Desig House: April 2015

Converted Industrial Space Becomes a Pretty, Sunny Apartment

If you enjoyed the our feature on industrial spaces converted to modern apartments yesterday, here is more of the same but with a different vibe. The industrial space featured here, converted with the help of UK interior _design firm Cloud, is anything but dark and dreary. Instead, light colors, clean lines, and plenty of sunlight have created an enviable and welcoming space that has left only a few hints of the apartment's past.

The large space was converted into two private bedrooms and wide open living space that encompasses the living room, kitchen, and dining area. White walls allow the light streaming in from the industrial-inspired windows to open up the entire area easily while Douglas fir floorboards create the illusion of more floorspace.

Plenty of shelving and a bright, sunny work area is perfect for a young, creative resident who needs to be able to work from home and get inspired at the same time.

The ceiling is whitewashed concrete and a few exposed pipes throughout keep with the industrial feel. In contrast, soft and pretty accessories like the lovely blue sofa and creative custom light fixtures make it easy to forget this wasn’t an airy home all along.

Vertical book storage eliminates the need for extra shelving, turning stacks of books into a design focal point all on their own.

The open kitchen has tons of counterspace and a long, simple dining table practically begs for a dinner party.

The effect of the conversion in the bedrooms is perhaps even more dramatic. Feminine touches from a pale pink club chair to scalloped mirrors and delicately decorated wallpaper makes for a stunning bedroom with a Parisian aura. The bathroom, too, has a distinctly European vibe with its white brick tiles and simple shallow sink.

Source : home-designing[dot]com

Masters of the House: Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki’s Maison Kitsuné Boutiques

Talk about a mash-up. An architect by training, Masaya Kuroki was born in Tokyo but grew up in Paris. That’s where he befriended Gildas Loaëc, who owned a record shop and went on to become a producer for Daft Punk. But it was back in Japan, working on a movie, that the pair became captivated by the idea of the concept store. Hence their epiphany: Why not create a brand to embrace their dual loves of fashion and music? Basing their logo on a fox, kitsune in Japanese, they launched Maison Kitsuné for clothing and accessories, plus plain Kitsuné for albums and concerts.

Growth has been phenomenal. As creative directors for Maison Kitsuné, they have consistently put out two men’s and women’s fashion collections a year. The look? “Effortless French” was the name for spring-summer 2015. Then there are the capsule collections that coincide with the opening of each Maison Kitsuné location. So far, there are seven: four in Paris, two in New York, and one in Tokyo.

Kuroki designed the first one, which Loaëc describes as “very Parisian.” After that, each has been a collaboration with a different architecture or interiors firm. Second was Numéro111’s design, “more elegant, with beige and powder-pink tones,” he continues. Third came DimoreStudio’s Britt Moran and Emiliano Salci. “They share our passion for detail,” Kuroki says, referencing the lapis blue and carmine red of the facade, the satiny aluminum for flooring and door frames, the amaranth-toned faux fur covering the chairs, and—“what we love most,” Loaëc adds—the salvaged wood for the display tables. The latest in Paris is also the largest, 2,100 square feet by HA-AU Henry & Associés and Nicolas Dorval-Bory Architectes.

Maison Kitsuné entered the U.S. via a highly visible corner storefront at New York’s NoMad Hotel. The hybrid aesthetic, part downtown loft and part Haussmannian apartment, is the work of a multinational team: a local firm, TBD Architecture + Design Studio, and an import from British Columbia, Anna Vignale. For Tokyo, meanwhile, Loaëc and Kuroki brought in a French firm, FHC, to reinterpret tatami mats and shoji screens. Kuroki’s passion for coffee resulted in a request to FHC to include a new component, Café Kitsuné. Now, a couple of the Paris boutiques also have one.

Development doesn’t stop there. Two more Tokyo shops are slated for 2016, as is a debut in Hong Kong. Kuroki and Loaëc are even pondering a Hôtel Kitsuné.

>>See more from the April 2015 issue of Interior Design

Source : interiordesign[dot]net

Converted Industrial Spaces Becomes Gorgeous and Spacious Apartments

It is one thing to create a home from scratch, placing every wall and window exactly where you want it to be. But when a designer is tasked with creating a beautiful home from what was once a desolate industrial warehouse it is quite another thing. More and more as we realize that the space on our earth is finite and that it does not always make sense to tear down a perfectly good building, we are seeing these types of warm industrial conversions or at least imaginings of them. In this post, we are features four industrial-inspired apartments that take some harsh elements like exposed brick and concrete and create homes that are not just liveable but amazing.

The first space has turned its supports into <a href='http://reviewoursites.net/domain/designboom.com'>_design</a> elements, using a column style that speaks to elegance rather than industry. The vaulted ceiling and oversized windows make the space feel wide open while a brick ceiling and concrete floor ensure plenty of extravagant echoes. The division between spaces in this particular design are very fluid and barely perceptible, but carefully placed rugs and furniture does give some semblance of separate rooms.

The first space has turned its supports into design elements, using a column style that speaks to elegance rather than industry. The vaulted ceiling and oversized windows make the space feel wide open while a brick ceiling and concrete floor ensure plenty of extravagant echoes. The division between spaces in this particular design are very fluid and barely perceptible, but carefully placed rugs and furniture does give some semblance of separate rooms.

The next home is not nearly so spacious with ceilings that are more aligned with a standard home. The exposed brick is the main industrial element here, left behind from the building’s last life. An open floorplan and some dreamy accents like a fairytale chandelier and plush purple sofa give this apartment a more feminine feel.

Perhaps even more spectacular than the first apartment we saw, this loft is seriously lofted. An upper level library overlooks (and we mean really overlooks from that height) an open living area that is dotted with plenty of fire engine red. The mod color scheme and sleek furnishings give this space an posh retro feel.

The final apartment comes to us in the form of a visualization of an apartment in Moscow. The ceiling beams and standard loft track lighting is practical if not imaginative. But deeper in the home’s interior we get some really creative ideas. In particular, the office space enclosed in glass is notable, offering a modicum of privacy but that’s really just an illusion.