Interior Design Sense

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 ?

We’ve given you plenty of interior ideas lately regarding interiors and out-of-the-box arrangements, but we put little emphasis on doors in the previous posts. Today we would like to change that. After all, the door is an important aspect of any apartment and its design should influence and be influenced by all the other elements in the room. These being said, we’ve gathered up a pretty impressive collection of contemporary apartment-entrance doors from Oikos, which we hope you will enjoy. It is true, some of them look pretty futuristic, but can really fit in a modern place, with minimalist furniture or with a suitable color arrangement.Most of them also feature wooden finishes, which gives a homey feel. The picture also have inspiring interiors that were arranged in order to feet the style of the doors.

We really love furniture that is versatile and can change its look over time by just a simple move from the user. This is also the case with Elvis Pennetuzzo’s original design presented in the pictures below. “Cross”  Sofa is an innovative furniture item that can really challenge the owner’s creativity in coming up with new shapes every time he feels like changing something in his living-room. We like the fact that it has a minimalist design- if you think about it, most of the brilliant ideas in this field are based on something extremely simple. We also like the color combination. This sort of couch can go very well in a small and modern apartment. It can be packed up when not needed and expanded when guests come over.We think this is what fun furniture is all about.-via Definitive Touch