Before & After: renovations in our apartment

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

Welcome to our 8 Rodyk apartment in Singapore…. not that we are actually living there … no we bought the place a long time ago but it became too small to live with a family of four so we are renting it out at the moment. I thought you might like to see what we have done with the space a couple of years ago to make the space look more modern and functional …  a little face lift today!

Rik and I wanted to open up the space so we could get more use out of the apartment. The apartment is about 98 square meters, which might sound big ( don't get me wrong i agree), but a big part of it is used for the balcony which is perfect for a warm weather country. Perfect apartment for a young couple with small kids! (Click here to see the kids room in the apartment and how I used vintage pieces to make the kids room feel more cosy)

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

 This way  to see perhaps the ugliest picture ever posted on Bloesem ..

The first thing we saw when we walked in was floor to ceiling glass panels that closed up the kitchen which is more suitable for hard core cooking which is very common in the Asian culture. The glass panels help keep the smoke and smells of cooking within the kitchen. Since neither Rik nor myself are hard core cooks, we decided there was no need for the glass panels. Removing the panels immediately opened up the flow from the door into the kitchen and then into the rest of the living room.

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

And this what the open kitchen looks like after our make-over. By putting plywood on the little wall below the window we created a small sitting area. Simply adding some pillows and ta-da … 

There also used to be a little outside patio which also acted as a laundry room to house the washing machine and dryer. Instead we decided to build plywood cabinets to house all the items we thought were slightly unattractive but still necessary. The plywood cabinets are a recurring feature in the apartment, we used it for storage as well as display in the kitchen and the living room too.

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations  Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

 (probably the ugliest pic I have shared on Bloesem ever!) 

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

And this is what you see now … the garbage shoot and laundry machine hidden in this plywood cabinet … don't you agree that looking at vintage ceramics make much more sense! A very tiny detail which you perhaps can't see very clearly but we used copper rings for the little holes in the doors, this gives it a quirky and nicer effect. 

The kitchen being side by side with the living room makes the apartment a great place for hosting dinners and having guests over. You can still talk and interact while guests sit in the living room.

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

In the master bedroom, we took out a glass wall that looked directly into the bathroom … built in a shelf that made the space feel much bigger with the light flowing through the bathroom and into the bedroom. The shelf also gave us extra space for decoration and display. Here I placed some vintage ceramics from the Netherlands. 

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

Another detail i like is giving the walls a banner from the bottom up to half meter a off white color throughout the enitre house also the bedrooms … it connects the rooms and gives a good flow!

Bloesem Living | Before & After: Bloesem Apartment Renovations

I hope you liked our little tour today! Over at BloesemKids I'm sharing the boys bedroom from this apartment! Irene xoxo

If you have any questions about the interior styling or decoration just send me an email!

Image credit : Marjon Hoogervorst aka Vorstin

Jonna’s kitchen

Bloesem Living | Jonna's Kitchen

Welcome to Jonna’s kitchen, not exactly her’s but a kitchen she designed. If you think interior architect, Jonna Klumpenaar sounds familiar, it’s because we have written about her own lovely home before. You can have a quick look over here before continuing with this  kitchen.

The pictures below are of a kitchen Jonna has designed for a young family from Amsterdam. Working together with her clients, she tries to achieve the perfect atmosphere within the space. To her, being an architect means not only being the creative force but also being able to understand what the client wants and translating that into a design they will appreciate. 

Bloesem Living | Jonna's Kitchen

Bloesem Living | Jonna's Kitchen

 

 

It’s alot about feeling out who you are working with and getting what they want even if they aren’t able to specifically express it. A fan of bright spaces, Jonna loves the energy and peace such spaces eminate. The yellow-painted floor with olive green and white basic kitchen tiles also give the room a young and fresh feel.

Bloesem Living | Jonna's Kitchen

Bloesem Living | Jonna's Kitchen

Perhaps you remember Jonna her own home with the gorgeous chairs 🙂 right here in the Bloesem archives you can read a short interview with her. 

Bloesem Living | Jonna's Kitchen

 

 

.. Jonna Klumpenaar

Living in Antwerp

Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx

The book you saw yesterday in Veronique her apartment is by publisher Luster … it's about cool and interesting homes in Antwerp, Belgium. I haven't read the book myself but looking at some of the pictures makes me want to order it

It's not the first time photographer Diane Hendrikx is working for Luster. A whole series of interior books have her name on it. Glad to be able to share some inspiring pictures today with you. They give me a mad men feel … what about you? ps. not all the images here are from the same book … the post is perhaps more an ode to the beautiful work of Diane

Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx

Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx


Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx

Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx

Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx

Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx

Bloesem Living |Luster Diane Hendrikx

 

All images by Diane Hendrikx 

.. Luster 

Guest Pinner: Kitchens by House of C

Bloesem Living | Kitchens

{1. String kitchen 2. via pinterest 3. Paul Raeside 4. Claudia's kitchen 5. Nordic feeling  6. via Coosje}

A little while ago I invited  fiends and bloggers to be a guest pinner for one of my boards … Christine from House Of C starts this new guest pin series … she added some crazy good looking kitchens to Bloesem's Kitchen board … here just a few of my favorites but there are more than 150 pics to get ideas from.

I'm so glad Christine found the String kitchen for me .. I am a big fan of String and never thought of creating a kitchen with it. Such a simple but great idea … and probably one of the most affordable solutions for a kitchen! Another plus … you can bring this kitchen along with you whenever you deside to move house …. 

.. House Of C
.. Christine's pins
.. Bloesem at pinterest

Interview: Peter Hames of Falcon Enamelware: England’s timeless cookware company resurfaces with a fresh, yet classic twist on its iconic pieces

Interview: Peter Hames of Falcon Enamelware


by Richard Prime As with almost any design segment or discipline, the classics never go out of style. Be it a line of design thinking like Bauhaus, the never-ending resurgence and reinvention of pastel tones in fashion and interiors or, in some cases,…

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“Kitchen design should be less masculine” – Patricia Urquiola

In this previously unpublished movie filmed by Dezeen, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola explains why she rejected the “very masculine” style of kitchen showrooms to design a retail space for kitchen appliance brand Scholtès.

Patricia Urquiola

Kitchen showrooms tend to be built to a “monumental” scale and dominated by heavy marble and stone, says Urquiola, who wanted instead to create a “convivial” space for Scholtès.

“Normally these kind of companies introduce the appliances inside a fake kitchen, and I disagree with that,” says Urquiola, who divided the space into a showroom upstairs and a more informal space downstairs, which hosts a programme of cookery classes and parties. “I like that they can go to a showroom that has a kind of life, that can perform, but is a place where the items are related.”

“We have to have more adaptable things,” she continues. “Our apartments are not going to grow, and there are going to be a lot of people moving to the city. In the city, the problem is always the space.

“I don’t think big. For me it’s not a monumental place, it’s a place where you can be together in some way,” she concludes.

The showroom opened in October 2011 but was closed a few weeks later when Scholtès decided to pull out of the UK market. Urquiola’s interior in still in place, now used as the Hotpoint Design Centre.

Dezeen previously teamed up with Scholtès to report on the cross-pollination between the worlds of food and design, filming a series of movies with designers including Philippe Starck, Gitta Gschwendtner and Kiki van Eijk.

Other designs by Urquiola we’ve featured recently include a collection of ice cream-coloured poufs and rugs and a quilted leaf-patterned sofa – see all designs by Patricia Urquiola.

The post “Kitchen design should be less
masculine” – Patricia Urquiola
appeared first on Dezeen.

The School of Artisan Food: Lessons in baking, butchery, cheese-making and more

The School of Artisan Food

The process of making food artisanally can be slow and tedious, but undoubtedly yields more flavor and personality in its products. Often passed down from generation to generation, these by-hand methods bring the baker, butcher and cheese-maker closer to their craft by using raw, locally sourced ingredients and focusing…

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Hurom Slow Press Juicer: A consumer-grade juice press machine now available for home kitchens

Hurom Slow Press Juicer

We drink a lot of juice at CH. Pressed juice is always our preference because we find it better tasting and more nutritious than that made with traditional juice machines that shred. While it’s easy to get our hands on great pressed juice in NYC, it’s not readily available…

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Mobile kitchen wins the first NWW Design Award

News: a mobile kitchen designed by Anna Rosinke and Maciej Chmara has won the top prize at the inaugural NWW Design Awards at Vienna Design Week.

NWW Design Award

The designers created the cooking cart and collapsible table to tour Austria and make friends with locals in the streets by sharing food with them. Read more about the project in our earlier story.

NWW Design Award

Second prize went to a chair called Donald by Philipp Hermes and Dustin Jessen, which is formed in two parts that slot together and join with Velcro-like pads.

NWW Design Award

In third place was the Stoolbench system by Johanna Dehio, comprising stools that can be joined by a plank of wood with holes in the top to make a bench, and small round tables that can be joined with a larger plank to make a long dining table.

NWW Design Award

The winners received €5000 and a trophy created by Austrian designer Thomas Feichtner. The three winning designs will be prototyped and exhibited in a travelling exhibition.

NWW Design Award

Nearly 300 projects were submitted to the judging panel, which was led by artist Vito Acconci and included Dezeen editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.

NWW Design Award

The NWW Design Award was founded by Viennese family-run furniture company Neue Wiener Werkstätte and will be held every two years from now on.

NWW Design Award

See our photos of people we bumped into at Vienna Design Week on our Facebook page.

NWW Design Award

Here’s some more information from the organisers:


This was the first NWW DESIGN AWARD: The winners have been declared!

Last Friday, the NWW DESIGN AWARD for innovative interior design was presented for the first time. During the Vienna Design Week, the initiator, Stefan Polzhofer, and the chairman of the jury, Vito Acconci, publicly presented the three winning designs in the magnificent rooms of the Kursalon Vienna. The presentation of the NWW Design Award 2012 shortlist offered an exciting insight into the ideas workshops of the young designer scene. The award ceremony was moderated by the Head of the ORF-TV Culture Section, Martin Traxl. The success of the new initiative was celebrated with 450 guests until the early hours of the next day at the After-Award Party.

Reflecting current trends and supporting new products: The NWW DESIGN AWARD was established by Neue Wiener Werkstätte with the intention of initiating an exchange of ideas and knowledge between creative minds, institutional partners and companies, and with the aim of defining new standards and trends for exclusive furniture design and to bring them to the attention of the general public. As pointed out by Stefan Polzhofer, the managing director who guided KAPO Moebelwerkstaetten GmbH and the brand Neue Wiener Werkstaette into the 21st century, the NWW DESIGN AWARD is directed equally towards young designers and students of design as to established interior architects and designers. The documentation of all submitted works will be developed into a Design Think Tank Archive.

The theme of 2012 was: Meta Mobility – our life as modern nomads

297 projects that were submitted from over 20 different countries presented the jury of experts, headed by star designer Vito Acconci, with a difficult task. The three winning designs were selected from a shortlist of the 17 best projects and their creators received the coveted NWW Design Award Trophy (designed by the national award winning designer Thomas Feichtner) during the award ceremony in the Kursalon Vienna last Friday.

Prior to the award ceremony, Heik Afheldt, renowned futurologist, journalist and economic advisor, reviewed, in his keynote speech, the motivic area of the cultural history of mobility, the many aspects of which had to be made clearly visible by the participants of the competition by means of sketches and renderings of the furnishings of modern hyper-nomads.

THE WINNERS 2012

1st Prize: MOBILE HOSPITALITY by Maciej Chmara & Anna Rosinke/AUT

The designer Maciej Chmara was born in Gdynia, Poland, in 1984. He studied in Gdansk, Linz and Vienna; together with Ania Rosinke, he stands for chmara.rosinke (Vienna). The predominantly sociocultural motivated projects of the studio are classed between architecture, design and art and stand out by their simplicity, ecological awareness and a poetic language of form that reduces objects to their archetype. The project MOBILE HOSPITALITY topicalises personal initiative in the urban area. Kitchen furniture as a happening: With this easy to transport kitchen with the surface area of a euro-pallet, you have everything you need with you: crockery, cooking utensils for up to 12 people, fresh herbs, three gas cookers, a foot pump for waste water. The startling colours of DIY superstores contrast with solid wood manufactured in outstanding quality. To be enjoyed outdoors, in a holiday cottage, a loft or wherever city nomads want to stop for a while.

2nd Prize: DONALD by Philipp Hermes & Dustin Jessen/D

The designers Dustin Jessen and Philipp Hermesmet met at Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen in 2006 where they studied industrial design and began developing projects together. In 2010, they founded Hermes/Jessen Industrial Design. The project DONALD is a chair of moulded wood that was created in connection with their bachelor thesis and in co-operation with the producer of moulded wood, Becker Brakel. The shape is the result of an iterative, comprehensive design process where the human being was the central focus and technical feasibility greatly influenced its form. The chair can be produced entirely in Brakel. The wood comes from beech trees from the surrounding woods which are sustainably managed.

3rd Prize: STOOLBENCH by Johanna Dehio/D

The designer Johanna Dehio was born in Munich in 1984. She studied product design at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam and at the UDK Berlin. The ‘Berliner by choice’ is co-founder of the exhibition series Transalpino and has organised and curated exhibitions for the Furniture Fair in Milan and the Designmai/DMY in Berlin. The project STOOLBENCH was inspired by spontaneous solutions and improvisations of temporary seating. It consists of several stools that are complemented by rounded recesses to form a bench, and small, round tables that can be formed into a long dinner table. All elements are veneered with different types of wood and offer an aesthetic overall view even when the individual parts rest unused against a wall.

The designer of this winning design can look forward to a prize money of EUR 5,000. The Neue Wiener Werkstaette will produce prototyps of all three prize-winning designs and put them on show in a travelling exhibition; they will be shown at the Milan Fair, Cologne Fair, designforum Styria, NWW showroom in Vienna and other international venues. In addition to the organiser of the award, the Neue Wiener Werkstätte, various national and international design partners, universities and companies support this new award which, in the future, will be held with changing themes every two years.

The Neue Wiener Werkstätte is a brand of KAPO Möbelwerkstätten GmbH. The family-owned company, managed by Stefan Polzhofer,
uses the brand to further devleop the achievements of the historic Wiener Werkstätte. It stands for a characteristic combination of tradition, craftsmanship and design. The original carpentry shop was founded by Karl Polzhofer I. in 1927, in East Styrian Pöllau. Four generations have worked to transform the former workshop with two workers into an internationally successful company with over 250 employees and a turnover of approx. €25m.

The post Mobile kitchen wins the first
NWW Design Award
appeared first on Dezeen.

International Coffee Day

In honor of the holiday we share the best tools to bring that special cafe-level brew to life

International Coffee Day

Skip sleeping in this Saturday and instead head out to your local cafe to celebrate International Coffee Day. Since every day can’t be a coffee holiday, we’ve pulled together a few essentials that will ensure you’re always pouring a perfect cup of black gold that rivals your favorite coffeehouse….

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