Tag Archives: Design

colour

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’!

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

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

 

Eiffel Chair

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Ahhh…Paris in spring. When a young woman’s fancy turns to all things beautiful.  Ok, maybe I am not visiting Paris this spring but I do fancy beautiful things!  I am not visiting the Eiffel Tower but I do love the Eames ‘Eiffel’ chair. 

 

 

 

 

See the slight resemblance?  The Eiffel chair or DSR as it is officially known was a landmark design from Charles and Ray Eames created in the 1940’s.  It was coined the ‘Eiffel’ chair due to its distinctive chrome rod base that resembles the Eiffel Tower.  The seat was made from molded plastic. The Eames’ focus at the time was on plastic because this new material held the promise of being able to do more with less.  (sound familiar?) The plastic could be molded into organic shapes that would imitate the shape of the body. Very comfortable. This chair was the winning entry in a 1948 NYC Museum of Modern Art competition and in the 1950’s went on to be the first mass-produced plastic chair.  It was an award winner then and is still an iconic piece today.  I would love to have one of these chairs in my collection but….what colour would I choose; Aqua Sky or Lime Green or Red or maybe even White??!! Would I buy a pair or just one? Definitely a statement in any room.

My Bathroom Reno

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RENOVATING.  That one single word can bring up a whole variety of emotions.  Frustration, anger, panic, confusion or happy, thrilled, eager, excited.   Frightening words like; gutting, ripping, tearing down, become triumphant words when pertaining to renovations.  I am ‘gutting’ my main floor, ‘ripping’ up the old hardwood and ‘tearing down’ the wall between the kitchen/dining room.  Some people would find the gutting/ripping/tearing down thing very upsetting whereas others may think “OMG, you are so lucky!”   Whatever your situation or the size of your project I find the best way to handle the ‘upheaval’ is to always keep the end point, the ‘after’ picture in sight.  Keep the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ always emblazoned in your mind, even when you are about to lose your mind!   I can say this honestly as I speak from experience, a lot of experience.  My present house has been renovated from top to bottom and front to back.  (Necessary when owning a 100-year-old home.)  Some renovations by choice, some from necessity.  I like to think that at this point I am a pro at dealing with drywall dust, preparing meals on a Workmate, washing in a bucket and quick trips to the neighbour’s toilet late at night!  We recently renovated our bathroom, the only bathroom in the house.  We did not have the benefit of living somewhere else during the 6 week project and therefore we had to be very ‘inventive’.  We took much-needed space from the adjacent bedroom so the bathroom and the bedroom were both turned upside-down.  But I did not care; I was getting a new bathroom.   This was going to be my first new bathroom and one that did not have pink or blue or mint green or brown fixtures!  I have had all of those colours at one point but had never had a white toilet/tub/sink.  The room was gutted and the wall between the bathroom/bedroom was torn down.  The sink and toilet were left in place for as long as possible. (See 1st photo)  The bathtub was removed each day (see 2nd photo) and then put back in place at night. 

Everything went along okay until the one time the bathtub drain was not connected properly for the night and my entire bath water ended up on the kitchen floor below!  I can laugh about it now but back then…. #@!!  After that incident bathing was done at the local rec centre or kind friends’ homes.  Finally the light at the end of the tunnel shined real bright and the bathroom was finished.  I now have a lovely new bathroom.  And guess what?  We installed the second bathroom soon after!

A Very Cool Stool

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Okay by now you know I love orange.  Orange as an accent that is.  I have had a red sofa but I am not sure if I could do a large investment piece in orange.  i.e. An entire sofa in orange, but never say never.  I recently bought a small orange stool to park next to my white leather sectional.  I had been looking for some time but could not find exactly what I was looking for.  Viola!  There it was.  I believe in always waiting to find exactly what you want.  This stool is very organic in shape and texture so next to the square lines of the sectional it looks good.  It is also a wonderful piece to rest my feet on when lounging and is strong enough to serve as an extra chair pulled up to the desk. 

But just this morning this new very ‘mod’ looking stool comes sliding on to my horizon.  It is the Ripplestool (www.ripplestool.com) designed by Tokyo-born Kota Nezu.  His jellyfish stool is “a stool with built-in LED and a water tank. Your natural movement of sitting on it will produce stunningly beautiful ripples; you will feel as if you were seated on the water.”  This stool sounds very cool but alas I have made my decision and will continue on with my ‘organic orange’ stool.  Which would be your choice?  And by the way did I mention price $$ was a key factor?!!

My Purple Chair

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I like checking out thrift/vintage shops.  To me, it is all about the thrill of what possibly lies inside.  ‘What will I find?’  I think also it is about the memories that are attached to the items.  The sense of looking into and having the sentiment of a bygone era.  Vintage finds will give you a sense of what the post-war 50’s, the swinging 60’s and the groovy 70’s may have felt like.  I have ‘scored’ some wonderful items in these thrift shops over the years.  Recently I purchased a silk Hermes scarf for $6.99 (vs. $200 plus)!  I like to wear it (proudly) but if that is not your thing, re-think its purpose and sew it into a fabulous cushion cover.  One time I spotted a ‘pink’ Saarinen-style dining table.  I stood in front of this table for many minutes not only because the whole pink thing made me smile but because I wondered, “where could I see myself using this? Garden furniture?”  I eventually moved on and left the pink classic to the next person.  But one of my most interesting finds had to be a purple, full length, 100% mohair coat ($7.99).  I purchased this coat and had it dry cleaned.  I had no intention of ever wearing this coat but instead it was the mohair fabric that I coveted.  I had been looking for months for fabric to re-cover a Louis XVI chair with.  Mohair was what I had originally wanted but the cost had kept me at a standstill.  With chair and coat in hand I visited my upholsterer.  He had a good laugh but did agree that the fabric was a wonderful solution for the chair.  One stipulation…I had to take the coat all apart.  No problem.  If I could save $$$ on the fabric what’s a little effort.  I have now enjoyed my purple mohair chair for many years and the fabric has stood the test of time.   So next time you visit a thrift/vintage shop, keep your mind open to all the possibilities that lie waiting for you!

                               

Cork Flooring

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The character of a room may come from the furniture and accessories but the structure and true nature comes from the wall, ceiling and floors.  The floor beneath your feet provides the most tactile sensation than any other surface.  With every step, your foot registers and responds to the surface it comes into contact with.  I recently had to install a new flooring treatment in the basement of my home.  The basement could have a possibility of being damp so I ruled out carpeting.   I decided against stone tile because it would be too cold without radiant floor heating.  Hardwood was also not an option as the basement is sub-grade.  My remaining options were few.  In the end I decided to install cork, the glue down cork flooring that is approximately 3/16″ thick.  I chose a medium dark brown stain and a 12″ X 24″ size tile.  Cork is an all-natural, environmentally responsible product harvested from the bark of the cork tree.  Very Green!  The benefits of cork flooring are its softness, resiliency, resistance to moisture, thermal insulation, acoustical insulation and anti-allergic.  Everything that I wanted.  But until you live with cork it is hard to grasp how amazing this product really is.  In bare feet I feel no cold coming from the concrete floor below.  It has given the ‘media room’ a soundproofing quality.  It feels smooth and looks fabulous.   I love my cork floor!