Displaying posts from May, 2012

Kerrie Kelly is an interior designer based in Northern California whose designs caught my eye while surfing the internet. Kerrie and her team of designers at Kerrie Kelly Design Lab have got what it takes – with various design styles in their portfolio they’re pretty great at just about anything – from a bit traditional to more modern/contemporary. Kerrie and some of her projects may look familiar as she’s been a featured designer and has consulted with several DIY and HGTV Network’s “Crashers” shows. The garage conversion below (after the jump) is an amazing transformation – and it had me laughing. You NEVER see garage conversions up here in Canada. The garages of Canadians are precious and sacred spaces that save us from having to scrape ice and snow off our cars (which on bad days can take a half hour). 

Some of you may remember Belma’s home in Sarajevo I blogged almost a year ago. She contacted me recently to share an exhibition called Bela Vida Gallery in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bela Vida Gallery represents a space which offers a dream home concept to its visitors. It does not just look alike, it can be felt, touched and perceived. Oasis or a perfect home, completely different from similar interior exhibits in the region, is placed in Importanne Center in Sarajevo, since 16th of February. Nowadays, when there is a lot of uncertainty and everyday changes, it is challenging to look for enough energy and to say out loud: Life is beautiful!!! Therefore, slogan of Bela Vida is celebrating everything beautiful, inspirational and qualitative in lives of all of us. By entering the gallery space, whose interior will be completely rearranged monthly, visitors will be able to experience all rooms of one stylish apartment. In that space, they can walk, sit, feel the scent, taste delicacies, get a free advice and simply enjoy the different interior cultures. It is a great honor for me to present you our May exhibition – Veni, vidi, viking. May is the month of Scandinavian design – with furniture and decorations from around the country. What a cool concept – I’d totally check out an exhibition like this here in Ottawa each month to see what designs they came up with.

Nestled amongst the trees on Barrier Island, New Zealand is this sustainably built home by Crosson, Clarke, Carnachan. Opening out to the site it embraces the landscape, borrowing its beauty. It is a simple home but its simplicity sits strongly with the majesty of the surrounds. External walls mimic the tree trunks while walls of windows dissolve the barrier between inside and out.

I’m slowly coming to the conclusion that New Zealanders build the best beach houses. This is a big concession coming from an Australian. We pride ourselves on understanding the beach culture and our architects are some of the world’s best but it just seems that the Kiwi’s just do it better with the bach. For those of you who don’t know bach is the kiwi for beach house. But it means more than just the building. It’s the memories. It’s the summer days and the salt spray and the barbeques and the fun. It’s about summer rituals and roughing it and making do and fishing and wet swimsuits and sandy towels. Even when it’s a luxury bach. It’s stunning but it is still not overly precious. After all it really is about the sand and sea and the view and those long days with family and friends. A series of connected pavilions on a dramatic site at Kuaotunu by Auckland based architects Crosson, Clarke, Carnachan.

Check out this swanky pad by Toronto’s Prototype Design Lab: Miami Loft was designed for a celebrity client. This residence has incredible spanning views of the local beach front on two sides and has a bespoke quality to its interior design. Juxtaposition between the more traditional design features and the more modern and sleek components such as the bedroom media unit and master bathroom vanity come together elegantly in this project.  This characteristic also renders the space dreamlike as well as a perfect entertainment space. Every element has been custom designed to the smallest detail to fit the particular needs of our client and his desires and habits. SWEET!!!

(Photos by Ben Rahn/A-Frame)