Q&A : UPDATING A KITCHEN

Q: I would like to update and warm up my kitchen without completely renovating it. I have white cabinets and appliances that I would like to keep and recently added new wood floors. What would you suggest I do?

A: The first thing I would do would be to paint the walls in a warm neutral color like, like Benjamin Moore's Brandon Beige to help bring some of the warm tones from the floor on the wall. Then I would change the counters and add a backsplash to add texture and interest. You could use a warm gray quartz like the Alpina White from Silestone and match it with a tile like the Moonbeam Freeway tiles from Terra Verre. Another option would be to use black counters to add more contrast and white glass tiles on the wall for a bit of sparkle and texture. A third option would be to install a dark brown counter and a backsplash mixing various tones of browns and beiges and white.

Additionally, changing the faucet and replacing the ceiling light with halogen track lights will also warm up the space and update the look and feel of the kitchen.

Cool ceiling fans

While searching for original ceiling fans for a client, I came across these unique and modern ceiling fans that I thought were interesting. Which one do you think they went for?

EVO1 PREVAIL

The EVO1 Prevail from FANAWAY is a retractable fan. The blades disappear into the lamp when not in use, which gives the fan a completely different look.







RIBBON

Designed by Benjamin McMahon, an industrial design student from Australia, this fan can be retrofitted with an existing ceiling fan.





DERVISH LAMP

Dervish Lamp by Philippe Malouin was inspired by the brushes from a car-wash. It's a very interesting take on the traditional ceiling fan.





ARTEMIS

The Artemis ceiling fan from G Squared Art is almost invisible with its large translucent blades. The fan come in a choice of finishes and colors.





SYCAMORE

Sycamore fan from Sycamore is a futuristic looking one blade fan reminiscent of Zaha Hadid's architecture.




FIORE

Fiore by Vento is a neat ceiling fan similar to a flower that opens up to reveal its petals when the fan is turned on.

Fluorescent light fixtures can be beautiful, thanks to Dominic Bromley

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-01-18

We all know that light fixtures which use fluorescent lamp save money in the long run and that they are somewhat good for the environment (let’s not forget the mercury issue). Sadly, they don’t always look nice. Thankfully, designers are working on making them more attractive.

I recently came across this stunning pendant light fixture designed by Dominic Bromley. The fixture uses T5 fluorescent lamps. Inspired by the bait-ball phenomenon where fish gather around to create a large mass in order to protect themselves from predators, Bromley created a light fixture made of several bone china fish sculptures.

It's called Shoal. "Shoal 1672" is made of 1672 fishes and "Shoal 284" is made of 284 fishes. It’s quite ingenious.

Source: Scabetti

Spacewalker lights by Constantin Wortmann

I'm one of those who believe that a light fixture can also be used as a piece of art and add personality to a space. This is definitely the case for Spacewalker, an innovative and fun light fixture designed by Constantin Wortmann of Büro für Form for DARK.

Spacewalker resembles a 3D stick figure with an enormous head. It currently comes as a pendant light upside down or a giant floor light standing upright. I like the red cord detail. To me it gives it more life, almost like a blood transfusion tube. I imagine a table version of this lamp might eventually emerge. I think these lamps would be a nice addition in a club, a boutique hotel or a great loft.


















source: Büro für Form,DARK.

Light up your world with a simple touch

ORIGINAL POST DATE : 2008-05-15

I came across this awesome light collection called Smoonfrom the Beau & Bien series of Ad Hoc Design(France). It’s another beautiful marriage between art and technology. Here, a light can be turned on with a simple touch. The Smoon Collection is comprised of various lights made of polyethylene with a silicon coating. This makes them resistant to various temperatures and pressures and also soft to the touch. They use LED light bulbs and can be wired or wireless (so you can carry them everywhere) and come in various colors and shapes, with innovative chargers and accessories.

source: BEAU & BIEN

Beau & Bien also offers My Collection,small portable lights made entirely of silicone (apparently a good stress relief), and Night Bijou Collection,lighted jewelry (this would give an interesting effect in nightclubs).

source: BEAU & BIEN

Check out their website to see more interesting products. If you're interested in getting some in Montreal, you can check out Jardin de Ville.

Awesome lights by Next

I love objects with an unusual yet simple shape that can also be used as art pieces in a room, like these lights by Next, a company based in Cologne, Germany. The principle behind the collection was for them to be "sophisticated but not elitist". In their words :

The daily necessity of illuminating a room is a challenging task. next removes light from its shapelessness and dresses it in a design of contemporary standard. The results are luminaires that create an atmosphere and radiate warmth - a perfectly shaped highlight for every room.

The collections

There are currently eight collections of lights : Alien, Blade, DNA, Cao Mao, Liquid light, Molecular light, Downlight and Birdie nam nam. Each collection contains various types of lights for the ceiling, the walls, the floor, the table and some can even be used outside.






Alien

Invasion from another world. It seems as if a strange creature is sliding down a rope. Gently and almost weightlessly, radiating a warm and graceful light.








Blade

One lamp - fourteen possible variations. Give one room fourteen different looks. It takes just a few moves to rearrange the three bowl-shaped shades into a new position. In the starting position all three shades form a circular shape with a diameter of approximately one meter. As they are fanned out, the lamp gradually changes into a propeller-shape that can be extended to a diameter of over two meters before the shades converge in the form of an organic triangle in the final position. - That's Blade.










Liquid light

Illuminated drops float weightlessly in the air, run down a wall, build a soft rain of light or melt out of the ceiling like a viscid fluid









Downlight

By providing light close to the floor it illuminates a room in a new and unique way!




Birdie nam nam

Light-footed like a bird and named after Peter Sellers' "The Party", this little lamp has a porcelain head that can be turned around 360 degrees.




DNA

Like an organically growing structure, the complex form develops out of a surprisingly simple element.White, pink, chrome and gold plastic modules - each with three light bulbs - can be added to each other, so the lighting object can vary in size, from a single format up to a luster.


source : next

Agave inspired lights by Jeremy Cole

I love these light fixtures by self-taught designer Jeremy Cole. Inspired by the agave plant and named Aloe, they are composed of handmade porcelain leaves arranged around the light source to act as a diffuser and create a really nice effect. These pieces of art come in three forms : the Bud, the Blossom and the Shoot.

The bud represents the birth of the plant...


photo: inform interiors


The blossom represents the mid-life of the plant...

photo: velvet gothic



photo: inform interiors

The Shoot represents the withering death of the plant ...

photo: roadside scholar