Video Cameras “Disguised”

panoptICONS is an art project meant to raise awareness and refute the idea of people being constantly “watched” by video cameras placed all over the city. Here is the project description from the developers: “The surveillance camera seems to have become a real pest that feeds on our privacy. To represent this, camera birds – city birds with cameras instead of heads – were placed throughout the city centre of Utrecht where they feed on our presence. In addition, a camera bird in captivity was displayed to show the feeding process and to make the everyday breach of our privacy more personal and tangible.” The whole project is looking to emphasize the concept of the man that gains the statute of “prey” while being in crowded urban spaces.

Tips to Save you Money

Your home is also the source for Earth depleting resources that we all are responsible for everyday. In order to save your pocket and the Earth, home energy efficiency is crucial and it isn’t hard to learn. From the extra lamp that you leave on in the bedroom to the 20 minute shower each of your family members take, it’s time to start becoming more environmentally aware.  Here are 10 home energy efficient tips that will help your family, help the earth and your wallet.

Colourful Alphabetized Storage Space

Modern Finnish designer Lincoln Kayiwa chose to solve storage problems with his new AAKKOSET, a room divider that also functions as a wall storage unit. Created to store books, CDs, magazines, bric-a-bracs etc, AAKKOSET has the best of both worlds: from combining latest manufacturing technologies with traditional craftsmanship, Lincoln Kayiwa created this alphabetized storage unit that comes in many colours: black, blue, green, orange, red, violet, white and yellow. The fabrication process guarantees at least 3 years of usage: “Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) is fed through a 5-Axis Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) router. It is thoroughly glued, pressed and primed before a deep rich paint job is first mechanically applied and then hand finished.” 

The Bed That Almost Makes Itself

Letto Zip comes from Florida Furniture and is a dream came true for all those people who dislike making their beds in the morning. Its appearance can be changed by simply zipping and unzipping its stylish cover. This has a major effect on the overall room design, while in the same time being very practical for the user who can prepare the bed in a fast and simple way. The furniture piece is highly modern and elegant, perfect for a large variety of contemporary interiors. With a soft and slightly curved frame, this looks like a comfortable dreamy bed.

Colors Classic White Rocky Collection

In today’s post we would like to showcase two other approaches to this intriguing collection: Color Series and White Series. The uncommon sets consist of four different furniture pieces: a coffee table, a TV cabinet, a wardrobe and a credenza. Even though their shape is the same, the colorful set differs a lot from the white one. While the first can fit in a nonconformist, highly personalized interior, the second set can only be integrated in a minimalist, opulent room. We decided to present them both, for a fun and strong contrast. How would you integrate the first colorful set in an interior? What combination of furniture pieces would you choose ? What set do you like best?

Enignum Canopy Bed for Royal Dreaming

Designed by Joseph Walsh for his “Formations” collection, this beautiful elegant Enignum Canopy Bed has the ability to turn a bedroom into a royal chamber. This bed look fascinating and its ethereal presence has the ability of instantly relaxing its user. The unusual curves and the wooden structure makes this design a part of nature. Sleeping in it will feel like a natural experience, but a glamorous one as well. Even though this furniture item requires a lot of space, its stylish shape and the royal atmosphere that it provides makes up for this minor setback. Suited for an “haute decor” with ostentatious arrangements, the Enignum Canopy Bed will surely draw the attention of anyone visiting the interior within which it is integrated. What does it inspire to you? – via HQ

How to Turn your Bedroom

Lavish on the comfort: When choosing bedding, the saying is ‘you get what you pay for’.  Purchase the highest thread count sheets you can afford! Sheets will make the difference in your sleeping experience.  Luxury hotel beds feel heavenly because of their wonderful bedding.  Fluffy comforters, pillows your head sink into, and sheets that feel luxurious will make your bedroom feel the same way.

Dreamy Bedroom Furniture

The bedroom is probably the most important room in a house. This is where we prepare for the day that is to come but also this is the place for dreams. So you can see why luxury is not a thing we should consider unimportant: every night brings new hopes for the next day so it`s important to keep in mind that our body is a temple and treat it likewise. Using every sense we should create a decor that is both beautiful and relaxing. This is where Hulsta comes in with a collection of contemporary bedroom furniture that will steal your heart at first sight. High-quality materials, an amazing design and meticulously crafted pieces of furniture offer the perfect setting for your dreams. Made from natural oak and structured beech and combining glass and leather, this bedroom set offers a luxurious retreat for those dreams that keep you life full of happiness. The collection contains beds, chests, consoles, suspended units, wall-mounted shelves, mirrors and wardrobes to fully surround you with a natural feeling of comfort while you lay down to rest or read a book.

Remarkable Home

Here is a home whose location dazzles the mind. Situated on a steeply sloped terrain and surrounded by lush vegetation, this home is both spectacular and secluded. The Belvedere Residence was designed by Gwathmey Siegel& Associates Architects and overlooks the San Francisco Bay, having an unobstructed panoramic perspective all the way to the Golden gate Bridge. The first noticeable unusual feature of the building is its vertical construction, making the views of its upper floors truly remarkable. Here is more on the home’s architecture: “A barrel-vaulted ceiling articulates the living and dining spaces at the topmost level of the main house, and a large deck projects towards the bay to extend the space into the landscape. Other, smaller projections from the house’s main volume towards the bay provide more intimate spaces for dining or leisure, producing a façade which can be read as a hierarchy of varying degrees of enclosure within the tripartite structural scheme. Bedrooms, a study and a two-story play area occupy the intermediate floors, while a gym of the lowest level offers close proximity to an outdoor terrace with lap pool, whose “infinity edge” of water establishes a poetic connection to the bay beyond.” Photos by Mark Schwartz.

Single-Family House

If you read Freshome.com for some time you might be aware that A-cero is a comapany that has lots of projects on our website, and today they sent us another really cool house. In this post A-cero presents one of its first residential projects: a single-family house of 250m2 that tales place in Mera, a coastal village of La Coruña. It is a construction with a simple design based on straight lines and geometrical volumes. These architectural pieces have been created as terraces and corbels in the back façade from where is possible to see the spectaculars views of Atlantic Ocean. Limestone covered the whole building. Furthermore the housing’s façade includes many large windows that give a lot of luminosity and spaciousness sensation. It is a threes-story building (basement, ground and first floor).

Elegant Design, Chuckanut Ridge House

Achieving homes with a minimal environmental impact seems to be the major architecture trend of the last years. For today, we bring you the Chuckanut Ridge House, a building designed by Prentiss Architects in Washington state. The architects respected the wishes of the clients, a large family with a strong East Asian heritage and culture, to develop a sustainable home: “The goal of minimal environmental impact and off the grid living led to, among other things, photovoltaic panels to provide the electrical power for the house and the collection of rain water as the water source“. Many people fear that the addition of solar panels might interact with the architecture design in a negative way. In this particular case, the panels are independent and we consider this to be an original alternative solution. Moreover, the floor to ceiling windows ensure good natural lighting throughout the day and transform some of the rooms (particularly the living and bedroom) into front row seats to the fascinating landscape outdoors. 

A Cool Method to Turn a Sofa Into a Bed

We know you guys are used to seeing out-of-the-ordinary furniture on Freshome and that this sofa may seem a bit “common” at first. But we really like it mostly due to its unusual system that allows it to transform into a bed. While most sofas open in front, “Vento” from Thomas Althaus has a system that can be referred to as modular. The user has flexibility in choosing how to arrange his bed. Moreover, once opened, this sofa can also offer storage space for books, CDs and other small objects. This is possible because of a special support that turns into a “night table” once the couch becomes a bed for two persons. Unlike the common sofas which can only be open all the way or stay compact, with this design an intermediate seating solution is possible (like the one in picture 4 for example). Have you seen this system before?