Where retro meets modern - Kitchen by Isabelle Halling

We love this kitchen, it's a little bit retro, a little bit modern and a dash of Swedish country. There's nothing like a mash-up of design styles to make a place feel warm and inviting! The exposed wood beams are wonderful and we really enjoy the idea of a great, big kitchen island on giant caster wheels. Somehow the modern concrete counter tops, the rustic flooring and the delicate hand painted touches on the cabinetry work together just right...

via: emmas designblogg Read More..

The Sushi Collection - Moroso

Debuting in Miami tomorrow, The Sushi Collection for Moroso is a special combination of different design elements created by designer Edward van Vliet. The collection unites simple, clean lines with exquisite patchwork embroidery, evocative of Japanese or Moroccan moods, and embroidered, ultra-modern geometric patterns. The sophisticated wrapping concept of layers of different materials and patterns creates a look unique to the collection. Many more pictures via: If It's Hip, It's Here

Read More..

Heirloom Furnishings from Reclaimed Lumber

For anyone with a desire for handcrafted furniture and a passion for green living will fall in love Whit McLeod. His career began "on the other side of the bark" as a wildlife biologist and his abiding reverence for the natural world is reflected in his award-winning line of Arts and Crafts furniture. Heirloom furnishings with a twist, reclaimed lumber from oak wine barrels and Douglas Fir rescued from industrial waste are handcrafted into furniture fit for Gustav Stickley, Frank Lloyd Wright and William Morris enthusiasts everywhere.

That spirit of preservation informs his manufacturing process, from relying on vintage machinery that McLeod has retooled himself to scouring scrap yards for copper to be melted down in his foundry for tiles used in tabletops. Accordingly, every facet of his work is done in-house — unheard of in this present day and age.

From tables and chairs to flooring and sculptural metals, Whit McLeod captures the true essence of sustainability in his heirloom quality furnishings. This is a good as it gets!

Read More..

Cologne IMM: Louging Around at NOW by Hulsta

Innovations in storage and small space solutions have been key at many of the furniture shows this season. We liked Hulsta Studio's approach to this strong statement while addressing the younger generation's love of lounging on the floor. Many of their NOW furniture line's pieces were lower to the floor, yet still answered the need for shelving, tables and places to work and be organized - even while kicking back and relaxing.

Read More..

Recapturing Americana: Red, White & Blue

This week we are devoting our blog posts to everything Americana in honor of inauguration week. We've been seeing a resurgence of anything authentically American, handmade, reclaimed or created with concern for our environment and our country.

Red, white and blue - not necessarily in combination - is making a strong statement in both fashion and home decor. Even at international tradeshows we are seeing more of the three hues most near and dear to Americana. At Heimtexil we saw many applications of red, white and blue.

White was clean, crisp and striking:

Saunder:Naturapura:HNL:

Blue was dusted and serene or intense in marine shades:

Gracioza:H.K. Kleinmann:

Almedida Home:Red was bold and vibrant:

Zoeppritz:Tarus Home:Cow on Parade:Zoeppritz:Linum:

Read More..

Technology for a Sensory Experience

The marvels of modern technology allow us to experience our surroundings in a completely different way. Light, sound and features that utilize multiple senses during our average day are quickly becoming the new normal.

This modern illuminated faucet from Ndwelt, called Spot, makes a bright addition to any bathroom space and addresses the sense of touch, sight and sound. The touch-triggered Spot allows you turn the water on or off and to regulate the temperature by dragging your finger across the top. To please the sense of sight, the faucet is completely illuminated on it's underneath side while you listen to the soft flow of water from Spot.

Check out this very multi-sensory workspace designed by Carey Jones Interiors for the hair appliance company, GHD, created to keep their employees inspired and innovative. We love the LED lighting behind the walls and overhead, the tufted effects on the walls and the illuminated floors.

Speaking of multi-sensory technology for flooring and tiles, Sensitile transforms the way materials interact with light. The innovative tiles create moving shadows, produce unexpected rippling patterns and unique lighting patterns for flooring, walls, panels and commercial applications.

This golf course club house in Switzerland takes multi-sensory technology to new heights by taking design and light pattern plays up the walls and onto the ceilings. The clubhouse is so gorgeous, does anyone actually leave to get out on the links?

Read More..

Sensory Experiences on the Walls and Under Your Feet

Walls and floors are, by definition, flat surfaces with a purpose. We paint them, carpet them, polish them and even glamorize them with art, rugs or technology. But, what if you experienced them with more of your senses?

Ceramic artist Karin Widnas' home in a artist village south west from Helsinki, Finland includes this wall of ceramic tiles designed by the artist herself, separating the living room and dining room with her own personal style.

These dramatic and glamorous walls with framed effects create a stunning backdrop for Pinch Design's newest furniture pieces.

The illusion of texture... Dramatic black walls with a touch of pin striping create a feeling of textiles, menswear and drama in this room by Perscentrum Wonen.

Do you feel like taking a barefoot walk through a mossy garden? This rug from Nguyen La Chanh gives you the feeling of soft moss underfoot with this sensory experience for the bath.

Where the walls and the floors meet, usually there is a clear definition of where one ends and the other begins. Not so with the Travel magazine Vague Bond's travel bookshop in Sweden. Here the pattern from the floor jumps to the walls, becoming dimensional to create the bookshelves to hold the product.

Read More..

On the Catwalk

Catwalk by MINIMIS is a LED lighted modular steel walkway designed to replace those boring sidewalks or slippery stepping stones. Easy to install and inexpensive to operate, the system is designed as "A more dramatic alternative to your standard brick walkway to the front door". The surface is non slip, easy to clean and stain resistant. During the day the walkway has a minimalistic and modern look of modular steel and white polycarbonate. However, when the sun goes down this walkway comes to life with a programmable array of colors, patterns and light.

via: Mocoloco

Read More..

Flooring

This blog chronicles my entire kitchen renovation from start to finish. Greentea Design has provided me with their solid wood kitchen cabinets, and I'm taking care of the rest.

If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out my kitchen remodel blog for an archive of previous posts. I posted recently about some final sketches Greentea created for me and some decisions I've made. Now for the flooring.

One of the steps to this renovation that I was super excited about was getting new flooring. When I first moved into this house I knew I would eventually knock the wall down separating the living room from the kitchen, and continue the same flooring throughout. Since I love the look of painted hardwood, I decided to paint the existing hardwood in the living room (I detested the oak colour) and get hardwood installed in the kitchen and paint it the same colour. I was so excited to see the tiles go that I had lived with since last December (beyond gross). I'll stick a before photo here as a reminder:


As I mentionned in a previous post, the contractor spent alot of time levelling the floor, because it dipped from one end to the other by several inches.


Initially the contractor was going to purchase unfinished hardwood to lay in the kitchen. But when he went to pick it up, he said there were alot of knots showing and was worried it would show through the paint. So he went with finished flooring. And he purchased boxes of various colours that were leftovers from previous customer orders, so it only ended up costing $1.99/sq.ft. When they started laying it, we all got a kick out of the different colours and thought it looked pretty cool.



As you can see in the last photo, because the floor involved some layers to get it level, the kitchen is now a little step up from the living room. The contractor put a nice curved finishing piece on the edge.




To see the result of my flooring project, click HERE. Read More..