Displaying posts labeled "Modern"

Believe it or not this 90 m2 apartment in Barcelona’s Gracia district was once 6 dark and pokey rooms before its transformation by Spanish-German architectural design firm YLAB Arquitectos into light filled zones full of clever doors that open and shut revealing or hiding the functions of daily living. As a girl who loves a cupboard or rather what can be concealed away in a cupboard this small apartment is ticking all my boxes. Not to mention that gallery garden. Sublime.

Finished your Christmas shopping and baking and wondering how to spend your Sunday afternoon? How about relaxing in a pink booth with a coffee at Pastel Rita in Montréal’s neighbourhood of Mile End. Designed by Appareil Architecture, this 1500 sq ft space is home to a café, artisan workshop and boutique. The colour scheme of green, pink and yellow is so warm and energetic. I’ll have to check this place out next time I’m vintage shopping on St. Laurent.

Photos: Félix Michaud, This Is The Place I Was Telling You About

A keen eye for detail, a heightened sense of luxury, carefully considered minimal style. It’s lean luxe. It may seem very simple but you know it’s all about the clever design creating the effortless style and subtle sophistication. French director, art director and magazine editor Fabian Baron’s residence by JG Neukomm Architecture.

This is designer Mark Zeff‘s getaway in the Hamptons. He was inspired by the simple form and straightforward construction of farm buildings but by adding black to the exterior and some dark stained wood walls and concrete floors in the interior (among other things) it is decidedly modern. It’s sleek, understated, refined, and pretty much perfect.

From a forgotten house in the suburbs of Paris, lost to years of neglect, to a contemporary family home threefold in size.

“It’s difficult to imagine the spectacular transformation this house has undergone. At the request of its new owners, a young couple with two kids, the renovation involved a downstairs extension and roof elevation, increasing the size of the house from a meager 40m2 to a generous 140m2.

The first step, in order to start afresh, involved removing all the existing ‘lean-to’ annexes, which had been added over the years without much coherence. A new extension was then built to the left side of the house, to preserve space for the garden to the right. The new kitchen being located in the extension downstairs, which gives directly onto the the garden.

In place of an old veranda, the exterior wall was brought forward in order to align the facade accross the width of the house. The previous small and dark living room becoming a large, open-plan living area bathed in natural light. Full length patio doors give directly onto the garden. A contemporary woodland wall decor to the rear of the living room dialogues with the garden. Upstairs, the roof extension creating a 2nd floor houses a spacious parental suite.

The exterior facade follows traditional 19th century Parisian century design codes, with Persian-style shutters, cast iron balcony railings and a grey slate roof. The large windows, their painted black frames, as well as the wooden terrace, brings a contemporary edge.”

Brilliant transformation like this give so much hope to those of us living in old houses in dire need of renovation. From ugly duckling to beautiful swan through grit and determination, a healthy budget and the talent of a fabulous architectural firm like Camille Hermand Architectures. Look out for the before photos below of the complete change the dingy and dank to a bright, light-filled family home.

Photography by Jennifer Sath