Danish apartment in dark tones

This  Danish apartment is part of an old building dating back to the beginning of last century and is the home of Malene Ryvard and architect Jesper Wichmann and their two children. The wall dividing previously this space was demolished, so the family could enjoy a large family space that fitted together the kitchen and the dining area. The dining table in white add a light spot to the centre of the room and fits perfectly with the dark grey Eames chairs and the 265 lamp by Rizzatto for Flos (one of my favourites). At the back, it is the kitchen block in the kitchen by Cph Square, a black-stained oak furniture custom-designed for the occasion. On top, the beautiful lamp by Achille Castiglioni. Massimo Vignelli's iconic calendar is used both for planning and appealing graphics. 

There is a blueish tone in this flat that creates a perfect contrast with the dark wooden floor and the grey and black details and gives the whole space a soft masculine and elegant look.

 

Via Femina.dk

FOCUS ON | Bathroom design in Oslo

Located on the top floor of a 19th century apartment in Oslo, this bathroom design manages to incorporate changes in level with a modern and minimal look. The room actually seems carved out of stone thanks to the visual effect produced by the use of 100cmx300cm tiles. The reduced number of materials and the preference for neutral colours lighten the spatial drama effect created by the different levels and help to create an embracing environment.

Via Haptic Architects

Our home #5 | New things in

New shots from home with some of the last things that have just arrived. 

I love the double reflection of the Vase Vase designed by Norm Architects for Menu and I think it is perfect for the white flowers I picked up at the beach last weekend: they are sand daffodils and smell deliciously at night-time. On the background, a long-wished item: the HAY paper designed by All The Way To Paris. It took so much to find out where I could get it and I am happy to share with you that German website Connox has the full range and a very good Scandinavian design selection, too.

To see more picture from our home, click here.

  All pictures © facing north with gracia

A perfect minimal open space

This living and dining room was designed by Dutch Studio Niels back in 2012. The office, founded by Niels Maier, former graduate at the Design Academy Eindhoven, aims to deliver high quality design by focusing on the great care of details and finishings.

The open space is the result of a clear process that subtracts only the unnecessary elements: the whiteness of walls and floors will capture the light coming from the glass façade during winter shorter days.

All images ©Studio Niels.
 

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I am very happy to tell you that last week the Tate Modern Gallery in London have included Openhouse magazine among its bookshop selection: to have a chance to win the first issue of the magazine, check the post here!

FOCUS ON | Marble for the kitchen

I spotted this image in Pinterest last week and I immediately liked the marble tiles in the kitchen: they are an elegant and classic choice for the space and has a stylish and contemporary look. Also, the combination of green hues from the glass bottles and the Pelargonium plants fits well the vein of the marble.

For more kitchen inspiration, check here and here.

Via Husman Hagberg

Ps: Have you joined the GIVEAWAY here already?

WEEKEND SPECIAL | Erica Hörberg's home in Sweden

Erica Hörberg is an interior designer and stylist based in Växjö, Sweden. Her home mirrors that low-effort, graphic elegance that to me is so typical of Swedish homes. 

Eero Saarinen seems one of Erica's favourite designer: she has two of his iconic Tulip tables, one for the dining area and and a small side table next to the sofa used to display a lovely fig tree. I love the small details, like the candle holders or Therese Sennerholt last design. The Dots by Muuto in wood and black are always perfect and works great with the light.

 All pictures via EricaH Instagram.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

MONDAY CRUSH | Outdoor Inspiration #1

Summer has arrived and here it is my collection of inspirations for a contemporary urban patio. I like the idea of mixing raw concrete with architectural plants, like tall grasses or wetland plants that will be planted in pots. A great possibility are these contemporary fabric pots  produced by French brand Bacsac. For the seating area, the Boiacca concrete table by Kristalia is a great solution for the outdoor space. Finally, for an extra seat, I love the idea of using thin bamboos hold together by metal elements like in the natural bench created by  Steven Banken.

Enjoy!

| 1 | Miscanthus in Bacsac pots

| 2 | Fig Tree via Stil Inspiration

| 3 | LucidiPevere's "Boiacca" table for Kristalia

| 4 | Steven Banken, Sheaves

| 5 | Equisetum japonicum in a concrete low pot

WEEKEND SPECIAL | Home renovation by Studio Four

Studio Four is a multi-disciplinary studio based in Victoria, Australia, whose Ridge Road Residence was one of the finalist projects in the Houses Awards. The studio also received a special mention in the internationally acclaimed architizer a+ awards.

The Albert Street home presented here is a Victorian building located in Melbourne. Its previous spatial structure was transformed by Studio Four into a space able to adapt to the constant-changing need of modern families. The interior design, based on a soft and neutral palette of colours and materials, is full of light thanks to the use of concealed sliding doors and oversize windows.

But it is the strong dialogue between interior and outdoor space that caught my attention, especially in the kitchen-backyard block. Here, the space flows trasnforming the outdoor space into an extra room for the family. The pale wood chosen for the joinery and flooring is repeated in the outdoor table and bench creating a visual continuity also in terms of materials. The view of the kitchen from the backyard is stunning: the pale oak island stands out perfectly against the white background of thin metallic shelves and cabinets. 

Truly, a beautiful space.

 

 All images via Est Magazine

Happy weekend!

FOCUS ON | Kitchen block

This minimal kitchen is part of the project developed by Itai Paritzki & Paola Liani Architects for a family house in Israel. The architects focuses on creating a meaningful dialogue between the interior and the outdoor space thanks to unexpected and "spiritual" visual connections: the idea is to create a ritual space for domestic life. The house itself consists of three volumes arranged along a patio, each of them differentiated by a specific function. 

As for the kitchen, the space is extremely essential with the dark grey island being the main focus of the room. Behind it is the window, opened towards the surrounding landscape.

Via Itai Paritzki & Paola Liani Architects

FOCUS ON | Minimal bedroom in grey

I stumbled upon this work from Swedish agency Fantastic Frank last week-end. Particularly, I liked the minimal, simple bedroom and its light Japanese touch: the green branch in the image above looks almost like an Ikebana. Our sight is guided towards this focal point and make you wonder what's beyond, creating the urge to discover more. The overall atmosphere is calm and relaxed.

Via Fantastic Frank

White minimal bedroom

Simply a picture I fell in love with, just a bit more inspiration for the day.

Photography Mia Josefsson

FOCUS ON | Home office

I spotted these images in Bjorn Lofterud's website: they belong to Dallasday, a Swedish company that is actually dedicated to design interior solutions for contemporary meeting spaces. Don't you think this essential space could easily look like a dining area in a hybrid home-office place?

Via Bjorn Lofterud

URBAN JUNGLE BLOGGERS | Greenery on the balcony

Spring is struggling a bit this year with this unpredictable weather and cool nights but my plants are actually enjoying this humid, warmish situation a lot. I managed to bring them all outside at the beginning of March and I couldn't resist to add some new entries to the collection. 

I have to confess it is quite hard for me to have only a small balcony here in Barcelona because I was used to a lot of space in Italy, like a whole nursery and several glasshouses where to make experiments...Sigh! Some of the plants you see here actually come from Italy: I always try to bring one back with me when I go there for work. 

The first picture shows one of the plants I most fond of: it is a Fockea, a Caudiciform plant that my father gave me some years ago. My dad passed away not a long time ago so it is a very dear memory of him and his great passion for these plants ( the small two-leaved-one in the Playtype mug was also part of his collection).

Another great passion of mine are Platycerium but they are hard to keep alive: either they find the perfect micro-climate or they die fast, leaving me furious.  And eventually our last acquisition: a Moscatel vine we bought here in Barcelona. Vines are great for balconies because they grow abundantly and can transform a small space very quickly. The idea is to create a square structure at the top to train in into an umbrella shape - getting too technical, amn't I?

I grew up among plants and "plantsmen" and probably for this reason I have such a strong emotional bond to these green creatures and I struggle to stop talking about the...like today!

Could this be my longest post ever?!  Urban Jungle Bloggers, hope you enjoyed it!

| Props | Playtype mugs | Ikea Glasshouse | Custom-made pots from Italy |

Thanks again to Igor from Happy Interior Blog and Judith from JOELIX.com!

FOCUS ON | Japan and Scandinavia influences

This house is located in Cortalloid and designed by Switzerland-based Architecture Studio Frundgallina. The place shows reminiscences of both Nordic and Japanese architectures with its monochromatic tones and minimal lines. I tend not to like flooring built in different materials because they interrupt the natural flow of space, especially in open ones. But, in this case, the use of concrete next to wooden floors works very well and underline the different atmospheres the architects thought for each room: a functional, essential approach for the kitchen and a more domestic one for the living and communal rooms. 

Via This is paper

Our Home #2

Random pictures from our home showing our home office and the dining area. I especially like the one with the cushions. Featured are two Gran pillows from Fine Little Day and the Fish Cushion designed by Thomas Sandell for Asplund. We received the last as a gift during our visit at their beautiful store in Stockholm: you can take a look of the place here. I'm very fond  of the Sandell's Fish pattern for its simple yet elegance look and I day-dream to own one of their beautiful Fish rugs soon.

Images © FNWG

Our Home #1

  

Most of you have probably seen the interview I did for Llamas Valley Autumn issue and all the post where I talk about it. I have a great moment of that day and today I wanted to post some pictures from the photo shooting. Some were not published online and I decided to share them with you today.

Living in a rental has got some positive aspects (such as flexibility) and some very negative ones. My to-do wish list is so long you won't believe it! I would like to fix many things, including the spatial organization but, as you may understand, this would mean taking a few walls down - not a very easy thing to do when you are renting. I also would like to move the kitchen and add industrial style doors on one of the walls of our studio. Minor changes, you see!

Photographs by Tim Adami, with thanks.