Surrendering to the Tropical Climate | PR House

If there is one room in our house that we fear when it comes to a makeover, then it is definitely the kids’ room. It is a room filled with color, multiple motifs and often is a mix between what you want and what the little ones crave for. Sometimes the compromise pays off and […]

You’re reading 25 Cool Trends Shaping Kids’ Rooms This Fall and Beyond: Ideas, Photos, originally posted on Decoist. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Decoist on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

This is an old apartment with 40 years of history. The designer rotated the original axis and redesigned the structure in order to integrate the confusing flow line. There was only a single side of light in this space, after the rearrangement, the three sides of light, air and natural were introduced into the space giving the old house a new look. The designer tried to expose the original beams in the open space and colored the lowest beams with grey, which goes with the façade, so as to weaken the protruding beams. Also showing the natural beauty of the original structure within the space. On the other hand, there is no over-decorated design in the bedroom and the other rooms, only using the simple point-line-plan structure and non-chromatic to create a balanced picture. On the flow line planning, the designer integrated the main entrances of five rooms into one hallway. Using spray painting, wallpaper, secret doors, and sliding doors on the aisle space, which used to be confusing at the first place, to hide the appearance but also maintain its function. The design enlarged the space and made it return to the original strength and essence.

Thrilled with the beach town location of their summer house, but not with its loud ’90s-era architecture, a family approached Blue Truck Studio with a directive — tone it down. What they had: a house with wild geometry, such as octagon-shaped rooms and triangular spaces. What they wanted: a Sea Ranch aesthetic of simple forms. Blue Truck Studio created an all-new interior of calm, open spaces that flowed easily into one another. For the exterior, the firm reconfigured windows as well as the siding, which wrapped around the house to simplify its form and provide privacy. A pivot door and two large slider doors invite ample light inside while a driveway turned soccer pitch and slatted outdoor shower for hosing off after a trip to the beach reflect the family’s love of recreation and the outdoors.

In 1961, Herman Miller and Alexander Girard opened the Textiles & Objects shop in New York, selling the preeminent designer’s exuberant fabrics and a handpicked selection of folk art.

The clients are a couple of environmental scientists who, along with their two sons, relocated from the Oakland Hills to the warmer climate of Orinda. Their commitment to sustainability, including a request for net-zero energy performance annually, was evident in their thinking throughout the design process. A three-bedroom program began as a remodel of a 1954 ranch house at the foot of a hill next to a seasonal creek.  After finding the existing structure and soils to be unsuitable, the direction settled on reusing the existing footprint under the shade of a Valley Oak that had grown up close to the original house. The surviving portion of the original house is the fireplace which was wrapped in concrete and utilized for structural support. This made additional grading unnecessary and allowed the new house to maintain the same intimate relation to the old oak.  The family desired an open living layout that connected directly to the landscape. A mezzanine plan evolved with a double height family space nested with a master bedroom and study stacked above the kitchen and nook. A screened pacing deck for long phone calls shades the upper level from afternoon summer sun. Downstairs, secondary bedrooms along an extendable hallway, wrap an outdoor dining area situated between the kitchen and family room.  Construction materials and methods were considered in balance between first and lifecycle costs. The Corten steel rain screen for the exterior skin and interior wood were chosen to take advantage of zero annual maintenance cost and a shotcrete foundation allowed formwork to be repurposed for wood framing.  Single use material selections such as the Corten steel and shotcrete foundation reduced complexity in detailing and labor costs allowing a larger portion of the budget to be reallocated for upgraded mechanical, insulation, and glazing systems. The same attitude for interior finishes produced acoustically insulated, unfinished oak ceilings and walls. The sum total of the limited and landscape-driven materials presents a relaxed and quiet built environment that allows the senses to focus on the natural environment. A haptic connection to the rhythms of our planet is evident.  A 14-gauge Corten rain screen provides a no-maintenance skin. High levels of insulation and glazing efficiency reduce heating and cooling loads. An 8.1kW photovoltaic system provides on-site renewable energy and produced more electrical energy than the house used the first year. Rainwater is collected via a waterfall from the roof at the end of the hallway. Buried tanks store water for use in toilets and laundry. Greywater is collected separately and reused for irrigation. Electronically commutated motors and variable speed heat pumps are used to further limit energy use and control heating and cooling. An energy recovery ventilator is used to provide fresh air.