Interior Design Sense

French architect Jean Nouvel recently unveiled a shining new LEED Certified skyscraper on 11th avenue in New York City. The building features a stunning facade composed of 1,700 different panes of glass and is described by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect as a “vision machine”. With apartments reaching from $1.6 million to $22 million, one wonders if New York really needs another green luxury building when there’s so much need for affordable housing. But nonetheless, 100 Eleventh Avenue is a stunning portrayal of what modern design can accomplish in a city like the Big Apple.

Read the rest of Jean Nouvel Unveils Reflective LEED Certified Skyscraper in NYC

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Post tags: “sustainable architecture”, apartment, Architecture, eleventh avenue, Frank Gehry, HIGHLINE, jean nouvel, leed certified, new york city, New York., nouvel, NY, west side highway

These amazing interiors belong to in a beautiful apartment in Lisbon, Portugal, a place which dates back to the year 1850. However, the more interesting part is that the home was redecorated by a family and the work was done without consulting any specialists. Sure, by the way things look, you might say this is a job well done and perhaps the owners are design specialists their selves. Some of the rooms have a white theme, preserving the 1980’s style. The living room is modern and vivid, with bright colors and plenty of good taste. Interesting furniture items such as a wooden cabinet with a vintage feel are a reminder of the apartment’s “age”. You could say this is a nice mix between old and new and a very successful approach to interior design. Do you agree?-via The White Sheet

Attention all you design-obsessed Houstonians!   Three of the city’s top Designers are competing for your vote in the, “Redesigning Downtown,” Style Competition at One Park Place, Downtown’s newest luxury apartments.

Renea Abbott, Michael Stribling, and Chandos Dodson have each designed an apartment, and YOU get to decide which one you like the best!  Tickets are $10 and benefit Discovery Green.  I, for one, can’t wait to check it out! 

Did you ever think of the possibility of drawing all over your furniture without no one getting annoyed? In this post we would like to gather your opinions on chalkboards as apartment embedded objects.  In the pictures that follow, you will see a lot of examples of blackboards being used as walls or even as furniture. We think this is a great idea for the kids’ rooms, as it would stimulate their creativity.We also like the USA map because it does not occupy a lot of space and it is perfect for notes now and then. However, we think that a blackboard which covers an entire wall is better suited in a school than in a home. A large surface means a lot of chalk dust which in the end is not even all that healthy.

Tomorrow at about 3:45 am (gawd help me) I will be heading to the airport to get my arse to Puerto Vallarta. I cannot wait. We’ve had a pretty decent winter here so far (by Ottawa standards) but I am anxious to get the hell out of Dodge for 10 days. So I’ll be essentially offline for that time (I might sneak on my dad’s laptop every now and then so I don’t suffer withdrawal) but I’ve got posts ready to publish each day I am away so you shouldn’t really miss me (and Jo will be holding down the fort as always). Hopefully I will come back well rested with a fabulous tan and ready for more blogging!

Because I cannot publish a post without photos, here are a couple photos my dad took the other day of the resort where they rented an apartment (where I’ll be staying) and the beach view from the resort. *SIGH*

Continuing on from Lia’s request from yesterday, here are some small girly kitchens and bedrooms.

Penny Wincer	Sköna hem
james Merrell	Lajos Geenen

Gary’s Loft(s)
Darren Chung
Marie Claire Maison
Gridley + Graves
Living Etc.

Apartment Therapy	Sunset
Martha Stewart	Gaby Zimmerman

Sköna hem
Country Living
Family Living
Marie Claire Maison
Living Etc.

We found this inspiring idea that could solve some of your storage problems. This suspended corner cabinet could easily fit in any apartment, has a really interesting shape and a lot of available space. Some of the items can be hidden behind the doors and others could be placed on top of it. Something like this could also be used in the entrance hall for clothing and footwear. When placed in the living-room or bedroom, the shelving system can be customized in order to best fit the storage needs. The possibilities are endless: you could use it as a bookcase, a normal cabinet or a locker. What we like most about it is the fact that it is suspended, which brings a plus of originality to the room.  Could you think of other ways of integrating this item?

In case you were looking for unusual storage furniture to place in your apartment and was out of ideas, we hope these pictures below carry a source of inspiration. These lace cut storage cabinets come from Brocade and they have an innovative look and feel. They feature lovely patterns of leaves or flowers and also the possibility of glimpsing inside which you never know when could come in handy. The down side however is that they are hard to dust. They come in brown and white and they can be mixed with the environment in a variety of ways. Either you hang them on the wall or leave them on the floor, storage space will seize to be a problem. Elegant, original and practical at the same time- isn’t that the essence of modern design?- via Furnishh!

I couldn’t stay away. I just had to go stalking through Swedish real estate sites. From Alvhem Mäkleri & Interiör  – the look is almost their brand. White floors, cute accessories, the pop/splash/flash/dash and dollop of colour, a classic scandi piece or two and the obligatory pair of discarded fashionable shoes and dress on the hanger. The story that the styling tells lures you in. You want the lifestyle as much as the apartment. If you could you’d buy this home, live this life. Mission accomplished.

We would like to present 15 colorful interior arrangements that we hope will inspire you in case you are planning a major apartment make-over soon. They all belong to designer John Loecke and we like them because they are fresh and lively. Color is everywhere and so is diversity. Some of the interior arrangements may look a little crowded, but if you take a closer look, all the decorative elements have their well defined role in creating the room’s atmosphere. You will also notice plenty of paintings, sometimes in a very large number and occupying a large area of a wall. But they are tastefully arranged so that the interior does not become too flashy and unappealing. These design spell “boldness” and what better word is there to describe contemporary furniture than this ?