Timber Kitchen

Here is a recently completed family kitchen that I enjoyed working on earlier this year. At our initial meeting, my client stated that she was not after a white kitchen with minimal lines for her villa home - she said this was not her or character of the house. She later explained what she was after was 'Rock'n'Roll Nana' - a great description, right? She is an artist who wanted a kitchen that looked great, wasn't too precious for her creative family and to have her collection of teacups and objects on display.
This is the result - a dark stained timber kitchen with touches of white and vintage style cabinet handles. In contrast we used unstained timber for the two display shelves to highlight the collections. The bench top is stainless steel around the working area and the island is completed with a white high pressure laminate. It was great to visit the kitchen today and see the 'life' that it possesses.

Vintage style pull handles

Industrial bar stools for the island

Square white gloss tiles for the splash back

Contrast between the dark stained and unstained timber.

Photographs by Charlotte Minty.

A Minimal Home in Venice Beach, California.

It was just over a year ago that I stopped over in Santa Monica, Los Angeles  for a few days on my way to Italy. I stayed with my architect friend, Stephanie who was a great host and showed me around her cool little neighbourhood.
One night we had dinner with a fellow architect friend of hers, Don Dimester and his wife Lisa, who invited us back to their Venice Beach home that evening -  and it was this place that you see here. I was excited to see it again when it was recently featured in Dwell magazine and to be reminded of my visit there.
Don designed this duplex for himself and his brother, Dennis (who I also met and asked me to keep talking so he could laugh at my accent). Read the article here to hear Don's story and how this unique home came about.

A dramatic stairwell going up the roof deck

Large rolling doors are used to open or close off spaces

Dennis' kitchen with sliding doors

The communal roof deck

 

Photographs by Eric Staudenmaier via Dwell.

New Work - Residential Furnishings

Here I am finally getting around to taking some photos of recent work! This residence has been an on-going collaboration with Minty Architecture and Design, ie. my architect sister. We have worked with these clients over several years through different design and building stages - it has been great seeing how this home has progressed. Earlier this year, I worked with the clients on their furnishings for the dining and living areas - here are the results.

Photographs by Charlotte Minty.

Hotel SP34, Copenhagen

A friend of mine and her family are travelling to Europe next week to visit Berlin and Copenhagen. So naturally I thought of her when I saw this stylish boutique hotel, SP34 on Remodelista this morning.
Recently renovated by architect/designer Morten Hedegaard, the SP34 re-opened to the public in April this year and is located in Copenhagen's Latin Quarter. I like the simple but cosy interiors and it is the details that make it unique. Look at the individual bed head boards, the leather cushions to lean back on, the stylish mid century furniture and unique lighting. Right, adding this to the bucket list...

Photographs by Brochner Hotels via Remodelista.

United Nations' North Delegates Lounge in New York

 

This fantastic space is the North Delegates' Lounge at the United Nations building based in New York - and it was recently renovated by architect Rem Koolhaas and Dutch designer Hella Jongerius. Along with a team of Dutch creatives, Koolhaas and Jongerius aimed to create a space of both comfort and professional informality. The history of the space was carefully edited by the team and the existing mezzanine was removed to open up the view to the East river. Jongerius created the bead curtain from hand knotted yarn and 30,000 porcelain beads. I think the space looks great - read more about the project here.

 



Photographs by Frank Oudeman via Dezeen.

Modern Melbourne Home

Robson Rak Architects is fast becoming another Australian architecture firm that I am regularly admiring (see this previous post of another stunning Melbourne house they worked on).
This time, they collaborated on this residential renovation and extension with interior designer, Susie Cohen of Made by Cohen. This modern home is in the line up for Houses Award 2014 and was in the  Residential Design short list for Australian Interior Design Awards 2014. It is not hard to see why. Read and see more here.

Photographs by Shannon McGrath via yellowtrace.