Tag Archives: Interior Design

Art & Design: “Surrealist Home Interiors” Of Italian Designer Cristina Lello

From Visual Pleasure Magazine (April 19, 2020):

I often find myself observing classic paintings that can inspire compositions, or fashion that can inspire the choice of a color palette. At a certain point everything Cristina Lello Sunset Skene 2019is united in a very natural way in a creative concept. My artistic research is a constant blend between the worlds of architecture, painting, photography, graphic design, and fashion. At the base of my work, then, there is an artistic background very much linked to the Gestalt principles of visual perception. I try to avoid looking for inspiration only within the confines of my sector: I find that this often leads to a flattening of the creative result.

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Having always been fascinated with sensational spaces, Cristina Lello now visualizes the most striking scenes that tell a clear story. As she describes herself, her studio “creates high-impact images from the intersection of interior styling, set design and 3D art.” After graduating with honors in Set Design at the Academy of Fine Arts of Venice, she also started a Master’s degree in Interactive Media for Interior Design while working for Elisa Ossino Studio.

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Design: Inside The New York Home Of Legendary Architect I.M. Pei (Video)

When Ieoh Ming Pei, one of the most lauded architects of the past 50 years, was first asked to renovate The Louvre in Paris, his reaction was unequivocal: ‘You cannot touch the Louvre, it’s sacrilege.’

His solution was both revolutionary and simple — he built a glass pyramid in the centre of the forecourt that concealed a subterranean entrance way. Scorned at the time as a modernist intrusion on the 16th- and 17th-century building, the Pyramid is today celebrated as a statement of bold, high-tech futurism, and indicative of an architect who made his reputation by creating buildings at the intersection of art, history and culture.

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Style: A Look At NYC Home Of The Late Lee Radziwill – “Muse To Warhol And Capote” In 1960’s & 70’s

Fluent in French and Italian, Lee Bouvier Radziwill was able to navigate New York and European high society, and support her sister Jackie, who became the First At Home With Lee Radziwill Christies video April 5 2020Lady when her husband John F. Kennedy was elected President.

Fashion writer Hamish Bowles said Radziwill ‘defined dynamic American style for decades’. In fact it was Lee’s innate style that helped shape Jackie Kennedy’s wardrobe and transformed her into a fashion icon. Lee had a taste for the exotic and unexpected, and understood how clothes could be used to make a statement in the political arena.

She was one of Truman Capote’s ‘Swans’ — the beautiful socialites he doted on — and when he threw his spectacular Black and White masked ball at The Plaza in 1966, she was a guest of honor.

Lee was just as comfortable at the Factory, mingling with Gerard Malanga and Andy Warhol, or on the Rolling Stones’ tour bus with Mick Jagger and his wife Bianca, who holidayed with her in the Hamptons.

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The Art Of Home Design: “Stairway House” In Japan – “Fusion Of Household And Environs” (Nendo, 2020)

Stairway House - Nendo Japan 2020…a stairway and greenery gently connected the upper and lower floors along a diagonal line, creating a space where all three generations could take comfort in each other’s subtle presence. Not only does the stairway connect the interior to the yard, or bond one household to another, this structure aims to expand further out to join the environs and the city —connecting the road that extends southward on the ground level, and out into skylight through the toplight.

Stairway House - Nendo Japan 2020A two-family home in a quiet residential area of Tokyo. With other houses and apartment buildings pressing around the site, the architectural volume was pushed to the north to take in daylight, ventilation, and greenery of the yard into the living environment by a large glass front southern façade. The layout plan made it possible to preserve the existing persimmon tree beloved by the previous generations. Considering the potential difficulties of going up and down the stairs, the rooms for the older couple were arranged on the 1st floor. The eight cats living with the older couple roam in and outdoors more freely, and encourages the mother to enjoy her hobby of gardening more freely. The younger couple and their child reside on the 2nd and 3rd floors. To avoid the two households being completely separated at the top and bottom, a “stairway-like” structure was designed in the south yard, continuing upward into the building and penetrating the 1st through 3rd floors. Enclosed inside the “stairway” are functional elements, such as bathrooms and a staircase for actual use, with the upper part taking on the look of a semi-outdoor greenhouse with abundant greenery as well as a sun-soaked perch for the cats to enjoy climbing.

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Travel & Architecture: Inside An Exotic Home In Tangier, Morocco (AD)

From an Architectural Digest online article (March 14, 2020):

Tangier Home Interior - Architectural Digest“Tangier is the crossroads of so many civilizations,” says AD100 talent Frank de Biasi of the evocative Moroccan port city that he and his partner, the multifaceted designer Gene Meyer, have made their home. “There’s a central energy here,” he explains, “where the Atlantic meets the Mediterranean, where Europe meets Africa. It’s a psychic point like no other place.”

Many of the traditional houses here, however, have a claustrophobic lack of light, so when the couple found a ruinous place on a little open square, with exposures on three sides, they knew they could make it their own. Their renovation ultimately took four years as they rebuilt paper-thin walls, replaced a life-threateningly vertiginous staircase with one inspired by the Old Fort Bay clubhouse in the Bahamas, and installed a light-well based on one de Biasi had seen in India and such mod cons as under-floor heating.

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New Travel Books: “Do You Read Me?” – Bookstores Of The World (Gestalten)

Do You Read Me? Marianne Julia Strauss Gestalten Books June 2020From Daikanyama Tsutaya Books in Tokyo to Kosmos Buchsalon in Zurich, Do You Read Me? travels the globe to discover these gems and some of the people behind them, who turn an ordinary trip to the bookstore into an extraordinary experience.

Bookstores are more than just places that sell books. They are focal points of communities, a warm welcome to a city, a place for first-time visitors and longtime residents alike to gather in a shared love of the written word. They are places where time moves a little slower, where customers can get lost in the pages of a book, or enjoy readings, concerts, and events that bring together like-minded individuals with a thirst for knowledge.

Each bookstore is as unique as the diverse customers who frequent them. There are the secret ones tucked away with stacks reaching floor to ceiling; there are minimalist concept stores; there are dazzling book temples. There are ones in apartments, on boats, and in Gothic cathedrals.

Travel writer Marianne Julia Strauss has scoured the globe for the past decade in search of the top bookstores. In Do You Read Me? she has collected a selection of the ones you need to include in your next itinerary.

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Remodels: 90-Year Old Taiwan Home Wins “2019 World Interior Of The Year” (WAF Amsterdam)

From an InsideFestival.com online release:

World Festival of Interiors Amsterdam 2019“The jury was unanimous in celebrating this inventive solution to reconfiguring a dilapidated Japanese colonial house.

A dynamic whole in constant flux, the house in unusually in tune with the differing and sometimes contradictory needs of a young family. Every space can be negotiated and adapted, encouraging the house to be an incubator for positive difference in the family unit.

World Festival of Interiors Amsterdam Taiwan Home 2019

Sensitivity abounds, both in the design process and the outcome. Local craftspeople were drafted in when needed; recycled elements were mixed freely with new. The result has a uniquely sloppy fit for its inhabitants, a fit that can evolve freely over time.

Ladders to the roof level encourage ongoing hide and seek. Internal space leaks into a garden, itself an outdoor room. Light penetrates in unexpected ways, and occasional views of the sky offset the otherwise congested urban setting.

Against the background of rapid development in Taipei, this project has the potential to be a ‘prototype’ that may help reevaluate the existing stock of Japanese houses.”

Website: https://www.insidefestival.com/interior-of-the-year-2019

Short Film Documentary: “Achille Salvagni” Is An Artistic Look At The Renowned Designer

 

Achille Salvagni DesignerAchille Salvagni is recognised as one of the most sophisticated and innovative creatives working today. His influences range from the rich heritage of generations of master designers before him, to cutting-edge contemporary design tendencies. Combining Italian craftsmanship with his passion for noble materials, Salvagni’s timeless interiors reflect his unique approach and the understated elegance of his aesthetic.

For the past 18 years, Salvagni has been at the forefront of his field, tailoring bespoke interiors for some of the most influential personalities, and commissioned to lend his expertise to prestigious international residential projects in New York, Miami, Paris and London, amongst other leading global cities. Salvagni continues to delight and surprise through his careful and considered juxtaposition of objects, materials and tones.

His London Atelier draws from a selection of now iconic pieces and places them in an intimate domestic environment allowing collectors and design aficionados to experience their craftsmanship first-hand. Using only the noblest materials — mahogany, rosewood, royal oak, laurel, onyx, bronze and gold — the works are realised by Rome’s rich collection of unparalleled artisans found in the Vatican City and amongst the cabinet makers of the Quirinal Palace. With a couturier’s approach to design, even the smallest details of the Atelier’s works are the result of an exacting attention to detail, from the patina selection through to custom door handles and hinges.

In this film, Salvagni offers an insight into the philosophy behind his works and how his Roman heritage has influenced his craftmanship.

Website: https://www.achillesalvagni.com/about/