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Display Name: MDS
Member Since: 9/26/07
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Domino website still has subscription promos. So people who don't know about the shut down can still go and subscribe to the mag. This is terrible.


Apartment Therapy Chicago | Breaking News: Domino Magazine is Closing
1/28/09 2:13 PM

a) cameras do not deter someone desperate to steal something to satisfy a drug addiction (this accounts for a decent share of petty crime)

b) a camera might signal to a professional thief that you have something valuable to hide - just a thought.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | A False Sense of Security: Fake Security Cameras
7/22/08 10:50 PM

Darren B: show me an architect who can build you Marmol Radziner quality cheaper than Marmol Radziner can.

Most people who think they can construct a site-built EQUIVALENT home cheaper than the prefab version are really talking about an APPROXIMATE version of the home that fits within their budget.

Michelle Kaufmann built her own home (a Glidehouse) as a site-built project. She then started marketing a prefabbed version because it cost less and could be built quicker. This is a rare example of comparison between site-built and preffabed versions of the identical house design.

If you hold quality level constant then prefab offers more value. i.e. it costs less than site-built to get the SAME quality. However many people are willing to trade off quality for a lower price. i.e. they prefer to site-build a home at a quality level that meets their budget. In essence they are happy to choose an approximate substitute.

This is really about creating a custom value equation (simplistically: price divided by quality) rather than accepting the preconfigured value equation offered by the prefab vendor.

I think a Bentley automobile is very good value (price divided by quality)- but I'm not going to pay that much for an auto. I'd rather select something else at a lower price point that has an acceptable level of features and luxury (maybe an Audi) even though I know it is not equivalent to the Bentley.

Also note that prefab competes on value better in some markets than others. In remote locations there really is no alternative source for that type of design and construction.

Of course there are thousands of architects and builders who will point at a prefab and say "I can build you the same thing for less". This is no different to subcontractors who claim they can hang drywall or build a retaining wall for less than the other guy. At some point you have to ask which corners will get cut to get the approximate job done. Is there really that much profit in prefab that others can build the same thing for less?

Finally, if you have seen Marmol Radziner quality in person and you really know how to build it for less money then you should start a business because there are lots of people who would love those homes at a lower price point. So far nobody has worked out how to do that.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Is Building A Prefab Cheaper Than Buying An Existing Home?
7/2/08 11:45 PM

"If you had a decent amount of money socked away in your underwear drawer and you were looking to get a house, would you buy an existing house or build a prefab?"

Prefab 101 for anyone who is interested:

Modern prefab is cheaper than a site built EQUIVALENT.

Nobody marketing prefab today claims that their product is cheaper than all other forms of housing. It is not about absolute pricing - it is relative pricing.

Unless the substitute "existing" house referred to in the question has very similar design values to a prefab being considered, then the buyer is making a different decision.

This is really so simple: The value of the current crop of prefab products is that they offer design ideas that otherwise would be MORE EXPENSIVE to site-build than the prefab product.

If you can find an existing dwelling that looks and performs like one of the current prefabs (whether it is Marmol Radziner, Michelle Kaufmann or a container home or whatever) and it costs less than a prefab project then buy it. Otherwise if the existing home is "cheaper" but "different" then the decision is really based on what you can afford.

If all prefabs looked like any other existing home then this would be a good question, but most popular prefabs are about offering modern design ideas that are not available in any other less expensive way.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Is Building A Prefab Cheaper Than Buying An Existing Home?
7/2/08 3:55 PM

This house is on architecture home tours now and then if you want to wander inside.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Green Home: 700 Palms House
7/1/08 3:12 PM

Firstly DarrenB thanks for showing your home. It looks great. Pay no mind to the whiners here (few of whom would ever have the cojones to upload their own home).

I have seen the Adler birds tapestry in the rooms at the Parker in Palm Springs - and every time I visit the hotel, I want to take one home with me. I wonder what they'd charge me if I did this?

I assume you had an "in" of some kind to get this tapestry - no need to divulge your secrets but I'd be willing to go to Peru to get one if I knew where to go ;-)


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | LA House Tour: Elise Darren Modernist Sensibility
6/28/08 2:28 PM

wildwestern asked:
could anyThing be more annoying than the adjective "super-normal"

answer:
yes, wildwestern's post is more annoying.
please take your meds BEFORE you post.


Apartment Therapy San Francisco | SF House Tour: Sam Grawe's Designer (via Craigslist) Digs
6/17/08 10:56 PM

What do you mean by "reasonable prices"?
Any idea what those sideboards go for?


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | LA Sale: Danish Modern Warehouse Open to the Public
6/13/08 6:01 PM

Shame you didn't get to the Toy factory loft.
It was the best one on the tour - visitors were raving.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Dwell on Design Downtown Urban Living Home Tour
6/10/08 11:55 AM

Interesting that the LA Times should run this article now. Dwell magazine has a design conference in LA on June 5,6 and one of the panels is about the nexus of hospitality and domestic design. http://www.dwellondesign.com
I love some of these hotels.


Apartment Therapy Los Angeles | Fresh Ideas From New L.A. Area HotelsLA Times 5.08.08
5/8/08 11:26 PM

Firstly, thanks for all of these quick responses (I am Michael the question asker...). I'm going to keep sniffing around for these exact lamps - I'll report back if I find the answer.

Secondly, Laure thanks for the tip on the post at Curbed but the Kappe house shown is not the house that contained the cool lamps. I know this because I submitted the screen shots and post to Curbed!
Sometimes when I'm watching TV I get into a screenshot frenzy ;-)
In any case the Kappe house and the lamps are both cool.


Apartment Therapy - Good Question: Where can I find this lamp?
9/26/07 2:17 PM