Interior Design Archives - Page 3 of 4

Pine Plywood Takes Center Stage in Minimalist Home

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

Gone are the days when plywood was considered a sub-material unfit for use as a final finish in a quality building. Modern architects and interior designers are featuring it as a focal point, highlighting its textures and natural patterns, especially when juxtaposed with stark white surfaces. This home by i29 Interior Architects in Bloemendaal, Netherlands is a prime example, using pine plywood for everything from the dramatic floating fireplace in the living room to built-in bunk beds.

The architects carried the use of plywood throughout the entire home, fostering a sense of continuity. Free of busy details like hardware and trim, the large, unadorned sheets of plywood have a tastefully minimalist feel. The all-white space would be far less visually interesting without the unfinished pine accent walls, shelving, niches and custom furniture.

Aside from its affordability and ease of installation, one advantage of plywood is the continuous pattern that splashes across its entire surface in a motif reminiscent of sunlight sparkling on the surface of moving water. The effect is subtle yet breaks up what could otherwise be a monotonous decor scheme.

Amazing Wood Creations: Japanese Chapel Lined with Hand-Carved Lattice Panels

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

Beautifully intricate hand-carved wood tends to be utilized sparingly, in details like fireplace surrounds, railings, room screens and other decorative touches, but when it takes the main stage, it really shines. One stunning example can be found at the Ana Crowne Plaza Hotel in Hiroshima, Japan by Nikken Space Design, a space integrating Japanese wedding traditions with an emphasis on nature.

The artists translated designs often seen on kimonos into a pattern for an arching lattice structure creating a canopy roof over the chapel, enhancing its feeling of sacredness and serenity. Measuring twenty feet high and 62 feet long, the interior ceiling is comprised of 100 large hand-carved wooden panels featuring true emotions.

The panels represent a single tree arching over the guests as they sit at the pews in the chapel, with roots running to meet the floor, trunks stretching up the sides and individual branches sprouting leaves and flowers overhead. The wood was left unpainted to celebrate its natural beauty.

Molding as Modern Decor: More Creative Uses for Pine Products

Posted on January 30, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

Got a bunch of scraps of pine molding laying around that are too short to use? Don’t toss them away – they have the potential to be all sorts of things, from pendant lamps to pencil holders, as proven by the ‘Molding Plan’ project by designer Chialing Chang. The natural contours of these products make for surprisingly elegant decorative objects when they’re cut apart and glued back together in unexpected ways.

The Taipei-based designer noticed that the arc and beveled edge on a piece of molding, designed to conceal its mounting, have a contemporary value outside of their original intended purpose. Chang used three different kinds of molding to produce containers, hanging lamps and desktop organizers.

The containers are made of molding pieces cut into 45- and 60-degree angled segments and then reassembled to create stackable vessels. Ogee molding adds a visual flair to pendant lamps that’s simultaneously traditional and modern, and is also hollowed out and stacked to any height desired for corralling small items like pens, tape and rulers.

Not only can innovative adaptive reuse projects like this one inspire individual homeowners and woodworkers to approach timber products from a fresh perspective, it can also be a boost to the entire industry.

“The whole series are manufactured by wood craftsmen in Ningxia Road in Taipei City, Taiwan,” says Chang. “The street, where the wood industry and resources gather, has gradually declined under the impact of international economic downturn. Huge accumulated stocks of moldings are kept in local lumber shops. Molding Plan utilizes plentiful resources of an age-old place in Taipei City as well as gathering people’s attentions to the traditional woodworking industry.”

Vertical Pine Planks Create Stunning Spiral Staircase in Dome Home

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

pine spiral stairs dome home 4

An unusual arrangement of pine boards forms a spiraling core for a sculptural staircase that stands as the centerpiece of a dome home in China. Designed by British furniture manufacturers Timothy Oulton, the cylindrical home and the charming handmade village that surrounds it are made primarily of reclaimed materials. Taking its inspiration from spiderwebs, the structure itself is a stunning model of wooden craftsmanship, but the staircase takes the cake.

pine spiral stairs dome home 2

pine spiral stairs dome home

Graduating in height all the way up to the railing of the loft, the vertically-installed pine supports a set of floating treads that spiral from the living area up to a quiet workspace. The result is visually stunning from every angle, but especially when gazing down from the upper level.

pine spiral stairs dome home

The design team used custom steel plates and fittings to support the staircase as well as the loft, which takes up half the footprint of the house. Perpendicular planks punctuated by curving vertical ribs create a series of concentric circles on the ceiling, drawing the eye upwards.

Marbelous Wood: Pine Flooring Gets Fresh with Artistic Dye Process

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Jeff Easterling

Think you know all there is to know about staining wood? You might want to reconsider that notion after taking a look at this incredible marbling process perfected by artist Pernille Snedker Hansen in a series she calls ‘Marbelous Wood.’ Repurposing an old marbling technique, the artist gives natural wood a unique ornamentation that’s different on each and every plank, so the possibilities for the final design are virtually endless.

The designs are created slowly, drop by drop, following the growth rings on the wood, putting the focus on the natural patterns created by nature as the trees grow. According to the artist’s website, “Pernille Sneaker Hansen has combined the traditions of marbling from the bookbinding profession with the traditional Scandinavian pinewood floor, creating a wooden floor that forms a never-ending array of details and color combinations at one’s feet.”

It’s fun to imagine putting these custom-painted boards together like puzzle pieces, whether attempting to match them up or deliberately flip the motifs for a visually dynamic result. Snedker is currently taking commissions to install these artistic flooring surfaces, and can do them on wall paneling, too.

Pine for the Urban Apartment: Clever Space-Saving Built-In

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Jeff Easterling

How do you pack a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living space, office and storage into a single room that measures a measly 226 square feet? German architecture firm Spamroom breathed new life into an urban Berlin micro apartment with a clever pine structure that functions like a room within a room, sectioning off different spaces and adding a lot more function.

Located within a historic apartment block dating back to the early 20th century, the apartment was originally divided into two separate rooms, and subsequent renovations had it feeling a bit unbalanced in the distribution of the space. Internal walls only served to block off natural light and make the space feel small.

The pine addition houses the bathroom, serves as a platform for the lofted bedroom, and is lined on the exterior with a kitchenette and lots of cabinets. A narrow staircase leads to the loft from a second built-in piece, a floor-to-ceiling wardrobe. Elevating the bedroom takes advantage of the available vertical space, freeing up valuable floor space for other uses.

The white-washed pine was not only an affordable choice, it has a beautifully minimalist and modern appearance that perfectly complements the historic features in the space. Maintaining a limited color palette and keeping clutter behind cupboard doors makes the apartment feel much larger.