Daring Green...

After two years of living in our wonderful apartment I've recently decided that I'm finally ready to move on to phase two of the renovation, or rather interior redecoration to be more precise, as we won't be knocking any walls down. Phase one comprised of the necessary tasks one must undertake when buying an already lived in home, a fresh coat of clean wall paint, a retile of what was a once flooded laundry yet never well cleaned, and the replacement of a couple of decayed floor boards. So nothing overtly exciting. 

Now, I'm hoping this next phase will be more exciting, it 's less a 'fix it' phase and more of a design phase. But I'm at a cross roads. It being your own home, and you being the person who can implement any visual idea that you want, it actually makes it hard to know where to begin. Do I put colour on the wall or wallpaper, or what about a mirror to reflect the amazing view? And do I gather beautifully aged recycled wooden furniture or do I invest in ruggedly grungy copper accessories? All these things appeal to me, and maybe all can even work together if well mixed. But I want to be sure to avoid making our humble ninety square metre apartment look like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory...

So here I am, I guess more in a planning phase rather than designing for now. This week I've been exploring the idea of adding some green into the interior. It'd be a colour I've never thought to use before, but I think it could work well if done right and in the right measure. I definitely feel a little out of my comfort zone with green, but these images show just how incredibly well it can be incorporated if one can exercise self control...

Images - all via my pinterest

Architectural short stories by Matthias Jung

Wow! These are by far some of the most impressive images I've come by in terms of rethinking architecture beyond what we see and know of everyday buildings. Imagined and created by German-based graphic designer Matthias Jung, these beautiful creations are comprised of photo material that the designer collects and re-arranges in unexpected ways.

He calls his works 'Architectural short stories', and they really, really are just that! Short stories are often quirky, with unexpected endings, or sometimes no ending at all, leaving us feeling a bit confused and often annoyed because we didn't quite get the 'moral' of the story, or understand what happened. The story didn't finish as we'd hoped, and we feel like a door has been slammed in our face. But despite this, there's a quirkiness and daring to short stories that we love. Short stories float way up high above the norm of what we expect to read and flirt with new concepts and ideas, often ones we would never have found ourselves contemplating. It's like an invigorating dip in the cold ocean for our brain.

So Jung is so spot on by calling this particular work 'Architectural short stories'. These images so throw us out there, well off centre. Like no buildings we've ever seen before, Jung's work asks us to step outside of what we know, so as to dream, smile and dare imagine what a world of such buildings would be like. It's so crazy and convoluted, yet the way the settings have been comprised, it looks so real and tangible. I personally would love a world with such amazingly rich, layered and unique architecture. And now, as I wrap up this post and look over the images again and again and again, I'm genuinely a little sad because I realise that they are only images and not buildings I can explore in the real world...      

 

Source - ignant.de

Images - matthias jung

Paris vue depuis les toits, by Alain Cornu

'Paris vue depuis les toits', translates to 'Paris, as seen from the rooftops'... These majestic photographs are the work of French photographer Alain Cornu. I recently stumbled across his work, as well as an interview with the photographer, on the Vivre Paris website. It's no secret that I am taken aback by all that is Paris. And, I mean,  'literally' taken aback, to when I used to live in this magical city. But one can live in Paris all their life and never attain this secret glimpse of night-time rooftops that Cornu has captured...

My favourite shot is the one just above, with the Sacre Coeur. When I look at this image I just think 'home', because for almost four years of my six spent in Paris I lived just behind this breathtaking church. Beyond my emotional little link, however, the image is nevertheless excellent in its composition. It captures the grandeur of the Sacre Coeur in the background, all while bringing to light the notorious bargain den that is Tati, in all its neon glory. Moreover, I see at least four different stages of life that Cornu has captured, giving this image all that much more depth for the viewer to escape into; the street, the metro line above the street, the high windows of the Tati store, and then the Sacre Coeur in the heavens...   

If you dabble in French, there is a really good interview with the photographer on Vivre Paris. He talks of how he gets access to the rooftops via friends, and friends of friends, because it is really difficult to attain access through official channels, especially during the night. He explains that he chose to capture Paris from its rooftops because he has always loved the mountain, and the relation to being at a height gives him an aspect of danger as well as goose-bumps. He is also asked which is his favourite monument in Paris, to which he responds that it is the Sacre Ceour. While it appears to him as a grandiose cake at first glance, look at it longer and it turns into a beautiful Indian palace... 

Source - vivre paris

Images - vivre paris

Photography - alain cornu 

Related Nest of Pearls post - The sheer magic of Parisian rooftops, by Michael Wolf 

Vila Leopoldina Loft, by Diego Revollo

The above image stopped me in my tracks when I came across it. There was something so original in the canvas that hangs on the wall. The subject's eyes are so piercingly beautiful yet gentle, and the softness of her fringe so girl-like. I also wonder what she's listening to on her big head-phones... Beyond the uniqueness of the canvas itself, the photograph of the interior also has a great composition. The framed image plays with symmetry and gradient at the same time. The symmetry comes from the canvas' reflection in the coffee table, and the gradient of colour comes from the downward journey from the light creamy textured walls, to the grey minimalist sofa, through to the dark purple rug. It takes a special eye to make so many visual elements work in a space so seamlessly.

And the space in question is Vila Leopoldina Loft, by Brazilian architect and interior designer Diego Revollo. The 70 square-metre home was specially designed for the owner, who is an actor, with theatrical accents such as curtains playing a key role in the space. With limited use of doors, the curtains are used to divide the spaces where needed.

There is so much care and attention to detail that lives within the design of this home, and I'll leave you to enjoy the photos by yourself. But there's one thing that I found witty and quite playful in terms of visual repetition that I wanted to mention, and that is the reference to the swirl. In the living room area Leopoldina has used the Wiggle Side Chair by Frank Ghery, and then in the bedroom above the bed, hangs an image that looks into the spirally insides of a building. In an interior mostly dominated by straight lines and sharp edges, I love this subtle relationship between two soft and swirly elements, which complement each other... 

Source - design-milk.com

Images - design-milk.com

Related Nest of Pearls post - Paris apartment dreaming, with Paola Navone