Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter

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• Mid-Century Ranch Remodel and Expansion: The Bal Residence
• Select Modern Apartment Design by Tectus
• Inspired by an Egg’s Perfect Shape : VOV Bathtub by Mastella Design
• Imposing Modern Residence in Jakarta: Static House
• Penthouse Apartment in Sweden With Seamless Spaces
• Ecological & Sustainable Furniture from Punkalive
• Real Apples Shaping a Tribute Steve Jobs Portrait
• Glass and Stone Modern Residence Remodeled From a 15th Century Barn

Mid-Century Ranch Remodel and Expansion: The Bal Residence Posted: 25 Oct 2011 06:44 AM PDT The Bal Residence was designed by Berkeley-based studio Terry & Terry Architecture and is a mesmerizing wooden home, a result of a mid-century ranch remodel and expansion. The house occupies an area of 2,000 square feet and is located in Menlo Park, California, USA. According to the architects, the project was envisioned for a retired couple and has a very interesting layout: “ The addition comprises of two floating volumes. The first is the bedroom wing/volume, which is located on the west side of the house.  The existing bedroom volume was extended toward the rear in the form of a wood tube to accommodate an additional bedroom.  This bedroom volume opens out to the garden. The second volume, which comprises the main space, houses the kitchen, dining and media areas.  The east wood wall plane of the main space folds onto two concrete walls to form the main roof plane. These two wood volumes,. the "bedroom tube" and the "roof plane," create a connection and openness to the garden by using transparency, clean minimal detail and simple materials. The main space produces large transparent openings or voids that open out onto a deck at the rear garden. The main roof plane extends forward to form the carport roof near the front of the property. A garden concrete wall stretches out from the media room toward the garden adjacent to a rear ramp and forms part of the cantilevered bench that echoes the concrete wall material in the main space.” We find this home diverse and highly appealing. Needless to say, we are looking forward to seeing your reactions as well.

Select Modern Apartment Design by Tectus Posted: 25 Oct 2011 04:50 AM PDT We recently received an exquisite apartment design from Greek interior design company Tectus, which we would like to share further. The crib is located in Heraklion city and includes a living room, dining room, kitchen, three bedrooms, bathroom, linen room and terraces. Here is more from the official project description we were sent: “The apartment is characterized by minimal design with materials as wood and metal dominating. Ceilings and wallboard were installed according to lighting plans, and LED lighting,  fluorescent and rails with spotlights have been used. Walls are painted in cold shades of gray, while a plasterboard wall is covered with specially treated cement, to give the space an industrial style. The sea view of the living room remains unobstructed. So instead of curtains, the designer used electrical wooden stores of a dark gray color. The famous Rubik’s cube was transformed into a utilitarian commode in the nursery. In the master bedroom, a hidden wall highlights the headboard and, in conjunction with the special lighting of the ceiling, gives the room a great atmosphere“. Freshome readers, what single word would you use to describe this modern Greek apartment ?

Inspired by an Egg’s Perfect Shape : VOV Bathtub by Mastella Design Posted: 25 Oct 2011 03:52 AM PDT Inspired by an egg's perfect shape Mastella Design created VOV, a collection of large and comfortable bathtubs with an unique shape. The VOV Bathtub is made from a single block of white K-plan: a compact, smooth, resistant material that is pleasant to the touch and quick and easy to clean. Mastella Design is the new brand which Mastella S.r.l., a company operating in the bathroom furnishing sector for over 25 years, dedicates to its top collections: high-fashion design products that blend creativity, quality and functionality. The VOV Bathtub was designed for the pleasure of a relaxing and regenerating bath. As you can see from the pictures presented below the bathtub comes in two colors : white and black .. a colour as much elegant and trendy as it is unusual for a bathtub.

Imposing Modern Residence in Jakarta: Static House Posted: 25 Oct 2011 02:50 AM PDT Static House was designed by Jakarta-based studio TWS & Partners and is a diverse 7,530 square foot contemporary home in Jakarta, Indonesia. The client’s brief in this case implied the construction of an opulent “garden house”, a crib that would communicate well with the exterior. Here is the solution found by the architects: “In respond to limited site, compare to huge program. we try to elaborate and combine two courtyard spaces, which arranged vertically and super impose each other. First courtyard was put on raised ground floor, which can be act also as a transition and buffer area from public space in front and rear, semi public, living room. Second courtyard located on the second floor, which will be act as intermediate outdoor space from master bedroom and surrounding neighborhood. Consequently, the above layer of courtyard should be able to be penetrated by sunlight and natural air to give life to courtyard below.We decided to apply shallow reflecting pond within above courtyard and using glass as a base of it, to allow daylight penetrate the courtyard and room below.” The interior design is based on a warm color palette, with minimalist furniture and modern details.

Penthouse Apartment in Sweden With Seamless Spaces Posted: 25 Oct 2011 01:50 AM PDT Cleverly designed, this 87 square meter Penthouse Apartment in Malmo, Sweden has an ingenious floor plan with plenty of space for a black and orange kitchen from Vedum, a bright and artistic dining space and a spacious living area created as one seamless space. Wrapping itself around half of the penthouse apartment, a rooftop terrace is accessible both from the living room and from the main bedroom. An outdoor Jacuzzi outside the master bedroom describes the luxuriously comfortable life this penthouse apartment promises. The white sofa, rug and walls in the living room are enriched by the use of warm smoked oak floors and wooden furniture. Here, a built-in TV screen gives the inhabitant the choice of enjoying a thrilling evening in the company of movie stars or watch a game alongside friends. A built-in fireplace from Safretti discretely adorns the wall leading to the dining space. This private bedroom is slightly raised in relation to the living room, creating a floating effect with the help of fluffy carpeting. Plenty of light is invited inside the master bedroom through large windows and the adjacent walk-in-closet receives natural light through two round windows that add character and playfully bounce light in the mirrored closet doors. If this was your next home, what would you change?

Ecological & Sustainable Furniture from Punkalive Posted: 25 Oct 2011 12:47 AM PDT Finnish design company Punkalive was founded in 2009 and has since gone on to achieve national and international recognition for its environmentally friendly wooden furniture. Made solely from a  laminated veneer lumber called Kerto wood, which is made from Finnish Spruce, the furniture's design and production methods emphasise the principles of ecology and sustainability. The wood is sourced from within a 100km radius of the Punkaharju factory where the furniture is manufactured and the sawdust from furniture component production is reused. The local power company transmits the heat from the production mill to the town's heating system, which provides substantial energy savings for the local community. The Punkalive product concept is based on the aesthetics of free shapes, which is what attracted the attention of international design star Karim Rashid, who has been collaborating with Punkalive since its launch in 2009 at Salone Internazionale del Mobile in Milan. Rashid designed the High Roller sun lounger, Low Roller coffee table and more recently the Matryoshkarim nesting furniture, which complement the other pieces in the Punkalive collection.

Real Apples Shaping a Tribute Steve Jobs Portrait Posted: 24 Oct 2011 11:31 PM PDT Back in 1976, when Steve Jobs just started the Apple Company, he was coming back from an apple farm, and he was on a fruitarian diet. These facts inspired him to name the company after the well-known fruit, thinking that the name was “fun, spirited and not intimidating“. Now, after his passing, many tributes show how important his life’s work was. This is what multi-disciplinary visual artist Olivier Lefebvre wanted to accomplish with his representation of Steve Jobs’ portrait made entirely out of apples – the landart tribute expresses the impact Steve Jobs had on  modern technology and the apple silhouette. This organic portrait features apples of different sizes and colors, arranged to shape a red/green portrait. How do you feel about this tributary way of thanking an important visionary for his inspirational creations?

Glass and Stone Modern Residence Remodeled From a 15th Century Barn Posted: 24 Oct 2011 09:27 AM PDT Designed by UK-based architectural studio MOOARC, the former 15th Century barn on the Island of Guernsey was transformed into a high-end, luxurious modern home that was named La Concha House. By remodeling the old structure, the architects created a fabulous private residence featuring natural ventilation and recycled building materials. The inspiration that led to the construction of this beautiful home cam e from the map to measure the density of cities mainly in black and white – “The Nolli plan of Rome” -1748. The first level of the house shelters the kitchen and dining space, with the living space placed above, on a mezzanine level. The smart floor plan contains a play area opening to a terrace in the front of the house and private bedrooms and bathrooms were placed in the back of the house. Describing the house, the architects say that: “The bedroom block is stepped in across the width of the site to allow a visual link out into the rear garden from the dining space. The house was conceived as a separate sleeping block linked to the barn via a glazed entrance piece allowing the mass of the original barn to breathe. The retained structure of the barn has been revealed, with the internal space for living expressed as a single volume.” The extensive use of glass merged with the exceptional stone facade makes this residence modern and luxurious, while the interiors display a fascinating feeling of comfort, don’t you think?

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