Chairs!

We all know the infamous Ghost Chair, don't we? Well, I just stumbled across the Z Chair... what do you think? It would certainly be a conversation piece!

..."It summarizes the essence of contemporary design"...



via Dezeen



Ghost Chair via

And since we're on the topic of chairs, what about these:



Inspired by Windsurfing and paragliding equipment, this chair is called the Waver
via Dezeen




A little morbid, but this chair is called "Souviens toi que tu vas mourir" (Remember that you will die), and is a reinterpretation of the monoblock chair
via Dezeen

 And what about an ABChair? A collection of 26 chairs, one for each letter of the alphabet.  The seats can be arranged to form words, if desired...



via Dezeen

  

House with Slide

Can you imagine having a SLIDE in your house?? That's exactly what a Japanese studio, Level Architects, did in Tokyo, Japan.  Connecting 3 floors with a staircase on the left and a slide on the right.  You can choose to slide down, or take the stairs?!? Are you kidding me? Hello, SLIDE!!!  Or, if you want to have fun, try running up the slide to get up!! Haha.  Wouldn't this be a fun house??  To read more about it, visit Dezeen here.

{images via Dezeen}

Have a good weekend!!!

Boxing out...literally!

When designing a house (from the floor plans that I do, to the decorating), one of the most painful things to work around is bulkheads (or box outs).  Boxing out around mechanical runs and junction boxes can be unavoidable in some instances, and can simply ruin the look and feel of a space.  Well, someone may have come up with a solution for that!! Why not make the box outs an architectural feature and actually highlight them (instead of try to hide them!).  That's exactly what Pascal Grasso Architects of France did in this Apartment in Paris. The landscape of blocks on the ceilings of this apartment conceal mechanical items (like air conditioning and ventilation), lighting and a sound system.  More blocks were added along the walls of the space to form storage and shelving.

{images via Dezeen}

Playing with Your Food

I don't have kids. But I do know that it's not always easy to try to get your kids to eat their food.  Well, why not make breakfast, lunch, or supper, a place where they can also PLAY?!  Called Join, this cutlery is made to clip together.  Maybe this would distract them, and stop them from actually eating the food on their plates, or maybe it would make supper time more fun....I don't know.  What I do know is that this is a BRILLIANT idea. Not to mention, a nifty way to spice up a daily place setting at the table. Isn't it kinda cool? Would you ever use these? (what about just for camping?? I think this would be GREAT for camping!)

Designed by Ding3000

{images via Dezeen}

Paper Eyelashes

I came across this on the Dezeen website awhile ago and thought it was interesting.  I mean, I've heard of false eyelashes before (even used them for my own wedding!), but PAPER eyelashes?!? Are you kidding me??? I have no idea where you'd wear these, other than on a couture fashion photoshoot or something, but I couldn't help but let you see the endless and innovative things that the world brings to us....

{images via Dezeen}

Apprentice Store

I've been trying to avoid my typical Sarah Richardson posts (especially since Sarah 101 aired a new episode on Tuesday), as I thought that maybe I'm bombarding you with too much Sarah Richardson!! You may remember my posts about churches being converted into houses here and here, but what about a warehouse?  With that, I give you The Apprentice Store by Threefold Architects. Located in Bath, England, this Grade II-listed warehouse is now a family home.

Four additionl buildings were added to this 200 year old warehouse, all connected now by a series of stairs and walkways which create a circular route through the house. Original elements from the warehouse (stone walls, exposed wood beams, etc) remain visible in the new living quarters and bring a touch of rustic charm to the otherwise contemporary home.  Materials for the home were meticulously chosen to compliment rather than intrude upon the history of the building.

{images via Dezeen}

Tree Hotel

Although I took architecture in school (architectural technology, technically...), I could not imagine myself as an actual Architect.  For one, I LOVE houses too much (and you don't have to be an architect to design houses!!), and two, I don't think I'm THAT crazy of an "out of the box" thinker!! For example, I'd like to introduce to you the Tree Hotel, located in northern Sweden and designed by Tham & Videgard Arkitekter.  Could YOU have thought of this?!?!?

This mirrored glass box (4x4x4 meters cube [13x13x13 ft])suspends around the trunk of a tree and is accessed by a rope bridge.  The mirrored exterior reflects the forest surroundings to blend seamlessly with the environment.  The room can accomodate two people, and contains a small double bed, bathroom, living room and roof terrace, and was opened to the public in July 2010.

If you're anything like me, I had to include a floor plan of the unit!! (it's hard for me to fully invision a space without seeing the floor plan!)

{images via Dezeen}

Inspiration lacking....

I've been severly lacking in design inspiration lately... maybe because there's only a few things I can do with the remainder of our house, or maybe because I've been so busy lately that I haven't had the time to randomly search the internet or keep up on my blog-stalking.... hmmmm..... well, I've pulled something I had bookmarked awhile back (on Dezeen Design Magazine), simply because I thought it was neat. Didn't know where to talk about it and since I've been lacking inspiration, maybe this will help bring me (and you!) some ideas.... or, at the very least, a little eye candy....

If you're lacking in storage space, why not use the area under your stairs? (Stairs rarely have structural elements under the middle of them - just the top & bottom - so why not make use of this space)

That's right...those are mirros on the risers (the part that is vertical), so it reflects the runner on the tread of the stairs (cool concept...but I think this would freak me out the first few times, as it would also reflect you as you walk up the stairs...)

Loved the gold paint job above the umbrella & shoe rack.  If you're going to drip paint on purpose, you may as well make it a statement and make it obvious!

A cool divider between the stairs and the mudroom...

{images via Dezeen}