Interior Design's Best Green Project of the Year

The Burgess Group office, designed by the architectural firm SmithGroup,

has won Interior Design Magazine's title of Best Green Project of the Year.

I would love to work in this space.

The slate wall runs throughout the office.

Apple green and burnt orange accents inspire creativity and energize.

The company placed the employee lounge in the coveted corner office location 

so that everyone gets to enjoy this view.

A cork passageway leads to the design lab.

The conference room and meeting/eating room both use glass for sound absorption

that allows the maximum amount of light passage.

An additional wall of back painted glass in the eating/meeting room can be used as a white board,

and the conferences rooms tables is constructed of back-painted glass -

both enhancing light reflection.

A thoughtful design shows how much this company cares about employee satisfaction

 and I bet their productivity shows it.

This is one article you may want to leave lying around your office :)

For The Love Of Green..

So I am not alone in this deep desire for all things green.

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Recently I have read two posts regarding emerald green and various shades of dark..

The first was discussing how impossibly chic these green leather pieces are...

and the second was a gorgeous collection of images from the ever-inspiring 

Christine of Bijou and Boheme...

I am loving the depth and resonance these spaces have.

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How about you?

Are you feeling a little

forest emerald palm olive hunter bottle shamrock banker billiard green love?!

Weekend Color: The Color You Need In Every Room

What if there was a magic color - 

one that wakes up and enlivens every space..

just a splash in each room would unify your home and, 

best of all, actually create a better living environment?

There is.

While the shades and tones will vary, the hue stays the same - green.

More specifically, the color of greenery.

bring on the PLANTS..

my living room

Green has a unique effect on (the majority of) us phsychologically:

it calms and restores balance.

That means while you are relaxing you are also regaining strength.

Green clears the head and gives you the energy to focus on the tasks at hand -

 making it the ideal color in an office 

(I just painted my own this color, and the change in ambiance is fantastic - pics when I'm done :)

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But you don't have to go so far as painting your walls emerald recieve the benefits this hue has to offer -

simply add a few plants to each room, and enjoy.

Lauren from Pure Style Home has made botanicals and plants a signature in her work.

I love this "garden corner" she created.

Topiaries and urns raise the bar, allowing plants to stand alone in her display.

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A lone topiary add a graceful note.



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in pairs..



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 hanging plants become an unusual chandelier..



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 simple and sculptural display





Using a really easy-to-maintain variety in abundance to great effect.



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Even a single plant can work it's magic.





Large scale plants can wake up static spaces -
this room would have been lovely without the plant, but it makes the design more dynamic.
 Your eye is directed to the rear corner of the room,
 a trick I use in staging all the time to make a space feel larger.



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I love this room for more than just the plants, but I thought this was interesting -
 these are actually cuttings.
While I wouldn't cut down a tree to use as display, you could have a similar effect with potted plants.





Fiddle Leaf Figs are my favourite large plants..
imagine these rooms without them.







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it's a bit like sitting under a tree in the garden, isn't it?

If these feel overwhelming,
start small.. a pot here and there..



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Succulents are really easily maintained, put them in a sunny corner water sparingly!

they look fabulous in groups..


 

as do bulbs..




For thumbs that are more black than green, using zero maintenance garden cuttings may work better.
anything, from herbs to "weeds"..



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or self-sustaining terrariums..





That's a project the darlings and I are going to try this winter.

If you travel frequently or just really don't like the bother of plants, even a bit of reference in your decor can give you some of the rejuvenating effect.

wallpaper.. oh, this room is incredible.


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art..

LOVE!



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and fabric.




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The best plants to me are useful ones, and I love fresh herbs in the kitchen.





Last supring Coco and I started herbs from seed, which I've never done before.
It was going great, then they all began to die.
We didn't have enough direct light to sustain the poor little things.
We popped them outside for the summer, where they thrived.
Now we're trying to find shade loving herbs to place in the kitchen..

I'd love to hear how you brings plants into your space.

til next time..

Can This Paint Change Design?

Does anyone remember those hypercolor t-shirts that changed color with body heat?

Memories of kiosks in the mall heaped with garishly colored cottons

 and people huggingt-shirts to their chests gleefully experimenting..

This trip down memory lane was courtesy of

The Alsa Corperation - 

who are manufacturing a paint that is heat reactive.

It begins as a base coat of white,

with either black or blue eclipse on top.

As the paints heats, it will change from the black or blue color to white!

If you like, you can add a "candy coat" on top of the eclipse paint -

which will result in the black or white becoming the other color you have chosen.

There are also glitter options! (do not, under any circumstances, tell Coco!)

While this is a wee bit gimmicky, I wonder if it harkens to future possibilities..

imagine a room that can change color to repel or absorb the suns rays as we choose..

Energy efficient walls?

There are huge design considerations here as well,

imagine the ability to have different colors in a room dependent on the time of day.

Obviously the color options would have to be expanded hugely,

the current finishes look like something you would find on a bike frame, not a wall -

 but still..

 thoughts?

Oh, yes, and thought you may get a kick out of these options that are floating around..

I see dorm room possibilites..

synthetic snakeskin Please Touch Pillow..

You have all seen this one, I'm sure..

and Shi Yuan also made a fading calendar and interactive art..

Apartment Therapy found this Yala Sofa by Elliat Rich that I quite like -

some people at  Moving Color that are exploring ideas..

and there is a really lengthy article here about the technical side

 if you need to know how it works - I admit I did not read it well.. visual learner :)

Are we going to find tasteful way to use this technology to our advantage in interiors?

Or will it remain relegated to baby spoons and gimmicks?

til next time..

The Best Venue in NZ - a Treehouse Restaurant..

Magical.

The Yellow Treehouse Restaurant

The challenge put forth by the NZ Yellow Pages: build a restaurant in a tree

The result by Pacific Environments Architects: stunning architecture

If I ever become independently wealthly (read: win the lotto!)

 I think this is where the bubbly will be poured. Please come :)

This beautiful structure sits unused, at the moment..

but it has soared onto my destination wish list.

Spectacular, isn't it?

til next time..