Italia

B&B Italia's Up Furniture Series Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

Before they became B&B Italia, the company of C&B Italia and Gaetano Pesce collaborated to create the Up series in 1969. This collaboration brought together the furniture industry and an artist on the Up project. Gaetano Pesce brought his influence to the project and in particular his own personal interpretation of women as viewed by society. He stated, "I was telling a personal story about my notion of women: despite themselves, women have always been prisoners of their own making. Along these lines, I liked the idea of giving this armchair a feminine shape with a ball and chain, the traditional image of the prisoner." Thus, was the inspiration that created Up 5_6 which is now an iconic piece of furniture history. The "ball and chain" chair and ottoman set were reproduced in 2000 with improved upholstery and manufacturing techniques. The Up series remains a popular part of B&B Italia's furniture line. Via.

Baby, it's Cold Outside

If you’re looking for something that combines the modern and the traditional, this collection of wood-burning fireplaces has something to suit every style. The Dinamico flamed copper finish is warm with a twist, while it’s also available in the Dinamico grey satin finish for a cooler, more contemporary aesthetic. Sliding steel doors on either side are adorned with simple square cutouts for added interest, set in front of tempered glass.










The Linea fireplace is an ultra-modern fixture that’s an instant focal point in your living room, den, library or bedroom. The stove’s bold, black finish and slightly pyramid shape complement the upward direction of its flame, which is visible through a tempered glass door. For a touch of Nordic style in your home, check out the Linea fireplace.

The Labirinto and Dedalo are modern fireplaces with an artistic edge. This grey painted steel frame features inserts in black and white for a bold, bicolor statement. The horizontal shape appeals to more traditional settings, while the vertical fireplace design also works well in compact urban homes or rooms with tall ceilings.

Floating Beds

Lago’s Fluttua is not its only unusual characteristic, or even its most unusual one: what we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is a gravity-defying bed… and we haven’t even left the earth’s orbit yet (so far as we know). Fluttua isn’t the only piece to play with our Newtonian expectations. We’ve seen the amazing, evaporating legs of the Fade Out Chair, as well as the inscrutable two-legged balancing act of Duffy London’s Shadow Chair, but never before have we witnessed such comprehensive airiness in a place of repose. The ostensibly floatational character of Fluttua is ideal in a bed, for what other symbolic/metaphoric device better evokes an idealized slumber? Defying the very pull of the earth, Fluttua’s fortunate inhabitants would seem to become weightless as they slept, drifting into the land of nod atop so many diaphanous and vaporous clouds.

The illusion is lovely, and I believe it will foster the best kind of dream-less sleep, but as the better half of Penn and Teller knows, a great trick only becomes more beautiful when its secret is revealed. Lago knows this as well, so they don’t deign to inform us that the bed’s levitational appearance is achieved via a simple cantilevered concept: the bed frame is mounted to the wall at one end, while a single pedestal foot in the center provides the structural lynchpin for the perfect distribution of weight around the bed’s circumference. The strategy achieves a sort of 360 degree cantilever—distinct from most cantilevered structures, which distribute weight along a rectangular plane. The supportive foot is “hidden,” from most perspectives, because it’s low to the ground and thus out of sight, or obscured by “perfectly” arranged coverlets and duvets. But even with the backstage mechanics of Fluttua revealed, the piece remains exceptionally enchanting. And, if you believe the fairy tales, a nightly dose of enchantment is the perfect segue to the wonderful rejuvenation of deep sleep.

Little Drummer

Sometimes a trend sneaks up on you. By the time you notice its pervasiveness it is all around you.

In glossy publications like Architectural Digest and even at your local mass retailer (a sure sign of overexposure). Recently the object in question is the ceramic garden stool. Once reserved for Asian inspired interiors and Japanese gardens, this versatile item is popping up everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. Granted, the object itself is not new. Nor is its use in well-designed homes. But over the past year its popularity has soared to such a degree that it has become hard to open a magazine without noticing one tucked into the frame.

If you’re a trend watcher, you’ve no doubt noticed chinoiserie filtering down from luxe hotels to your neighbor’s dining room. As nouveau Asian works its way through the trade publications and high-end design firms it was only a matter of time before these iconic ceramic drums made their appearance in the mass market. And as we are wont to do, modern designers are adding a fresh spin on the iconic form. Classic white stools can still be seen serving as tables, ottomans and extra seating. But my favorite iteration is the mirrored variety making appearances in sleek hotel lounges and posh shops where it is left to the guest to decide whether to rest upon it or place a drink on its glistening surface.-via

Door Trends

If you are searching for a door with a difference, look no further than these smashing modern doors by Karim Rashid from Albed. The Ring and Blow door designs are fascinating sculptural doors that will surprise and delight you! The Ring door features a raised area (referred to as a “volcano”) where one would normally expect to find the handle. Within that “volcano” you can find a metal ring which operates the opening and closing of the door when pulled. Equally surprising, the Blow door has a vertical semi-ellipse on one side of the door. This elegant curving handle defies our expectations of a handle with a highly aesthetic alternative. Add these modern doors to your home – contact Albed

Simple Sophistication

Deceptively simple the Hunter Douglas Skyline Gliding Window Panels transform plain windows into chic sophistication. Featuring a series of wide fabric panels, the Hunter Douglas Skyline Gliding Window Panels provide the privacy and atmosphere you desire. With new technologies like a patented dual-channel single track system and an innovative interlocking bottom weights, the Skyline Gliding Window Panels provides a smooth tailored finish. Suitable for a selection of windows including corner windows, bay windows and sliding doors, these modern blinds are available in wide range of fashionable fabrics in different opacities. Featuring fine design details that include custom coloured hardware to coordinate with the unique fabrics, these blinds bring urbane sophistication and style. A fabulous window treatment that protects fine furnishings from sun damage while also using light to create a unique atmosphere, the Skyline Gliding Window Panels by Hunter Douglas bring simple elegance to modern rooms

Happy Thanksgiving

I wish everyone a happy, blessed and safe Thanksgiving~~~

Tis the Season

Designed especially for compact homes, but indisputably adorable in any sized space, this cute wall mounted fireplace makes the most of every corner, every inch. The Miofocus by Focus is a wood burning fireplace design that offers a traditional ambience with modern flair. This contemporary compact fireplace is a simple, unadorned design of 2.5mm steel which mounts to the wall, freeing up valuable floor space. A smoke outlet exits at the rear, so you don’t have to worry about unsightly fixtures and elements spoiling your decor. All you see is what’s meant to be seen – a roaring fire. The look is clean, clutter-free and contemporary, making an ideal addition to minimalist living rooms, earthy dens and cozy bedrooms. Check out this modern wall mounted fireplace at Miofocus.

Tis the season to crank up the heat and the style in your home, with these amazing hanging stoves by Harrie Leenders. The Pharos Interior rotating stove is the latest and greatest from this Netherlands-based company. This open fire stove boasts a modern yet traditional shape that’s fixed to the ceiling, making a stylish statement in the living room, dining room, bedroom or den. A built-in spark screen puts safety first, but style isn’t far behind! This elegant open fire stove is available as a fixed, 60° or 360° rotating design, so you can enjoy an open flame from every angle. The stove pipe length can be customized to suit your ceiling height, so whether your home has cozy low ceilings or grand tall ones, this hanging stove is the perfect fit. Check out these cool rotating stoves at Harrie Leenders.

Bravo/Vado

It’s artistic, it’s functional, and it’s stylish! What more could you possibly want from a shower head? It’s the Sculpture showerhead by Vado! This UK-based brassware design group created an amazing shower head with a capacity to deliver a truly customized shower experience. Boasting six flexible tentacles, the Sculpture shower heads let you twist, twirl, turn and manipulate them into any desired position. “Developing and designing new products is fun and exciting,” says Vado’s says Commercial Director, Sarah Williams. “Sculpture reflects everything that is good about working with designers who continually challenge themselves and think outside the box.” This cool contemporary showerhead can be affixed to the wall of ceiling, taking your custom shower to a new level. Regardless the decor style, your modern bathroom will be amazing with this head installed. Check it out at Vado.

Italian Kitchen Designs

If there were an olympics for design, the Italians would surely take the kitchen category. The country has been producing cutting-edge kitchens since as far back as I can remember (and I’m old). Pedini began designing modern kitchens in 1965, focusing on functionality as much as on form. The company researches the way people use their kitchens, careful to design their cabinets as to minimize stress to the body. Cooking, for those of you who don’t do it, requires repeated motions—a well-designed kitchen should acknowledge this. Any Pedini kitchen pays close attention to ergonmics, and they all look good doing it.
But the Outline Collection, designed by Domenico Paolucci (a name someone should steal if the Sopranos ever comes back to HBO) is particularly striking. With a horizontally-oriented profile, Outline turns the kitchen on its side—and with good reason; while many of us have been married to vertically-oriented cabinetry, it is not the best use of space. Good cooks know that everything should be within reach, and a shelf that’s six feet high is good for very few people. You can further emphasize Outline’s orientation by choosing their grooved drawer fronts, which also feature horizontal lines. If you prefer to keep it minimalist, face the drawers with smooth lacquer or lacquered glass. Any of these materials is available in one of Pedini’s signature “chromatic personalizations,” in other words, “significant flexibility in color choice, innumerable tones of laminate, many shining colors of glass, and wooden doors with different colors and veining.”

All of these materials are 20 mm thick, medium-density balance panels, making them resistant to denting and warping. The finishes also resist fading, so you’ll never lose any of those brilliant colors. The strong lines of Outline are complemented well by contrasting accessories, such as the playful area rug featured on the Pedini website—a composition of circles of varying sizes that brings to mind plates and bubbles (two things one must have in the kitchen).