Norwich Residence

This Norwich residence located in Hollywood, California and is the personal home of the architect Clive Wilkinson.

From the start, the intention of the design was to address two separate issues. “From an urban design perspective, it needed to conform to City of West Hollywood design guidelines and fit into a small scale residential neighbourhood, at the same time as transitioning in scale from the adjacent commercial strip of Melrose Avenue. In response to interest from friends, it also needed to provide a kind of prototype for an economical ‘starter urban house’ that would accommodate the new young urbanite lifestyle”.

“The second goal was complicated by specific site conditions: the lot was a non-standard trapezoidal form, widening towards the rear, as well as having a commercial building to the north that overlooked the site”.

The interior of the residence seeks to address contemporary California living with one unified social space which acts as the heart of the house. This space comprises living, dining and kitchen areas. The bedroom are simple spaces which are easily re-convertible into studio or office type uses.

“There is a raw expression of structure throughout the house - ceilings are exposed diagonal wood sheathing with a sprayed insulation roof on top”. The flooring for the residence is either smooth concrete, or wide plank quarter sawn oak, or white rubber stud. The use of this oak in the main living area gives a feeling of warmth and an inviting feel to the room.

Special thanks to Contemporist for the above images.

Downtown Montreal Penthouse

The Canadian interior designer René Desjardins has completed the interior design of this penthouse apartment in down town Montreal, Quebec.

The apartment consists of two zones: on one side is the living room, dining room, kitchen and the living area/home theatre whereas on the other there is the private quarters of the client and his son. A warm environment was created through the use of whites and shades of grey and brown.

In the main room, “the floors are finished in planks of ash baked to a warm caffe latte. A great interior wall of white oak stained a charcoal grey forms a perfect backdrop, maximizing the sense of space and turning the focus to the spectacular view and the contemporary furniture.” All of the baseboard heating units have been covered in ash to match the floors.

The dining room and kitchen are located at the far North end of the main room. The dining room table has a solid French walnut surface with a patinated steel base and is able to seat ten people. “The kitchen is very simple yet has a very strong presence. The cabinets feature countertops of charcoal granite quartz and are faced in glass, creating bright surfaces that reflect the cityscape. A door leads to the outdoor terrace, which runs the length of the dining room”.

Special thanks to Contemporist for the above images.

Split-Level House By Qb Design

Qb Design have completed the Split-Level House located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Situated “on a vacant corner in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia, this newly constructed house stitches itself into the neighbourhood by responding to local cues”. Curved brick corners are used to “negotiate the irregular street grid, while the cadence of typical rowhouses and a palette of brick volumes and stone bases are translated into a new vocabulary”.

Inside the house a palette of bleached and blackened oak is used. Polished concrete and patinaed steel contrasts against the rich wood. This contrast between these materials gives the home a highly unique feel, yet one that works perfectly. “The split-level section adapts these traditional elements to a modern language of continuous spaces and vast glazed openings”.

Special thanks to Contemporist for the above images.

Karlusic Residence

Hirsch Bedner Associates have designed this Karlusic Residence in Melbourne, Australia.

One of the key features of the home, is in the front yard, where there is a 30 year old Japanese Maple. Rather than removing the tree, the designers looked to base the design of the residence around the Japanese Maple and nature.

Simplicity is used, so that attention is not attracted to the architecture but to emphasise the nature around it and the positioning of the Japanese Maple. The designers describe this as the “spine of the House which runs down the length of the house”. “This spine actually lines up with the Japanese Maple and creates a direction and an importance on the Japanese Maple. Whenever you cross the spine of the house you basically cross the energy of the Maple”.

The garage is situated at the back of the house where its door is hidden in a “natural zinc finish that weathers to a subtle grey patina”. Numerous landscaped elements are incorporated such as the textured water wall along the steps towards the front entrance.

The interior finishes of the residence are very warm and natural. For the flooring, a French Smoked Oak wide board is used in a lime-wash finish. This finish in the grain gives creates a interesting texture, pattern and depth. “So one side of the spine is finished in the wood and the other is finished in a Portuguese limestone. The split in finishes emphasise the spine but also reflect the different uses in the space. For instance the limestone falls in the higher traffic areas such as the kitchen, dining, laundry, powder room, corridor and study; Whereas the smoke Oak falls in the lower traffic areas, such as the lounge and family fireplace room”.

Special thanks to Contemporist for the above images.

Small Apartment With Oak Flooring

This two room apartment is located in Sweden and includes a number of inspiring elements. Inside it manages to join “together modern elements with classic ones and even vintage details”.

The living room features a large sofa, a TV cabinet and a reading area. Although the apartment itself features few wooden additions, one of its most prominent features is its use of classic oak parquet flooring. This gives the apartment a very warm and natural feel against the modern elements.

Next to the living room is the slightly elevated, all equipped kitchen. Oak is once again used here on the worktops to give an uniform appearance. This also acts as a nice contrast to the “matte white tiles that line the wall up to the ceiling”.

The bedroom of the apartment also features a vintage fireplace which only adds to the warmth and character of the interior.

Special thanks to Freshome for the above images.

The Ojeni Apartment

The Turkish design studio Autoban, has completed this apartment interior which they have refurbished and filled with their own furniture designs.

The apartment is situated “between one of the chiquest streets in Beyolu and the lively heart of Tünel” and manages to boast stunning views over the whole of historic Istanbul and the Bosphorus.

It has been completely restored so that it will suit the busy lifestyle of its residents. This has been achieved through the use of compact features “such as kitchens which fold away to present a more clean-cut living space”.

Oak flooring is used throughout the apartment to give a complete feeling of warmth. This also adds even more character and personality to the apartment.

Special thanks to Contemporist for the above images.

New Woodland Planted in Weymouth

In an attempt to attract and support wildlife, a new woodland has been planted in Dorset. More than 500 native trees have been planted at Horselynch Plantation by 120 school children and local people.

By planting these trees, it is hoped that it will attract wildlife species such as rare bats, green and great spotted woodpeckers and speckled wood butterflies.

The oak, ash, hornbeam beech and hazel trees have all been added to compensate for habitat which was lost due to the construction of the Weymouth Relief Road.

The land brought by the Dorset County Council will become part of the Dorset Wildlife Trust’s adjacent Lorton Meadows Nature Reserve.

The conservation officers of Dorset’s Wildlife Trust, Samantha Dallimore, said “I was amazed by the number of local people that turned up to plant trees.”

“It gives people pride in their local green space. The trees should look great in about 10 years’ time, and the area should look like a fledgling woodland in about 20 years.”

A further 1,000 trees are set to be planted on the land, which spans about 1 sq km, in the new year.

This project has been funded by the Big Lottery Fund through Natural England’s Access to Nature programme.

Special thanks to the BBC for the above image.