Inspirational spaces

In Yuen Long, Hong Kong, a 452-square foot residence is designed to accommodate a young couple, one of their mothers, and their pets: a cat and a parrot. The home features transforming furniture and nooks and crannies that are perfect for the pets. A bench by the door doubles as a litter box.

“5” candleholders by So by Sonja-Taking the pentagon shape as her inspiration, Sonja Björk Ragnarsdóttir masterminded a five-sided puzzle of sorts with candle holders for her own brand, So by Sonja. "It's impossible to create a straight line with them. But placed together they will always create an interesting shape," she said. Ragnarsdóttir's "5" candle holder uses neither wool, wood nor stone but rather the lesser known but equally Icelandic material of aluminum, manufactured in large quantities by the island nation. By applying autumnal colors (the designer's favorite time of year) the cold metal seems if not natural then at least as reaching out to the land from which it was born. Photo by: Tiffany Orvet

Works on so many levels.

British artist Hannah Sawtell and technologist Avi Flombaum created sawbaum.com, where users can create visual collages using multiple vine streams. "We wanted it to look like a visual comic book, with overlapping panels," said Flombaum. "And we wanted it to be fun!" Photo courtesy Rhizome.

The cabinet opens up like so.

“I simply was drawn to the notion of concrete. So much great modern architecture has made use of it,” Blauvelt says.

The Monte House spans just two floors and 452 square feet. The firm employed folding doors with operable louvers of regional cedar wood (seen here in the upper window) to allow the occupants to control their level of contact between the interior and the exterior.

An ever-so-dashing shot of Wesley Crusher.

The north façade of the Kukje Art Gallery by SO – IL. At a distance one might believe the chain is a hard-edged exterior to the building. Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Iwan Baan.

In a narrow residual area between the breezeway and the house's northern elevation, Cohen created a so-called "skinny space," with a changing area accessible to the outdoor shower.

The white tent by SO-IL has an impressive presence from above. Frieze New York, 2012. Photograph by Iwan Baan. Courtesy of Iwan Baan/ Frieze.

White was charmed by the original fireplace with a built-in planter—so much so that the new open floor plan is centered around it.

SO – IL made the interior of the gallery an ideal white box with open floor plan by moving facilities and the lobby to the perimeter of the building. Photo by Iwan Baan.

Illustration via drawastickman.com.

“Stacey’s property abuts an artists’ colony, so she didn’t want the container to wall off her friends, so we used a bamboo hedge behind it as a way of protecting it from sun yet remaining welcoming to her neighbors.”

The east entrance of the Kukje Art Gallery by SO – IL. The removed lobby gives the netting an opportunity to show its flexibility. Seoul, South Korea. Photo by Iwan Baan.

Hot seats in the oh-so-cool Absolut Icebar Copenhagen.

The 452 sq. ft. home includes a covered porch for additional living space.

Photo from blackandwtf.tumblr.com

One of the witticisms found on livethesheendream.com.

Scale was an important design factor. "We wanted it to be flexible," Laurie says. "It's scaled down for a child but is also tall enough so an adult can walk in it." The height between the floor of the lower platform and its ceiling is six feet—so taller adults do still need to duck slightly, but most can make it through. "Kids are small for a very short time and then they grow up and go to college and you're left with this structure," she says. "We wanted it to have a use after they're gone." Pictured here is Laurie and Peter's daughter Emily.Photograph courtesy of Laurie Stubb.

Shelton's architect, Brandon Pace,designed and fabricated cedar panels backed with insect screens that snapped to the pavilion's steel structure, allowing assembly to be completed on site in just three days. Read the full story here.

Restorick also built this quirky oak staircase with open shelving along one side. "I use accessories as the color in spaces," says Tyler, "so these items are an integral part of the overall design."

SO – IL transformed a typical New York loft by using scrim walls to obscure columns and provide diffused lighting throughout the work space. Photo by Iwan Baan.

Frieze Art Fair Entrance; Friday May 4th 2012

Most beachfront houses treat the ocean as part of the visual landscape with panoramic views and wraparound balconies. Tom Lloyd-Butler’s beach house by Ernest Born, however, is deeply interior, and far more interested in its tranquil inner courtyard than anything beyond. One transparent addition later, the avid surfer has a new outlook. Aidlin Darling took pains during construction to preserve the cypress trees that give the Great Highway House so much of its charm.

I actually did this a few years ago, so I bought this card from Paper Pastries.

A custom recycled-Douglas fir table by VanEyk Custom Woodworks is the heart of the living-dining room in the so-called "Scrap House." The double-height wall is clad in the same steel that wraps the exterior. Read the full article here.

Ulysses word cloud poster from beautifulwordsbeautifulart.com.

Waiters raced in and out of the restaurant. The looked so efficient and official in their white uniforms.

The eggs will coagulate as they come into contact with the hot pasta so it is important to work quickly.

Dwell favorite Donna Wilson designed this oh-so-giftable wool scarf.

Elfa by the Container Store / containerstore.com

The open, pull-out shelves allow for easy reaching and the gap at the bottom of the drawers makes room for the feet of someone in a wheelchair so they can be closer to the counter.

For all its hard environmental work, one of the most immediate of the Blue Sky Home’s pleasures is how it sits so snugly in its desert surroundings.