Totally tactile interior in Kiev

Twister is a recently opened restaurant in Kiev Ukraine. This wonderfully tactile interiors was created by Sergey Makhno and Vasiliy Butenko.

I just want to climb in to these pictures and touch everything, the shag pile walls, the bean bag type chairs which look like massage chairs... I can't imagine having to clean the shag pile - not my worry but I wonder if maintenance came into it?

This space is 2 stories and has booths on stilts above the main dining area. The theme Twister features in the interiors - the curving booths are inspired by tornados.There are six tornado shape balconies with five dining cells. The multiple ceiling lights hang from the ceiling emulating rain drops.

The interior colours are warm and inviting, the brown and rust colours are a great success in this environment.

I love this, I think its edgy, risky and a fabulous result. This is definitely not in the safe design arena. This has total personality.

Ciao
Lizzi

Stick to singing.... Mariah Carey's bath design?

I don't usually try to have a negative opinion about design....

Mariah Carey, singer has turned bath designer?

"Mariah Carey made an announcement today that she will be starting a new career. she will now be a bathtub designer. though she knows nothing about plumbing, porcelian or making a mosaic design she does know that if a shoe were like, three times the size it is now, you could totally take a bath in it." http://billsshoesbooze.com

I love shoes, crazy about them in fact but this is just terrible! There is nothing nice about the shape or design or anything.

I love your singing, you've got a great voice Mariah but I'm sorry I'm not a fan of your bath designs....

Ciao
Lizzi.

Fabric interiors, fabric pods ingenious - beautiful!

This space is so effective, it looks simple and beautiful. These cylinders are enclosed fabric spaces, secured by tension cables and sitting on a wooden base to provide a kind of indoor camping space. Italian studio Antonio Ravalli Architetti converted an old factory in Migliarino, Italy, into a youth hostel where guests can stay in these tall fabric-covered pods. They don't look sound proof but definitely pretty luxurious in comparison to most hostels.

This installation is at Brooklyn's Museum and was designed by Situ Studio. It utilises the existing columns and consists of 2000 metres of fabric which is pleated around the columns. This installation is open until the end of January and these photos are incredible, if you are local you must go.

This tranquil looking space was designed for hairdresser Pedro Remy. This concepts focuses on keeping the raw elements of the space, exposed concrete features throughout, softened with translucent fabric. This salon is in the city of Braga, and was designed by Architect Nuno Capa. This space is relaxing, contemporary and has subtle character.

This beautiful concertinaed fabric is part of an exhibition about performance art and movement designed by London firm Amanda Levete Architects at the Hayward Gallery in London. The exhibition is called Move: Choreographing You, and it charts the relationship between performance and visual art over the last 50 years and invites visitors to participate in the installations on show. This beautiful fabric ribbon provides way finding through the exhibition for visitors.

This is an installation inspired by the wrapping of buildings. The fabric on the facade of this building is quite unique and interesting.

These installations are gorgeous and quite breath-taking. Fabric is so incredible, you are only limited by your imagination!

Ciao,
Lizzi

www.dexigner.com
http://www.juvinterior.com
http://www.dezeen.com
http://emanate.org

Confessional chair...

Confessional chair...

Looks fun but I reckon I'd slide down the tree if I was responsible for putting this up...

Felt Furniture... Neat!

Innovative and colourful - I like the way they stack. It looks like you could stack heaps!

Metal fabrication sexy? Yup!

I subscribe to a linkedin group about furniture. Someone asked about urban furniture designers. You may recall an earlier blog I posted about urban furniture - I really like it. I think its great when good design is just part of life. It's often those pieces that we don't particularly recognise, we just experience them.

Anyway someone responded to say look at 'Veyko' I was intrigued so I did too. This is what I found:

Isn't this beautiful? Five Hundred and Twenty Eight stainless steel blocks later, Veyko completed this sculpture which features in the Mortimer B. Zuckerman Research Center, NYC. Designed by architecture firm LTL Architects. Close to two miles of weld bead was used to complete the Thirty One foot long wall. (excuse the imperial measurement if you are from my neck of the woods, although I'm sure you can appreciate that is heaps!)

Veyko’s proposal was for the 'art in transit' commission was selected as the winning entry. This bench design concept evokes the dynamic movement of the subway with its form transitioning between two body postures: leaning and sitting. As we all know, a seat in a subway station is normally nothing specific to look at or maybe its just that we are so used to it, it is no longer interesting - it's predictable. Throw something like Veyko's proposal into a subway station and everyone will notice and be intrigued to experience it.

This image shows their versatility. Very impressive.

I was keen to see the wall panels - they have a page on their website for this section. Unfortunately it's under construction at the moment. I will bookmark to remind myself to check this out in a month or so.

I love to see innovation like this, especially the sculpture - very cool.

Ciao
Lizzi

Design Heaven In the middle east..

This is design heaven in my eyes!. The owner of this store must have great vision or confidence to allow designer Marcel Wanders to create this beautiful fashion store interior Villa Moda, Bahrain. To explain this interior to a client it would sound hugely busy and quite fussy, not a good back drop - this is why I say confidence, the owner must have just trusted that Marcel would create something amazing. And I think this is amazing - I love it!

The heavily patterned interior includes mannequins with mirrors in place of heads.

'For the interior design of Villa Moda, Marcel Wanders found inspiration in the traditional souk, creating a melting pot of cultures full of surprising. “The souk is the ultimate marketplace, a concentration of innovation and tradition, diversity and intimacy. Lose yourself in labyrinth passages and find yourself anew. We designed Villa Moda Bahrain as an international Babel of fashion, in order to share instead of divide. Meet the people of the own streets; shake hands and learn each other’s language.”' - text taken from http://www.arnewde.com

When I see interiors like this, more and more I'm inspired to take a design trip to the middle east for inspiration.

Love it, ciao!
Lizzi

When did hair salons become galleries?

I'm lucky, my sister in law owns a hair salon (Servilles Ponsonby), so I never have to think about where I'm going to go. Whenever I visit I always feel comfortable and welcome and there is plenty of smiles. Before I met Libby I had been into my fair share of hair salons - some were uber cool and some more friendly. I guess we all look for something different in a hairdresser. I certainly look for value for money and service. Sure I don't want to go into a dive but I'm not sure about going to somewhere that looks like it stepped out of a magazine. Check some of these out:

This place is actually a hair treatment centre - gone are the days of being called a hair salon...It's not a treatment centre. I sure hope they can turn the lights up in this space to check out the colour. This space happens to be in Jakarta and uses clean and simple lines, with translucent material used as dividers. Sounds great - but colourists please do not touch the curtains with your dirty hands!!

What a cool way to make a boring space interesting. I have a love hate relationship with the hair washing stage. As much as every salon tries, those sinks are not comfortable! But then again the shear pleasure of the massage... its worth it every time!!
This salon is Cristiano Cora hair salon in New York. I like this, nice and bright, fun fun fun!

This is also Cristiano Cora hair salon in New York... Are we sure this isn't a gallery? Sure doesn't look like a hair dressers. They must have a great cleaner/sweeper, because every colour is going to show up on this floor. However given this is New York, this is perfect, slick and gorgeous!!!

This is a barbers in Israel. This concept was designed by Lion Vaknin and Sabi Aroch and was based on the fact that hair has a particular geometry and it's dynamics are derived from natural law. The strand geometry is curved, in accordance with natural or designed hair growth of different people - hence the end design result.

Glamourous - lovely. It may only be black and white but it's a great balance of textures, sheens and finishes, I love it.

These types of salon are not for everyone but I'd try these out just to see if they are as good in all the other areas - service and not to mention hair style, can they cut it?

Ciao,
Lizzi

Photo credits:
www.besthousedesign.com
www.interiordesignroom.blogspot.com
www.modresdes.com
www.momoy.com

Glow in the dark bathtub?

Crazy!... glow in the dark bath tubs. This incredible creation is from Lucedentro.
They apply the technology of photoluminescence to a virtually unlimited variety of objects through using selected pigments.

This process used to be done through the use of phosphorus, however Lucendentro pigments are different, they are inert, non perishable, and they are neither toxic nor radioactive.

Glow in the dark stairs - very cool!

I wish I could tell you more about the technology and the products but the website was in Italian. Bello, bello...

Ciao
Lizzi

A lumberjill and a designer...

What do you get when you cross a lumberjill and a designer? You get this bench...

I love collaborations between 2 design firms although it certainly has its challenges, however I think the challenges relate more to ego than design... This is obviously not 2 design firms but is equally successful in creating something very unique.

'The long-standing tradition of logger sports served as a defining inspiration for the Log Chop Bench. Thus the lumberjill was asked to strike the log based on instinct, so that the final result would be a combination between design and spontaneous physical strength. Another collaborator, a motorcycle saddle maker, polished the overall look of the almost finished bench with a red hand-sewn upholstery that follows the design lines created by the lumberjill.' Text taken from http://www.decoist.com

This creation brought together 3 distinctly different industries and allowed them all to contribute creatively to this end product. Whilst I can't say that I really like the piece, I like the collaboration for sure.

Ciao
Lizzi

Gorgeous Caravans - nonsense, not true!

Anyone that knows me knows I don't camp and even being in a caravan makes me feel nervous.

But... I found these crazy ultra modern interiors! Yes it's possible....

This interior is not really my cup of tea, but still.... Who spends this amount of money on a caravan. This looks like it would cost as much as a house.

This looks slightly more like a boudoir - certainly miles away from looking like a caravan for sure!

This doesn't even look like a caravan right?

If I had to do it - this would be it, but then again I still don't know if I could do it....

Ciao
Lizzi

1. myraviray.blogspot.com
2. archithings.net
3. babayaganyc.wordpress.com
4. cubeme.com

Shoes glorious shoes - what is better than shoes & design?

I love shoes! What woman doesn't? And what's better than the two together - shoes and design!

This space is ultra cool, it looks more like a nightclub than a shoe store. Incredible lighting and vibrance.

This is a shoe store in Japan. Beautiful little cubicles that are illuminated to enhance the shoes colour. The great thing about this presentation is that each and every item on display is highlighted by its own light source, in fact the shoes are treated like gallery pieces.
The recesses are the brightest things in the space drawing your eyes to what is on display.

I absolutely love this! It's not particular good to shop from, if this is how they are displaying the shoes to be purchased. But it is a hugely novel and creative way to theme a space. As a transition space, entry into a shop or a feature piece it's perfect.

Quite a simple and stylish fit-out. This reminds me of a few slick shoe shops I have seen around. The fit-out itself does not shout at you but then again isn't that good design? Isn't the best design when the product itself is the feature and not its backdrop? When I look at this image I see the shoes first, as this is a shoe shop I would say this design is a success.

I have seen a couple of different images of this store. I'm fairly sure judging by the pictures that I have seen - that the light is interchangable. I have seen a similar view with a pinkish hue, and another view with a blue tint. Whilst I really like this, I do wonder if this is a case of the design over powering the product. What I see is the green or pink or blue, depending on the image - won't the colour of the shoes always be mis-represented? If anyone knows anymore about this store, or if anyone has been I'd love to know more.

This is a neat concept, it looks like ribbon weaving through a space. The lines draw you in, in a hypnotic way... The only thing I would say about this space is it's huge in comparison to the amount of product on display. Sure there doesn't need to be shoes everywhere, but there could be a few more than what is shown.

I'm sitting on the fence about these spaces, design is best when the product is displayed well. But likewise, good design also offers the customer an experience. Are they doing the same thing - getting a sale, but from a different start point? Food for thought..

Ciao
Lizzi

Photo credits
shoeuser.com
www.momoy.com
www.architecture-page.com
futureblog.designhotels.com
blog.showcase-cities.com

Repurposed? Not a laughing matter or is it...

Emily in our office is a fan of re-purposing items from furniture to fittings. The idea behind 're-purposing' is great, we are sending less items to the landfill, we are combining the old and new and we are giving new life to items that still have life in them.

The reason I mention it being a laughing matter is that we currently have a client who laughs everytime we use this word. I'm not sure if there is any difference between re-cycling or re-purposing - the latter however sounds much cooler and is more 'now'...

I did actually decide to look up the definition; repurposing is to use or convert for use in another format or product. Recycling is to recondition and adapt to a new use or function. Sounds pretty similar to me!

Some cool or different examples of re-purposing...

I love this idea! This is a reception counter in a library made form re-purposed books. This is a great way to enhance and reinforce what the business does. It is also totally quirky - people will remember and talk about this counter.

Funny! Anyone have a spare bath lying around that is not in the bathroom? I like this idea more than growing plants in it... Baths are not made to be outside with herbs or plants growing in it....

This is just a WT (what the) moment! Really? Don't understand, not sure Argh! Maybe its a milk bar? But if it was then I wouldn't understand the chandelier.

This is my favourite way to see re-purposed items. Very cool. Re-purpose away people!

Ciao,
Lizzi

Photo credits:
Library Counter poetichome.com
Half bath re-nest.com
Milk Crate Chandelier lionhug.wordpress.com
Trolley table igreenspot.com

Boardrooms, bringing back the drama

Meeting Rooms & Boardrooms are great opportunities to show case a company and who they are. It This is also a space where clients are often prepared let loose a little - to add some real spunk and creativity.

I love colour and encourage the use of it. Boardrooms or transition areas like hallways and breakout spaces are a great opportunity for colour. These are spaces we dont often occupy for long periods of time so the colour adds punch and vibrance.

This image is a great bold use of colour and drama. Not appropriate for all business types of course.

This image is a meeting space at the BBC. This is the perfect example of a space reflecting the company business. The interior speaks volumes about BBC being a cutting edge multi-media company.

From the traditional to minimalist. Whilst this space is distinctly unique, the concept of a different creative environment for a meeting space is becoming the norm. Many clients are giving us the brief for these key spaces to be different, creative, supportive and non-traditional. It's great, it allows our creativity to thrive... This space was designed by Eldridge Smerin.

This image is more architecture related rather than interiors but I have included it because this is being used heaps! Probably because it looks so good. Suspended meeting blocks into the main atriums add real wow to any building. The Telecom building in Auckland has suspended spaces like this.

I this informal meeting room taking informal to far? Or has informal become ridiculous? I love it, we would definitely have a space like this in our office! I probably wouldn't have this as a public space only an internal meeting space but still very cool. Of course this is Google...

Meeting rooms and Boardrooms are seen as such influential spaces for both visitors and internal people. They are spaces where we brainstorm and create growth opportunities for the company. These spaces are no longer formal, stiff upper lipped corporate rooms - we are bringing the personality back!

Ciao,
Lizzi

Photo credits
Green Meeting Room designrumahku.com
BBC omahku.net
Minimalist bean bag and Google www.home-reviews.com