Rustic Dutch Seaside

Rustic Dutch Seaside Residence Gets a Modern Makeover Capped With a Thatched Top

There is absolutely no doubting the fact that renovation and restoration tasks are always more challenging for architects and designers than conjuring up a home from scratch.

The restrictions placed by an existing structure make the task of a ‘makeover’ a creative challenge. Maxwan Architects were entrusted with a similar job when home owners of an eight-decade old residence in Noordwijk, Netherlands opted for a modern overhaul. Bringing together its original ‘rustic’ elements with contemporary extensions, House N is an example of a renovation that keeps the character of the home intact.

An inimitable thatched roof on top is the distinctive feature of the N House. Apart from the usual replacement of the damaged areas and the restoration of the basement, the project also includes the addition of a new kitchen space. Bedrooms and bathrooms were expanded, providing the residents of the house with more space. A new social area has been added with glass on three sides allowing for ample natural ventilation and unabated views.

The new and extended feature seems to steal the spotlight and falls in line with the trend of home owners opting for renovations clad in glass and protruding into a spacious backyard. The visual connectivity with the world outside combined with its contrasting presence makes the ‘glassy’ kitchen and family space an instant hit.  A glass extension on the top level also promises unhindered views of the distant sea. A bespoke staircase with its stylish railing in white completes the list of fabulous additions to this striking Dutch residence.

Dream House 2013 Steals

HGTV Dream House 2013 Steals The Show With a Stylish Deck, In a Refreshing Style

It is not often that you encounter a deck space that is as appealing as the home itself. But in case of the HGTV Dream House 2013, it is the fabulous and fascinating deck area that has everyone’s attention. Presenting a perfect blend of form and functionality, the place sports a remarkable hangout that comes with a stylish pool and ample room for an entire family.

Nestled 10 feet above the ground level of the home, the deck promises unabated views of the backyard and the scenery beyond. But that is just one of the many perks offered by this laid-back and luxurious outdoor setting.

The deck is accessible through the master suite of the house. It provides a large and furnished area where the owners of the residence can enjoy countless beautiful sunsets. Next to the sleek pool is a series of ottomans that give you an opportunity to catch your breath in between all the fun! Beautiful woven all-weather armchairs grace the remainder of the deck with a lovely dining set placed in one of the corners.

Surrounding canopy of the house seems to offer ample shade even on those hot and sunny days, while the trendy armchairs allow you to kick back and relax. The décor chosen for the deck can not only brave the elements, but seems like a perfect visual extension of the natural ambiance around. Sturdy wooden flooring and warm lighting complete this outdoor extension of the family area. Providing a perfect glimpse of the many sights and sounds outside, this is indeed a deck space befitting of a dream home. Making smart use of the space on offer, it brings together aesthetics and ergonomics with loads of natural goodness!

Modern Hillside Renovation

Modern Hillside Renovation Stuns with Refined Interior Design

What do you do when you suddenly realize that your home doesn’t suit your needs and taste, anymore? You start renovating! That’s exactly what a couple from Bellevue, Washington, decided to do with their home. But they didn’t settle with just any renovation. Together with Seattle-based DeFrost Architecture they came up with a ground-up remodel that turned their residence into a real dream home.

Located on hilly terrain in the suburban neighborhood of Seattle, the Hillside Modern Residence combines clean lines with modern details, and define simple volumes with a highly sophisticated fashion. During the day, the beauty of the house is enhanced by the surrounding trees and vegetation, while at night, the recessed lights and the large windows make it glow in the dark like a shiny bulb. But the real spectacle is when you enter.

Interior designer Robin Chell envisioned a flawless work of art by using timeless materials like white oak, walnut, glass and steel. On a first glance you realize just how well everything is organized and how the custom-built furniture steals the show with its contemporary appeal.

The kitchen sparkles. It has plenty of cabinets and a kitchen island that provides more than enough storage space, eye-catching glass shelves and beautiful pendant lights from Artemide to complete the looks. The open space environment also houses an elegant dining table and a very small home office space in case you need to search the Internet for a fancy recipe when guests are coming over.

Walk through the long hallways and you’ll reach the bedroom; it’s airy, bright and graceful in form. From the bedroom you connect with  a modern bathroom. It has a charming walk-in shower (with a wood planked wall), beautiful quartz composite sinks and custom made wall panels to support them. But probably the most interesting feature of the bathroom is the bath tub that is “wrapped oh-so-neatly with a quartz composite deck and apron so that it looks like a simple block of white”. Add some stunning views to the picture and I bet you can already imagine yourself sipping champagne and listening to music while bathing in utmost style.

There could be much more to be said about the Hillside Modern but we’ll just let the pictures speak.

Kudos to Robin and DA for this great design and to Ben Benschneider for the amazing pictures.

Colorful Interior Designs

Colorful Interior Designs That Exude Modern Elegance

Luxury might seem like something inessential, only conducive to pleasure and comfort, but the geometry of great design can uplift the spirit just like art does. Colors and shapes have a direct influence on us, our decisions and perspectives, and we are naturally inclined to admire the beauty around us.

Luxury as ephemeral art

These sumptuous living conditions and surroundings that we create for ourselves help us experience new truths and discover new stories. Luxury and colorful interiors seem to make a good home together when everything is balanced by carefully selected materials, patterns and design lines. Bowls of colorful fruits can become our passing joy and we get to experience it even more if we know its beauty will fade.

Ephemeral decorations at Malibu dream home

Indulging in a colorful and relaxing environment allows you to explore the beauty of our diverse world. So many nuances that go through continuous changes as the light diminishes or increases.

Luxurious ambient light at night

At night, vivid colors induce a sense of freedom, a jungle of design where textures hide in the dark and colors soften their cheer. Ambient light can help define different atmospheres, depending on your mood. After all, this is what luxury is all about – an abundance of feelings, memories, ideas, stories, transposed into the material world.

S11 House by ArchiCentre

Private residence in Poland by MSWW

Luscious pristine spaces splashed with color

The world around us gets recreated because we are constantly on the lookout for something new and exciting. Interior designers have this natural instinct when it comes to combining stories and materials, feeling and colors or textures and memories.

Skyhouse by architect David Hotson

A multitude of colors speaks about the joy to live, it’s a constant reminder of the beautiful things in life and their tendency to mix and match. As each life is different, each home display the happiness, impetuosity, naturalness its inhabitants believe in. An abundance of colors can also balance the cold feeling of materials used to create the living spaces. For example, colorful glass vases accentuated by expressive paintings cut through the cold atmosphere buried in the steel and glass staircase, thus lifting the floating staircase to new levels of expression.

Malibu Residence by Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Cold color duos broken by lettering, or vivid warm colors captured in furniture and art create a sense of joy and private serenity. Both convey the playful spirit of the owner. When love for geometry intervenes, a bedroom can easily become the display scene for colorful paintings that encourages the use of natural, held back colors in the rest of the space. Take a second to imagine which of the following three photos sparks your interest.

Colorful home by Ukrainian designer Ino Getiashvili

Warm-colored Malibu home by Fernanda Marques Arquitetos Associados

Then again, not only white spaces look good adorned with hot colors. When it comes to pure modern luxury, nothing screams party like a black and glossy surface adorned with a splash of colorful art.

Glossy black and colorful art

Prepared to take on the night entertainment, a bar area like the one pictured below takes me personally on a roller coaster through I-want-one-land. Luxury meets black when a sumptuous nature is required, but this example of highly contemporary style needs owners highly motivated to party.

Malibu dream home entertaining spaces

Modern Bohemian Loft by Design Manifest

Next up, flooding your home with natural light in search for vivid colors. Whether a skylight fills your home with light or a sliding door brings the breeze inside too, vivid colors will always save spaces from monotony. Eclectic or hinting towards a traditional inspiration, public and private spaces can beautifully be combined into a modern conglomerate of styles with the use of color.

Light-filled Malibu beach home bedroom

Big bright spaces exposed to a heavy amount of daylight catch on a feeling of luxury while double-height spaces have this larger-than-life feel to them. When a double-height glass room contains colors, they are subdued by the scale and openness. Carefully chosen furniture and design details, cushions and even flower can brighten up a cold space and offer an elegance reminding you of the simple joys of life – like colors.

$10 Million Duplex Penthouse in New York City’s Astor Place Tower

Elrod House by John Lautner

Patricia Urquiola’s Tropicalia Cocoon Hanging Chairs

In our quest for luxury, not only high-rising panoramas adorned with Patricia Urquiola’s Tropicalia Cocoon Hanging Chairs have the power to amaze us, bathrooms and pools speak the same language of hope for better design. When color and creativity meet, stunningly simple spaces can become platforms for observing the surroundings or they can become works of art themselves.

H2O geometry bathroom design by Gemelli Design

Stunning indoor pool of a wonderful Malibu residence

Ocean view terrace sparked with vivid colors

And when everything inside is beautifully decorated, the outdoors is simply a mirror of the inhabitant’s care for both interior and exterior appeal.

Terraces, outdoor lounge spaces and nature

This balance between the beauty of interior spaces and an outdoor zone where man-made and natural colors meet is unequaled. This speaks of attention to detail, which is an important feature of luxury. Careful not to destroy the fragile balance between design elements and colors, you can end up having your dream home shining in natural light and sparkling with vivid colors, creating an atmosphere you will love to experience daily.