The 1970s was an exciting time in the world of design. Architects and engineers were competing to build the tallest building in the world. Buckminster Fuller perfected “Spaceship Earth.” Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers “turned the architecture world upside down” with the inside-out Centre George Pompidou in Paris. And as we discovered via our favorite passport to another time, Retronaut, Graystone Press published a massive, eighteen volume anthology known as The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement. Arranged alphabetically by topic, the books cover everything from “how to select chairs that are comfortable and durable” to “how to arrange collections to create focus and visual rhythms” to “why the ancients used color.”
We were so inspired by the quirky range of entries that we had to make our own abridged version of our new favorite design reference. Let us know in the comments what has you wanting to invest in some avocado green accent pieces or give couching a whirl.
Read More »
Wikipedia says that succulents are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climates or soil conditions. We say they’re the greatest eye candy since Ryan Gosling. OK, that’s pushing it. But, really, could there be an easier way to add a touch of graphic, quirky charm to any space?
Succulents and their most notable family member, the cactus, have been a fixture on the design circuit for as long as the Eames Eiffel Chair has been around. Winning hearts and minds of designers the world over, the succulent embodies the Modernist movement’s overarching belief that form follows function. A timeless testament to the lasting value of the organic form stripped of all unnecessary ornament, here’s our guide to living with the best looking, utilitarian plants in the world.
Let us know in the comments what has you Yelping your friendly neighborhood garden center.
Read More »
We’re up to our ears in modern, accessible design. No offense CB2, West Elm, or IKEA. Really, you’re great. You helped us furnish our first apartments, and we love you for that. But, we’re a little older, a little wiser, and we want more. More substance. More soul. Which is why we’re migrating en masse to intermittent flea markets, scouring Craigslist and enrolling in classes to learn everything from upholstery to blacksmithing to the lathe.
It’s not the first time we’ve resolved to roll up our sleeves and make more of our world. The last time, a New Age was upon us and the Western saga that produced the hipster’s predecessor was embracing simple living and imaginative expression. Art Boericke and Barry Shapiro, two builders living in Northern California, the movement’s epicenter, set out to explore what was happening in the woods and valleys around them. Boericke writes that it was a time that saw houses with “tiles that have never been in a store because the tilemaker’s kiln is just beyond her kitchen door.” Now out of print, The Craftsmen Builder and Handmade Houses, A Guide to the Woodbutcher’s Art document what they found.
We’ve rounded up the best of what these two tomes have to offer thanks to Mr. Chum’s comprehensive scans. Now, put on some Vashti Bunyan, grab a kilim pillow and click through to revisit these inspiring collections of handmade houses.
Read More »
With Amazon slowly taking over the publishing world and bookstores closing left and right, things can sometimes seem a little grim for the brick and mortar booksellers of the world. After all, why would anyone leave the comfort of their couch to buy a book when with just a click of a button, they could have it delivered to their door? Well, here’s why: bookstores so beautiful they’re worth getting out of the house (or the country) to visit whether you need a new hardcover or not. We can’t overestimate the importance of bookstores — they’re community centers, places to browse and discover, and monuments to literature all at once — so we’ve put together a list of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, from Belgium to Japan to Slovakia. Just so you know now, all you bookstore fiends: neither the Strand nor Powell’s is on this list. They’re both great bookstores, of course, but not particularly pretty (at least in our minds), and thus disqualified. Click through to see our picks for the most beautiful bookstores in the world, and as always, if we’ve left off your favorite, be sure to add to the collection in the comments!
Read More »
We love the Pritzker Prize-winning architectural team of SANAA because they gave us the New Museum, a whimsical steel stack of a building that sits at the intersection of Bowery and Prince Street in New York’s Lower East Side shouting out a rainbow colored “HELL, YES” to everyone who walks by. We love them even more for their minimal houses filled with light, quirky furniture, and lots and lots of plants.
SANAA is Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa. Based in Tokyo, their architecture has been described as metaphysical, dreamlike, and ethereal. A reaction to the chaos and cluttered complexity of the modern world, says Kristine Guzmán, architect and curator at MUSAC, “SANAA’s houses are capable of transforming a person’s way of life.”
Taking cues from our favorite houseplant loving design icons, here’s our guide to bringing a little SANAA into your world. Click through to check it out and let us know what inspired you the most in the comments!
Read More »
[Editor's note: While your Flavorwire editors take a much-needed holiday break, we're revisiting some of our most popular features of the year. This post was originally published December 13, 2011.] The college library, whether ornate or modern, digital or dusty, is in many ways the epicenter of the college experience — at least for some students. It is at once a shining emblem of vast, acquirable knowledge, a place for deep discussions and meetings of the mind, and of course, a big building full of books, which, as far as we’re concerned, is exciting enough. Colleges and universities are understandably quite proud of their libraries, which can be a selling point for prospective students and donating alumni alike, and they often become the most well-designed and beautifully adorned buildings on campus. To that end, and perhaps to inspire your studies a bit, we’ve collected a few of the most beautiful college and university libraries in the world, from Portugal to France to Boston. Did your alma mater’s library make the list? Or did we miss one of your favorites? Let us know in the comments.
Read More »
Recently we shared our picks for the 25 most beautiful college libraries in the world, asking our readers to comment with their own favorites if they hadn’t made the list. And comment you did, dear readers! We therefore feel compelled to offer this follow-up post made up entirely of libraries suggested by you, in your infinite wisdom. We do have a few caveats: many of your suggestions, great libraries as they were, were not college or university libraries, and so were disqualified. Others we couldn’t find photos of. In addition, though many of you commented asking (not always entirely nicely) for more foreign submissions, the overwhelming number of actual suggestions were for American and British universities, so go figure. We’ve tried to represent a mix here. Click through to check out 20 more of the most beautiful college libraries from around the world — chosen by you — and bask just a little more in the beauty of learning.
Read More »
In Luis Urculo’s video project “Covers,” he whimsically recreates iconic buildings using everyday objects like books, flatware, matchboxes and cassette tapes. The project, he writes, “is an investigation about architecture as a consumption object or souvenir and its relation with the domestic non-specialized language of everyday things… The concept is based on the music covers where the original is manipulated, re-represented, revisited to create something new.” We had fun guessing which buildings were being constructed as the books — or tapes, or dishes — went up, and we have to say there was at least one stroke of waterfall-related genius that we weren’t expecting. Click through to watch the video, and then be sure to check out Urculo’s blog and website for even more inspiration. Read More »
Next time you’re searching for a spot to rest your weary head, try one of these fascinating hotels that offer a unique — and sometimes bizarre — getaway. We’ve gathered a group of compelling accommodations for your perusal. They range from exotic locales where beds are nestled inside caves or mines, to contemporary spaces that boast conceptual designs more akin to an art installation than a Holiday Inn. Head past the break to check in to twelve strange hotels around the world. Read More »
Japanese artist and architect Yutaka Sone carved an intricate sculpture of miniature Manhattan entirely out of marble. Using photographs, Google Earth images, and references after experiencing several helicopter rides, Sone’s version of New York’s iconic city is an interesting take on antiquity and classical stone sculptures of the past. The chiseled, ghostly work is impressively detailed for its small size and one of the most beautiful “maps” of the city we’ve ever seen. [Image credit: Yutaka Sone/David Zwirner Gallery]
