The simplicity and practicality of Modern Houses in Bold and Cleaned Lined Designs.
AT HOME IN THE MODERN WORLD
asia
CLEAN HOUSES
JULY / AUGUST 2014 Rp. 45.000 ,Visionaries Lane : Smart solution for Urban living in Cultural Sorrounding JULY / AUGUST 2014
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LETTERS FROM EDITOR
CLEAN HOUSES
In a moderately short period of time, Asia has stolen the spotlight in the global design industry. Not only Japan – with its vast progress of technology, but many other Southeast Asian countries have risen up in notably interesting spectacles. In this issue, we are putting the spotlight on how modern design in the region has been enriched and how each white wall has a different story which vibrates a strong character to spaces, until it finally puts identity into the dwelling. Simplicity and practicality are the core ideas of modern life which have transformed the lines and geometric shapes into a pure coexistence.A clean manifestation of a homeowner’s lifestyle, interests, passions, habits, and soul are expressed through the design. The tendency to have white walls is undeniable. It may look plain, but take a closer look and one will see the amazing contribution of each material and element in building a simple, yet interesting abode. Just like what one of Indonesian architects has done in constructing his dream for the family in a clean-lined design and refreshing ambience (page 52).
the view into the home. Besides the visual aspect, in building a house one must make friend with the local climate as an inherent part of design process. We visited a house in Bukit Timah, Singapore which acquired the spirit of simplicity in the design, while thoughtfully embracing the country’s tropical climate (page 64). With the touch of timber ribbon, the architect has managed to build a nice flow around the house, while at the same time created a perfect solution for privacy. The journey in this issue is summarized in one word: clean.This is how modern design became a universal language accepted by many cultures and nationalities. Our discussion with Eko Priharseno - a designer who owns an interior shop in Jakarta - can open up the understanding on how designs are expanding boundaries (page ico).A discussion with Bandung-based architects SUB expressed how their belief in modern world never pulls them away from their root and character (page 96). These are truly the beaming lights for the promising design climate in Asia, today and in the future.
The clean shape, simple lines, and white walls are adorned with attractive patterns and various openings-welcoming daylight, fresh air and
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CONTENTS
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Be inspired by the turning of a 450-square-foot apartment into an eight-unit live-work building in San Diego, named La Esquina, whose artful tenants from Woodbury University make every corner as fascinating as they are lively.
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Take a peek into the wondrous choices of home interiors and seatings in colourful shades, while exploring the innovative world of kitchen space, laundry room, and apartments. And don’t miss out on feasting on veranda, only in Portico restaurant, Singapore, and enjoying works of Australian artists in Hotel Hotel, Canberra.
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Clean lines, unadorned, yet rich in texture and visual features, the design of this house in Bukit Timah, Singapore, focuses around a timber ribbon screen.
Be the witness to Sally Julien home transformation, from a ‘teardown’ midcentury house in Issaquah into a modern dwelling with an unlock view to the Lake Sammamish.
Trace the spatial continuity concept of Ivan Priatman’s family home in Surabaya, Indonesia, and see how every room is innovatively connected to each other, along with its clever exploitation of-tropical climate.
LETTERS FROM EDITOR
RACHEL LOVELOCK
Rachel Lovelock’s childhood dream was to live on a tropical island and become a writer, but she spent 19 years working for a corporate company in the UK before making the momentous decision, in 1998, to change her life. She is now living her dream on the island of Bali, writing for magazines and guidebooks.
MARGOT DOUGHERTY
Editor of Hunters Alley and One Kings Lane’s Vintage & Market Finds, Margot Dougherty is based in Venice, California, where architect Don Dimster’s duplex is located (My House, p. 60). “A great discovery during the project was finding a bootleg cellar during construction,” she says.
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A photographer who works in the fields of science, industry, art, design and nature, Spencer Lowell’s clients include National Geographic, Time and Wired. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife and son. For this issue he photographed “Designed for Living” (p. 72). “The Fissmer-Loehnen family lives in a beautiful space where nothing had to be staged,” he says.
SPENCER LOWELL
YE RIN MOK
Capturing the Barrio Logan project (Nice Modernist, p. 48) was a new experience for Los Angeles-based photographer Ye Rin Mok. “I got to shoot an entire complex of units as opposed to an individual house,” Mok says. “At the end of the shoot, we all gathered on a neighbor’s patio for a barbecue - a wonderful end to the day.” Mok’s work has appeared in Apartamento, Monocle, Wired and The New York Times
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PRODUCTS
WONDRUOUS QUIRKS
Take a look at the paper artwork at dining room walls of paper artist, Pierre Pozzi’s new home in Valencia, Spain, which brings out an enchanting effect he calls “frou-frou”.
A. DL-L Drawer and Console by Craft Bro Company Who says that a table should stand on four legs? Craft Bro. Company speaks out through the 'anomaly' of the three-legged DL-L Drawer, which comes in a mix of walnut, ebony, maple, and brass with oil finish. A drawer on the side gives an edge of functionality to the table, makes it an unconventional piece of eccentricity. craftbrocompanv.co.kr.
B. Three-legged Magazine Table by STUDIO248 There’s not enough pleasure in reading a magazine without the company of ‘ease. Standing on durable wooden legs that make for a unique structure, steel plates are shaped in unique angles to store your lovely
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reading material, while a flat-topped surface is available to support precious belongings and refreshments to keep you going through the pages. golf.studio248.com
C. Asterisk Lamp by Lilianna Manahan As seen in the Asterisk Lamp, Lilianna Manahan embodies childhood memories and the whimsical appeal of children's tales into her works. Standing on a table top exposing its brass casted body, which emulates an imaginary figure of satellites, Asterisk's roving head beams its light in any direction in accordance with the user's needs. studiomagee.com
D. Trinity Hammocks by Gilbert Tourville Now the third wheels won't feel so lonely anymore. These comfortable hand-woven and quilted hammocks have a three-ring design made of durable stainless steel, offering the opportunity for a group laze as well as an intimate conversation. trinityhammocks.com
E. Side Table by Ffrash Turning trash into functionally beautiful products is amazing, but having less-fortunate children become green artisans and entrepreneurs by baking bottle caps that transform into colourful plates of plastic is the innovative world of Ffrash. Give your loom a touch of "ffrashness" with this funk y green and blue Ode table! ffrash.com
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W O N D R U O U S Q U I R K S | PRODUCTS
F. MicroSun by Conture Indonesia What kind of life would we have without the sun, our one most loyal source of light? Bringing its warmth to people on Earth, MicroSun takes the form of a pendant lamp made of a special concrete mix that exudes lightness, with aesthetic versatility to either stand or be hung from the ceiling. facebook.com/ contureindonesia
G. Vortex by The Rugmaker Who wouldn’t wish to dive into the magical realm of Wonderland and live an adventure? As the initial design of the ‘Into the Rabbit Hole’ collection, Vortex rug embodies the enchanting portal through the use of t00% New Zealand Wool and an array of colors with patterned shapes that invite outsiders to enter the whimsical world of Alice. therugmaker. com.sg
H. Moscha by Innovabric How do you add personality to a room? Cushions will do it, especially with a taste of the traditional incorporated, as seen in the Toraja colors cushion from Moscha Living. Bearing Indonesian ethnicity on its Orange Leaf color, this 5ox5o cm cushion is simply impossible to miss. moschaliving. com
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I. Wild Berry by Anna Garin for Designer Rugs Picking wild berrieswn the meadow and eating them with cream and sugar is Anna’s enchanting childhood memory that gives birth to the Wild Berry rug. Bestowing the dreamy quality of her youth into the Forsa Collection, the use of Tibetan Wool and traditional Nepalese hand knotting techniques enhance the Scandinavian aesthetic to her storytelling. designerrugs.com.au
J. Grand Suite by EOOS for Walter Knoll What could be more important than your private life? Ensure its sacredness by providing the truest form of luxury for your seating arrangements with the Grand Suite. Showcasing a horizontal line of upholstery that flows into the armrest and board, this modular sofa is crafted to perfection with a choice of fine materials.walterknoll.de
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PRODUCTS
BRIGHT ON
Enliven your interior with a punch of supersaturated color in the form of vivid furniture and lighting pieces.
A. Mitt chair by Claudia & Harry Washington for Bernhardt Design Inspired by a baseball glove’s shape and stitching detail, the versatile upholstered lounge chair features soft, rounded edges-a boon for families with young children. Made in the USA. bernhardtdesign.com
B. Lazy sofa bed by Andreas Lund for Softline This isn’t your standard pull-out sofa; pushing the backrest down creates a flat sleeping surface. Available in hundreds of fabric and color combina¬tions. softline.dk
C. Neon tables by Sebastian Herkner for Haymann Thin layers of white onyx are placed atop acrylic to achieve an acid-washed look for the steel-legged tables. haymanneditions.com
D. Twiggy lamp by Marc Sadler for Foscarini Foscarini, an Italian lighting manufac¬turer, introduced seven limited-edition rainbow inspired colors of its popular LED or incandescent floor lamp. foscarini.com
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E. Contemplation I rug by as mina Benazzou for Tai ping Celebrating abstract art, the wool-and-flax carpet’s golden radient mimics the effect of diluted paint spilled on aper. taipingcarpets.com
F. Bar Technicolor pillow by Leah Singh Bands of vibrant wool embroidery adorn the cotton throw pillow made in India. leahsingh. bigcartel.com
G. Swell sofa by Jonas Wagell for Normann Copenhagen Available in 21 hues spanning lemon yellow to rich purple, Swell now comes in two- and three-seat models. normann-copenhagen.com
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PRODUCTS
FRAME OF THRONES
Structure comes forward in this armada of architecturally inclined sofas and armchairs.
A. Superkink chairs by Osko+ Deichmann for Bla Station Tubular steel pieces often feature a gentle bend, but the Swedish manufacturer Bla Station creases the corners as an angular statement. Comes in fabric or leather upholstery. blastation.com
B. Altay sofa by Patricia Urquiola for Coedition Coedition of France debuted its inaugural line this year. Prolific designer Patricia Urquiola created the Altay, which sports a glossy black coat on its beech frame. coedition.fr
C. Fly sofa SC3 by Space Copenhagen for &Tradition Movable cushions make it easy to get comfortable on this dowel-backed looker. Choose from white oiled oak (shown) or a darker smoked-wood version. andtradition.com
D. Elysia lounge chair by Luca Nichetto for De La Espada A frame in solid American black walnut (shown) or European ash hugs a padded seat and backrest. Fabric upholstery options include blue, red, and dove gray. delaespada.com
E. Yas by Samuel Accoceberry for Bosc Historically, stilt walking was a common way to move through wet terrain in the Gascony region of southwestern France. Bosc, a local furniture maker, uses this reference for its eiderdown-filled sofa. bosc-leslandes.fr
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PRODUCTS
ENGINEERING ROOM harnessing the latest high-tech --Inovations, like 3-D printing and -ianotechnology, manufacturers are using science to create forward¬-.hinking design
A. Zartan Raw chair by Philippe Starck and Eugeni Quitllet Using a mixture of recycled polypropyl¬ene and natural wood fiber, the Italian manufacturer has made a stacking chair whose production is kinder to the environment. magisdesign.com
B. Afilla pendant lights by Alessandro Zambelli for .exnovo Marrying new materials with traditional ones, this lighting series features 3-D printed nylon shades and a Swiss-pine structure. exnovo-italia.com
C. Midsummer rug by Ritva Puotila for Woodnotes Consisting of tightly woven strands of paper yarn, the Midsummer rug is hypoaller¬genic, stain resistant, and easy to clean. woodnotes.fi
D. Boiacca Wood table by LucidiPevere for Kristalia Oak legs support a tabletop made from Fenix-NTM, a water-repellent, anti-bacterial surface developed using nanotechnology. Though it looks like stone, the surface is soft and warm to the touch. kristalia.it
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Q&A
A ROYAL MATCH Few brands can match Royal Selangor’s decorated history.
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Proven to be as malleable as the pewter from which it has made its fortune, the brand has evolved from a humble 19th century cottage industry into a 21st century business empire. It has also elevated its products from common souvenirs to items and collectibles sought after for their design value. Since the crucial decision to form an in-house design team in 1978, the brand has continued to expand its design repertoire by collaborating with contemporary designers, as well as perfecting the pewter-smithery. This year the brand has met a royal match — the lacquer brand Zohiko of Kyoto; one of Japan’s oldest stewards of `urushi; or the lacquering arts. Together, these two brands share almost five centuries of craftsmanship and, out of their collaboration, has been born an exquisite, limited edition —only 88 pieces are available to order — sculpture Shori, which combines fine pewter craftsmanship and an age-old lacquering technique called `maki-e: Literally translated as ‘sprinkled picture’, maki-e is a traditional multi-layered lacquering in which metallic dust is sprinkled to ‘paint’ a design on a wet lacquered surface using a ‘funzutsu’ (bamboo sprinkler) and a ‘kebo’ (hair-tipped paintbrush) — a technique Zohiko is famous for and has practised since 1661. This manual airbrushing technique is a painstaking process that often requires over one hundred layers of repeated lacquering and sprinkling that could take months to finish. We caught up with Royal Selangor’s Executive Director, Yong Yoon Li, and Zohiko’s president, Tsuyoshi Nishimura, in Singapore to share more about their collaboration. How did the collaboration come to be?
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Yong Yoon Li (YYL): It was a matchmaking process. We have a mutual friend — the Ymamoto family from the Zippan group. The family introduced us to the Nishimura family, who told us they were interested in collaborating with Royal Selangor. Tsuyoshi Nishimura (TN): We’re always on the lookout to expand our products by collaborating with companies outside of Japan.
We look for companies that have the same values as us, a company rooted in tradition — a company that is unlike any other in the world. Royal Selangor fits those criteria. We also aim to continually evolve. What was your initial reaction on mixing pewter with lacquer? YYL: I said it was madness! It’ll never work! But then they [Zohiko] did some test-work with one of our products — this plaque with nine koi carps on it. They did the maki-e technique on it and the result was, WOW! It was intricate, so superbly detailed — they even added this mother-of-pearl water drop on the lily pad. We were amazed at how well the lacquer worked on the pewter. So we said, Okay, let’s do this. The sculptures are cast in Malaysia and then flown to Kyoto for Zohiko to finish with maki-e. What was the biggest challenge in crafting Shori?
into foggy mountain. The finished look appears like dark mirrors, but on closer inspections it reveals layers upon layers of blue. Traditionally mine kumonuri is done in a green color. Shori premiered the blue version. It captures deep water and it casts a mystery that draws the viewers closer. YYL: All these are also displayed on a wooden box with matched wood grain. All of the boxes for the 88 pieces came from a single giant tree in a churchyard in Penang that was brought down by a storm. We’re salvaging the wood.
What’s next for Royal Selangor and Zohiko? YYL: If last year Royal Selangor was about collaboration with contemporary artists, then this year it’s all about culture. We released our India-inspired collection in the first half of 2014 and now Shod is heralding an up-and-coming collection inspired byJapan. You’ll see more lacquer arts on our products too. TN: In the olden days in Japan, it was fashionable for men to carry a medicine pouch that contained a lacquered box, but that’s not so today. Nowadays, men carry pens and wear watches. We should integrate lacquer with these practical things, updating them so that more people will use lacquered items more often. We will continue to do this and we are always open for collaborations.
TN: Everything! But that is what makes the effort worthwhile, and what makes the effort so rewarding. Lacquer sap is a very temperamental substance. It will harden when the air is at a certain humidity so we must keep the air just right. Some days, when it’s really dry, it will not harden and we have to wait, other days when it’s raining and humid, it will harden too fast so we must wait. Can you share a bit about the Maki-e techniques you developed specially for Shori? TN: Aside from the three finishes on the koi, Go [bronze], lrodori [multi-colored] and Miyabi [gold], the the back panel and the base upon which the Shori is displayed is also treated with a maki-e technique called ‘mine kumonuri,’ which translates
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MATERIAL
THE ART OF FOLDING
Paper and stone have nothing in common. For the Ishi Kiri Collection, Odyssey takes up the challenge by transforming the former onto the latter, with inspiration driven from origami the art of Japanese paper folding.
Imagine the flexibility and lightness of paper, and try picturing the way it folds and can be sculpted to form any shape you want. The feel of folding paper should be familiar enough, since almost every childhood memory involves certain contact with origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. The fascination shown towards this art-form might be due to the whimsically versatile transformation brought by a piece of paper that holds no bound to creativity . That kind of charm is impossible to miss, as Odyssey can vouch to be true. Aiming to be the best yet evolving master in the field of stone design, Odyssey Stone Architecture & Design uses its creative hunger to score breakthroughs above the common trends by exploring various stones while pursuing innovation in design. The company’s latest inspiration is the art of origami. Ruchika Grover, the Director of Odyssey, revealed why they were motivated to mix the unthinkable formula of paper and stone, “We wanted to create awe and surprise and make everyone rethink stone and its application.” Reflecting on the possible outcome of translating the contour of origami paper into stones, Ishi Kiri Collection was conceived. Grover reminisced about how they came up with the idea for the collection, “We were looking at creating dimensional surfaces which gave the feel of paper and could be interspersed with light; the Japanese art of paper folding, origami, was the basis of our inspiration for this collection.” Following the birth of the idea, Odyssey made an extensive research of origami folding patterns and its nterpretation in stone, while searching for the required types of marble, granite, and tools to achieve the desired finish and proportions. The main objective of the collection was to create a dramatic -orm of stone installation by exploiting :he paper-like pleats and creases in multi-dimensional form. For an extraordinary and dramatic esult, the surfaces can be customarily designed using back-lit and front-lit options for the walls. “The dimensionality of the surface allows a varied intensity of ht to pass through the different patterns, and since the surfaces use natural white marble as the base, the veind the natural formations are also - ghlighted in every installation,” explained Grover, “and when it’s back-lit front-lit, each pattern has. 18
PRODUCTS
This
passing of light through the pattern of the installations becomes the key feature of the collection, and a 30-mm Indian white marble sheet, known for its translucency, is used for engraving deep into the pattern, which enables the lights to penetrate and show up on the surface. Each with a distinct identity and features, the installations for this collection can be used in numerous spaces; spas, bath areas, boundary walls, bars, just to name a few. The collection itself offers a mix of geometric, floral, classical, modern, and straight lines, up to 20 designs. The four designs considered to be the best-sellers are: ‘Taiyou,’ which means ‘sun’ in Japanese, displaying a circular pattern with engraving that emits light in a way that resembles the rays of the sun; ‘Hana; which uses well-defined flower petals to form a floral pattern, intensifying its beauty when installed with full light passing through the carving; ‘Sankaku’ is designed using Jurassic yellow limestone and Indian white marbles whose formations not only project a multi-dimensional look and feel, but also display a rotational appearance on the passing light, just like the sails of a windmill; last but not least, ‘Puritsu,’ which means pleats in Japanese, shows a grand pattern of delicate pleats harmonizing with the engravings and emitting the overall JULY / AUGUST 2014
look of a flower. “When one thinks of stone, words like heavy, cumbersome, bulky and solid cross the mind, but we have tried to dispel those notions with Ishi Kiri by making it translucent and paper-like,” spelled out Grover. She stated that the image they want to project is that of Odyssey pushing the envelope and exploring possibilities in a medium of stone that is rarely explored. And how has the response to this innovative approach been? To this, Grover stated, “Most of the people viewing the collection for the first time want to touch and feel the surface to really believe what they are seeing.” • One of Ishi Kin Collection’s best-seller, Puritsu (opposite) is inspired by pleats, as was shown by the way it syncs with the engravings and give out a grand flower-look pattern. While it’s fashioned in a form of flower, Hana (left) pass on light thrhough the carving of its well-defined flower petals, while Sankaku (below, left) is designed with 2 stones, Jurassic Yellow Limeston and Indian White Marble, in triangular form to give a multi¬dimensional look and feel, and Taiyou (below, right) ‘shines’ as bright as the sun through the use of circular pattern.
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HOTEL REGISTER
ENLIVENING JOURNEY
With a discerning creativity and fine craftsmanship, this hotel embraces the charm of mid-century style in collaboration with contemporary designers, makers and artists.
Oculus, the hotel’s grand stair is a geometric explosion of handcrafted salvaged local timbers. Rough-formed concrete structural lintels had been woven to create the feeling of a single, vast space that leads visitors to a hotel foyer — which looks more like a fancy living room than a lobby.
texture. Hotel Hotel’s rooms are the outcome of Nectar’s inspiration from the Australian shack, Cameron; while Efkarpidis had created and applied a quintessentially Australian vernacular to each room. Moreover, the spirit of mid-century style with a contemporary mind frame in the hotel’s 99 rooms will instantly steal the attention.
Occupies three levels of Nishi building, Hotel Hotel was found by Johnathan and Nectar Efkarpidis, the brothers behind the initial idea. They love of hotels — as reminder of human’s transience and the importance of romance — encouraged them to put the idea into reality by made use of skillful craftsmanship to all of the hotel’s elements.
The Efkarpidis know exactly what they want, which is not another boutique art hotel. An intense collaboration with more than 56 designers, makers and artists was resulting in warm, artsy, profound and intriguing spaces. The secret garden and library is available near the foyer area to accommodate the guests and give them more alternatives of activity with books stocked by specialized small press publisher and distributor Perimeter books.
It is Efkarpidis’ desire to eschew and discard the consumptive culture of contemporary designs and manufactures. Restored 20th centuryfurnishings, collected objects, original artworks collected over ten years, and a limited run production of new pieces designed by Cameron and fabricated by European artisans bring up the soul of each room.
Many surprises will greet us when we walk inside the hotel, from the large scale of grand stairs to glassware to ceramics. Designed by March Studio in collaboration with a landscape architects,
The enlivening journey starts from the outside to the foyer and into the bar before arriving at a room where simplicity is expressed with a rich
Nishi, one of Australia’s most sustainable buildings may look like a giant concrete pineapple when viewed from a far, but look closer and the building will reveal its fascinating detail. The architecture’s element forms a dynamic facade while allowing a modern approach to fill the interior with such an elegant design.
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The furniture’s characters fill in the space and arouse imaginations, while at the same time provide alluring comfort to the guests. •
“modern building Hotel Hotel brings in a touch of mid century furniture and create a story of colours, texture, and shape in each room. The Bar area are design with a simple construc¬tive way to match the feel from the Foyer.”
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SQUARE MEAL
A TOOTHSOME ADVENTURE With Portico’s charming setting, flourishing herb garden, and exceedingly creative fare, a feast on the veranda has never tasted so good.
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Tucked away inside an office
compound in Singapore’s Alexandra Road, ‘Portico’ is an oasis of green and calm. Guests enter along a pathway through the sunny, spacious alfresco dining area, which is decorated with a swing, greeneries and herb planters. Inside, photographs of Portico’s ‘families line the walls; guests can choose to be seated at the ‘dining room’ tables or at the intimate bar. The furniture, both indoor and out, combines blond teakwood with muted blue and cheerful splashes of citrusy colors and patterns that, together, create a friendly, relaxing seaside vibe to make you feel completely at home. Portico is the brainchild of two restaurateurs, Alicia Lin and Sean Lai, whc met a year ago when they opened neighboring restaurants in Singapore’s farmers’ market concept `Pasarbella: According to Lai, Portico is designed to create the experience of hanging out on a (sophisticated) friend’s porch. The kitchen is helmed by Executive Chef Leandros Stagogiannis, whose JULY / AUGUST 2014
resume includes UK restaurants FiftyThree, St. Pierre and The Fat Duck. Armed with a solid training in classical French cuisine and pastry, and the many techniques and skills he has learnt over the years, as well as an incredible sense of fun coupled with precision, Stagogiannis will take diners on an unforgettable culinary journey.
from the neighbouring islands of Indonesia. Then, to finish this exhilarating culinary adventure, Portico presents Lola — a custom-made, stateof-the-art coffee machine, which produces a gourmet cuppa like you’ve never tasted before.
The menu speaks volume about the chef’s creativity; who would have thought of putting together crispy sweetbread, onion puree and heart of palm in a salad? Or mixing soba noodles with truffles and ebi? How about pairing Tart au Citron with onion ice cream? These combinations are definitely risks worth taking. Amazingly these unusual flavor-pairings complement and balance each other wonderfully. This ingenuity also works in many other ways, such as satisfying your appetite, tickling (and expanding) your taste buds, and giving you some bragging rights both for having tasted something original and for having chosen to eat local. Yes, most of the ingredients are sourced locally, and the rest, regionally. The fish and selected seafood are fresh catches shipped daily from Pulau Ubin, while other particularities are sourced 23
RECOMMEND
ON THE BRIGHT SIDE The history of man overcoming darkness with the invention of artificial lighting, which led the march of civilization, is depicted through an inspiring collection of lights in over boo pages of truly illuminated works.
Milk Bottle by Tejo Remy, 1991 Features a dozen frosted glass milk bottles, the lights hang just above the floor in rows of three by four, as in the old days when Dutch milk was delivered in crates.
Liane by Jean Royere, c.1959 Made of wrought iron and vellum, the six slender rods of this floor lights were twisted and turned like spaghetti in a harmonious arrangement, creating a vibrant and seductive look
Lytegem by Michael Lax, 1967
This stunning high-intensity mini-lamp is not only equipped with a weighted-base for tabletop use and a bracket for wall-mounting, but also an extendable telescopic rod and a 360-degree
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The sun, the greatest light source of them all, has been the naturally decisive factor in the patterns of daily life since the earliest origins of humankind. With the great discovery of fire, the earliest means of artificial lighting was born in the form of campfires and torches.
the 20th century’s most thought-provoking electric lights are presented chronologically by decade — from Tiffany’s beautiful leaded glass shades to peculiarly surprising designs from the late 1960s and 1970s to the latest high-tech LED lamps — and represented by all major styles, from Art Nouveau to Radical to Contemporary.
The advancement of man-made light — from the oil lamp to the first practical incandescent electric light bulb, and on to fluorescent tube lighting — signified an independence from the rhythms of nature and progressively enabled humans to enter a non-stop 24-hour society.
Focusing on domestic lighting design from the late 1870s to the present day, the book shows how the development of electric lighting at the end of the 19th century concurred with the emergence of the new profession of industrial design and its exciting application to the various types of luminary design.
However simple it may appear today, the capabilityto turn on the light at the flick of a switch is one of mankind’s highest achievements and must never be taken for granted. To celebrate the power of light over darkness, TASCHEN’s 1000 Lights has put together a shining selection of interesting lights. A range of
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HOUSES WE LOVE
RISING ABOVE The history of man overcoming darkness with the invention of artificial lighting, which led the march of civilization, is depicted through an inspiring collection of lights in over boo pages of truly illuminated works.
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In a couple’s Mexico City apartment designed by David Levy of Flexform, a Murano chandelier hangs above a marble-topped dining table from the showroom (above The Antonio Citterio walnut-back Morgan chairs are also from Flexform (above right). In the midst of Mexico City’s ever-changing land-
scape, a time-honored residential model endures: the high-rise. It is in such a building that David Levy—owner of the furniture maker Flexform’s New York showroom and the head of the Mexico-based development firm Piso 18—has designed an apartment for an art-col¬lecting couple with two grown children and six grandchildren.
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“The clients particularly love Italian design,” says Levy, who established a European connection in the area most resembling a formal space, the dining room. “We tried to incorporate their love of European finishes and style into their casual yet still quite elegant living environment.” Located just off the entrance to the apartment and separated by a floating Calacatta-marble wall, the room is spare, save for a substantial white-marble-topped Flexform table surrounded by a dozen of Antonio Citterio’s solid-walnut Morgan chairs, designed for the Bulgari Hotel in London. Levy added a custom black-lacquered Italian sideboard to hold tableware. Levy sheathed the room in whitewashed pine, giving the illusion of more light, and clad the fireplace wall, which divides the room from the living room bar, in matte marble.
peek into the rooms beyond—allowing the space to be at once separated from and connected to them. Similarly, it can expand and contract as the family’s needs vary. “The couple can entertain their large family in the space, yet it still feels intimate enough to relax in at home after a long day,” says Levy, who adds that they use the room for “enjoying company, family reunions, casual relaxing, viewing the city, and fun.” With its generous band of horizontal win¬dows, the room looks down to the Piso 18—designed common area for the building’s residents, with walkways and children’s play areas. Beyond is a view of the bustling city, where cranes abound and a brand new batch of high-rises slowly ascends as a silent symbol of progress.
A deep, low-slung recess in the fireplace offers a
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HOUSES WE LOVE
AN ARTFUL LIVING
An apartment in Seoul had given a new face that breaths art into life from which a balanced living is manifested.
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There are so many aspects that can be taken up from a renovation. One important thing is a moment to reassess what works and what does not. This is where AnLstudio gets the opportunity to explore an interaction between an atelier and a dwelling space. The client, a traditional Korean painter and collector, desired a space in which she could not only invite guests to view her paintings, but also to live comfortably in an environment that can shelter her tools and works; challenging the architect with the project’s main goal: merging life with art, as well as public living with the private one. The proportions of the existing apartment presented some practical difficulties from the typical Korean LDK-type apartments which integrates The JULY / AUGUST 2014
living room, dining room and kitchen. The client’s apartment had a C-shaped wall in the center which divided the kitchen and living room, separating her life patterns in the two areas. Instead of .ieeIng this wall as an obstacle and rxestroying it altogether, AnLstudio took advantage of it as a gallery wall, while incorporating the use of geometrical lighting structures throughout the ceiling to perform a connection between the living room and the kitchen.
structures right and opposite, top) are arranged throughout the ceiling 50 suggest a linkage between the &lichen and living room.
These fixtures were installed to display elements with three different lighting sources: direct, indirect and spotlight. The lighting structures then release a flow through the entire space and create a hybrid of the exhibition areas and living spaces with a visual continuity. The apartment’s C-shaped wall opposite, bottom) is used as a gallery wall to display the aarner’s painting while geometrical lighting 29
ROOMS WE LOVE
HAPPY HAMPER
Often, we cleanse our duds in a wasteland of half-forgotten detergent bottles and dryer¬sheet-detritus. But one creative couple in Boston’s South End have reimagined their laundry room as a sanctuary.
According to architect Anne Barrett of the Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, firm 30E Design, the vision for revamping a laundry room in an 1849 Boston brownstone began with her favorite question: “What would James Turrell do?” The back-of-house space was originally a cold, dank hallway with a dingy aluminum vent linking the basement and first floor. Now anchored by a glowing borosilicate chute—illuminated by a bundle of fiber-optic cables—this laundry room is more of an art installation than a hub for domestic chores. The residents wanted the space to be as beautiful as it is functional. Barrett’s challenge was to create a minimalist de¬sign to conceal the water heater, cables, Miele washer and dryer, and storage space, all of which are now tucked away behind lacquered cabinets and chiseled lime¬stone. The sleek new laundry room forms a graceful passageway that serves as a transitional space from the main part of the house to the garden out back. The focal point of the sleek, white space is a glowing laundry chute (left) illumi¬nated from within by fiber-optic cables. The Pyrex tube was produced by a manufacturer of laboratory vacuum equipment and was sand-blasted from the inside to contain the light. The architect worked carefully to create ample storage for myriad uses, since the space doubles as a wet bar for entertaining
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due to its proximity to a garden terrace. The cabinetry cleverly conceals everything, including a custom drying rack (above).
“We were given the brief to treat the project as an art installation. We took the approach of ‘What would James Turrell do if he were to design a laundry room?” —Anne Barrett, architect
The top of the luminous chute sits beneath the residents’ first-floor sink; they can toss garments from their main bath¬room through the diffuse tube, and into a basket below. “Life is messy,” one resident says, “but we never have dirty clothes around. The laundry chute is a big deal in our lives because it makes the mess from upstairs vanish.” After occupying the house for over a decade, the residents knew exactly how to transform the space so it catered to their habits—and part of that meant that it does double-duty when they
JULY / AUGUST 2014
entertain. “When we’re not doing laundry,” says one, “this becomes a kitchenette—we can store glasses here, have drinks, a bucket of ice, and an hors d’oeuvres prep space for a garden party.” For these clients, at least, Barrett says, “the laundry room is the new kitchen.”
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KITCHEN WE LOVE
KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL A modest kitchen addition to a couple’s cottage outside of Brisbane proves that one 376-squarefoot room can revice an entire home.
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When Australian architects Paul Owen, Stuart Vokes, and Aaron Peters were hired to update a timber mountain house on the Sunshine Coast, outside of Brisbane, they went small and modern—a complement to the region’s Queensland vernacular style. They installed a new triangular kitchen extension, measuring only 376 square feet, to clarify the entry to the house and create space for informal gatherings. Historically, Australians often built their Kitchens away from the main house, mostly as a way to minimize fire damage, a com¬mon hazard for wood-framed structures in this hot, dry climate. The separate kitchen was outdated by the 1940s, but Owen and Vokes and Peters saw a certain elegance in such an arrangement, since it allowed for a veranda between the main house and the kitchen. “Neither inside nor outside, not quite a corridor and not quite a room,” Owen and Vokes JULY / AUGUST 2014
and Peters partner Aaron Peters says of verandas. “They’re delight¬fully ambiguous spaces that seem to be absent in many contemporary homes.” The extension is clad in panel boards made of fiber cement—a durable, cost-effi¬cient material from Australian manufactur¬erJames Hardie. The cladding is coated with heat-reflective Resene CoolColour paint in Blackjack to reduce heat stress on the new structure. The architects chose black to help the addition recede when seen through the surrounding foliage. By con¬trast, says Peters, “the original house is painted white to underscore its primacy in the composition. We wanted the new works not to dominate the original house.”
onto - moments in the garden and the OC of foliage. American oak—venee cabinetry, Carrara marble bench tops, and a custom surround for an EcoSmart fireplace contribute to the cozy interior.
The owners, a semiretired couple who intend to make the house their full-time residence, see the kitchen addition as a crucial social element where their extended family can convene to read the newspaper or sidle up for a chat while someone is pre¬paring dinner. Enhancing the intimacy and warmth of the kitchen is an adjacent stair-stepped lounge area that looks out onto the surrounding landscape. The architects created select apertures to the outside world with the careful placement of ea taking the focus off the broad, sweeping vistas and shifting the view 33
EVENT REPORT
MADE IN INDONESIA
Held in the middle of April 2014, I.MADE was a true celebration of design. Divided into two sessions, it started with a graduation ceremony for a total of 152 students, and continued with awards for the best students in each program. They were: Aswin Satriyo Aji for Fashion Design, Jessica Ariel for Fashion Business, Ivonne Prasetya Supandi for Interior Design, Patricia U for Digital Media Design, Pritha Primasari for Photography, and Agustina for Artistic Make-up. A fashion show took the stage for the second session, which opened with Bala Turangga dance by EKI Dance Company. The show had seven sequences: Sultanate: Vanity Fair; Retrospective; Cosmopolites; Thermo Dynamix; Kidswear Mini Collection: and a collection by Febriyantin Athila, the Hempel Award Finalist. “This year, LaSalle College showcased masterpieces from the best young designers, inspired by Indonesian culture,� concluded Mr. Douwes Lasmana, Head of Marketing & Communication.
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JULY / AUGUST 2014
35
REWIND
METAL OF ACHIEVMENT
Held in the middle of April 2014, I.MADE was a true celebration of design. Divided into two sessions, it started with a graduation ceremony for a total of 152 students, and continued with awards for the best students in each program. They were: Aswin Satriyo Aji for Fashion Design, Jessica Ariel for Fashion Business, Ivonne Prasetya Supandi for Interior Design, Patricia U for Digital Media Design, Pritha Primasari for Photography, and Agustina for Artistic Make-up. A fashion show took the stage for the second session, which opened with Bala Turangga dance by EKI Dance Company. The show had seven sequences: Sultanate: Vanity Fair; Retrospective; Cosmopolites; Thermo Dynamix; Kidswear Mini Collection: and a collection by Febriyantin Athila, the Hempel Award Finalist. “This year, LaSalle College showcased masterpieces from the best young designers, inspired by Indonesian culture,� concluded Mr. Douwes Lasmana, Head of Marketing & Communication.
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RENOVATION
THE BIG PAYBACK Plagued by remodeling pitfalls, tow tenacious home owners reinyent a soggy midcentury home outside Seattle as a modern masterpiece.
In 1963, the story goes, a mechanical engineer for McDonnell Douglas visited friends in Newport Beach, California, and fell in love with their house—believed to have been designed by Gordon Drake, or at least in his style. Ambitiously, if not ignorantly, the engi¬neer tried recreating the house from memory in his home city of Issaquah, Washington, drafting blueprints and undertaking construction with his brother. What he didn’t account for, though, were the obvious differences in weather conditions between dry and sunny Southern California and the rain-slogged Pacific Northwest. This shortsightedness, coupled with a layman’s understanding of construc-tion, resulted in a Popsicle-sticks-and¬bubble-gum structure whose open-air louvers welcomed—for nearly five decades—the ever-present moisture to rot, mold, sink, and ultimately destroy the house. That’s when Sally Julien found it. The designer and her partner, Peter Loforte, who works at Microsoft, had recently fallen in love with nursing sick homes back to health.
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The Seattle couple had just come off an easybreezy remodel of their Palm Springs vacation home when, a few months later, they discov¬ered the throwback house in Issaquah, with its L-shaped, five-bedroom layout that cascades down to the waterfront of Lake Sammamish. In its dismal condi¬tion, the house was being advertised as a teardown. “We started looking at it like, ‘Wow, this could be a good investment; it could be a really neat place,” Julien says, re¬calling her optimism at the prospect of spiffing up the house to what its original owners had, perhaps, intended. The couple had high hopes for a smooth process, but trouble began almost immediately. “Very little, if anything, had been done to the house since 1963,” Julien says. “Rolling off the Palm Springs remodel, we got a little cocky, I’ll admit. A George Nelson Cigar lamp and Mahn fireplace were salvaged in the living room (top and above). The fireplace was powder-coated orange to complement the vintage furnishings. The sofa is from Design Within Reach; the coffee table is by Alexander Girard for Knoll. A pair of undated paintings by Arthur L. Kaye hang on a wall painted in a Benjamin Moore hue custom matched to the outside of the window frames. The triangular nesting tables are a vintage find. “They’re always billed as ‘guitar pick tables,— Julien says. I got brought back down to earth very quickly.” After calling in Seattle-based architect Jim Burton of Blip Design for the initial scheme, Julien turned
to a friend, archi¬tect Grace Kim of Schemata Workshop, and contractor Steve Fradkin. “There was no real structural logic. behind the house,” says Fradkin, who had to reframe and waterproof about 65 percent of the house because of the rot; replace all the windows; add a new roof; and figure out head-scratching foundation problems. For example, one day a demolition crewman put the tip of his wrecking bar on the ground for support while he caught a few moments of re t. He was shocked to watch the tool effrt-lessly sink into the ground like a chopstick into warm tofu. The poured-concrete foundation was sitting on a massive sinkhole. When Fradkin and his crew began excavating, they found that the original builders, when faced with the Central to the living room is a pair of George Mulhauser for Plycraft chairs (left). Theadjacent dining room, which retained its original shape but lost the wall nearest the kitchen (below), sports a Galaxy chandelier from Rejuvenation, a custom table, and Gideon Kramer Ion chairs. Working with architect Glace Kim of Schemata Yibrkshott, the couple retained original features like the shoji saeens separating the master bedroom (bottom right) from the living room below. Julien, who runs a design and staging firm, added a chaise longue that she found on eBay (bottom left).
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T H E B I G P A Y C H E K | RENOVATION
“We were given the brief to treat the project as an art installation. We took the approach of ‘What would James Turrell do if he were to design a laundry room?” —Anne Barrett, architect problem of an underground stream, apparently attempted to fill it by toss¬ing in cut wood logs, sacks of concrete still in the bag, and other debris. “I’ve been in business 23 years and have never seen anything like it,” Fradkin says. “Whoever built it didn’t under¬stand it at all. They were obviously used to dry weather.” Fradkin decided not to disturb the sinkhole too much. It had been working up to that point; no rea¬son to muck with it. Instead, he drove a threeinch pipe into the sinkhole and bracketed it to the concrete foundation. He then backfilled and buried the hole as much as possible—a dirty fix to a filthy problem. Julien, however, was just about at her wit’s end. With the extensive rot, a sinkhole, and buried ductwork that was in need of replacing—not to mention the skyrocketing budget—the couple were prepared to walk. “At least two times, I remember Sally and Peter had thrown up their hands and said, ‘That’s it. We’re going to sell the house,” Kim says. “I said, ‘Sally, there is no house to sell. We need to put it back together to do that.” Once Fradkin solved the structural challenges, Julien got to work on the interiors. To enter the house, guests descend a staircase, walk through a small courtyard, and open two heavy wood doors, original to the house, that Julien and
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Loforte painted orange. The doors open to a reddish-orange abstract painting that Julien picked up in a Seattle antiques store. The vibrant piece serves as the basis for the interior color scheme: bright, fun, and a little cuckoo. Case in point: When the need arose far a vertical design element in the living room, Julien set out with a friend to an antique mall, where a World War II test bomb hit the mark. “My friend was say¬ing, ‘You can’t buy a bomb,- Julien says. “And I’m ignoring her, like, ‘I think it’ll k in your car.’ Next thing we know, we’re leaving with a bomb.”
A. Garage B. Dining room C. Living room D. Kitchen E. Family room F. Storage G. Woman Cave H. Master bedroom
I. Double Height open space J. Dressing room K. Master bathroom L. Laundry room M. Bathroom N. Bedroom O. Man cave P. Exercise room
Explosive decor aside, the true visual attraction is Lake Sammamish. Julien seized every opportunity to make it the star of the house. The kitchen space, for example, had been closed off and al¬most hidden, despite its potential to open up toward the lake. “That was the ‘6os,” Julien says. “People didn’t want to see the kitchen.” Fradkin and his crew knocked down a wall and installed a moment frame to unlock the view to the water, which is really what the house has always been about. Only now, the water is kept safely outside.
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RENOVATION
LITTLE BY LITTLE A professor takes the first step toward creating a new model for micro-living in San Diego.
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It was the middle of the aughts when Woodbury University professor Hector Perez rallied a group of architects to pool their resources and buy nine lots in the historic Barrio Logan neighbor-hood of San Diego, near the Mexican border, to develop as campus space for the school. Then the economy stalled, and the plans for the university shifted to another area nearby. But the archi-tects kept the parcels with the intention of developing them in a way that would best serve the community.
come from money, with all the marbles riding on this thing.” The units, which range in size from 450 to 595 square feet, are all based on the same principle: a high-ceilinged main volume that gives way to a lower ceiling over the kitchen and bathroom, above which Perez shoehorned an open sleeping loft accessed by a ladder-like stairway. The smaller ground-floor units have street-side patios, while three larger units on the second floor include shared open courtyards and private patios overlooking the neigh-borhood, with its colorful murals and eclectic mix of prewar and colonial-style buildings. Working within a tight budget, Perez managed to build for >
The first lot to be developed now holds a double-height, mixed-use build-ing of Perez’s design, where, in less than 4,000 square feet, he has created eight live-work units, each with a dedicated outdoor space. “I’m sort of the canary in the coal mine, being the first to build, but we were lucky in that all the units were leased by word of mouth before construction was even complete,” says Perez, who named the building La Esquina, meaning “the corner” in Spanish—a reference to its position in the neighborhood. “It’s an incredibly scary thing to be a developer when you don’t JULY / AUGUST 2014
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L I T T L E B Y L I T T L E | RENOVATION
“Although the units are small, we wanted to have them paired with an outdoor space. It’s a sustainable layout.” — Hector Perez, designer
around $130 a square foot, relying on board-formed concrete walls, plywood paneling, and passive cooling. On the building’s exterior Corbusian in its geometric whiteness, punctuated by a few bits of color— Perez has placed what he calls “my nod to the premier Hispanic figure in America,” a 3-D mural of Cesar Chavez. Conceptualized by Perez’s r3-year-old son, Adrian, executed by artists Titus Dimson and Tony Salamone, and de¬signed to be viewed with 3-D glasses, the portrait “is based on a dignified image of Chavez, rendered in a graphic, 21st-century way,” says Perez. It’s an appropriate gesture for the neighbor¬hood: Just a few blocks away, Cesar E. Chavez Parkway leads to a large park named for the human-rights activist. Adrian, who grew up while this project was being completed, knows firsthand the dedication required to create a thoughtful development. “He was there with me from day one, clearing weeds, and picking up trash from the lot,” says Perez. “He 44
says he’ll never be an archi¬tect,” he adds with a laugh. “We’ll see.” Like the other larger upstairs units, Puzio’s includes two loft spaces flanking the kitchen (above), whereas those below have one. The living room is tucked beneath one of the lofts, which are accessible by a steep ladder-like staircase and fronted by pegboard (right). On any given day, the tenants—all current students, graduates, and instructors from Woodbury—can befound working on art and architecture projects in their apartments, their doors left open to maximize light and wel¬come the ever-present sea breezes. They meander into one another’s spaces to share meals, to collaborate, or to sponta¬neously gather in the afternoon. “I’m fascinated and inspired by the work that every single one of these people does,” says Perez, who often drops by on his way to and from Woodbury, just blocks away. “There are creative collaborations happening all the time. “When the nine of us bought these lots, we knew a dynamic would evolve,” Perez adds.
“Being the first one out, I was concerned that the dynamic would not be as lively as it is, but it’s so alive. I only know that you have to build the project that you would love to live in.”
A 510-square-foot corner unit B 450-square-foot unit C 525 and 595-square-foot D bathroom E kitchen F Terrace
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RENOVATION
SIBLING RIVERLY Architect Don Dimster celebrates the concept of communal family space with a pair of homes in Venice, California, for himself and his brother.
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A Bedroom office B Entry C Bathroom D Bedroom E Garage
F living room G Kitchen H Half bathroom I Master bathroom J Master bedroom
Don Dimster and his filmmaker brother, Dennis, had lived together on and off for nearly a decade when, in 2004, they purchased a 4o-by-r2o-foot lot in Venice, California, just a few blocks from the beach. Eight years and myriad hypothetical schemes later,
foot rooftop patio. The terrace provides ample communal space for the two couples, their dogs, and Dennis and Noreen’s new baby. And when each family opts for a bit of private time, the sixinch-thick cinder-block walls that define each of the three-bedroom, two¬and-a-half-bath homes give them all the privacy they need. Don shares the story behind the Dimster duplex.
the Dimsters moved into the duplex that Don, an architect, designed. By this time, Dennis was married to Noreen Perez, an assistant film director, and Don to Lisa Turner Dimster, the design director for the outdoor clothing maker Aether Apparel; what might have become a pair of high-design bachelor pads instead turned into two family homes with considerable flexibility.
Don Dimster: The lot was empty when we bought it, but we found an undocumented basement with old Prohibition-era bottles and two steep staircases leading into a tiny room about four-and-ahalf feet under¬ground. Apparently, there were a lot of moonshine basements in Venice.
The building’s most striking feature, both inside and from the street, is a pair of glass-walled, suspended steel stairways that lead from each home’s living space to a shared L000-square¬JULY / AUGUST 2014
We considered every permutation for the building: three units, two units, a garden courtyard—but, in the end, we knew we wanted it to be a duplex, with my brother and me as the occupants. I wanted a building that could read as one but that had two distinct identities 47
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RENOVATION
SPARE CHANGE A growing family in Brooklyn downsizes their living space while expanding their collective quality of life.
Finding an almost affordable apartment in New York can be harder than uncovering the proverbial needle in a haystack. While the hunt has never been easy, the past few years have been almost impossible, with sky-high prices, pent-up demand, and a scarcity of available inventory. That was the market that David Friedlander and Jacqueline Schmidt faced when they found they were soon to be parents. Their Soo-square¬foot rental in Brooklyn’s Park Slope just wasn’t big enough for three. After a frustrating, unrewarding search, they decided to move upstate to Beacon, where they envisioned a bucolic country life. Instead they felt isolated, needing a car just to go grocery shopping or see a movie. They missed the city, its easy access to friends, food, and entertainment, and the joy of just walking around. They started hunting in the city again and finally found something suitable and made a bid, which was accepted. But they hesitated, because a high price tag for a Too-square-foot apartment was a real stretch that meant they wouldn’t be able to afford any kind of renovation. At the r rth hour, searching on Trulia, the residential real estate site, they discovered a small
JULY / AUGUST 2014
two-bedroom apartment, a fourth-floor walk¬up in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace neighborhood. It was in terrible shape, but its significantly lower price tag—around 4o percent less—meant they would be able to rehaul it completely. “This place was a dump,” declares Schmidt, explaining that the floors were warped, there were three layers of Sheetrock on the walls, and the ceilings were dropped. But she saw the bones and knew what they could do with the space. The unit had other advantages: It faced Prospect Park—a glorious green expanse—it had storage in the basement and stroller parking, and it was in a very good school district. The couple bought the apartment in October 2013 and started renovation in early December because the co-op board approved their renovation plans in one weekend. Four months later, they moved into their now sun-drenched space. The only things that hadn’t changed were the front door and the windows (al¬though a few were added); every room in the apart¬ment now has one. Walls were moved, the bathroom was gutted, the kitchen became a galley, and the two bedrooms were made especially spacious thanks to wall-mounted Murphy beds from Resource Furniture in both the master bedroom and that of two-year-old Finn (who will soon have a baby sister or brother). >
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SPARE CHANGE | RENOVATION It really has made us scrutinize what’s important and what we can do without. Rather than being a burden, that has been liberating. We don’t feel weighed down by stuff we don’t need or use.” —David Friedlander, resident
The folding beds are the critical element in the space-saving design. Because they fold out of sight (very easily insists Friedlander, doing a Vanna-like onthe-spot demonstration), the couple were able to create an un¬cluttered, L-shaped living area. A custom-made slid¬ing door closes off the bedroom when privacy is need¬ed, and builtin storage in Finn’s room will provide enough space for the new baby. Another reason the apartment feels especially open and light is the absence of tchotchkes. Before marry¬ing Friedlander, Schmidt—an illustrator and children’s book author who has her own paper goods company, Screech Owl Design—had lived in a 1,20o-square-foot loft in Greenpoint that was filled with furniture, ob¬jects, and thousands of art books. But as a true convert to the philosophy of LifeEdited, the company for which Friedlander works as communications director, she spent the past year and a half selling off every¬thing on eBay, Craigslist, and Etsy. LifeEdited, a firm started by TreeHugger founder Graham Hill, consults and works with developers to create small living spac¬es. Its website proclaims that it’s dedicated to showing you how to “design your life to include more money, health, and happiness with less stuff, space, and energy.” “We practice what we preach,” says Friedlander proudly. People usually try to fit their old 50
furnishings into a new space, but, says Schmidt, “We fit ourselves into the space.” She shows off half-empty drawers in their compact kitchen, which is lined with cabinets from Ikea and filled with Fagor appliances designed for small spaces. But the kitchen feels elegant thanks to a Calacatta Borghini marble countertop and backsplash from Ann Sacks, which is honed, not polished, she stresses, because honed marble wears better. The small bathroom is also given a luxe treatment, with marble tiles and floors and Kohler appliances. Another splurge was the wide-planked European oak floors. They were able to make these expensive choices partly because the spaces were small and didn’t require a lot of any one material. And, since the apartment cost so much less than the one they had originally planned to buy, they were able to rationalize their spending. Schmidt conceived the design of the space by herself after using architect David Bucovy to create working drawings. LifeEdited’s design team pitched in when¬ever advice was needed, and the house-proud couple claim that they are living examples of the company’s motto: Their home is all about “the luxury of less.”
A Entry B Bathroom C Kitchen D Living Area E Kids room F Master bedroom
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