Voronoi Bookshelf

The Voronoi Bookshelf by Marc Newson is made from a single slab of white carrara marble. The organic shape gives the eye a welcome break from the monotony of rectangular shelving. Owning a unit like this would force you to look at your personal objects in a whole new way as you hunted for the right alcove in which to put them. This is a fantastic piece of design that will no doubt have lasting appeal. I have no idea how this would make it into the average home, but perhaps Newson liked the irony of using a totally impractical material for such a banal piece of household furniture. A shelving unit turned into glorious sculpture! I would not be surprised if it is reproduced in a more practical material in the future.

Translucent Porcelain Lighting

I find the use of translucent porcelain in contemporary lighting exquisite. Delicate shapes and monumental forms take on a soft warm glow as they are illuminated from within the unglazed ceramic.



Here are two examples by a company called Diffuse that is based in the UK and owned by Jason and Lucy Boatswain. They slip cast their own porcelain and make pendants, wall lights, lamps and chandeliers. A lot of their pieces are custom designed like the chandelier shown (above), but there are many amazing stock designs to choose from as well (right).



The Cibola Pendant light by Scabetti (Dominic Bromley) is another striking example of how porcelain lighting can take on a sculptural quality.

Jean Baudrillard: Rest In Peace

Never resist a sentence you like, in which language takes its own pleasure and in which, after having abused it for so long, you are stupefied by its innocence.

Jean Baudrillard

IQ Light

Here is another example of great interactive design. The IQ Light is a self assembly lighting system consisting of interlocking quadrilaterals made of translucent PVC. It comes with easy to follow instructions, that show you how to make lamps of various shapes and sizes by linking together the identical elements.



As you have probably caught on from my previous posts, I love interior design that can interact with those who live and/or work within it. If a client was not totally keen on the idea of a completely interactive environment, something like the IQ Light could offer a smaller and perhaps subtler way, of allowing them to leave a creative fingerprint on their living space. How could you get bored of a light like this?

The IQ Light was designed in 1972 by Danish designer Holger Strøm, who was then working at the Kilkenny Design Workshops, Ireland. Kilkenny Illuminations Ltd. sold around 20,000 of these lights until 1999 when the rights were sold to Bald and Bang and it was relaunched in Copehagen.

Wallpaper 1

Wallpaper has become incredibly popular again in the last few years and the choices of patterns, colours and textures can be completely daunting. It is an intimidating decision to make, as the wrong design could completely overwhelm an interior. If the colour and/or pattern is not balanced well within the overall scheme, it tends to become the only thing the viewer sees.



My favourite wallpaper company is Fromental. Established in 2005 by Tim Butcher, (formerly of de Gournay), Lizzie Deshayes and David Jones; the collection consists of wallpaper that is hand sewn, hand stitched and hand painted onto silk and paper. Each piece is made to order and they will also work with clients to make custom designs.













Some of their most stunning works are panoramic and non repeating pieces, that are produced to fit a pre-measured surface area.

Droog

Last year I finally made it to Droog Design in Amsterdam. Not surprisingly, I was a little star struck. One of my favourite pieces is the St. Petersburg Chair (left) by Jurgen Bey. These chairs have been covered with a glass reinforced polyester and a silk screen flower pattern. What struck me was not the displayed colour and silk screen used, but the infinite possibilities of colours, patterns and textures that could be applied to millions of disregarded pieces of furniture of many styles and eras. This is such a clever way to reuse vintage pieces and make them functional inside and out. I instantly imagined patios and gardens with various combinations of dining room sets, placed against a backdrop of rolling landscape. What fun! The only questions in my mind would be the environmental toll of applying the reinforced polyester and the final cost, as these chairs currently retail for about $6000US each.
I love how Droog questions the relationships between design, materials, clients & cost and in their words 'pushes the envelope' in their approach of supporting cutting edge design and fighting the onslaught of brandwashing. What makes these products successful is that they are actually functional. Almost all of them balance usability with quirky, challenging design and unusual use of materials.

Post and Beam

Growing up in Vancouver, one of my earliest influences in modern design was Post and Beam residential architecture. During the 1950s and 60s, they were celebrated inside and outside Canada for the way in which they related to the spectacular scenery and temperate climate of the West Coast.

Sitting on rocky outcrops, in between large cedar and fir trees, their streamlined edges seemed to become part of the landscape and at the same time add their own unique form; both complementing each other without being overwhelmed.

Perhaps given the era, not much thought was given to the practicalities of insulation and energy efficiency and, combined with being sadly misunderstood, many of these amazing houses have disappeared or been badly altered during refurbishment.

Pellet Stoves

I have been big fan of pellet stoves as an alternative heating source for a while, but had yet to come across interesting designs until I stumbled across these two stoves by Ken Okuyama.




As stoves and fireplaces usually occupy such a prominent position in a room, form becomes as important as function. It is refreshing to finally see a more contemporary design (above left) that could be used in a minimalist setting.

Sixixis

The Sixixis stall at 100% East (part of 100% Design) in September was crowed with people gazing at this lovely chaise lounge. Sixixis are three graduates from 3D Design for Sustainability at Falmouth College of Arts, and their studio is in Cornwall. Using customized bending equipment they create objects from locally available unseasoned timber.



My favourite piece is this custom designed playhouse/sculpture that can be moved about into any position in your garden. It was made for children, and can be occupied, climbed on and rolled about, and is fixed in place using child-proof legs.

Floor Art

Lately, I have been very inspired by new designs in carpets and area rugs. It is as if the passion for bold design leaped from the wallpaper onto the floor. The Rug Company has an amazing selection of designs, colours and textures. Here I have shown some of my favourites: Varanasi (left) and Magnolia by Vivienne Westwood (below).


These rugs could be key pieces in many different styles of design and could subtly work to tie everything in. Most of all, they are like works of art that if cared for would add lasting appeal and pleasure to a room.

Based originally in Istanbul, Stepevi makes beautiful area rugs in a range of styles and sizes (below).

Veedon Fleece offers a custom design service for carpets as well as its own collection.

I quite like this damask runner and could see it in a variety of settings.

maxFUS

Belgian architect and designer Karel Vandenhende has created an apartment that is completely interactive. He calls his system maxFUS (free undefined space).




Walls , which are also storage cupboards, can be moved around to completely alter your living area. Chairs, tables and beds are all on castors. Nothing is fixed.




He has also designed furniture that can flip and fit into different functions. For example, a desk could turn into a dining table, desk or chair.




In a world where we are increasingly defined by what we purchase, where we seem to all march to the same marketing drum, I am increasingly interested in the idea that we can interact with these products and the environment that we place them in. That they don't define us, but we define them.

Perhaps even more importantly, is that with this type of design, they could last and not become a part of an endless cycle of the desire for new. Smaller objects could come and go, but the overall structure would be lasting; as it could change with your tastes, needs and whims over time.

Livingstones

Livingstones by Samarin are another great example of design that you can interact with.







These wonderful cushions, made to resemble oversized pebbles, can be rearranged and moved about from room to room. They come in a range of neutral colours and one bright red accent colour.

Dream House

My favourite residential architect is Tom Kundig. I find his ability to combine raw, industrial elements into elegant residential structures simply breathtaking. These houses are not ethereal, pristine and glossy works of glass and steel, where residences feel like museums; they are buildings grounded in the earthy mechanics of everday.

For example:

Concrete walls expose the lines of wood forms.

A modern stainless steel kitchen will have doors that swing open on large metal wheels.

Fireplaces look as if they were salvaged from turn of the century factories.

Quirky domestic elements are added so that you could not help but feel at home. Everything can be touched, opened and closed.



The overall design combines the interior and exterior seemlessly, as if these houses were always meant to be there.

Incredibly elegant design that ties itself to the earth and landscape...

with a good sense of humour. ("You'll have lots of time to rest when you're six feet under")

Beaux Objets

While I am on the theme of avant-garde art movements, these stunning ceramics from Kose, that I came across at Maison Objet in January, look as if they escaped from a cubist still life. The vases are handcrafted with a thin clay and each one is painted with water-colours or finished with precious metal effects: platinum, shiny grey-green or copper. They can also be enamelled inside to be filled in with water. The placement and combination of these beautiful shapes are limitless... Make your own still life.

The designer behind Kose is Rosaria Rattin, who also designs beautiful things for ISI.

The Launch

Design is my passion. I see it as a place where fine art, practicality, craftsmanship, theory, functionality and beauty intersect.

I begin this blog today to establish an online portfolio of my work as an Interior Designer, and to create a forum for my tastes and opinions on design in general.

Currently, I love interiors with surrealist touches, where the juxtaposition of ordinary objects in an unusual context can give new meaning to familiar things. A good example of this can be seen in the work of Seattle architect and furniture designer Roy McMakin. (see photos) When these touches are added in subtle ways, the result is a refreshing jolt from the hum drum of overly stylized interiors and jars the observer into questioning what is the meaning behind it.

Another good example of this are the rocking chairs at the Boston Logan Airport. (Also at San Diego, Dallas and Charlotte, NC) The rather bleak contemporary international waiting lounge is lined with over sized white rocking chairs that look as if they were robbed from a Norman Rockwell painting. They are so out of place in the context of that building, that they demand responses from the individual. Who put me here? and why? Instead of the usual painful task of setting your jet lagged self on an uncomfortable vinyl placemat, you sink into an enormous rocking chair and watch planes take off. Kind of strange, kind of fun and very practical.