Top 10 Modern Hotels in the World!

Posted on: March 16th, 2012 by Taryn

Who doesn’t love a good vacation? Time to escape the hectic day-to day hustle and bustle of the 9-5 environment, screaming children (unless you choose to take your’s with you…which were not against) and cramped urban streets.

So we thought why not provide our readers with a little inspiration to motivate you to pack you bags and make some time for yourself, in these great locales across the globe! We have to say, we’re ready to pack our bags ourselves.

Luna2 Private Hotel (Bali, Indonesia)

Named after the first spacecraft to reach the moon, the Luna2 Private hotel, which is a private hotel with a large resort feel. Built by architect David Wahl and designed by interior designer and owner Melanie Hall, the hotel evokes a “funk’d up modernism” feel. With a staff of 26 individuals that cater to every whim of its guest, the Luna2 is a psychadelic playground for adults and children alike!

Hotel Habita Monterrey (Monterrey, Mexico)

The Hotel Habita manages to squeeze comfortable modernism into its massive concrete structure, which features swan chairs by famed designer Arne Jacobsen and furniture designed by Rick Owens to create a black, white and grey clean-lined minimalist look.

The Mira Hong Kong (Hong Kong, China)

Located in Central Tsim sha tsui, The Mira Hong Kong rooms are furnished with the stylings of Arne Jacobsen egg chairs and painted in hues of red, green, silver, or purple, which leaves guest with the opportunity to choose which color fits their mood. The hotel also includes a five-star spa!

The Kube Hotel (Paris, France)

The Ultimate seaside retreat, The Kube Hotel includes an elegant event venue, a popular nightclub, and a top of the line restaurant where guest can enjoy cooking classes and a wine-cellar that includes over 10,000 bottles.

Yas Hotel (Abu Dhabi)

The Yas Hotel, which is located on the beautiful Marina waters of Abu Dhabi includes the World’s largest LED display and was recently ranked among the top hotels in the world. the hotel, which is composed of two separate structures, one set within a race circuit, and one set along the Marina is linked by a glass and steel bridge. The overall design is meant to evoke speed, movement, and motion.

La Monnaie Art & Spa Hotel ( La Rochelle, France)

The La Monnaie Hotel’s rooms, hallways, and meeting rooms act as a transient gallery for owners Sylvette and Pascal Labeau, which only contains a portion of their modern art collection. The art that is featured in the hotel is frequently changed out and updated giving guest a different view and feel every few months. The hotel is surrounded by the France’s largest yacht marina, take some time to relax and walk around the old town of La Rochelle or have a spa day.

Semirais (Athens, Greece)

Located in a city known for its ancient history, the Semirais is the hotel of the future. Created by designer Karim Rashid and crafted in light pinks, greens, oranges and subtle yellows the hotel add a bright pop of energy to the city.

Town Hall Hotel & Apartments (London, UK)

Located in the former Bathnal Green Town Hall in East London, Town Hall incorporated contemporary design, while maintaining the historical elements. Town Hall is also the home of Michelin starred restaurant Viajante by Chef Nuno Mendes.

Hotel Teatro (Porto, Portugal )

Set in Bronze and Gold color scape, the Hotel Teatro shones in the Portuguese city of Porto. Designed by famed designer Nina Andrade Silva the hotel flawlessly blend urbanity and theatrics.

Almyra (Paphos, Cyprus)

Paphos, the birthplace of Aphrodite, greek goddess of beauty. Almyra takes a simple approach to clean modernism. Take time to indulge in the hotels three restaurants and spa.

Top 5 Modern Homes!

Posted on: March 15th, 2012 by Taryn

Sleek lines, interesting shapes and a bold, gutsy aesthetic are what it takes to transform an average space into an ultra-modern one. And recently, looking for a dash of design inspiration, we rounded up our top five picks of homes from around the world whose owners have created wildly inspiring, modern spaces that are kind of rocking our faces off. We’re into these homes, of course, because they feature an amazing range of design influences and work by architecture gods but also because we love the fearless stylings they imbue their spaces with. So much more than just nice, softly furnished rooms, these homes represent the perfect idealism of ultra modern design – creating a hyper-personal space that fits its international inhabitants just perfectly.

Villa Veth Home – Hattern, Netherlands

Hattern, Netherlands anyone? After uncovering this home, we’re on the next flight out. Nestled between a forest and a meadow, Villa Veth was designed by 123DV Modern Villas to blend the lines between a fascinating natural environment and a sophisticated interior space. Modern powder coated, concrete floors flow seamlessly onto outdoor patios, while the curved glass walls showcase the creative twists and turns connecting the rooms within.

to blend the lines between a fascinating natural environment and a sophisticated interior space. Modern powder coated, concrete floors flow seamlessly onto outdoor patios, while the curved glass walls showcase the creative twists and turns connecting the rooms within.

Images Courtesy of The Cool Hunter

Local Rock House, New Zealand

You know we love when the natural world is able to blend seamlessly into the world of modern design, so it’s little wonder we had to include this absolutely rockin’ New Zealand masterpiece. Designed by the genius minds at Pattersons Associates, the Local Rock House is built around a tremendous rock mass and is built almost entirely of, you guessed it, local rocks. The combination of raw materials with the many louvered windows creates a mysterious yet charming atmosphere that screams relaxation. And, the white sandy beaches just steps away sure don’t hurt either.

Images Courtesy of Let Me Be Inspired

Itiquira House – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

This majestic structure was enhanced by Brazilian architect extraordinaire, Gisele Taranto who’s pairing of organic resources and a décor that is at once simple and inviting makes the Itiquira house a top contender in the global ultra-modern space.

Images Courtesy of The Cool Hunter

Skylight House – Sydney, Australia

About as far from traditional as you can get, the Skylight House, designed by the husband and wife team at Chenchow Little , inverts the classic home design by placing the living spaces on the second floor, the bedrooms on the first and opening up the roof to the heavens. Though as a term, ‘skylight’ really doesn’t begin to describe the vaulted ceilings in the living room space, the clear glass bands, separated by sculpted white blades certainly bring the sky just that much closer.

Lollipop House – Giheung-gu, Republic of Korea

It’s a rare thing to come across a home that is so unique, so out of the ordinary and so deliciously inspiring. A sight to behold on the outside, the clean and sleek interior makes nearly as much of an impact. Based on a practical skip floor format, the neutral pallete of the rooms makes it increasingly clear that architect Moon Hoon knew exactly how many licks it would take to get the center of this lollipop just right.

Now we’re ready to decorate and move in! Do you have in inspiring modern homes that you’d like to share? Please send them them to us, we’d love to see and share!

World’s Most Expensive Home!

Posted on: March 12th, 2012 by Taryn

Ever wondered what a home worth $1 Billion dollars would like? Well look no further than the home of Mukesh Ambani, the world’s fifth richest man (with a net worth around $46 billion). Located in Mumbai, and dubbed Antilla, the home, which has 27 stories, stands at 550 feet tall and totals around 400,000 square feet.

With a enough room to house a team of 600 staff members, the massive home will only have 5 actual occupants, which include Mukesh, his wife, three children and mother. The home which is taller than most skyscapers, features (among other things):

9 cocktail lounges
a ballroom with chandeliers made of solid gold,
3 helipads
168 car garage
A two-story health center

It was reported that the structure was completed in late 2010 and was still unoccupied by the family at the opening of the 2012 due to lack of eastern facing windows, which would give the family brings bad luck according a Hindu Variant of Feng Shui, called Vastu Shastra.

Here are a few images of the massive home:

Ballroom

Bathroom

Lobby

Lounge Area

Outside view of Structure

This makes us raise the question…if you were worth billions of dollars, what would your home look like? We can only imagine!

New Products!

Posted on: March 8th, 2012 by Taryn

We’ve had a lot of amazing product being created for our clients and stores (including our NEW Palm Springs location!) Here are a few new pieces that we recently placed in our online shop, as well as in our retail locations!

With the weather getting hotter by the day, we found it appropriate to make a new Small Acacia Dining Table. Made from solid bleached Acacia wood, you won’t have to worry how long this piece will last. Bring the elements of the beautiful outdoors into your home today, with this wonderful dining table!

We’ve added a twist to our Rocker Boca desk, by adding 1 1/2″ Lucite legs and matte black skull hardware. This piece will be a sure-fire stand-out for Rockers, when they need to handle a little business!

Some new pieces also feature Macassar wood, which when combined with beautiful fabrics, truly turn heads! These Koening Arm Chairs are made from a Black and White Macassar wood frame, and are finished with chrome legs, and faux charcoal leather.

We’ve also created a sofa that would be the perfect compliment to our Koening Black and White Macassar arm chairs. Framed in a light color Macassar frame and tufted genuine cream leather this beautiful Koening Cream Leather Sofa looks even better in person!

For those looking to add the perfect touches to their swinging bachelor’s pad, then this 2″ Machiche Coffee Table is for you! Made from 2″ thick solid Machiche wood and chrome U-Legs.

Can’t go wrong with this South Hampton Credenza ! Finished in deep navy lacquer and crystal knob hardware, with movable shelves in the inside.

See something you like, but not in the color you were hoping for? No worries! We can customize all items to your liking!

The Panic Room

Posted on: March 2nd, 2012 by Taryn

While scouring the interent for some weekly inspiration, we came across this amazing idea for a theme hotel room. We just couldn’t keep it to ourselves so we had to share!

Artist Tilt (with the help of a few close friends) recently created a theme hotel room installation for Hotel Au Vieux Panier in Marseille, France dubbed the “Panic Room.” The hotel also features five additional rooms, completed by different artist, which are installed for up to a year. Currently in its third year the hotels concept for the revolving installations was to have guest “sleep in an artwork.”