Greenery

These last few weeks I've been literally obsessed with floating water plants + green leaves and branches contained in glass vases. I've already bought a Water Hyacint ( Eichhornia crassipes) that is enjoying our terrace back in Barcelona but I'd like to add more so here it is some inspiration.


Images Via

Dreaming of summer

Imagine a green, fairy tale setting and there a black sculptural parallelepiped emerging:  trust me,  there is nothing like a black background to enhance luxurious greenery and give it a contemporary twist. This is the case of architect Rasmus Bak and Lene  Bak's summer  cottage in Aarhus, Denmark. The surroundings are integrated into the architecture generating a seamless transition between inside and outside. In the open kitchen, the couple decorated with furniture that both underlines the summer house's simplicity but also adds warmth and texture to the bright room. The family prefers to bath outdoors during summer so they closed part of the patio next to the bedroom to place the shower and bathtub. The terrace is designed as an extension of the living room and the severity of raw concrete is soften by three square flowerbeds planted with perennials and shrubs, like Echinacea and Hydrangeas. Cylindric black pots are located in the corners of the terrace to provide space for a small Mediterranean garden. I love how the Ikea dining table fits with the HEE dining chairs from HAY!




From factory to flat: Swedish renovation

This beautiful apartment is for sale: who's moving in with me? The huge windows and high ceiling reveal the previous use as an industrial building, whose atmosphere is maintained also in some of the interior details, like the steel lamps hanging on the dining table. The elements are minimal but the wood used extensively in the place give a sense of domestic warmth. I start to think brown is for real the new black!




 Via Pella Hedeby's Stil Inspiration

Artists' home

The place pictured today belongs to the owners of Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters,based in Eindhoven, the author of the work I talked about here. It was used during the Dutch Design Week as a gallery to present their work and give the visitor a more relaxed, almost familiar experience. The house is not especially beautiful for its interior design, though we all can recognize some good pieces here and there, but I'm sure you all agree with me it has got a very special atmosphere. Again, I love their work: those herbaria are gorgeous. I'm in a very botanic mood these days.


Via

Like marble

As soon as I saw these images, I thought it was such a cool idea to use a piece of marble as a work of art. Then I realised it was not marble at all: nature inspired these works by Dutch Studio Maarten Kolk & Guus Kusters who used polyester and special pigments to capture the beauty of the weeds floating in the sea. I am absolutely in love.


Floor Number Four

Here we are with the third appointment for the Liebester award. As you all probably know by now, the Liebster award is given to upcoming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Rules for receiving this award:
- Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
- Then answer the questions the person giving the award has set for you (check this link to find them).
- Choose 11 people and link them in your post (you can do it as a list in this way).
- Notify the people you have tagged.
- No tag backs. : )

My choice this week is lovely Floor Number Four, an Irish blog about design, interiors (lots of Scandinavian, of course) and life by architect and interior designer Maria. Floor Number Four was the small apartment she used to live in with her husband when she started blogging back in Greece, where Maria is originally from. As she states in her blog, this is the space where she records everyday moments, shows bits of her work and puts up photographs of the pretty things she comes across. I like the pictures form her home a lot, especially the "Kinfolk style" ones! Maria also owns an online shop where she sells some of her illustrations.



Casa Voltes, Cadaqués

A rigorous conceptual approach is the core of the renovation of this ancient house located in one of the most beautiful places in the Mediterranean, Cadaqués, in the North of Catalunya, close to the boundary with France. Few selected materials have been used in the interior: in the living room, the traditional floor pattern (mosaico hidráulico) has been declined towards light and dark grey tones and used as a carpet. White marble has been chosen to underline the transition among different materials, while the existing stone walls and the wooden ceiling have been painted in white. The overall effect is tranquil, almost monastic. From the roof, you can appreciate the breathtaking view of Cadaqués.

 
Photographer: Lorenzo Kàràsz

Andreas Larsson's loft

Believe it or not, this perfectly styled Scandinavian loft is located in Chicago, U.S., and belong to Swedish photographer Andreas Larsson (that's the trick!). Larsson moved to the States more than ten years ago to study photography and finally settled down in the West Coast. After lots of haunting, he finally managed to find the apartment of his dreams: a open plan loft arranged in one floor in an industrial building that dated back to 1890s. The photographer chose a oak floors painted with a special paint, generally used outdoors that give the space a very contemporary atmosphere without becoming cold. I love how Andreas declined the Scandinavian style and adapted it to the industrial loft, especially in the decision of painting the beams white (quite unusual for these spaces) and keep the furniture to a minimum by selecting just a few stunning design pieces.

A workspace for home

It has been more than a year since I moved to Barcelona and, after relocating twice and  travelling a lot, I'm ready to get my own studio set and, hopefully, bring all my beloved design and architecture books from Italy. As our families and most of our friends live far away, it has also to be easily transformed into a temporary guest room. I've been looking for inspiration to create a space that could merge together the pragmatic side - i.e. organization and multiple activities- with the inspiring one - a great space to work and that fits well with the rest of our flat. Another good point is we don't want it to be expensive: we live in a rental flat and, sadly, our landlord is not very collaborative. 
The studio I have in mind has to be neat, with lots of light and well organized. I love mood boards, too, so I'd like either to paint part of the wall black or use a board where I can pin inspiring images. Here it is a collection of images I find particularly interesting, one of them being my favourite home office so far: Jennifer Hagler's studio.

Stefan Söderberg's home

Stefan Söderberg is one of the Swedish designers behind the brand Hope and this is his home, a perfect modern, mid-century inspired,  Scandinavian place. Looking at this images I cannot stop thinking of Desiree's article on Vosgesparis: is brown the new black? 



Ale Besso

Second appointment with the Liebester award shortlist. Today the prize will go to Ale Besso, a blog I discovered via Instagram. I like Ale's style and there's no doubt she  is a talented photographer and graphic designer: sometimes it's hard to believe she actually lives in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for the truly Scandinavian touch her place has got. Ale prefers the white background contrasted by black elements and small doses of strong colours (isn't the piano super cute?). Enjoy!



To know more  about the Liebester award shortlist check here and here

Congratulations to Ale Besso: check this link for instructions.  

All images via Ale Besso.

Objet Trouvé

A collection of things from Rotterdam based shop Objet Trouvé founded by Josje Theuns whose goal is to combine the social aspect with her passion for selecting beautiful collections.

 

We actually are in Edinburgh for a wedding but I found these beautiful images and wanted to share them, no matter what!

Back to childhood: Elisa Ossino for Nidi

Nidi, presented at the last Milan Design Week, is the new project by Italian brand Battistella that decided to develop a series of furniture for young children, a series of clean, simple forms where functionality and adaptability are the key features. This kind of rooms haven't been presented in the blog yet but I got fascinated by this as the styling was carried out by talented Elisa Ossino, whose work I have already presented here. Nidi's cedro cenere and tomato red pallette fits perfectly in the set that is prepared to the smallest detail, FROM THE and the Kidsonroof toys collection to Ferm living pin board. Nice detail are the Muuto Dots inspired knobs.




Via Design per bambini

Sennerholt's last collection

Here it is, Therese Sennerholt's last print collection that we have been waiting for with great excitement. I really don't know what to say but that the duo Agaton + Sennerholt is just unbeatable. The all white styling makes the prints to pop out like anything else: they are the only stars. The new prints will be available online from May the 24th. I have already chosen mine, have you?



Ok, maybe I have chosen two of them .... or  three ....

Via Lotta Agaton