Our choice

We have been fortunate to redesign a drawing room in a Regency period house up in Leamington Spa. Apart from collecting an array of fabrics and choices of furnishings, the emphasis right now is predominantly on the lighting. This beautiful Coral pendant light from one of our favorite Italian brands Pallucco, is most definitely a strong contender.

We also liked the message behind its design:

“We wanted to create a light that was both visibly rich and articulated, starting from a very simple module. The module repeats itself like a fractal (a geometrical shape which is repeated throughout its structure in different sizes) and grows following the principle of nature – from simplicity to complexity.”

Coral Light; Design: Lagranja Design; Production year 2009

Photographs courtesy of:

www.pallucco.com

Power of thought

Last year, I came across two very inspirational artists:

First, Theo Jansen, a Dutch artist and engineer whose 'kinetic sculptures' harness the energy of the wind, creating the most amazing and moving spectacle.

"The walls between art and engineering exist only in our minds."

Secondly, Joshua Allen Harris, a New York based artist whose Inflatable animal sculptures are ingenious creations. The effect of the installations is both enchanting and sad, highlighting the presence of death and passing in a place that is fast and merciless. What occurs is that people stop, observe and think, a task increasingly difficult to achieve.

What is timeless interior?

“If a writer wrote merely for this time, I would have to break my pen and throw it away”

Victor Hugo

The question I get asked quite frequently is: What makes a timeless interior design?

To answer this I must start by quoting a hero of mine, Josef Frank, the father of modernism in Sweden:

"....A home does not need to be planned down to the smallest detail or contrived; it should be an amalgamation of the things that its owner loves and feels at home with.”

He believed that a home must never be restrained, predicamental to fashion and trends, but reflect the personality of the owner and his way of life. The founder of Svennskt Tenn, Estrid Ericson incorporated treasures from her adventures around the world, juxtaposing them against other possessions, from stylish, self-designed furniture to delicate objets d’art. This allowed the person stepping into her home to immediately get the impression of her worldliness and created an unusual, personal collection of objects which most certainly intrigued the observer.

I think timelessness is in the combination of first considering the space and maximizing its potential and then applying the best possible solutions to the interior, be it a colour, fabric or piece of furniture. Always bearing in mind “...the owner feels at home...”.

This takes away the dishonesty of trying to design a space that is merely a statement to fashion and the current, most sought-after designer rather than a comfortable, ‘intelligent’ home that works.

Photographs courtesy of:

www.skonahem.com

www.elleinterior.se