Coastal Style

Book to Know:'Marrakesh by Design'

While the love of Morocco has drawn travelers to the country for centuries, its distinctive home aesthetic — a combination of Middle Eastern romanticism and French formalism — has arguably become the nation’s greatest ambassador around the globe.

Maryam Montague wasn’t immune to the nation’s appeal. She moved to Morocco with her family for what she thought was a temporary stint; 10 years later, she owns a boutique resort in Marrakesh called Peacock Pavilions and has generated Marrakesh by Design, a fascinating guide to Moroccan house design.

Filled with stunning photography of actual antiques houses, Montague’s recently published book creates the style accessible through a helpful breakdown of crucial design elements — color, finishes, designs and much more — and how-to guides.

Montague’s approach is contemporary: While imparting a profound appreciation for its enduring beauty of Morocco’s traditional architecture and craftsmanship, she provides hints on how the modern house can incorporate touches of Moroccan flair, from installing banquette-style seating in the living space to composing fashionable outdoor lounges. Here is some of her penetration to utilize on your own house.

Artisan Books

Use geometric patterns and hot colors. The traditional Moroccan color palette is composed of warm, saturated colors in blue, red, brown and green, and accents in black and white. Since Islam historically depended upon depictions of humans and animals in art, Moroccan interiors display a dizzying selection of geometric and floral patterns. The tiles are among the best examples of Moroccan artisans’ genius with pattern. Utilize bold-patterned tile as a surefire way to add drama to any space.

Hint: Moroccans love to draw focus on their ceilings, often making a room feel loftier than it truly is. Painted rafters, stenciled designs and plasterwork are some of the gorgeous tactics to ensure that people look upward.

Artisan Books

Layer, and layer more. As Montague states,”Moroccan style is not for the minimalist” The exuberant mixture of colors and patterns in this comfy nook shows the Moroccan bohemian style to complete effect. To do this look, heap a number of fabrics in your bed or sofa and top with a cacophony of cushions. Lay a colorful rug over a patterned flooring. Bear in mind, more is more.

Hint: Poufs are not only a fantastic decorative element; they provide seating and extra surface space in a pinch.

Artisan Books

Produce a Moroccan salon. Publish a low-slung sofa having an eye rug along with a smattering of tea tables, then add floor cushions and poufs. Several hanging arenas grouped as shown here also is a popular Moroccan layout flourish.

Hint: The walls and ceiling of the living room are all covered in tadelakt, a lime-based surface application that infuses rooms using a soft color and keeps walls without any dust. Tadelakt is ideal for those who are desiring to bring a desert languor into their property.

Artisan Books

Install banquette-style seating for small living spaces . Banquettes, as Montague describes,”are custom pieces designed to match a room’s particular dimensions, maximizing distance and providing comfortable seating for a lot of people.” Moroccan rooms are usually limited in size and slim too, therefore banquettes evolved since the predominant approach to configure a comfortable living room. Turn a cramped living space into a cozy oasis by providing a corner with banquette seats, colorful pillows and a plush rug.

Artisan Books

Mix antiques with modern pieces. Moroccan accessories along with clean-lined modern furniture work surprisingly well together. Here, Saarinen tables and seats upgrade a Moroccan room while keeping the focus on the lovely colors and craftmanship of the glass Cabinets, wood armoire and Beni Ouarain carpeting.

Artisan Books

Insert subtle Moroccan touches. A bit Moroccan flair might be all you need to revitalize a space. At Montague’s Peacock Pavilions office, she recently constructed unique shelves from ornamental cinder blocks and wood planks. She stenciled her simple file boxes and folders using geometric designs. And extending the white and black color scheme, she decorated the floor with calligraphy.

Connected: 5 Smashing White and Black Rooms

Artisan Books

Style a Moroccan-inspired outdoor terrace. Along with getting internal courtyards, Moroccans spend time al fresco on rooftop terraces outfitted for eating and lounging. Make your outdoor area a cozy place to spend hours reading or connecting with loved ones by preparing a Moroccan salon. Produce shade by installing a canvas kayak or a rattan roof. Drama is added using a wicker lamp.

Hint: Line hurricane lanterns or votives along a face to serve as decoration throughout the day. In the night, lit lanterns provide a romantic glow.

Artisan Books

Marrakesh by Design, by Maryam Montague – $29.95

More:
Moroccan Style

Bold Moroccan Design for Today’s Interiors

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Coastal Style

New Classics: The 9093 Teakettle

In 1985 The Cosby Show was number one in the evaluations, the Live Aid concert happened, Back to the upcoming was the highest-grossing movie, I was wearing a very short, asymmetrical New Wave hairdo and Michael Graves became the first American designer to create an object for Alessi. It was a smart teakettle designed for mass production, and thus far it’s outsold every other Alessi item. It is a slick design with a whimsical bird whistle at the end of the spout. You’d be amazed at the selection of kitchen fashions it fits right into; have a look below while I do the math on how many poor hair trends its own style has outlasted (really big perms came next) …

ALESSI

Alessi 9093 Kettle – $184

The teakettle’s layout gives a postmodern wink; it’s a slick mirrored-steel kettle of quite careful geometry and proportions, but then it’s this practical blue plastic handle letting you know that it’s OK to touch this part, along with a red cartoonish bird that screeches at you if the water is prepared. I wonder if those colour choices were Graves’ way of injecting a small bit of USA to the iconic Italian company’s product lineup.

Old World Kitchens & Custom Cabinets

This kitchen seems as if it could have been inspired by Graves’ kettle, with its stainless steel elements and gorgeous use of blue.

A+B KASHA Designs

The kettle is right at home being one of the only cosmetic objects in a kitchen that is minimalist.

Mal Corboy Design

Holly Marder

The kettle consists of 18/10 polished stainless steel and measures 8 1/2 inches in diameter and 9 inches high. The tapered design is efficient for boiling water fast.

Mauricio Nava Design, LLC

Ronan Rose Roberts Architects

Additionally, it works well in modern kitchens filled with warm wood accents.

Kindred Construction Ltd..

A shiny steel backsplash reflects the kettle here. Another new classic we’ve explored recently will be the chairs in this kitchen. They’re Hat Trick Chairs with a starchitect and product-designer colleague of Graves, Frank Gehry.

Rusk Renovations

The 9093 also adds a pop of charm charm to transitional kitchens.

Archer & Buchanan Architecture, Ltd..

Reico Kitchen & Bath

The kettle holds its own at a country-style kitchen perhaps as it’s a tiny critter atop its spout.

Ike Kligerman Barkley

Birdseye Design

The holding-its-own statement is true whether the kettle is in a room with full size country charm or a single with subtle country touches, such as this one. Chances are, one of these would work in your kitchen also; at 28 years old, it’s the most popular teakettle found in kitchen photographs.

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Coastal Style

Interior Materials Get Exceptional Effects Treatment

Interior surfaces — walls, ceilings, floors — are usually thought of as simple canvases where other substances are applied; painted drywall is the most apparent example. However, the following photographs demonstrate that more substantial stuff can be used indoors to create exceptional surfaces and spaces within a home. Finally the focus is on the consequences generated by using their articulation, not on the substances themselves.

Related story: Exterior Materials: Texture Talk

Schwartz and Architecture

OK, what’s this? An outlet cover gone crazy? It’s really a freestanding screen that acts as a guardrail on one side of a stair. The following photograph shows it in context.

Schwartz and Architecture

Produced by Schwartz and Architecture with consultant SUM, the screen is a billowing plastic wall whose expression was completely shaped with computers. Different-size rectangular openings are turned right into a grid which undulates to create a vertical counterpoint into the timber treads.

Rossington Architecture

Think porosity involving a stair and different parts of the home demands complex design and consultants to pull it off? Not necessarily, as this simple wall using spaced slats illustrates. I could observe the spacing of the slats varied to add interest and also to let more light and views between the stair and the adjacent room.

Schwartz and Architecture

Also by Schwartz and Architecture is the toilet renovation, an all-white environment which receives some feel in the shape of bowed tiles in the shower. The fitting grout gives the walls a distinctive monolithic look.

Island Stone

A similar monolithic look is found in this wall faced in rock with tiles offset in a relief pattern. The capacity for shadows is highlighted from the floor lights installed beside the wall.

Resolution: 4 Architecture

I’ve always been a lover of exterior stuff showing up indoors. Such is the case with the cement-board panels in this home by Resolution: 4 Architecture, in which an exterior volume is clad in the material. The other exterior surface is timber, echoed in the handrail that is propped upon a white metallic bracket secured to the panels.

Know more about cement boards

CAST architecture

In this mid-20th-century renovation by Cast architecture, I enjoy the juxtaposition of both old wood and new handrail and bracket. Both new bits are articulated with boxy borders, fitting into the house’s contemporary style.

Hufft Projects

At just shy of 8,000 square feet, there is plenty of room in the Curved House for Hufft Projects to experiment with substances. One of the more unique applications is that this etched and cut-steel box-out. I am not sure what purpose it serves — a radiator cover comes to mind — but it sure is beautiful.

Brennan + Company Architects

Corrugated metal on the interior? Yes, really. Brennan + Company Architects created an interior”street” in this renovation of an old street house. The corrugated metal is juxtaposed with different substances to let off each room the hallway stick out.

jones | haydu

Continuing with metal, here is an improvement by jones | haydu that yells steel into its differently tiles and wood palette. Steel grating can be utilized for the second-floor hallway, allowing light to filter down into the lower level and make the inclusion more spacious. Simply wipe your shoes before you walk on it.

SEE MATERIALS INC..

Built-ins are a great chance to do interesting things using substances, especially where we interact with them. The openings in these closet doors are simple, yet they clearly say,”tug.”

Laidlaw Schultz architects

The color and texture of those timber cabinets are quite rich. However, what stands out is how the construction was carefully planned so the grain proceeds across the different panels. Horizontal reveals follow the direction of the grain, both countered by the projecting pulls at the lower portion of these panels.

Mell Lawrence Architects

My ideabook on exterior stuff finished with Mell Lawrence’s cast-in-place concrete studio, so this one does exactly the same, illustrating how the interior and exterior finishes are basically identical. While the scaly feel from outside is flattened inside, the horizontal lines and the various holes are consistent, furthering the belief that the studio has been carved out of a monolithic solid.

More:
Inspiring Materials: Slate Tile
Today’s Concrete: Warm and Beautiful

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Coastal Style

So Your Design Is: Japanese

What it is: Japanese interior decorating is rooted in traditions that have been around for millennia. Guided by a longstanding canon of symbols and beliefs, it upholds the ideals of harmony, balance and order, and puts a high value on the beauty of the natural world.

Why it works: Japanese style conveys a sense of purity and integrity that’s like a balm to our frazzled lives. It’s ever so slightly exotic and mysterious, yet comforting at precisely the exact same time.

You will enjoy it if… You would rather have a plate of soba noodles than a bowl of fettuccine. Your shampoo smells like cherry flowers. You rely on the sound of trickling water to soothe you to sleep. Your choice for movie night is Lost in Translation — again. You have exchanged your hefty German cleavers for lightweight santoku knives.

Mark Brand Architecture

Style Secret: Serenity
If there’s one phrase which sums up Japanese style, it’s Zen — a Japanese sect focused on meditation. Interiors which reflect this influence whisper of contemplation, balance, peace. Lines are simple, vistas unobstructed, light abundant and the general feel calm.

East meets West: Even if the bones of the area aren’t rigorously Japanese, you can approximate the look by peeling down. Strip your distance to the essentials: Pack away clutter, undress walls, get rid of superfluous furnishings. Arrange what’s left in a way that keeps an open, flowing sensibility.

Tracy Murdock Allied ASID

Design Secret: Shoji Screens
Shoji screens, a conventional element of Japanese architecture, are constructed of translucent paper (or in the modern world, plastic or glass ) anchored by a grid of pure wood. Because distance in Asian homes tends to be at a premium, shoji screens frequently slide open and shut instead of swinging out.

East meets West: you’re able to translate shoji screens for all sorts of different applications: windows, kitchen cabinets, room dividers and more. The key: Do not obscure them with accessories or furniture — you’ll block the light which filters and mar their austere beauty.

Feinmann, Inc..

Style Secret: Natural Colors
Nature has an immense influence on Japanese style, and the palette is pulled in the world around usinspired by earth, wood and stone. Use neutral, subtle colors which don’t fall at extreme ends of the spectrum. Think creamy whites instead of stark ones, espresso browns rather than dark, pale and midtone forests, and subdued greens and grays.

East meets West: If you long for a daring stroke of color in a Japanese inside, you can pull it off — carefully. Limit yourself to one or two hues, in very limited focal points, or else you risk upsetting the balance that’s so vital to Japanese layout. As an example, you might group a few sculptural red vases on a mantel or strew deep blue floor pillows in the living area.

Jeffrey Gordon Smith Landscape Architecture

Design Secret: Water Features
Japanese style emphasizes strong connections with nature, and water — from bubbling fountains to rushing streams — helps create a tranquil atmosphere. Whether they’re in an inside room or an exterior living space, water features bring a subtly dramatic note that can’t help but catch attention.

East meets West: A fountain isn’t the only means to bring flowing water inside. Try out a freestanding or built-in water wall, a trough which recirculates an indoor-outdoor rain shower. Or get creative and select artwork that depicts flowing waves or water — it’s the next best thing to the actual wet material.

Tracy Stone AIA

Design Secret: Plants
Introducing a touch of living greenery infuses a Japanese-style inside with energy. Pick traditional plants such as bonsai and bamboo, potted in sleek, minimalist containers made of wood, rock or another organic material. Keep the palette focused — green foliage is much more suitable than the usual bounty of colorful blooms.

East meets West: Want to venture outside classic Japanese plants? Bring in specimens which match the character’s sleek, minimalist look: horsetail, ornamental grasses and much more. Or research ikebana, the time-honored art of flower arranging (and there’s no shame in getting the gentleman pinch-hit if you’re all thumbs when it comes to floral design).

cathy Chilton

Style Secret: Rocks and Stones
There’s that link with nature again. Rocks are central to Japanese style, and they’re most commonly found in conventional rock gardens. Smooth, polished stones, such as river stones, best match the serene and fluid feel of a Japanese distance.

East meets West: By all means put in a rock garden to your landscape, but expand the use of stones to your inside also. Use them to accent tile in a bathroom, as a flooring surface or even as a wall covering.

BiglarKinyan Design Planning Inc..

Style Secret: Tatami Mats
Made of woven rushes, tatami mats would be the most bizarre Japanese floor covering, and they symbolize Japanese style in a way that few other items can. They are minimalist and sleek, helping ground the distance in calmness.

Traditionally, tatami mats have been arranged in very particular sizes and patterns according to the measurements of the area, however there’s no need to adhere to old principles — select the mat which works best for the area.

East meets West: Believe past the Ground. Hung on the wall in precisely the exact same way that you might mount a rug or quilt, tatami mats punctuate a space with quiet tone and feel. You might even use them as table runners or coverings.

Michael Fullen Design Group

Design Secret: Sculptural Lighting
Natural lighting drives Japanese style, but fixtures with clean profiles and minimalist lines stand in following the sun sets. Herea Japanese cricket lamp hangs pendant style over a floating nightstand, rather than a more conventional table lamp. You could also pick iconic fixtures which evoke the soul of Japanese decoration, such as the Nelson necklace lamp.

East meets West: Hanging paper lanterns are quintessentially Japanese, but think beyond garden parties and kids’ rooms. Lots of specialty and chain retailers (think Ikea, Crate & Barrel, West Elm) carry simple paper lamps which combine nicely with the Japanese aesthetic.

Much more’So Your Design Is’:
Conventional | Arts & Crafts | Hollywood Regency | Rustic | Old World | French Country | Transitional | Contemporary | Midcentury Modern | Industrial | Eclectic | Coastal | Cottage | Preppy | Art Deco | Southwestern

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Coastal Style

Modern Icons: The Anziano Chair

This modern classic seat relies upon a seat originally designed by the Greeks sometime around 400 B.C.. They were called Klismos chairs, and they regained popularity in the 19th century when classical architecture and design came back into favour. The seat we’re celebrating today, the Anziano seat, takes this real classic and mashes it up with modern materials and methods. The end result is a gorgeous piece with classic Greek roots, mid-century modern flair, along with a futuristic feel that will endure for several years.

Introducing the Anziano Chair: This pair of ivory lacquer chairs with black legs dancing atop a coordinating checkerboard floor.

Mark English Architects

The seat in the corner of this chamber is a Klismos chair more in the tradition of the original Greek chairs. Attributes include.

Donghia

Anziano Chair | Donghia

This modern interpretation of this Klismos by John Hutton for Donghia uses bent timber, simplifies matters using a plain T-back, also celebrates the form of the legs using an outline crafted of tubular steel. Hutton designed the seat in 1989, and it is already a part of the Brooklyn Museum’s Decorative Arts Collection.

Options include organic, warm cherry, brown mahogany, ebonized, ivory lacquer, midnight leather along with cognac leather.

LDa Architecture & Interiors

The combination of wood and metal coordinates nicely with various elements of this kitchen; the mild wood increases the mixture of timber finishes, while the dark legs play the cupboard dark and hardware windowpanes.

Eleven Interiors

An all-black pair of chairs retains the dining area from being consumed by this mild and open space.

A pair of warm, cherry Anziano chairs paired with a very simple farmhouse table produces a pleasing and unexpected combination.

Eminent Interior Layout

While based upon an ancient design, the seat works well into the near future, fitting in perfectly with contemporary elements.

Cathy Schwabe Architecture

When dining, a complete collection is never mandatory; this built-in dining bench and three chairs provide for an assortment of dining adventures.

Sroka Design, Inc..

Not only for diningroom, the Anziano makes a great occasional chair in a living room, den or study, and doesn’t take up much visual distance.

Eleven Interiors

It also introduces its striking shape to this sleek and luxurious bedroom.

Curious? Locate a showroom near you which carries Anziano Chairs

More: Modern Icons: The Cherner Chair
Modern Icons: Eero Saarinen’s Executive Chair
Icon: The Beautiful, Classic Windsor Chair

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Coastal Style

Spectacular Prairie Retreat

A simple idea executed well may lead to a number of the most tasteful and evocative compositions. Whether architecture, style or perhaps cuisine, inspired and creative restraint drives focused designs that don’t rely on superfluous adornments because of their own substance. Instead, every choice strengthens the central theme of a strong idea. For architect Matthew Hufft, a client’s natural fascination with curves sparked the concept of her house, leading to a house that accommodates its owners while revealing unique uses of the curve during.

Hufft Projects

This isn’t a job that began with a name and cried all layout decisions to follow in its wake. By comparison, states Hufft, the design process is really what dictated the shape and form of the house, like a sculpture. What starts as a good concept produces a job that neatly joins all attributes. Often, it is just after the design is finished that the theme clearly show itself to Hufft.

Hufft Projects

When Hufft was hired to the mind the design of the house, the family had purchased this two-acre plot in the center of a 13-lot subdivision in Springfield, Mo.. The house has been designed to be inward focused, to accommodate future growth on all four sides.

Ultimately, the customers decided to purchase the entire development and conserve the surrounding open space. While the house had been designed, this abandoned boundless possibilities for its landscape.

The landscape design of the Curved House starkly contrasts the hyper customized and designed nature of the structure. Landscape architect John Galloway planted the remaining 13 acres of property with native prairie grasses.

A natural berm planted with sumac trees lines the approach to the house. As the trees mature, they will create a good screen along the entry road, making the house visible only through Galloway’s aperture installment.

Although the courtyard no longer functions as the only landscape feature of the house, the demand for this central core is equally as vital as when it was designed. It anchors the house and the customers’ place within the landscape. Rather than using this room as an exterior escape, it may serve as sheltered refuge to get a house that drifts in 13 acres of prairie.

Hufft Projects

While the courtyard was intended to be enjoyed outdoors, it was also necessary to think about the climate of Missouri prohibits being outside yearlong. Planted directly in the center of the house is a flowering dogwood — Missouri’s state tree. Despite harsh weather, the progression of the tree during the entire year will connect the interior with all the landscape.

Hufft Projects

In tune with Hufft’s design philosophy, the Curved House elegantly reaffirms its theme throughout the house. The shelves that line the hallways hug the contours created by exterior walls.

The steps to the pool gracefully arc in unison.

Even right angles are rounded out.

A unique aspect of Hufft’s workplace is that along with a full service design studio, in addition they possess an in-house fabrication shop — making many of these ultra-custom facets possible.

The customers’ interest in sustainability and low-energy options prompted Hufft to implement alternate energy sources for powering the house, as well as using local and reclaimed materials to construct it. The entire pool cabana is powered by photovoltaic cells, and a geothermal system on the property cools and heats the house.

The light gray color of the locally-sourced Spanish tile roof reflects solar heat, keeping the house cool. Neighborhood black Endicott brick using a Manganese finish creates a superbly subtle sheen which nicely highlights the curves of the walls. Oiled Ipe wood, a sustainable substance, accents the brick, richly contrasting the green of the prairie grass.

Hufft Projects

Abundant natural light fills the house, which lowers the demand for artificial light and excess energy intake.

Hufft Projects

Commercial-grade aluminum windows complement the aesthetic of the house and require next-to-no maintenance.

Hufft Projects

Low-VOC finishes were used through the house. In the kitchen, the cabinets are reclaimed and the countertops are glass.

Hufft Projects

Hufft designs distances meant to inspire, but ultimately he intends to create houses that actually make you feel comfy — from the inside out. The Curved House is filled with warmth and light, and leaves you feeling as if you’ve just had a big breath of fresh air.

See more photos of the Curved House

Photography by Mike Sinclair

More:
Stunning Berkeley Courtyard House
Home Designs: The U-Shaped House Plan
The Case for Interior Courtyards

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