Category: Home & Kitchen

Hosting Thanksgiving Dinner is, well—both a pleasure and an annual learning opportunity. Planning and preparation are key when your goal is to host and enjoy a (relatively) stress-free, streamlined event.

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A new hotel occupies 1920s bank headquarters in Downtown LA, where Jaqui Seerman refreshed public spaces to include a botanical-themed lounge and a mirror-lined arched gallery.

Hotel Per La is housed in the neoclassical Giannini Building, built in 1922 as the headquarters for the Bank of Italy, and takes the place of the NoMad Los Angeles which closed its doors in March 2021.

Its 10,000 square feet (930 square metres) of public and event spaces have been refreshed by local interior designer Jaqui Seerman, who used the 12-storey property’s Italian connection to inform her updates.

“A nod to the building’s storied beginning as a bank for the people, the ‘Per La’ name translates to ‘for the’ in Italian,” said the hotel.

“[The bank’s] founder, Amadeo Pietro Giannini, believed in the dignity and abilities of those commonly overlooked, signifying the hotel’s inclusive spirit and name, essentially meaning ‘for Los Angeles, and people like you’.”

Demarcated by a pale blue awning, the hotel’s entrance has been relocated from 7th Street to Olive Street, leaving the doric columns across the grand facade fully visible.

Through the doors, guests find themselves in a double-height lounge filled with plants and comfy chairs covered in botanical patterns.

An arched gallery lined with mirrors leads to the lobby, situated in what was once the main banking hall.

In the reception area, a custom-made curved plaster front desk influenced by linen fabric was designed by Voila Creative Studio, while a hand-painted tapestry that hangs in the niches behind was produced by LA muralist Jessalyn Brooks.

A rich purple lounge features a new game cabinet, as well as commissioned art and furniture sourced from local artisans.

Event spaces range from a second-floor courtyard for private outdoor dinners, to larger spaces for up to 850 people.

Dining options within the hotel include Per L’Ora, which serves Italian cuisine and features a light colour palette across curvaceous design elements influenced by the early 2000s.

“The bar of the restaurant acts as a dramatic centerpiece, with a custom-made marble top in shades of green, grey, and white, and globe-shaped light fixtures, while custom white plasterwork on the front of the bar offers a new sense of texture,” said the hotel operators.

Adjacent to the restaurant is a casual cafe modelled on a Venetian coffee shop, serving beverages, pastries and snacks.

On the rooftop, Bar Clara offers cocktails for poolside lounging and hosts live performances with the LA skyline as a backdrop.

The 241 guest rooms and suites have retained much of the aesthetic created by French architect Jacques Garcia for the NoMad, referencing the restored gold and blue ceiling in the lobby.

Downtown LA, the city’s most walkable neighbourhood, has experienced a cultural renaissance over the past decade.

The area is now home to several design-forward hotels including Kelly Wearstler’s Proper – which was just named hotel and short-stay interior of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards – a Soho House, and an Ace Hotel.

Per La is the latest hotel in the US to open in a converted bank building, following the likes of The Durham in North Carolina and The Quoin in Wilmington, Delaware.

The photography is by The Ingalls.

Design studio Perron-Roettinger has created a pop-up shop for Kim Kardashian‘s skincare and homeware brand SKKN in Los Angeles that showcases its products in a physical space for the first time.

The minimalist pop-up store, which is located inside Los Angeles shopping mall Westfield Century City, was designed using a limited material palette in a nod to the brand’s pared-back design.

“The SKKN [store] is about raw materials – bold, big blocks of stacked raw material – which is inspired from an inactive quarry that I visited once,” Perron-Roettinger cofounder Willo Perron told Dezeen.

“All different plaster and cement finishes echo the emphasis on the raw natural materials.”

In the 1,330-square-foot (123 square-metre) space, homeware and skincare products are presented within curved wall alcoves or on top of sculptural counters made from grey concrete and plaster. The room is framed by two large portrait photos of reality television star Kardashian.

“Just in time for the holiday season, the pop-up will offer customers a luxurious in-person shopping experience with the entire SKKN By Kim collection – from skincare to home decor,” said the brand.

The use of raw materials references Perron’s partner Brian Roettinger’s packaging for SKKN products, as well as Kardashian’s recently launched concrete homeware collection called Home Accessories Collection.

All the materials come in varying shades of Kardashian’s signature beige and grey colour palette, which she has used in her home and her shapewear collections.

According to Perron, the brand’s packaging and the store interior are united in their reliance on simple shapes and raw materials.

“The throughline idea is materials untouched, most primary and elemental state,” he explained. “Simple geometry is important to add a recognizable component to both the space and the packaging.”

Perron–Roettinger was also responsible for SKKN’s creative direction, brand identity and art direction.

The SKKN pop-up shop is open until the end of the year in Westfield Century City, Los Angeles.

The longtime collaboration between designer Willo Perron and Kim Kardashian has seen Perron design other pop-up stores for the American reality star’s brands.

For Kardashian’s shapewear company Skims, Perron created a beige coloured pop-up shop in Paris with chunky display units and partitions.

Los-Angeles based Perron-Roettinger has also completed other pop-up shops for brands including Stüssy.

The photography is by Gray Hamner.

Studio Sofield has completed the interiors of 111 West 57th Street, also known as Steinway Tower – a supertall skyscraper designed by SHoP Architects in New York City.

The interiors mark the full completion of the 1,428-foot-tall (435-metre) skyscraper, which is the second tallest in the Western Hemisphere, and the skinniest in the world with a height-to-width ratio of 24:1.

Sited on a street bordering Central Park in Midtown that has come to be known as Billionaire’s Row, the skyscraper has views looking north and south.

New York-based Studio Sofield designed the interiors for the skyscraper as well as the adjacent Steinway Hall, which is connected to the tower.

The 91-storey skyscraper has 46 residences, with an additional 14 held in Steinway Hall, as well as a variety of amenities, and was developed by JDS Development Group and Property Markets Group.

“With 111 West 57th Street, I set out to create interior architecture that was unmistakably and quintessentially New York,” said Studio Sofield founder William Sofield.

“While celebrating the vibrancy of today, I am a historian by nature and sought to honor and evoke the splendor of our city’s gilded age.”

Interiors designed by Sofield includes the “block-long lobby sequence” that connects the two aspects of the tower. Here, the studio restored the original flooring of the Steinway Hall and used limestone, marble, blackened steel and velvet accents.

Murals in bas-reliefs of gold and silver leaves depict architectural landmarks of New York, and elephants were depicted elephants roaming through the city as a”tribute to the history of pianos”.

Another room in the lobby sequence was outfitted with bronze mirror cladding that leads to a “domed salon” lined with banquet seating.

On 58th street, a residence entrance featuring a granite porte-cochere with grillwork doors inspired by “the bronze filigree on the building’s exterior”.

The bar area and the swimming pool are also in the hall structure. According to the studio, the bar was based on the “legendary King Cole Bar with its chic bar” with an ornamental balcony and skylights that further the material references to the original building.

Elevator vestibules for the tower were completed using custom-made doors by artist Nancy Lorenz. The swimming pool is 82 feet long (25 metres) and is housed in a double-height room with floor-to-ceiling windows.

In the skyscraper, the residences each occupy at least a single floor. Each home has a central room where the views to the north and south are prioritised, and these rooms lead to a “signature great hall, which often spans the full width of the tower,” according to the studio.

Grey oak and macauba stone were used for the flooring and nine-foot-tall doors separate the room.

Hardware for the doors as well as other features like the freestanding bathtubs and the fixtures were sourced from long-standing US manufacturers such as PE Guerin, which, according to the studio, is the “country’s oldest architectural hardware firm”.

Other supertall skyscrapers – defined as one between 984 and 1,969 feet (300 and 600 metres) – designed by SHoP Architects include the Brooklyn Tower in Downtown Brooklyn, which is nearing its way to completion, having topped out earlier this year.

Billionare’s Row – the name for the luxury skyscrapers on 57th Street near Central Park in Manhattan, continues to see new developments, with New York studio ODA announcing the construction of a “fractal” skyscraper on the street.

The interior photography is by Adrian Gaut with exterior photography by David Sundberg.

Today, kitchen countertops take center stage in the home. It’s not only a statement piece, but a real workhorse, and the right countertop is a significant investment that can increase the value and appreciation of your home. Selecting the best countertop for your kitchen remodel depends on your overall design, as well as what functionality you would like as a homeowner.

However, given the variety of choices available today, finding the perfect countertop can be a daunting process. But no worries, you’re not alone. With the help of experienced kitchen countertop installers figuring out your needs and priorities will be easy. Read on to learn more!

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A dark, canopy-like ceiling and an LED-lit oculus are among the features that are meant to enhance the experience of this meditation space in Taiwan.

Situated on the second floor of a residential building in Taipei, the space was created by local design company StudioX4 to provide a quiet sanctuary in which urban citizens can practice mindfulness, meditation and yoga.

The interior consists of a semi-circular space with chamfered walls and ceiling that flow into each other, known as a Bezier surface – a term used in computer graphics to describe a curved volume that has no set central point, unlike a circle or ball.

The structure was built using planes of plywood planks built up in layers to create a smooth, flowing surface. A  straight wall at one side of the room is a line with mirrors, which create the illusion of the space being double its actual size.

The reflection is meant to symbolise a sense of balance gained in meditation, according to the studio.

“Via mirror reflection, the interior area completes its whole entity,” said the studio. “Combining the two halves implies the meditation path of seeking balance for both sides.”

Dark greys and blacks were chosen for the colour palette.

“We were thinking of finding a way to reach inner peace – as a result we chose the colour of natural rock,” Lynch Cheng, lead architect of StudioX4, told Dezeen.

The walls and ceiling have a subtle, dappled finish that complements the softness of the rounded edges and corners.

Circular recessions are punched out of the surface of the ceiling to increase the emphasis on rounded forms.

One of these voids contains a 150-centimetre diameter oculus, which acts as a focal point for class instructors and is a bright visual anchor in the middle of the dark space.

It is lit by cool-toned LED lights to give the illusion of being lit from above by natural light.

Further light sources include large windows that filter natural light into the space, through sliding doors leading to a balcony that overlooks the city.

In addition to the oculus, accent lighting is present in the form of backlit skirting boards, which delineate the line between the floor and walls.

The low, smooth ceiling and integrated walls also help to create an acoustically complex environment in which users can speak and hear their voices echo.

“Normally in acoustic design, we try to avoid reverberation. But in this case, we tried to control it so that it goes back to the origin point, so humans can talk to themselves,” said Cheng.

StudioX4 drew on the Buddhist idea that “form does not differ from emptiness; therefore, emptiness does not differ from form” for the treatment of the interior.

“This project is a meditation hideaway for urbanites to explore their minds, to enlighten self-awareness, and to undergo the practice of mindfulness.”

Self Revealing is among five projects shortlisted in the leisure and wellness interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.

Other projects in the running include a cinema that uses dramatic stage lighting by One Plus Partnership Limited and a beer spa in Belgium by WeWantMore.

All images are courtesy of StudioX4.

Remodeling a kitchen is an exciting time that offers many homeowners an opportunity to not only redesign one of the most used spaces in their home, but also to re-imagine their own personal style. We always recommend working with professionals to educate yourself on current products, materials, and of course, kitchen design.

But, once you have samples in front of you, visualizing how each piece will ultimately fit together to create your future kitchen can be challenging. That’s why we’re sharing advice from our kitchen countertop installers in Bergen County and the region on how to match your countertop, cabinets, and floors—the three main focal points of any kitchen.

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We are all familiar with the clean look of Scandinavian kitchen design. It incorporates a minimal and modern aesthetic with warm textures and organic layers to create a space that is attractive and yet comfortable.

The Scandinavian style has become a dominant theme of modern interior design. While it might seem like a new style trend, the Scandinavian design aesthetic dates back many decades.

The popularity of the Scandinavian look dates back to the 1950s with the rise of modernism. Nowhere is the look of Scandinavian style more appreciated than in the kitchen.

It is the place where so much family life resides and where the comfortable style of the Scandinavian look shines.

Scandinavian Kitchen Ideas

We have rounded up some Scandinavian kitchens of various styles from ultra minimal to warm and cozy. Take inspiration from these pictures and find ways to incorporate Scandinavian style into your own kitchen.

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Scandinavian Kitchen Cabinets

One of the most prominent features in your kitchen design are the cabinets. Scandinavian kitchens use the style of their cabinets to complement the simple and functional kitchen designs.

Their cabinets have an unadorned look with little ornamentation. Use cabinets that have a flat panel or Shaker style door.

Add simple hardware or opt for push-open cabinets. Paint the cabinets in serene earthy colors and incorporate elements of natural wood into the cabinet design.

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Rustic and Organic Textures

In Scandinavian design, there is a strong focus on incorporating materials from the natural world. This includes wood, stone, and glass decor.

If your kitchen style tends toward the rustic, a Scandinavian style kitchen is the ideal backdrop for you to incorporate your look.

This Scandinavian design kitchen in Minneapolis has a variegated stone backsplash. The gorgeous colors of this Scandinavian kitchen backsplash blend with the flat panel white oak cabinets for a light but warm and textured look.

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Earthy Color Palette

The best Scandinavian kitchen design reflects a love of the natural world through their use of color. These colors can be light and neutral and play off the reflected light in the room, or these colors might be more saturated. Whichever way you lean, the colors should reflect earth tones that are calm and soothing.

Note the colors in this Scandinavian kitchen design. The designers used an earthy forest green for the Shaker style cabinets and paneled backsplash. They added in wood tones to give the design texture and incorporated brushed brass hardware to give the kitchen just a bit of extra shine.

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Warm Layers

Scandinavian kitchen decor should include warm textures as Scandinavian design prioritizes comfort over style. In the best Scandinavian kitchen designs, you can achieve both. In this modern Scandinavian kitchen in Denver, the designer has brought in cozy elements that look and feel warm. These include a fireplace, a sheepskin cushion cover, and a colorful rug.

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Scandinavian Kitchen Lighting

The Nordic countries are located high in the Northern hemisphere and experience dark and cold winters. Their style uses all the available light to make their interiors bright and cozy. Use both natural and artificial light to enhance the beauty and warmth of your kitchen.

This means keeping window coverings to a minimum or removing them altogether. Also, add artificial light sources so that you can brighten the interior when all the available natural light is gone.

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Minimal Upper Cabinets

The minimalist Scandinavian kitchen design aesthetic has a serene and soothing look. You can achieve this look by minimizing the visual distractions in your kitchen by eliminating the upper cabinets in your space. In order to do this, be sure to add enough storage in other places so that your kitchen can remain uncluttered.

This designer added a bank of lower kitchen cabinets as well as a wall cabinet of the same style on the opposite wall to ensure ample storage.

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Comfortable Seating

Scandinavian kitchen designs embrace the concept of hygge in their designs. This is the Danish word that embodies the idea of coziness and living in a comfortable way.

Get the hygge look in your kitchen by adding spaces where your family can relax, read, and doze. This might be a snug breakfast banquette or a cushy window nook.

Dress it up with plush pillows and a warm lamb’s wool throw. If you don’t have the room for these additions, add a Scandinavian kitchen table with comfortable seating around it where you can gather for food and games.

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Function Over Form

Make sure to think first about the functioning of your kitchen before you consider the form. This means thinking about the layout, the storage, and appliances before considering which style will look the best.

In this modest sized Scandinavian kitchen, the designers ensured a workable kitchen triangle and ample seating to allow this kitchen to function best.

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Bold Accents

Don’t be afraid to add personal touches that make your kitchen your own. Add interesting statement lighting or some textile that you love.

This can keep your Scandinavian style kitchen from looking too stark and impersonal. After all, style should be personal rather than look like it came straight from a magazine.

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Vintage and Antique Decor

If you prefer a more rustic Scandinavian kitchen over a modern Scandinavian kitchen, consider adding some vintage or antique furniture and decor into your space.

Find a scratched and dented table to use as a Scandinavian kitchen island. Or, use it as a central table and mix it with some mid-century chairs. This mixed look creates a more nuanced and authentic overall kitchen style.

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Black, White, and Wood Accents

While earthy colors like blue and green do not look out of place in Scandinavian kitchen design, the heart of the Scandinavian minimalist kitchen design including Danish style focuses on neutrals.

Keep the majority of the color scheme white including white walls and often white cabinets. Add in pops of black to create contrast in the room. Warm up these contrasting tones with wood tones in the decor and cabinet accents.

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The Art of Display

Practical style is important in Scandinavian kitchen style. Use a small shelf instead of upper cabinets. Display items that you use every day including plates, glasses, and utensils.

Curate this collection if you are looking to create a minimalist style. If you are looking to create a Scandinavian farmhouse kitchen style, your exposed collection can be more broad. Include colorful art, jars of spices, and plants.

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Natural Accents

Scandinavian design reflects the beauty of the natural world in its use of foundational materials such as wood, stone, and natural textiles.

You can warm up your kitchen space by incorporating natural accents including live plants, branches, bowls of pine cones and nuts, fruit, berries, and leaves. Place them on your counters or tables or add them as part of your shelf decor.

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Mid-Century Modern Styling

Scandinavian style came of age during the modernist era. Therefore, it makes sense that most Scandinavian kitchen designs feature mid-century styling. This includes flat fronted cabinets, mid century lighting, and sculptural chair designs.

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Scandinavian Style: Will it Last?

Scandinavian style does have a more timeless quality because of their use of natural materials throughout their design, their focus on quality craftsmanship, and the homage this style pays to Nordic history. This style has a classical look but it is also organic. This means that while Scandinavian kitchens have a certain look, the style is revamping itself in new ways so that it is always fresh and exciting.

Inexpensive Ways Get a Scandinavian Kitchen Style

The best way to incorporate Scandinavian style into your kitchen is to change your color palette to reflect neutral colors and those that reflect nature like earthy blues, greens, and browns.

This could include painting your walls and cabinets and adding new colored home decor. Add in other organic textures like wooden cutting boards and green potted plants and plant cuttings.

Interior design practice Object Space Place has revamped the Apricity restaurant interior in London with second-hand furniture and reclaimed materials.

The project has been shortlisted in the sustainable interior category of Dezeen Awards 2022, which will announce its winners next week.

Part of the refurbishment involved removing a timber staircase to maximise usable floor space in the basement.

Object Space Place retained the staircase’s treads to reuse them for a new staircase and repurposed the rest of the usable material into decorative timber block wall cladding.

“We saw the old staircase as a materials bank full of wood that we could reuse, so we worked with the contractor to take the staircase apart carefully, grade the timber that was usable and create a repeating block pattern that could be made from these timber components,” Object Space Place told Dezeen.

“The timber wall finish has also been installed on a split batten system, so even if someone wants to change this in the future it can be done relatively easily.”

Architraves and skirting boards removed from the interior were reused to cover the front of the restaurant bar, creating a vertically grooved surface.

The practice overhauled the space to expose some of the original finishes, including brickwork, timber floorboards and aged walls.

“Customers really love the walls, which is interesting as these are simply what we found when we removed the blank white plasterboard wall linings on the ground floor,” said Object Space Place.

“This really epitomises what we discovered about working with waste and the circular economy – the extra effort you have to put in rewards you with a space rich in stories and these stories help add to a dining experience that exemplifies going the extra mile.”

Mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) equipment was retained where possible and reclaimed furniture, sinks and mirrors were sourced to fit out the restaurant, including second-hand dining chairs that were reupholstered to suit the design scheme.

In instances where reclaimed items could not be acquired, new elements with sustainable qualities were used instead, including terrazzo-like surface material by Foresso made from recycled timber and lampshades made from oyster shells or waste coffee grounds.

Object Space Place designed the refurbishment according to its Restorative Design Framework initiative, which is based on circular economy principles.

“We developed a true benchmark in sustainable design and fit-out by applying the principles of a circular economy, particularly designing out waste and pollution and keeping natural resources in use,” the studio explained.

According to Object Space Place, the project achieved a reduced embodied carbon footprint of 45 per cent compared to refurbishments of similar-sized restaurants where new furniture and finishes were applied.

Other restaurants that feature reclaimed materials include an eatery in Madrid with interior features made from upcycled junk and a restaurant in Bangalore decorated with discarded bicycle bells and cassette tape boxes.

The photography is by Ben Carpenter.

 

Your remodeling team has completed your installation on schedule and the results are stunning. You already knew that refacing a kitchen cabinet remodel is a time-saving and cost-effective solution, but now you can see the results in person. Wow! Your kitchen is beautifully transformed beyond expectations. So, how do you keep those stunning cabinets looking showroom-worthy at all times? Let’s have a look!

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