International

  • 04/04

    Matto, Shanghai

    Matto in Italian means odd or bizarre: an apt name for this idiosyncratic pizzeria.

    Pure Creative, the team behind the design, has created a fun yet relaxed ambiance, where industrial features, rustic materials, and vintage furniture sit side by side.

    Victorian cornices and vintage furniture add a sense of antique charm, which, teamed with the dark teal and burnt umber tones, make the space feel warm, embracing and quietly refined.

    We particularly like the chalkboard drawings and odd trinkets, which add a personal touch and informality: a surprising find in the megapolis of Shanghai.

    (Images from WeHeart and Retail Design Blog)

  • 03/04

    Code Black Coffee, Melbourne

    We’re bringing you another coffee shop, this time Melbourne-based coffee roasting company, Code Black. Interior Architects, Zwei, converted two inner-city warehouses, combining an office and coffee shop, where the roasting process is on full display.

    The original warehouse windows were kept, while the rest of the space is lit by warm yellow bulbs.

    Dark and moody, the space features steel framing, polished concrete, and stained OSB board throughout, creating a raw, industrial aesthetic that playfully reflects the colours and textures of rich, dark coffee.

    (Images from Inhabit)

     

     

  • 02/04

    Truth Coffee, Cape Town

    A huge vintage coffee roaster is the centrepiece and inspiration for Cape Town’s Truth Coffee. “We immediately came up with steampunk as an appropriate conceptual reference, as both coffee roasters and espresso machines display elements of romantic, steam-powered technology,” explains designer Haldane Martin.

    The coffee shop is housed in a three-story turn of the century warehouse on Buitenkant Street. The building was pared down to accentuate the original features and patina of exposed stone and brick walls, cast iron pillars, and pine roof trusses and floors.

    Raw steel, timber, leather, brass and copper finishes were central to the interior design and complimented the building’s worn aesthetic.

    Martin designed all of the furniture for the café, which includes high-backed leather banquettes, ornate steel tables and smaller cog-shaped tables.

    What we liked most about this space is how the concept is reflected throughout the space, even to the finest detail.

    (Images from Dezeen)

  • 18/03

    Ett Hem Hotel, Stockholm

    Ett Hem, the beautifully designed boutique hotel in Sweden, was created by Studioilse.

    The 12 bedrooms are decked with natural earth tones and soft flowing linen. The interior of the rest of the hotel is sophisticated and comfortable clearly illustrating that the space is a continuation of the bedrooms.

    (Images from Dezeen)

  • 14/03

    The Old Library, Cronulla Southern Sydney

    Located in a seaside suburb of Sydney, the Old Library was originally a Methodist church build circa 1908, and went on to be the shire library in the 1970’s.

    The original building had great bones and an existing level of texture from its exposed beams and timber lining. Working within the voluminous spaces the designer created a sense of intimacy and gathering through creating a series of rooms within rooms and spaces within spaces.

    Custom furniture pieces and a natural palette of oak, linen, white timber and blackened steel contribute to the relaxed and somewhat domestic space that is described as a ‘book house’.

    Within a modest palette of black, white and pale timber tones the designer  has created a restaurant environment that harmoniously incorporates references to the building’s past, while firmly grounding the establishment in its modern beachside location.

    The interior of restaurant is spacious with the internal pitch of the ceiling exposed. Natural linen upholstery and drapery, teamed with neutral and washed shades, create a feeling of warmth and comfort while providing a backdrop to the grander elements of the design and clad in wide boards painted white, which are broken by long vertical skylights.

    The look is slightly ‘American East Coast’ yet sits just as comfortably in its Southern Sydney beach environment.

    (Images from Facebook)

  • 13/03

    Isa Restaurant, Brooklyn

    Isa Restaurant in Williamsburg Brooklyn, designed by architect and craftsman Taavo Somer, is a welcomed addition to Brooklyn’s restaurant scene.

    The wooden restaurant, which successfully achieves a rugged yet refined aesthetic,opened its doors last year. The designer incorporated the help of his vast network of woodworkers and ceramists to completed the work.

    The former house is filled with old wood, new wood, and firewood mixed with modern angles and shapes. Add some plywood, tree branches, and spray paint, and you have what the designer calls ‘primitive modernism’.

    The restaurant also features a rooftop garden that produces some of the restaurants vegetables and herbs, the natural and organic element is continued inside with a wood burning stove, stacked logs, exposed wood beams and herbs drying from the ceiling.

    Isa could easily be described as a modern lumberjack, combining the rustic, earthy qualities with modern lines and sensibilities. It feels perfectly suited with Brooklyn.

  • 12/03

    Print Avenue, Barcelona

    Print Avenue, is a vintage pavilion by design studio Egue y Seta, in collaboration with Sabaté Lab, a digital printing, large format and museographer company in Barcelona, Spain. The project is an incredible example of design marrying classic print and illustration into interiors.

    Walking along a game board decorated with “etched” past century lettering digitally printed over pinewood, the company introduce their main theme, printing, box by box, into a playful atmosphere.

    An entrance hall, a waiting area and a reception act as a decorative strategy to display the versatility of the medium, as well as the vintage style that acts as inspiration for the project.

    Almost the entire interior is printed, from the floors, walls, suspended ceiling panels, seating, doors and columns. The only items not printed are the reclaimed bar stools used in the reception area.

    (Images from Retail Design Blog)

  • 11/03

    Althaus Restaurant, Poland

    The design for Althaus created by PB/Studio, in cooperation with Filip Kozarski, combines traditional rustic elements with fresh modern style statements and is a great example of the wave of fresh design hitting Poland.

    From the street, the restaurant gives is evidence to its claim as new and stylish addition to Poland’s culinary scene. Inside, it gets even more exciting where every section has been given a different look and feel unified through twists on traditional Bavarian design that meet modern style head on. The restaurant serves Bavarian cuisine and the decor reflects this throughout. Elements of Southern Germany have been subtly implemented through the inclusion of bottle green in the lamps and chandelier, the dominant painted units, the copper in the stunning bold minimalistic light features and the use of mosaic, referencing traditional beer production in the area.

    On the ground floor, white washed panelled walls add a feeling of space, the use of rustic cow hide for the seating and soft furnishings, stripped oak, shelves displaying wine and books and a vintage dresser give the restaurant a homely authentic feel. On the upper floor, the bar and buffet areas amplify this rustic feel with bottle green panelling throughout.

    The design showcases traditional elements within a more casual and simple environment than one would expect, successfully, juxtaposing the traditional elements against modern styles.

    The bathrooms are incredibly enchanting with the fresh balance of the simple brick wall tiles, continued from the main restaurant, complimenting the more ornate original monochrome tiled floor.

    (Images from Retail Design Blog)

     

  • 28/03

    The Daniel Hotel, Vienna

    The Daniel Hotel occupies one of the first curtain wall structures in Austria. The modern 1960′s structure was designed by renowned architect Georg Lippert and its raw aesthetic is complimented by a Cor-Ten steel sign that looks like it was taken from the same era.

    It is not just the austere structure it occupies that makes the hotel unusual – The Daniel is also challenging the ‘standard hotel format’. Instead of a conventional reception desk, the reception area is located in the hotel’s private shop that stocks exceptional items for discerning travelers whilst also providing facilities for checking in and out. It also houses a eclectic bakery that provides an atmospheric place for guests to enjoy their breakfasts and passersby to indulge in some delicious Austrian baked goods. In keeping with the architecture the reception area is furnished with vintage furniture, including pieces from a a 1960s fashion boutique, upholstered with bold patterned fabric, as well as contemporary pieces like the Donna Wilson chairs and more industrial pallet coffee tables.

    Bedrooms are more reserved and pared back. The interior design makes full use of the architectural fabric of the building, contrasting exposed concrete ceilings with light walls and large timber panels. Furniture is kept to a minimum, save for the odd hamock; as is colour, with only a few deep green accents. The rooms, although not very Viennese, embody the calm, elegant atmosphere of the city.

    (Images via Yatzer)

  • 14/03

    Starbucks, Fukuoka

    Following our last post on Starbucks Amsterdam, here is another one that strays from the norm.

    Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has designed a sculptural interior for the coffee chain to sit inside plain box-shaped structure. Timber posts criss-cross to create a geometric web that lines the entire space. In typical Japanese fashion the rest of the space is left relatively bare with unassuming furniture and a zig-zag banquette – all in greys, blacks and untreated OSB. The minimalist approach to furniture complements the sculptural nature of the timber installation; providing an impressive, but not overwhelming interior.

    (Images via Contemporist)

  • 13/03

    Starbucks, Amsterdam

    Gone are the day’s where you can’t tell one Starbucks from the next. The newest breed of Starbucks’ have taken inspiration from their independent counterparts and are popping up with designs that creative and individual. Dutch designer Liz Muller worked along with 34 local artists and craftsmen on the design for the chain’s latest Amsterdam outlet.

    The space is much more exciting than the Starbucks that we are are used to, and manages to feel more personal and inviting. Walls feature antique Delft tiles whilst benches, tables and an impressive ceiling feature are made of re-purposed Dutch oak. These distinct features, along with a mix of old-school furniture gives the space a charming, characterful atmosphere.

    (Images via Trendland)

  • 11/03

    Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen

    I think its safe to say that Mikkeller Bar is not your average bar, for one it serves beer from the Mikkeller microbrewery, but this is just the start. Designers Femmes Regionales managed to strike a good balance between the modern design Denmark is known for  and the atmosphere of traditional Danish pubs, making the interior just as distinctive as the beers they serve. The Copenhagen bar has a calming atmosphere that is largely white, black and green with accents of gold and small bursts of bright colour. The effect is a refreshingly quirky space with just the right amount of Copenhagen cool.

    (Images via weheart)

  • 05/03

    Jaffa, Tel Aviv

    Jaffa, a Tel Aviv restaurant, has an industrial design with a soft feel. The high ceilinged interior has floor to ceiling windows with wooden shutters that pivot open to create a light and airy atmosphere. Industrial pendant lamps are used in repetition over the mix and match tables and chairs that are dotted around the restaurant. The bare, industrial architecture of the space is enhanced by the rough concrete finish of the floor and ceiling, which juxtaposes a tapestry of delicate Turkish carpets with subtle patterns that line the walls. Although the space uses a subdued pallet of colours, it really comes alive as a result of the combination of rough and soft textures that are used throughout.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 25/01

    Lucas Maassen & Sons Furniture Factory.

    Lucas Maassen, a Dutch designer, ingeniously employed his three sons, Thijme (9), Julian (7) and Maris (7) to paint the furniture hand built in his factory. The boys get paid 1 Euro per piece of furniture painted, as agreed in their contracts and due to Dutch child labour laws they are only allowed to work three hours a week. This motivates the boys to paint fast, influencing the final aesthetic. The resulting pieces are simple, honest and revelatory of the manufacturing process.

    Film and images by Mike Roelofs.

  • 23/01

    Red Pif Restaurant and Wine Shop by Aulík Fišer Architekti

    For the design of the Red Pif Restaurant and Wine Shop, Czeck designers Aulík Fišer Architekti decided to keep the inspiration and execution as pure and natural as the wine served. The designer and owner worked together, using photographs of bars and wine shops in France as inspiration, but drawing from their honesty rather than their style.

    The architect said about the design: “We put most of our effort to make our work invisible at first sight. Our interior should be a background allowing enjoy good wine and meal here and now.”

    The first step in the renovation was removing any superfluous building elements so that only the original 19th century structure remained. Bottle-shaped shutters were added that pivot open to reveal the stripped back interior that has been modestly furnished with design classics and simple, elegant fittings. Wine bottles are stacked high in a steel rod framework that creates simple geometric patterns on the walls. Dimly lit, bare light bulbs create an intimate atmosphere where the original intention of the space is allowed to quietly reveal itself.

    Photography by AI Photography.

  • 15/01

    The 25hours Hotel Hafencity, Hamburg

    The 25 hours Hotel Hafencity, a harbour city hotel that draws inspiration from maritime culture, was designed by a multidisciplinary team headed by architect Stephen Williams. The architects worked together with a storyteller, an events agency and an illustrator to give the project meaning at all levels. The hotel forms part of one of Europe’s most ambitious urban construction projects and aims to form part of a lively new city quarter.

    Stephen Williams says: “We wanted to create a web of meaning with interrelating signs and symbols referring to seafaring and harbour life. A place where old and new stories come to life. It all began from the poems of Joachim Ringelnatz with the fictitious sailor Kuttel Daddeldu, a good soul who’s deeply rooted in the seafaring life, but also coarse and a little cheeky.”

    The design team drew a parallel between the guests of the hotel (‘nomads’) and sailors (‘maritime nomads’). Markus Stoll, the brand storyteller, interviewed 25 international sailors in the Seaman’s Club Duckdalben in Hamburg as part of the team’s design research. He went on to adapt their stories into semi-fictional accounts that guided the concept development of the hotel and were later illustrated by Jindrich Novotny.

    The ground floor consists of a lobby, restaurant, bar and shop  and is intended for use by guests and non-guests alike, continuing the lively, inclusive atmosphere of the new quarter that is being developed.

    Heimat Küche + Bar takes its name from the German word for home, taking its inspiration from seafarers longing for home. The space, however, however has an industrial, shipyard aesthetic. The chaotic space is filled with ‘shipping’ furniture such as warehouse shelves and rough wooden boxes, in addition to a selection of furnishings that were chosen by Connie Kotte to complete the warehouse aesthetic.

    The shipyard aesthetic is continued into the conference room that sits in a shipping container donated by Hapag-Lloyd. The container wall is movable and can be hoisted up to allow access to the space or to join the conference room with the restaurant.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 14/01

    Goat Town, New York

    Goat Town, in East Village, New York is meant to be an ‘elevated everyday American bistro’ according to owner Nicholas Morgenstern. Brothers Evan and Oliver Haslegave of Home is responsible for the interior that is filled with reclaimed industrial pieces. While the use of white subway tiles is by no means unusual, the designers used them in a surprising way – tiling the banquette seating. This detail adds a hint of glimmer to the monochrome space that contrasts dark wood and rusty steel with light walls and floors. Details like salvaged signage and decorative ceiling panels complete the aged appearance of the space.


  • 20/12

    Ubon, Kuwait

    Charred timber and shiny copper accents characterise Ubon, a Thai bistro in Kuwait. The restaurant, designed by architect Rashed Alfoudari, seamlessly integrates the interior with the existing structure of the space, making use of a reserved palette of colours to create a bistro space with an Asian feel. The golden copper, used on the walls and insides of lamps is a nod to Thai ornamentation and adds interest to the subdued hues of the walls and exposed concrete floors and ceilings. A darkened mirror separates the dining space from the service spaces, subtly making the space seem larger. Visual continuity is maintained throughout the space and continued into the restroom where the texture of the wood grain is imprinted on the concrete walls.

    (Images via Aome)

  • 19/12

    The Exchange, Amsterdam

    The Exchange, a brand new Amsterdam hotel located on the Damrak, one of the liveliest and oldest streets of Amsterdam, has a special love of fashion. The hotel was developed in close collaboration with the Amsterdam Fashion Institute (AMFI) and is part of ‘The Red Carpet’, an urban-renewal project.

    The hotel is spread across three buildings, one of them dating back to the 17th century, and shares the buildings with a contemporary department store, Options! and a restaurant, Stock. The project was initiated by Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy with Suzanne Oxenaar and Otto Nan responsible for the concept.

    Each of the 61 rooms in the hotel have been dressed up like models on a catwalk by graduates and alumni of the AMFI. The result is a mix of interior and fashion design, with each room having a distinct identity. The diverse rooms draw inspiration from the multiplicity of the neighbourhood the hotel is located in.

  • 13/12

    Cafe Moto, New York

    One New York’s more humble flatiron buildings houses Cafe Moto. The peeling paint exterior of this Williamsburg artists’ cafe can be misleading about what goes on inside; but as you enter through the rusty industrial doors the atmospheric interior seems both familiar and unsettling. Sepia tones are punctuated by shiny metal fittings and marble table tops. In the centre of the cafe sits a curving bar with taps made of repurposed bike parts – hence the name Moto. Low lighting, battered wood and antique glass ensure that the cafe has a cosy, intimate feel which is occasionaly interrupted by the faint “please stand clear of the closing doors” and rumbling of the overhead train that runs by it.

  • 04/12

    Esprit, Cologne

    Designers Reich und Wamser have completed the interior of fashion brand Esprit’s Cologne outlet. The Lighthouse shop juxtaposes masculine and feminine elements. Exposed brickwork, timber and steel frames throughout are used throughout in contrast to softer elements like woven light fittings. Similarly gauzy curtains that conceal the fitting room at the back of the shop complement the harder materials used in the design and add a soft, feminine touch to the otherwise rigid interior. Furnishings and fittings are also more delicate: walnut tables and cabinets are used, along  with clothes racks with slender profiles to display clothes and accessories.  Another distinguishing feature of the space is the glazed courtyard  that is naturally lit by a skylight above and filled with plants and flowers.

    (Photos by Peter Janczik and Reich und Wamser.)

  • 01/12

    Capanna by K-studio in Athens, Greece

    Capanna, an elegant new Pizzeria and Trattoria in Athens was designed by K-Studio to simulate the experience of eating outside. The adaptable facade allows the floor to ceiling windows to slide upwards and join the restaurant with the side-walk. The interior design subtly combines Italian and Greek influences to great effect: the resulting space is warm yet spacious.

    The most eye catching feature of the space is the cladding of the mezzanine level: rows of narrow wooden shutters run along the side of it and then bend around its edge, continuing on the ceiling underneath. Similar to the cladding that extends from the wall to the ceiling, the geometric patterned floor tiles also extend onto the double volume side wall of the space, giving the vintage feel tiles a fresh appearance and drawing your eye upward.

    Simple Scandinavian furniture and low hanging ceramic light fixtures complete the contemporary space that still manages to feel traditional.

    (Images via Yatzer)

  • 23/11

    Bungalow Eight, Mumbai

    Bungalow Eight in Mumbai (not to be confused with London’s Bungalow 8 nightclub) is a beautifully curated luxury store, selling products ranging from high quality clothes to home ware. The store is spread across a three story building, designed by architect Bijoy Jain, and takes its name from the address where Maithili Ahluwalia, the owner, grew up. The spacious building has unusually high ceilings and was left mostly bare, with raw concrete and exposed trusses. The few fixtures that do adorn the space is minimal and high end, like the tube lights by Michael Anstassiades. The selection of objects on sale all originate from either India or France and are arranged in such a way that you may be mistaken for being in someone’s home.


  • 16/11

    21c Museum Hotel, Louisville

    The 21c Museum Hotel opened five years ago in Louisville, but still seems fresh and above all interesting. New York-based architect Deborah Berke is responsible for the design of this museum / hotel – the only one of its kind in the entire US. Like a museum its exhibits change regularly, most of the pieces come from the private collection of the hotel’s owners – Steve Wilson and Laura Lee Brown.

    The statement making hotel distinguishes itself from the outset, red plastic penguins from the Venice Biennale are perched on top of the building’s large entrance and have become visual markers as well as impromptu mascots for the hotel. An installation of four sculptures of children by Judy Fox loom over the reception desk of a lobby that has an uncanny resemblance to that of a contemporary museum.

    As guests move through the rest of the hotel they can admire (and even interact with some of) the everchanging artworks on display, from communal areas right down to the stylish bedrooms.

    This unusual concept hotel is so successful that the owners are currently planning two new locations, one in Cincannati and another in Bentonville.

    (Images via Design Milk)
  • 15/11

    Pharmacia, Lisbon

    Pharmacia, a Lisbon restaurant housed in the city’s art deco Pharmacy Museum, is not shy with colour. The bright interior uses almost exclusively vintage and antique items in its decor. It is fit out with vintage lamps, bell jars, measuring scales among other bits and pieces that are on loan to the restaurant from the museum. A mix of mismatched chairs surround dining tables with equally mismatched place settings, creating the impression of playful chaos. The space has a retro feel with a good balance of kitch and cool.

    (Images via Wallpaper)

  • 11/11

    Hotel Favorita, Porto

    Hotel Favorita has recently been structurally transformed by Nuno Sottomayor and spatially by Sam Baron. The interiors of the hotel that takes its name from the iconic women’s name ‘Favorita’ – meaning the ‘chosen woman’, mixes and matches carefully selected vinatage and modern pieces, allowing it to go beyond purely a design hotel and becoming more of a home away from home with an exceptional attention to detail.

    Portugal, and especially Porto, to me, is synomous with amazing tiles from yesteryear and the hotel unashamedly uses a wide selection of beautiful tiles with geometric patterns that complement both the modernist and the traditional furniture used throughout the hotel.

    Bedrooms adopt a relaxed, pared back atmosphere. Simple furniture is introduced to spaces with timber floors and white walls, with decorations kept to a minimum.

    The hotel that prides itself on being a one off also supports local arts, walls feature illustrations by Julio Dolbeth and Ruy Santos, artist from Portugal’s first design and illustration gallery – the Dama Aflita Gallery in Porto.

    (Images via Yatzer)

  • 09/11

    Babylonstoren,Cape Winelands, South Africa

    The Cape Winelands is a treasure trove of beautiful vineyards and orchards both new and old, one of the oldest is Babylonstoren. The vineyard sits in the dramatic Drakenstein Valley and has some of the best preserved gabled Cape Dutch buildings in the area, some of which date back from the 1690s.

    The guest suites of the farm hotel draw inspiration from the early Cape Dutch architecture and echo its quietly ornate, whitewashed aesthetic.  Wooden doors and window frames add warmth the the cool toned spaces, along with open hearths of exposed brickwork. Soft furnishings and natural carpets give the impression of modest, farmhouse luxury.

    Similar to the bedrooms, bathrooms are pictures of serenity. Whites and creams are combined to create a calming palette, and classic claw foot freestanding baths echo the Cape Dutch feel.

    The hotel restaurant, Babel, is housed in a disused kraal (animal pen). The interior is pared back, with polished concrete floors, whitewashed walls and a mix of contemporary and traditional furnishings. A large section of the back wall is covered in glossy white tiles that display the menu, along with a blown up black and white picture of a bull’s head,  hinting at the building’s former function. The interior, although simple, doesn’t need a lot of decoration and the clean, fresh style is carried through down to the centerpieces, that consist of vintage glassware and fresh greens from the garden.

    (Images via travel-files)

  • 02/11

    Brooklyn Farmacy & Soda Fountain, New York

    Somewhere on the corner of a brownstone lined street in New York there is Farmacy: a ‘soda fountain’ with a touch of old school charm mixed with Brooklyn attitude.

    The former pharmacy has been lovingly restored and boasts original cabinetry, ceilings and mosaic floor tiles from the 1920′s. Shelves and drawers that used to be stocked with medicines are now lined with vintage bottles filled with treats. The interior has been furnished to echo the bygone era of the shop: featuring bentwood chairs, cast iron tables and upholstered diner bar stools.

    Vintage pieces like the unusual scales and signage add just the right amount of playfulness to the charming space.


    (Images via The Scout)

  • 31/10

    Sajilo Cafe, Tokyo

    Sajilo Cafe is an unassuming, quiet restaurant and cafe that serves up Nepali food and drink in Kichijoji, Tokyo. The modest, whimsical interior is unpretentious and has an unfinished look that seems as if it has been evolving into its current state over centuries.

    The plain interior is filled with a collection of quirky bric-a-brac, along with charming glassware and wire dinnerware. This creates an extremely personal, relaxed looking space, almost like a friend’s dining room.

    Windowsills are filled with arrangements of succulents in old tins and ceramics, continuing the nostalgic mood to the outside of the cafe. The owners obviously have a good eye for the old world items they fill their cafe with: they also run Atelier Sajilo, where similar items are stocked in abundance.

    (Images via thisisnaive)

  • 26/10

    Smith&Hsu, Taipei

    Swiss-Danish designer Carsten Jörgensen designed the interior off a two-storey teahouse for Taiwanese tea brand Smith&Hsu.  The minimal, modular interior that aims to be simple and legible predominantly uses concrete and timber. The ground floor serves as a tearoom and retail space and the first floor as a dining room.

    The first floor features long sections of grid shaped shelves, simple tables and Y Chairs by Hans Wegner, complemented with glossy black and red feature lights.

    The first floor repeats of the simple aesthetic established downstairs.  While the minimal design approach  prevails, the dining area takes on a more playful interpretation of it. Here the cubes are diagonally staggered with gaps in between, and filled with second hand books. Eames Plastic Side Chairs fit perfectly into the casual chic dining space.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 24/10

    Anemi Hotel, Folegandros

    Folegandros is a Greek island well known for its unspoiled nature, blue skies and white houses. The Anemi Hotel draws from this, and was designed with respect for the traditional Cycladic architecture. It is composed of a complex of small buildings that harmoniously sits on the landscape close to the island’s harbour village. The interiors are minimal, with attention to detail.

    Plush white  interior spaces were designed to be stylishly comfortable; rooms feel like those from a elegant private residence, but with a touch of luxury associated with high end hotels. The minimal white and earthy palette is punctuated by designer chairs in blue and large, blown up photographs that add interest to the understated interiors.

    (Images via Yatzer)

  • 21/10

    Cantina de Comida Mexicana, Mexico City

    Architects Taller Tiliche designed a restaurant in Mexico City that operates as a  Mexican food canteen.  They decided on a neutral palete and kept materials in their natural state as far as possible, the result is an unfinished look.

    A polished concrete floor creates a continuation between the indoor and outdoor spaces, inviting passing pedestrians in. Walls were painted white and tiled upto 1.2 m height with concrete tiles. The ceiling was purposefully left unfinished, with holes and lumps of plaster littering its surface.

    Folding timber shutters can open the restaurant up completely to the street front and allowing natural light to wash into the space.

    Sanded wooden tables and benches are paired with steel folding chairs and shelves stacked with bottles stretch across the bar, as well as between the kitchen and dining room. The result is a simple, casually unfinished, yet chic interior that encourages leisurely eating.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 20/10

    Heliocosm, Paris

    Heliocosm, a new natural cosmetics brand, opened shop in Paris and commissioned FREAKS freearchitects to design the interior.

    The space is unusually long (nearly 20m) and narrow, which the designers addressed by separating it into a front and back room that are linked by a wooden tunnel with an integrated display.

    The entire interior is painted a “cool mint” blue-green, including the floors and ceilings, enfolding customers in a refreshing space. The front room serves as a workshop and reception, and the backroom as a lounge. The back wall of the lounge is covered in a large scale print of a greenish blue mountain and lake, creating an impressive ending perspective for the connecting tunnel.

    All freestanding furnishings were salvaged from second hand shops, adding comfortable, homey elements to the very edgy space.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 13/10

    UdK Bookshop 2010 by Dalia Butvidaite, Leonard Steidle and Johannes Drechsler

    The UdK Bookshop was created by students from the Berlin University of Arts to create an interdisciplinary platform for the works of students and professors. The brief dictated that the installation had to temporary, as the event would only last for three days.

    A final design was selected from entries in a student competition, the winning design was a cardboard structure, chosen for its flexibility, stability, affordability, sense of impermanence and recyclability.

    Six hundred 2,6 by 1,3 meter corrugated cardboard panels were cut, perforated, folded and glued together to form a massive block, which in turn was pulled apart like a giant accordian to achieve its final shape. Adaptable to any space, the entire shelving unit can be easily folded down to a tenth of its ultimate length for storage or transport purposes.

    The cardboard itself, despite being light in nature, provides enough rigidity not only for the books, but also for the lowest shelf, which doubles as a bench for events, a place to display oversized objects, or simply to sit comfortably while leafing through a book.

    At the end of the event, the shelving unit was auctioned off, ensuring funding for more publications as well as the continuance of the Bookshop in the coming year.

    (Images by Reiner Hausleiter)

  • 11/10

    Komomoto, Barcelona

    Komomoto is a trendy, casual restaurant in Barcelona’s hip El Born district that serves up Peruvian/Japanese fusion cuisine. The sleek interior that uses colour sparsely is enlivened with informal arrangements of photographs, posters and illustrations that literally cover the walls, a feature that is complemented with Ingo Maurer’s post-it note chandeliers. The interior creates the sensation of having walked into someone’s notebook.

    Timber is used throughout the interior, from the floors to the wall paneling and modern furniture, bringing additional warmth and texture to the large, bright space.

    (Images via weheart)

  • 07/10

    The Great Viennese Coffee House Experiment, Vienna Design Week

    The Great Viennese Coffee House Experiment is work-in-progress exhibition that took its cue from Gregor Eichinger’s lecture “An Abstract of an Essay on the Origin of Coffeehouses and Varieties through Artificial and Natural Selection“. The exhibition explores the current state of the infamous Viennese coffee houses, where ‘sit-and-sip’ has been a tradition in the city for more than 300 years, and speculates on the future of this Viennese institution.

    Coffee houses have been a part of social infrastructure of Vienna long before the phenomenon emerged in most other cities, and while each coffee house has its own distinct design and identity, there is undeniably an underlying atmosphere in each that embodies Viennese culture.

    Alfred Polgar, a journalist who is famous for his wit for the city’s coffee houses wrote of the well known Café Central:  “Its inhabitants are, for the most part, people who are misanthropes, and whose aversion to other people is as acute as their need for people: who want to be alone, but must have company to do so. The habitué of the Central is a person who derives no sense of belonging from his family, profession, or party; the Café Central comes to his rescue, inviting him to join and escape. Its customers know, love, and underestimate one another. Even those who profess not to know each other regard this non-relationship as a kind of relationship; mutual dislike serves as a unifying force at the Central, a sort of camaraderie. Everyone knows about everybody. The Café Central is a village in the center of the metropolis, steaming with gossip, curiosity, and slander.”

    Julia Landsiedl, 2011’s MAK designer in residence, makes observations and conducts interviews around the coffeehouse scene, collecting examples from actual practice while also sifting through the MAK collection in search of helpful thematic clues under direction of Gregor Eichinger.

    The exhibition takes the form of a cognitively compiled and annotated map of historic and contemporary coffee houses throughout the city, along with a three dimensional ‘collage’ of artifacts associated with this culture.

    “I have always been fascinated by the Viennese coffeehouse as the core of our culture of thinking and art. In the future we will have to take care to secure the existence of the coffeehouse in the 21st century.” Christoph Thun-Hohenstein, Managing Director of departure.

    “Coffeehouses encourage their guests to develop and spend time cultivating their own habits. These are mechanisms that offer us time and space, channeling our attention.” Gregor Eichinger, architect and designer who assumed direction of The Great Viennese Café: A Laboratory.

    (Images via jeplus.at)

  • 28/09

    Depot Basel

    Basel is synonymous with contemporary art, but it has been lagging on the contemporary design front. This is set to change: Laura Pregger and Matylda Krzykowski co-found Depot Basel to provide space dedicated to contemporary design. It is hosted in a disused grain factory, provided by the Habitat Foundation, and what what better way to furnish the space than to invite designers to create pieces purpose made for the it?

    Nine designers were handpicked by the founders and spent five days with the distinctive silo structure, which inspired a dialogue between space and craft. The narrative that developed can be seen in the objects created by each designer for the initial prelude ‘Infrastructure’. The finished pieces walk the fine line between concept and functionality and evoke a strong sense of the space they inhabit, while clearly reflecting the voice of each individual designer.

    Julien Renault + Camille Blin, Lightbox Library

    Damien Gernay, Display Table

    Damien Gernay, Lounge Chair

    Florian Hauswirth, Rammed Clay Bench

    Kaspar Hamacher, 3 L Shelf

    Mieke Meijer, Service Desk

    Mieke Meijer, Triangle Display

    Max Lipsey, Tree Bark Benches

    Max Lipsey, Concentration Chair

    Tristan Cochrane, Podium Desks

    (Images via yatzer)

  • 23/09

    Atelier Mecanic by Corvin Cristian

    A former factory in the Old Town of Bucharest, Romania has been given a new lease on life as a bar with strong industrial overtones. We have seen plenty of interiors that creatively mix old and new, but very few that successfully mix old with more old. Relics from the 1950s to 1970s comfortably rub shoulders in this quirky space.

    The factory shell has been left untouched save for minor cosmetic alterations such as fresh paint in subdued grays and dull, industrial greens and reds and fresh coat of screed on the floor. The custom built bar takes centre stage and continues the nostalgic feel with white tiles and copper top.  The vast majority of furnishings are salvaged with origins both industrial and otherwise. The vintage posters add a nice finishing touch to this bricolage vintage pieces.

    Salvaged sleepers form steps into the old factory.

    The large bar top is constructed of sleepers similar to those used for the steps, but covered with copper.

    The machinery overhead are remnants of the original factory.

    Salvaged desk lamps line the walls and illuminate the vintage posters.

    The interior evokes a strong sense of both the building and city’s past.

    (images via yatzer)

  • 19/09

    Prosopa Restaurant, Athens

    Prosopa is a restaurant next to the train tracks in Rouf, a busy Athens neighbourhood. It occupies a former glass factory, this gives the space plenty of rough, industrial appeal which has been maintained and is accentuated by minor alterations.

    The interior unfolds on two levels, both benefiting from the large industrial windows, with views of the passing trains adding a theatrical, urban edge to the space.

    The design draws from the building’s industrial heritage, acknowledging it through material choice and detailing: screed and timber floors, steel and rough brick work, with exposed services throughout. These raw elements blend harmoniously with the high design fittings and furniture from Moooi and Magis.

    (images via yatzer)

  • 17/09

    Hôtel Americano, New York

    Hôtel Americano is the lastest addition to the family of hotels by Grupo Habita, the people behind Hotel Básico, and their first foray out of Mexico. The hotel is located in Chelsea, close to the High Line and blends beautifully with its industrial chic surroundings. The building is set apart by a robust, but delicate looking facade of steel mesh and was designed by Ten Arquitectos of Mexico.

    Interiors hint at 1960s Italy, but remain thoroughly contemporary in their details. Subdued colours are punctuated and accentuated by bright pieces of furniture.

    Bedrooms feature wooden platform beds and boast spectacular city views. Comfort is combined with technology: guests can access all the lasted culture and dining listings via Ipads.

    (images via superfuture)

  • 15/09

    Zmianatematu cafe, Łódź

    Polish architects xm3 have designed a cafe with a cave-like interior in Łódź, a city aspiring to become the fashion, design and film capital of Poland. The space is almost entirely enfolded by plywood ribs that form the contours of the ‘cave’. Where wall surfaces are exposed they are left unfinished with patches of plaster and cement visible creating a raw, edgy feel.

    The sculptural ply lattice theme is carried through to the furniture: coffee tables are made of plywood grids with glass tops.

    Bare light bulbs dangle nonchalantly above the space, completing the effortlessly cool interior.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 22/08

    The Michelberger Hotel, Berlin

    The Michelberger is somewhere in the grey area between a hotel and a hostel, and is proof that hotel design is becoming increasingly diverse, individual and tailored to travellers needs. Communal spaces are comfortable refuges for tired travellers, and are stocked to the brim with reading material. Books and magazines aren’t reserved for shelves and coffee tables, one-off lampshades are made of the sheets of vintage reads.

    Dining spaces are equally nice, with large windows, subway tiled walls, bare concrete floors and a mix-and-match collection of chairs.

    Guestrooms are as quirky as the rest of the hotel and also feature books very strongly. Even details like the ‘do not disturb’ signs have been custome made to fit the playful design.

    (Images via weheart)

  • 18/08

    Ruschmeyer's, Montauk

    The people behind King & Grove recently renovated a lakeside woodland lodge dating from the early 50s. It reopened this summer as Ruschmeyer’s, a hotel that evokes feelings of a grown-up summer camp.

    Understated nautical details feature throughout, but particularly in the Electric Eel where walls are lined with sails and drawings of boats. Simple wooden furniture ensures a modern yet warm atmosphere.

    The 19 guestrooms that are dotted around a central garden are kept simple, with panelled walls painted white and curtains strung like sails. Chairs come in the shape of hammocks and beds are finished off with wicker-threaded headboards and fine linens from Frette. Details like unusual bronze lights and nostalgic imagery enhance the feeling of escapism that the rooms envoke.

    (Images via King&Grove)

  • 16/08

    Chambers Eat and Drink, San Francisco

    Chambers Eat and Drink is a new bar in San Francisco’s Phoenix Hotel, located in the city’s infamously gritty Tenderloin district. Despite its ’50′s motel’ past it is known as a rock royalty favourite, with the likes of Pearl Jam and Keanu Reeves passing through its doors in the past.

    It’s new facelift, the handy work of Oakland’s Mr. Important, seems to reflect the affinity celebrities have for it. Chambers’ walls are lined with 10,000 odd records that acknowledge its past and creates a library of sorts with a warm, interesting texture. The lush interior is comfortably furnished and my suspicion is that you’d want to obey the glamorously lit bar and be amazing.

    (Images via weheart)

  • 12/08

    Slowpoke Espresso, Melbourne

    Slowpoke is a new cafe in Fitzroy, Melbourne designed by French-born, Melbourne-based designer Sasufi. The focal point of the bright and airy interior is a 12m wall clad with off-cuts of reused timber sourced from local furniture designers. Tables are also constructed of recycled wood, this time flooring and they are complemented with classic white chairs.

    The space is completed with quirky touches such as vintage art and understated flower and herb arrangements in antique glassware. The character of the cafe is carried through to the last detail with even business cards being made of hand cut recycled card and signage custom made using flea market finds.

    (Images via weheart and sasufi)

  • 10/08

    The Nolitan Hotel, New York

    The Nolitan Hotel is the first luxury hotel to open in one of Manhattan’s hippest neighbourhoods, Nolita, right between Little Italy, SoHo, Chinatown, the Lower East Side and the Bowery.

    The hotel that borrows its name from its neighbourhood was designed by Grzywinski+Pons and features exposed concrete walls and floor to ceiling windows.

    The opulent interiors are fit out with retro furniture and fittings, mixed with contemporary pieces. Interesting details like the unusual bookshelf with tilting mirrors give the living spaces a cool, edgy feel.

    Large windows in rooms allow great views of the city and give rooms a bright and airy atmosphere.Visitors to the city can expect a home away from home experience at this new hotel.


    (Images via weheart)

  • 01/08

    Colonie, Brooklyn, New York

    Another new addition to New York is Colonie restaurant in the beautiful Brooklyn Heights neighbourhood.

    Architect Alex Meyers of MADesign is responsible for the interior that effortlessly marries old and new. The interior is largely composed of recycled and reclaimed materials, mixed with contemporary pieces. Floors, ceilings and tabletops are made of reclaimed wood and the lovely banquettes are in fact reworked church pews.

    The live wall brings a splash of colour and serves as a vertical herb garden of sorts.

    The open kitchen is one of the best parts of this fresh new restaurant. Diners can watch their food be prepared in front of a subway tiled backdrop, between stacks of pots, pans and plates.

    Another interesting element is the chandelier made up of an I-beam the owners found on the roof  of the building.

    The large antiqued mirror above the bar is encased in a beautiful wooden frame salvaged from the famous Toy Building.

    (Images via Colonie)

  • 29/07

    Aesop Grand Central Kiosk

    Australian skincare brand Aesop is not only know for its excellent skincare lines, it has also built up a reputation for innovative interiors that make use of unusual materials. The newest addition to the Aesop family is a kiosk in New York’s Grand Central Station.

    For their first American store, Aesop’s director Dennis Paphitis collaborated with Brooklyn based architect Jeremy Barbour of Tacklebox to create an unique interior. The kiosk interior was built of more than a thousand recycled copies of the New York Times. The copies were stacked, torn and bound to create volumes with that are both interesting and strangely familiar to commuters passing by in the Graybar Passage. The newspaper shelves are topped with powder coated aluminium and rows of neatly organised Aesop products.

    (Images via Dezeen)

  • 28/07

    Table Cloth by Ball-Nogues Studio

    Table Cloth is a new performance space in the courtyard of Schoenberg Hall at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music in Los Angeles. The project is a result of ongoing research into the reuse of temporary structures and installations.

    A collaboration between the UCLA Department of Architecture and Urban Design, the Herb Alpert School of Music, and the UCLA Design Media Arts; Table Cloth serves as an integrated set piece, backdrop, and seating area for student musical performance and everyday social interaction. It is made of hundreds of individual low, coffee-style tables and three legged stools. Each of these household items is a unique product (no two are alike), fabricated specifically for the installation by Ball Nogues. The public can take home the tables and stools after the run of the installation. The tables and stools link together collectively to form a “fabric” that hangs from the east wall of the courtyard. When the Table Cloth meets the ground, it unrolls to form an intimate “in the round” performance area. Visitors can sit on the tables and stools within this area.

    “Tables are places for social interaction,” explains Ball-Nogues. “Dining tables, specifically, facilitate organization and communication within the typical American home. We see this project like the cloth adorning a dining table; however, at Schoenberg it will adorn the courtyard, an important social hub, and will facilitate community at the scale of the University.”

    Used for a variety of activities, from musical practice to performance, dance to lectures, and from casual conversations to academic discussions; it will embellish the courtyard throughout the summer of 2010. Because of the work’s size and the materials used, its presence within the space helps to reduce reverberation and alter other acoustical phenomena.

    The processes of designing manufacturing, assembling, and dismantling the performance space are examples of a unique design and manufacturing methodology that moves beyond and constructively critiques the three “R’s” of sustainability – recycling, reuse, and repurposing, processes that typically down-cycle material into less valuable states. After the structure has served its function as a performance space, the components comprising the installation will be dismantled to become smaller scaled household commodities, – tables and seating. This process, referred to as “Cross Manufacturing” by Ball-Nogues, is an integrated design and manufacturing strategy that harnesses digital computation and fabrication technologies to make architectural scaled installations that become collections of smaller scaled products. The items will be immediately available and given away as consumer goods, once the installation is dismantled. This approach moves beyond recycling and reuse.

    By using a consumer good as its basic building block, the project expands and critiques notions of “green” architecture. As a visual concept, the installation serves as a symbolic gesture of sustainability and a poetic reminder that the buildings and temporary pavilions we construct are impermanent: frozen moments in an ongoing flow of products and materials. Outside of its environmental considerations, the Table Cloth dramatically re-contextualizes consumer products – symbols of mass consumption and standardization– into alternative gestures of hope and one of a kind manufacturing.

    Table Cloth will be the site of performances hosted by the Herb Alpert School of Music through the summer of 2010. Please see the Herb Alpert School of Music Website to confirm dates and start times.

  • 25/07

    Festival des Architectures Vives, Montpelier

    Festival des Architectures Vives, or the Lively Architecture Festival, ran for the sixth year in a row in the city of Montpelier. For the five days that it ran, it transformed the city into a space of encounter (which was also the theme of this year’s event – The Encounter), that aimed to make architecture more accessible to the public. The organizers selected 11 proposals from 120 submissions, and these were installed in spaces in the city.

    MOBA Studio produced an installation called ‘Between Doors’. The designers selected doors from a series of demolished buildings, each door with a unique history and installed them in a courtyard to encourage interaction, both with building elements and with other members of the public.

    Angela CO installed oversized silver balloon disks, called ‘Floats’ that invited visitors to inspect the shape of the installation and allowed the designers to investigate the effect of ephemeral installations on architectural space.

    Hold Up Architecture created ‘Souffle’, which is French for breath. Visitors could temporarily get into what looks like a box that dropped into the courtyard. Inside they could influence projections on the ceiling by using the microphone provided.

    Remy Roux received the Special Award for his installation ‘Balade Sensorielle’. Timber boxes partually obscured the visual connection between spaces, making visitors more reliant on sounds, encouraging a game of guessing who is on the other side of the walls.

    The prize of the public went to Plux.5 for their installation ‘Ma Cour dants ta cour’, its colourful, playful execution facinated visitors to the festival. The aim of the installation was to investigate the encounter between the apologue of the Quebecois courtyard and the image of the courtyard in Montpellier through its archetypes.

    The Jury Prize went to ‘Expo d’expe’ by the GoaGroup. Huge white cylinders, that invited visitors to wander and hide, where installed. In addition to the physical interaction it encourages, visitors are allowed to draw on the cylinders leaving traces of their encounters.

    Universite D’AALTO installed a textile sculpture named ‘Will’. The elegant installation was brought to life by wind and sunlight.

    ‘Le Mur Du Mou’ consisted of multiple mirrors, reflecting and distorting its surroundings and the image of the visitors exploring the it. Designers Yok Yok intended the installation to play with visitors’ perception of architecture.

    (Images via Yatzer)