Minimalist Multifunctional Furniture: A Folding Chair Into The Ladder

Your house is a minimalist design? minimalism is the key word for the occupancy or minimalist homes, they need practical, concise, and multifunctional. This minimalist furniture is one of them:

Furniture and versatile multifunctionality Minimalism

Minimalist Furniture Design Multipurpose and Multifunctional

Your house is a minimalist design? location and limited space at home? The following furniture might be an option for home owners and minimalist. Form of simple furniture, modern and practical, as it can change the function, practical and change shape in an instant.

Sofa Design is simple orange in a flash can be changed into a Bunk Bed for 2 people

Daytime functioning as a desk, and at night becomes a comfortable bed.

Complete work space turned into a bedroom at night

One again, the Design the sofa to Bunk Bed

Design Minimalist House Upside Down

Design minimalist house upside down

Student Work: Lisiane D'Amico

Renderring by student Lisiane D'Amico

I often receive resumes and portfolio's from design student's looking for internship placement or employment opportunities.  Even though I can't hire them all, I'm always impressed at the quality of work being done at the student level - it seems to just get better and better.  A result of new technologies and all the wonderful illustration capabilities of programs like Photoshop, AutoCad and Sketchup which make their projects's look so professional.  Also I think the ability to source product, material and research on the internet has provided them with a wealth of resources at their fingertips.  Not to mention, having access to online trade magazines and website portfolios and blogs of the world's best designers - none of this existed when I was a design student.

In Ontario recent changes to regulations in the Interior Design industry associations has resulted in all accredited school programs becoming 4 year degree programs instead of 3 year diploma programs or 4 year degree programs.   Following the 4 year degree, an additional 3 year internship is required prior to being able to write the NCIDQ exams, and allowing registered status at the provincial association level.    Knowing first hand the skills and knowledge that's acquired thru all these years of school and hands-on work experience, it truly amazes me when I regularly hear of people who decided to become an 'interior designer', just like that, with no formal training or related work experience.  But the problem is the profession of Interior Design is often misrepresented and confused with the practice of Interior Decorating particularly as it relates to the field of residential design.  But that's a whole 'nother topic of heated discussion that I'm not going to get into here!  

Unfortunately even many students who decide to enroll in post secondary interior design programs are not quite prepared for what a career in this field involves,,,,,and there's a high ratio of drop-outs after the first year.  In my own class, we went from 30+ to less than 12 at graduation.

Most graduates of Interior Design programs go on to work in fields not related to residential, the majority of graduates go on to specialize in Healthcare, Hospitality, Corporate or Retail environments which is where most of the jobs are whether its with small local firms or large international companies like HOK.  Its rare actually that design students focus on residential design during their 3 or 4 year program and in fact the instructors discourage students from this so they can create a diverse portfolio to take with them into the workforce.

So instead of archiving all these wonderful student portfolio's that I receive, I thought I'd share some of my favorite student projects here.  The first student is Lisiane D'Amico, she's a graduate of Ryerson's Architectural Sciences program and has gone on to pursue her passsion for interior design where she feels she could explore the more creative side of architecture.  She's currently a 2nd year student at Sheridan College's Interior Design program, I first met her thru this blog and invited her to send me samples of some of her work.  I've chosen what was her first residential project at Sheridan, the Campbell-Harding Residence which she describes as "Modern-Mission".

Ground Floor Plan

For the assingment, Lisiane was provided a complete client profile (bio) including all their design requirements along with a base plan of a house.  She was required to design all the interior partitions, select all the material finishes, design the lighting and electrical layouts and select all the furnishings and fixtures.  The project was to be designed in a style that blended both owners love for modern and mission design styles.

For Lisiane's first ever attempt at a residential plan, I think the layout works well and she's paid great attention to sight lines and maximized window locations.  If she were working on this project in my office I'd suggest exploring a U-shaped kitchen layout as an option to the small island and I'd like to alleviate some of the door traffic at the bottom of the stairs.

Second Floor Plan

The most challenging aspect of any project is the partition layout,, particularly figuring out where to put the stairs because they dictate how both floors will flow.  It can take years of experience and even personal experience to understand how the location of walls and doors will effect the flow and efficiency of a house.  On the second floor here my only observation again is the congestion of doors at the top of the stairs, and if she were working on this in my office, I might suggest simply reversing the stair direction, up is down, down is up and see how that develops.

When working with residential clients we design things very specific or particular to that client's wants, even if we don't think its the best solution,,,with commercial design its more about designing for the masses, its all about universal design, averages, typicals, and social behaviours.  In the master bedroom, this is an area that could be designed dozens of different ways and work equally well depending on that particular homeowners lifestyle.  In my experience, I find that putting the closet and the dressing area next to each other works best for most clients, so in this case I would also present an option to the client that places both the walkin closet and ensuite on the right side keeping the bedroom area on the left.  This keeps your dressing and grooming areas side by side without having to walk from one side of the bedroom to another.

Elevations

I think her furniture selections, millwork and cabinetry detailing is fantastic!

I love the photogallery on the tall staircase wall!  This was one of Lisiane favorite elements too.

The Kitchen

I think her kitchen detailing and material selections are excellent too, I love a sink under a window!

Sample Board

Sample boards for concept presentation purposes are tricky.  They can be totally misleading if the materials aren't visually represented in correct proportion to how they'll be used in the space and its difficult for most people to visualize how colour or fabrics will actually really read in application.  In this case, I think Lisiane's done a wonderful job in not only selecting the materials and furnishings but in presenting them on a board.  I can see with the mix of dark woods and contrasting light materials this is a modern interpretation.

Boards like this take an enormous amount of time to prepare, in real life I used to do hundreds of these when I worked with commercial clients but for residential,,,,,,not so much.  Truthfully if your presenting concepts or options to clients there's no point in gluing this stuff down because it'll be deleted or changed before the glue has time to dry, and once things have been approved and agreed upon, then there's not much point in pasting it all on a board, it simply not a good use of time.  I make a simple site board with materials on it and file the rest away in the project binder.  But students are required to do these so they can present their project to the class - just like in commercial projects designers have to present to a committe or board.

The most interesting part of this project requirement for me was that the students weren't given a budget to work with.  I think that's so unfortunate because that really is the key variable that drives the decision making process and what drives innovation throughout a project.  A huge part of defining whether a design solution is successful or not is how the designer utilized the budget. 

I had the opportunity to discuss with Lisiane what she was looking forward to focusing on in the upcoming school year  and I think she nailed two of the biggest issues I've always felt have been ignored at the classroom level - budgets and business.  Its critical that students learn how to work with a budget and learn the business side of the profession as these are pivitol aspects to success.   Next year she's required to do a two week student placement so if any designers out there are interesting in having Lisiane work with you for a couple of weeks you can email her at lisiane.damico@me.com.

Thanks so much Lisiane for sharing your project with me - your presentation and renderring skills are outstanding and I look forward to posting another one of your projects soon.

If you're a student and have a project you think I'd like  -  email it to me and I might feature it here!

Outdoor LED Lighting Installation Guides

Enhance the nighttime curb appeal of your home—and add a measure of safety and security—with low-voltage Outdoor lighting. These exterior-grade fixtures are typically placed along walkways and driveways, but they’re also ideal for illuminating steps, trees, stonewalls, fences and other prominent landscape features. Here are several guidance in how to installing an outdoor lighting with led lighting.

The first thing should considering before installation is the allow the basic rules for outdoor lighting installations, include checking local code regarding outdoor lighting. Don't forget to always use type UF cable for underground wiring. The UF implies that there must be a fuse breaker inside the house at the starting point of the underground wiring installation.

Weatherproof switches are another important thing that are required, its a good idea to prepare an outlet boxes in both flush-mount or surface mount styles. Before you begin, shut off the electrical current at the main switch box, mount a breaker or a fuse box in a location similar to the underground wiring installation.

Dig a hole about 2" deep with an ordinary post hole digger or tiling spade, run cable up trough the lamppost, then fill the hole with about 12" of concrete mix. Insert the lamppost into the concrete mix in an upright, plumb position. every outdoor lighting lamp part exposed to the touch must also be grounded.

Many of the newer outdoor lights come equipped with photoelectric eyes or motion sensors or both. If your light does not have this type of control built in, you may wish add a timer, permanent timer switches are readily available and can be pre-set for any on/off times.

10 Most Unique Home Design in The World

Houses are a reflection of the personality of the owner. For a well-established, houses are often used as a reflection of his establishment, as a form of manifestation of the achievements in life. For a young family, a house desirable as a place that symbolized the start to live a long life full of struggle in order to achieve happiness.

For the realization of These symbols, many people are willing to reach into the pocket of her, in order to realize a dream house.

But it occurred to by your view of how an artist on a house? Type, such as whether the house they desire?

For an artist, the house is a 'canvas' or the media to realize the expression of his artistic soul. Curious how the forms? please see pictures below.

Pumpkin House Design

Hobbit House Design

Shoe House Design

Design House Round

Sphere House Design

Pink Castle Design

Kettle House Design

Design House Grass Ceiling

Half Circle Design House

Ball House Design

After viewing the unique design of the house. if you are interested in creating a design house like the one above?

Plan and Minimalist House Design Tips

Minimalist Home Designs

In building a house is minimalist, not easy as you imagine. many things to consider in building a minimalist home. the plan is a minimum. and interior space therein made to the minimum.

Minimalist house, there are only a few of my other family bird birds usually combined with sitting room, kitchen and living room there are only two bedrooms and a garage for one car only.

Minimalist house may not have a large yard for children to play, so that a child's room should be made as comfortable as possible. so that children feel relaxed in that space. I think quite a few tips from me to make a minimalist home.

What is Architecture Minimalist? Minimalist House Design

The roots of minimalism in architecture is often traced back to the mid to late 1950s. Movement is a reaction to the new style of architecture - and lifestyle - which is being cultivated in the United States. In the U.S. boom in the years after World War II, there is a movement towards a large and exaggerated style of the building. During this era, groomed suburbs and supermarkets all over the map of the cave appeared, and there was a tendency garnish it. Minimalism was developed as a response to a lifestyle that increasingly commercial and consumer are reflected in the design.

Despite the minimalist art (which is sometimes known as a literalist art) has its roots in America, minimalist architecture was born elsewhere. Northern Europe, especially Scandinavia, and Japan is very important in the history of minimalist design, and in fact, this place remains one of the biggest embracers minimalism.

In general, the idea of minimalism can be described as "less is more," or as some designers and architects are fond of saying, "do more with less" minimalist architects use space as a design feature in and of itself .. Rather than attempting to fill the space with features, they create designs where space is as carefully thought out and used as the things they add to the room. basic shapes and straight, clean lines that are also important techniques used in minimalist designs, such as playing with various types of illumination. The result is elegant but not fussy.

Another technique often used is to provide a feature that more than one use. One example might be the floor beneath the heating unit, either form the basis for the room and heating room. This allows the designer to create the optimal utility without crowding the space.

Some of the important architects working in the field of minimalist design includes:

• Lugdwig Mies van der Rohe
• Buckminster Fuller
• Dieter Rams
• Luis Barragan
• John Pawson
• Eduardo Souto de Mouro
• Alvar Siza
• Tadao Ando
• Alberto Campo Baeza
• Yoshi Tanigushi
• Peter Zumthor
• Richard Gluckman
• Michael Gabellini
• Claudio Silverstrin
• Vincent Van Duysen

Minimalist Contemporary Design House in Brazil

This is a contemporary minimalist house design in Brazil. This project is a contemporary minimalist house designed by Arthur Casas is located in Iparonga, Brazil. Cumaru wood exterior panels with a warm, House in Iporanga is an architect who lives in the forest. "I always wanted a house in the woods, in a place where I can relax and recharge" my energy, said Arthur, from Arthur Casas.

This house is in great shape two simple, symmetrical cubes embracing an open space. As explained, 'reinforces the lack of integration with the environment home partition and add grandeur to a minimalist living area. A limit of a large terrace house, serves as a corridor to observe the surrounding untouched Atlantic Rain Forest, and the partition between the natural and built. Resigned, inched unlimited pool seems to pour into the thick vegetation. "

Private room at the side of the cube around. On the upper floor accessed by a thin bed of floating Cumaru catwalk leading to the ultra-thin profile. To the left: the guest bedroom and a private guest room. To right: master with en suite.

Below is the kitchen and the waiter places to the left, the guest bedroom and office to the right. This office has two large picture windows east and south. This seating area to be shaded from the sun-centered summer, shining in the east and west through the door of this room a big wind.

Home Interior Design

Upload: June 22, 2010

Fresh white peonies and some fireplace renderrings in my studio

Well its been 3 weeks since my last Upload here.....which coincided with the peak of peony season around my house,,,,,and that lasted all of about 1 week this year.   They bloomed faster than I could cut them and then a few days of hard rain destroyed anything that was left on the bushes.  Such a shame I just wanted to cry,,,,,,um, actually I think I did.  So then, picking up here where I left off you'll see the last of my peony photos for this year! : (  

I was stacking the peonies wherever I could find a spot.  

I was like the Peony Express,,,I was taking them to friends and clients!

If you remember my last upload post you'll remember a vintage dresser I found at the Aberfoyle antique market, I delivered it to my clients and had her handyman hang the mirror above.

The mirror was purchased a couple of months ago and was waiting for the dresser, it was nice to finally get these pieces in place.  The dresser was perfect for this spot,,it was only 18" deep and had 5 drawers.

Mirror is from HomeDepot, flowers are from Chapters. All it needs is a couple more accessories  (Doors, floor and wall colour were all pre-existing when I came on board, and all had to stay as is).

It is possible to find some really cool fixtures for not a lot of money.

I can't help it, there are usually about 2 or 3 shots like this a day - Iphone is so touchy!

Now off to source some items for a rooftop deck...

Making fabric selections for new outdoor furniture

We're thinking about these for the rooftop deck too,,,,the large size

A lighting option for end tables..

A modern outdoor light fixture option....

This one isn't the one for this project but I love the pattern this fixture throws off, dramatic!

I sat down last week for a long chat with one of the owners of a new furniture store coming to the Caledonia & Castlefield design district.  He sketched out the floor plan floor for the new showroom and has shown me tons of photos of the product they'll be selling.  I've been hearing all about the progress of this new store for months now so it'll be intersting to see it evolve.  It's called Shelter Furniture, you can check out their facebook page here for a sneak peek of what's to come.

One of my favorite pieces soon to be available at Shelter Furniture

  

Before photo: I'm currently designing a new island for this client's kitchen, but were not stopping there, the entire kitchen is going to get a complete modern facelift.  Oh and the floor,,,that's going too!

And in my spare time (!?),,,,,I'm helping a family member finish his kitchen reno.  He needs cabinets stat, so I helped him get that all sorted out.  See drawings taped to hood!

I've been searching for a certain pair of night tables for about 5 months now,,,the search continues.

At first i like these lamps (almost love them) but I hesitate, I know if I start to see them en masse, I'll hate them.  But oh how I love a black shade!

Entrance to Gail's Kitchen, in the midst of construction as I arrived for a site meeting last week.

Things are moving along, framing, electrical and plumbing inspections have been passed and the drywall went up last week.  This is the view from the family room up into the kitchen.

I tweeted last week that if no one bought this chair, I would.  But it wouldn't fit in my car and I don't currently have my own mod patio for it, or a client for it.  My basement is already full of chairs.  I envision it spray painted with a new fabulous cushion and a funky side table.  C'mon,,,its only $95, I can't believe no one's bought it yet!!!

  

I may need to rent a storage locker soon.  I spotted this set of nesting tables outside an antique store in Oakville and I can't stop thinking about them.  I wish I had a client for these, I'm crazy for them.  This is the type of thing that takes a room to the next level.  When you have a room full of new furniture, you need to add something like this.  Its the unexpected thing you can't ever plan on finding or imagine you'd ever buy but once you see it in place it makes the room.  I can envision this even though its on the sidewalk and believe me, it would be stunning!  Look at the tourquoise detail......

And this chair,,,,,yes it needs some new fabric but this,,is the quintessential accent chair and it would make quite a statement in any space.  Love it.

I'm so influenced by the weather, my moods and my appetite.  I love the rain, I always have.  We've had a lot of it lately and the other day it was the strangest of days, it was a mix of both brilliant sunshine and torrential downpours.  Rubber boots and Ray-bans, I think those are the best kind of rainy days....

All Photos:  Carol's Iphone