Interior Design, Design News and Architecture Trends

Author: designer

Chic Chair Design by Sara Åkersén for Indoor and Outdoor

Yesterday, we shared with you guys a sustainable flower pot design belonging to Nola’s great outdoor furniture collection and for those of you who are looking inspiration for decorating entrances, hallways, storage areas and public spaces, we thought to show you another product made from their brand, a chic chair design created by Swedish designer Sara Åkersén. Bill, as it was entitled, is a lovely chair small in size, but very attractive in its appearance.

Crafted in aluminum, Bill is a beautiful combination of functionality and style, which makes it ideal for any modern exterior designs, as well as interior settings, where it can double as short-term seating or be used as a stool. Its simple, yet playful look, puts a smile on your face and invites you to rest for awhile. Several pieces can be placed side-by-side to form a long bench as illustrated below. For other details and color disponibility, check out Nola’s website from our previous post.

Photos © Nola

September 8, 2013
Unique Sustainable Flower Pot that Glows at Night by Julie Storm for Nola

For more than four decades, the principle of making comfortable, accessible outdoor designs has shaped the Swedish brand Nola. Studying the city center and the urban landscape for years allows them nowadays to deliver high quality products with award-winning designs for public projects and urban spaces. Scoop Moonlight Planter, we’re showing you in today’s post, was a great find a few days ago. It was designed by Julie Storm and belongs to Nola’s amazing outdoor furniture collection.

With an eye-catching appearance, this flower pot seems at first glance like any other, a simple colorful planter in which flowers and other plants are placed in and displayed. But in fact, Scoop Moonlight Planter is very special and this thing is demonstrated by the 2013 Green Good Design Award it received, being mentioned as one of the most important examples of sustainable design in the world. Planters are designed to make both urban and indoor environments a little bit more beautiful, and a whole lot easier to live in, but the Scoop Moonlight has also been created to support a healthier living.

Unlike the standard flower pots, thanks to an integrated lighting unit, this colorful planter casts soft light over plants long after the sun has set, transforming flowers, stems and leaves into unique lighting features. This characteristic makes it equally striking during the day as it is at night, while bold colors give its simple shape big personality.

Made from recycled plastic that is fade-resistant and weatherproof, the planter can be cleaned with soap and mild detergents created especially for plastic, or by a pressurised water hose if used on a low pressure setting. Weightning 18 kg without plants inside and 100-120 kg with plants and compost inside, Scoop Moonlight itself is fully assembled and comes in various bright colors such as yellow, orange, red, lilac, light yellow, lime green, grey, black, granite and sand. Nothing like a planter that works just as well inside as it does outside!

Photos © Nola

September 7, 2013
Elegant and Playful Design for Plug Table by Savage Works

Modern decor enthusiasts will adore the Plug Table with its creative design expertly made to integrate both functionality and fresh style. Thoughtful in execution and timeless in simplicity, the small side table is envisioned by Brooklyn-based designer Scott Savage from Savage Works, who believes that we should never underestimate the ability of design to make our environment more responsive, and beautiful.

He strives to make the everyday more manageable and elegant through his objects and architecture, and this project is a very good example in this respect. The side tablel is visually striking in spite of its minimalist nature. Made out of CNC cut Maple or glass-reinforced polyester, and featuring a double braid Nylon loop handle, it is available in harwood Maple and two colors. Completely contemporary, with its elegant, playful design and chic pop of bright color, the Plug Table could nevertheless easily fit in with the existing decor of a modern home.

Photos © Chris Lindsay

September 6, 2013
Minimalist White Coffee Table by Jules Barrès and Pierre Guillou

Young French architect Jules Barrès and designer Pierre Guillou teamed up to create this interesting white coffee table, which can be seen during Maison&Objet this month (from 6 to 10 September 2013) in Paris, France. Thanks to P.Guillou’s skills in furniture making and J.Barrès’ ones in space design, Table 4×4’s original-looking design is the result of their experimentation of a high performance material used in architecture, called “Dibond”.

Extremely rigid, resistant to temperatures, and stable, this material makes the coffee table ideal for both indoor and outdoor settings, resonating in the relevant space. Although “Table 4×4” is thin and lightweight, weighing only 4 kg and measuring 70 x 70 x 32.5 cm, it’s robust and has a good stability on the floor. The minimalist silhouette of the coffee table draw attention very quickly wherever you put it thanks to its unique and appealing geometry. A simple yet ingenious approach, not to mention a highly creative home item that can be used in any modern scheme. See below some pictures with it or visit their stand at Maison&Objet in Paris, France.

Photos © Pierre Guillou Design

September 5, 2013
Creative Lamp Design by Silvia Ceñal Idarreta

Sometimes simple designs inspired by everyday things may prove as functional as the more sophisticated ones, and with a high aesthetic value if you are a fan of handmade-looking objects and creative lighting design. The latest project of Spanish designer Silvia Ceñal Idarreta is an eye-catching hanging lamp, simply called Macaron Lamp.

Discovering everything that could be done with fabrics and laces and fascinated by the traditional French pastry called macaron, Silvia Ceñal Idarreta imagined this interesting pendant lampthat once established in a certain decor, it’s likely to grab all attention due to its colorful and unusual design. She originally combined wood with wires, which transmit a feeling of three-dimensional.

The bulb was subtly added in the middle of the design, the overall look inspiring playfulness creating an interesting optical illusion by making you believe its body isn’t supported by anything and levitates around the bulb. But in fact body is upsholded by a round wood top, invisible when viewed from the front. Creative, isn’t it?

Photos © Silvia Ceñal Idarreta; @behance.net

September 4, 2013
Luxurious Single Family House in Madrid With Futuristic Architecture

Joaquin Torres and Rafael Llamazares are the creative minds behind many remarkable architecture projects and interiors. They constitute the architecture team as A-cero and their portfolio simply amaze you. Each concept they create is unique in terms or architecture and interior design, revealing their distinctive style as architects. Today we’re presenting you one of their latest work, Balcony House, an imposing single family residence situated in Madrid, Spain.

Framed with natural environment, Balcony House seats on an independent plot of 2000 m2 at a distance of only 14 km from downtown. Spectacularly huge, this getaway home overlooking the blue horizon has three levels and spreads over an area of 952 m2.

Unique in its forms, the magnificent property features stylish and tasteful interiors, a true display of opulent, modern living, which are a reflection of its striking futuristic architecture. The facade reveals wide, floor-to-ceiling windows windows existing both in common and private areas, as well as interesting shapes. Thanks to them, and the great functionality in the distribution of the interior spaces, all the residence levels receive a high amount of natural light. Spaciousness, brightness and warmth define each zone of the Balcony House, revealing the utmost comfort and quality.

Double height volumes with wooden structures wrap the stays rank high in originality, giving the open spaces personality and charm. Art works complete the minimalist decor of almost every room, creating a pleasant contrast to the contemporary forms designed by the studio A-cero. The furniture of the kitchen and of the living room has been designed and built personalized for the owner, with high quality finishes. LED lighting is the protagonist in the interior, marking the architecture and creating lines that frame the spaces. The exciting project was completed in June, this year.

Photos © A-cero

September 3, 2013
Gorgeous House with Green Features Overlooking Sydney Harbor in Australia

Situated in Sidney, Australia, this beautiful home overlooking the Syndey harbor and iconic Anzac Bridge has been designed to serve the living needs of a young couple. In designing it, the architecture & design practice Fox Johnston had to deal with a small 241-square metre north facing site, which led to some architectural constraints requiring particularly sensitive handling of height, volumes, overshadowing to maintain neighbours’ sunlight, views and privacy.

With the objective to create simple, functional, private, generous and luminous spaces in such a tiny urban cottage, the architects make use of various design techniques to maximum advantage every single part of the dwelling, while incorporating a natural and often recycled material palette. The illusion of a bigger space is created by realizing a dialogue between indoors and outdoors, so each interior or exterior area take space from one another maximizing volume, light and air. Many large openings allow natural ventilation and plenty of daylighting contributing to the illusion of a larger home. The natural ventilation system is delivered in the new house, using a temperature controlled extractor fan over the central void.

This void also has large sashless windows that enable all the heat to be quickly expelled from the house on hot summer evenings. All natural and sustainable materials were used in construction and for the interior finishings. The Balmain House was intelligently designed to ensure also the family’s privacy and to fit in the tiny allocated space, but without compromising the privacy of the multiple surrounding neighbours.

The material palette used is simple, natural and textural with sustainability and reducing energy usage key considerations, resulting in an exquisite modern home. The main bedroom, ensuite, library/gallery and study are situated within the sculpted, faceted timber volume which seems to float above the ground. All the upstairs spaces retain sunshine and neighbouring views, while ensure views to garden vistas and the surrounding harbour and Anzac Bridge views. The energy-efficient home is heated hydronically, having in this way a small energy footprint.

Photos © Brett Boardman

Project details:

Architects: Fox Johnston
Location: Sydney NSW, Australia
Area: 360 sqm
Year: 2012
Builder: Owner Builder
Structural Engineer: Partridge & Partners
Planner: Warren Long
Hydraulic Engineer: ITM

September 2, 2013
A Glimpse into the Wildness of Nature by Ginger and Jagger

With the desire to bring to the clients the nature pureness, Portugal-based furniture brand Ginger & Jagger reveals us a world of unique designs and unknown wonderful furniture through their splendid “Earth to Earth” Collection. Based on earth, returning to earth, with the most beautiful forms and materials that nature has to offer, the collection features rare furniture pieces produces in Oporto, Portugal, that combines the aesthetics of nature and the expertise of their designers.

With this in mind, Ginger & Jagger high-end brand has released new products entitled “Nenuphar Coffee table” and “Fragments Mirror”, two items that rank high in originality as well as in functionality. The use of different materials and textures gives life to the design and shape irregular yet organic surfaces, creating an attractive visual effect. The original-looking coffee table design was inspired by a water-lily that floats on the surface softly giving color and charm to the surrounding environment.

Its different sized tops overflow in several heights and the leafs veins are outlined by the marquetry technique, making it interesting to observe in detail. On the other side, the design features of the elegant mirror draw attention through asymmetrical contour and the she several finishings that can bring more warm or winter feeling. Both the items go great in contemporary settings, enhancing the aspect of the space, and don’t be surprised if they will soon turn out to be the highlight of the room. “Nenuphar Coffee Table” has tops made of walnut veneer and lacquer finishing available in all colors (matt or gloss finishing), while leg are from combination of crystal acrylic, brass, copper or nickel. “Fragments Mirror”‘s frame is from brass, copper or nickel, and laquer finishing also available in all colors. How would you comment on these two furniture pieces?

Photos © Ginger & Jagger

August 31, 2013