Offbeat Homes

Current Obsession: The Camouflage House

by Jennifer Chait on September 21st, 2007

I’ve been drooling over the Camouflage House by Johnsen Schmaling Architects for a good long while now but had some concerns that it wasn’t quite offbeat enough for this blog. The poor house has been languishing in my bookmarks.

Here’s the deal. I’m moving and a little off centered, tired, and frustrated and I want to look at beautiful things to cheer me up so I’m posting the house. It’s not obscenely offbeat but obsession can be quirky so here goes…

Back in May AIA Wisconsin recognized some architects and their projects. Many won honors but this one house was my absolute favorite. The house has won other awards as well — AIA is just where I noticed it first. The Camouflage House is in Green Lake, Wisconsin (a beautiful area in itself) and I think that the design really honors the area; it doesn’t overpower the land and trees surrounding it.

I LOVE how the colors play off woodland colors.

I need a house with windows and a view like this. Everything about this house is peaceful. The lines, hue, the smoothness, everything. Did I mention I’m obsessed.

Here’s what completely won me over though. Look at this house in the evening.

Ok, you know when you’re on a long road trip and you drive at night to save time. And maybe you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere and then… all of a sudden you catch a glimpse of twinkling lights breaking the night sky. You can see in the windows slightly and the home is so settled and lit from within that you wish you could stop driving and move in.

I hope that’s not just me. And yes, I’ve been on far too many road trips but this is how this house feels when you see it. Like you could stay if you stopped — welcoming but still secluded. I guess I’ve got a thing about how a house looks in the dusk or evening. Johnsen and Schmaling actually pull off this home at night deal quite nicely with another home they designed, the Lake House a home you really should see.

There are numerous other slides of the Camouflage house at the Johnsen Schmaling Architects website. While you’re there I’d absolutely hit the Lake House and maybe the Ferrous House too.

These young (they look young) architects are not just fluff either. There is an article about Johnsen Schmaling Architects at Architecture Information from Architectural Record where you can grab a taste of some of their views on transforming urban design. I can’t wait to see what’s next from these two.

Wow. You know, that was smart. I do feel way more relaxed now that I’ve posted this.

How about you? Would you love to live in a home that looks beautiful at night — does that play into your thinking about structures?

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POSTED IN: Architects, Eco Art, Eco Style, Going Native, Homes in the Woods