cool spaces Archives - Improvised Life

Tree Rooms Hiding in Plain Sight (Wendell Berry)

Designer Russel Wright had the habit of shaping parts of the land around Manitoga, his home and studio in upstate New York, into “rooms”. Rather than making a room, I love the idea of an outdoor room coming into being simply by finding it or naming it, as happened when I stumbled on some ancient Beeches. Their branches arch down to the ground to define the space around them, making quiet leafy rooms. The feeling of hanging out in them is extraordinary. Wendell Berry nailed it.

A Website Can Be a Sanctuary

We hadn’t thought of a website having the ability to act as a sanctuary until we read about Laurel Schwulst’s odd, charming Firefly Sanctuary It is at once a digital space that mirrors a physical one — her Brooklyn apartment — and a quiet meditation on the “invisible, mental counterparts” to visible, physical things.

Todd Oldham’s Singular Design Philosophy Powers Solutions to Water Damage and Boring Carpet Tiles

New York Magazine’s recent article about designer Todd Oldham’s house in the Poconos is a revelation: an over-the-top, completely original color-riot of a country house. Its many cool ideas are driven by an unexpectedly liberating design philosophy.

DIY Backrest for Comfortable Improvised Daybeds

The art consultant and dealer Peter Heimer’s postwar Berlin townhouse has all sorts of cunning details. We love the yellow daybed Heimer designed himself. The slanted pillows are brilliant, forming a comfortable backrest when reading or lounging. I’ve discovered that you can get the same effect with a simple DIY.

How to Socialize in the Cold + Richard Johnson’s Ice Huts

With winter fiercely, the covid-mandated necessity to socialize outdoors is challenging for those of us who live in cold regions or are simply cold-sensitive. So I’ve hunted down advice about how to hang out outside, whether at a restaurant or on a park bench or in an ice hut if you happen to have one.

A Closet Nook for Sleeping or Writing

While we’re home social distancing, finding usable home ideas for when things blow over fortifies us to practice possibility thinking.

Escape to Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s Casa Azul

Transported via the virtual tour of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera’s Casa Azul in Mexico City, we found ourselves wandering through gardens, studios and living spaces: much-needed escape and delight.

Ideas to Steal from Le Corbusier’s Tiny, Modernist Le Cabanon

Le Cabanon, Le Corbusier’s odd, spare, modernist cabin in the South of France is like a cross between a hermit’s cabin and a boat with a great deal of style. It offers ideas to steal no matter what size home you have.

House Tour: Massimo Vitali’s Chill “Natural Habitat” in a 14th Century Church

With its practical, vin-ordinaire fridge and quirky design decisions, photographer Massimo Vitali’s remarkable home in an ancient church has some very cool ideas to steal.

Inspiring, Do-able Interior Design Ideas from Paola Navone

Whenever we look at designer Paola Navone’s homes, we come away with a zillion ideas that we could actually do, without a ton of dough. Here are our favorite steal-able ideas.

Visit Alexander Calder’s Alive, Colorful Homes via Pedro Guerrero

If the usual interior porn leaves you cold, I recommend spending time at photographer Pedro Guerrero’s website to roam through his photographs of Alexander Calder’s very original living spaces.

Yves Klein’s Interior Inspirations, From Ultimate Blue to His Unusual Do-able Table

A single rare image of Yves Klein’s Paris apartment/studio got us hunting for his plexiglass coffee table filled with astonishing blue pigment he commissioned. We found A LOT of inspiration.

Sleeping like Donald Judd in Low-to-the Floor Beds, with Details and Plans

At the Judd Foundation, we stumbled upon this wonderful bedroom with a very Judd-esque low bed. It reminded us of the austere low platforms he made for his Spring Street Loft. We took a closer look at how he made them.

Dominique Nabokov’s As-is, Not-Styled, REAL Paris Living Rooms Are a Joy

Unlike most interior photographers, Dominique Nabokov photographed consciously NOT-styled or lit spaces, each unique because they reflect the very unique lives of the people who created them, whose lives dictated their design.

Cool Private Spaces Where On Kawara’s Date Paintings Reside

We roamed the internet to collected images from photographer Candida Hofer’s ‘On Kawara, Date Paintings in Private Collections’. Often they are displayed in the place where the collector spends much of his or her time, or where they give the most inspiration and meaning. Unstyled and rather plain, they let On Kawara’s work resonate.

Karl Lagerfeld’s Inspired Ideas

The legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld had an immense talent and sensibility. Our friend Susan Dworski sent us this picture of him at his extraordinarily messy desk, which as with other these other views of his home, provides unexpected inspiration and…permission

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