The Design Salad March 23, 2010
Blog has now moved to The Design Salad. It’s new, its improved, its here, its now! (And I’m not just saying that because its my blog. Okay maybe a little.)
Coming Soon . . .to a post near you! January 12, 2010
Hi all!
So as you can see its been a little while since I’ve posted anything. But I have something in the works. It will be worth it. You’ll see. Until then (which is soon I promise!) hang in there!
Montana
Steven Holl October 11, 2009
Amazing architect. Exquisite. Beautiful. Highly functional architecture that pairs wonder and beauty like pairing a full bodied red wine with steak. His architecture tends to shift over time in focus, typology to phenomenological. He is most famous for Simmons Hall at MIT, the Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Finland and the Bloch Building attached to the Nelson-Atkins Musuem of Art in Kansas City. He has written numerous books on architecture and tries to understand the effect light has on a space and its surroundings. He was involved with urban planning before and therefore has an understanding of the “big picture”. He creates experiences with his architecture, which, honestly speaking, shouldn’t that be what architecture does?
Houzz
Looking for some much needed inspiration? This is just the place: www.houzz.com Just type something in the search bar and be prepared for the massive amounts of images, a little shifting, a little sorting and you might find what you’re looking for.
Funky Chairs September 29, 2009
So this up, chairs. Lots of them, various oddities of chairs. Some I could actually see myself sitting in and some, well, seem more like just for kicks. If I was a designer I would design just because I could.
The Ivy Chair by Satoshi Itasaka (http://www.h220430.jp/). I think its beautiful and elusive all at the same time, don’t know if you can sit in it though . . .I’d be scared.
The Growing Chair by Michel Bussien is, hmm, interestingly enough in the same vein as the above chair . . .funny. Its grown in an acrylic base and eventually removed and, voila, a tree chair!
A Lounging System by Animi Causa
Intriguing idea, combining lots of balls and creating a system. Bonus: its weird and expensive! Only $1,600, as students I have that to spare don’t you?
Felt Chair by Lothar Windels
Okay, I would totally sit in this, it looks comfy and it makes me want to touch it! Grey and red felt folded back on each other.
A Wall of Books = Awesomeness! September 23, 2009
I stumbled across this today in attempting (between being hooked on Hell’s Kitchen Season 6 – shh!) to do research for a project. I, personally, am in love with the idea of a wall of books, endless, glorious, beautiful books. I would stock my bookcasewall (I made up the word – obviously- you have to say it really fast to get the full effect though) with design, architecture, home, furnishing, lighting, etc. etc. etc. books. (My husband’s books aren’t pretty enough to grace the presence of the beautiful bookcasewall, their just flimsy paperbacks.) So without further ado, feast your eyes on the bookcasewall. [I’m getting funnier in my posts huh? A little cheeky! ;)]
The Not So Big House September 20, 2009
Have you ever walked into a house only to be greeted by soaring ceilings, echoing hallways, boring white paint and no character? Houses sometimes seem so cookie-cutter and . . .um . . .dare I say it?! . . .ugly? Few houses I have walked into have the “wow factor” in the architecture. So why does one house “have it going on” and the other doesn’t?
Sarah Susanka explores how houses can become a home. That a home should be an extension of how you really live. I adore her books and own all of them. When I first considered a degree in interior design I began reading her books and began to understand how environments and spaces affect people emotionally and mentally. I highly recommend her books if you are considering residential design.
She believes that houses should be a personal reflection of you and that instead of sacrificing detail and character for square footage, you should invest money into the individual qualities you desire in a home and forgo the large expanses. She explains why some spaces feel cold and unwelcoming and others warm and friendly. She takes the idea that a house is just a collection of rooms and hallways and turns it on its head. As designers we need to consider new expressions and ways of looking at the “norm”. Outside the box thinking.
Her books also gives examples and before and afters. She also embraces the idea of a concept and realizing it in a space. Check out her website: http://www.notsobighouse.com/
Not So Big House Kitchen
Future Bathrooms
Wondering what bathrooms and accessories will look like in the future? Consider the following. Some are very interesting, but why does everything futuristic have to be sleek and look like objects taken from The Jetson’s house? What do you guys think?
First up, the steam shower. The seat includes adjustable body sprays and a foot massage. Accents of teak with tempered glass with a built in FM stero (why not iPod or satilitle radio?) For $24,000 its all yours!
Second on the list is the Ondus bath fixtures by Grohe that offers high-tech performance with digital controls; Each bather sets the temperature and flow rate. What’s curious is how engineers tried to mimck the flow of waterfalls and rain.
Kelley Wearstler September 8, 2009
So, Kelly Wearstler. How did you do it? How did you become one of Hollywood’s most-sought-after-designers? Care to share your secrets?
Kelly Wearstler is known for her glamorous interiors. Some say she recreated the Hollywood Regency look. She was named “mega-decorater” in 2008 by Domino magazine. If you look at her work it seems to be focused on symmetry, a bold color palette and mixing vintage with modern. Her husband is the owner of a Kor Hotel Group (and it is a GROUP of hotels . . .all over the world). She is the main interior designer in such hotels. She’s most well known for the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica.
She’s started her own line of linens and bedding and probably more in the future. The name of her studio is House of KWID or Kelly Wearstler Interior Design.
I think her work is very fun and different. It’s beautiful and at the same time cozy. If I could ask her one question it would be: does all her work stem from a concept, or is it pulling furnishings and materials together to create “a look”?
The Design Study Spot 