Douglas Barnhard, the owner of the home decor company Sourgrassbuilt, designs and builds birdhouses. Built out of repurposed materials, his designs are inspired by mid-century modernism and pay homage to the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright, Joseph Eichler and the Bauhaus School in Germany yet mix with Barnhard's experience of the rich surf and skate scene in Santa Cruz.
Nature's architects build themselves nests - the vernacular birdhouse - whilst these exquisitely detailed structures provide a miniature piece of modernism for the garden out of teak, bamboo, and plywood. Some of the designs include living walls of succulents to attract the birds and built-in troughs for birdfeed, cohesive with the schemes. These birdhouses center the designs right within nature, something Frank Lloyd Wright would have approved of himself.
The Eichleresque Atrium is influenced by Eichler's housing development across the San Francisco Bay area. In the atrium style, the birdhouse includes two houses with an aluminum slanted roof and tall windows facing into the central atrium where a bamboo trough provides a space for succulents or birdfeed. The quintessential Eichler rafters and deck are teak wood and the houses themselves are covered in a high-end laminate.
A few of the birdhouses are based on the influential teachings of the Bauhaus School during the period of 1919 to 1933, these structures include sharp corners in their retro designs and full living walls.
On top of the modernist styles, Barnhard's experience of the surfing culture is entwined within his designs, particularly prominent in the Kauai House that uses the unique architecture of Hawaii to inform his stylistic choices. Besides the handmade surfboards perching on the deck, the birdhouse embraces the outdoor/indoor living ideals of the tropical island.
The modern birdhouse using bamboo has been inspired by the Japanese Tea Garden in the San Francisco Golden Gate Park and is accented by the three lower walnut decks. The Mixed Media Birdhouse also uses bamboo in the decking with cedar post and beams, incorporating styles from the Bauhaus School, Eichler, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
News via: Sourgrassbuilt.
