I’m always excited to see places that house contemporary interior in a historic building. What a great designer challenge. How do you show appreciation for the space heritage and create funky atmosphere without period touch? And especially if the historic building faces nothing less than Arc de Triomph in Paris.
Well, Prospect Design have solved this dilemma quite successfully.
I absolutely amazed by the ceiling of the main dining area. The abstract collage of the classical moldings so accurately translates the concept. With the right touches of glitz and glamor (look and the reflective pendant balls and gilded suede frames of the mirrors…yum!) the place scream PARIS.
The night club on the bottom floor continues the same sleek modern design although too neon-y for my taste. I found a few pictures in a “normal” lighting.
You see what I’m talking about? Neon Rainbow (on the pic below) just killing it, don’t you agree? <images via www.prospect-design.com>
Am I the only one at ahhh with Gerard Butler’s New York Loft. I’m even ready to forgive him the Bounty Hunter. (Seriously, Gerry, don’t sell yourself cheap). But this apartment, if you can call it that, is definitely worthy of the King Leonidas. And may be it’s not completely my cup of tea design wise, I can appreciate the quality “aged” work that so often goes sour Disneyland.
So we are talking about 3,300-square-foot loft in Chelsea, Manhattan located on 6 and 7 floors. the actor worked with architect Alexander Gorlin and film designer Elvis Restaino for years to complete the masterpiece, and for me the time was well spent as the place looks like it’s been there forever.
According to AD, the loft boasts, “13-foot-tall mahogany doors; a ceiling and wall frescos; plaster walls chipped and mottled with age; massive columns supporting limestone lions; crystal chandeliers casting spidery shadows,” and plenty of furnishings from New York décor mecca ABC Carpet & Home.
As Mr. Wearstler is moving away from her “David-Hicks phase” (on which I’m yet to do the old new post) and into the “Tony-Duquette phase”, this new comparison is quite an obvious one. Malachite and its luscious pattern has been a signature of the world-famous designer. Native Angelino, Tony Duquette was the first American designer to held a single-man exhibition in Louvre Museum, Paris. Then recent burst of interest to the artist has been boosted by the book “More is More: Tony Duquette” published by Hutton Willkinson, Duquette’s business partner.
By the way, don’t forget to vote for your favorite at the end of the post.
The OLD: Tony Duquette (1914 – 1999)
Dawnridge dining (Duquette’s home in LA) featuring malachite wall finish, tableware and his signature malachite cotton pattern tablecloth.
The NEW: Kelly Wearstler (200?)
Viceroy Miami
Malachite veneer, malachite pattern fabric, walnut wood panels, lots of mirrors and even the punch of red…locate 10 differences
Searching for the inspiration for a new project I came across Morimoto Restaurant in Piladelphia. although it’s not at all a new project (opened in 2002, the designs still very relevant and vibrant. The space was designed by Karim Rashid, an astonishing product and space designer, who claimed the whole space with his signature style.
Rashid’s 6 foot–tall serpentine sculpture of black fiberglass marks the transition from the vestibule to the dining room, where the low bamboo ceiling ascends in a wave to a height of 20 feet. Half-height frosted boxes of plate glass act as dividers. Concealed beneath them are LED strips that set the glass softly aglow—cycling between synthetic cyan, magenta, green, orange, and lavender at a pace so slow that the shift barely registers at a conscious level. 3-D lava-lamp shapes in the bas-relief plasterwork of the sidewalls instantly warms up the space.
What a great solution for the ever-irritating problem of long and narrow spaces.
The sequel to the original Morimoto in the City of Brotherly Love, is Morimoto, New York. This two-level 13,000-square-foot spectacle represents the first Big Apple foray for both restaurateur Stephen Starr and architect Tadao Ando. At one end of the blackened-steel facade, the 50-foot-wide arched entry is draped with a fish-roe red PVC curtain. Inside, a rippling canvas-and-fiberglass ceiling, a resin-topped bar, an LED-lit wall of 17,400 half-liter plastic water bottles, and beechwood furniture by Ross Lovegrove accompany Ando’s signature concrete.
Following the Design Sponge post on Logo Design and Identity (thanks meg mateo ilasco), I browsed the www.graphic-exchange.com website and found TONS of inspiration. I don’t know about you but I’m constantly trying to reinvent my logo and, honestly, got a little too tired of it. May be I should just surrender in the hands of a professional graphic designer?! In the meanwhile, here are a few of many designs that I find very successful.
<images via www.prospect-design.com>
02.jpg "identity design")
fabienbarral2.jpg "graphic design")
