Monday, April 20, 2015

Handmade BUBBLE Sofa Inspiring Comfort

The bubble sofa is part of the new furniture designs by Sacha Lakic for the Roche Bobois spring collection 2015. This entirely handmade sofa brings to mind a puffy cloud, and offers great comfort through its reassuring forms. It may be colorful and fluffy, yet its appearance is also elegant, perfectly fit for a high-class social zone or a public spaces. Its friendly look is also given by the lack of supporting legs, a feature which seems to “root” the sofa into the room.




A Set of Amazing Lights

Although lighting is always an essential part of interior design, some designers do little more than include soft track lighting and perhaps a chandelier in the dining area. The lights in this post are so much more than practical. They provide light while also bringing creativity, art, and even humor into any room where they might be placed.


More of an art project than a light fixture, designer Anila Quayyum Agha found inspiration for this intricate installation, from the exclusion that women experience in Islam as well as in Pakistan.



Home Interior in Cool Shades of Gray

The Polish city of GrudziÄ…dz sits on the Vistula River in the northern part of the country. It in this mid-sized city that you will find this beautiful and almost haunting home, designed by the team at Tamizo Architects, who we have featured before on this site. In the photos that follow it is interesting to see how the dark interior choices contrast with the expansive, snowy landscape that surrounds the house. Whether in the depths of summer or the brightness of spring, that natural light streaming in from outside has had a major impact on the interior design of the home. Each room is a study in interesting, subtle contrasts.



The main living area is mostly open, with only a floating fireplace to separate the family sofa from the dining room. White walls and dark furnishings give the space an almost sterile feel, as if it is ready for anyone to move in and take over with their own colors and life. Even the floors are a pale wood or marbled gray, again taking inspiration from the cold climate, ice clinging to tree branches and eaves.



The kitchen and dining room, the heart of the home, feel warmer and more open due to the wood paneling used throughout. There is not as much space in the kitchen as you might find in some larger, gourmet designs but plenty one room on the island and breakfast bar for preparing a meal for a small family. Mismatched light fixtures over the dining table add a bit of playfulness to the design as well.



In the bedrooms, the tone shifts from the darker gray of the living room to a lighter gray that calls to mind silver and cashmere. In short, it’s a luxurious and calming palette, perfect for drifting off to sleep on a drizzly cloudy evening.



The bathroom carries the same warm marbled color into the floor and walls, with white porcelain fixtures keeping the design minimal rather than fussy.



This Private Plane is a Luxurious Dream Come True

The next time you find yourself crammed in the a middle seat in coach, drinking a tiny bottle of wine in hopes of catching even a few moments of sleep, drift off to images of the life you might have lived: aboard a private Boeing 747-8. These luxury planes are bigger than many of the houses featured on this blog, with 4,786 square feet (444 square meters) of cabin space. The plan in this post was built by Boeing, then finished by Kirkland, Washington-based company Greenpoint Technologies. The final results are nothing to sneeze at with luxury lounges, private bedrooms, and even a full formal dining room. It's no wonder that the U.S. government has said it will buy 747-8s to be the next Air Force One.



It would be surprising enough for most of us to see a sofa in a plane. But an entire lounge with multiple sofas, a coffee table, and a wall mounted flatscreen? That’s a far cry from a little extra legroom.




Everyone dreams of getting a good night sleep on long flights, but it’s rarely possible. For your next transcontinental flight, those dreams could come true in a private stateroom complete with a King sized bed, blackout shades, and luxury linens. At the end of a transcontinental flight, you’ll be fully rested and ready to start ruling the world.

Floral Arrangments You Could Try This Spring

Flowers soften any room and make soft rooms positively dreamy, but they can also add unexpected dimensions to modern, even industrial spaces. Feminine selections are often reduced to a combination of, or a choice between: Lisianthus, Peonies, Roses, Dahlias or Tulips and being the most fashionable of the season, are the first to be featured.



Just as English Tea-Roses owe their name to the Motherland, long understood is the association of the Orchid, Lilly and Cherry Blossom with Oriental styling and the addition of a single one of these species to an Asian influenced room can solidify its theme.



Floral displays are as much about the choice of flower as they are about the choice of vessel. This can largely dictate whether the display will exude an antique or modern feel. The recycling of jars and bottles is not only good for the planet, but great for making a floral statement. Leaving the container, whatever it may be, in its original commercial state will work well in a modern industrial space, but if a vintage look is desired then a rustic paint job will give an old glass jar or bottle a new stylish purpose.



Foliage, in its various textural forms works well in minimalist and masculine spaces, as do other forms of greenery such as palm fronds, grasses and even branches, but be careful not to gloss over the still life appeal fruit and even vegetables, can have. In this same vein, pine cones are also a popular, however unlikely, styling tool in modern and natural spaces.




Sunday, April 19, 2015

Creative Bedrooms that Any Teenager Will Love

Creating a space for a teenager to go to sleep, study, and hang out can be a tall order. All teens are different -- some never want to leave their rooms while others would rather be anywhere but home. These rooms, designed for sophisticated teenagers as well as their parents, create beautiful atmospheres that teens will be proud to show off, be comfortable in, and maybe actually appreciate.

This first room, a totally cool room for a teen boy, comes from the designers at HQteam. The creative slats on one wall work as a module storage system. Simple but creative wall art brings a real hipness to an otherwise plain white wall. 



Of course, any good teen room also has space for studying and this desk with a colorful chair is the perfect one. Frosted glass bookshelves turn an otherwise ordinary storage option into something a bit more abstract.

This next room is a basement bedroom from designer Olga Podgornaja. The room offers plenty of seating without feeling too cluttered. The occupant’s love of football is certainly apparent, but not overwhelming. Even the mossy green couch seems to be a nod to the pitch.



The third room comes from visualizer Dima Dolgykh and has a more subtle football theme, in particular a love for Real Madrid. The bed is low to the ground and separated from the rest of the room with a creative divider element.  This room, from the designers at FH Studio is simple, but still has a playful teen sensibility. The blue and yellow theme is a classic combination but done in a modern style.




With this room, from designer Gluzdakova Maria, we get a taste of a more specifically feminine teen room. White cabinets are an easy enough way to hide any messiness. Not that a teenager has ever been messy before. Though it’s a little dark, there are plenty of places for a girl to relax, study, or visit with friends. (No boys allowed, obviously). The orange hammock in the window is a really fun retreat.  Mixing textures from the corkboard wall to the woven rug and upholstered purple sofa makes the space really feel like home.




This final teen room from designer Tania Ahmed would be perfect for a sophisticated teen girl. The long yellow sofa could easily double as a twin bed. The overhead light fixture is completely creative and not the least bit childish and the accent wall is a testament to creativity – something teenagers have in spades. A little personalization goes a long way in creating a safe space for teens where they’ll actually want to be.