly inspired. It, too, was filmed with its fourth wall removed. I have a thing for the warm finishes and cozy interiors in such industrial-seeming vehicles. Spartanettes were the down-market line of trailers made by the Spartan Aircraft Company in Tulsa, OK. As KHS Facebookers and House Enthusiast’s may recall, I’m a fan of domesticated vehicles like the “short bus” that architect Will Winkelman redesigned and the tear-drop campers in the movie Kitchen Stories. Someday, I aim to own and outfit my own retro coach trailer/bus, but that’s another story.

To experience a sublime, alternative, nostalgic, fantastic, island community, look no further than Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, where building sections reign.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

This is one of the many reasons I love outbuildings; they make outdoor rooms like this possible. I took this shot from a driveway between the corner of a house off-camera to the left and a slightly offset outbuilding to the right. The narrow passage compresses entry into the outdoor room which the buildings and landscaping frame. The vine-covered tree and its offspring of sorts, the twig bench, flanked on one side by a blossoming topiary and by climbing roses on the other become the focal point for those en route around the corner to whatever enticement awaits. I hope it includes another equally charming boundary.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Beach rose, copyright 2012 by Katie Hutchison Studio (iPhone photo)Recommended New England photo walk and tour

I've often sung the praises of alternative photography created with toy cameras like the plastic Holga camera or a homemade pinhole camera. But my favorite toy camera these days is my iPhone. I know purists will balk at the iPhone camera's limitations, but it's those very limitations that I find so liberating. Augment the iPhone with a few great photo editing apps, available at little cost, and you have the makings of a very rewarding toy camera. (Granted, it's more expensive than a plastic or homemade camera, but it's significantly less expensive than a digital single-lens reflex DSLR camera.) Fortunately, this summer you can even find a camera-phone photo walk or tour on Cape Cod.

Photography Center of Cape Cod

For those of you, like me, who are always looking for an excuse to visit the Cape, the Photography Center of Cape Cod has many appealing offerings to lure you Cape-ward. According to their website, "A program of the Cape Cod Art Association, the Photography Center of Cape Cod was created to help photographers develop their skills, share their passion, and to promote a greater appreciation of photographic arts." The Photography Center "offers classes, workshops, exhibits, and other activities for photographers of all levels, from beginners to professionals and children, too."

Hyannis PhotoWalks
Wednesdays: July 11, 18 & 25 and August 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29: at 9am
Cost: $20 adult; $15 senior/student; $5 children under 12

"Join us this summer for PhotoWalks of scenic Hyannis Village.
Explore picturesque locales and the art of photography with helpful
tips along the way!

Your experienced photographer guide will highlight photo ops
including historic and scenic sights and other points of interest, while offering tips on how to use your camera and take better pictures.

Walks last approximately 90 minutes and go out on cloudy or sunny days. Bring anything that takes pictures - even your cell phone!"

Provincetown Photo Tours
Instructor: John Tunney
Tuesdays: June 26, July 3, July 10, July 17, July 31: 9-11:30 am
Meet: Town Hall, Commercial Street
Cost: $45 CCAA members / $50 non members

"Join photographer John Tunney for a guided tour through Provincetown, one of Cape Cod’s most colorful towns. With its working fishing harbor, eclectic waterfront, historic architecture and funky streets, Provincetown offers photographers a visually rich area to explore.

The tour begins in front of Town Hall on Commercial Street and lasts 2.5-3 hours. As he leads you through P-town, John will offer commentary, tips and suggestions for images, and general camera and photography help as needed. All levels and cameras are welcome. If you own a tripod, bring it along, but it may not always be practical to use it. A year-round resident of Cape Cod, John has been leading workshops in Provincetown and other parts of the Cape for the last four years."

Walks and tours are subject to change so check program websites for updates and registration requirements.

Take a look at my continuing education posts from previous seasons to get a sense of the many quality continuing education programs operating in the region. Enroll in a workshop, demonstration, or presentation on a lark, and get your creative juices flowing.  Experience continuing-education bliss.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast