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/

Seeing Shapes in Terrazzo with Society6

Earlier this week I saw these images and they kind of took my breath away. The chips of pearl accented by golden brass were just too pretty to ignore and made me take notice of the different shapes of the pearl because of the iridescent reflections bouncing off the surfaces. These coasters and trays aren’t made of terrazzo but could be a close cousin, in my opinion. The beauty of terrazzo is that every slab is unique because of the different shapes and materials mixed in. Inspired by this, I checked to see if any artists on Society6 had made a print of this pattern because I could definitely see the jewel-like pattern framed in a living room or even a nursery. Sure enough, Society6’s collective of artists are two steps ahead of me. Here are some of my favorite prints of this fun pattern…

TERRAZZO COLLAGE art print by Clog

Natural Terrazzo Stone Structure Pattern Pastel art print by 5mm Paper

Time art print by Hanna Kastl-Lungberg

Terrazzo Texture #4 art print by Cafelab

Terrazzo 2 art print by Mareike Böhmer

Pastel Terrazzo art print by Sylvain Combe

terrazzo confetti art print by Jmdphoto

Terrazzo Abstract Design Gray & Salmon Pink art print by 5mm Paper

Green tropical leaves on terrazzo pattern art print by Marta Olga Klara

In an ongoing effort to support independent artists from around the world, Design Milk is proud to partner with Society6 to offer The Design Milk Dairy, a special collection of Society6 artists’ work curated by Design Milk and our readers. Proceeds from The Design Milk Dairy help us bring Design Milk to you every day.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/seeing-shapes-terrazzo-society6/

Way On: Providing Solutions For New Habits of Society

This year at Salone del Mobile 2017, the University School of Design and Art of Barcelona (EINA), put their students front and center with Way On. Showcasing six projects developed by third and fourth year students in the Design program, each project explored the idea of user experience and provided solutions to an ever changing world. The Way On initiative was coordinated by professors Javier Nieto and Oriol Ventura.

Though Nomad may first seem like a giant chair, it is in fact a shelter for everyday life. This shared space, designed by Ferran Gesa and Caterina Vianna, is a different way to work together and get a moment’s respite during a busy day.

Köllen Tryk is no ordinary wall hanger. Students Oriol Campillo, Núria Jané, Adrián Soldado and Paula Terra combined forces to create an interactive hanger that the user can play with. By pushing the knobs in or out, the user can change the composition of the hanger to fit the clothes.

Y-light is a modular light that adds the user’s unique touch to any space. It’s a light that is made up of Y-shaped modules, making it easy to put together in different forms, proving a custom look. It was created by Clara Alfós, Sara Coll, Andrea Martínez, Ariadna Puigdomènech, Maria Roca, Sergi Rodríguez and Anna Vicho.

The Trote Chair is redefining an ordinary office chair. After an analysis of today’s office trends, Elisa Alcaide, Oriol Cabarrocas, Joan Mateu and Marina Vidal decided to create a chair that’s inspired by a children’s game. The Trote Chair provides a rocking balance that’s relaxing, while also still be functional to work with.

Not quite a magic carpet (but close!), the Imagiro, designed by Júlia Riera, Sonia Santos and Anna Solà, is a carpet that will let your imagination run wild. It’s a decorative carpet while also acting as a game for adults and children alike. Its inner mesh makes it easy to easily transform the carpet into drastically different designs like origami.

Cut the Cube is a shelf that features your design. Inspired by a cube, Katia Aleix, Josep Maria Borbon, Alanis Esté, Lourdes Fernàndez, Denis Lara, Pol Martinez and Maria Palau wanted to create a shelf that had the qualities of a cube, but would encourage interaction with a user. Thus, Cut the Cube, a storage tool that can be customized to a user’s desires.

from Design MilkDesign Milk http://design-milk.com/way-on-providing-solutions-for-new-habits-of-society/