Thursday 31 October 2013

NEON POPS IN 1960s VILLA REMODEL BY Amélie – CARPENTRAS FRANCE


I know I may have said this before...... but I may have found my perfect dream home - located near Carpentras, in France - Interior Designer Amélie has beautifully transformed this 1960's villa.  Amélie has a natural eye for the hip and the original and managed to create a modern, if monochrome yet colourful casual home.

The touches of neon throughout the property adds that wow factor we all strive so hard to achieve, yet she seems to have done this rather seamlessly and without effort.  Like it was just always supposed to be like that.  It feels lovely and lived in and naturally un-styled.  

I love the open fireplace and the polished cement finishes on the walls and shower surround and stairs. And I love how very Scandinavian this all fells.

Most of all I love the neutral and natural palette; the use of wood to soften what could be a rather monochrome space and the element of fun she has maintained throughout.  Beautiful or shall I rather say tres jolie!

Via french by design
Images Henry del Olmo

Friday 25 October 2013

MIRRORCUBE TREE HOTELS

Life is about being connected, connected to people, to places, to experiences - but also life is increasingly becoming depending on being connected to technology; smartphones, tablets, social media - we never really switch off.  I know myself for one, constantly checking in on Pinterest, on my blog, on Facebook, on Tumblr, on LinkedIn and then not the mention the many other inspiring websites and blogs we all visit daily for inspiration for beauty for the next trends be it design, art or fashion.
My mind is constantly overwhelmed by all the very many connections;  and when I read about places like the Mirrorcube Tree Hotels, and wonder through the images - I almost instantaneously feel like a load has lifted. 

Thinking about staying high up in the treetops just surrounded by nature; the trees and the birds and the bright Northern Lights at night; staying in a very basic yet perfectly designed cabin -  there is not much more one can need or want than that.  Somewhere beautiful,  somewhere basic, somewhere you can disconnect - and by disconnecting in essence we reconnect to ourselves, to nature and to what's really important in life.

My week-end get-away also knows as 'Plot 3604' will be a sanctuary where I can totally disconnect and unwind - and I want to share that experience and make it available to other like minded people.  I am currently working on a couple of options for some basic cabins which will tread lightly on the earth, but while doing so also fill that big emotional void we all carry around with us at times.  Oh to travel light....   projects like this one reignites the desire to create this sanctuary and motivates me to keep going until I make it happen.

Archello post reads as follow:  "The place is a forested hill close to the small village of Harads, located about eighty kilometers up along the Lule River in the far north of Sweden. Its greatest asset is the vast and magnificent forests, where the new Tree hotel was started as a response to the growing interest in the wild nature and ecotourism. It establishes a last outpost, or a first base station, on the border between contemporary cultured society and an untouched natural environment. 

The starting point of the Mirrorcube is the relationship between man and nature. Its character, both camouflaged contextual and abstract deviant, is inspired by an observation of how we approach nature both as something enticing but also challenging. A paradox of the search for an original and authentic experience, combined with the high-tech materials and advanced equipment we believe we need to get really close to nature. 

The Mirrorcube is a simple hut in the trees, a lightweight aluminum structure mounted directly on the tree trunk of a tall pine. The entire volume, a 4x4x4 meter cube, is clad in highly reflective glass, the outside of which reflects the surroundings and the sky, creating a camouflaged place among the treetops. The interior is made of plywood and freely positioned windows open up to a 360 degrees view of the surroundings. 

The cabin offers a living for two people; a king size bed, a small kitchenette and bathroom, as well as a living room and a roof terrace. Access is via a rope ladder or a rope bridge attached to the adjacent trees. The project is realized entirely with local resources and craftsmanship from around Harads. 

The Treehotel is run by Brittas Pensionat, which also manages the common service facilities that holds complementary functions; bath, sauna, and a planned chapel. The first five tree rooms were completed in 2010."

More here 

Post via Archello

Last three images via treehotel.se


Photographer: Åke E:son Lindman, Lindman Photography

HAPPY FRIDAY!


Happy Friday everybody, hope it's a great weekend, 
wherever you go, 
and 
whatever you do!

x





Photo by  me

Monday 14 October 2013

A BEAUTIFUL CAPE TOWN HOME







When I lived in Cape Town a few years ago I would often walk past this house.  I would often stop and stare and wonder how it looked inside, and also wonder how different the world would look from inside this awesome modernist house.

Who would not want to live here...?  

Designed by a very talented Chilean architect by the name of Antonio Zaninovic based in Cape Town.   Excited to have found an old architect acquaintance who also works at his studio!

Found via Roomed.nl

Sunday 13 October 2013

MY WORK: MICRO CEMENT 'UPCYCLED' COFFEE TABLE





Its a cold and rainy and grey autumn day in London - and what better way to spend a Sunday morning, than with a leisurely breakfast, reading some blogs and finally getting round to showing you what I've been working on over the summer.

I've been experimenting with a micro cement finish, similar to the Cemcrete product range that I was marketing in Cape Town a few years ago.  But this time round I got my hands dirty and I have actually been working with the product, mixing and troweling and sanding and some more mixing and troweling and sanding and finally sealing.   The finish is only a bout 2 - 3mm thick and you can create some really wonderful and interesting textures and finishes in any colour you can imagine!  The finish is not only beautiful but also very strong and durable.   Excited is quite an understatement!  

The photo's I am sharing today is of a coffee table that I 'upcycled' with the micro cement finish.  It was probably 1 1/2 days work, which is a long time, but as the saying goes 'time flies when you're having fun'.  I guess with time I will develop my skill and work a bit faster, so I can continue developing a little range for my portfolio.  I enjoyed taking the photo's - it was on a sunny day in August, and there was just this lovely gentleness about in the air, the sunshine added this rather lovely magical glow.