Thursday, October 28, 2010

Concrete Lace

by Heidi







Concrete Lace, designed by Doreen Westphal, is made from ultra high performance concrete (fabricated by G.tecz) and different suspension materials like ribbon or 1mm steal cable.

Technology

During the making process the suspensions are casted inside the lace-shaped concrete tiles.

Applications
Applications include gauzes for hotels, auditoriums and public buildings, window treatment or room dividers for private homes, decorative interior and exterior wall coverings, visual dividers for large spaces like restaurants, parking garages or urban gardens.

Details per element
• Hight: 320 cm
• Width: 75 cm
• Weight: 8 kg
• Price: € 1500

Concrete Lace can be customized to any size, application and atmosphere.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Frank Lloyd Wright - Oak Park


Hi Creative People!!!!



I was just in Chicago last week and I had the opportunity to tour Frank Lloyd Wright's 1st House and Studio and the surrounding neighborhood in Oak Park. It was well worth the trip. I have seen other works by Frank Lloyd Wright but it was interesting to see a smaller scale and the interiors of his work. Some of my favorite features of the home were the set back Scottish fireplace and the tiled arch around it, the vaulted ceilings up in the children's playroom and upper bedrooms, the octagonal library room off the studio, the lighting fixtures in the studio and the dark cross beams, and lastly the casted men figures outside of the studio.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Lloyd_Wright_Home_and_Studio

While Wright lived in the home he worked for the architecture firm Adler & Sullivan from(1888-1893). It was here where he developed the "Prairie School" style. Design Features of this style usually include horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs with broad overhanging eaves, windows grouped in horizontal bands, integration with the landscape, solid construction, craftsmanship, and discipline in the use of ornament. Horizontal lines were thought to evoke and relate to the native prairie landscape.

Here is a link to the Prarie style which can be seen in a few homes nearby.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prairie_School

I highly recommend a visit if you are going to Chicago and I would also recommend you see the Robbie House on the University of Chicago campus.

Here is a link to both tours.
http://gowright.org/visit/

Be Inspired!
Ambra

Monday, October 18, 2010

Every Piece is a Conversation

by Heidi

well, at least at The Phillips Collection.
I became familiar with Phillips Collection while working at Lita Dirks & co, A Model Home Merchandising firm, few years ago. It was love at first sight for sure.
I love the "global contemporary style".

"Combining exciting concepts, talented designers, skillful producers and a dedicated support staff, The Phillips Collection is a creative collaboration that mixes concept, craftsmanship and marketing to bring beautiful home furnishings and accessories into sophisticated homes around the world."



Galvanized Circle Wall Decor with Origins Table and Chairs

Love love this sectional, and the Havana Screen


And this just makes me unbelievably Happy!


Their Accessories are always phenomenal, like these Stella Dolls



and these Garden Sculpture Chess Pieces


or this beautiful vase




Saturday, October 9, 2010

Custom Furniture Basics

So you’ve decided to renovate your home or at the very least, tackle the problem of harmonizing your space with furniture that fits your lifestyle. What’s the best use of your budget and how do you achieve the grand vision you’ve been patiently brewing? Will retail furnishings do the trick or should custom designs be brought into the equation?

When to go the custom route
Custom furniture is an investment and should be approached as such. Built-ins add value to your home while free-standing pieces can travel with you and be passed down through the generations. Customized designs also bring added value to its contents. For example, a stereo cabinet for the most discerning audiophile will thoughtfully organize and display beloved records, optimize audio quality by integrating systems into the unit, and provide ease of use to its owner.

Often times it’s the awkward or small spaces of our homes that ignite the need for custom furniture. Whether functional space partitioning is needed or modular, multi-function furniture that maximizes floor space while accommodating guests and tasks, a custom design can end up saving you time and money by eliminating the need for multiple furnishings and the inconvenience of space planning when entertaining.

Custom furniture considerations
What’s your overall style? Do you lean towards traditional, modern, or eclectic environments? If you’re not sure, try clipping images from magazines that match your tastes. Even images of abstract textures and color palettes can help your designer define a direction for your end product.



Consider your lifestyle. Do you entertain often? Do you hate to clean or are you a neat freak? Do you have children? Are you a homeowner or do you move locations often? All of these considerations affect the design from material selection, to construction, to finish options.



So…what’s this going cost?
There’s a reason you can never find pricing on custom furniture company websites. The reason is: we have no idea. Until a design direction is established, it’s impossible to give estimates. What I can say, as a general rule, retail furnishings are always less expensive than custom built. Consequently, if there is a piece of furniture that you really like, you should buy it. Recreating a pre-existing piece will be far more expensive than buying it flat out.

That said, there are various avenues to achieve your wants at different price points and any designer you work with should be empathetic to your situation and present these options to you. Material selection certainly factors into the equation, however the bulk of the cost is attributed to labor. In order to lower price points, details in the construction have to be simplified or eliminated. Of course, this does not translate into better and worse products. A talented designer will know how to make use of every detail from joints, to hardware, to materials that cumulate into a designed object that gets noticed.

Off and running
Now that you’re a more educated consumer it’s time to take the next step: pick up the phone. Have an in-home or onsite consultation with your designer to start the dialog and ensure your visions will meld. It’s important that your designer actively listens to your wants and needs and is just as excited as you are about your creation. The design process is the fun part, so get involved and help steer the project into your tailor-made solution.

Friday, October 1, 2010

Architect Larissa Sand from Sand Studio, San Francisco



Larisa Sand in her San Francisco Office and on the right, the door she designed for her Sand Studios

I recently found this great San Francisco based Architect, Larissa Sand.
She is well know for her use of unexpected materials such as rough concrete combined with steel and wood. With unexpected materials and a lighter hand, she shows that steel can indeed be a very feminine material.

Sand Studio Images:





Sand Residence is located just above the Studio




I love the combination of steel, wood and concrete. The wood softens and warms the otherwise very industrial look, as well as the added soffits

more projects:






To learn more about Larissa Sand:

Interview "The Architects View"

The Sand Studios