{Elle Decor UK: Practical Magic}

I have to give big ups to Elle Décor UK. I spent a lot of time at Barnes and Noble this past weekend {killing time while Addison as at the groomers} and I picked up a large stack of magazines for inspiration. I flipped through several magazines and nothing jumped out at me until I picked up both June 2010 issues of Elle UK and Elle Décor UK. I ooo’ed and aaahh’ed page after page and immediately decided that I was going to buy them. Can't lie that I didn't take a big gulp when I saw the $9.50 each price tag, but I just had to get them anyway, and spent the majority of the afternoon drooling over what fabulousness I was going to share with you. So for my first post {of many, gotta get my monies worth} take a look at this NYC home and its amazing vanishing walls that seem to defy belief...

Amazing right? The front facade flips up to create a truly indoor/outdoor living room. The exterior is just  thin veneer of stone bonded onto aluminium making it ultra-lightweight. This design was designed by the McLaren Engineering Group, which created sets for Cirque du Soleil.

When asked 'how do people in the street react to the vanishing facade?', owner Bill Peterson says that people tend to stop, stare and take photographs. For me, it's like sitting at a sidewalk cafe - you're outside, but with a certain amount of privacy. And in the summer when the leaves are green, it's like sitting in a tree house.

I love this outdoor space which is simply an aluminium garage-style door that flips up to the elements. Check out the extra table and chairs used as art on the wall - genius!

Look at that fantastic mirror - it's a little Victorian, a little Gothic - not totally my "style" but I'm diggin it!

The title of the article, Practical Magic, says it all. I love the notion of a facade suddenly doing something that you would never expect. Only in NYC, right?