Around the World: Maison Moschino

It is not uncommon to see fashion designers jump from one project to another. 

I am not just saying clothes wise, I am saying projects you would not imagine having a fashion designer behind the idea. They have sketched buildings, furniture, bicycles, food, etc., so it comes with no surprise that they have entered the hospitality business as well. Armani, Missoni, Oscar de la Renta, Versace, Christian Lacroix, Ralph Lauren, and Moschino are the ones that have successfully made the transition.

Today, we are taking a look into the creation of Maison Moschino. 

This boutique hotel was converted from a 19th century neo-classical railway house in the center of Milan. The interesting thing to take notice in this project is how playfull and whimsical it is. Every time I look at it I am amazed how the designers were able to stay true to the brand and to its vision without being cliché. Every corner has a surprise that intrigues the guest with humor and fashion forward ideas…just look at the pictures to see what I mean.

Blue Room

Gold Room 

Ivy Room

Life is a bed of roses room

Little Red Hiding Hood Room

Luxurious Attic Room

Lobby

Shadows Room

Sleeping in a Ball Gown Room

Sweet Room

The Forest Room

The Ribbon Room

The Wallpaper Room

ZZZZ Room

Alice's Room

Cloud Room

Source: Maison Moschino

Relax, it is friday,

See you monday!!!

How to style a coffee table

Styling a coffee table is no easy task. 

A focal point of any living room, the coffee table, bears the burden of combining form and function. When thinking about how to style your coffee table keep in mind that it needs to reflect the style of your living room and your style while being functional.

Even though there is no exact formula when styling it, there a few rules that can help you create the perfect aesthetics.

1. Less is more! 

Do not throw every piece of decoration, books, trays, remotes, etc. you have on this small space. By doing so you will create confusion and because that focal point is cramped it makes the entire room look messy and cramped. 

2. Be odd.

It seems weird, but odd numbers work. Whenever you have even pieces it makes it easy for the eye to get used to it, while odd numbers create a little more "work" for the eyes. Therefore, using an odd number of objects calls attention and interest to your coffee table.

3. Play with the height. 

This works about the same as using odd numbers. When playing with different heights you make the eye wonder and move around creating interest. However, be careful when choosing the height! You do not want to put a huge vase that blocks the vision of the person seating across you...

4. Books and magazines.

Adding books or magazines that interest you is a great way to add your style in the decoration. It does double work, as well, serving not only as decoration piece but as entertainment to your guest.

5. Keep fresh.

Either flower or plant will help warm the space. It creates that effect of a space where people really live. It also adds color and interest.

Here are a few examples:

Now it is your time to share with us your coffe table styling exsmples. Send me an e-mail at tatiback@gmail.com with a picture of your coffee table to help others have ideas... 

Decorating with rubber ducks

Here is how you can add a fun element to your bathroom...

Source: Pinterest

Relax, it is FRIDAY!

Source: pinterest

Celebrity Home: Elton John

"...And can you feel the love tonight

It is where we are 

It's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer

That we got this far

And can you feel the love tonight

How it's laid to rest

It's enough to make kings and vagabonds

Beleive the very best..."

Once you see the pictures bellow you will probably "feel the love". 

Today we are taking a look inside the house of a author, musician, star, and lord. With an ecletic style and unique sense of humor it is interesting to see how Sir Elton John merges those two elements using colors, textures, focal points, art, and shapes. 

Source: AD

Designers you should know: Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) was a German-American architect. He was widely acknowledged as one of the 20^th century’s greatest architects. In 1956, famed architect Eero Saarinen spoke at the dedication of Mies' masterwork and lauded him as Chicago's third great artist, placing Mies in the prestigious lineage of Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. "Great architecture is both universal and individual," Saarinen said at the dedication, "The universality comes because there is an architecture expressive of its time. But the individuality comes as the expression of one man's unique combination of faith and honesty and devotion and belief in architecture."

Mies served as the last director of Bauhaus, a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. He then came to The U.S. where he headed the department of architecture at Illinois Institute of Technology. As a professional he sought to make use of modern materials such as steel and glass and to create simple and minimal lines which he believed represented the industrial era.

Nowadays, we can still see and admire his work in architecture and furniture designs around the world, always remembering his famous saying that less is more as we reduce the distractions and focus on the essential elements.

MR chaise lounge.

The most well known work from Mies, The Barcelona Chair.

Barcelona Pavillion, Barcelona.

Chicago Federal Center, Chicago.

S.R. Crown Hall, Chicago.

Seagram Building, New York.

Sources: Wikipedia, miessociety, DWR, Pinterest

STAIRS, a form of art.

If you ask any architect what is the most difficult thing to create and design one probable answer will be STAIRS!

Because an architect has to work with the space available there is no exact measurements when creating a stair, sure there are guidelines and recommended measurements but they rarely fit. The architect is then left with a ratio and lots of calculations to create a stair that allows a person to be comfortable going up and down, therefore, a stair cannot be too steep, the steps cannot be too high or too short, or too small to fit your feet.

Lately, stairs have become more than a difficulty but a form of art and to show creativity.

Modern stair

My favorite!! 

How would you feel entering the stairs?

Stairs and shelves 

Here the stairs blen in the wall and are almost invisible 

The spinal stairs

Prada's store in New York....the stairs are used as display and circulation space

Lots of storage

Where does it start and where does it end?

Images: Pinterest