Discount designer furniture

My favourite well-known replica designer furniture website is Matt Black. It has all the classics like le corbusier, Eames, Phillip Starck, Isamu Noguchi and Harry Bertoia.

Here are a couple of key items you can get for at least half price.

A fresh start

We are in the process of purchasing our first home, or to be more precise - unit. And I decided this is the perfect place to put up my findings on materials, research, methods, renovating, storage and much more as I come across them.

So to begin with my first tool I found on linkedin. I am a member of an interior design group and found out about a wonderful tool for designer, decorators and stylists - a mood board creator.

olioboard.com

I have already done my first one.

Interior Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) 2010

From the 9-19th November IDEA has been hosting events throughout Sydney to celebrate the 2010 awards.

Last week they announced the winners, including the overall winner as the Hilton South Wharf, Joint Venture Architects Woods Bagot and NH Architecture. (below)

Your own space outside

A colleague of mine came accross this image and sent it to me. They were interested in the steel, but I found the it interested these artisitc forms of steel have created a sense of 'inside', outside.

The material is surprising warm because of its colour and the way it is freeform in the design, not rigid. There is a cocooning effect to it.

These are part of an installation called "Where is Architecture? Seven Installations by Japanese Architects" at the National Museum of Modern Art.

2010 Premier Export Awards

A few weeks ago I attended the 2010 Premier Export Award, where our submission won us a spot as a finalist in the 'Innovation in Export' category.

It was a short n sweet event, a note from the NSW Minister for Small Business, Frank Terenzini, a group photo of all the finalists, canapes, wine and a photo with the Minister.

“Now in its 48th year nationally, the Premier’s NSW Export Awards are acknowledged by the business community as one of Australia’s most prestigious business awards,” Mr Terenzini said.

“The perseverance of our exporters is one of the reasons why Australia emerged relatively unscathed from the global financial crisis.Throughout the GFC, exporters proved themselves to be the unsung heroes of our strong performance, maintaining market share and employment levels."

The awards night on the 28th October will reveal the winners in all categories, and should be a fun night of networking and celebrating Australia's export achievements.

The Ivy & Thorn lighting event

I went to the Ivy last night for a Thorn lighting event, which was ok. The products were only a little interesting, and nothing particularly out of the ordinary, and all the best ones weren't on display! The canapes and drinks were lovely though.

Probably my favourite light was the outdoor Milo R/I which could project images/logo/text.

On a more exciting note, I loved the decor of the Ivy. it really blurred the boundaries of interior and exterior through the use of a central atrium. Everything about it is very grand - the staircases (including the spiral ones), the dramatic lighting, the expensive furniture, the long and sleek looking bars, and it was almost overfurnished which helps people feel comfortable.

The first floor was divided into different zones for drinking, lounging etc with a variety of furniture, lighting and bars and dining. The open central area had awnings and fairy lights creating a semi transparent view to upper floors. The spiral staircase leads you up to the middle floor, which had large areas that are covered but look onto the central atrium. This is really cute because you can stand by the railing as if you are on a balcony looking outside.

The sunroon, which is where our function was held is cute with white cupboards for hanging your coat, and sweet lime green and white partitions. The high ceiling combined with full glass windows looking over the atrium give a nice view into the rest of the Ivy as well as the city lights/buildings above.

The above images are just from google, but I want to go back and get some photo's next time.

Interior Landscaping

This website defines 'interior landscaping' as:

What is interior landscaping? Interior landscaping is the practice of designing, arranging, and caring for living plants in enclosed environments. Planterra calls this 'interior landscaping' even though land is not literally being reshaped. 'Interior landscaping' is an appropriate term because indoor environments contain plains, angles, and horizons that are softened, accentuated or altered by the addition of plants and planters-thus landscaping the interior. Similar to outdoor landscapes, interior landscapes provide spaces with ornament, color, sculptural elements, focal points, and an overall pleasant environment.

In the trade, interior landscaping is also known as plantscaping and interiorscaping. Interior landscape firms will use one of the three terms or a combination. While interior landscaping is an accurate description of this specialty, plantscape and interiorscape are words that were invented at the birth of the interior landscape industry to define the trade. Plantscape and interiorscape may have originated in the early 1970s as the name of interior landscape companies but have since then become generic phrases that describe the specialty.

Academics and authors tend to be aligned with one term set with their own definition. Richard Gains, AIA the author of Interior Plantscaping (1977), says he uses the term plantscapes to "differentiate from interior landscape office planning." Gains' plantscape definition is restricted to plants within enclosed structures. Nelson Hammer, ASLA author of Interior Landscapes: An American Design Portfolio of Green Environments (1999) features gardens inside buildings defined as 'interior landscapes'. Interestingly, Paul Cooper landscape architect and author of Interiorscapes: gardens within buildings (2003) extends his definition to include gardens that are "open to the air, as well as gardens that, although not contained by the architecture, are intrinsic to it." 'Interiorscape' is also the name of a trade magazine for the interior landscape community. In contrast of the tendency to favor one term, the cover of Interiorscape magazine bears the slogan "interior plantscaper's most read, most awarded information source since 1981." While the definitions differ, Interior landscape, plantscape, and interiorscape are synonymous.


Check them out - http://www.planterra.com/interior_landscape_resources_5.php

Some more

Here are some more pics of the previous post.

These are from this cute new website I found called Etsy where they sell handmade and vintage clothing, jewellery and homewares.

Home and office ideas

I adore these...

So cute, fun and interactive. I like the bold contrasts of colour and the natural feel of the elements (bird, tree, vine etc). What a lovely way to bring the outside inside in a fresh and modern way. No mess, no maintenance.

And the good thing is its applicable to every room. Bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, nursery, lounge and dining. You can pick a theme and carry it, or apply different ones to highlight certain rooms.

Ecesis - CSM new product

Wow, end of financial year has made work crazy! I suppose busy is always good in an economic climate like ours.

This is only a quick post to show a new product I found. Its a multi-purpose indoor partition that will add a little 'outside' inside. How vibrant and lively would you feel sitting near one of these - I think it would brighten my day. My only concern is how well the plants survive and how much maintenance they need. However working in a landscape architecture firm I'm sure the guys here would know which plants to use!