Urban Infill - Mueller Austin

The 711-acre Mueller site, vacated when Austin's airport relocated in 1999, is well on its way to becoming home to approximately 10,000 people, 10,000 permanent employees, 10,000 construction jobs, more than 1,100 affordable homes and approximately 140 acres of public open space. Unique features of the airport remain, such as the control tower and an old hanger converted into a theater, but the homes and streets are brand new and great examples of creative home design.

There are row houses and condos, but some of our favorite designs are that of the larger homes. A modern craftsmen style seems to permeate the development and the use of stone, woods and metals make for a unique statement in the Austin area:

Cobra Studios - Austin, TX

During our 10-City trendspotting tour we were lucky to experience new housing developments, loft communities and interesting urban infill projects. One of our favorites just happened to be one of the smallest. Cobra Studios is located outside of the downtown area, situated in an industrial park across from the Whole Foods Distribution Center. I know, that sounds strange, but once you experience the development you will see that it works. It really works.

From Cobra Studios: "In-town industrial-style warehouse living spaces. Big, clean, modern and affordable. These are tough, 100% concrete masonry and glass, high ceilings, free of interior walls with exposed steel beams and concrete floors. Flexible and stripped down with opposing insulated glass garage doors (big enough to drive a hotrod through), commercial-grade stainless kitchen hardware, a bathroom with dual stainless sinks and a huge walk-in shower. Strong and sustainably constructed. Lean and legit."

Water retention units collect rainwater for the maintenance of the landscaping and grass in the center courtyard area shared by the residents. A fire pit and outdoor leisure areas are available for parties and outdoor entertaining. The best feature? The walls, floors and interior spaces are a blank canvas ready for customization and personalization by the homeowners and the hobbies. Already home to sculptor, artistic welder and glass blower, the development is shaping up to be a very creative space.

Color Caffeine - Spicy Citrus

In honor of this week being devoted to "fun" our Color Caffeine selection for today is a bright and cheerful "Spicy Citrus" palette (click the image for a larger view). If you're looking for more gorgeous color combinations from past Color Caffeine posts, we're keeping our entire collection in a flickr set. Enjoy!

Fun in Retailing - Wee in Austin, TX

There's a really nice shopping area in Austin, called Second Street District. There's ample parking, everything cool to shop and eat is within walking distance and the stores are absolutely stunning. Many design blogs and friends pointed us to two stores in the district, Finch and Wee, on 2nd Street. Finch is a modern and organic home decor store, while Wee focuses on the little tykes and all of their belongings. Even the display fixtures are uniquely shaped and encourage shopper participation with the adorable products, toys and textiles.

Wee is perfect for our series on Fun as an emotional element in design and retailing. Inside the store, vignettes of unique products, patterns, colors and playful themes grab your attention. Toys are meant to be played with and teeny, tiny tables and chairs are out and ready for visiting tots to test out while hip parents peruse the store.

Fun in Home Design - NineSixtyNine by Agave

How's this for some fun on a Friday? These homes, part of a very unique subdivision in Austin, Texas, were designed by the Agave Architectural Group. A drive through this neighborhood is a treat for the eyes and there are innovative materials, bright color combinations and interesting facades literally around every corner. We loved every home, of course, and took loads of photos. Here are a few of our favorites, and we'll share a few more over on Twitter. NineSixtyNine is a perfect example of how incorporating cheerful fun into home design can brighten everyone's day!

Fun in Retailing - Flip Happy Crepes, Austin TX

A phenomenon sweeping the nation is the increased popularity of gourmet trailer foods. Swanky restaurants, bold chefs and entrepreneurs are embracing today's down economy by putting a smile in their strategy and are opening unique trailers to serve fun and upscale street food. Many of these trailers pop up in random places and only those "in the know" can find them. The Food Channel has noted that "Clandestine Foods" are a trend in 2009, you can read more about it here.

During our trendspotting trip to Austin, Texas everyone we met told us that we must eat at Flip Happy Crepes. Part of the "gourmet trailer food" movement in Austin, Flip Happy was the first Airstream in town selling traditional French crepes with all the accoutrements.

Tucked into a shady grove of trees, down a quiet street, Flip Happy services up crepes both sweet and savory with delicious flavors such as roasted chicken, tarragon mushroom and of course, the crowd favorite, Nutella with bananas!

Completing your fun and relaxing experience, Flip Happy has painted all their furnishings in bright, bold hues and offer a game collection where you are welcome to play Connect 4, Scrabble and other vintage games while you enjoy the day!

It's Another Sphere Trending Giveaway!!

UPDATE! We have a winner! (Sorry for the delay, we had a technology glitch over here and we weren't able to wrap this up right away)

And, the winner is? Alexandrea, who said...

"I love seeing recycled goods! I need some new sheets too since we changed bedding sizes, and the Hedgerow Saffron Duvet Collection by Dwellstudio would complement our paint color beautifully!"

OK, Alexandrea, contact us (mmankvitz (at) spheretrending (dot) com) and claim your prize! Thanks to everyone for playing. Stay tuned, we've got more giveaways coming soon!

We all agreed that this lovely vase, from AllModern.com, was the perfect choice for our next Sphere Trending Giveaway.
As you might have heard, we're celebrating the launch of our new book, "the BIG picture" with four weeks of prizes and games here on the blog, twitter and facebook. A field guide for consumer and design trend intelligence, our book is available for preorder today! Contact mmankvitz(at)spheretrending(dot)come for more information.
AllModern.com has a huge selection of sleek furniture, contemporary accessories, modern bedding and even a modern baby and pet collection, so it was hard to choose just one thing... But, by a landslide, the Sphere Trending team thought you would all love a chance to win this vase.


From AllModern: "The unique design of this cut vase makes it a beautiful work of art. With its recycled origins and sleek, fluid design, tranSglass conveys a positive attitude towards the environment, affirmed as an Artecnica Design With Conscience project. Combining old-world craftsmanship and sophisticated design, each tranSglass vessel is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece. tranSglass is included in the permanent collection of MoMA New York."

So, celebrate the launch of our new book with us and enter to win! All you have to do is click over to the AllModern.com site, the modern bedding collection, and tell us here in the comments of this post, which of their modern bedding collections is your favorite? A secret? Ours is the Amanda Purple Collection by Blissliving, because, yes, we love purple!

Drawing will be held on Wednesday, November 11th. Enter today!