Active panels

Love this! An active panel that one can change. I'm sure a large LCD would be awesome away.

Hat tip: Industrial Design Served

Great room

I haven't done an interiors post in a while. I'm working on decorating my new place right now so interiors are on my mind.

Check out the living room / photo studio in this Toronto ON home. I love the subtle baroque touch with the textured wall in what is a pretty minimalist room. There's not much in there other than the seating and the coffee table. I'm sure – or I hope – a lot is hidden inside closets in the wall but it's not visible. The floors are great planks of wood with a rich stain. Even the photographer lamp rocks.

Hat Tip [Arch Daily]

Stickers

The wall stickers trend is in full swing. As a design idea, they are a great way to add visual interest to what would normally be a blank space. There were a few showing at the ICFF but there were two that I liked.

The first was from a Danish firm called Ferm-Living, their website linked here. The other was a British firm called Miss Print. Miss Print's offering called 'Muscat' is shown above. Miss Print focuses on Eames-like abstract patterns that are perfect for a mid-century modern style home. Ferm-Living has a more organic/natural eye with patterns of various flowers and trees. They even have birds, some of which are a bit too Hitchcock for me.

Both firms make many other things and for Miss Print, it wasn't their vinyl coverings that attracted me but rather a three-legged lamp shown above. Having the pattern offers visual interest without making a room too busy.

ICFF - overall thoughts

The next few posts will deal with the ICFF I mentioned earlier. It was a really cool experience, right off the bat. I've been excited by furniture design for a long time so it was great to immerse myself in a show on the topic, much like the NY Auto Show I attended a few weeks ago. For those who are well versed in this exhibition, pardon my layman's analysis.

All things considered, it was a pretty sedate show. In fact, it was much more sedate than expected. I thought I would see lavish displays – and there were a few – and lots of incredibly unique pieces that were more design statement than a piece of usable furniture. While there were a few of those, it wasn't the predominant theme of the show. By far, 'green' designs were the most prevalent. Green can sometimes mean bland but designers rose to the challenge and focused on simple forms and texture. Mid-century modern hasn't released its grip on design minds and it was great to see it hasn't, since it's a favorite of mine.

It is reflective of our economic times that the focus of the show was on sales. I disappointed many by saying that I wasn't an interior designer or a retail shop. On the plus side, so many vendors sold direct on their website.

I wish I had gone to the big Milan show this year. I may put it on my list of places to go next year. That and the Frankfurt Auto Show. More from the ICFF to follow soon.

Great space

I adore this space that I found on Design to Inspire featuring the work of Jeffrey King. The warm minimalism is something I really like. I'm seeing the roots of my future studio home.

Great storage solution

It's great to see people apply some ingenuity to common problems, in this case storage. This homeowner converted the steps into a rather large set of drawers. You can see the handles clearly but the structure blends in so well, it's not as noticeable.  

Hat tip [Apartment Therapy]