Do Ho Suh - home within home

I've been a fan of Koren artist Do Ho Suh's work for quite some time, which is why I was happy to some images of his latest work on designboom. 'Home Within Home Within Home Within Home Within Home' is on view through May 11, 2014 at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, Korea (MMCA).

According to the MMCA:

This huge fabric installation of Suh entitled 'Home Within Home Within Home Within Home Within Home' is specially created to epitomize the vital spatial property of Seoul Box that can be undeniably characterized by its abundant natural light coming through its glass walls and the historical attribute of the Seoul branch's compound in which traditional, modern and contemporary buildings embrace each other. This work is comprised of a life-size (12 meters in height, 15 meters in width) replica of the three-story town house at Providence, Rhode Island, which was the artist's first residence where he lived as a student in the United States in 1991 and 'Seoul Home,' a reproduction of his family's traditional-style Korean house in Seoul, hanging in the middle of the former. As one can infer from the title, the work elucidates and conjures the ever-expanding concept of space: traditional Korean house within Western-style house; Western-style house with Seoul Box; Seoul Box within the Seoul branch; the Seoul branch within Seoul.

See more of Suh's work at Lehmann Maupin.


(Images courtesy National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, via Lehmann Maupin)

Donna Wilson - 2013/14 collection

I absolutely love British designer Donna Wilson's new autumn/winter collection.

I've always admired Wilson's line of woolen throws, creatures, cozy knit hats and mittens, and home goods, but the products and styling from the current collection are particularly fantastic. The circus hat is a personal favorite of mine, and the tree hot water bottle cover would help keep me warm all winter long, but there's really just something pretty special about a giant tortoise cushion. You can see Wilson's entire range of wonderful products right here.

half cut tea - Nick Olson & Lilah Horwitz

You can't help but admire people who have the tenacity to dream up and then actually follow through on big projects. Case in point, when photographer Nick Olson & designer Lilah Horwitz had a discussion during their first date about how incredible it would be to live in a house where the facade was made entirely of windows, it wasn't long before the couple both quit their jobs and set out to make it happen. A few dozen windows and some series DIY construction work later, Nick and Lilah found themselves the proud owners of their dream cabin in West Virgina. Filmmakers Matt Glass and Jordan Wayne Long of Half Cut Tea met up with the couple to learn more about this project and the incredible makers behind it in the video below.


(Via Colossal)

Aki Inomata

I first came across Japanese artist Aki Inomata's work at The Armory Show a few years ago, and while Why Not Hand Over a 'Shelter' to Hermit Crabs? (2009; 2010)was far and away my favorite work at the show, I pretty much forgot about her until just the other day, when I received a friendly reminder from designboom.

Inomata creates her clear plastic homes for hermit crabs based on the architecture of major cities. Because hermit crabs are so picky about their homes, to begin the process, she scans abandoned hermit crab shells, using these to base her designs. Next, she uses 3-D software to slightly enlarge the shells and design her elaborate cityscapes, using a rapid prototyping system to produce the finished shells. Finally, these are introduced to the hermit crabs, who get to chose the city in which to make their new home. As Inomata explains:

In this piece I gave hermit crabs shelters that I had made for them, and if they liked my shelters, I got them to use them as their shell.

I overheard that the land of the former French Embassy in Japan had been French until October 2009; that it was to become Japanese for the following fifty years, and then be returned to France. This concept made me think of hermit crabs, which change their shells. The same piece of land is peacefully transferred from one country to the other. These kinds of things take place without our being aware of it. On the other hand, similar events are not unrelated to us as individuals. For example acquiring nationality, moving, and migration.

The hermit crabs wearing the shelters I built for them, which imitate the architecture of various countries, appeared to be crossing various national borders. Though the body of the hermit crab is the same, according to the shell it is wearing, its appearance changes completely. It’s as if they were asking, “Who are you?”

Great concept, right? You can see more of Inomata's fascinating work on her website.


(Photographs © Aki Inomata)

the painted house

What an absolutely brilliant idea - patterned paint rollers, from UK-based company The Painted House!

By adapting the traditional roller system for use in fabric, paper and wall printing, Clare Bosanquet's printed rollers are both beautiful and versatile. See more patterns and instructions for use on the The Painted House's website and shop.

(Via The Design Ark)

east melbourne stables

As those of you who have been visiting this blog from some time now may know, I absolutely adore buildings that have been turned into residences after a previous life as something else. So what have we got today? Why, these beautiful historic stables in East Melbourne, Australia, that have been transformed into a fabulous residence with a modern addition.

Stunning, no? And if you're in the market for a home in East Melbourne, this 2-bedroom, 2-bath gem of a townhouse just so happens to be for sale. Check out the details here.

(Via desire to inspire)

tiny house

I've always been drawn to small homes. It may be because I live in Brooklyn, where space is at such a premium, with my years of living in small spaces making me equate them more with "cozy" rather than "crowded." Of course, not everyone can make a small space work for them, but as you'll see from these beautiful photographs, interior designer Jessica Helgerson makes small-house living look effortless with her own 540 square foot tiny house.

Situated on a five-acre property on Sauvie Island, 15 minutes north of Portland, Jessica's tiny house is simply gorgeous, and way more spacious feeling than you'd ever think a house that small could be.

The house is an interesting experiment in reduction and reuse not only because it is only 540 square feet or because it was remodeled using nearly exclusively reclaimed materials, but because the building itself is now being recycled for the fourth time. It was first built in the early 1940s as part of Vanport Village; a quickly erected development built to house shipyard workers. When Vanport Village flooded in 1948 this particular little house was floated down the river to Sauvie Island, where it became the goose-check station. Years later it was remodeled to become a rental house.

When Jessica and Yianni bought the property in late 2008, they decided to remodel it without adding to the existing footprint. Their first step was to redesign the interior for maximum space efficiency. A ‘great room’ houses the kitchen, dining room and living room with large, comfortable, built in sofas that double as twin beds for guests. Drawers under the sofas hold children’s toys and a wall of shelves houses books and more. The ceiling was opened up in the main space, but the bathroom and bedroom have lower ceilings to accommodate the parent’s sleeping loft above, accessible by a walnut ladder. The children’s room has two bunk beds as well as a full bed for guests. A pull-out closet makes maximum use of the narrow space near the bunk beds.

(Photography by Lincoln Barbour. Via Poppytalk)

if I had a million dollars

I would buy...{the clothing edition: hangers}

TOMA's many-styled coat hangers.

Bird hangers, by Ingibjörg Hanna.

 Eno & Donata Paruccini's Leather Clothes/Coat Hanger. Available at A+R.

The osaka coat hanger, from BERNHARD | BURKARD.

And Marý design's hanger "cloud." Available at the Reykjavik Corner Store.

if I had a million dollars

I would buy...{the color edition: turquoise, teal and pale blue sky}

Diana Fayt's teal blue black eyed susan porcelain bowl.

A pale blue sky ring, from Katie Johansson of Dollybird Design.

Slide sideway's blue market weave cotton zip pouch.

West Elm's Cadiz Runner.

 And a trio of planters, from Clam Lab.

chick-a-dee smoke detector

While pretty much anyone can agree that smoke detectors aren't the most aesthetically pleasing home devices, the Chick-A-Dee hopes to change all that. Imagined by Dutch artist and designer Louis van der Veld and produced by The Initiator and Company, the bird-shaped Chick-A-Dee is smoke detector that takes it name and shape from the the American Black-capped Chickadee, replicating its "chick-a-dee-dee" warning call at the first sign of smoke, and increasing in volume as the smoke thickens.

(Via Cool Hunting)

bound mirrors

I love these textile-wrapped Bound Mirrors, from Grain. Their use of color and pattern reminds me of these colorblocked boards, and I think that a combination of both types of objects would all look amazing hanging on a wall together.

(Via swissmiss)