Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter

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• A Refreshing Contemporary Home Design in London
• Sustainable Home Renovation Overlooking The Vineyards of Sonoma, California
• Full-Scale Sketches Of Future Residential Plots by Maider Lopez
• How to Prepare your Fall Home for Winter’s Return
• Contemporary Home By The Lake in Arizona
• Organizing Your Bookcase The Playful Way [Short Video]
• Celebrating The Elderly: Floating Bubble Heads Outside Bilbao [Video]
• Clever Small Home Architecture Derived From Site Restrictions in Tokyo

A Refreshing Contemporary Home Design in London Posted: 13 Oct 2011 07:39 AM PDT We ran across this intriguing modern home in London which inspires freshness, but in the same time, opulence. However, these characteristics blend in very tastefully, creating a space that is welcoming and inspiring. The focal point of the residence is a generous pool, surrounded by lush vegetation, a water fountain and modern patio furniture. We can not imagine a more versatile location. The pool are is perfect for a stylish evening gathering, for a crazy party and even for a week-end barbecue. Large glass doors connect the terrace with the open plan living room. Once inside, a potential visitor is greeted by state-of-the-art modern decors and inspiring decorating elements. A comfortable glass swing, contemporary art pieces and flower arrangements animate the interiors. We are looking forward to seeing your opinions regarding the design approach on this residence. Do you find its layout practical?

Sustainable Home Renovation Overlooking The Vineyards of Sonoma, California Posted: 13 Oct 2011 05:41 AM PDT Sonoma Residence was designed by New-York-based Cooper Joseph Studio and is a beautiful hillside building overlooking the vineyards of Sonoma, California. The project is a two-level renovation of a house an agricultural property and occupies an area of 2,200 square feet. According to the architects, “the Owners requested an efficient renovation that would maximize hillside views and connect the two levels to allow for more open living. They asked that wood be used extensively for the renovation.Since the 25-acre site had no infrastructure, we buried utilities, improved grading to eliminate erosion, and built a solar array able to power the entire property and equipment.Our sustainability strategy involved reusing all the wood from the existing redwood porch structure in an agricultural shed elsewhere on the property. This shed is fitted out with the original kitchen cabinetry, appliances and sliding doors.In addition to the adaptive reuse of elements of the house, we used sustainably harvested Ipe for the structural porch, and decks on both sides of the house." Be sure to have a look at the two “before photos” at the end of the post for a better understanding of the transformation.

Full-Scale Sketches Of Future Residential Plots by Maider Lopez Posted: 13 Oct 2011 04:07 AM PDT The Intermedio project that we found on Ideas to steal is a creative way of looking at future residential developments before they will be build. The project consists of ” lines painted on a plot representing the future houses that will be built there“, as the artist that created them says. The creator of this project in Cordoba, Spain, is Maider Lopez, a talented Spanish designer that “enjoys creating interventions in spaces, situations and architecture. Her works often involve the active participation of the viewer and can take the unprepared by surprise as an aspect of a familiar space mischievously highlighted or altered.” This full-size architectural sketch allows curious people see how the house would feel like in terms of space and arrangement. This opens up the mind to imagining 3D versions of the future residence, creating the opportunity of enjoying an urban space in a whole new perspective – with a future attached to it.

How to Prepare your Fall Home for Winter’s Return Posted: 13 Oct 2011 03:13 AM PDT Whether it is snowing in your place of the world, or the warmer temperatures are just beginning to taper off, winter will be officially here in a few months.  With colder temperatures also comes rising energy bills, drafty doors and windows, and heating our homes becomes priority. Have you thought about what you can do now, to save money and energy in few months? Use these helpful tips to get a jump start on winterizing your home, so you can spend time in front of the fireplace as opposed to in a cold home. Assess your home now for energy leaks: Now is the best time to determine where energy leaks are occurring. Whether they are air seeping from underneath your doors or around your windows, replace weather stripping and caulk around all penetrations. Under your exterior doors, ensure door sweeps are sealing properly. Consider having your electric company perform an energy audit of your home. You may be losing heat through loose baseboards, poor insulation in your attic, or through poorly sealed heating ducts throughout your home. An energy audit will help you locate the energy-sucking culprits! Have your furnace/fireplace checked: The main source of heat in your home should be in good working condition and checked by a professional. Your furnace should have the ducts, heating elements, and filters changed regularly.  Take the time now to clean out your fireplace of old soot and ashes, and hire a chimney sweeper to clean out the chimney and. Consider inspecting the roof and around the chimney for flashing damage so there will be no surprise leaks from rain or snow through the chimney!  Also make sure wire netting is placed at the top of the chimney so debris, rodents and birds don't enter into your fireplace. If you live in a climate that is still able to enjoy the outdoors, ensure your outdoor fireplace is cleaned and maintained each season as well. Walk around the exterior of your home: The exterior of your home tends to be forgotten about in the wintertime and now is the time to inspect it. Inspect gutters and downspouts to ensure they are clean and rid of leaves. Repair broken downspouts and ensure splash blocks on the ground are diverted away from the foundation. Check for broken screens and/or replace with winter glass components. Depending on how cold it gets in your climate, consider stocking up on gravel, salt, etc… and stock in your garage for icy driveway and walkways. Repair and clean: Similarly to spring cleaning when your home has been sitting dormant all winter, fall cleanup prepares your home for the winter season as well as ensures that all components are in good working order.  Repair any cracks in your foundation, pressure wash  exterior  brick  and concrete, and get mechanical equipment serviced. If you have a snow blower or other mechanical equipment used for the winter, take it to an authorized repair dealer in your area. Clean out your garage, storage shed, and areas used to house tools. Check your snow shovels, and other tools to see if they need replacing from last winter. While you can still enjoy your autumn weather, don't get too comfortable in thinking it will stick around long. Use these helpful tips to save energy, money, and keep your family safe and warm during the winter months. You wouldn't send your child to school without a jacket in a snowstorm, don't start the winter without performing maintenance on your home for the upcoming winter season. After all, you still want to be able to enjoy those warm nights in your home, right? Get going then!

Contemporary Home By The Lake in Arizona Posted: 13 Oct 2011 12:38 AM PDT Lake Residence was designed by studio Architekton and is a 3,500 square foot modern home located in Arizona, USA. According to the architects, “a modest budget and small site led to a very efficient stacked rectangular plan that negotiated the site's 16' differential between the street and lake. A hyper-programmed masonry "container" defines a courtyard at street level and slips through the house and dramatically cantilevers towards the lake. The resulting design yields a private low-scaled presence from the street side and a dramatic composition to the neighborhood lake, which becomes the actual "front yard." The Lake Residence takes advantage of the north-south orientation with a protective "wrapper" that is opaque on the east and west elevations and provides deep solar shading on the south. When weather allows, the home's main living space incorporates large sliding glass walls on both the north and south sides allowing for true indoor-outdoor living and taking advantage of the inherent evaporative cooling from the adjacent lake to the north and pool on the south.”. For more information regarding the project’s structure, check out the plans at the end of the post.

Organizing Your Bookcase The Playful Way [Short Video] Posted: 12 Oct 2011 11:28 AM PDT We stumbled on this really cool animation film about organizing a bookcase. We found it creative, fun to watch and quite inspiring, which is why we decided to share it further. Some people choose to arrange their books alphabetically, other by size. But if you take a minute and analyze, there are endless ways you can tackle this organizing issue. A while back, we presented an idea on Freshome that most of you found interesting. Some people managed to create a rainbow bookshelf, by carefully arranging the books by their color. The result is a vivid bookcase, able to completely change the overall design of a room. This type of organizing is also present in the video below, along with many other inspiring ways to help you playfully mix the books in your home. Thanks for suggesting this post, @Gilt Home!

Celebrating The Elderly: Floating Bubble Heads Outside Bilbao [Video] Posted: 12 Oct 2011 09:59 AM PDT Here is a project that will surely bring a vague smile to those of you reading this. Floating bubble heads is an unusual “installation” consisting of four inflatable spheres that were released on water, just outside Bilbao, Spain. The project greeted the theme of the fifth annual GETZOPHOTO festival, which is “in praise of elderly”. The odd inflatable spheres were wrapped in giant black and white photography, so that they would look like floating human heads. Naturally, elderly subjects were used when choosing the photographs. The result? Four giant floating bubble heads, each one funnier than the next. We do not know if this “installation” had any social impact, but you have to admit the action is of great visual effect. We also uploaded a “making of” video at the end of the post, be sure to have a look!

Clever Small Home Architecture Derived From Site Restrictions in Tokyo Posted: 12 Oct 2011 08:54 AM PDT The River Side House is an impressive project designed by Mizuishi Architect Atelier and located in Tokyo, Japan. The small home was constructed on a triangle site and occupies a building area of 29.07 square meters. According to the architects, the structure of the residence includes functionally separate areas, as follows. The first is the dining & kitchen area, situated up the stairs and having high ceilings with a feeling of rise towards the roof top. The living space is low ceilinged and has full-opening windows on both sides of the bay, ensuring a feeling of floating. There is also a generous spare room to the east, for having guests over. The interior arrangements of this residence are minimalist and tasteful. The walls are painted entirely in white, inspiring openness and tidiness. Wooden accents and splashes of color here and there add a happy tone to the design. Do you find this project as intriguing as we do?

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