BlogTour London: My First Night in Visuals

No words necessary..
My first night in London - BlogTour London with Modenus

The lovely "MRS' of Mr Steam - Steam Therapy and Lynn Byrne 

Christian May, Erin of Modenus, Jill Seidner

Robin of Urban Gardens & Raina of A Stylists Life

Maryam of Marrakechof & James Bedell 

Nyla Free

BlogTour London: Amtico - Vinyl on a Whole New Level

Continuing on the theme of flooring from yesterday's post, another solution for your flooring is vinyl. Vinyl, you say?? 
Yes!

Vinyl, is no longer a thing of the 70's kitchen, but has been brought screaming to the 21st century with leaps and bounds, by firms such as Amtico.

This material has a wonderful application in residential design schemes, whether for a private gym or playroom..

Flooring for a Playroom!

Amtico and Spacia luxury vinyl flooring products are very interested in participating in the movement for being more sustainable and "Green" in design and these materials can help contribute to the achievement of a LEED rating system, which is very important in considering most commercial and hospitality design schemes today.


"Continued research cites low-VOC product specification as the best method for creating healthy indoor environments. By recycling both our scrap and other manufacturing scrap into new material, we divert material from the landfills."


So, as we can consider the final design aesthetic, we can also take in to consideration the wear and tear this material will have; it's placement within the overall budget of the project, where in some instances this material is truly the best choice.

*images via Amtico Gallery

and can meet and exceed many of your design needs! It's up to YOUR imagination, and the team at Amtico are happy to collaborate with architects and designers alike to achieve the desired finish.

Via Amtico 

When the opportunity arose for my firm to participate in a ProBono redesign for a Nursery School in our neighborhood in 2001, we jumped at the chance. It was a tight budget (of course!) and a very tight schedule (we had the summer months while the school was closed).

This was a wonderful chance to use this material - especially as children aged 2 1/2 - 4 spend so much of their time on the floor, we wanted it to be warmer then the existing ceramic and also soft and hygienic. 

We had to consider the corridor area, where both classrooms would sit and eat, as well as store their bags and share all of the artwork and crafts that they had completed throughout the year.

We wanted it to be happy, and cheerful, to help calm the fragile nerves as they started their separation experiences for the very first time.

Perspectives - Redesign for the Nursery School - St Dominick's

The hallways and classrooms were going to share common color theme, but at the same time we wanted to use the vinyl flooring to help lead the way, with inset flowers and color coded areas that defined each area.

Before & After (inset - color inlaid vinyl flowers - flooring in the hallway)

Having a resource such as this one, is invaluable in being able to provide your client, which ever the case may be, with the best alternatives!

Thank you to all the Sponsors of BlogTour London - I am "touching down" as you read this post, so hang in there for much more to come!

BlogTour London: Lapicida - Natural Stone for the Home

Lapicida, international stone specialist with deep roots in the North of England, celebrated a new chapter in their 28 years in business, with the opening of their new 5000 sq. ft Flagship showroom at 533 Kings Road & I for one can't wait to see it in a few days as another event for my trip with Modenus & BlogTour London!

via Lapicida

Stone is such an integral part of any interior design scheme and can set the mood for the rest of the work. Many, may just think of these materials when they are deciding on renovating their Kitchen or Bathrooms, but as a designer in Europe for many years, the selection of all interior architecture elements was one of our first and foremost concerns & luckily we had a lot of great selections to choose from in Portugal.

Having said that - I would have really enjoyed having known about Lapicida then, so that is another reason why I am so excited about sharing a little about them now!

Styles, Sizes, Colors & Textures are all wonderful ways of creating an entirely different final results, as seen on some of these examples from the existing Lapicida collections.

1/Antique English Herringbone 2/ Azul Imperial 3/ Bruges Nero  4/ Bastille Saffron Limestone

On a completely different playing ground, there is also the Semi Precious Stone collection from Lapicida with multiple options in color and translucency..

Just think of the endless possibilities that bringing in some of this season's 'Gem Colors' like the "Rose Smoke" through the use of Rose Quartz...

or the always timeless Amethyst in place of Pantone's "Rhapsody"...

These are only but two examples of the way that these materials can transform a space with simply introducing these materials.

Backlit Onyx Entry Door via                                                          Designer Gioi Tran at JLSF Showhouse Photo:  Christopher Stark Photography

Travertine
One of "go-to" stone selections, especially when I am designing large open spaces, such as the Hotel Sesimbra which I designed in early 2004-6.

Combining several textures and colored natural stones, is also another way of adding the depth in tone and layer of detail and texture which is very much part of my aesthetic. Here we combined Travertine with other natural stone elements, as well as a river pebble trim in the bathroom, and hand painted cracked ceramic tiles and slate in the atrium restaurant of the hotel, "Mosaic" (left, below).

Mosaic Restaurant / Hotel Sesimbra
My Design Artist Collaboration: Luis Cohen Fuse

Bathroom / Hotel Sesimbra (Portugal) - My Design

Mosaic Restaurant / Hotel Sesimbra (Portugal) - My Design
Artist Collaboration: Luis Cohen Fuse

Products by Lapicida.com

Lapicida, doesn't simply stop at offering stone slabs, but can work with you to provide other ways of incorporating these materials, such as this travertine stool.









It is not only the color and texture that speaks to me, such as shown here on this exterior wall from the Lapicida gallery,






but also how the use of travertine is so steeped in history, from the great Coliseum in Rome ...

Largest known building made entirely of travertine is the Coliseum in Rome, completed in 80 AD by Imperator Vespasiano to honor the grandiosity of the Roman Empire.

through to the modern architectural icons of a our time, such as the Getty Museum in my home town of Los Angeles, by Architect Richard Meier.

R. Meier - Getty Museum - primarily in Travertine

So, can;t wait to see these and more up close and personal in a few days when we get to visit the Lapicida team.
Until then, stay tuned for more as we approach the Official Start of BlogTour London by following me on:
Twitter:
Facebook:
and Pinterest, where I have a dedicated BlogTour board:

As always, a very big thank you to all the sponsors and Modenus for making this event happen: