Ever wonder what you could do with your old jeans? This ingenious design has been created by Scrap Lab.
Their mission is to use materials which are other’s ‘left overs’. The off-cuts and scrap can be wood, metal, nylon, plastics, paper, foam and fabrics and are obtained mainly from industrial sources.
Scrap Lab have clear aims and missions which focus on both global and economic concerns as well as using environmental issues regarding using sustainable sources, by working closely with manufacturers to rejuvenate and re-use their scarp materials to create positive and dynamic designs. They believe their sources will provide them with a continuous supply of materials for them to continue their design activities.
This denim chair cover can also be unbuttoned and used as a wrap round blanket or folded into a neat square floor mat. Easy to remove from the frame and transport makes this design very practical.
As the country’s economic downturn continues we are seeing designers create the most ingenious and innovative design styles. Great ways of using unwanted materials and fabrics.
This denim chair cover look so comfortable and would make the ideal inexpensive seating to charm any modern homes interior space. Team it with dark blue curtains and a floor rug and you have a low cost, yet stylish and effective room style.
I admire Scrap Lab and other creative designers who have taken principles such as patchwork from the past, as seen in this chair design, and brought it into the 21st century with panache and confidence.
My recent trip to Palm Springs was filled with excitement and one of the things on my list to see was The Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel . It was a glamorous Hollywood hideaway back in the 1930s and was refurbished 4 years ago by Kelly Wearstler of KWID Design Group into a sleek boutique Hotel. Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford, and 32nd President Franklin Delano Roosevelt are a few of the famous past guests that frequented it. The Viceroy Palm Springs has gotten some great reviews and lately some not so great reviews. But I am only going to focus on my good review. It was a perfect afternoon. I was being driven around Palm Springs by my Dad on an Architectural tour of Screen Block Houses. And after a full afternoon we headed to the Viceroy Palm Springs to arrive just in time for our pre-dinner, late afternoon cocktail. I toured the grounds and snapped some pictures while the cocktails were being stirred and shaken.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
We had a hard time finding the Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel as it is tucked away; except that after driving back and forth a few times I glanced up and saw Kelly Wearstler's iconic white porcelain dog statue on a balcony and bingo we were in.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel The Koi greeted us just inside the shady entrance courtyard. It was very inviting, much like entering a private home.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
The grounds of the Viceroy Palm Springs, house several private Villas dating from the 30's. They had been updated by Kelly Wearstler with black & white awnings, draped verandas, front doors painted orange with shiny new polished chrome hardware.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
The brick chimneys on some of the Villas had been painted black to match the awnings and a large white medallion was surface applied.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel The Villas faced onto a central courtyard complete with a beautiful cabana with a pool in the rear.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel The Hotel was decorated in Yellow, White, Black, and Gray. The only deviation from this scheme was the orange front doors on the Villas
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Beyond the pool to the rear of the property is the spa with massage tables set up inside of draped cabanas
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel The outdoor massage tables
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Outdoor Showers Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
The Citron Dining Room Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Outdoor dining for the Citron Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Facing onto the other pool which is behind the Citron Dining Room were outdoor dining cabanas
Dad and Joyce at Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
My Dad and Joyce patiently waiting for me. Gin and Tonic's were welcome. The sun was low and the purple haze particular to that time of day was casting shadows on the mountains behind the Hotel.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel The sun was creating a halo effect around the palm trees.
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel
Leaving through the lobby and saying good-bye to the Koi
Viceroy Palm Springs Hotel A perfect end to a perfect day
It have to admit that I’m not a lover of all things Barbie! However, I can hardly let the 50th anniversary pass by without giving this famous iconic doll a mention.
Bloomacious have some wonderful images of the latest Malibu Barbie Dream Home designed by Jonathan Alder. Whilst I agree that the living area is almost beyond believe, I actually have to admit that the bedroom has some great interior design features, not least the bed linen. I wouldn’t go as far as the B initials on the cover and pillow covers, but the white with contrasting bold lines offers a clean look which coordinated effectively with the Barbie pink shown abundantly in the rest of the room.
I’m undecided about the table lamps, the black coordinates with the trim of the bedding but the base seems out of keeping, unless of course it depicts a silhouette of Barbie and I’m missing the whole point!
What does intrigue me is the fabric covered ceiling and walls. This is a great idea for covering up walls in a rented home which you really can’t stand the sight of and are unable to redecorate due to landlord’s terms of rental. Buy yards of fabric, not necessarily Barbie pink! from discount fabric warehouses or online. Simply use a curtain track to suspend them by and hey presto! one unsightly wall transformed!
And for those for you who are wondering if I ever had a Barbie doll the answer is a most definite NO! Happy Birthday Barbie!
Barbie debuted on March 9, 1959 and I can still remember buying my very first 'Barbie'. I was 10 years old and I saved my quarter weekly allowance until I had enough to buy her. I remember looking at the rows of available 'models' until I finally chose one, that I think was to resemble Diana Ross of the Supremes. She had a black Afro haircut and was wearing a long strapless black sequin gown with a fringe of black tulle on the bottom. I still have her packed away somewhere. I spent hours making houses for her from the sleeves of my paper cut-out dolls. That is probably where my passion for Interior Design started.
Barbie's living room
Interior Designer, Jonathan Adler has decked out a real-life 3,500-square-foot pad overlooking the Pacific Ocean to look like the blond doll's outrageous home to celebrate her 50th birthday. He was commissioned by Mattel Inc. to decorate the house for today's party. The installation took six months of planning and a few weeks to install.
I love what Adler said about having Barbie as a client: "Barbie was a dream client because she doesn't exist as a person, she exists as fantasy and is the perfect client because she's always happy and fun and loves everything."
He lined Barbie's bedroom with wall-to-wall pink carpeting emblazoned with her initial. Her closet is filled with 50 pairs of pink peep-toe heels while her kitchen is stocked with cupcake-making ingredients. An in-house museum features 25 vintage Barbie dolls on display. In the garage? A pink Volkswagen New Beetle with a motorized pop-up vanity in the trunk.
So where's Ken? "Ken's around, but does she need Ken?" said Adler. "No."
Moorish interior are full of luxury, colour and texture! I particularly love the ceiling with its decoration and vibrant colours in this room designed by Interior Designer Todd Black.
The mixture of textures seems to almost defy all design principles and yet as the Moorish influence is so overwhelming it works wonderfully!
There is so much to look at, the shapes and colours in some almost overwhelming and yet the more I look the more this design fascinates me!
From the exquisite detailing on the backs of the chairs to the ‘fun’ elements such as the gold curtain holdbacks, each has purpose and presence.
The colours Todd Black has incorporated are in keeping with traditional Moorish décor, I have to admit the only piece which somehow appears out of keeping are the black and white patterned curtains which you appear to look through. I think I would have opted for the same as the far door curtains in pale blue-grey, but I’m sure Todd has a purpose for the stripes as an essential part of the design concept!
The room has an almost cluttered look and yet on inspection nothing is out of place! It is just a room which is filled with luxurious, elegant pieces from top to bottom and everything in between.
You would have to admit that this interior would not work at all well in a modern ‘box’ home; but that’s the great thing about designs such as these, you take one or two ideas and use them with great effect in your own home.
Just looking at this rooms gives inspiration and a vision as to how you can use colour, texture and style effectively.
For further information on this Moorish room design and image source visit Bloomacious
