Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Design Inspiration of 2008

Well, we are here! The end of a very interesting year, historically, politically and spiritually!

I do not make New Year’s resolutions. Why? It’s like trying to buy a gift for someone who already has everything. In my case, I make lists all the time, so why do another one just because it’s January 1st?

So, instead, because my blog is focused on interior design, I thought I would post some spaces that were inspirational to me, that lifted me up, that made me think about the way that I wanted to design, that made me want to be a better designer, that made me want to have access to better workrooms and carpenters and skilled craftsmen. These spaces spoke to me.

I saw this kitchen on Ronda Carman’s All The Best Blog and instantly wanted to be sitting in this space on a warm, breezy summer afternoon with the french doors wide open. It also helps that the space it all white, which I love.

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This kitchen was modeled after the movie “Something’s Gotta Give”. It’s my dream kitchen and I longingly look at this picture every once in awhile and hope that one day I will be able to buy a house where I can have this kitchen! I love everything about it from the wall color, to the bin pulls to the dark hardwood floors.

Living Room - Designer Randolph Duke - Architectural Digest

Well, it’s obvious why I like this space….. the view! I’m not sure where this living room is located. I do know that it was designed by Randolph Duke. And, I love the brick that extends past the wall of glass to the exterior, that leads your eye to the view. The furnishings are all kept monotone, so not to distract your eye from the view. Fabulous! And how about that fireplace!

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This patio setting with a wonderfully distressed painted pedestal table and beautifully styled patio furniture just makes my heart happy. Not your typical patio furniture and that’s what I love about it!

1 Style court Kitchen

Windsor Smith Design. I love the big wing-back chair at this table and the pendant lights mixed with the Chinese inspired chairs. I can just imagine cooking for all of my friends who would be hanging out right next to me at the table and chatting.

Windsor Smith Design.

I love the kitchen above for the Chinese-Chippendale chairs. And the fact that they used red chairs in this kitchen makes me love it even more. It’s hard to see in the picture, but there is a red lantern above the table in the second kitchen.

No Design Inspiration blog would be complete for me without my favorite designer, Michael S. Smith. This is the Painted Room that he did for the Lowell Hotel in New York. It’s so calm and serene.

Tamara Magel

Another relaxing bedroom by Tamara Magel.

Jeff Shelton 1

A friend of mine introduced me to Jeff Shelton, an architect in the Santa Barbara area who builds really funky and really fun architecture. I love this space because the windows are so fantastic and organic. This building could be in a Dr. Suess movie!

Hamilton Design Associates, New York. I love the use of blues and greens in this space. It’s a bold mix of pattern and color and not for the faint of heart.

One more from Hamilton Design Associates. Here they use tangerine and light green in various patterns to create a fresh room that my daughter would love. It uses a fresh energetic color, but somehow this room feels restful to me.

Bob Barry Design of Los Angeles. Even though sparsely decorated, the stone and personal effects (look at all of those photos on the upper landing!) give it a warmth that I love.

Elegant, refined, airy and unconventional with the cowhide. Charme Tate Interiors out of New Orleans gives us this beautiful room.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!! May your heart be filled with Love and may Blessings come your way in 2009!!

Nyårsdukning

En dag som denna är det säkert många som kämpar för att få till en snygg dukning i sista minuten. På Mateus hemsida finns flera tips på kul och trevliga dukningar.

Gott Nytt År!!


Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Design- och Inredningsbloggen i Hus&Hem

Ni har väl inte missat intervjun med Pethra och Mikael från Design- och Inredningsbloggen i Hus&Hems senaste nummer. Ni kan även läsa intervjun på nätet här. Grattis Pethra och Mikael!


Monday, December 29, 2008

Flera dimensioner med Dimensions

Svenska tapetföretaget Decor Maison har tagit fram en ny tapetkollektion som heter 'Dimensions'. Det är en kollektion som på olika sätt vill lura ögat och ge intryck av tre dimensioner. På deras pressbilder kan man se hur detta bl a förstärks genom en kreativ tapetsering med sneda vinklar och mönster som växer ut på golvet eller upp i taket...


Sunday, December 28, 2008

The Golden Mean and Modern Design

I was first introduced to the Golden Mean in an Elements of Design class. My professor, in her French accent, sat at the front of the class and slowly and methodically explained the Golden Mean and how it relates to many things in the world; architecture, art, music, design. It was fascinating to me then and still is today.


The Fibonacci Sequence

Fibonacci Sequence

1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89
Every figure is the sum of the two preceding
1 2 + 3 = 5 8 13 + 21 = 34 55 89


O.K. Stay with me here… The Golden Section is devised from this ratio. When a Golden Rectangle is progressively subdivided into smaller and smaller Golden Rectangles, a pattern is obtained. From this, a spiral can be drawn which grows logarithmically, where the radius of the spiral, at any given point, is the length of the corresponding square to a Golden Rectangle.






The given symbol of Phi, which symbolizes the Golden Ratio.

Since then, it’s opened up a lot of doors for me in how I look at design, how I look at architecture and how balance and harmony are present in the world.

Since the Renaissance it has been used extensively in art and architecture, it has been used in historical and important architectures, such as the St. Mark's Basilica and the Parthenon and has become a standard proportion for width in relation to height as used in facades of buildings, in window sizing, in first story to second story proportion, even in the dimensions of paintings and picture frames.



The Parthenon in Athens, Greece.



Ceiling Mosaic in St. Marks Basilica.


Great Mosque of Kairouan


A geometrical analysis of the Great Mosque of Kairouan reveals a consistent application of the golden ratio throughout the design.


The Swiss architect Le Corbusier, famous for his contributions to the modern international style, centered his design philosophy on systems of harmony and proportion. Le Corbusier's faith in the mathematical order of the universe was closely bound to the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series.


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Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoye, Poissy, France.


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Villa Savoye Plan View and the use of the GOLDEN SECTION (1:1.618).

Le Corbusier explicitly used the golden ratio in his Modulor system for the scale of architectural proportion. He saw this system as a continuation of the long tradition of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", the work of Leon Battista Alberti, and others who used the proportions of the human body to improve the appearance and function of architecture. In addition to the golden ratio, Le Corbusier based the system on human measurements, Fibonacci numbers, and the double unit.




Le Corbusier’s Modulor System.

Le Corbusier took Leonardo's suggestion of the golden ratio in human proportions to an extreme: he sectioned his model human body's height at the navel with the two sections in golden ratio, then subdivided those sections in golden ratio at the knees and throat; he used these golden ratio proportions in the Modulor system.



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Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man (ca. 1487).


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Palladio’s Villa Rotunda.

The Villa Rotonda is symmetrical on all axes, including diagonals. Any architect will tell you this is hard to do, much less sell to a client; even Palladio only did it once, probably just to see if he could. Palladio based his design on simple progressions in the Fibonacci series leading to the Golden Mean. This is also hard to do.


In India, the Golden Mean was used in the construction of the Taj Mahal, which was completed in 1648.




Piet Mondrian used the golden section extensively in his geometrical paintings.


And today, architects are still frequently using the Golden Mean or Ratio in their work…



The CN Tower in Toronto, the tallest tower and freestanding structure in the world, has contains the golden ratio in its design. The ratio of observation deck at 342 meters to the total height of 553.33 is 0.618 or phi, the reciprocal of Phi!




The College of Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University have plans for a new Engineering Plaza based on the Fibonacci numbers.


What can you create using Fibonacci’s Golden Mean?

Saturday, December 27, 2008

H&M Home

Att H&M börjar med heminredning måste väl ändå vara decembers stora nyhet. Idag visar jag några av produkterna i ett montage på svd.se. Ambitionen är tydligen att textilkollektionen ska kunna blanda, matcha och mixa i en redan befintlig inredning. Pressbilder från H&M Home.





Friday, December 26, 2008

Stilren perfektion

Svart, vitt, grått, lite lila och lite blänkande inslag blandat med några asiatiska detaljer. En stil hårddragen näst intill perfektion. Lägg märke till de tunga svarta gardinerna tillsammans med svart golv, vackert och vågat tycker jag. Inspirerande miljöbilder från Villa Collection.



Thursday, December 25, 2008

God Jul lite i efterskott...

och jag hoppas ni verkligen har en underbar jul och att allt blev så fantastiskt som ni tänkt er. Så här på juldagsmorgonen blommar alla mina hyacinter, amaryllis och tarzetter i kapp och det känns riktigt skönt och välbehövligt med några lata dagar.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Silver and Gold

Silver and Gold… Silver and Gold…. Everyone wishes for Silver and Gold.  How do you measure it’s worth?   Just by the pleasure it gives here on earth….

Inspired by a Woman’s Day magazine, I thought it would be fun to stretch my interior design blog today into some more sparkly items for the holidays….

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Gold earrings hereGold dress hereGold purse hereGold shoes here.   Gold sunglasses here.

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Silver handbag hereSilver earrings here.  Silver shoes hereSilver ring here.    Silver/Diamond sunglasses here.

And, this is an interior design blog, so I could not forego some interior design ideas for you as well.

Venetian Glass by Martino's Import Collection

Venetian Glass by  Martino's Import Collection

 

Silk Velvet - Opera by Holland & Sherry

Silk Velvet-Opera by Holland and Sherry.

 

Gold and Platinum “Pailette” Stemware can be found at Gore Dean.

 

The BeatrizBall Collection can be found here.

Amarillo 2 Silver Small Pendant Lamp

Amarillo 2 Silver Small Pendant Lamp can be found here.

 

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Thin Silver Plate Napkin Ring can be found at Gore Dean.

 

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Anichini Verona Throw can be found at Gore Dean.

Merry Christmas everyone!  I hope you have a little sparkle in your holiday!