If this isn’t the absolute essence of the escapist wilderness whims we had as children, we don’t know what is…. We wonder what it would be like to lay still in one of these floating spheres and listen to a slight wind coming through the trees.
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In our continueing search for examples of the incorporation of organic and decayed materials with modern functionality, we present Australian architect Raffaello Rosselli‘s lovely repurposing a corroding tin shed in Sydney to create a small office and studio apartment.
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Recently, we found some great examples of using window shades —both Venetian blinds and solar shades — as instant room dividers to close off or define a space.
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Recently we wrote about a slick renovation that sadly covered over a beautiful aged wall that would have made a wonderful addition. Since then, we found an interesting mix of marriage of old and new details by architect Karin Matz in a cost-conscious renovation of a Stockholm space that had been used as furniture storage for 30 years.…
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While we were writing about Karl Lagerfeld’s bathroom, we remembered an image of his library that we’d posted years ago. Lagerfeld seriously loves books and has found ways to house LOTS of them. We’re interested in how he arranged them. The interplay of vertical and horizontally stacked books makes for a pleasing graphical look while allowing…
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In 1956 Italian industrial designer Achille Castiglioni created “COLORI E FORME NELLA CASA D’OGGI”, the installation of a living room at Villa Olmo, a neoclassical villa located in the city of Como, northern Italy. When we saw images of it, we flipped. It is such a far cry from the sterile interiors we see so often today; it’s…
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The quest for a restful night’s sleep can feel like an impossible dream, particularly for urban apartment dwellers or those who share tight living quarters and a noisy town. How to shut off the world – and the kitchen – to grab some privacy and nourishing shut-eye to help maintain emotional and mental balance, can be an…
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This image of trees that appear to be unexpectedly cracking through the deck, got us thinking about the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi and modernism, and just how the two relate.
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One of the many details we love in sculptor Constantino Nivola’s “outdoor rooms” are the walls he erected to define space and make into artworks. We’re crazy for this tree wall sculpture, as well as his wall paintings, including the Solarium. Hmmm. Wonder how they are made? Of course, we tried to figure it out, hoping…
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We’ve long admired this rather visionary bathroom of some friends. They planned their bathroom to accommodate what most bathrooms do in an ad hoc way: house reading material and intellectual pursuits. That got us checking out other iterations of this idea.
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Among Constantino Nivola’s inspiring outdoor garden rooms is his open air “solarium”, designed with high, white walls to reflect the sun “to such a degree that nude sunbathing was possible even in the winter.” And an artful solarium it is.
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We came across another good idea from the portfolio of journalist and photographer Amandine & Jules that seems to be something of a trend: NOT painting moldings and doors a separate color but rather the same color as the walls, to make a uniform, less busy and, depending on the color, more contemporary look.
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Eagle eyed Susan Dworski spotted this polka dot wall and floor in the portfolio of the write/stylie + photographer couple Amandine and Jules. We love the idea of a graphic element flowing from one to the other, softening angles, and make the space seem more…fluid. Here’s another example of using paint to define a space in…
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Artist Anya Gallaccio coated an entire room covered in thick dark chocolate, beckoning gallery visitors to lick, pick, stroke. Her work, she says, is about unpredictability in the materials and collaborations.
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Many modern spaces, including our own Laboratory, suffer from having so many right angles, rectangles, linearity, that they can be a bit harsh. The simple solution is to shake them up with rounds, patterns, art. We love the solution in this image found at Bohemian Homes:
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Having a hammock indoors is pure joy, and there are a variety of ways to hang them, depending on your space.
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We’ve long wondered why we see so many ugly black flat-screen televisions proudly displayed on walls of living rooms. One of the best disguises we’ve seen for flat-screens is a painting or mirror that sits in front of the TV on special hinges that lift it up when you want to watch TV. An especially beautiful iteration of this idea is like a minimalist abstract painting, but is a panel made of antique Flemish linen.
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Despite the idiotic title of the Times’ T Magazines recent piece about the Greenwich Hotel’s multi-million dollar penthouse suite renovation designed by Axel Vervoordt, the house tour yielded some lovely ideas, like this low table made of 4 pieces of wood. It reminds us of the alter-ish low diy-able tables/shelves we’ve seen in the past.
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César Cervantes is a Mexican art collector with an unconventional story and lifestyle. We love Cervantes’ comfortable library with a seating area of outdoor furniture (Reitveld crate furniture?) and the disparate collection of sagging shelves.
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We love outdoor fireplaces and are always looking for interesting iterations, like this big slab of rusting steel as a fireproof backstop, with a cast cement fireplace, and the one Constantino Nivola fashioned one out of ordinary brick to create his outdoor room.
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