Interesting question.

So the average college graduate leaves the cocoon of campus with $23,000 of debt.  Ouch. Given the ridiculous amount of debt most people are in these days, I’d say they’re ready for the Real World. They’ll be chipping away at a debt mountain just like everyone else. Buy that grad a beer after work!

Real job?

Economic climate aside, let’s assume a job awaits with open arms for college grads.   I’d make a highly unscientific & unresearched guess that those grads who did hands on internships concurrent with their education would be well equipped for their Real World Job.

Narrowing down the menu

They could, in fact, take the internship concept to an extreme – especially if they’re undecided.  Take Sean Aiken, for example.  The one job he knew he *didn’t* want was a cog-on-the-wheel rat race sentence that he dreaded to wake up to daily.

That leaves about a billion other possible jobs that might be a good fit.  Sean’s approach was to hit one job per week. For a year. 52 jobs. That’s about 5 times more jobs than anyone else has in a lifetime.

But wait – there’s more! He did all 52 jobs for no financial reward. He had the employer donate all his earnings towards the ONE / Make Poverty History campaign.

The Search *is* the Job?

Now, maybe I’m thicker/less attentive than usual, but it’s unclear to me whether Sean actually settled on a job.  It appears he may have created a job for himself, simply being a job tester, for lack of a better title.

I have to give him credit for his entrepreneurial adaptiveness. He:

• set out to see what was out there,
• has parlayed the experience into an ongoing program for others to do,
• is releasing his findings via film & a book

I’d say that in Sean’s case the question is not if he is ready for the Real World, but whether the Real World is ready for Sean.

Paul Anater’s Kitchen and Residential Design
Bob Borson’s Life of an Architect
Nick Lovelady’s Cupboards
Veronika Miller’s Modenus
Becky Shankle’s Eco Modernism
Tamara Dalton’s Design Studios
Tim Elmore’s On Leading the Next Generation
Rufus Dogg’s Dog Walk Blog

Soul searching, anyone?

In times of uncertainty & upheaval like these, our tendency is to seek stability wherever we can find it. Home is the ultimate sanctum for recovery & nourishment.

It’s also a place where we control our environment the most. We might not be able to do anything about the stock market, greedy corporations, or unemployment, but we can change what color our walls are, & make home a place that suits us to our liking.

Which one of the images above strikes you as more authentic?

>> read more >>

If I do say so myself.

I was perusing some old archives on my blog & came a cross a few that made me chuckle. If your Monday needs one, check out these posts of yore:

• Fun with Construction
• Bumbling around in the kitchen?
• The Pros of Wall Mounted Vanities
• How to Eat Well with a Toaster Oven

Shameless Plug Department, Can I help you?

We thought we’d give both Seattle and Thumbtack a shot! Check out our new ad, Seattle-ites! We’re itchin’ to get you into your new kitchen. (Sorry. Couldn’t resist. It’s happy hour here.)

This is the second edition of a Twitter Blog-off, initiated by Paul Anater of Kitchen & Residential Design.

Living Large defined

Firstly, what is the definition of  ”living large”? Is it being a trendsetter? Is it being happy with what you have? Is it being green (whatever that means)?

For this discussion, let’s say “living large” means, living responsibly in terms of consumption. Consumption of everything, be it space, carbon footprint, utility usage.

There is small, and there is ridiculous.

Paul links to an article about a couple of grad students who are living in a 127SF space. That is basically a 10′x12′ room. While it isn’t impossible to call such a small space home & a place to lay your head, it’s not practical for everyone. People who work from home, for example. Or families of more than 2.

That being said, I’ve written before about how much we actually need in a home. It occurred to me while staying in a hotel suite for 2 weeks, that I was perfectly comfortable. That suite was about 300SF. Granted, it was inhabited by one – me.  And my belongings – mainly clothes, toiletries and work gear like a laptop & phone.

It’s not the space. It’s the stuff we accumulate.

The 1st real problem is the stuff we accumulate over the years. How many times have you moved & never opened any of the boxes after you settled? I’ve done it. I know many people who’ve done it.

We don’t really need whatever’s in those boxes. But we lug them around like it’s life support. And the bigger the place we live, the more crap we gather. We’re magnets for clutter; the more we have the more we attract. It’s a viscious self perpetuating cycle.  read more >>>>>>

SlideShare Preso is up

Yesterday I uploaded a short presentation I made to highlight our kitchen designs for multi-unit residences.

Kitchen designs in a dense urban setting are a tremendous opportunity to exercise efficient, clean design that integrates the cooking/eating zone with the social living zone.

Oh the Urbanity

Living in the heart of a city not only requires well designed spaces, but also doesn’t rule out newer practices in a kitchen. It’s possible to include a composting and recycling zone into even a small kitchen.  We’ve come a long way from the antiquated “work triangle”. We include these zones in all kitchens we design.

Inside /Outside

One thing not mentioned in it is how often people think the inside style of a home must match the outside. This is not a law, you will not go to jail if you have a modern kitchen in a craftsman home.  There are no fashion police out there looking to throw offenders in the pokey. But I’ll save that discussion for a future blog post.

Check out the preso here.

Shoes. As Tubs.

The topic of this post was a challenge by some fellow tweeters. Actually, it’s more of a penalty, for clicking a link featuring some hideous bathtubs. Modeled after shoes.  After I write this, I will be cured of whatever disease I picked up from viewing the offending shoe tub post.

Respect the Unexpected

This is a law in my design world. Because lots of good ideas come from the unplanned. It’s debatable whether tubs shaped like shoes are either a good idea or an unplanned one.

That being said, it’s surprisingly utilitarian: nice roomy vessel for soaking, and handy storage built in. Or possibly a slide.

Do Men take Baths?

Given the frillitude of these bathing features, they seem thoroughly biased toward females. I mean, do you think men would be more inclined to use one of these if it was covered with, say, chainsaws? How about grenades? Or, if you had to navigate an obstacle course of barbed wire to get to it?

Shoe Tubs are for Amateurs

I say, let’s not waste that beautiful stiletto form on a tub. Let’s max it out. Let’s put wheels and an engine on one, & take the thing for a spin! THAT’S what I’m talking about.

This baby debuted at the 1998 Art Car Parade in Houston, TX. I’m proud to say, I was there. The theme for the art car weekend that year was, “Respect the Unexpected”.  I highly recommend attending an art car event in Houston at least once. It’s much better than a Shoe Tub.

Want to see the other challenged bloggers’ entries?

• Alexandra Williams, AKA @Alexandrafunfit
• Nick, AKA @cupboards
• AventeTile, AKA @AventeTile
• Dogwalkblog, AKA @dogwalkblog
• Madame Sunday, AKA @ModernSauce
• And the Evil Instigator, Mr. Paul Anater, AKA @Paul_Anater