Posts from — November 2009

Hulsta, a world renowned brand name in home furnishings, will be retailing their brilliant LILAC range of mounted shelves from Januaray 2010. Here’s a look at what’s to come from this 70 year old establishment:

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With creative modern furniture, as anyone who visits this blog surely knows, it’s easy to put the “fun” in functional.

From clever bookshelves to ingenious recyclable chairs to quirky and cool mirrors, you don’t have to be a master sleuth to find some cool indoor accessories for your home. But what if all that searching and shopping starts to stress you out, exhausting the very core of your being?

Alright, so that may be a bit of a stretch. But who couldn’t use some real relaxation every once in a while? For those times when you could really use a rest, but don’t have the time for a full nap, why not try a contemporary massage chair?

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Aside from work, your home is where you spend a majority of your time. After all, your home is a place to dine, relax, get entertainment, work, exercise, and sleep, so it’s no surprise that the interior design can have great importance on your mood. Whether it’s spacious Bellevue apartments to tiny New York lofts, or even a two-story house deep in the suburbs, a well-designed space can help lift your spirits and improve your mood whether you realize it or not.

Clutter

Some people may like the look of trinkets in every corner but often times, a space filled with too many odds and ends leads to a feeling of chaos. A space filled with simply too much stuff, no matter how attractive they may be, can leave a person feeling disorganized and unable to think as clearly. Some people prefer a minimalist look because of this very reason. The clean lines and surfaces leaves them feeling organized, uplifted, and ready to take on their day to the fullest. But not every home has to have a minimalist look to uplift your sprits and help you feel organized. You just need to figure out the amount of furniture and other pieces that feels comfortable for you, and don’t be afraid to edit.

Colors

Psychologists have known for awhile now that different colors have the power to influence our feelings and moods. The science has been well established and even advertisers and product manufacturers use colors to influence consumers. In a home, different colors in paint, furniture, art and other decorative items can illicit certain moods. For instance, blue can help bring on peace, calm, tranquility, and help bring in a sense of cleanliness. For that reason, people may choose to incorporate more blue color into a bathroom, bedroom or living room where a calming, relaxing environment is desired. Red or orange on the other hand are known to help raise energy and is associated with strength and passion. That’s why people choose these colors for their home offices or, sometimes, kitchen. Yellow can brighten up a space and induce feelings of joy and happiness.

Photos and Memories

Nothing can improve mood better than happy memories and meaningful keepsakes. That is why an interior design of a home that incorporates personal touches and remind people of happy memories and the people they love can have the power to substantially improve a person’s mood. Meaningful photos should be incorporated into a space using stylish frames. Other important items collected from special vacations or passed down from family members shouldn’t just be on display, but their layout should be well planned and should fit well in the space to prevent the feeling of clutter. Items don’t have to be obvious. For instance, a very small jar of sand from your favorite beach placed in your bathroom can help make your mornings a little bit easier. Incorporating little touches that you love into your space makes your home feel less like a hotel room and more like a personal sanctuary, which is sure to lift your mood no matter what.

This house is anything but simple. It’s extravagant, loud, posh, and definitely not subtle. Designed by Nico Van Der Meulen Architects, The Glass House is located in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The owner’s requirements: A glamorous contemporary open-plan light-filled house that offers a view to the garden from every room

Did the Nico folks achieve it? Heck, yeah! There is so much beauty from the complexity in its design that just captivates you. It may be a bit too much to take but boy is it a dazzling piece of architectural work. I’ll leave you with images from HDF

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Here’s one way to experience a close encounter of the third kind:

All images, source: http://www.alienology.com

This is not a prop from the latest sci-fi blockbuster, nor is it a funhouse set piece. This is an arrestingly complex and uniquely attractive office or bathroom lamp that you can have in your very own home.

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Jochem Faudet’s Off the Ground angular table is held by sheet metal steel legs clasped to the corners of the tabletop. This simplistic design is great for small unconventionally shaped spaces. The best thing is that the table legs clasp any surface that is 20-25mm thick hence allows you to constantly change your table top whenever you get bored with the current one.

More images after the jump

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I first noticed it a few nights ago, when I woke up shivering and shaking at about 4 a.m. with my blankets and comforters kicked to the corner of my bed in a crumpled pile. Yes indeed, it’s starting to feel a lot like winter.

Now, I live in San Diego, so I’m sure many of you are sitting there snickering. “San Diego? You don’t even know what cold is!” And, as a native San Diegan (but a student of the world), I would have to agree. So I can’t help but imagine how cold it must be everywhere else, if I live in a meteorological nigh-paradise and I still shiver in my sleep. Time to break out the old matches, time to dust off the old flue and fireplace mantel: time to stoke up the old fireplace! Which sounds like a great idea… only, I don’t have a fireplace in my apartment. I’m sure many of you reading this can sympathize.

But, that doesn’t mean we have to wallow in mutual, perma-frosty misery (though there is warmth to be found in company). Check this out:

image source: http://www.pontonliving.eu

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About 3 weeks ago, I finally got my butt off the couch to get some digital photos printed, bought some IKEA RIBBA frames, and with hammer and nail, started my own wall-o-memories.

What is a wall-o-memories? It’s really just a collection of pictures hung up in a haphazard manner on a wall. Read more about the wall-o-memories concept in my previous post.

Here’s the one I did – the focal/central point being a cast of baby Ryan’s hand and foot when he was 4 months old.

Flanking Ryan’s pictures are my wedding photos (YinLeng and I are wearing traditional Chinese costumes in the second from top right photo). This particular activity is still pretty much a work in progress as we’d like to include images of our parents and siblings as well as including images of milestones in our lives (when i next decide to get my butt off the couch again). Being the amateur photographer that I am, I’ve just realised that the reflection of me shooting this photo can be seen in the image above. Gah!

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Giovannoni Stefano of Alessi worked together with the National Palace Museum of Taiwan to come up with a concept called ‘The Family of Mr. Chin’ where each character represented a household function. The one that really stands out is the Mr. and Mrs. Chin salt and pepper shaker set.

I’ve seen this unique Italian designed, Chinese inspired set available for retail at Robinsons Departmental Store for RM250. A pretty steep price to pay for a salt and pepper shaker, but when it comes with the Alessi name stamped on it, you know you’re paying good money for quality

Imagesource: alessi