[ 7 sfaturi + dormitor ]]

7 Tips for Creating a Cozy, Calming Bedroom | Apartment Therapy San Francisco

1. Embrace Minimalism. This is a difficult one for me, but it seems to be the most important. To create calm in the bedroom, free it of clutter, not just the floor, but the walls too. Choose one or two pieces of art for one wall and leave the rest alone. Apply a “less is more” approach to the furnishings also.

2. Take the Plushness Plunge. We’ve all heard this before, but spending a little extra on plush bedding is key. There is nothing better than sinking into a cozy comfortable bed. Spring and summer are great times to purchase down comforters and feather beds on sale, so start saving now!

3. A Noteworthy Night Stand A sturdy bedside tabletop is another key element. Having a place to rest your glass of water and/or favorite book is key to your overall comfort and relaxation. I lived without a nightstand for years and it was quite stressful. I was always knocking my water glass over in the morning and cleaning the floor is not how anyone wants to start their day!

4. Let There be Light. Lighting is important in the bedroom. Natural sunlight is amazing during the day, but dimmed mood lighting is essential at night. Replacing your switch with a dimmer switch isn’t too difficult or expensive. A bedside lamp is also a great way to add subtle light at night.

5. A Rug to Hug. Have you ever hugged a rug with your feet? The right rug can give you a tiny foot massage before stepping into bed. Look for a thick shag rug or soft sheepskin for best results.

6. Scent-sational. Picking the right scent for your bedroom is a matter of taste, but hands down the most popular essential oil for relaxation is Lavender. Caldrea Lavender Pine Linen Spray is amazing, or dab a little lavender oil directly to your pillow. Just be careful as the oil can stain pillow covers, sheets and comforters!

7. Take a Seat. Having a place to sit down and remove your socks and shoes makes life a little easier. Whether it be a small side chair or a bench at the foot of your bed, try to make room for secondary seating.

[ mobilier + Scaune Joase ]]

Low Chairs Family by Jovana Bogdanovic

Jovana Bogdanovic, a Serbian designer now living and working in Hangzhou, China, has created the “Low Chairs Family”

 Description:

Jovana’s design works are an exquisite voyage of their own. A native of Belgrade graduated from the city’s university in the faculty of Applied Arts, Jovana lived and worked in Milan with Studio Patricia Urquiola until the end of 2009. Since then she has embarked upon the adventure of INNOVO DESIGN, a studio co-founded with fellow designers ZHANG Lei from China and Christoph JHON from Germany. INNOVO DESIGN has its headquarters near Shanghai in Hangzhou, a city renowned for its astonishing amalgamation of ancestral scapes and modern city comforts. Once capital of the Southern Song dynasty (960–1279 AD), Hangzhou still retains today the solemn beauty of its ancient palaces, gardens and slow-paced lifestyle. As the studio is committed to a research-oriented practice spanning from design for mobility and transportation to lights and home appliances, it distinctively feels inspired by a homegrown sense of matter-and-body searching through the design of objects to yield a better and smoother interaction with our environment.

Jovana’s work is indeed imbued with a spirit of real life experiences and cultural generosity, which informs a personal practice of technical acuity and relational character. The Low Chairs Family series, one of her first realizations after moving to China, plays out the positive contradictions inherent in cultural encounters often, albeit ingenuously, predicated on mutual stereotypes and misunderstandings. The series is itself a response to the misconception Jovana had about Asian seating privileging low and crouching postures, an expectation proven wrong by her actual experience in China. These deceptively ‘low-rise’ chairs and tables are made appealing and genteel in their solid largesse by a scheme of pastel colors and matching sets of soft cushions. Technical and aesthetic refinement are the product of both skill and sensitivity, one that makes itself recipient to the invisible, ordinary trafficking of symbols and objects.

[ iluminat + JIRAFA ]]

JIRAFA

Three-legged floor lamp.

Size: H152 D60 cm
Colours: Dark Cyan, Baby Blue, Copper
Materials:
Shade – PVC/cotton laminate
Base – lacquered steel tubing
Year: 2008

Part of the
Animal Tales Collection

[ accesorii + JOIN ]]

JOIN

Cutlery with a playfull joining mechanism

Material: Ultramid^®
Lenght: 20,5cm
Colours: white, black, purple, pink, green, light blue, dark blue, yellow
Year: 2010

Cutlery turns into cover. JOIN is more than simply knife, fork or spoon. It is a decoration for the table. The magic joining mechanism fascinates everybody. But not everybody will manage at once to transform the little sculpture into cutlery. A little skill and a good eye is necessary.

But do not worry – up to now nobody starved when unravelling the magic knot. Many times a meal grew cold because the cutlery itself, made of long life high-tech plastic material, was simply too fascinating. You should book JOIN a place at your table.

JOIN was developed in co-operation with the designfabrik of BASF.

Check out the Making for the whole story at > CASE STUDY – JOIN.

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multumesc Cra!!!

[ decoratiuni + West Elm ]]

Do You Rue? David Stark for West Elm

Is it summer yet? These pics from Rue’s David Stark for West Elm shoot have me wishing that it were! You’ll find more of these sumptuous photos on page 204 of the current issue of Rue, but I’d also like to highlight the fun and fabulous product we used as a jumping off point for the shoot. Event designer David Stark does the loveliest work; it deserves a closer look!

David’s background is in painting and fine arts, and he used his passion for that pastime to inspire his dinnerware for West Elm. The soft brush strokes, the strong yet gentle lines, and the crisp white porcelain tapas dishes are the perfect canvas for creating a dinner party masterpiece! 

Of course the magic of this shoot couldn’t have happened without the great team that came together. David and his crew concepting the whole thing, and photographer William Brinson, prop stylist Raina Kattelson, and food stylist Rebecca Jurkevich did an amazing job bringing the vision to fruition. 

Photos: William Brinson for Rue.