Great Design is Transparent

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‘Good design is obvious, great design is transparent’.

I came across this quote some time ago and have had it in the back of my mind pondering its meaning.  I have come to a conclusion that for me this quote means….Good design is obvious, it has accountability, and great design is transparent because it functions in a manner not evident to the user whereas by contrast bad design has no accountability nor does it function well.  Let me explain myself.

Three different homes I’ve owned have been 2-stories.  Three bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor.  Makes sense, very standard.  Obvious good design.  But where great design should have been transparent was the bathroom door not located at the top of the stair directly in line (and view) of the front door.  Instead in all three homes the house was designed so that the front door, stairs and bathroom door were all aligned so that when you sat on the toilette or stepped out of the bathtub you were in plain sight of anyone who came to call at the front door.  And you know that doors are always left open.  Terribly embarrassing.  Where was the design accountability because this layout certainly had poor function?  What was the designer, architect or builder thinking or rather not thinking when they planned the house?

In my recent home we renovated the bathroom (see my post – My Bathroom Reno) and tore the bathroom wall down to move the bathroom door over so that it was not aligned with the front door.  Great idea.  Now, no one will ever now that the bathroom door was ever in the wrong place because ‘great design is transparent’!

The Man Cave

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I thought in the aftermath of the (Lord) Stanley Cup playoffs I would write about the location I found myself at for the final championship game.  Yes, I was a ‘jump on the bandwagon’ kind of fan but hey, I was there supporting the team.  Ah….but which team??!!  I spent the evening in a ‘Man Cave’!!  My friend has outfitted his garage into a sports-central, man cave zone complete with all the necessary furniture and accessories; décor very befitting of a man cave.  It is a double garage so the dimensions are good.  The focal point is the built-in bookcases storage units with a LCD television mounted above it.  There is an under counter stainless steel wine beer fridge and lovely amusing artwork hanging on the walls.  There is the required punching bag necessary for venting at half time.  There are numerous bicycles, shovels and power sprayers for hits of colour.  There are lots of comfortable seating made of durable, heard-wearing nylon fabric complete with beverage holders.  The chairs are foldable so they can serve multiple uses.  The window coverings are vintage terrycloth towels.  The lighting is by the glow of the television and the stars in the sky.  Not to mention the beautiful full moon that was out last night.  I enjoyed the evening very much as there were lots of friends and neighbours to share this momentous occasion with, not to mention that the setting and ambiance were perfect.  My friend has definitely achieved what he set out to create; a fabulously designed ‘Man Cave’.  Well done!!

Decorate with Flax!

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“Eat your vegetables, they’re good for you!”  I heard that a lot growing up, but now along with eating your vegetables you are reminded to make sure you get your omega-3 fatty acids.  A good source of the heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid is flax-seed.  Flax seed is a tiny seed that is loaded with nutritional benefits; it helps lower cholesterol levels and cut the risk of heart disease.  Sounds like a super food to me.  But did you also know that both flax-seed and the textile linen come from the same plant, Linum usitatissimum??!!  Flax is grown both for its seeds and for its fibres.  Linen is made from the fibres of the flax plant.  Flax fibers are amongst the oldest fiber crops in the world and the use of flax for the production of linen goes back at least to ancient Egyptian times.  I love to wear linen especially in the summer as the fabric has such a coolness and freshness to it.  I find that clothing made with linen has great movement to it and I don’t mind the wrinkles either.  But decorating with linen is something I have a real affinity for.  Furniture covered in linen is beautiful and gives the piece a very organic look.  I have covered an entire sofa in linen. (One of those sofas I no longer have!)   My living and dining room drapes are linen.  I have tablecloths, cushions and duvet covers that are all made from linen.  But I must admit, when I use linen for decorating I like the fabric to be crisp and not all wrinkly looking.  Crazy, right?  No crazier than knowing that tomorrow at breakfast while eating your omega-3 cereal remember, flax – you can eat it or wear it.

    

Image 1.  Modmissy     Image 2.  Naturespath.com

Hosting and Boasting

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Winning the bid to be the hosting country for the Olympics is nothing short of outstanding; a gold metal accomplishment.  As Olympic athletes prepare for their competition, the competition is also on for the hosting country to present a spectacular display of their abilities.  As our world has advanced in knowledge and technology so have the Olympics with countries showcasing their leading-edge innovations in architecture, design and construction.  Rio de Janeiro will be hosting the next Summer Olympics in 2016.  Rio is not only the first South American country to be hosting the Summer Olympics but they are also planning to be the first zero-carbon footprint Olympics.  To help Rio achieve this goal, Swiss-based RAFAA Architecture and Design has designed the ‘Solar City Tower’; an eco-architectural solar waterfall.  Solar panels will capture solar energy and falling water will stimulate turbines to produce hydro energy.  The proposed structure is both beautiful and green. 

Solar City Tower built atop the island of Cotonduba.

The view from the air as visitors arrive. 

Solar City Tower will also hold the Olympic flame.

    

Solar City Tower will be the point of reference for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that all goes well and the Solar City Tower truly becomes a reality.  Definitely something to boast about!

    Images via RAFAA

My Colourful Fascination

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I have a confession.  I am one of those people who before reading a greeting card (birthday, thank-you etc.)  turn it over and check out the ‘label’ on the back. GUILTY!   Now I know that some people take offence to this and feel slighted by my ‘flipping action’ but that back page tells so much about the card.  On the back is a notation about the front page art or artist, or what charity is responsible for the card, or what country the card originated in, or whether the card is 100% recycled.  Etc. Etc.  Once I have these details I can then take my time on enjoying the inside of the card.  Just my standard procedure.  Now while on confessions, I have another one.  When I am perusing through books, the hard cover kind, I always fold back the dust jacket to reveal the cover.  I run my hand over it to feel the texture; some are smooth, some are rougher.  Very tactile.  I prefer when the hardcover is void of any printing or decorations.  But my favourite part of the reveal is to see the colour of the book’s hardcover.  The colour that was chosen for that particular book can tell so much.  Classic design books, often black.  Fashion tomes, the colours of the rainbow.  Cookbooks, travel books – limitless.  I love finding orange books, or chartreuse, or bright pink, canary yellow and robin’s egg blue.  A stack of great coloured books (sans dust jacket) sitting on a coffee table can add so much to a room   I once found two old books (vintage romance –sweet stories) that had the colour and texture of linen.  So…….who else is guilty of this fascination?!!

  

A Classic Wood Boat

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If I may divert today from my usual posts of design classics of the 20th century and iconic pieces of furniture and instead write about something a little different.  The piece I want to blog about is a beautiful antique, hand-made, mahogany and cedar……wood boat!  This boat is a 1947 classic design of pure beauty.  The craftsmanship that went into the making of this boat would be comparable to that of a beautiful classic piece of furniture.  There are over 6,000 brass screws that where hand turned; definitely a labor of love.  Like many pieces of antique furniture (i.e. Spool bed) this wood boat has passed through many hands.  Each owner has loved it and added their own handiwork.  Since owning it we have sanded, stained and varnished the boat.  The hull of the boat is alternating strips of cedar and mahogany so we ‘tiger- striped’ it with stain.  Very cool.  Riding around the lake in this boat I feel like a lady from bygone days; an era of chiffon kerchiefs, cat eye sunglasses and halter top bathing suits.  Swimwear was tame and very ladylike; any two piece bathing suit was considered a bikini.  But here is an interesting fact; did you know where the name bikini comes from?  Originally created by Parisian designer Louis Reard in 1946, he named it after the Bikini Atoll, where the atomic bomb was tested! 

       

Spool Bed

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The other day while driving through a ‘leafy’ neighborhood I did an “OMG” and slammed on the brakes. Fortunately there was no car behind me!

What caused me to stop so quickly??  A score, a real good score.  Sitting at the curb was an antique spool bed!!  I figured it was still sitting there because the neighbours/the locals would never allow themselves to be caught picking up someone else’s ‘junk’.   I on the other hand had no qualms about that.

While I was lugging the headboard, footboard and rails into my car the owner of the bed came out to give me a missing piece from the headboard.  A nice elderly gentleman who after inquiring as to why he was getting rid of the bed explained, “The wife said to get rid of it, so I am getting rid of it.” – I could not have been more thrilled.

The bed is in very ‘weathered’ condition as it appears as if had done some hard time outside.  But the good thing is that there is no finish left on the bed so no messy stripping necessary.  Just a light sand.

The spool bed, named for its resemblance to sewing spools, evolved after the invention of the multiple-blade lathe in the 1800’s.  This lathe was originally designed for making buttons and spools for clothing manufacturers.  However, furniture makers soon realized that a stack of empty spools made an attractive decoration for beds.

I don’t have any plans yet for this bed and I’m not sure where I will use it but when I do I will post the result.  Stay tuned.

As I like to say “One man’s garbage, another woman’s treasure! “

Marshmallow Sofa

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My friend has a name for those sofas you see sitting at the curb.  Those sofas that have been disposed of, thrown out, retired, no longer part of the family.  My friend calls these sofas, ‘Marshmallow Sofas’.  Long since abandoned these sofas are all swollen and puffy from sitting many days (or weeks) out in the rain.  I am sure you have seen one of these Marshmallow Sofas; sad-looking creatures. 

But these are not the real Marshmallow Sofas.  The first Marshmallow sofa was designed in 1956 by George Nelson and Irving Harper and was officially known as the Marshmallow love seat #5670.  The designers were approached by an inventor who had created an injection plastic disc that he insisted could be produced inexpensively and would be durable. The designers took a look and arranged 18 of them on a steel frame – the origin of the Marshmallow sofa!  Truly a landmark of modern design.  The inventor’s cushions turned out to be impractical so when the Marshmallow Sofa was manufactured the cushions were covered in fabric, vinyl, or leather in bright colours.  Mostly all the cushions were the same color, but the sofa could also be ordered with cushions of various colors for a truly fun appearance.  A 1957 catalogue described the sofa’s playful design, “Despite its astonishing appearance, this piece is very comfortable”.  Fifty five years later, the curvy and fun Marshmallow Sofa is still turning heads and making people smile!

                      Image via Herman Miller

 

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

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For my birthday recently I received a beautiful gift of potted red gerberas.  I put them into a white ceramic pot (contrasted nicely with the red) and placed them on my kitchen counter.  The flowers lasted quite a while and their bright cheery colour provided a boost on many grey spring days.  I decided to take photos of these flowers and so with my camera setting at digital macro I took some very close shots of the gerberas.  The details that were captured are striking.  Magnified beauty!  The photo provides more details of the flowers than the naked eye can see.  Digital macro is a very cool setting on the camera. 

I am thinking I may have this photo enlarged (8 ½ X 11 or bigger) and then framed in an oversized frame.  I use the RIBBA frames from IKEA and then cut my own mat to size.  It is a very affordable way to have some original art.  I think the red flower, white mat and black (or white) frame would look great anywhere; see my photo shop example.

           

My cheery red gerberas are now in the compost bucket but their beauty lives on; truly a gift that keeps on giving!

 

Gumballs!

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Part of the enjoyment I get from staging a client’s home for real estate sale is that I get to work (or as I like to call it – play) with the homeowners ‘objets d’art’. Their accessories and décor items.  Their tchotchkes!  Sometimes there are interesting pieces collected from world travels or beautiful vases and coloured glass bowls.  Often the kitchen may have cool stainless steel barista items or wooden trays made from exotic woods. And I always smile when I come across a gumball machine in a child’s room.  I think it is the rainbow of colours that are fun to work with and the childhood memories that are beckoned back. 

So recently when I came across this 2nd photo I was reminded of gumballs.  And once again it made me smile. 

Any guesses as to what these colourful balls are??!! They look just like gumballs.  This is the ‘Pinocchio’ carpet from the Hay Rug Collection www.day.dk   named after a Danish candy of colourful, sugar-coated licorice balls.  The Pinocchio carpet is handmade in Nepal from 100% pure wool and every single ball is felted by hand and then put on a string like pearls.  This carpet would definitely be a centerpiece in any room.  Not to mention that it would make you smile!