Displaying posts labeled "Wood"

This modern extension by Melbourne architects Fooman followed the client’s brief for a sustainable forever home. “The design was approached in this context; to be no bigger than required and enduring … Connection was a theme that encompassed planning and detail. A new informal side entry brings inhabitants and friends directly into the kitchen from the street. The living area joins the parents and kids zones. The expanse of glazing and detailing mitigates the distinction between indoors and out.” Timber beams and columns feature throughout along with shelving reminiscent of plumber’s pipe and scaffolding. Robust, sustainable and tactile.

Photography by Willem-Dirk du Toit.

Hopefully you caught this post on Tuesday of a glimpse into an iconic apartment here in Ottawa recently transformed by designer Henrietta Southam. It featured the more public spaces and in this post I will share the bedroom and bathrooms. The bedroom is a unique and serene oasis and the creation of a headboard through some drywall cutouts is absolutely stunning. Also stunning are those french doors! In the bathrooms are something that can be found in likely every project of Henrietta’s and has become a signature of her style – floor to ceiling tile. Also worthy of noting how in the master bathroom, Henrietta added in tile strips in more elegant, expensive tile to add some glitz to the simpler main tile. A genius touch. Again, you can find details on this project in this article, and photos by Marc Fowler (Metropolis Studio). Thank you for sharing with us Henrietta!

I was delighted to receive an email the other day from a friend and arguably the most talented designer here in Ottawa, Henrietta Southam, on a project she recently completed. This apartment is iconic in a few ways – it was previously owned by an iconic Canadian singer, and her love of Asian-style architecture and Hindu temples was and still is evident throughout and is unlike anything I’ve ever seen in this city. And lastly, the views of the Ottawa River and the Parliament buildings from its windows are unparalleled. I had seen photos of this home in its previous incarnation and what Henrietta has done to “de-wood” some of the structure and make it more contemporary and less temple-like is astonishing. (To note: the sale of the apartment included the contents but there was a caveat that nothing was to be sold. Henrietta helped the new homeowner decide on what should stay and what should be gifted away). Against all odds in a home with so much dark woods and global sensibilities, blue and silver were chosen as primary colour and metal (Henrietta’s creativity knows no bounds) and hence the name Cloud Nine was coined. Henrietta wrote a beautiful article on this home for Luxe Magazine which I would highly recommend having a read, and she shared with me some of the photos by photographer Marc Fowler (Metropolis Studio). I’ll share more on Thursday.

I have always dreamt of having some type of greenery/outdoor space indoors. With cold seasons here lasting about 8 months a year, we Canadians crave some life during these months and having a year round space to grow a tree would be amazing. Whoever lives in this award-winning house in Toronto that has an indoor courtyard is VERY fortunate. Designed by Atelier Sun. Because of the limited lot area with a request of a large scale house, the interior designer immediately thought about an indoor courtyard to bring greenness, light and shadow inside the house. A double height ceiling interior courtyard was at the center of the house with a series of landscapes and bamboo to integrate outdoor nature with indoor dwelling. The kitchen, dining room, living room, tea room and study room were placed and stacked around the central courtyard to give users visual access. Rooms are stacked and arranged around the central courtyard, creating a vertical village like spatial relationship while providing a certain degree of privacy. Stairs were located adjacent to the courtyard, providing access to all floor levels. Family members can communicate across the courtyard and maintain visibility of each other. With large windows placed at four sides of the building, and the skylight on top of the central courtyard, this stacked spatial planning enables light to stream into the entire house.