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Cuad-S pendant lamp is one of the newest addition to the amazing collection of lamps that Valencia-based company LZD Lamps has in its portofolio. The small company, which has been making handmade lights exclusively out of wood veneer right from its beginnings (at the end of 1994), is dedicated to create very special lights for very special people, as themselves say, and the results are the awards that they received (Good Design, two Design Plus and one Red Dot prize) and the fact that are among niche market suppliers worldwide.

Designed by Burkhard Dammer, Cuad S and Cuad SG show that simplicity can also have a really significant impact. The beautiful pendant lamp is an architectural model of great elegance. It features a minimalist appearance and is suitable for various modern settings both residential and public ones, especially because it’s equipped with T5 electronic technology offering a great versatility too.

The lampshades, made of natural wood veneer, are available in 11 different attractive finishes to suits your taste and decor needs. This noble material creates a spectacular lighting effect, projecting the internal beauty of the wood and radiating a gently warm light for an agreeable atmosphere. The hanging lamp comes also in two sizes: standard and large. What do you think about? Do you like the design?

Photos © LZF Lamps

One of the beautiful works of the Brazilian architect Mauricio Arruda from Mauricio Arruda Arquitetos & Designers is Maranhão Residence, designed in November 2012. It was an 70-year-old apartment situated in the district of Moema in Sao Paulo, that had never been remodeled until last year. The property was bought by the couple (the existing owners) from the parents of one of the owners and wanted to change its entire appearance in order to fit with their own lifestyle: they like to receive people and wished to have the freedom to change the furniture arrangement.

Therefore, architect Mauricio Arruda redesigned the 200 square meters completely, transforming it into a flexible loft where modern technology equipment combines creatively with natural materials and retro design details, resulting a lovely contemporary setting showcasing casualness and lightness to create a connection between the history of the property and its owners. To open spaces and give breadth to the Maranhão Residence, the architect canceled the previous small rooms and demolished all the walls.

With a great ability he explored, retained and made apparent throughout the entire home the original materials such as wood, concrete and stone, that combined together create an amazing contrast and ensure an original-looking interior design that it wasn’t for sure an easy job. It was obtained a perfect balance for that meets the expectations of the owners.

The project consists of a large open area that have the living room, dining / billiards, library and home and kitchen. Only two suites, toilet and laundry facilities remain separate. A series of layouts ensuring flexibility environments were designed in order to offer more than one option to change the place of the furniture pieces. For example, in the bedroom the owners can place the bed on three different walls with sockets and switches within reach; or the home theatre can be used in four different locations as well. In the dining area, in the middle of it, there is a nice pool table that easily turns into a dining table ready to be used anytime.

Windows frames and doors were replaced with new ones, as well as the plumbing and electrical switching for the entire apartment. Various paterns and materials of the versatile furniture and decor elements create an interesting and catchy combination of contemporary and retro design: Thonet chairs, a sofa vintage, oriental rugs and a library that has been transformed into cabinet. Also part of the decor are the furniture items envisioned by the architect itself: Pallet chair, table Swallow, and mobile line Joseph, in the living room and bedroom. Check out the following photos to discover how he managed to mix them and tell us what you liked most.

Photos © Victor Affaro

Los Feliz House is a project developed by Mike Jacobs from the New York-based professional architectural studio Mike Jacobs Architecture between 2009-2011 in the foothills of Griffith Park, California. Renovated for two actors with a strong sense of personal style and who love art, the residence combines modern functionality with architectural details, creatively displaying the client’s expanding art collection.

Los Feliz House looks really neat and modern and the lively splashes of color constrasting beautifully with the white backdrop makes it a place to clear the mind, a retreat that give you positive energy and recharge your batteries. It represents a 630 square ft addition and complete interior renovation to a 1920’s Mediterranean-style bungalow with 2 bedrooms.

The previous design of the house had a lot of deficiencies that architects had to redress them. The aim was to augment the area enclosing a disproportionate area of the property. Firstly, they create interior spaces that open to outdoor ones, accomplishing a seamless transition between interior spaces and the gardens. The outdoor areas were elnarged with a series of roof decks. The kitchen, living room and dining zone opens towards the outdoor living space, which was redesigned adding a swimming pool, benches with table and a lot of greenery. The interior is designed in clean modern lines, with minimal materials and a variated color palette instill the property a breezy, holiday feel and provide an appropriate setting for a wonderful expanding art collection.

Photos © Michael Wells

Project details:

Name: Los Feliz House
Architects: Mike Jacobs Architecture
Location: Griffith Park, California
General Contracting: Hi-Teck Construction
Structural Engineering: Armen Martirossian
Construction period: 2009-2011

The newest project of the architects from Italian firm studiomobile is Casa F/H, a penthouse flat belonging to an edifice built in the 60s in San Donà di Piave, near Venice, Italy. Situated at the upper floor of the building, Casa F/H benefits from a large  south oriented terrace overlooking great views of the Piave river above the tree-tops.

The Italian architects redesigned completely the apartment and the result is a modern, airy space with minimalist furniture design and concrete elements. Due to this refurbishment, energy efficiency and thermal comfort has been upgraded completely as well. Casa F/H is smartly divided, each functional area being rethought as an open space, where the only thing that suggests their separation is the furniture itself.

The home makes use of few colorful decorative accessories, elements of concrete,  oak wood, and white furniture pieces, resulting in a beautiful and coquette penthouse flat. The living area faces the outside terrace, which in summer becomes an extension of the sitting room. Some of the furniture like the immense white wardrobe, the couch and the kitchen white cabinetry were custom-made and produced by local handcrafts. This adds unique personality to the apartment, enhancing the feeling of cozy, breezy and uncluttered space. Cobbled entirely with oak wood it links the rooms providing a certain fluidity to the whole interior design. The same cladding was used in the main bathroom for the exterior of the bathtub, and in the master bedroom for the structure of the bed, of the night table and of the walk-in-closet.

A huge wardrobe covers the walls of the living room and is multifunctional, fulfilling multiple roles such as a closet, a technical piece of furniture, a fireplace and a bookshelf. It also features a large sliding door, and if it weren’t discontinued by free form doors, the natural iron inserts that creates graphic details and the coloured niches, you could very easily confuse it with the wall due to the uniformity of the piece, in hardwood lacquered white. In this way, it allowed the furniture to blend with the edifice’s architecture. The interesting addition are two columns of raw concrete that frame the sofa giving an industrial appeal and two distinct ways of living the space.

The kitchen, although not very large, it’s stylish and airy. The custom-made minimalist cabinetry give the impression of a spacious environment thanks to its white appearance and the ability to conceal all the kitchen utensils. The two glass bodies fulfill three roles: filter out the light, conceal the kitchen area and display decorative flowers and aromatic plants. We’ll let you discover the other design details that make this modern apartment very attractive and welcoming.

Photos © Photo courtesy of Giulio Boem

Project details:

Architects: Studiomobile
Name: Casa F/H
Year: 2013
Location: San Donà (Venice), Italy
Typology: Residential