Design Milk Travels to: Reykjavík

This capital city of Iceland is proof that what they say about tiny packages is true. Reykjavík packs quite a mean design punch. (The population of the whole island is just over 330,000 and nearly half of them call Reykjavík home.) Luckily, Icelandair makes it easy to check out the city with their stop-over program. (If you book a ticket to another European city through the airline, you can (for free!) include a stop-over in Reykjavík.) If you’re scheduling a trip just to Iceland, you can aim to hit one of the many festivals: Airwaves Music Festival (October), Secret Solstice Festival (June), or DesignMarch design week (March). But anytime is a great time for Iceland, I prefer to visit in the summer when the sun just bounces on the horizon and the 21 hours of daily sunlight mean you can pack a big agenda into each day.  But winter can be equally fun (for New Year’s, there are bonfires in every front yard).

While this guide is focused on the city of Reykjavík, there’s a lot of natural beauty just outside the city. Iceland is quite literally the most breathtaking place I’ve ever traveled to. After my first visit to the country, not only did I make a return trip a few years later (this tiny place has a lot to see!), but I also named my two cats after Norse gods in honor of the country (Loki and Freya). And after talking to some design savvy Icelanders, to make sure that we had all the design hits on this list, I’m feeling about ready for a return trip.

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Where to Stay

Kex Hostel

When I was last in Reykjavík, I stayed at Kex Hostel, a 215-room hostel housed in an old biscuit factory in downtown. With a downstairs bar furnished completely with secondhand furniture (and where they serve breakfast in the morning!), it’s more social than an apartment rental option. There’s a barbershop, a gym (called box) and a restaurant (featuring a menu created by the chef from Dill) that’s popular with both hostel guests and locals. And as if that’s not enough, the hostel organizes a concert series throughout the year and showcases live jazz every Tuesday. (And if you’re not into hostel living, just ask for a private room. You’ll get the social without the nighttime noise) A second hostel option is Oddsson, a newly opened hostel with an Italian restaurant. For a little bigger budget, Ingibjörg Hanna of Ihanna Home recommends the personality-filled Hotel Marina near the Reykjavík harbor (a sign in one of the hotel’s smaller bathrooms reads, “Yes, this bathroom is tiny! So just finish your business and come hang with us at the bar.”) And if you’re looking to impress, then the spare, glossy boutique 101 Hotel, one of Reykjavík’s most high-end options, located in a refurbished 1930s office building, is your ticket.

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Where to Play

Árbæjarsafn

On the museum circuit, Helga Mogensen of Kirsuberjatréð, a fantastic shop that features the work of local artists, recommended the museum of Iceland’s first sculptor Einars Jónssonar, saying that it’s small but mesmerizing (and the sculpture garden alone is worth a look.) For a look into how Icelandic people traditionally lived, worked and played, the open-air museum Árbæjarsafn is a must stop. If you’re willing to venture a bit outside the city (7 minutes), Ingibjörg Hanna of Ihanna Home, recommends the small Museum of Design and Applied Art in Garðabær. Just check the exhibition schedule before you make the trek. The Reykjavik Art Museum has three locations in the city, according to Sari Peltone of the Iceland Design Centre if you only have time for one, make it Hafnarhús, the most recent addition (and before your trip, sign up for the Centre’s mailing list to get news on exhibits and events).

Walking around Reykjavík, you won’t be able to miss the Hallgrímskirkja church. It’s the tallest building in the city and all the guidebooks will tell you to check it out. And you should. Climb to the top and get that iconic shot of the city (it’s the image at the top of the page). Then head over to Safnahúsið (the Culture House) designed by Danish architect Johannes Magdahl Nielsen in 1906 to house the National Library, it now hosts rotating exhibitions as well as a permanent one on the history of Iceland. Sari Peltone also suggested that you leave time to stop by The Nordic House, one of Finnish architect’s Alvar Aalto’s lesser known works.

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to see a movie. In Iceland, I was surprised when mid-way through the feature, the lights went up. Intermission! Everyone shuffled back to the concession stand for a snack re-up. (If you haven’t yet sampled some Icelandic licorice, this moment is your chance!) Bíó Paradís is a favorite film house that screens films from all over the world.

Sundhöllin

You can not visit Iceland without visiting a pool. Icelanders know how to take full advantage of that geothermal water and nearly every town in Iceland has one. (In fact, it’s probably not considered a town without a pool.) There are seven in Reykjavík. They open early and close late. This is where Icelanders do their after work socializing. In addition to the pool for laps, there are usually a smattering of hot tubs (or as Icelanders call them ‘hot pots’), all set to different temperatures. Helga Mogensen’s Reykjavík favorite is Sundhöll, which opened in 1937 and is the oldest pool in Iceland. The pool was designed by state architect Guðjón Samúelsson (who also designed Hallgrímskirkja church) and still has the original tiled dressing rooms and hot pots are on the balcony.

The Blue Lagoon

I have to admit, that I loved the local Icelandic pools even more than the Blue Lagoon, but you might not feel you visited Iceland unless you pay a visit here (and it is pretty surreal). It was designed by Sigrid Sigthórsdottir and the structure completely blends into the landscape. The best way to visit is to take advantage of the shuttle buses that make the stop between the airport and the Blue Lagoon and either visit right before you come into the country or right before you catch your flight home. And before you head out the door, snap up some of those Blue Lagoon beauty products. They’re pretty great.

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Where to Shop

Farmers Market sweaters

Nearly everyone I spoke to recommended Kiosk, a boutique run by local fashion designers (the owners/designers all take turns behind the counter so you’re almost guaranteed to meet one of them). Kirsuberjatréð is a small shop that also sells the work of local Icelandic artists and designers, and Ihanna Home features Icelandic designs for the interior space. On my last trip, I purchased an Icelandic sweater that I still trot out every winter. Farmer’s Market is an Icelandic brand that turns all that sheep’s wool into some pretty trendy sweaters with an Icelandic flair.

Opal Licorice via Iceland Magazine’s A Rough Guide to Icelandic Sweets and Soda

While you’re doing all that shopping, you might work up a sweet tooth. Icelanders are licorice-crazed. Salty licorice, sweet licorice, chocolate-covered licorice. Licorice is the sweet of choice. Helga Mogensen suggested that those really wanting to explore the world of licorice check out the Sambo factory store where you can sample licorice cut-offs. And if you’re more into package design than licorice eating, keep an eye out for Opal, with its op-art packaging designed in 1946 by painter Atli Mar, it’s hard to miss. For the chocolate + licorice variety that is an Icelandic favorite look for Omnom, an Icelandic bean-to-bar producer. To really get a feel of the variety of Icelandic licorice and more, Sari Peltone suggests popping into Vínberið, a candy shop right in the center of Reykjavík.

Omnom licorice

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Final Words

Dill Restaurant

If it’s not already on your travel bucket list, I hope you’re now convinced that Reykjavík deserves a spot. I’ve yet to meet anyone who regretted their trip to this magical city. To congratulate yourself for making the journey to the tiny island, splurge on a final meal at Dill Restaurant. This is the place to try New Nordic cuisine — classic Nordic food (meatballs and seafood) served with a twist. The restaurant makes its own salt by boiling ocean water. That’s a mic drop situation.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/reykjavik/

The Apartment of Perfect Brightness in Beijing

The Apartment of Perfect Brightness is a project completed by New York and California-based asap/ adam sokol architecture practice pllc. The 2500 square foot, Beijing apartment, which got its name from a local garden of the same name, began with a focus on natural light, per the homeowner’s request.

At the start of the project, they explored the concept of “perfect brightness” by researching how different colors and qualities of daylight affect people psychologically. That led to installing a system that allowed the ambient light to shift from warm to cool white based on the time of year, time of day, and exterior lighting conditions. In order to draw the eye in upon entering, they focused the light at the center in two shell-shaped feature walls

Another request by the homeowner was to rid the apartment of clutter by turning every interior wall into storage with folding wood doors. In total, there are 132 throughout the apartment. When open, TVs, headboards, storage areas, and bookshelves can be seen, but when closed, a unified expanse of door panels keeps a clean, minimalist look.

The curved exterior walls set the tone for the equally curved interior walls of the master bathroom. Every surface is covered in mosaic tiles for a clean, spa-like feel.

Photos by Jonathan Leijonhufvud.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/the-apartment-of-perfect-brightness-in-beijing/

Concrete Audio F1 Wall Speakers Are a Brutalist’s Dream Come True

Concrete Audio’s moniker should make it evident the German-based audio company’s faith lies with neither wood nor ceramics, but with the mixture of ce­ment, water, and sand. The company’s F1 wall-mounted loudspeaker resides somewhere within the overlap of a Venn diagram between audiophile and architectural.

The immediate and obvious question that arises amongst the layman of course is, “Why concrete?” The short and simple answer: to eliminate unwanted vibrations.

A good loudspeaker housing should not vibrate, as modern drivers (the actual loudspeaker in the box) today render the full sound spectrum linearly. But if the housing itself does vibrate due to its construction or materials (wood, plastic), then those vibrations affect performance by amplifying or diminishing certain sympathetic frequencies within the sound spectrum.

Concrete’s unique properties – it’s weight, irregular structure, and density – provide a medium untainted by the intrusion of unwelcome vibrations, the audiophile’s enemy. Each 32mm deep panel of concrete is embedded with 41 electrodynamic mini-speakers, a sort of beehive arrangement engineered to perform as a harmonious single source. The F1 is designed specifically for wireless playback, compatible with smartphones, tablets, or other streaming sources using Audiofly HighEnd Wireless Audio with low latency.

Another itching question you’re probably wondering about is how heavy each speaker weighs. They’re listed at about 26.4 lbs. per unit – heavy enough to warrant professional installation…or at least an extra set of strong and steady hands.

Each F1 speaker can be customized with aluminum or wood frames, with a reversible art or design cover for a more discreet decorative presence.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/concrete-audio-f1-wall-speakers/

Pastries Like You’ve Never Seen Before by Dinara Kasko

Ukraine pastry chef Dinara Kasko breaks the mold with her artistic approach to baking cakes. Using 3D printing technology she not only creates never before seen cake forms, but she then delights you with pastry surprises when you cut open one of her recipes. You can purchase her molds (including recipes) online on her site. The molds are made of food-grade silicone and they sell with collapsible plastic frames to preserve accuracy of the geometry shape. We are big fans! Thanks for the inspiration!

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/pastries-like-youve-never-seen-before-by-dinara-kasko/

Muista: A New, More Evolved Way to Sit at Your Desk

There’s so much talk these days about how inactivity brought on by too much sitting at work can cause a multitude of health issues, which is why standing desks have become so popular. If you’re not quite ready to take the standing approach, perhaps you can change how you sit. Muista looks more like a stool, but it allows your body to stay more active by allowing for different sitting positions. Aurimas Lazinskas came up with the idea and brought in Saulius Sestavickas to collaborate on the design of Muista in hopes of improving workplace health and creativity.

The design allows for two different sitting positions – as a saddle or a bench – making it easy to switch back and forth between the two. While you’re sitting, the curved legs allow the seat to rock back and forth, thereby encouraging your muscles to engage for balance.

Muista is available in two sizes allowing you to work at a regular desk or a height-adjustable one.

Bent plywood forms a solid arc for its minimalist base, along with a rope about mid-way down for you to rest your feet.

The seat cushions are filled with buckwheat hulls, a sustainable byproduct of the food industry, which offers durability, ventilation, and a firm texture.

Interested? They’re running a Kickstarter campaign in hopes of bringing this workplace seat to the market.

Photos by Lina Jushke and Monika Pozerskyte.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/muista-a-new-more-evolved-way-to-sit-at-your-desk/

Friday Five with Mark Moussa of Arteriors

Mark Moussa is the founder and creative director of Arteriors, a Dallas-based company that specializes in luxury lighting, furniture, and accessories. He began in home furnishings working with his father on the family’s import/export business, which provided him with an international appreciation for design, which led to him launching Arteriors in 1987. The company has expanded to three showrooms (Dallas, Los Angeles, and New York) and more than 1,200 products by constantly evolving and staying ahead of the game, part of that being partnering with select designers, like Jay Jeffers, Barry Dixon, Windsor Smith, and Laura Kirar. This year marks 30 years in the business with a continued commitment to fostering designer relationships, traditional craftsmanship, and artisan techniques. Moussa shares a mix of design, places, and things in this week’s Friday Five. Check it out.

1. Jaipur
I’m inspired by India, a place I’ve been visiting for more than 30 years, and Jaipur is my favorite city. I love the vibrant colors that you see on the streets and in nature, the celebrated cultural traditions and most importantly the people. I’ve had the privilege of working with incredible artisans and craftsmen here, and I now find myself working with second and even third generations of the same families.

2. Eyeglasses
I wear glasses and have at least a dozen vintage frames in different colors, materials and styles. Many of my favorites are from Retro Specs.

3. The Hunt
I’m constantly on the hunt for vintage components that may influence or inspire a design – I love the process of looking at an object and thinking about how we can re-imagine it and give it a new future.

4. Espresso
A good cup of espresso can make my day! It reminds me of my trips to Europe where I pop in for a quick espresso to fight the jetlag. I have the “lips and eyes” espresso cups designed by Philippe Starck for the Royal Monceau – Raffles Paris. I love the ceremony of enjoying an espresso in the afternoon as much as I like the resulting surge of caffeine.

5. Travel
I regularly travel the world – in a recent three-month period I will have traveled to Cuba, the Philippines, Vietnam, Germany, India, Mexico and Italy (I highly recommend a stay at the Palazzo Avino (photo above) on the Amalfi Coast). In this global society, I find unlimited inspiration staying in unique and beautiful hotels, walking the local neighborhoods, and immersing myself in new cultures. More than ever before, this international wanderlust influences my designs.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/friday-five-with-mark-moussa-of-arteriors/

Watching My Garden Slowly But Surely Grow

Whenever I’ve written about the garden at home, so far I’ve concentrated on the hard landscaping and the styling. I’ve really enjoyed starting a garden from scratch. And although it was daunting at first when faced with a brown fence, red brick, and a patch of not very good lawn, I’ve really enjoyed designing the space and watching it develop. Plus, I have never claimed to be a green fingered so I’ve always left the planting side of gardening out of it. Although I do try.

But something magical has started to happen.

Climbers have started to flourish and clamber up the brick walls. Jasmine is winding its way round the struts of the pergola. And it’s flowering. Profusely. Hydrangeas I’ve planted against the grey painted fence are now getting huge. And they have so many buds on them, I’m frankly amazed. My strawberries are producing so much fruit I am eating a bowl a day. Encouraged, I have planted annuals in pots, in the window box, anywhere there is a gap.

Fresh herbs from the garden mean I can nip out and snip some off whenever I’m cooking.

Last year I bought two trees (some kind of conifer) which were reduced in price as they were in such a bad way. I nursed them back to health but then thought the winter had killed them off. A few months later and they look amazing. I wish I knew what they were. In fact with the exception of three pots of black stemmed bamboo everything looks green and healthy. Not sure what to do about them?

I think what I’m trying to say. Is that, if I can do it. Anyone can.

Next year we’re planning a large raised bed so that we can actually grow things in the ground. I may even try vegetables. I know I want some more specimen plants too. A jungle of green.

And now that the hard edges of the garden are beginning to blur with all this greenery, everything looks so much better. It’s a pleasure to wander round every morning, coffee in hand. And relax in the evening just before the sun goes down. Even better after rain.

I may earn my green fingers badge yet.

You may also like:

My Garden Dining Deck

My Very Own Pergola

My Summer Style

The post Watching My Garden Slowly But Surely Grow appeared first on Dear Designer.

from Dear Designer http://deardesigner.co.uk/watching-my-garden-slowly-but-surely-grow/

The Househunter Room by Room

Mixing up town and country this week. And light and dark come to that. Bit like the weather over the last few days – it’s hot, it’s cold, it’s wet, it’s dry. This summer doesn’t quite know what it’s about but never mind the weather, come inside this first house I’ve got for you. It…

The post The Househunter Room by Room appeared first on Mad About The House.

from Mad About The House http://www.madaboutthehouse.com/househunter-room-room-22/

10 Modern Treehouses We’d Love to Have in Our Own Backyard

Does that childhood feeling of running away to live in a treehouse ever really leave us? The magic of escaping to a fantasy life high above in the trees sounds pretty great, but realistically we all have to grow up and be adults, but that doesn’t mean we can’t build a little getaway for some quiet time. We rounded up 10 modern treehouses that we’d love to retreat to when we need a little calm.

RPA’s Treehouse sits on a steep ridge in Los Angeles’ Nichols Canyon and is used as an office/studio and getaway, complete with a unique butterfly roofline.

Photo by Ricardo Oliveira Alves

The Tree Snake Houses were designed by Luís Rebelo de Andrade and Tiago Rebelo de Andrade in Portugal to resemble a snake sliding through the trees in a forest.

Photo by Johan Jansson

Snøhetta is responsible for the jaw-dropping Treehotel, located in a forest in Northern Sweden. Their latest elevated cabin is called The 7th Room and it’s a two-bedroom space nestled amongst the trees. You’ll do a double take when standing underneath it because they covered the bottom of the cabin with a black and white print of trees.

Photo by Henrietta Williams

Nozomi Nakabayashi designed this Hut on Stilts high off the ground amongst the trees. The cozy space can be used as a sleeping getaway or a writer’s office, safely away from all distractions you’d find on the ground.

Courtesy of The HemLoft

The HemLoft is a private house within the trees in Whistler, Canada, that’s located about a five minute walk from the closest road. The egg-shaped hideaway was built and completely self-funded by software developer Joel Allen.

In Calistoga, California, O2 Treehouse designed this two-story treehouse for overnight guests and play. An upper level, which is an enclosed room, cantilevers out over a long catwalk and is accessed through a trap door.

Courtesy of Treehouse People

Designer Takashi Kobayashi heads up a collective called Treehouse People and has built over 120 treehouses in Japan, including this one. The box-like structure features wavy planks of recycled wood as shingles on the exterior to achieve its unique look.

Photo by Greg Cox

In a suburb of Cape Town, Malan Vorster Architecture Interior Design designed this unusual, cabin-like treehouse in a clearing amongst a bunch of trees. The layout resembles a pinwheel with a central square that has four circles just off of it.

Photo by Cris Beltran

Daniel Cabezas, Rosario Velasco, and Joan Sanz designed and built Villa Ardilla as an artist residence on a hillside in Granada, Spain. The tree-surrounded retreat also ditches typical wood as its main material and instead uses corrugated metal that’s painted red and green.

Photo by Markus Bollen

Perched 11 meters off the ground, this treehouse by Andreas Wenning of German firm baumraum is a getaway for the owners whose main house is on the property. A small door in the roof of the garage is how to access the spiral staircase that leads to the treehouse above.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/10-modern-treehouses-wed-love-to-have-in-our-own-backyard/