Nest 19, Winter 2002-03. The Workhouse. (Peter’s Coca-Cola house, assembled from plastic Coke crates, Harlem, New York, NY). Photograph: Ejlat Feuer.

The cabin made from Coca-Cola crates

Our new book, The Best of Nest, proves that when it comes to off-the-wall interiors, you can’t beat the Real Thing

Nest was a great magazine, partly because its founder, the artist and designer Joe Hotlzman, was a maverick. Published from 1997 to 2004, Holtzman’s mag strongly eschewed the convention luxury-design coverage – perfectly presented, slightly sterile looking homes – in favour of non-traditional, exceptional, and unusual environments.

Holtzman was the magazine’s founder, editor and publisher, and so could do more or less as he wished. And, as he recalls, looking back on a few of the issues in our new anthology, The Best of Nest, his editorial instinct ocasionally got the better of him.

Nest 19, Winter 2002-03. The Workhouse. (Peter’s Coca-Cola house, assembled from plastic Coke crates, Harlem, New York, NY). Photograph: Ejlat Feuer.
Nest 19, Winter 2002-03. The Workhouse. (Peter’s Coca-Cola house, assembled from plastic Coke crates, Harlem, New York, NY). Photograph: Ejlat Feuer.

One particular issue published in 2002, was "hi-jacked" as Holtzman puts it, by Coca-Cola, thanks mainly to his interest in the company's advertising and, as he writes, “my own Diet Coke addiction, shared at the time by the whole office.”

He wrote a fan letter to the CEO of Coca-Cola (which, alas, went unanswered); ran a feature on Coke’s role in Santa Claus’s image; printed a series of mock ads; and – with at least a partial nod to the magazine’s stated subject matter – featured this unusual New York dwelling fashioned from a highly unconventional building material.

The Best of Nest
The Best of Nest

“Near the elevated train tracks running along Upper Park Avenue in Harlem is an industrial lot enclosed by a chain-link fence,” wrote Nest contributor Oliver Ray. “Peter’s pristine Coca-Cola house, assembled from plastic Coke crates snuggles back in one leafy corner. The structure represents recycling at its most ingenious. What couldn’t you make with enough Coke crates?"

Certainly, a perfectly serviceable urban cabin is off that list. To see these images and and many others order a copy of The Best of Nest here.