A perfect retreat

I just love the clean crisp feel of this 1920s Cape Cod cottage featured in Elle Decor. The decor looks like the perfect backdrop for a Calvin Klein ad. Not surprising since it was designed by Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein White Label's creative director, Keviv Carrigan and his architect partner Tim Furzer. To view more pictures of the place, click here.

Print your fabric

Want to learn how to print your designs on fabric to personalise your home decor accessories, T shirt, bags etc? Well, this course is for you!

I have been interested in learning more about textiles and printing for the longest time. Was really excited when Imeda told me about this course at NAFA called "Print your fabric". They are starting a new class on Sept 18. The class runs once a week on Tues from 7-9pm. For some reason, this course has already been postponed a few times due to lack of interest. I think it is because people don't know about it.

There are currently 5 people (including me) who have signed up for this course. They need 12 people. So if you know of anyone who might be interested, could you please let them know? Thanks!

Click here for the course outline.

(images above from joom and Patapri)

Lindsey Adams Adelman

I really think these glass chandeliers by lindsey adelman are so amazing! Lindsey had been in the lighting design industry for 10 years, but it was when she became pregnant in 2003 that her personal approach and interest with lighting became clear. Before that, she had felt that she was losing touch with the reason why she came into design: the feeling of making things with her own hands and having the freedom to evolve designs. Today, the majority of her work is made in close collaboration with the client's ideas and desires. This process allows Lindsey to constantly explore and show clients the most recent research and sketch models. It also allows her to be constantly challenged and sustain a fresh interest in her work. Lindsey also creates art with hair. Yes, HAIR! (see below)

(via Hoping for Happy Accidents)

Point Click Home

Point Click Home. com is a wonderful online resource for design and decorating. Here, you can find plans, colour tools, design calculators as well as lots of inspiration and tips from wonderful design magazines such as Metropolitan Home and Elle Decor. Enjoy and be inspired!

ps: Do not miss the secrets of balancing colour and pattern by Kit Kemp, designer of the Haymarket Hotel.

Mountain retreat

This gorgeous mountain retreat is designed by Dutch bag designer Esther Veereschild for her six-year-old son Kiet's bedroom. The amazing wallpaper is from kitschkitchen. Esther chose orange for the decor of this room as she finds it perfect for a boy's room. It's uplifting, funny and very retro. The ski lifts you see in the image above are actually real objects!

The various pieces of furniture in the room are mostly from thrift shops. I love the way she puts the pieces together to create such a magical and imaginative space for her son. For more, visit Esther's shop and flickr page. (via finelittlething)

The return of the cassette tape

While cassette tapes seems to be forgotten by the music industry, two current trends have brought them out for a second play - the 80's nostalgia in the visual world + recycling and sustainability happening just about everywhere.

I just love the hand made wallets by Marcella Foschi below. They were designed especially for the Designboom Mart in Tokyo, November 2006. Marcella dismantles old cassette tapes, removes their innards and then joins the plastic sides back together again with a zip. Brilliant surgical procedure! (via The Designboom Shop)

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Trash Luxe

There will be an exhibition taking place at Liberty in London from 20-30 September 2007 during the London Design Festival called Trash Luxe at Liberty. Curated by dezeen editor Marcus Fairs. This exhibition celebrates over a dozen young designers round the world that create exquisite furniture, lighting and jewellery using cheap or worthless materials. To find out more about the designers whose work will be featured at this exhibition, click here. Below are some of my favourites.

(above) Tide , a chandelier made from hundreds of plastic items found washed up on Dungeness Beach, by Stuart Haygarthand.(above) Paper Mache Arm Chair made of 120 layers of newspaper built up over an inflatable mould by Majid Asif.
(above) TransNeomatic bowls which combine traditional woven wicker techniques with used scooter tyres rescued from landfill sites by the Campana Brothers from Brazil.(above) Jewellery design made from sugar crystals by Greetje van Helmond. The wall of bread she made for her graduation show at the RCA is simply delicious! Sandwich, anyone?

Instant public space kit

A group of students and graduates from the Architectural Association school in London have produced a kit that can help turn unused spaces into public amenities. This bright yellow awning is slung from telegraph poles and buildings using cables and can be erected in just four hours! These kits is being featured at a current exhibition at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. Called Design For The Other 90%, the exhibition features designs that improve the lives of the world’s poor. Runs from 4 May to 27 September 2007.

Communist Chic

Check out Ostel, a new budget hotel in Berlin that celebrates Communist retro chic. It must be my penchant for nolstalgic items, coupled with my several visits to my husband's Russian motherland, that started me appreciating this style of decor. The hotel is located in a former East German housing block in the Berlin Mitte district. The rooms are furnished with Communist-era pieces salvaged from private houses and second hand shops. . ohh...I just love the fabrics and wallpaper and the music on their website!

City Furniture

I got to know about City Furniture via Bloesem. Located in Belgium, this store stocks on the most beautiful mid-century designer furniture and objects. Though a little on the pricey side, I think they are really well made and are worth the money if you can afford it. Good news is that they ship workwide! Some of my favourites below. Do check out their website for more!

(above) 1970s Harvey Guzzini, Italy floor lamp.€ 900
(above) 7 Serie 142 Tecno chairs Alexander Girard fabric. € 1000
(above) 1960s Hans Wegner teak Getama daybed. € 1200
(above) 5 Boris Tobacoff 'SPHERE' dining chairs 1971. € 4000. Not available.

A house in a house

My heart skipped a beat when I first saw this at Debi van Zyl's blog. It reminded me why I loved architecture and interiors in the first place. The magic of creating that dream house to live in. Of making, reconstructing, rethinking, inhabiting, dreaming...

This house is reconstucted by fnp architeken in Stuttgart. Since the site is not in English, I guessed from the pictures that the architects preserved the decaying shell of the house and inserted a new interior like an inner sleeve into it. Simple and magical. Love it! Absolutely looove it to bits!

CAVE

These bookcase CAVE really gives a feeling of a little hideaway. Designed to allow books to be stored on both sides, this bookshelf can also function as a partition of a room. CAVE comes in 2 sizes, one for adults and one for kids.

Stand Umbrella

An umbrella with feet to stand on its own. How clever and independent!

Fashbash

If you are up for some fashion hunting this weekend, be sure not to miss Fashbash! FashBash is the first and apparently most-loved fashion bazaar in Singapore where you can buy, sell and barter pre-loved designer tags and accessories! You also get the chance to grab stuff hot off the samples racks of local emergent and indie designer labels!

When: 18-19 August

Where: Curiocity Gallery, Nafa Campus II (Map)

ps: Lynda of littleoddforest emailed me to let me know that they will be at Fashbash. I had blogged about their quirky creatures, bags and accessores in a previous post. Littleoddforrest will be parading a little of everything, including their new collection, discounted prototypes and samples. Do catch them there if you are there!

Break the rules

I really enjoyed the feature in the Sept 07 edition of House & Garden entitled "Break the Rules". Some of the most innovative names in decorating today were asked to share some violations they make to create exceptional designs. Like they always say, rules are meant to be broken! And like I say, if you are planning to break it, break it well. Well, here are some rules for you to follow.

1. Turn it inside out.

Don't be confined by what should be kept in and what should be kept out. Bring your outdoor garden chairs and benches into the living room or bedroom if you like the feeling of living outdoors.

The image below is a photograph of the famous terrace Le Corbusier designed for Charles de Beistegui in the 1930s. I think this simple image encapsulates what is trendy in the decorating world today. The terrace is designed as a large, open room, delineated by a white wall, characteristic of Le Corbusier’s purist style. On the wall is a false fireplace, complete with decorated mantelpiece, and the terrace floor is a carpet of grass. Lovely.

2. Rethink Color

If you dare, play with clashing colour combinations to make a bold statement. Clashing or contrasting colors are directly opposite each other on the color wheel. If used carefully, they provide great contrast and high visibility.

If you are one of those that need help loosening up when it comes to colour and cannot deal with a colour wheel, you can try keeping a record of colours and objects with colours that attract you. It could be a piece of fabric, a picture from nature, a magazine clipping or a card that you like. You can then extract the colours from these "inspirational" pieces for your room.

(above) Cassina's Le Corbusier chairs in red velvet pop against their complementary opposite, the lime green of this French salon's walls.

3. Mix It Up

From combining plastic with wrought iron to mixing countryside gingham with ornate gold, mixing styles seems to be defining decorating in the 21st-century. As fun as it may seem, one should be careful not to get too carried away. The trick is to focus on a a few select pieces to mix. Like in Carlos de Beistegui's dining room below, the countrified checks really stand out in a predominately ornate room and creates a powerful contrast.

(Below)The simplicity of the pink laquer top by William Switzer pairs really well with the ornate Rococo base here. 4. Tip the scale

Play with the magic of optical illusion and colour to make a small room appear big and a large room appear cosy. Use large wallpaper patterns and fabrics to make a statement about a dull piece of furniture.

Below, decorators Michael Coorengel and Jean-Pierre Calvagrac make a room appear larger than life by painting a room dark. This has the effect of making the walls and ceiling disappear, leaving the large oversized mirrow and urn-topped white column towering over a Saarinen Tulip chair to define the scale of the room.

(images from House & Garden)

Anamorphic cups

I thought these Anamorphic cups were pretty cool when I first saw it. "Anamorphic" refers to a distorted image that only appears normal when viewed with a special device. The most common of these devices is the anamorphic cylinder, which typically consists of a cylinder with a highly reflective surface, placed in the center of painting that is lying face-up. Such curiosities first appeared in the 1600s, and became popular throughout Europe in the 18th century. The Anamorphic Cup is the first product to employ the visual principles of the anamorphic cylinder. The stainless steel cup reflects the distorted words printed on the porcelain saucer. The image is indecipherable when the cup and saucer are separate.

Flat packed cardboard table

This Doca Autunno coffee table is made from cardboard and is created to fold together like a piece of origami. It caused quite a stir, both for its functional and decorative design, when it was shown at the Milan furniture fair in 2005. Each table measures 35.5"l x 22.5"w x 14"h.