shawn michael ohara

In these renderings, I changed the counter tops to a light brown granite, and then switched the back splash to tile, light brick, and red brick respectively. I personally love the light brick back splash with the granite counter tops.

Hi Folks :) I have moved my design related postings over to www.Shawnmichaeldesign.com come on over and check it out. Designsmo will remain active until I can archive and move the postings over to Shawn Michael Design.

Thanks for your continued support!

~Shawn

From Green Source Magazine comes this story of a beautiful Straw-bale house in California. I have always been attracted to alternative building methods. After graduating from college in 1991, still establishing myself in the world, and not really having a lot of money, I started investigating inexpensive building methods in-which I could build myself a home. Living in rural upstate NY, land was plentiful and affordable, so building was much more attractive then buying a preexisting house. Plus I wanted something unusual and modern, not an easy thing to find in Central New York. I researched cob building, cord wood houses and straw-bale building. At that time it was virtually an unheard of as a building method in town, and not knowing what code barriers I was going to encounter, I changed direction and purchased a 100-year-old school-house, which I’ll blog about in a future post.

So now almost 20 years later, I am in awe of the beauty, quality and common place straw-bale houses have become. I guess I still have a soft spot in my heart for them :)

GreenSource

While I search for design work living here in Binghamton, NY I have taken on some pro bono design work to stay active and keep my design skills sharp. I am helping out with designs for a circulation desk for a new public library that will open next year . I’m not going to say who it’s for, but I wanted to share what I have been working on. The designs are still a work in progress, and have a way to go. But it sure feels good designing again!

As I slowly pull together our new apartment, I have discovered some great art along the way. Here are some inspirational artists and their work that I’ve found recently. Peg Nocciolino is a local Ilustrator that I’ve come to know while working at Starbucks. I have always been one to purchase art direct from the artist, rather than cheap canvas printed knock offs that have become popular.

www.pegnocciolino.com

www.kareemrizk.com

Over the last month there has been a large increase in the traffic to the site, in particular my portfolio. I just want to say thank you! If your looking for an Interior Designer, please feel free to give me a call, or drop me an email.

-Shawn