About Alexander Calzadilla

Alexander Calzadilla is a Cuban male originally from Philadelphia, who has happily called Miami his home since moving here at the age of 15. He attended Southwest Sr. High School and Florida International University, ultimately receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. While in college, he began working as a paralegal for the Law Offices of Jeffrey E. Reichenbacher, a position he kept for seven years after graduation. He subsequently worked at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Associates before landing at Costa Nursery. After distinguishing himself with many accomplishments, he was promoted to the position of Director of Specialty Products, which included the orchid, bonsai and lucky bamboo departments. When Alex was first put in charge of the three departments, they ranked near the bottom. By the time he left Costa after seven years, Alex had transformed the floundering departments into unqualified successes, posting record earnings, sales and profitability. In 2008 Alex was named the Costa Employee of the Year. Alex now puts his formidable prowess as a businessman into his newest venture, Avant-Garde Home Furnishings, LLC, serving as Managing Partner.

About Avant-Garde

We offer home furnishings and decor for every area of your home,both inside and out, always striving to bring you the most current design elements being used by today's top designers, at a fraction of their retail cost. Whether you are completely redecorating an area of your home, looking for the perfect accent piece to finish off an existing room, shopping for a unique gift, or simply "window shopping" to get design ideas, Avant-Garde is the place to go for everything modern & contemporary for your home.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A SUPER COOL PENTHOUSE, A HOUSE IN CADIZ SPAIN AND A VACATION HOME ON LAKE SUPERIOR

TODAY I AM WRITTING ABOUT THREE VERY MODERN HOMES. ONE LOCATED IN A PENTHOUSE SUITE, THE SECOND IN CADIZ SPAIN WHICH IS SPECTACULAR, AND THE THIRD IS ON LAKE SUPERIOR, ONE OF THE 5 GREAT LAKES AND THATS A STUNNING HOME AND MY FAVORITE OUT OF THE THREE..

Enjoy the pics and posting.

Interiors: L Residence

As a general rule, we’re not super into blue in an interior space. That’s a bit harsh…we mean, there are lots of ways in which blue can totally make a space rock, but you really need to have a cool hue. This home, the L Residence, totally gets blue right. And they also get details right. It’s a modern loft space with lots of cool interior additions and rooms and cool wood flooring and modern furniture and more. And is that a Magis Chair One we spot? By Min | Day. From architizer:
“Located in an Art Deco hotel recently converted for private condominium use, we designed a penthouse apartment with a roof deck overlooking the center of downtown Omaha. For the L-shaped unit we created a set of nested spaces with a grand room that appears as an exterior within the confines of the dense walls. 15-foot ceilings allowed the construction of a cozy mezzanine along the vertical path to the private roof deck above. Primary wood veneered walls hide bedrooms, house utilitarian areas, service functions and bathrooms.”

Live Modern: House in Cadiz

Live Modern: Weekend House on Lake Superior

We’ve always thought good architecture was just as beautiful as art, but all the photos from this home in Cadiz, Spain are so stunning they could easily be seen in an art gallery! Truly, these shots are of an amazing home that is nestled among coastal nature in a surprising way. Modern, clean lines mix with beautiful, random nature and the coloring of all the architecture is such that it both blends and contrasts with the surroundings.
“The house is situated on the occidental edge of the natural park of the Estrecho, on an abrupt hillside, where the landscape value, its orientation and complicated topography are determining factors. Instead of viewing these factors as potential limits we considered them to be incentives for a better solution for the project, helping reinforce the intrinsic singularity of the emplacement, to which service is set this construction.” Designed by Alfonso Alzugaray Arquitecto.

We’d be much more able to withstand frightful winter weather outside if we lived in a stunning piece of modern architecture like this! It’s hard to tell if the home would be more visible in warmer, more colorful months, but there’s something so slick and camouflaged about how it looks now. Located near, you guessed it, Lake Superior, in Schoeder, Minnesota and designed by Julie Snow Architects.

“The weekend house is reduced to a few essential elements. The main house and a small studio are arranged on a black platform that rests just above the ground. The two black volumes frame the water of Lake Superior as it extends toward the distant horizon.

The presence of the lake is pervasive throughout the house. A long simple white table runs parallel to the lake. A narrow vertical tower encloses the fireplace. A row of cabinets along the north wall conceals the complexities of daily life. The house provides a serene connection to a beautiful, rugged landscape. Concealed by trees in the summer, the black boxes slip into the winter landscape of black and white tree trunks.”

Three really cool homes,

AG HOME GOODS