Posts with tag dailydrool

Architecture firm Qb3 makes the most of small corner lot in Philadelphia.

When it comes to architecture, small doesn't have to mean meek. A prime example of small-but-strong is this lovely structure from the architectural geniuses at Qb3 Design, which sits on a mere 1,100 square foot lot in Philadelphia.

While respecting Philadelphia's long tradition of brick row houses, the architects chose not to mimic the surrounding buildings. Instead they translated the materials, proportions and scale of a traditional row house into something much more modern. In order to maximize the small lot, the loft-style home occupies the entire site, with carved openings for light and views and a rooftop garden in lieu of a back yard.

A little imagination goes a long way in a shared bedroom for two young boys.

What do most little boys dream about? Some might say cowboys, video games or Star Wars, but most of them will likely say sports. But how do you design a sports-inspired-but-stylish room for two young, active boys?

This was the challenge presented to New York-based interior designer Hilary Unger. Through her companies, Perianth and Buy My Eye, Hilary transformed a boys' bedroom in an East Side townhouse into a no-holds-barred dream space. She said goodbye to the race car beds that once filled the room, and she said hello to a rock-climbing wall, boxing/punching bag, mini basketball court and more.

Take a peek inside this fun and functional children's room after the jump:

Spring may be a few weeks away, but you can make it come early with some season-inspired decor.

I recently relocated from New York to Seattle. During my first week as a West Coaster, while New York got slammed by a serious snow storm, the "rainy city" had a perfect week of sunny skies and spring-like weather. That week was short-lived and the rain has returned (welcome to Seattle), but the tease of spring was enough to excite me for the beautiful days to come.

With less than a month of winter left it's time to start thinking spring -- and perhaps a spring spruce-up in the process. To get inspired, and to help you through those last dreary days, here are some sunny rooms spotted across the web:

ShelterPop nominates its favorite film interiors for our very own Oscars.

The Academy Awards are a frenzy of news for the fashion world, but it's hardly a major moment for the interior design world -- even though films are filled with beautiful locations and sets. While there are awards for makeup and costumes, there's no recognition for the actual decoration of the rooms in films. So, we decided to create our very own Oscar category for interior design, and we asked our ShelterPop writers what films they would nominate for an Oscar for Interior Design. Here's what they had to say:

Julie & Julia
"The Paris pad that Paul and Julia Child share may have had a humble, cramped kitchen, but its living spaces were luxurious. An entire two floors near the Seine river, the apartment is reportedly on Rue l'Universite and has lots of windows, nice architectural details and is stuffed with antiques and personal mementos. It's definitely got a sense of "home.""

-- Kristine Hansen

"I nominate Julie & Julia for recreating Paris in the 1950s, from restaurants to flats to the house in Marseilles, and on to Julia's place in Cambridge. They really got the details right and it's a reference for good decorating ideas. Also, I had lunch at Julia's house once in Cambridge and they did a great job recreating that kitchen and showing how Paul had organized and planned it all."

-- Jane Freiman
Up In The Air
"While he spent most of his time on an airplane (or "up in the air"), Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) still had to have someplace to hang his hat when back in Omaha, Neb. His apartment, with its white walls and sparse furnishings, is the perfect utilitarian space for the man on the go. It also suggests the feeling that something's missing, which is the attitude Bingham develops over the course of the film."

-- Van Sias

A Single Man
Perhaps the fact that it is directed by a fashion designer (Tom Ford) has something to do with the impeccable sets and decor in this film. The decor featured in A Single Man is undoubtedly a character in the film. The movie is set in the 1960s, and I'm a huge fan of that time in interior design when mid-century meets what we call retro and glam. The characters' rooms are very well suited to their personalities and gender, and not to mention gorgeously decorated."

-- Jaime Derringer

Up
"What strikes me about Carl and Ellie's humble pad in Up is that it's perfectly suited and customized for their every whim. Framed photos from their childhood, personalized artwork from Ellie, and even a hand-painted mailbox are all spotlighted in colorful form. After all, interior design should be personal (and fun!), right?"

-- Erin Loechner

Coraline
"Coraline should be nominated for the impact it has on a child's emerging sense of interior design! When I saw Coraline with my kids, they were mesmerized watching how the old, creepy, drab Victorian house came alive with magical lit-up gardens, a warm and inviting kitchen, and colorful living areas. (If only it was so easy in real life!) The movie sparked their imaginations, and as a result, my 11-year-old daughter took what she saw in the film to create some magical lighting designs of her own in her bedroom."

-- Marilyn Zelinsky-Syarto

Coco Before Chanel
"While Fantastic Mr. Fox, Sherlock Holmes and The Young Victoria all deserve honorable mentions (and my boyfriend can't stop talking about the kitchen from It's Complicated), I have to vote for Coco Before Chanel. From the French tavern in the first scenes to the Coco's studio in the final scenes, the interior designs in this film are spot-on. Plus, that amazing French country house Coco lives in? To die for. No wonder Coco was inspired to greatness!"

--Laura Fenton

What about you: What film would you nominate for an Oscar in Interior Design? Send us a message via Twitter @ShelterPop, and we'll tally the results to choose a winner.

More from the Oscars

13 Shocking Oscar Nominee Yearbook Photos

Oscar Theory: Win Best Actress, Get Divorced

Oscar Theory: Best Supporting Actor Goes To...the Creepy Guy

Why we're dreaming of stained glass windows and choir lofts.

I'd never dreamed of living in an abandoned church -- until now. After tweeting about this renovated church from Zecc Architecten last week, I can't get the clean, white space out of my mind. There's nothing I love more than a smart renovation, and this church-turned residence is certainly clever.

Located in The Netherlands, this building is a former Catholic church that has been converted into a private home. A white, stark balcony divides the space into living, cooking and studying areas within the chapel, creating a new spatial hierarchy of asymmetric proportions.



Most striking is the choice of almost all-white interior surfaces. The furnishings and decor are kept minimalistic and abstract, which keeps the architecture itself at the forefront as the defining feature of the space. The lines of these modern designs and the classic shape of the original chapel contrast with one another beautifully.

Zecc Architecten kept the church's original stained glass windows intact for the renovation, paying homage to the chapel's roots. I'm a big fan of keeping the important elements of a building's original design during a renovation, and the stained glass windows sing against a white backdrop of modern architecture.

I'd say this home redefines the phrase "living on a prayer," wouldn't you agree?

Get More Amazing Converted Churches Here

Rainbow-colored home goods under $100 to brighten your day.

Rainbows are a mythological symbol of many things, including a bridge, hope and peace. They also bring to mind that special moment after the rain when the sun shines through the clouds and things are beginning to get brighter. Why not bring that brightness and peace into your home with some inexpensive rainbow-colored decor?

From top left, clockwise: this Stripe Rug will bring happiness underfoot, $49.50 at Delia's; celebrate every day with the Marimekko Kimara tablecloth, $8 for napkin and tablecloths start at $40, Crate & Barrel; mix up some color with this Footed Multicolor Bowl Set, $60, The Conran Shop; this tumbler from the Origo Dinnerware collection sports a multi-hued and modern twist on a basket weave pattern, $24, Foster's.


From top left, clockwise: It's always party time with this Color Grid Clock, $65, ChromaLab; you can always count on Alice Supply Co. to brighten up the dullest of objects, like this Striped Door Mat, $32, Alice Supply Co.; the Pura Vida Duvet Cover and Sham isn't just for teens, $29 to $139, PBTeen; while the afternoon away in this Dreaming of Rainbows Hammock (it couldn't have a better name!), $55, Overstock.com.

For other cheerful and colorful decorating ideas, check out these posts:
- When Pink Rooms Work
- One Color, Five Ways: Orange

The Ice House Detroit is a art installation with a message.

It's no secret that Detroit, Michigan is in the middle of a crumbling economy. However, at the moment, thanks to the Ice House Detroit project, it seems more than the city's assets are frozen. Conceived of by photographer Greg Holm and architect Matthew Radune, the Ice House Detroit is a temporary art installation that involved encasing a vacant home bound for demolition in ice, in an attempt to bring attention to the startling number of foreclosures in the region.

Holm and Radune, both New York residents, were inspired by the visualization of a house frozen from a bursting pipe and immediately raised funds to tackle a similar aesthetic in Detroit. While you would think frozen water wouldn't be pricey, the price tag of the final project was $11,000, which the pair raised through Kickstarter, a crowd-funding system online.

As with many projects, the fund-raising was the easy part. Both Holm and Radune worked in 24-hour shifts during the coldest weeks of winter, continuously spraying the two-story structure with a fire hose to build up significant layers of ice. The final results were a house completely covered in ice with dramatic icicles dangling from every overhang.



Hopefully, after the last icicle has melted, the project will continue to resonate with Detroit residents. The project wasn't just a statement about our nation's stalled economy, Rudane told Dwell magazine in a recent interview, "It is also about providing the local community -- the children, the teenage photography students, the working folk, the bus drivers... with a bit of science fiction. It's a project that's visually meant to inspire people, that's not about the bottom line of paying rent, or mortgage or getting by."

His partner Holm couldn't agree more. He adds, "More so, if our project and its temporary beacon of communal interaction could have inspired just one young mind to consider the possibilities outside the box and what is possible through a somewhat unorthodox imagination, that would be more than enough for me."

We're sure that many people were inspired by this unusual and moving work of art.

For more inspiring news, read on:
- Smart Designs at NYIGF
- A Real-Life Hobbit House

Source

This Portuguese house bears a striking resemblance to a famous cartoon home.

"Flintstones. Meet the Flintstones. They're the modern Stone Age family. From the town of Bedrock, they're a page right out of history." We all remember the song and the hit TV show that chronicled the lives of Fred and Wilma Flintstone and their neighbors Barney and Betty Rubble.
While the Flintstones' stone house was a cartoon fantasy, there's a real house in Portugal that bears a striking resemblance to Fred's house in the town of Bedrock. (The photo above depicts a real home in Portugal today.)

Located in northern Portugal, this unusual house, known as A Casa do Penedo (literally 'house of stone'), is said to have been built between boulders found on the site.

According to Treehugger.com, the unusual structure was built in 1974 as a family's rural retreat. While Barney might have found Fred to be a nosy neighbor, that's nothing compared to overwhelming attention of real-life curiosity seekers and architecture enthusiasts – the homeowner of the stone house, Vitor Rodrigues, has been forced to move out of his house.

While you might be thinking, 'Who'd want to live in that stone hut in the first place?" a video of Vitor Rodrigues showing the interior of the house to the Portuguese media shows the house to be quite cozy on the inside. And Rodrigues himself? He looks proud and pleased to own A Casa do Penedo, but somewhat exasperated by all the attention.

Can't get enough of strange houses? Read on:
- A Real Life Hobbit House
- Treehouse hotels in the Northwest.

Paloma Picasso's Moroccan mansion is a world of relaxation and inspiration.

Paloma Picasso's name should sound familiar to you -- she's the daughter of the legendary painter Pablo Picasso. Paloma is also an artist in her own right: She's been designing jewelry for Tiffany & Co. for 30 years.

Paloma Picasso and her husband Eric Thévenet come to their Marrakech, Morocco home for a month or two several times a year for relaxation. The couple recently opened the doors of their luxurious house to Harper's Bazaar and photographer Christopher Sturman. Picasso's home is what you might expect from a modern, glamorous artist and fashion legend: It's chic, artsy and full of inspiration.

Although it is picture-perfect today, the mansion needed some TLC when it was first purchased. The couple removed overgrown shrubbery, added a glass roof and renovated the patio with a simple dish-shaped fountain and simple geometric bricks (right).

Let's go inside and take a look at the finished space, shall we?

From Paloma's own jewelry to paintings by both her parents, the home is accented everywhere with art. Being the daughter of two painters, what else would you expect but a fabulous collection? The home features works by her father and two paintings from Paloma's mother, Françoise Gilot, one of which is a portrait of Paloma as a child sitting in Pablo Picasso's French garden (above right).

The architecture and decor of Morocco is so colorful and unique that it often becomes the inspiration for Paloma's jewelry. Although the couple spend time relaxing in their Marrakech retreat, Paloma often sketches while at the house and faxes her sketches back to Tiffany where they are turned into prototypes.

In her large living and dining area (left), the couple added two bright red built-in bookcases full of artwork, book and trinkets. Interspersed are two small Picasso gouaches. The home's entrance (right) includes a vaulted ceiling with dark beams, offset by a colorful geometric pattern. The table, door and accents are all very dark and pop out beautifully off of the white wall.

More Morocco: If you like this home, you will just love this Moroccan garden we featured last year.

A three-story beach house for a family in Manhattan Beach, CA.

Most of us fantasize about a life of barefoot, beachside living; the KAA Design Group makes those dreams a reality for their clients through the homes they build.

The Los Angeles-based design firm is a 20-year old group of architects, interior designers and landscape architects, who specialize in that California-cool brand of indoor-outdoor living.

While us north easterners suffer through a cold, snowy winter, we can turn to the firm's first monograph, Lifestyles of Southern California: Personal Sanctuaries, for sunny inspiration. The handsome coffee table book features 11 residences that all sit in sunny CA, including this modern domicile at right.









Ready for some California real estate dreaming? Check out the garden and interiors of this fresh space:


A perfect example of KAA's modern, So Cal style is this 4,500 square foot home in Manhattan Beach, where the outdoor spaces are treated like rooms of their own. The house sits a stone's throw from the beach on a small lot with sidewalks and neighboring houses encroaching from all sides (yes, those are public sidewalks surrounding the front patio above). Yet inside the house feels like an airy, private retreat.

Gathering its inspiration from Indonesian design and the homeowners' many travels, both the architecture and the interiors feel like they could be in Bali or some other isle. Beamed ceilings and teak floors give an exotic edge to the design, while the furnishings and art pieces were collected over years of the homeowners' far flung voyages.

In this house's unusual design the public space is on the top floor of the house, while the private spaces (like bedrooms) are on the lower floor. This layout takes advantage of the upper floor's views of the beach -- who wouldn't love that?

All images from Lifestyles of Southern California: Personal Sanctuaries, the KAA Design Group's first monograph.

For more Southern California homes, check out these posts:
- A colorful and family-friendly home.
- A $9.5 million dollar stunner.
- Si, Si: Spanish revival in Hollywood.

A hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean by architect Mickey Muennig.

About 150 miles south of San Francisco, in Big Sur, California, the landscape is remote and rugged, with towering oceanside cliffs and redwood trees. It takes a certain kind of architect to understand and work with such a unique landscape. Architect Mickey Muennig has lived in the area for almost forty years and over that time has designed many buildings for this wild stretch of land.

Among the most well-known of his works is the Post Ranch Inn, which sits on a natural cliff ridge, approximately 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Opened in 1992, the Post Ranch Inn is an exclusive hotel with 40 rooms (there were only 30 in Muennig's original design, ten rooms by architect Vladimir Frank were added in 2008). The Post Ranch Inn isn't your average hotel, it is a cluster of cabins and treehouse-like structures that sit along a wooded path.

In an article for Dwell magazine, writer Keshni Kashyap describes how Muennig set about creating the plans for this rustic, yet refined retreat, "After surveying the property for several weeks and climbing the trees to find the best views, Muennig designed a few defining structures: tree houses built on slender stilts sitting ten feet above the ground; earth-sheltered, hobbitlike rooms covered in sod, grass and wildflowers; and cylindrical cabins echoing the beauty of the majestic redwoods that dot the property."

The resulting structures fit right in with the Big Sur landscape, where views of the sky, ocean and mountain command the eye.

However, the price for this architectural perfection breathtaking retreat is steep, with rooms starting at $550 per night. For those of us who can't swing the expense, there's a restaurant on site where outside guests can dine.

Love rustic, West Coast design? Take a gander at this post:
- Treehouse Hotels

Why we're itching to stay at the (charming, secluded and magical) Winvian.

Set amidst 113 acres in the middle of LItchfield Hills, Connecticut lies The Winvian: a quiet, yet understated, getaway. Owner Maggie Smith and her daughter, Heather, enlisted fifteen architects to bring life to their original idea: to own and operate a hotel of 19 different "mini-hotels." Consisting of 19 cottages, The Winvian hosts a variety of eclectic buildings, each with a different theme and design concept surrounding the hotel's hub: an antique-filled, colonial-style farmhouse.

A few of the aptly-named cottages? Secret Society, Treehouse (below), Beaver Lodge, Charter Oak and Helicopter are just a few of the titles created for travelers seeking an innovative departure from the norm. We have a soft spot for the Helicopter suite, which is carved and inspired from a 17,000 pound Connecticut Coastguard chopper.


Of course, a stay at The Winvian comes with a high price tag. Expect to pay between $1,450 and $1,950 a night, which includes all meals and drinks, as well as personal accessories (even wellies, snowshoes and cross-country skis are provided!). The price is a bit steep for my budget, but then again, I've never slept in a helicopter. Tempting, isn't it?

For more design-driven hotels, read on:
-A Candy Land Hotel Suite
-10 Hotels We Wish We Could Spend the Night In

The Viceroy's latest luxury hotel, designed by Kelly Wearstler and Jean Michel-Gathy.

As we reported earlier this year, the Viceroy Hotel and Resorts Group has once again tapped designer Kelly Wearstler to create the interiors for its latest locations. The Viceroy Anguilla opened last year, and now Viceroy Snowmass has opened its doors.

The Snowmass location is Viceroy's first mountainside resort. Based in Snowmass Village, Colorado, just minutes from chi-chi Aspen, the resort sits in a town known as Aspen's laid-back cousin -- however, the arrival of a luxury resort of this caliber may change that. Interiors at The VIceroy Snowmass were designed by Jean Michel-Gathy and Kelly Wearstler. (Michel-Gathy did the spa and room interiors, and Wearstler tackled the pool terrace and café and bar.)

The resort features a restaurant that will offer fine dining along with "picnic boxes" for the trail, a separate lobby bar, a spa with holistic services and even an outdoor pool that they claim will be open year-round. Can you say apres-ski?

According to Interior Design, the Snowmass outpost of The Viceroy is on track to become one of only two LEED-Silver certified hotels in Colorado, and one of only eight in the United States.

Interior Design reported on the details of green design, "All dirt removed from the construction site was saved and reused. Construction workers were transported to the site by bus, reducing fuel consumption and vehicle emissions. The Viceroy also provides reusable and washable water bottles, hand towels, and shampoo and conditioner bottles. A saline pool creates its own chlorine through the use of salt and electrical current. There's even a gratis on-site electric car charging system."

The eco-friendly design is just one more reason to love this chic Rocky Mountain escape!

Love looking at luxury hotels? Check out Kelly Wearstler's drool-worthy design for Viceroy Anguilla.