Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter

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• One Of Stockholm’s Trendiest Cafes: Café FOAM
• Volumes Shaping a Linear Floor Plan: Alnwick Road House
• Interview: Interior Design Success Story With Lisa Erdmann
• Modern Home Integrated In Its Surroundings: Mont-ràs Residence
• 39 Attic Rooms Cleverly Making Use of All Available Space

One Of Stockholm’s Trendiest Cafes: Café FOAM Posted: 02 Dec 2011 05:36 AM PST Café FOAM welcomes guests who live or happen to be in Stockholm with a tea and coffee shop, and breakfast, lunch and catering services in a fresh atmosphere. Reaching towards being one of Stockholm’s trendiest cafes, the 180 square meter establishment was beautifully designed by Note Design Studio to express the cafe’s quality and innovation features. The interiors were created according to the owners’ brief: “We want you to create an interior design that people either love or hate and that nobody is indifferent to!” Michael and Milad Toutoungi – the ones that make sure that Café FOAM works smoothly – commissioned Note Design Studio to create a modern and inviting space: “We began searching for extremes where passion and hate were equally present. Our entrance to the project became the complexity around bull fighting as a phenomenon. We were fascinated by the bull and bullfighter´s mutual movements and the directions in the battle.  This struggle along with the materials and colors at the stadium were the inspiration when designing the new Café Foam. We allowed the Spanish temperament to meet the Scandinavian coolness and the inspiration from the bullfighter´s movements across the arena led us to create a design that is reminiscent of Baertling´s lines. There were also two other important factors while creating the design. The first was to keep certain well-known elements from the previous interior to make regulars feel right at home and the second was creating a vivid environment that made meetings easier, protected the integrity of its costumers and enhanced the eating experience. A place for everybody.”

Volumes Shaping a Linear Floor Plan: Alnwick Road House Posted: 02 Dec 2011 03:54 AM PST Located on Alnwick Road in Singapore, the residence we present today borrowed its name from the location – the Alnwick Road House. The architect team behind this residential project is Park + Associates. They constructed the 4,628 square foot residence as a linear floor plan, allowing light and cross-ventilation to penetrate deep into the living spaces and adjust the brightness and temperature. Boxed functions were arranged to shape a larger volume that shelters all the spaces necessary for a comfortable, modern living style. The beautiful mixture of materials – black-powder-coated aluminum and black mild-steel casting – shape an elegant, contemporary architecture, while the extensive use of glass helps flood the interiors with natural light and offers views of the surroundings.  The black box placed atop the white volume visually connects all the design details seen on facade, making this residence a fascinating contemporary dream home, don’t you think?

Interview: Interior Design Success Story With Lisa Erdmann Posted: 02 Dec 2011 02:54 AM PST Lisa Erdmann is an interior designer with a career that bloomed in fast steps. We challenged her for an interview to find out her success story, which is based, as she states, on WORK, WORK ,WORK. Enjoy her portfolio, as well as the enlightening answers and in the end, feel free to leave you opinions in the comments section below. Freshome: Tell us about the moment when you decided to follow a career in the field of interior design. Did you have other options in mind at the time? Lisa Erdmann: I graduated from college, moved to New York City and was looking for a job in the fashion industry when I took a position as a receptionist at a furniture and textile firm. In a week I was promoted, within six months I was managing a department and after a few years became the youngest director of the company in the company's history. They manufactured the furniture in the building which was so interesting and traveling to mills and seeing the textiles made and working on colorations and the development was inspirational. I absolutely fell in love with textiles because of this job. Freshome: Can you remember your first design project? Lisa Erdmann:My mother is a designer, so as a child I redesigned my bedroom almost every year or two, with mom's guidance, of course. Freshome: Where do you find inspiration? Lisa Erdmann: Reading, traveling and in nature Freshome: How would you describe your line of work? How about your work process? Lisa Erdmann: Organization is imperative. Interior Design is like the opening night for a Broadway production. The goal is to have everything ready for the installation. Plan to be early so any glitches can be worked out before the clients move in. Freshome: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job as a designer? And the most rewarding one? Lisa Erdmann: The most frustrating occurs when a vendor or tradesperson does not deliver and lets me down. The most rewarding is the installation – When it all comes together and looks FABULOUS. Freshome: Tell us something unusual that happened in your career. Lisa Erdmann: I spent many of my younger years traveling the world. It allowed me to see many beautiful sites, products and experience many different cultures and types of people. It taught me that it is helpful to research and understand people especially of they are from a different culture so you can work with and respect them in the most productive manner. Freshome: Share something you would like our readers to know about you or your ideas. Lisa Erdmann: I am constantly inspired by my clients. Each project brings something new – a client's particular collection of accessories, travel, pets (I designed a horse barn once for a polo pony team), artwork collection … It makes each project interesting and unique. Freshome: Do you have any advice for the young designers reading this interview? Lisa Erdmann: I always relay this piece of advice to my new young designers out of school — Only about 10 – 15% of the job is picking out the beautiful fabrics and furniture, the balance is WORK, WORK ,WORK. Whether it's following up on the design, orders, samples or maintain relationships with vendors, clients, contractors, architects or working through the setbacks or unforeseen items that arise on projects and especially construction you are constantly working when projects are in progress.

Modern Home Integrated In Its Surroundings: Mont-ràs Residence Posted: 02 Dec 2011 01:42 AM PST The beautiful Mont-ràs Residence is somehow reminiscent of stone fortresses. The talented Spanish architect Marta Garcia-Orte collaborated with Antonio Zamora, principal of Zamagni Zamora on this residential project. This collaboration resulted in the construction of a modern, clean and sleek architecture that encompasses bright, minimalist interiors defined by a subtle elegance. Located in Mont-ràs, a mostly commercial district of Palafrugell, Spain, the single family residence that borrows the name from its location displays only a the top volume from the street. Constructed to protect the inhabitant’s privacy while maintaining a high level of comfort in all its interior and exterior spaces, the Mont-ràs Residence is described by the architects: "The project's goal was to achieve proper integration with the surrounding oak forest near a river and with the local social and cultural traditions. The care taken with respect to the relationship with the neighboring buildings in terms of orientation and visual composition is expressed by a complex scheme for which, for example, approaching the house from the street level, only a small portion of it (top level) is visible. The main entrance is accessible via an outside staircase leading to the lower level, through a transitional space from which visitors can glimpse the space shared between the two bodies of the complex: the main volume and the sleeping area both standing behind a majestic Quercus suber (latin for cork oak)."

39 Attic Rooms Cleverly Making Use of All Available Space Posted: 01 Dec 2011 08:07 AM PST Attic rooms are usually the most appealing interiors in the whole house, even though we can not tell for sure what draws us to them so much. Some people unconsciously correlate them with secret rooms, or even with large playgrounds. Either way, they have a special charm, and a warm feel that seems to follow you around, even after you leave them. Designing such a space comes with its many challenges. That is why today we decided to try and make things easier for you. By putting together a list with the most beautiful attic rooms out there, we figured we would at least give you a starting point in decorating. You could also begin by acknowledging the fact that the space just beneath the ceiling is extremely versatile. There is nothing stopping you  for turning it into the room of your dreams, whether we are talking about a crazy living space with a hammock in the middle or an exhibition interior for your miniature train collection. But before you take any decision, we have a few really sweet examples of attic rooms we would like to share. Does any of them come close to your tastes?

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