tender is the night » Design

Skona hem

ally — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:28:42 +0000

Yes, I am a big fan of Scandinavian design. I have a tiny but growing list of Scandinavian sites that I look at on a fairly regular basis. I navigate most of these sites somewhat blindly though, cos everything’s in a foreign language, but I’ve also come to learn that “hem” means “home” in Swedish, and no one does them more beautifully than the Swedes.

Skona hem is a Swedish interior design magazine that is regularly updated with breathtaking pictures of homes from all around the world (not just in Sweden). The gallery is beautifully curated and nothing short of inspirational.

Needless to say, Google Translate has become my new best friend.

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Song of the Day

Concrete Wall, by Zee Avi

Playful Lamps

ally — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:52:19 +0000

Lighting fixtures don’t always have to be practical and boring. According to these designers, they can be whimsical too. And goodness knows how much I want all of them right now.

Maria S.C. Lamp, by Pani Jurek (source)

Light Spill, by Rebecca Wilson (source)

Balloon Lamps, by Estiluz (source)

Le Nuage, by Wout Wessemius (source)

It’s like what the cousin Bjorn remarked yesterday over breakfast, I’m gonna spend a fortune decorating my future home. Yikes!

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Song of the Day is crazy catchy. Sing along with us! Oh oh oh oh eh eh…

What’ll I Do, by Lisa Hannigan

A new Red

ally — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 01:42:56 +0000

Growing up, receiving a red packet during the Lunar New Year was nothing short of exciting. I’d happily spread out all the packets on my bed at night and delight in counting my day’s “takings”. But even then, despite having all this extra cash amassed, I always wondered why the designs on these red packets looked so ugly.

Like, seriously ugly.

It’s as though there was some competition to splash as much gold as possible on a bright red envelope.

Then, when that became outdated, a new challenge emerged: to splash the biggest illustration possible, never mind that the whole effect made them lurid.

Yesterday, though, as I was unabashedly collecting these red packets (yes, in spite of my ripe old age) I couldn’t help noticing the shift towards designing red packets that were more… tasteful. Even illustrations had more complementary colours that worked with the customary red.

Well done, whoever designs these contemporary red packets. Next thing I’d really love is to see them adopting a more mid-century modern look. ;)

Aaaand I’m off to collect more of these! Heheh.

Bathrooms I’ll Never Have

ally — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:41:33 +0000

Not because I’m a pessimist, but mostly because I don’t think I can ever afford a house lavish or opulent enough to have bathrooms like these. Although… using concrete as a feature on the walls and floors… They can’t possibly cost much, right? And I’m pretty sure I can find a mirror that looks like that. Somewhere.

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Song of the Day

I Think God Can Explain, by Splender

Paris vs New York

ally — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:22:27 +0000

I’m always looking at prints. I’m not sure why; it’s not as though I have an empty wall where I can display all the art that I want. Huh. Note to self: have an art wall in my future home.

For now, I’m really loving this series featuring a pop art comparison between quintessentially Parisian and New York icons. It’s a nice homage to two very beautiful and well-loved cities, and I love that many of these pieces have the right amount of quirk. I’d actually really love to own a couple of these. If I could just find a space to put them…

Here are my favourites:

You can view the rest of the artwork here.

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Song of the Day

Stormy Weather, by Echo and The Bunnymen

Lyric Records

ally — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:26:42 +0000

Spotted over at Design*Sponge (arguably one of the best Design sites on the web – or at least one of my favourites), these lyric records by Quiet Boy Studio is the perfect blend of two of my biggest passions – music and typography. Seriously, how ridiculously gorgeous are these?!

Hand painted on an LP, they’re US$75.00 each and you can get a custom one for the same price. I’d really, really love to get one (or two, or three!) but can’t for the life of me decide on what lyrics I want! :(

Any ideas?

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Song of the Day

First of July, by Foy Vance

Swede Apartment Stalking

ally — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 14:13:13 +0000

I blogged about this perfect Swedish apartment a couple of months back. Designed by Alvhem, a Swedish interior firm, I am really inspired by their style and their use of the colour white in all their projects. My very Asian mother will tell me it’s not the most practical of colours, but you can’t deny that it’s gorgeous and offers one a great palette to work with, leaving plenty of room for creativity.

Some of these apartments are up for sale. Now, if only I had some Krona to spare…

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Song of the Day

If You Think You Need Some Lovin, by Pomplamoose

Chair Lust

ally — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 13:43:03 +0000

If I ever get married, I think I’ll have a tiny wedding so I can save the money on furnishing the house. No kidding. Already, I’m picky about sound, so I’ll be spending a good amount on a kickass audio system. And I’ll definitely want some fancy art pieces adorning my bare white walls. Then there are all these mid-century modern designer chairs that I love, no thanks to my previous job that got me researching on them.

There’s the Klassiker Chair by Minwoo Lee:

The Palms Chair and Ottoman by Jeff Vioski:

The Mrs Godfrey Chair by Jonathan Adler:

The PK 9 by Poul Kjaerholm:

The Three-Legged Chair by Hans J. Wegner:

A familiar one, the Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen:

And of course, the DAW and DSW by Charles and Ray Eames:

Exactly why a tiny wedding is necessary.

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Song of the Day

Ugly Day, by Five Iron Frenzy

An Ikea Christmas

ally — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:25:35 +0000

Now that’s a phrase that makes me squeal with girlish delight. :p

I don’t know what it is that this Swedish giant does, but it always makes my favourite holiday look so gorgeous.

It makes me want to throw a dinner party so I can set my table to look like this:

And I’ll be preparing my Christmas menu in a kitchen that looks like this:

After all the hard work, I’ll soak in a tub surrounded by snowflakes and Christmas scents, like this:

Then I’ll set up the rest of the house with plenty of pendant lamps like these:

When it’s all over, we’ll sit by a fireplace lined with Christmas stockings, like this:

And on Christmas morning, we’ll gather around and open presents all nicely wrapped up like this:

You can check out the online catalogue here. :)

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Song of the Day

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, by Johnny Mathis

Swedish perfection

ally — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:18:18 +0000

This. This is exactly how I want my future apartment to look.

Save a few details here and there, this is without a doubt, my ideal apartment. I am loving all the bursts of colour that is more cheerful than loud, and all the quirky/cool details scattered throughout.

You can view the rest of the pictures over at Freshome.

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Song of the Day

We Don’t Eat, by James Vincent McMorrow