Freshome.com - Interior Design & Architecture Newsletter

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• 10 Most Popular Projects Presented in February 2012
• Contemporary Home by WA Design with Views of San Francisco Bay
• Perched on a Cliff, 100 Metres Above the Ocean: Queenscliff House
• Cove Spring House in Barbados Built on a Coral Stone Cliff
• 15 Creative & Unconventional Approaches to Taxidermy
• Practical Oz Sofa Transforms into a Spacious Family Bed [Video]

10 Most Popular Projects Presented in February 2012 Posted: 05 Mar 2012 05:04 AM PST We had a visual feast in February, with various projects that have that unique “wow effect” Freshome is always on the lookout for. Here is a list with the ones that ranked the highest, according to your Facebook shares. Remember that by clicking on the pictures, you can see more photos and details about each project. Enjoy! #1. Curious about the most voted project in February? Architectural bureau SL Project founded by by Russian architect Alexey Nikolashina completed a modern apartment design in Moscow, Russia. Lacquer finishes set the tone for the apartment, making this home highly modern. #2. We love books too, which is why we are happy this project made it at number two. Ever wondered how a massive bookcase can become part of a working space? This is a fantastic solution – constructing a round bookcase hovering above the work space. #3. Designed to be comfortably inspiring, Google's Zurich Headquarters spreads over more than 12,000 square meters and each space composing the interior symphony was carefully designed to boost the effectiveness level among employees in a relaxed, playful and colorful manner. Just click the photo for more details. #4. Filip Dujardin's set of structurally impossible architecture photographs will have you looking at every detail in search of those elements that are basically implausible. Working with a set of photos of real buildings in and around Ghent, Belgium, and using digital collaging techniques, the photographer created a mind-dazzling collection of photos entitled "Fictions". #5. With soothing views of the Indian Ocean and the possibility to take a refreshing plunge in its waters every day, Anantara Dhigu Resort & Spa Maldives opens up its gates to a tropical paradise. Located just a 35 minute speedboat ride from Malé International Airport, the luxury villas making up this resort and the services offered here, ensure complete relaxation. Sounds enjoyable? #6. Welcome to a colorful small apartment in Barcelona, Spain, especially designed to answer the living needs of a young couple. This happy home is filled with personality and original design elements. Tall ceilings, exposed beams, pipes and plenty of color-all these elements reinvent the sober industrial style and contribute to a fresh atmosphere. #7. We know you guys love resorts and we also noticed your growing attraction for the natural beauty of Bali. This is probably why this holistic wellness retreat, got your votes racing. COMO Shambhala Estate is located near Ubud, Bali, and consists of picturesque villa-style accommodation units with terrace rooms, garden rooms and various types of suites. #8. Slashing a hotel room in two has never looked so interesting! This half white, half graffiti-covered interior can be admired at the Au Vieux Panier hotel in Marseille, France. Each of the five rooms of the hotel are annually redesigned by artists, graphic designers, and painters from all over, each of them lending a unique style to the interiors. #9. Space composition as seen from a single vantage point can offer surprising points of view. These Anamorphic Illusions by Swiss artist Felice Varini capture a mind-opening spectacle of geometry applied to three dimensional spaces. Click the photo to see the rest. #10. An outdated residence in Limpopo,South Africa, became a sleek semi-transparent modern residence the owners can be proud of. The Aboo Makhado Residence (or House Aboobaker) was designed by Nico van der Meulen Architects. Their task was to reconstructing an old residence while taking into account the excessive heat and need for natural light. You're reading 10 Most Popular Projects Presented in February 2012 originally posted on Freshome. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

Contemporary Home by WA Design with Views of San Francisco Bay Posted: 05 Mar 2012 03:46 AM PST Strathmoor House is a project envisioned by Berkeley-based studio WA Design and located in the East Bay hills in Berkeley, California, USA. The main objective of the architects was to create a home that would offer a high level of privacy, while ensuring unobstructed views towards San Francisco Bay: “To establish privacy we introduced a curved shell wall, clad with cement board panels, that conforms to the street edge and presents an opaque textural surface. The shell wall is a study of carefully moderated transparency, both acoustic and visual, with minimal windows set on the module of the cement panels. Envisioned as a space between the buildings, like an exterior plaza, the entry volume organizes the flow through the home. The experience of this "outdoor space" is enhanced and strengthened by building elements that address the space with raw finishes typical of building exteriors. Rough cement plaster, metal siding, stained concrete floors, and galvanized stairs all provide a seamless transition from the streetside entry through to the view side of the home and a two-story window wall opening to the garden. Facing south, this window wall shines daylight into the surrounding spaces and dramatically opens views to the San Francisco Bay”. Check out the photos and if you have any comments regarding this project, feel free to express them.  You're reading Contemporary Home by WA Design with Views of San Francisco Bay originally posted on Freshome. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

Perched on a Cliff, 100 Metres Above the Ocean: Queenscliff House Posted: 05 Mar 2012 02:34 AM PST Queenscliff House was designed by Utz Sanby Architects and is located in Sydney, Australia, on the edge of a dramatic cliff, 100 meters above the ocean. the wedge-shaped building was developed with sustainability in mind, featuring sub-floor rainwater tanks, high-level louvres and ceiling fans for a good natural ventilation and masonry walls for insulation. Here is more from the architects’ description: “The block has a due north-south aspect with neighbouring buildings very close to the boundaries on the east west. Large fin walls divide the separate functions of entrance and circulation from the living areas and garden, providing privacy and structural support for the upper level bedroom wing.The main living areas of the house are designed to link the garden space with the ocean and to take advantage of the geometry of the block, which widens towards the cliff edge. Careful placement of structural walls, high-level glazing and roof form has created a generous living room with an abundance of natural light, ventilation, privacy and spectacular views“. [Photography by Marian Riabic] You're reading Perched on a Cliff, 100 Metres Above the Ocean: Queenscliff House originally posted on Freshome. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

Cove Spring House in Barbados Built on a Coral Stone Cliff Posted: 05 Mar 2012 01:25 AM PST Located on a natural coral stone cliff in Barbados, this appealing holiday villa is known to have accommodated many celebrities. Its genuine style and staff of 16 people will make any escape here an experience of complete relaxation: “Cove Spring House is the most coveted vacation home on Barbados; unique in its prime Platinum Coast location, atop coral stone cliffs which wrap around its own secluded beach; sumptuous in its stunningly furnished interiors; intimate, private and secure in its magnificent walled and manicured gardens; architecturally designed for aesthetic all-day, outdoor living, entertaining and relaxing.”  If this alluring description did not convince you, then perhaps the half-moon shaped fresh water swimming pool or the meandering terrace to the water’s edge will. Other features of the villa include an gym, a spa, a theater room and Wi-Fi. How would you comment on the overall appearance of this villa ? Do you appreciate its style or would rather spend your holiday in a more contemporary looking retreat? You're reading Cove Spring House in Barbados Built on a Coral Stone Cliff originally posted on Freshome. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

15 Creative & Unconventional Approaches to Taxidermy Posted: 04 Mar 2012 11:45 PM PST In general, when we think of taxidermy we automatically tend to think of men who like to hunt and mount their catches on their walls as trophies. In recent decades, taxidermy has fallen out of favour as it has garnered a reputation for being somewhat old fashioned and antiquated. However, a new generation of designers have jumped on the taxidermy bandwagon and the practice has undergone a renaissance and is really pushing the boundaries of art, design and decoration further than we could have ever imagined. Kate Clark is a sculptor who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.  Her work is a series of narrative portraits that she constructs by creating and then transforming taxidermied animals. She explores the tension between personal and mythical realms by creating sculpture that synthesizes the human face and the body of wild animals. Her work is both shocking and repellent as we recognize ourselves in the sculptures and can relate to the emotion on their faces. Lisa Black is a Sculptor, Jeweller and Artist based in Auckland, New Zealand. Her love of animals and their form, combined with a preoccupation with an imminent future where technology and biology are intimately combined, led her to create her ongoing series of modified animals. Her work showcases animals with carefully integrated mechanical additions and reflects our technological progression and its potential impact on the natural world. Questioning the possibilities that artificial evolution holds for the future, the sculptures by Enrique Gomez de Molina are fascinating, humourous and unsettling all at the same time. Combining different parts of dead animals, de Molina creates surreal hybrid creatures that he hopes will help raise awareness of the dangers that many species are faced with today, such as deforestation, over development, genetic engineering and human intervention. Influenced by both story-telling and natural history, Artist Kelly McCallum uses Victorian taxidermy as well as insects and precious metals to create her unusual and curious collection of sculptures. Her work explores themes of death, decadence, decay and rebirth. Crossing the boundaries of art and design, Alex Randall creates bespoke and one-off lighting installations for hotels, bars, restaurants and private residences all over the world. Rather than the eerie sense of Gothicism that is usually associated with taxidermy, Randall introduces a sense of fun and gives a playful new meaning to the aristocratic trophy tradition. Polly Morgan is a taxidermist who uses animals that have died as a result of road accidents or pets  that have died from natural or unexpected causes and have then been donated by their owners. Rather than mimicking the natural habitats of the animals her intention is to place them in less expected scenery in order to encourage us to look at the animals differently as if for the first time. However, if these weird and wonderful creations seem more suited to an art gallery than to your home, the following taxidermy -inspired products may be a little more tame and suitable. After all not everyone likes the idea of having an actual dead animal in their home. Artist and sculptor Shauna Richardson has a unique body of work that she calls ‘crochetdermy’. She uses crochet to sculpt realistic life-size animals that bear a remarkable resemblance to traditional taxidermy except that no dead animals are involved of course. Domestic Trophies is the range of work that designer Rachel Denny has become best known for. The dear heads are made in Denny’s studio and covered in cozy cashmere cable knit woolens. Her interest lies in the potential of the materials she uses and how they can be manipulated in unexpected ways. Frederique Morrel makes one-of-a-kind products using vintage tapestries. The company is comprised of Frederique Morrel and Aaron Levin who met at a conceptual art exhibition in Paris in the 1980′s. The Passe-Murrailes collection may bear a strong resemblance to hunting trophies but the creators insist that they are living creatures that are like friends of the family who have unexpectedly poked their heads through the wall to deliver their personal stories to us. Donya Coward is an artist who creates contemporary sculptural artwork by combining crochet and knitting with reclaimed materials and then transforming them into vibrant and dramatic sculptures. Dogs and birds feature quite heavily in her textile taxidermy collection. Available from Anthropologie is the Savannah Story Bust collection features an elephant, giraffe, rhino and zebra. Layers of repurposed cement bags are covered with vintage French book pages to create these attractive paper mache animal heads. Along the same lines is Cardboard Safari, a company that creates unique cardboard home decor products including a range of  animal trophies made from recycled cardboard. Rice also do a paper mache deer head that is available in three assorted colours to brighten up any wall upon which it hangs. This series entitled Handmade Wilderness-The Paper Deer Head Project, is an exploration into the beauty and authenticity of nature by Jennifer Khoshbin. It is her artful take on traditional hunting whereby she uses paper and resin to create a decorative dear head. And finally for those of you who aren’t really feeling the knitted, crocheted, paper mached deer heads, what about little trophies made from lego? That’s right, you heard me…lego. That is exactly what David Cole has come up with. Teeny weeny little palm-sized animal trophies lovingly crafted from individual lego bricks. So after that whirlwind exploration of the renaissance of taxidermy in all it’s guises and the offshoot of taxidermy-inspired artwork, what do you think? Is there anything here that you particularly like or dislike? Or has this changed your opinion of taxidermy in any way? We’d love to hear your thoughts so as usual please leave a comment and get the discussion started. You're reading 15 Creative & Unconventional Approaches to Taxidermy originally posted on Freshome. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

Practical Oz Sofa Transforms into a Spacious Family Bed [Video] Posted: 04 Mar 2012 08:01 AM PST We received a project of an elegant sofa design that we would like to share forwards. Here is the press release we were sent: Designed by Nicola Gallizia, for Moldeni&C, Oz is one of those 'magical' products that has been so cleverly engineered that it just works. The transformation from sofa to bed is delivered in a few easy steps. The slatted base is divided into two halves that slot inside each other to create the sofa base. The front panel of the base hides a small lever that when engaged allows this panel and one half of the base to slide out horizontally until it locks into place, providing a comfortable bed. When in use as a sofa, the armrests remain at its side, however when the base slides out the armrests simultaneously fall away and slide neatly under the base leaving only the 'headboard'. The 'headboard' or 'sofa backrest' can be set at different heights further aiding the item's transformation from sofa to bed and back again. The seat cushion unfurls to make up a seamless, orthopedic mattress and the back cushions double as pillows! The sliding mechanism of both the base and the armrests is an unique piece of engineering patented by Molteni&C. Available in widths 1820mm and 2020mm, the sofa is 1170mm deep and extends to 2080mm when transformed into the bed. The mattress size is either 1600 or 1800mm and the overall maximum height of the backrest/headboard is 670mm. Find it appealing? You're reading Practical Oz Sofa Transforms into a Spacious Family Bed [Video] originally posted on Freshome. If you've enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Freshome on Twitter, Facebook and Google+

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