Celebrity Home: Ashley Olsen

Ashley Olsen appears to have put her three bedroom, three bathroom Los Angeles home for sale a while ago for $1.4 million. What do you think of the house?

via Celebuzz

La Maison Chic

French born Irish-based designer Laurent Billiet began his career as an executive working in BioMedical Research Ltd. in Galway.
“I wanted for nothing, I had the most wonderful life – but I wasn’t living. The week-ends had barely started when suddenly it was late Sunday afternoon, and I was packing my bag again for an early flight on Monday morning.” he tells The Irish Times.

His background had been in human resources and with an MBA in marketting, he was set to climb the corporate ladder. Instead, Billiet took a course in interior design and then accepted design work in his spare time in apartments in Paris.

Now based full time in Ireland, his company La Maison Chic, in Galway offers a complete interior design service down to every last detail.
He tells the newspaper he believes a home’s interior should last “About seven years, at least. If a customer is not happy or wants a change after three or four years, and they have taken my advice all the way through, then it is my fault. That’s my philosophy.”

Strathmore in Killiney, Dublin

This Irish home stands on 9.03 Acres of land and has for the past fifty years acted as the official residence for the Canadian Ambassador in Ireland. Designed by Alfred Gresham Jones in the 1860′s, it was extensively remodelled in the late 1940′s by Oliver Hill Arquitect.

I never realised that Dublin had such nice houses till about two years ago when I took a walk from Dalkey to Killiney.

Source

CasaCor 2009: Best Kitchen/Dining

Earlier this year, the Casa Cor Group held three simultaneous events at the Jockey Club in Sao Paulo all at once: Casa Cor 2009, Casa Hotel and Casa Kids.

It is the biggest architectural and decor show in Latin America and the third biggest in the world holding 110 different design spaces and occupying 44,000 m2. This year’s theme is sustainability.

These are some of the kitchens and dining rooms from the show.

Vertical Walls

Vertical garden at the Authenaeum Hotel on Piccadilly Street in London

Because there is never enough space in big cities to grow plants or have large amounts of green space, I think vertical gardens sounds like a pretty nifty idea.

Patrick Blanc created the first living wall. His plant wall consists of a framework of plants planted by the side of a structure. In fact, the plants are planted onto a PVC plate supported by a metal frame attached to the wall. This vertical garden at the Authenaeum Hotel on Piccadilly Street in London is one of the many examples of his work.

But for something on a smaller scale and more easily replicated, ELT Easy Green have some nice examples of what you can do.

Vertical garden by Joost Bakker for Schiavello

Or how about using this slightly different take on the vertical garden as a feature wall created by Joost Bakker for Schiavello. Extremely space efficient, it is a grid system that allows numerous potted plants to be arranged in freestanding columns or walls.

Woolly Pockets

But my favorite way of integrating this concept into a home has got to be the woolly pocket. Made of flexible, breathable material, they can be hung on walls in any combination.

Casa Cor 2009 – Best Kid’s Rooms and Nurseries

A Play Room by Edson Lorenzzo

Earlier this year, the Casa Cor Group held three simultaneous events at the Jockey Club in Sao Paulo all at once: Casa Cor 2009, Casa Hotel and Casa Kids.

It is the biggest architectural and decor show in Latin America and the third biggest in the world holding 110 different design spaces and occupying 44,000 m2. This year’s theme is sustainability.

These are some of the kid’s rooms and nurseries from the show.

The biggest challege for Edson Lorenzzo was to create a playroom suitable for both boys and girls of varying ages. The 22m2 room has space for art, games , tv  area, doll house, and library.

A boy's room by Aquiles Kilares

Arquitect Aquiles Kilares created this boy’s room feel like a space ship. The wall with the LCD screen is made to look like the central command screen.

A girl's room by Patricia Novoa

A nursery by Glaucya Taraskevicius

A baby room by Flavia Ranieri

From CasaCor

Last Minute Christmas

 If you’ve just finally gotten that Christmas spirit, here are some last minute decorating advice.

When choosing the christmas tree, choose one with a tree with a good shape, dense branches and pliable needles.

December’s edition of House and Garden New Zealand suggests choosing one colour and combine it with white and silver to create a multi-layered festive feel in your home.

Once you’ve chosen your colour theme, carry it through into different areas throughout the house. Put a cluster of baubles on the mantlepiece, hang small decorations off door knobs, attach sparkly, light-catching decorations to the window frame. Gather ideas for things you can make yourself, such as the stencilled patterns and lacy  white paper cut-outs. A welcoming wreath on the door, the fresh flowers on the table – all following the same colour theme – add the finishing touch.

(Meant to post this a few days ago, but never got the chance.)

CasaCor 2009: Best Bedrooms

Suite Hebe Camargo by João Armentano. From Casa Hotel

Earlier this year, the Casa Cor Group held three simultaneous events at the Jockey Club in Sao Paulo all at once: Casa Cor 2009, Casa Hotel and Casa Kids.

It is the biggest architectural and decor show in Latin America and the third biggest in the world holding 110 different design spaces and occupying 44,000 m2. This year’s theme is sustainability.

These are some of the bedroom sets from the show.

Suíte Amaury Jr from Casa Hotel

Architect Brunete Fraccaroli, used dark colours, glass, mirrors amd silk to creak a sophisticated bedroom.

Suíte Ricardo Almeida by Fred Benedetti and Fernanda Abs. From Casa Hotel

The bathroom is separated from the bedroom using narrow strips of wood. The room has oriental influeces in the bedding and the earthy tones gives it a natural feel.

Suíte Ana Hickmann by Neza Cesar. From Casa Hotel

Suíte Master - Apartamento by Oskar Mikail. From CasaCor 2009

Suíte do Motel from Casa Hotel.

Designers Alessandro Jordão e Kiko Sobrino took the cities, Paris and Amsterdam, as inspiration for this room.

Suíte da Lua-de-Mel from Casa Hotel.

Marco Antonio Stancati e Volmar Leal Stancati designed this room as a honey moon suite.

Suíte Studio by Moema Wertheimer and Marcia Bueno Netto. From Casa Hotel.

Suíte do Casal - Casa from CasaCor 2009.

In this project, Mauricio Nobrega brings rustic and modern together in one space.

I like the use of bamboo on the wall. (But that may just be because I think bamboo is the most wonderfully versatile material ever.)

From CasaCor

Celebrity Homes: Sir Elton John and David Furnish

Usually, I am more a fan of the neutral colour palette, but I may just have changed my mind when you see bold colours used as well as the Los Angeles home Sir Elton John shares with his partner, David Furnish.

I think the view here speaks for itself. And that rug looks so soft. Oh, to have that rug under my bare feet.

I would have never even considered using purple countertops but this kitchen looks so sleek.

From Architectural Digest

Contemporary Living in a Missile Silo

If, like Bruce Townsley, you’d like a bigger challenge than a conventional home remodel, a nuclear missile base may be the way to go.

In 1997, Bruce Townsley bought this 2,200 sq ft missile silo in Texas for $99,000.

Townsley’s completely round living space revolves around a center pillar from which it is suspended. The aesthetic is simple and clutter-free.

The only question is – can you live without windows?

From Wired via Gizmodo