Are you remodeling a princess-themed bathroom? Or maybe one in Vegas? Well, look no further than this sparkly bathtub by SICIS. It’s made out of glass that l00ks like pink sequins. A perfect present for the sparkly shoe-lover in your life!
We want to know if the heel of the “shoe” could be used as a water slide into the bath for an extra dash of fun. What do you think of this fun and unusual bath?
Copper and wood are two of nature’s most beautiful materials. Tamasine Osher has used copper piping, along with wood, to create some gorgeous industrial-chic pieces. It’s a very innovative use of a material that might otherwise have been used for scrap! What do you think?
Jim & Theresa’s House on the Venice Canal
Apartment Therapy
“The moment I spotted Jim and Theresa’s home on CA Home + Design online I knew it was unique. To my happy surprise their interior designer Erinn Valencich of Erinn V. Design Group happened to be a recent acquaintance of mine. Welcome to a lovely family home that sits right on the water of the Venice canals.”
Homes with Incredible Backyards
Forbes
Check out this roundup beautiful luxurious yards that Forbes put together.
Designers’ Homes on the Market
Architectural Digest
“To coincide with the April designers’ own homes issue, AD presents a portfolio of seven extraordinary estates for sale, all of which were conceived–and inhabited by–prominent architects and decorators.”
Builders’ Special
Dwell
“A resourceful sound mixer sources some local design talent, rolls up his sleeves, and builds small, green, and affordable in Bozeman, Montana.”
Today, we are pleased to share another winner of the myMarvin Architect’s Challenge. Nils Finne of FINNE Architects in Seattle designed a beautiful cabin located on a wooded waterfront property on Lake Superior. The Eagle Harbor Cabin stands majestically on the northern edge of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Featuring the rocky, ocean-like shoreline of Lake Superior, the wooded three-acre site provides a dramatic backdrop for this 2,000-square-foot cabin.
Cantilevering toward the water with a 40-ft.-long glass wall facing the spectacular beauty of the lake, the cabin is composed of two simple volumes: a large open living/dining/kitchen space with an open timber ceiling structure and a two-story “bedroom tower,” with the kids’ bedroom on the ground floor and the parents’ bedroom stacked above.
The cabin demonstrates a simple, elemental quality utilizing native Michigan hardwoods such as maple and birch. The interior spaces are wood paneled, with exposed framing in the ceiling. The cabinets use PLYBOO, an FSC-certified bamboo product, with mahogany end panels. Other custom touches include a curvilinear maple entry screen, a custom mahogany coffee table and a curvilinear dining table made of mahogany and steel.
The exterior of the cabin is clad in corrugated metal siding, offset by the tall fireplace mass of Montana ledgestone at the east end.
This home also incorporates a number of sustainable building features, including 2×8 construction (40% greater insulation value), generous glass areas for natural lighting and ventilation, large overhangs for sun and snow protection and metal siding for maximum durability. Sustainable interior finish materials include bamboo/plywood cabinets, locally grown maple flooring and birch paneling, linoleum floors and low-VOC paints.
Both Marvin windows and Marvin doors were used in this project.
To see more about the Architect’s Challenge, please go here.
Ah, the humble shower. It’s the way most of us choose to get clean every day, but it’s usually a pretty simple affair: you stand and the water pours over you. If you wanted to lie or sit down in the shower, you would end up with a face full of water and would probably end up just choosing to take a bath.
Luckily, there’s a (luxurious) solution: Meiré und Meiré, a German company, offers “…a private spa, presenting the architectural inspiration for a tour through water competence.” They even have a solution for anyone who has wanted to lie down and take a relaxing shower.
What do you think? Would you ever want something like this to give you more showering options?
Images courtesy of Meiré und Meiré.
It seems like Japan often leads the way when it comes to small but innovative housing. It’s no surprise of course, since this island nation has a large population and often limited land. However, Japan has long been known for its impeccable aesthetics. Combine that with an efficiency obsession and you’ll find that some of the best tiny houses in the world are from Japan.
This house (via Apartment Therapy) is especially cool–squeezed between two highrises, it still manages to have five stories and gardens on every floor. It might not be the most practical house, but it sure is a beautiful oasis in the middle of the city!
Images courtesy of Apartment Therapy.
Over at Architectural Digest, they are featuring some beautiful celebrity kitchens. We recommend checking them all out and imagining how your favorite celebrities whip up gourmet meals, but we have to share the one we loved the most. Feast your eyes on this unusual kitchen:
No, it’s not in a European dungeon — although you probably figured that out from the stainless steel appliances. It’s Gerard Butler’s New York kitchen and it manages to be subtly masculine and cozy at the same. It seems like the sort of kitchen where you might roast a whole pig just as easily as you could boil up some pasta.
During the colder months, this kitchen would be especially nice to warm up in. It’s not the typical light and bright kitchen we’re used to seeing, but it works. We’re jealous of Gerard! You can read more about it here.
What do you think of his kitchen?
Today, we have two very cool DIY fiber arts ideas, both via Curbly. If you want to add some personalized flair to your home, consider these!
First up is this duvet cover featuring doodles. It’s a bit labor intensive, but the end result is very cool. You’ll need whatever drawings you’ve doodled. After photographing the drawings, the creator of this duvet cover traced them on to fabric. You’d probably want to buy a solid-colored duvet for this. Lots of work, but you end up with a duvet cover that no one else in the world has.
The second DIY idea is also a great way to reuse old clothing. Using old pairs of jeans, cut into whatever pattern you like, you can make some fun wall art. Just sew on to a fabric back and voila! Jeans and art on your wall.
What do you think of these ideas? What’s the coolest DIY fiber arts project you’ve ever done?
Here’s a new thing that can be recycled and re-purposed: stuffed animals! Tree Hugger tells the story of an artist, Augustina Woodgate, and her rugs made out of the “skins” of stuffed animals.
To make the rugs, she removes the animals’ heads and the stuffing from the bodies and uses the skins, together with other stuffed animals’ skins, to create a rug that looks almost like no other rug you’ve seen before. Its trippy look could work well in a family or living room (we’re picturing it in a mid-century home) or even a child’s room.
What do you think? Weirdest rug material ever or ingenious use of old materials to create usable art?
A stunning restoration and renovation of a historic plantation home on the Eastern Shore of Virginia by Stephen Muse and William Kiwan of Muse Architects, this project was awarded because of its meticulous attention to detail, authenticity and preservation.
Originally constructed in 1784 and expanded in 1829, the brick-ended clapboard structure with twin Georgian entry porches follows a one bay deep linear plan typical of Tidewater homes.
Along with complete renovation and restoration of the original house, the scope of work included removal of recent out-of-character additions and construction of additional living space capturing the view of nearby Hungar’s Creek.
To accomplish this, the twin porches from the drive side of the house were replicated on the waterfront side and a new kitchen with breakfast bay was connected to the existing structure by a one-story hyphen.
Additional work included the restoration of all outbuildings, construction of a new garage and the restoration of all driveways, walkways and gardens.
Marvin products used in the project included Ultimate Double Hung Windows, French Casement Windows, Ultimate Casement Windows, Stationary Windows and Transom Windows.
To see more winners and learn more about the Architect’s Challenge, please visit Marvin.
