Interior Design Ideas » Accessories

Creative Fireplace Designs

HD Staff — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:14:48 +0000

There are many solutions when it comes to the installation of a state-of-the-art fireplace, and this range from Acquaefuoco is worth a browse. The collection stands out with its use of innovative forms – not something you might expect from a typical fireplace!

They offer an interesting selection, ranging from a transparent dual aspect piece that can sit in the centre of a floor, to wall mounted and shelf amalgamated creations. The ‘Flame’ range (which is of a shape that actually reminds us more of a teardrop) spans the spectrum with a floor standing version that you can see straight through, and smaller versions to be situated on a wall; these elegantly shaped fireplaces come in a range of colors too, so you can choose to either blend your fireplace with your décor, or make a bigger statement.

We love the idea of multiples on a long wall, it’s fabulously effective and will generate heat more evenly through the room.

This gorgeous circular fireplace is reminiscent of a porthole window.

If you are planning to have a fireplace up on your wall, then how about a shelf mounted piece like this?

The new shapes in this collection are a nice change from the influx of letterbox designs we’ve had in recent years.

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Customizable Letter Shelves

HD Staff — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 17:01:00 +0000

Whilst scoping out some fun shelving solutions here, the ANITA range by Ricard Mollon popped up and spelled out ‘hello’! These thermoformed acrylic letterforms can help you say a lot about your home, quite literally; available in floor standing size, or smaller versions for your wall, each letter is sold individually to allow you the freedom to put things in your own words.

Available at Quattria, these typographical beauties stand right on trend, with many of us now displaying decorative keywords like ‘Love’ and ‘Home’ in our abodes, and the emergence of fantastic ranges like the font based storage by Set26, the Tabisso chairs and lamps, and Fontable 2D letter tables. We’re not sure how cool these transparent forms would look if you crammed your entire book collection onto them, but as a design feature they are pretty nifty; stack high and au naturel as a room divider, or appreciate as a debris free statement piece. The three dimensional characters could even work singularly as bedside tables, use your initial to claim your side of the bed, or in the TV room next to the best seat in the house! Consider grouping photo frames on the word ‘FAMILY’, a collection of retro keepsakes on ‘TOYS’, or a sculptural feature on ‘ART’, the possibilities are endless! Do we really need to spell it out for you?

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A Massive Home Entertainment Setup

HD Staff — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:06:53 +0000

Okay here is a guy who is serious about his home entertainment system. Serious enough to mock it up using a sketch up program…

…and resourceful enough to actually build it.

Found on Swedish home tech forum Min Hembio, on member Z3m-Johan‘s page, this entertainment pad leaves no stone unturned.

For the tech savvy, here is the list: Audiovector AV3Ci Avantgarde , Audiovector S3 Avantgarde , Euroscreen Frame Vision Light VLS190-W 16:9 86 “(190×107) , Logitech Illuminated Keyboard K800 (S) , NAD 32A2 , Philips Prestigo SRT9320 , Primare CD31 , Primare SPA22.

Hmm… it looks like the IKEA Tobo unit is more sturdier that we thought.

We like this! No need to go far to rest after a tiring session of back to back movies.

Built in storage is an added advantage, of course.

No questions to where his loyalties lie! :)

… and finally.

Recommended Reading: Home Entertainment Spaces

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Creative Wall Tiles From Japan

HD Staff — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:02:22 +0000

Japanese company INAX has come up with some wonderful tiling options. Dent Cube, first presented at Cersaie 2011 in Bologna, is a three-dimensional porcelain stoneware cladding that can be used to create indented pattern walls. Its design is interesting, because it produces a mixture of geometric structures and colours, that can bring a harmonious twist to a space, either outdoors or indoors. The indented patterns can be filled with different coloured glass, wood or other materials, as required. This can create a certain rhythm that is eye-catching. The Dent Cube is part of a broader concept named Nagomi(stands for inner peace and serenity) and was designed by architect Teruo Yasuda.

More designs from INAX’s stables…

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Angry Birds Inspired Accessories For Your Home

HD Staff — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:14:07 +0000

Who hasn’t heard of Angry Birds? What had began as a video game by Finnish computer game developed Rovio Mobile in 2009 slowly but steadily became a famous video game all over the world for phones, video games, and computers. Today Angry Birds has become a phenomenon that has quite a following among people all over the world of different ages. Themed parties and clothing (t-shirts and even Halloween costumes) are a well known road of popularity and success, but Angry Birds did not stop there! Take a look at some of these accessories that cement the game’s place in mainstream culture.

Angry Birds Speakers

Engadget puts them as ‘too adorable to slingshot’. We agree!

Angry Birds Cakes

Via

Yummy!

Youtube features videos of the games, the toys, and even the playful cake that can be made into a table top eatable game. Chocolate and frosting in a shape of colorful birds, Mighty Eagle, and Big Brother Bird has never been so much fun and tasteful!

Angry Birds Plush Toys

Flying off the screen and becoming a soft plush toy, companion for children and young adults is a well known road for many game characters.

Photo via GrowingUp. You can get them here.

Angry Birds Wall Decals

eBay plays home to a huge collection of Angry Birds inspired wall decals.

Angry Birds Toys

Even the plastic version of the table top game is common.

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Bull & Bear Accessories for the Finance Geek

HD Staff — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 16:51:16 +0000

“Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” We think Gordon Gekko would appreciate these ego-boosting accessories– so much so that he would probably not settle for one, but want all of them. It seems the bull and bear philosophy that has dominated Wall Street is permeating the design world and inspiring all sorts of furniture and decor ideas. If you’re a finance geek yourself, or know someone that is, perhaps these might be some great gift ideas.

These bear-shaped coffee tables by Russian designers Napalm are more like sculptures and celebrate the country’s symbolic animal. But it may also intrigue the Wall Street geek, especially the glass version which may be suitable for a modern office and help to inspire and remind those that see it everyday, of the animal’s power and strength.

This bull knife and cookbook holder by Toro Legno is a befitting way to organize your most dangerous cutlery. Somehow, a bull seems like the most appropriate animal and makes for a powerful metaphor.

These beautiful bull and bear figurines by Swarovski are the perfect, fiery decorations for an office at the Stock Exchange. The bear is made from Marron Shade crystal, while the Bull is made of Silver Shade crystal, and both stand on India granite bases. Stand them next to each other, and it almost looks like they are in battle. You can check them out here at Amazon.

Decorative bookends are pretty popular among trading folks.

These origami artists put a Japanese spin on the old bull and bear symbols.

Cuter than the former accessories, these wooden bull and bear boxes by Areaware, have eyes that act as hinges and can store little trinkets inside.

If you aren’t too freaked out by it, you may like this sleeping grizzly bear bean bag by Chic Sin Design. The round, bear bean bag measures 51 x 70 x 103 centimeters and was knitted using bear graphics, which mimics the animal’s furry hide better than usual printed upholstery. The head is shaped like a real bear’s crown. It is so realistic, you’re almost afraid you might wake it up by sitting on it!

We are fans of terrariums — they take care of themselves and are a refreshing, natural decoration in any home. We think a lot of people, and not just the finance geek, may appreciate this large moss terrarium with a pewter bull accessory by Etsy shop owner MadebyMavis.

This sleek Buy/Sell clock by Creations & Collections, is a 12 inch glass surface with stock quotation and bull and bear prints.

Know an artsy, Wall Street type? Perhaps they would like these Wall Street inspired posters and prints available at art.com.

We really like these hand signal prints by artist Mike Nudelman. Offered at Trading Pit History, the 18″ x 24″ prints are two-color screen-printed on heavy stock paper and showcase the hand signals used in stock exchanges the world round.

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Pixel Inspiration in Decor

HD Staff — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:13:53 +0000

The pointillism painters were fascinated by them in the late 1800′s. Modern society measures picture quality with them. And these days, they have become a source of inspiration in decor. Pixels are now common in the design world featured as graphic prints on everything from pillows to bed-sheets to meticulously-constructed lamps and clocks. This fascination may in part be sparked by an increasingly digital world, and in part by our initial fascination with dots, evident during the pointillism period in art – how a large group of many tiny dots, varying in color, can compose a larger image. But in most of these designs, we are intrigued by the idea of pixels close-up that make up an object, such as a table or lamp. Regardless, they make for funky and modern touches in your living room or bedroom and are probably a good conversation starter.

If you are an art admirer and know your Van Goghs and Vermeers, you would appreciate these modular patterns from ixxi.

London based interior accessory store Zuzunaga has a cool collection of pillows, rugs and couches that celebrate pixels.

This mod, black and white armless pixel couch was designed by Dune.

The pixel hand hanger by 8-bit hanger!

Joongho Choi designed this brightly-colored pixel table, which would make for an edgy and unique addition to a living room.

This Baroque style pixel lamp by Stellavie is a beautiful and unique meshing of two different eras and styles. While more toned down in color, it would still make a statement anywhere.

These vividly-colored pixel lamps by Yank Design are a bit more noticeable than the Stellavie, but are still beautiful in that they are reminiscent of naturally-formed raw stones.

The “falling pixels” effect of this brightly colored coaster by 25togo could help spark a conversation from your surprised guests.

Have lots of time and lots of similar sized books? Take a DIY cue from Icoeye who decorated their entire bookshelf in pixel graphics, using one book at a time.

Not enough time? Then keep track with the Pixel Clock.

Artist Duncan Wilson was inspired to create walls of colorful post it notes that resemble pixels.

Have any more pixel inspired decor item that you think deserve to be on this list? Let us know in the comments…

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Designer Clocks & Watches

HD Staff — Thu, 19 May 2011 13:31:18 +0000

Some people prefer to learn the time on a vintage grandfather clock that resonates through a tile corridor. Others like the chime of their rare tabletop Philippe Patek. Then, of course, there’s the old standby of the wall clock. No matter what our time-telling preference, we do not expect to exact significant effort to see that it’s 4:20. These designed watches, however, make complications on a true watch-o-philes’s wrist seem. They certainly reveal a preference among designers to eschew the relationship between form and function. They are about as easy to read as a 19th century marine chronometer. Beauty has its place in clocks, but who wants to read an instruction manual or watch a Youtube video about how to read a clock?

We could describe it as minimalism in chronometers.

Color wheels not only give the time but also an aesthetic means of diversion. Is it synesthesia if you start thinking of numbers in terms of colors?

Clock developed by Anna Marinenko as a tribute to Japan.

Time in this clock reveals itself as gracefully and beautifully as a Chinese coquette behind her fan.

One should wonder about a clock’s effectiveness– or at least about the designer’s sense of relationship between form and function– if it comes with instructive photos.

Telling time inherently requires a bit of mathematical knowledge. In this case, however, it might take thrice as long to determine the hour if reading the scroll-like domino structure. It might therefore be akin to reading Japanese scrolls.

This will clock turns 24-hour military time into something whimsical and artful. Its dimensionalism further adds to its attractive design.

The subtlety of this clock adds to its appeal. Whose eyes would linger on the magnification of the numbers as time passes?

This retro watch still bears something that’s a little flash forward. its gentle gradation of color delights the eye as the minimal indicators of time intrigue the mind.

Perhaps it’s easier to admit the passage of time if a clock bears what appears to be metal lace over its face.

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Designer Bathtubs

HD Staff — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:44:07 +0000

It’s as if these bathtub designers had poetry in mind when they compiled these designs. Each tub seems pure metaphor. Lying in them, enjoying their hydrotherapeutic essence, will feel like Calgone has taken you away.

The Strip tub by Aquamass conjures images of waterfalls in a tropical paradise. It comes in freestanding or wall-mounted forms. [Via]

Those who take their hygiene to scientific levels might prefer the Beignet tub by Japan-based Spiritual Mode.

Instead of the little old woman who lived in a shoe you can be the lavish woman who bathed in a shoe. SICIS designed these glass mosaic shoe tubs.

Ron Arad worked with Italian bathroom design company Teuco to reinvent the boxy standup shower. Turn the lip up when showering or turn it down when bathing in this gorgeous multipurpose unit. [Via]

ZAAFDesign has designed this Brezza Bathtub and constructed it out of Corian for Wisdom Sanitary Ware Co., Ltd.. The problem is that of form and function. Who’s actually going to sit beside the bather, on Corian? That it looks like a glass of spilling milk suspended in time almost makes up for that major design flaw. [Via]

Perhaps a professional scuba diver or even a marine biologist might be as fish-friendly as required of the homeowner who buys this, the $14,500 Moody Acquario. One question lingers: how does one clean out the fish tank? [Via]

Use this Utuwa tub, designed by Spiritual Mode to soak from head to toe or just to soak the feet. [Via]

Italian design company BluBleu designed this reclining tub. More on that here.

This glorious sunken bathing round with a built-in foot massage, known as the Shore Tub, is the result of a creative collaboration of the HeyTeam Collective and Teuco.[Via]

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Cool And Unique Ceiling Fans

HD Staff — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 19:28:17 +0000

I have seen interior designers cringe at the mention of the term ‘ceiling fan’. Majority of designers despise them for a reason. They believe that ceiling fans(at least the usual ones) severely compromise the aesthetics of a room and act somewhat as a sour spot. Having looked at creative options myself I got to say I tend to side with them. There are hardly a dozen fans out there that any ‘designer’ would be comfortable living with. Maybe this is an opportunity. Any entrepreneurs listening in?

Anyways we have decided to feature the top ones we came across in our quest for unique ceiling fans. Like we said, they are tough to come by and not surprisingly, most are even tougher on the wallet.

Artemis Fan

The Artemis Minka-Aire Fan makes quite a style statement with its unique twisted blades form. The maple finish option would go well if you have wooden accents in your room. You can buy this here

This fan also comes with translucent leaves. You can buy this here.

Blow Fan

If you have an eye for color and tasteful minimalism, the Blow ceiling fan was designed by Ferdi Giardini might interest you. It is one of those rare ceiling fans with lights above the blades. Buy it here

Torto Fan

Fancy a fan with a twist? Check out the Torto fan from Fanimation. Buy it here

Sycamore Fan

Inspired by the beauty of a falling Sycamore tree seed pod, this fan offers efficiency with no sacrifice in aesthetics. You can buy it here.

Propeller Fan

Perhaps best described by the makers (Serien lighting) themselves:

It derives its ethereal form from the manner of its construction: Fabric is quite simply placed over a thin spring wire. In this way room for a bulb is created in the corpus. In line with its delicate frame the light is very soft and gentle. As a fan the design functions extremely well in dispelling air. The number of revolutions and the light are regulated by remote control.

You can buy it here.

Fanaway Fan

What is unique about this particular fan is that it has retractable blades that extend out only after the fan has attained a certain minimum speed. You can buy it here.

Here is a video of it in operation:

Fiore Fan

Similar in concept to the Fanaway Fan, but instead of retractable blades, the Fiore fan uses petal like blades that open up to reveal a lamp.

Watch this video to get an idea of its operation.

Enigma Fan

Short on blades? Maybe. Short on style? No. Bonus: Remote controlled halogen lamps included. You can buy it here.

Centaurus Fan

As this is very much a post on unconventional ceiling fans there is no way we can ignore the Centaurus Fan from Fanimation.

You can buy it here.

Honorable Mention: Faltfan

Okay, this is just a concept but we believe this group project by three designers – Joanita, Johannes Marmon and Martin Sprekelsen – is very much in line with our tastes. :) They used Origami technique to shape this bird like structure off a single aluminium sheet.

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