Japanese Garden Displays Its Own Giant Moon Shrouded in Mist During Moon Festival in Tokyo

The House of Three Trees showcases the power of traditional wooden joinery.

52 square meters of space might not seem like much when you are planning for your perfect home. But this gorgeous apartment in Lodz, Poland makes most of the limited room on offer as it adds to the existing room with a smart mezzanine floor. As you enter the apartment designed by 3XEL Architekci, you […]

You’re reading Space-Savvy Tiny Apartment in Poland with Mezzanine Level in Black and White, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Located on a small lot in Downtown Toronto, the owners of this new three storey residence desired a peaceful urban retreat, purposefully tailored to nurture and enhance a close communal family life and their enjoyment of the outdoors. The response is a highly personalized expression of one small family’s particular lifestyle. At ground level, a back-split condition responds to the natural slope of the site. An adventurous sectional arrangement continues vertically upward, with additional split levels arranged around a 3-storey light well, drawing sunlight (and moonlight) deep into the house. A home office occupies the light well, with views to the living room above, and a library space below. What would typically be the dark middle of the house is bathed in sunlight and enjoys a feeling of expansive vertical space. The various regions of the home are all closely knit together across this interior light well, creating an interesting balance between separation and intimacy: While the family may be individually occupied with remote activities (cooking, lounging, working, playing), they are always quickly and easily engaged with one another. The three principal living spaces (Living room, Kitchen/ Dining area, Library) also expand outwards, into separate exterior areas, each with its own unique and complementary character. At ground level, an arrangement of subtle level changes and low partitions gradually increase the degree of privacy as one moves from the street, through the interior, and into a secluded, forested back garden. The third floor living room – an urbanized version of a cabin in the woods with wood stove and cedar ceiling – nestles intimately into tree tops at one end, and opens widely toward the sky at the other. An upper level outdoor terrace offers easy enjoyment of the city skyline, urban tree canopy, sunsets, and the night sky. The house is thus organized around three principal axes which connect the interior with the outdoors: a ground level Garden Axis, a third level Sky Axis, and a vertical Sun Axis.

Take a journey to the woods and trek through the forest. For every step you take, listen. A far cry from the city, the suburb- the familiar. Not there, but here. Be present. The house is a not a house. Nor are you, you. Here, it is different. The grazing of light gently paints the surfaces of the atrium. The windows are open fully; no, rather, nature, in all its sublime invites itself into the traveler’s abode, filtering the morning light – its rays carrying forth the scent of the pine forest beyond. Your coffee isn’t the same anymore. The slow drip of time are now ever evident, the light, pronounced. Your movements occupy the passage of time. Cooking around the kitchen island elevates an appreciation for nature’s bounty. As there is slow food, there is slow space, slowness, silence. The house weaves through the forest. Nature shapes the house, the house shapes light, and the light shapes us.

The idea with decorating the powder room is most often influenced by the limited amount of space on offer. Since we tend to generally prefer neutral colors in small spaces, most homeowners feel that a similar approach works best in the modest powder room as well. Yet, more often than not, the opposite seems to […]

You’re reading Going Bold: 20 Contemporary Powder Rooms in 10 Spectacular Colors, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.