Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Inspiration Newsletter

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• Old Cannon Foundry Modified into a Contemporary Glass Family Home
• Creative Ad Campaign Draws Attention to Energy Efficiency
• Crazy About Comics? Astonishing Sculptular Unit by Flying Cavalries
• 10 Ways to Reduce Clutter in your Home
• Think Green: 10 Best Sustainable Homes of 2010
• Stylish and Practical: Modular Slow Sofa by Frederik Roijé

Old Cannon Foundry Modified into a Contemporary Glass Family Home Posted: 18 Jan 2011 05:26 AM PST This next beautiful residence was designed by the Lithuanian architectural practice Natkevičius. Constructing a modern single family house based on a cannon foundry was a challenge for the architects. But once the idea formed into their minds, they decided to preserve the old structure in a contemporary glass box. The old yellow brick lodge received a full restoration and other elements were added to perfect the modernity of the home. A Turkish bath in the basement can be used for relaxation. On the ground floor, the living room, kitchen, dining room, children`s bedrooms and wardrobe ensure the family’s comfort, while the attic is reserved for the master bedroom. The architects explain their choices: “The customer is a banker and antique book collector. A four member family house. Cleaning the plaster of a house revealed that the lodge had been built by ancient bricks which were made in a old Vilnius brick factories. The historical house structure have been carefully restored. Library of a collection of ancient books equipped in the basement of historical lodge.” Via Mocoloco Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Curved Leather Unit, An Original Interior Design Tool Glass Fireplace Beach House With Transparent Glass Walls And A Modern Interior Western Minneapolis Residence Contemporary Glass addition Adorning an 18 Century Home Luxurious Residence With Stunning Views Over Los Angeles Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

Creative Ad Campaign Draws Attention to Energy Efficiency Posted: 18 Jan 2011 02:59 AM PST PR agency smak recently developed an advertising campaign for client Power Smart Month in British Columbia, Canada. These two green shipping container condos were especially organized as small living areas that may seem similar at a first glance, but in fact are differentiated by a major factor: energy consumption. One of the condos is wasteful, while the other is an example of energy efficiency. The two improvised cribs each feature a glass wall, facilitating passers-by to take a look inside and watch the two actors “living” in their unusual homes: This display will demonstrate that even the smallest changes can make a substantial difference if they are practiced by everyone across the province in their homes and offices. It is sure nice to see effective advertising campaigns promoting positive behaviors. Freshome readers, what do you think of this uncommon happening? (Photos by Gerry Kahrmann) Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! New Approach to Solar and Wind Power – Grow Saving Money by Buying Energy Efficient Appliances How Much Energy is Wasting When Household Appliances are Left Plugged Taipei 101 to Become the World's Tallest Green Building Beautiful Room : Chandelier Creative Three Great Print Ads That Use Famous Buildings Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

Crazy About Comics? Astonishing Sculptular Unit by Flying Cavalries Posted: 18 Jan 2011 01:03 AM PST We recently received an incredible furniture unit designed by Hasan Agar (product designer), Kubra Agar (architect). Here is the official description of the design: “The proposed unit concept aims to display the comic character figures collected by a young man who is interested in these fantastic toys. He had a great collection and eventually intended to spare them a special area in his recreation room. The Super-heroes fantastic world moves in to the hobby room with displayed rich figure collection in the hobby unit. Concerning to this, London based design company ‘Flying Cavalries’ developed the idea to build a sculptural unit which is special for his world. Flying Cavalries foresaw the best way to express the illustrations in this furniture is laser engraving system in massive wood. Wood is used as the material of this unit with laser engraving technique to highlight the fantastic world and high-technology, and this material is used with combination of stainless steel and perforated plate. These drawings are modified from their original illustrations by use of this technique and are engraved to the wooden surfaces. The finishing touch surfaces are designed in natural wood-colour. The unit is designed for a suitable and large flat screen TV and a game console.” Freshome readers, any of you out there crazy about comics? Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Comic Art Printed on Furniture Flying Carpet Chair The Flying Chair Flying Carpet J House by Isolation Unit & Yosuke Ichii Architect World's First Ever Undersea Restaurant – Ithaa Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

10 Ways to Reduce Clutter in your Home Posted: 17 Jan 2011 11:32 PM PST Most every home can honestly say they have challenges when it comes to keeping home clutter down.   Whether it's the stacking up of bills, kid's projects, or even garage clutter that you never throw anything away, clutter lurks in many corners of your home. If you think that decluttering your home has to be time consuming, it doesn't. For minutes a day, reducing home clutter can become a way of life, that you don't realize saves you time, energy, and your day will be less stressful! Here are 10 ways to reduce your home clutter with minimal amounts of effort! 1.) Purge now: Choose a room in your home and throw away, donate, and sell items that are not used or needed in that room. Each day, choose a different room. Before the week is up, you will have purged your entire home. Collect items in garage or one area to have a garage sale, or for items to be donated to your local area shelter, church or charity. 2.) Arm your family with storage options: One of the biggest reasons home owners feel it is hard to keep clutter at bay is accessibility to storage options. Find a system that works for you and your family. Baskets for loose magazines, clear toy bins for kids, and labeled filing boxes for the home office. 3.) Teach your family to declutter: When your children bring home arts and crafts, extra papers and miscellaneous clutter items. Ask them what they like the most, and file or cleverly eliminate what they don't want. Older clutter items that may be taking real estate on kid's desks and work tables can also be cleverly disposed of! 4.) Optimize vertical storage: Instead of trying to use every square inch of your floor space, use vertical storage. Shelving, book shelves, and vertical storage solutions will help you gain more floor space and keep everything in plain eye sight. Use highest shelving for seldom used seasonal items, so you don't have to climb a ladder or step stool often. 5.) Make it part of your schedule: If every weekend for one hour you went through your home and looked for items that are no longer valid or used, this will keep down clutter tremendously. Magazine subscriptions, old newspapers, stacks of bills and mail are all items that should be filed or disposed of weekly 6.) Imagine how great you will feel: Have you ever walked into a clean room and then right into a cluttered room? Even though you think it may not affect you, try living in the cluttered space for days and weeks at a time. You will find you are less productive, more irritable and less likely to want to spend meaningful time in the space. Try it. 7.) Make it fun: Let's face it, if organizing was more fun… oh how our homes would stay clutter free! Figure out what motivates you to declutter? Need incentives, new organization bins, file cabinets, or repainting the home office if you can keep your space decluttered? Make basket ball hoops over your kid's laundry hamper… whatever works, right?! 8.) Know when to let go: Often times, the source of clutter is our own inability to let go of the old and unnecessary. This is especially true with clothes, memorabilia, and family collections. Assess your reason for keeping, and be able to have a physical place for everything you keep. If the only place your items fit is in a brown box in the garage, you probably don't need it. 9.) Every time you finish, put it away: Parents especially are infamous for telling their kids to put things away after they play with them, but adults don't always do the same. Your ability to put things back after you use them, will keep your home cleaner, and save you from procrastinating to the end of the week! 10.) Find productivity tools to help: With the advanced technology era we live in today, there is some type of productivity tool to help you stay organized and therefore clutter free! From online resources to help you organize your papers to smart phone apps to help you organize your business, there is no excuse why you can't have a clutter free home and life. Your home doesn't have to be a headache to get clutter free. Use these 10 tips to help you and your family figure out where to purge, clean, and organize for the future. Start small, or big – whichever keeps you going. If you get discouraged, go find a killer piece of furniture or electronic to motivate you! You'd be surprised how well you do, once there is a prize at the other end of the cluttered home hallway! Freshome readers, we'd love to hear how you keep your home clutter free. Do you have good storage containers, or are you still trying to tackle your home clutter? Feel free to add on to our top 10 list below. Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Importance of Plants in Your Home Recession blues: How to save money on home decorating Malibu 5: A dazzling home brimming with solar goodness 10 Ways to Maximize Space in a Small Bedroom Lighthouse by Potton: First Net-Zero Carbon Self-Built Home Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

Think Green: 10 Best Sustainable Homes of 2010 Posted: 17 Jan 2011 09:56 AM PST Freshome readers, we know how much you enjoy seeing an architecture project that has it all: creativity, efficiency and … sustainability. That is why we decided to write a post that will display the top 10 Sustainable Homes of 2010, as voted by our readers. As usual, you can click on the photos in order to see more pictures & details about each project. #10. Casa No Gere comes from architects Graça Correia and Roberto Ragazzi and is located in an unconventional environment. Deep in Portugal's national park is where the owners wished to live and their request was honored by the architects. The result? A bar-like structure with a unique exterior and modern indoor arrangements. Not a single tree was cut during the construction and the materials used were eco-friendly. #9. From German company Studio Aisslinger comes "Fincube", an interesting and sustainable architecture project. The house was built at an altitude of 1200 meters near Bozen, Italy. Its design plan implies a low energy consumption with a minimal CO2 footprint. Fincube houses an area of 47 sq m, which is similar to the living space of a small apartment. Its interior design is minimal, yet it has everything city life has to offer. #8. The IKAROS House was unveiled in Germany at the European Solar Decathlon.  Built by the University of Applied Sciences in Rosenheim, this project produces energy that exceeds the home's needs. How is this possible? By using a variety of green technology such as solar panels, vacuum insulation panels, efficient mechanical systems and natural ventilation. #7. This prefab house with two floors on the Swiss countryside was built taking into account the inhabitants need for privacy and light. FOVEA Architects integrated this modern reminder of a farmhouse into the rural background of the countryside and created the Crooked House. The upper floor is inclined to 40 degrees and rests on top of the first rectangular floor. #6. Many people fear that the addition of solar panels might interact with the architecture design in a negative way. In this particular case, the panels are independent and we consider this to be an original alternative solution. Chuckanut Ridge House was designed by Prentiss Architects and is located in Washington state. #5.  "Home for Life" is a sustainable residential project coming from Danish architects AART. Located near Aarhus in Denmark, this building is an  "Active House", making a statement in the field of architecture by emphasizing on low energy consumption and a "low-carbon future". Amazingly enough, this home produces more energy than it consumes. Click the photo for more details. #4. The beautiful and compact home comes from Pietro Russo – Ecomo and is located in Franschhoek, South Africa. The architecture took advantage of the mesmerizing landscape and created a home that communicates with its natural environment. Based on green, sustainable features, the home offers a secluded nature escape while in the same time obeying by the rules of contemporary design. #3. Situated on a hill top, this home offers incredible views of the Russian River Valley. A lap pool invites you to tonify your muscles while breathing the surrounding fresh air. For building this home, architect Dowling Kimm thought about using the most sustainable materials and energy efficient systems. #2. Hover House 3 comes from Glen Irani Architects and is located on the Venice Canals of Los Angeles, California. The challenge of the project was to maximize outdoor space, by creating a volume that seems to hover above the ground level. Moreover, the project is a showcase of sustainability, according  to the architects. Be sure to click the photo for a description of this home’s sustainable features. #1. Robles Arquitectos created this incredible beach Villa in Costa Rica. The house is situated on a small hill above the ocean, 20km from away from any town. The self-sustainable structure was a challenge to the architects, as the house had to be independent and reliable in the humid environment. The building houses a multifunctional space for the ISEAMI Institute (Institute of Sustainability, Ecology, Art,Mind and and the second level of the house is used as a home by the Institute`s director. With a spectacular appearance and plenty of green, sustainable features, this residence hit number one in our countdown. Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! Sustainable Luxury Living : Aura at Camelback Solar Decathlon Sustainable House in Ithaca, New York North Carlton Green House by Zen Architects Prefabricated Panels from ModCell, an Alternative Building System London’s Sustainable Building by Sheppard Robson Schwimmhaus, a Compact Modern Houseboat Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

Stylish and Practical: Modular Slow Sofa by Frederik Roijé Posted: 17 Jan 2011 08:29 AM PST Frederik Roijé is a young designer from the Netherlands who enjoys “products created out of love for surprises, curiosity and beauty”. Slow Sofa is an impressive furniture piece envisioned by Frederik, a sofa that comes with no less than nine modular volumes. These means various configurations and a design that is highly adaptable to constraints of space. Some of these modular parts can be transformed into a table, storage space and a frame support. Moreover, the materials used to create this versatile and uncommon couch were durable and sustainable. No matter what the configuration, Slow Sofa is a display of elegance, suited for the most refined tastes. For those of you who live in Germany, this product is currently exhibited at Galerie Fiebach & Minninger.- via Mocoloco Ready for more amazing design ideas? Check below ! The Trio Sofa, Practical and Stylish Tub Sofa Pierantonio Bonacina's Wiry Modular Garden Furniture Viaduct Shiraz Sofa WOW Sofa Becomes a Practical Bed with Just the Push of a Button Sofa Hanger Click here to connect with Freshome on or on

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