Home Design
Read Time : 1 Minutes

This Video Series Offers a Peek at Stunning Design Locales

Sandra F. Austin
Photo credit: Neil Landino
Photo credit: Neil Landino

From Veranda

A landmark gate house in Pittsburgh. A masterful Connecticut garden with a delicious pedigree. An early 20th-century planned community in Houston that serves as a paradigm of architectural diversity.

As virtual field trips go, they don’t get better than this. In a recently launched video series by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA), a Who’s Who roster of top design talents share peeks into their own backyards (both literally and figuratively) to offer illuminating perspectives on near-and-dear landmarks and other feats of good traditional design.

The series, entitled In Your Neighborhood, arose in part out of a sense of COVID-era localism—architect and board member Eric Osth came up with the idea, says ICAA president Peter Lyden. “He is deeply invested in understanding the elements that make for beautiful, livable, and memorable towns, cities, and neighborhoods,” notes Lyden, adding that he

… Read More
Home Design
Read Time : 1 Minutes

Take a Peek Inside Kit Kemp’s Hyde Park Home

Sandra F. Austin

Given the choice, most decorators with a personal design itch would scratch it by moving from one house to another, exchanging one expertly completed realm for a new challenge, ad infinitum. That would not be Kit Kemp, the effervescent British interior designer who is also the creative director and cofounder, with her husband, Tim, of the eccentrically chic Firmdale Hotels, an international hospitality empire composed of 10 smart hostelries and eight fizzy bars and restaurants, stretching from London to New York City. “I’ve lived in other places before, but I’m going to stick with this one,” she explains. “I’m no quitter.”

<div class="caption"> Kemp (right) and her daughters Minnie (center) and Willow lounge on the drawing room sofa, which wears a linen by <a href="https://www.raoultextiles.com/home" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Raoul Textiles" class="link rapid-noclick-resp">Raoul Textiles</a>. </div> <cite class="credit">Simon Upton </cite>

Simon Upton ” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/MvMCmC_NwaYDW2wVgucULQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTEyNzkuNzc5MzEwMzQ0ODI3NQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/architectural_digest_422/72ce1b023467a80954461b1ab81f7a99″ class=”caas-img”/

Kemp (right) and her daughters Minnie (center) and Willow lounge on the drawing room sofa, which wears a linen by
… Read More
Home Design
Read Time : 1 Minutes

Algorithms are designing better buildings

Sandra F. Austin
<span class="caption">Sberbank Technopark in Russia by Zaha Hadid Architects.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="link rapid-noclick-resp" href="https://www.zaha-hadid.com/architecture/sberbank-moscow/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Zaha Hadid Architects">Zaha Hadid Architects</a></span>
Sberbank Technopark in Russia by Zaha Hadid Architects. Zaha Hadid Architects

When giant blobs began appearing on city skylines around the world in the late 1980s and 1990s, it marked not an alien invasion but the impact of computers on the practice of building design.

Thanks to computer-aided design (CAD), architects were able to experiment with new organic forms, free from the restraints of slide rules and protractors. The result was famous curvy buildings such as Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Future Systems’ Selfridges Department Store in Birmingham.

Today, computers are poised to change buildings once again, this time with algorithms that can inform, refine and even create new designs agence immobilière lyon 6. Even weirder shapes are just the start: algorithms can now work out the best ways to lay out rooms, construct the buildings and even change them over time to meet users’ needs. In

… Read More
Home Design
Read Time : 1 Minutes

4 British Home Design Brands You Can Shop on This Side of the Atlantic

Sandra F. Austin

Say “cheerio” to your new favorite decorating style. British design is making its way across the pond, bringing classic elegance and refined comforts to this side of the Atlantic. The aesthetic leans traditional, but modern materials and updated silhouettes make English-inspired interiors feel fresh, not stuffy. Rita Konig, an English interior designer and tastemaker who has clients in America, shares ways to make a room feel English.

  • Focus on Comfort: “The first thing I think of when it comes to English interiors is comfort—dogs and children and a soft, squishy sofa,” Konig says.

  • Try Brown in Your Color Scheme: Brown furniture, such as a chest of drawers, anchors a room. “You can find something beautifully made and lovely at a thrift shop that will always work somewhere.”

  • Look to Grandma’s Collection: “Accumulation is in the British DNA,” Konig says. “We’re not into buying a look or chucking things out.

… Read More