Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter

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• Traditional On One Side, Contemporary On The Other: Villa Rotunda In The Netherlands
• Portraits Made From Facebook Messages by Art Buzz Amsterdam
• How to use Nature’s Autumn Colors for your Personal Interior Style
• The Ultimate Modern Crib: Roger’s Penthouse in London
• Intriguing Office Building Design in Namibia by Wasserfall Munting Architects
• Impressive Contemporary Home in LA Built Around a Spectacular Central Pool
• Modern Home for Barbie That Seems IKEA-Inspired by Miniio
• 30 Scandinavian Kitchen Ideas That Will Make Dining a Delight

Traditional On One Side, Contemporary On The Other: Villa Rotunda In The Netherlands Posted: 12 Oct 2011 05:43 AM PDT Villa Rotonda is a contemporary residence designed by Dutch studio Bedaux de Brouwer Architecten and located in southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. You are looking at a home that displays an original architecture and a misleading one, if you were to judge by the traditional exterior, as seen from the street. The opposite facade (the one facing the garden) reveals a stunning modern design. Here is more from the architects: “On the street side, the house appears to be a variation on the archetypal Dutch residence, with a pitched slate roof and grey brick walls. On the garden side, that idea is toppled, and the atmosphere changes. The southern side of the house looks out onto the deep garden. Here, the façade is nearly completely transparent. Almost every room in the house faces the large garden. With the closed-off street-side façade guarding the rear of the house, it is possible to enjoy both utter privacy and light, open living. As such, with the design of the house, the two young architects have achieved an optimal combination of two worlds, modern and traditional, thereby proving that they are worthy of following in the footsteps of their predecessors in the office.” We find this project witty, creative and most of all, safe. Don’t hesitate to drop a line and tell us if you agree.

Portraits Made From Facebook Messages by Art Buzz Amsterdam Posted: 12 Oct 2011 04:50 AM PDT If you remember, we published a post a while back about Art Buzz Amsterdam and their portraits made from Twitter posts. Recently, their site gained a new feature: Facebook portraits. Here is the information we were sent from the developers of this application: “Now, as the first website in the world, Art Buzz Amsterdam gives Facebook users the opportunity to create a highly personalised artwork. Users log in with Facebook on the website and choose one of the five colors for the artwork.  The website than creates an online preview of a Facebook Portrait: a portrait that consists of a mash up of your profile picture and Facebook status updates, news-, friends- and wall messages. If these portraits were only available for purchase to inhabitants of the Netherlands, now social media users from around the world can obtain one. The portrait images can be bought as digital files, to get printed on canvas or poster at your local printer. Cool to hang on your wall and fun to read back the Facebook messages“. Find this idea appealing?

How to use Nature’s Autumn Colors for your Personal Interior Style Posted: 12 Oct 2011 03:50 AM PDT Every season has its signature colors, and depending on which season blends more with your personality, it probably is telling of what lends cues to the colors of your interior home. Autumn's color palette of nature inspired amenities are a favorite for many. Whether the color of the turning leaves takes you back to your childhood, or the deep browns and rust colors bring warm thoughts of a buth ring fireplace, autumn is a cherished time of year. As the weather brings a chill to the air, your interiors can warm up with colors to delight. Here are easy ways to bring nature's autumnal color palette into your home. Bold and colorful:  While many envision calming earth tones throughout your autumn home, how about adding some bold colors reminiscent of nature's leaves, berries, and wood accents? Nature puts on a show in autumn with color palettes of burgundy, plums, to rust, and umber oranges. Go ahead and turn your blah interiors, into a burst of inspiration every time you enter the room. Try changing out an accent wall with your favorite paint manufacturer's paint line for the season. You will be surprised to see most paint lines, furniture retailers, and your favorite discount houseware stores will have autumn focused choices, so you don't have to think and your interiors will look like you slaved over them, each new season! Subtle and traditional: We will never be able to replace the classics, with subtle inspirational colors like neutral browns, paired with sage greens, and golden yellows and creamy beiges. As the seasons move from bright summer colors, autumn seems like a season that tells us to slow down and enjoy nature's show. Whether you like traditional upholstered furniture, or you want to have ever changing versatility in your furniture, use throw pillows, seasonal flower arrangements, and eye-catching area rugs to pull your space together. While you may think subtle is boring, think again. When your home can transition through the seasons effortlessly, you'll rediscover how gorgeous subtlety is. Let nature show-off inside your home: Who says nature needs to stay outside your window? While the changing colors outside can be inspiring, so can the use of natural materials such as exposed timber, boulders, seagrass, slate and more! Consider taking a bland wall in your home and livening it up with natural rocks, cork, or even a green inspired wallpaper that adds texture and pattern. If you think the colors are too neutral, add an eye-popping piece of furniture to dramatically bring visual interest to your space. An orange or red painted coffee table maybe exactly what your nature show-off room needs.  Year around color: The joy of autumn is the colors that come naturally with the Earth, are the same colors that most humans enjoy around them continually. Have you ever wondered why spas, and health inspired environments use light blues, greens, and browns to calm you? Alluding to the sky, water, earth, and sun brings peace and harmony to most people whether physically, mentally, or subconsciously. Use any of these colors throughout your home all year around. If you can't decide, neutrals never go out of style. Choose from gray tones of any of your favorite colors, you will be surprised that the brightest of any color, has a pleasing neutral version to warm your interiors, just like autumn hints of color all around. Whether your personal decorative style is eclectic, modern, traditional or rustic, nature has a color palette waiting for you. If you're having a hard time trying to decide which one to choose, how about take your favorite parts of each style and create your own? If you're not up to changing your entire room, find your favorite vase or display container and collect some leaves, pinecones, or even some ripe red apples. You will love how simple bringing the season into your home can be!

The Ultimate Modern Crib: Roger’s Penthouse in London Posted: 12 Oct 2011 02:51 AM PDT Welcome to an apartment that exudes a fresh and highly urban atmosphere. If modern interior design is your focal point, then this is the type of dwelling that is sure to get your heart racing. Found on, 1stOption, Roger’s Penthouse seems to be a stylish reflection of its surrounding contemporary architecture. An original mix of metal bars and glass defines the overall design of this crib, which becomes the stage for a strange, yet appealing game of light. The visual effects are strong and unique. An open plan living room, complete with a large socializing area, dining room and lovely art pieces sets a fresh tone for the entire apartment. The inclined ceiling and tall windows contribute to the genuine feel of the interiors. Enjoy a virtual tour of this ultimate modern crib and tell us if it made a strong impression on you by leaving your comments below.

Intriguing Office Building Design in Namibia by Wasserfall Munting Architects Posted: 12 Oct 2011 01:52 AM PDT Wasserfall Munting Architects have completed an office building for an engineering consulting firm in Windhoek, Namibia, called Bührmann & Partners. The building is a result of a mini-competition and lies on a narrow 1500sqm property in the residential area of Klein Windhoek. Here is an excerpt from the architects’ official project description: “Besides proposing the demolition of the existing house, the clients' brief stipulated that its immaculate garden had to be maintained. Other requirements included the use of off-shutter concrete and the introduction of a water element. The three partners had to be accommodated in separate offices with views over the garden. Simplicity and geometric clarity were the overriding design aspirations. A long concrete beam, with impressive clear spans, is employed as a prominent circulation axis demarcating a clear approach to the building for both visitor and staff, and separating the production and administrative or service zones. It also serves as a unifying element that ties the various single storey building components and staff-parking structures into a single architectural entity“. An interesting approach for an office building, don’t you agree?

Impressive Contemporary Home in LA Built Around a Spectacular Central Pool Posted: 12 Oct 2011 12:37 AM PDT Blue Jay Way Residence comes from McClean Design and is located  in Los Angeles, California, USA. According to the architects, the clients wanted a home built around a central pool, which was the starting point when planning this home: “Upon ascending to the main level of the house, the water element becomes an ornamental pool before dropping into the spa below, and then extends to a 75-foot-long lap pool cantilevered over the slope into the view. The entry to the house is a glass bridge over the pool below. The house is divided in half by the water feature and a pool to minimize the structure's perceived size and to separate the private spaces (master bedroom, study) from the public (living, dining, kitchen). The living room and master bedroom are cantilevered over outdoor spaces below and appear to hover against the background of the city beyond. The lower level includes several guestrooms, a media room, and a four-car garage. The palette of materials is soft contemporary with extensive use of concrete, wood, and stone." The project occupies an area of 6800 square feet and has panoramic views of LA, Santa Monica, the Pacific, and Catalina Island. Have a look at the photos for a better understanding and tell us if you are impressed by this home’s architecture or consider it too extravagant.

Modern Home for Barbie That Seems IKEA-Inspired by Miniio Posted: 11 Oct 2011 10:11 AM PDT For most people, modern design arrangements are a must. Which is why this new contemporary Barbie doll-house should not really come as a surprise. This miniature eco project was developed by Miniio and impresses due to a tasteful approach. The house is structured on two floors and seems inspired from an IKEA catalog. As you can see, Barbie couldn’t be happier with her pendant lamps, low bed and open plan living room. And did you notice the outdoor terrace? We found this idea interesting, which is why we wanted to find out more about the people behind it. Miniio is in fact a project started by boys’ mums who still “dream about little pink dresses, silk ribbons, dressing up in ball gowns and playing with doll houses”. According to their official website, all the creations they develop are made by hand, using wood, stone, metal and other various safe materials. We are truly impressed with this miniature home and encourage the passion that made it possible.

30 Scandinavian Kitchen Ideas That Will Make Dining a Delight Posted: 11 Oct 2011 08:20 AM PDT For all of you out there who are love having a stylish cooking environment, as for all of you who love to dine surrounded by a warm atmosphere, here are 30 Scandinavian kitchen ideas that will get you loads of inspiration. When you decorate a room with white walls, then feel free to add as much color as you want, because the contrasts will be visually stunning! The proof lies in the photos below, a series of lovely interiors invigorated by colorful carpets, furniture and diverse decorating elements. The designs in the gallery below are as fresh as they get, with arrangements that are both original and practical. We would like to know what you guys think about our initiative to gather these kitchen into one post. Do you find these ideas helpful?

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