faucets, fashion & fanfare

February 12th 2013 Comments: 3

I asked myself this question when I was graciously invited by a plumbing fitting company to join them at their annual New York gathering. Every year during the outlandish hubbub that is Fashion Week, Brizo (a boutique branch of the Delta faucet company) invites a select small number of designers … [read more]

dodgie: goodbye grande dame

February 5th 2013 Comments: 9

Dodgie Shaffer liked architecture, but she really loved architects. She married one, gave birth to another–who in turn married one. And, she was friends with, a confidant of, and mentor to countless others. But even a field as varied and far-flung as architecture is, it proved too small for her. … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Inspiration

close quarters

January 29th 2013 Comments: 4

Take our personal natural surroundings, for instance. Man (as designer and self-designated caretaker) throughout history has attempted to lion-tame Mother Nature. As a matter of fact, I’m sure even Adam grew frustrated trying to weed the Garden of Eden. When we are able to shrink the landscape down to an … [read more]

lounge act

January 22nd 2013 Comments: 2

This arrangement certainly works well with modern family life. It encourages social interaction and eliminates stuffy formal rooms (remember the rooms you were never allowed in as a child, but were forced into service on holidays and you couldn’t wait to escape?). Those dusty, imposing caverns are a thing of … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Interior Design

cohort folios

January 15th 2013 Comments: 0

We have some dear friends and colleagues who have a new book coming out this spring called The Welcoming House. As I pondered Cindy and Jane’s work, I thought of other talented individuals with whom we’ve been fortunate to collaborate.  So here’s a shameless plug for our friends. If you’ve … [read more]

vanity fare

January 8th 2013 Comments: 4

As an architect, there are certain key elements found in the typical modern house that are so much fun to design. The entrance door. The kitchen island. Fire fronts. None offers more opportunity for sheer theatricality as the master bath vanity. These altars of self-exaltation beg for over-the-top design flourishes. … [read more]

a january prayer

January 1st 2013 Comments: 3

The pull away of all that bounty leaves a hole it seems. I am scared, uncelebrated, my flesh unpatted, assurance gone, party over, everyone done, just me alone. I am left to fill a vessel still, and spooky. Sleep has taken over and I am left to wander unseen, it … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Interior Design

merry christmas

December 25th 2012 Comments: 4

One of our recently completed homes lovingly rendered in gingerbread for a Christmas party.

creche course

December 18th 2012 Comments: 4

The Episcopal Church of the Ascension here in Montgomery, Alabama asked us to design a Christmas creche to replace their well-worn model. This was a commission to replicate in miniature one of the most famous shelters in history! The project went to the capable hands of staff member Charlie Caldwell … [read more]

McAlpine Journal: Holidays

moving on

December 11th 2012 Comments: 11

My family and I are in the process of selling and moving out of the 1914 Beaux Arts estate we’ve called home for the past eleven years. The reasons are twofold: planning for the future and a good dose of architectural ADD (given our history, our attention span is apparently … [read more]

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