Details

Everything has a time and a place—each era is defined by its music and fashion, its art and architecture. The elements that make up these eras develop, progress, come, and go, but are never truly forgotten. This catalog was inspired by the place where I live – a small Seattle apartment in an old house built in 1901. Architecture, with its substantial presence, has a way of keeping alive the spirit of eras past, but as times have changed, so has the approach to architecture and design. Old buildings are gutted and only the facades remain. My neighborhood is changing and most of the old houses have been torn down to make room for quickly-built, faceless apartment complexes. I am sure that one day my house will fall victim to the same fate as the houses of my neighbors.

I wanted to document the details that make it a unique place to live before they are gone because it is truly special to find small mementos of the past within an old building—intricate woodwork, brass hardware, or glass doorknobs. These fixtures of the handcrafted past that rarely make an appearance in today’s architecture are intriguing with their intricacy in shape and use of materials that have the ability to show their age. Though not all of the fixtures in my apartment are original, the eclectic mix of the eras and the few original elements are things that I thoroughly enjoy. However, the unique shapes and the attention to detail put into something as small as a hinge are impressive only when they are noticed. Here and now, in the midst of minimalism’s shining moment, I feel that the little details are often unnoticed and under-appreciated. So here is to those who appreciate the sentiment of age and attention to craftsmanship, those who crave the worn and rusty to the shiny and new, and those who still live and die by the details. This catalog is a tribute to my little home, the positive aspects of the past, and the effort keep them present in our modern lives.