That is approximately 1/3 of the pile of crap I brought home from Dwell on Design to sort through and eventually, in some form or another, write about.

The LA Convention Center is BIG (and NOT easy to navigate) and the eye candy was plentiful.   Designers and creators were on hand to chat at almost every booth, and as an added bonus for a PreFab fanatic like myself, the exhibition floor was {as always} literally litered with mini-homes, each one it’s own unique architecht-designed floorplan and range of materials – some of which were being autioned off on eBay (for really, quite an impressive bargain) while modernists strolled through.

I was amazed by the perfect blend of modern rustic luxury I found in the Reclaimed Space house {pictured below} and intrigued by the concept of the eco-friendly Hybrid House [from Sander Architechts]  “part prefab, all custom” as their literature so elequently puts it.    I was thrilled to finally see IQ Haus in person (some of my favorite siding options in the industry) and it’s always nice to see the stunning quality of Marmol Radziner’s Skyline Series (part of the Dwell Homes Collection) as a periodic reminder as to why they seem to price their floor plans so far above most of their competitors.

We brought Dee, which in retrospect, was il-advised {except I don’t regret it one bit because she got to sit for portraits with the incredible Sarah Wert of [San Francisco Based] Modern Kids Photography – teasers below} because she wasn’t quite big enough to take advantage of the Modern Family Lounge (although it was not to be missed if you are a fan of modern nurseries and children’s products that blend beautifully with your grown-up decor without sacrificing whimsy.)

The Outdoor exhibit was enough to tempt me to want to hold up my nearest bank branch and make off with the lot of it {odd that I think it would be easier to rob a bank than individual vendors at the the LA Convention Center, but the mind is a weird and wonderful thing…} most notably (for me) the breathtaking (and massive) Ancient Olive Trees which stood in massive wooden planters every 20 feet or so throughout the outdoor exhibition, hung with eye-catching orange and white Hanging Circle Pots filled with succulents from pottedstore.com .   (The trees were shipped in from Santa Rosa for the event and have already laid down roots in Laguna Beach.)

I also flipped for Plain Air’s throwback line of outdoor furniture {which reminded me of my beloved, now-defunct, vintage 1960′s rattan set which my dogs literally ate, a fate unlikely to befall Plain Air’s vinyl-corded update on the mid-century classic.}

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