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Loft Tour: Amsterdam Sugar Warehouse
We decided the real sweet life resides not only in a European loft, but also in an old sugar warehouse nonetheless. So we had to share this loft that came to us by way of Uxus Design and the company’s (and the loft’s) owners and directors, George Gottl and Oliver Michell, who decided to keep the original wooden interior of this 18th century Amsterdam sugar warehouse.
Built in 1763 and located on the Bloemgracht canal and in the Jordaan district (the hot spot for lofts we’re beginning to realize) the loft also boasts a panoramic view overlooking the city. But an important note on the interior is it continued to remain in its original state for almost 250 years until the owners decided to add their own design tastes and choices. Uxus Design has this to say about the loft: “In keeping the original open-plan layout we created a series of dramatic curtain walls that could be opened and closed according to the needs of use. Made of luxurious Italian linen, the curtain walls are opaque when lit from the front yet transparent from behind. At night, the space becomes a series of glowing tents, creating the effect of a surreal interior landscape.”
We especially love all the natural elements that this loft oozes, what with the hard-to-miss wooden interior, animals, antlers, and coral (all found objects from markets around Europe) combined with the art collection and draped curtains gives it an overall unique cinematic and surreal gothic feel. But maybe what gets us most, is the clever way they’ve designed their master closet, scroll down to see the sweetest closet we’ve seen to date.
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Photography by Dim Balem
RECAP: NYDC First Look
7/27/09
We got to attend the New York Design Center’s first LOOK event last week, where designers showcase their newest products to-the-trade in the Center’s multi-floor showroom. We got to meet up with Campion Platt , one of our favorite designers previously featured here, and see his beautiful new lines of brightly colored textiles.We also discovered a new favorite–Tucker Robbins. Most of his designs are made from reclaimed wood salvaged from the ocean. Beautiful big beds, dining tables for a family of 10, and many lil’ stools and tables to accessorize any room had us in awe. And on our way out, we were told a certain former President’s daughter (Miss Chelsea Clinton) had placed an order on one of his bed frames for future sweet dreamin’ nights.
See all our favorite first LOOKS below:
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Loft Tour: Cutler Loft
7/17/09 We’re thinking someone likes to throw parties in this loft, what with the detail that has gone into the kitchen and the impressive shelving created just for the glasses and liquor and the individual cubby holes for the wine. And who wouldn’t want to throw fabulous shindigs in this loft? We honestly don’t blame them, and we can sense a “Loft Party” happening at this scene . . .
The Cutler Loft in New York, NY came to us by way of Murdock Young Architects. We liked the streamlined-feel to the loft, yet it still held on to its industrial roots. A nice example of how the new and old mix together–the classic loft combo. The mix of metal and brick pretty much soothes our interior soul. What do you think of the mix?
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Photography by Michael Moran.
The Phillips Collection: Furniture First
7/16/09 I took a lovely trip to the nation’s capital last weekend, and I couldn’t miss out on one of the city’s small, yet monumental art collections: The Phillips Collection. The art collection is housed in a very old mansion set amongst all the embassies, and it can be a bit hard to find actually, since it’s tucked away and sheltered by all the nations represented on the neighboring street. But the collection, an eclectic one at that, includes an El Greco, Picasso’s Blue Room, some Degas, and a beautiful piece by Ingres, a Rothko room, some Bacon and Lucien Freud pieces, and many more. It’s hard to believe that it’s all housed in one gallery and not a museum. But along with the pieces, there were various furniture and old house elements that caught my eye. Gallery furniture is often times a key representative of the space that houses the artwork or collection. Each piece is quite different from the next (again, they’re very eclectic) and seemed like a valuable insight into the gallery itself. I couldn’t help but notice the pieces, and felt like I wasn’t going to damage any artistic property by using my camera (but hence, the not-so-sharp photography coming your way, since flash was prohibited).
I enjoyed this pairing a lot. Little twin chairs. There were various sets around the museum, and I found the curvaceous back and arm rests as one piece very streamlined and different for wood furniture.
This little table or maybe even a nightstand is simple, yet matched the old mansion’s interior perfectly. And the key hole drawers give it a timelessness not seen in today’s furniture. I wonder what the Phillips used to lock up in there. . .
I’m such a sucker for beautiful tile. The detail is quite amazing, and blue tile for that matter gets me every time. This ornate detail in the house framed a fireplace in one of the rooms.
Steering away from the old and incorporating the new, here’s a chair that is recognizable and still popular in most office waiting areas or doctor’s offices but usually seen in white or black these days, but I have yet to ever see it in this color. Retro and the standard all in one.
This little guy was just begging for someon to take a seat.While the upholstery color might not be the greatest, it’s another classic design that could sit in any home office. I didn’t take a seat in it, for fear of some reprimand from the gallery workers, but I swear I heard it calling out my name to come rest my walking legs.
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Loft Tour: Q Loft
7/8/09
Ok, it’s a fact, we’re head over heels for Resolution: 4 Architecture. We’re not even going to try and deny it. Yes, the previous two loft tours have been from them, and this one is too. Why should we explain, when we’re in love with this firm’s projects? Why hide it away?
This most recent loft comes with some quirks and some personal architectural choices (ones that display musical instruments and other collections), which is only befitting since the project was for Marvel Comic’s Editor-in-Chief in New York, Joe Quesada, and his family. The Chelsea loft was an entire gut-renovation and took 4,750-sq.-ft. and turned it into one large floor plan for the whole family to live and entertain in. Built-ins seem to be a distinguishing characteristic to the firm’s many projects, and they’re used again to accommodate Mr. Quesada’s large collection of comic artifacts. Besides the cool collections on display the master bedroom sits directly on axis with The Empire State Building (you can see it peeking out of one of the window views below). All in all, it’s one marv-elous loft for a Marvel Comics maven.
See if you can find the superhero who’s hiding out in this loft (hint: he’s got spider-like powers) . . .
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Loft Tour: Frank & Amy
7/6/09 We wanted to give you a loft to dream about over the holiday weekend, so we found this one from our current go-to architecture firm, Resolution: 4 Architecture (see our previous post on the Nychay Loft). Titled by the firm, Frank & Amy’s loft sits in Hell’s Kitchen, a New York neighborhood that sits off the typical tourist beaten path, you could say. The firm kept in mind the design of the space to be focused for Frank & Amy’s professions: art critic and film editor.
Take a look below to get an idea for your future loft with some of Frank & Amy’s built-ins, minimalism, and their cool utility box. It’s something to think about while you idle away the holiday weekend with fireworks, barbeques, and renditions of good ol’ USA songs.
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Loft Tour: Nychay Loft
6/30/09
Nested in SoHo, the original loft neighborhood, is this 1,800-sq.-ft. medical professional bachelor’s “weekend urban getaway.” We found this pretty lil’ one through Resolution: 4 Architecture who designed the space of the entire fifth floor of a newly constructed building, and wanted to separate the public rooms from the private rooms, since the loft was intended to be used primarily for entertaining. The architecture firm organized the space so that the entertaining area would be one large “box,” or a linear volume-of-utility along one edge.
You’ll also notice how each specific “room” is defined by a piece of furniture and its material, each piece acting as a signifier and differing from the next. The built-in and free-standing furniture offer compliments to and soften the raw space: the office area is identified by the mahogany desk, the dining room by the rosewood table, the kitchen by the teak island, and the living room is defined by a wenge wall. The entire space comes together and flows nicely with a system of translucent and sliding partitions.
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
A Phaidon Phather’s Day
We’re always checking on the Phaidon website for the newest art, architecture, and design books that we love to salivate over. We’re even more excited when one of this publisher’s lovely books arrive in our office, and we were lucky enough to get some copies of Phaidon’s most recent coffee table books–just in time for those of us racking our brains for the perfect Father’s Day gift. Here’s just a small selection that we can’t seem to get over and realized even if you’re not a father, it makes a lovely gift for yourself as well.
This three-volume set by the Phaidon Editors features a comprehensive collection of the 999 most influential design products from the past 200 years and was compiled by a selected panel of experts that span from journalists, academics, critics, architects, auctioneers, designers, and curators. Each of the 999 objects is accompanied with text from one of the 50 experts. It’s a comprehensive volume set, to say the least. Phaidon never fails on providing a plethora of illustrations, and this set isn’t a let-down; with 3,300 pages, your dad could easily sit back and enjoy a few hours of his day just flipping through this Phaidon gift.
Steve McCurry: The Unguarded Moment
One of the most admired photo journalists of today, Steve McCurry (probably most famous for his infamous National Geographic cover photograph of “the girl with the striking eyes”) has compiled a new portfolio of his work from Africa, Southeast Asia, and Europe. It’s a book certainly for those fathers interested in landscape and portrait photography, but also for those who love looking at page after page of color photography at its best and from one of the best.
10 x 10_3: 100 Architects, 10 Critics
The third book in this series compiled by the Phaidon Editors hasn’t hit the shelves yet, so you can’t hand over the physical book to your father on Sunday, but it could still work as a belated Father’s Day gift or an early early holiday gift–either way, we wanted to give you a preview of what Phaidon has in store for September publishing. With work from 100 rising architects curated by such names as Ai Weiwei, Kengo Kuma, and Carlos Jimenez, the book is arranged alphabetically by architect and shows projects and work from the past five years. It’s a much needed update from the 10×10_2, with the new advances in green architecture, said to “have gone from novelty to necessity, walls have gone from necessary to optional, and hula hoops have become a building material.” It’s a book that understands how “local is the new international, and architecture is more artistic than ever before.” Come September, we forsee this third volume going fast.
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Loft Tour: Parisian Plywood Nights
6/11/09
Plywood just got interesting, and the Parisian loft below shows plywood at its best. Renovated by architects Karine Chartier and Thomas Corbasson (who trained in the studio of Jean Nouvel–last year’s Pritzker Award winner), the old industrial laboratory (check out the building’s original freight elevator below) is transformed by adding a heavy textual and uncanny element–plywood.
Plywood, a moisture-proof, marine-grade, very low formaldehyde-content pine, certified by the European sustainable forest practices agreement, becomes a strong, almost abnormal complement to what would normally be simply a white, industrial space. It’s hard to see but the plywood kitchen islands are mostly on locking wheels, which creates a flexible space that can mutate from a small cooking area to a larger gathering area. Combined with the other moveable furniture, plywood has stopped looking cheap, and starts looking high-end (or high-grade, maybe?) whether it just sits pretty or on wheels.
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
Photography by Christine Besson
Moroso Sets the Stage for Summer
6/5/09
Featured at this year’s ICFF, Moroso presented a new collection of outdoor furniture, with each piece designed by a different designer that Moroso has worked with in their past. They then went on to shoot the furniture in a creative style by installing the pieces in various nature settings. The result is a conceptual slew of scenes that show off the furniture while at the same time get us psyched for the summer nights where you lounge outside until the sun goes down, and you let the hours just slip away. Below are our faves from the collection, and if this post doesn’t make you want to go kick it back among the trees and grass (or your loft patio, possibly), we don’t know what will. When are you going to start the summer off right and with which Moroso piece-of-choice?
“O Nest” sits quietly and patiently for someone to come take a seat.
“Wavy” by Ron Arad is made from thermoformed polyethylene plastic and comes in clear, red, or gray colors. Just don’t lose this piece in rushing water!
“Osorom” is a quiet statement piece that doesn’t beg for attention but could definitely stand all on its own.
“Shadowy Chaise Lounge” by Tord Boontje sports a “robust form” and evokes the 1920s beach furniture from Northern Europe and the North Sea. It’s also inspired by Senegalese woven furniture that uses traditional techniques with nylon yarn left over from the fishing industry.
Marcel Wanders’ “Shitake” stool is inspired by the tale of Snow White and showcases an embossed lacey relief pattern. Molded of plastic, the stools that stem from the scene of Snow White’s death when the seven dwarfs sit on stools covered by lace embroidered by Snow White herself, they come in black, white, or red.
“Supernatural” is a stackable addition to Ross Lovegrove’s armless chair of the same name. It’s a design that is light in weight yet durable at the same time.
A series of low ceramic stools in solid color glazes (including an eye-catching gold and silver), “Fool on the Hill” is designed by Luca Nichetto, and really could move from outdoors to in, if weather patterns change.
Posted by Kyra Shapurji
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