December 2017

Once a year, all eyes are on Christmas Island. Just north of Western Australia and south of Indonesia, it holds a sacred place in the cultural zeitgeist as the first location (along with Samoa) to witness our new year. But how much do we really know about this 52 square foot island with a population of 2,000?

• Christmas Island lies on the flattest, highest point of an underwater mountain, which is actually a volcano. This mountain rises just over 900 feet above sea level.

• Shocker of shockers, it was named by a European explorer. Captain William Nymors spied it on Christmas Day in 1643 while aboard the English East India vessel the Royal Mary, It wasn’t until 1688 that an English navigator William Dampier got blown off course and set foot

When Nook Sales Experts match a buyer with their dream home, the only thing as important as architectural style is the neighborhood. That’s why we’re bringing you the #NookNeighborhoods series, where every Wednesday you’ll find cool history and culture to make sure you don’t overlook an area that could have the best nook for you.

Every year, new neighborhoods come into their own and change their style, especially in California. The best way to stay on top of trendy places and styles that match your lifestyle is to contact one of our Nook Real Estate Experts, but here’s a little peek into some of our favorites:

• Dogpatch, San Francisco

Change is hard for some neighborhoods. We know from a lifetime of experience that it is only when

Here at Nook, we have a passion for people, places and properties. There is a reason that we say people first, for what makes a neighborhood special if not the people who live there? Welcome to #TastemakerTuesday, where we’ll feature the visionaries in our favorite nooks who are dedicated to building a better community through their talents.

A new year often signals a new start, and that applies to your home as well as your favorite neighborhood nook. We love bringing you Tastemakers from across California and Miami, including opera maestros, visual artists, workspace designers and even breweries (we often take the word “Tastemaker” literally around here!).

Some of these Tastemakers have been working in their nooks for a while and we want to bring

The Music Center houses an incredible amount of culture, between the Ahmanson, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Mark Taper Forum, Disney Concert Hall and a number of beautiful outdoor venues. Performing at any of these venues could be a performer’s dream; to do it for an audience that starts to wait in line in the wee hours of the morning, who treat it as their Christmas Eve Celebration, that is both exhilarating and a lot of pressure.

This is what performers from all across Los Angeles handle as they perform in the Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration. December 24th marks its 58th performance and we found some fast facts to bring you behind the scenes of this extravaganza!

• The late Kenneth Hahn, Supervisor of LA County District 2 (1952-1992) used

It’s been quite a year here at Nook, and all thanks to you. We ended 2016 with the excellent news that renowned illustrator Michael Nÿkamp designed icons made just for the elegance and style that you love out of Nook and our experts in real estate. Since then, our team has grown with only the best, and we began publishing stories to be sure you don’t overlook any of the people, places or properties that make life worth it.

After six months of bringing you Tastemaker Tuesday, Nook Neighborhoods and Fast Facts Friday, we looked back at the blogs you enjoyed reading the most.

Real Estate's Most Stylish App Gets A Makeover

It was our biggest news of 2017, and we’re so glad you were as excited about the new real estate app upgrade as we were. With

Here at Nook, we have a passion for people, places, and properties. For #TastemakerTuesday at the end of 2017, we wish to pay homage to those who passed. 

• Ivan Chermayeff, Graphic designer for The Museum of Modern Art and many of corporate America’s signature looks, passed away at the age of 85. Some of the many definitive looks designed by his firm include NBC, Pan Am, National Geographic, the Southern Poverty Law Center. For these designs they received the AIGA Medal for graphic design and visual communication in 1979, the Yale Arts Medal and the President’s Fellow Award from the Rhode Island School of Design. 

• For Vincent Scully, 97, architecture was “the most beautiful and important human act.” As not just an influential architectural

The modern aesthetic is everywhere, and there’s no need to separate your favorite architectural style from your gift giving. In fact, it’s the best way to spread the style to your friends!

We already brought you the best of modern artisan Etsy gifts, and today you’ll find elegant choices in modern holiday gifts from around the web.  

• This Modern home craft kit is a great gift for a budding architect, aged six and up. Talk to them about style, decor, and comfort while they choose the wallpaper and paint wooden pieces of furniture. Be sure to let the child’s imagination go where it wants to go, though; even young Eichlers must make a lot of mistakes before finding their way!

• Now you can give that treasured experience of MOMA as a gift.

‘Tis the season for end of year lists! Here at Nook, you know we love architecture and design, and always have our ears peeled for the interesting news or upcoming taste-makers. Here is just a small sampling of how our industry has changed over the last year.

• Herzog and de Meuro continue their tradition of modifying modern design for Miami living with Jade Signature, a condo tower that rises to 650 feet. Read about its 200 units that are specially built for the afternoon sunlight and other Design Miami 2017 news here.

• LACMA loses gallery space but gains a singular gallery unit - the “mega-gallery” - divided into smaller exhibit rooms. They will demolish William Pereira’s design and make way for Atelier Zumthor’s $600 million expansion.

Here at Nook, we have a passion for people, places, and properties. There is a reason that we say people first, for what makes a neighborhood special if not the people who live there? Welcome to #TastemakerTuesday, where we’ll feature the visionaries in our favorite nooks who are dedicated to building a better community through their talents.

A lot of holiday entertainment is emblematic of its time: Die Hard, Tim Burton’s A Nightmare Before Christmas, Home Alone, A Christmas Story, and even the seemingly timeless adventures of Charlie Brown or The Grinch cannot help but put you into the mindset and flavor of the period when they were created. Two eternal holiday stories don’t seem to age, however, and those are A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker.  

Orange County is nearly synonymous with the Segerstrom family name. You find their influence in every large cultural stop and tourist touchpoint. The Segerstroms immigrated to Orange County from Sweden, following that dream of America we are all taught in school. Starting with a meager 40 acres of land, they soon grew to be the region’s leading producer of lima beans. Their subsequent successes with other crops and slowly growing until they owned 2,500 acres of farmland, The Segerstrom family heritage is why we have the South Coast Plaza and Segerstrom Center for the Arts today.

Every building holds its own stories, and we found many interesting facts to share on how both the South Coast Plaza and Segerstrom Center became the booming centers of Orange