The Designer Gardens
House CZ by SAMI Architectos
A quiet contemporary home overlooks the Azorean coast in the middle of the great Altantic. The House CZ by SAMI Architectos feels as peaceful and isolated as the rarity of its plot, one that few world travelers ever get to see. House CZ is perched on a hill on the tiny island of Ilha do Pico, part of the Azores archipelago that is located roughly half way between Portugal and Nova Scotia. This home takes advantage of the rich natural environment on Pico, where pine trees and native grasses surround an open field that is tended to by grazing sheep.
The design of House CZ focuses on subtlety and a desire to merge with the hilly topography of Ilha do Pico. The single-story structure comprises four internal sections that can be opened to the outer environment. The northern section overlooks the coast in the distance, while the southern section peers into the contours of the hills above. Based on the direction of the wind and the climate within the home, these sections can be opened to allow the natural outer flow to maintain comfort. Unlike the black wooden exterior, the interior is white on all sides, given color by the furnishings and guests within the home. This balance between clean modernity and the natural landscape is well-maintained, as the windows of House CZ make the Azorean island the art that adorns its walls.
Professional Organizer Lisa O’Connell Gives an Insider’s Perspective on Controlling Clutter
Lisa OConnell has been a professional organizer in Canada for more than a decade. Through her company, Positive Place Design, she helps her clients discover the core reasons that their homes, offices, and lives are cluttered, and works with them to clear the chaos and create systems to maintain an organized space.
Love & Architecture
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner, but more importantly, the famed Sinatra estate Twin Palms. Image via Curbed.
Curbed posts today on old hollywood romances, and the houses they happened in. Our favorite, naturally, is the mod: the Twin Palms estate in Palm Springs whose original owner was Frank Sinatra. One of the midcentury Palm Springs landmarks that’s managed to escape demolition, the house was built in 1947 and designed by E.
Liyuan Library by Li Xiaodong Atelier
Li Xiaodong Atelier has completed a meaningful work of municipal architecture for the village of Huairou, a small town outside of Beijing, China. The Liyuan Library is a quiet, relaxing environment for literary study and entertainment. Its interior is bright, warm and airy, featuring multiple terraced levels and a high, naturally lit ceiling. Glass sections stretch across the walls and ceiling, even behind the bookshelves, letting light into the interior as filtered by the external fascia. Thousands of bundled sticks, all reclaimed from the local environment, stretch across nearly every inch of the exterior. Here and there, rectangular breaks in the stick pattern allow light inside like a standard window would do. No matter the viewpoint, whether you’re sitting inside or viewing from a distance, the Liyuan Library is a remarkable work of architecture, one that could pass for a temple if it weren’t employed as a library.
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8 Ways to Decorate with Table Lamps
Table lamps often have been treated like the prime maiden aunts of the lighting world, but as these examples show, they’ve recently undergone something of a makeover and are turning up in surprising roles in surprising places. Most people think ceiling fixtures when planning illumination for their dining areas, but in intimate—read, tight—spaces a table lamp creates a café ambience, particularly when they’re painted in unexpected contemporary colors. A nightstand lamp is a must, of course, but there’s no reason not to mix and match styles and to introduce styles usually reserved for more formal spaces. Here are m