Home House

For my final year project's sake, solely for the sake of research and education :), I hope to go next week on a design investigation to Home House Club on 20 Portman Square. Hopefully, my study will lead me to a better understanding of what might members of such secret society as the Bilderberg Group (my imaginary client) find entertaining... Here is some preview, hope to have my own personal images by next week. The first image is of their website which I find absolutely genius. Enjoy:)

Images from : http://www.yatzer.com/, http://www.homehouseclub.com/, http://www.eatmedaily.com

Jenny Packham Paris store

 

 This is a London based celebrity designers, Jenny Packham's store situated on rue Saint-Honoré in Paris. What I love about this de Gournay design is the way the wallpaper creates a stunning painting in itself.

Marcel Wanders: Mondrian Miami

Just before the long-awaited launch of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland i would like to post a couple of projects i am sure Alice wouldn't mind dropping by in her dreams... This one is an iconic hotel designed by Marcel Wanders, where there seem to be no borders between reality and fantasy.

Images from Ideat magazine.

Decorative and Gilded Mirrors

I tend to be obsessed with two things in my designs: mirrors and chandeliers. If chosen of the right style and design, I think they can both add incredible beauty to any interior. The four images are reproduction mirrors from de Gournay, the company I have mentioned before. They are all available in a myriad of different finishes and each finish can give a very different feeling to a room. My personal favorites are mirrors in plain white, as to my mind the mirrors are so beautifully carved that the shape is best brought out through plain colors. The last image are of an antique mirror I have found online whilst carrying out a research on trumeau mirrors which are placed over the fireplace.

David Adjaye: Dirty House for Noble and Webster.

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Working on my final year project, I am looking into various ways to create secrecy in architecture. I've decided to design a mansion for the Bilderberg Group, the infamous secret society, to serve as a meeting space as well as a place to unwind and relax in their own ways :). This is a residential project by David Adjaye named Dirty House for Tim Noble and Sue Webster. The building is in fact what was once known as a timber factory in East London. What I love about this structure is the way it creates an immediate sense of intrigue and mystery of what might be going on inside. Images by Peter Dixie www.peterdixie.com

Lin Tianmiao

This is an installation artist whose work: Mothers!! I saw a couple of years ago at the Frieze London. Her work served as a great inspiration for one of my interior projects back then. The materials that she uses are mainly thread and various shiny fabrics such as silk, all white.

Images are from: www.artzinechina.com

Tom Dixon: Circus Restaurant London

I went to a restaurant yesterday which has recently opened in London with what seemed an amazing concept of having burlesque dancers performing on the very same table guests are having their dinner. Designed by Tom Dixon, the space certainly reflects his signature work. For me personally the best part is the entrance: no sign of the name of the restaurant, quite intriguing and secretive.
Once you enter through the steel doors, you find yourself in a reception area of amazing patterns running along the walls as well as a led lit signage cut out of perspex on one side. Its dark, with only the lights from the Circus sign reflecting from the shiny wall design, you can't wait to see whats inside. Perfect, just like the feeling before entering a circus tent.
The interior strongly reflects patterns and elements of drama and show, and once the open kitchen's 'windows' start closing leaving covers with two images of eyes, the show begins. It lasted from 5 -6 min, a lady in a corset performed with fire on the long table (see image above) and then everything went back to normal. The table naturally has to leave quite a wide gap for the dancers to walk through, which, when the show is not on, creates a quite wide separation between the guests sitting opposite. The kind of gap where with the busy noise, you would by no means hear what your friend has to say sitting opposite you, yet again depends who that is, it might come as a good design solution.
Some parts of the design, especially the corners of the rooms felt in some way not thoroughly thought out. As the whole of the design is very theatrical, it might have been a good idea to leave them plain black, yet they all seemed to have some strangely misplaced 'tacky' items to draw your attention to. Such as the twirling cones illuminating with colors as they turn in the lounge and the chandelier made out of round disks of shell (the type you buy on the beach as souvenirs for your grandmother) accompanied with a strange doormat hanging on the wall. Interestingly enough, although the restaurant was fully booked, our food came in an average of 10 to 15 min, the quality of it being as expected from something served in that amount of time.

Images from http://www.contemporist.com.

David Carter Interiors

I fell absolutely in love with the work of one of de Gournay's clients, David Carter. I love the theatricality and drama of the interiors. A genuine Wonderland.

de Gournay from the Chinoiserie & Japanese & Korean Collections

de Gournay: Matthew Williamson Store

I have been working at the London Showroom of de Gournay since August. The company is mostly known for it's stunning reinterpretation of the traditional Chinoiserie hand painted wallpaper as well as period furniture and gilt-wood mirrors. What I love the most about their products is their attention to color. As for my own taste, I would combine their beautiful products with very contemporary elements of furniture or interior architecture to create exciting contrasts and drama between the new and the traditional. I'm including in this post some of the most inspiring projects they have worked on.