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Is that not a t r u t h for many/most of us? Sure feels that way. Took off for 9 days to sunny Florida - and it was that - sunny......Florida is best in Spring and in Fall....IMHO. As I lived (endured it) there for almost four years I do have somewhat of an informed opinion. Last week the days were clear, sunny - and blessedly dry! This issue might be considered the harbinger of spring. You will find there is a preponderance of fine residences in this one. Not by design - purely coincidental. And two are by Québec architects....again, not by design - just happened that way. Plus we have a third Canadian contribution by the very talented Rita Edwards (Victoria, B.C.) - a follow-up to the legacy home renovation project from a couple of issues ago.  What be this? Sortof one part of a paperclip, no?  I have said this many times : : 'I love clever!' And this is, clever. Who'd a thunk it?  The pure geometry, alone - is tantalizing.....  And so, by extrapolation, one can see how this same approach might produce an interesting design for corner shelves....... Ugao is a clothes rack placed in the corner of a room to save up space, and since it’s fixed to a wall it can be positioned at any desired height. In a form of a continuous steel loop, Ugao is an unusual rack with a wooden rod as the only element that is reminiscent of typology and suggests the use. It is diagonally fixed to the wall on two sides facing at a 90 degree angle, making it a solid and trustful structure. Ugao is a dismountable object, shipped flat-pack, intended to meet contemporary nomadic lifestyle habits. B R A V O ! For good, ,cool, simple - c l e v e r design / design-thinking!          There are times : : not many, mind you - when words are completely unnecessary This is one such time Anne Carrier • architecte  This, I daresay, is another     And yet, another. . . . albeit, this 1953 Jaguar 150 is an astonishing embodiment of the gospel according to M le Bauhaus : : Form, ever, follows function n'est-ce pas? 
Memories, fond - this was my own Jaguar - in 1973 I was the proud owner of a 1954 Jaguar Mark IV sedan - manual transmission with overdrive. Was a thrill, a treat - to drive it anywhere - evenaround the block....it was,as is shown here, in British Racing Green   • purity pure•      Think! Think about what you are seeing here. . . . . a singular continuous sweep of glossy white material. Could only be man-made - is most likely one custom ordered sheet of Kerlite....there are no seams to interrupt the purity of the statement.  That kind of thinking can only come from an architect/designer whose vision is rooted in the determination to adhere to an unviolable principle.  Another stunning example of québecois architecture! PAVILLON DU LAC Surrounded by dense forest in Canada, the Pavillon du Lac reflects the lakefront setting with a glazed facade. The guest house sits on a gentle slope, laying lightly on the terrain with an elevated foundation that appears to float above the ground. Its exterior is made entirely out of floor-to-ceiling windows. During the day, the home mirrors the landscape but becomes completely transparent after the sun goes down. Internally, two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, and living area all enjoy uninterrupted views of the lake and wooded scenery. Photos: Adrien Williams / Daoust Lestage 3573 boulevard saint-laurent bureau 710 montréal, québec     As form, does ever, follow function we have here the most recent advance in lighting technology. From their web-site, this accounting: 'After weeks of fruitless internet searching, we discovered it wasn’t possible to buy cordless table lamps for your home! Unless you are looking for cheap entry level, novelty or garden varieties. A gap in the market? We thought so. Speaking to retailers and interior designers it quickly became apparent the obstacle to creating cordless table lamps had always been; battery life and desirability. With a background in developing new products, we realised we could create something unique, and do it well. It became obvious that demand for high end lamps to suit more discerning customers would work best. Our range of decorative cordless table lamps has been designed by some of the UKs finest artists and product designers. The ceramic and glass bodies are all hand made by master craftsmen in small workshops. All components come from UK suppliers known to us, with finishing and assembly undertaken by Alexander Joseph. We are very proud to claim our products are 100% British. We have designed our own battery cells and electronics, solving battery life issues found in all other cordless lamps. We use the very latest in high density lithium ion batteries with a specially made vintage style LED bulbs. The technology is deliberately discrete but delivers unparalleled endurance of over 52 hours before recharging is needed. In addition to our permanent range of cordless lamps, from time to time we produce spectacular ‘one off’ designs and commissions.' True cordless lighting technology. WOW!   BRUCE WILLIS' PARROT CAY ESTATE The pristine beachfront of Turks and Caicos would be enough for most vacationers but not for one of America's biggest action stars. When you're someone like Bruce Willis, a Caribbean estate isn't complete without guest houses, a beachfront yoga pavilion, a playground with a pirate ship, and a movie theater to watch his latest release. The 8-acre, sunset-facing compound comes with three beachfront homes that total 35,000 square-feet of living space. An additional17,000 square feet of outdoor terraces feature four pools protected by rows of coconut, banana, and papaya trees. Go beyond the lush vegetation and you'll find 1,000 feet of sugary white sand running into a bay of turquoise water. As part of Parrot Cay's Private Estates, the property includes estate management, housekeeping, provisioning, a chef, and butler services. Photos: Sotheby's International Real Estate  $33,000,000 USD   Rita Edwards DID, ASID We continue with e p i s o d e #2 of the Herel project in Victoria, B.C. In Rita's own words : : So, it has been a busy couple of months at Walmsley Cottage. Last time you were here, we were demolishing walls.  . . . and discovering the unexpected along the way. . . . but, things have progressed, as you can see here: With careful adherence to my plans and specifications, the new space is beginning to blossom! All the work, of course, in in accordance with and governed by the new B.C. Building Code in conjunction with the standards and stipulations as per the Heritage Foundation of Oak Bay. New walls/partitions, new windows in new places, a transformation in progress! But let’s not keep you waiting any longer! Let’s show you a few before and after shots! We are not yet done, due to a setback with the cabinet maker, but I do believe you will start to get as excited as I! The floors have been installed and finished to match those in the rest of the house. As problem-solving designers we continuously grow, in part, by trusting our creative instincts. The intuitive processes that are our constant companions, serve us, and our clients, well. Initially I had a concen that that the upper kitchen cabinets might feel too much of a spatial intrusion, enclosing, rather than expanding the space. However, given that they are all interior lit with glass doors they provide a wonderful sense of mystique and expansiveness. Check it out! (If you actually shorten the perspective in a space, it makes the space seem larger. I will be eternally grateful to her for this tip.) A designer/colleague/friend of mine that I visited in England recently taught me this trick. She uses it in her garden. It has served us well here! And I couldn’t wait for the cabinet fronts as it was important to keep the counter installation on schedule due to a production lead time of three weeks.Both the client and I think the counters are fabulous! And, just wait until you see the light fixtures we have chosen for above the island! Hint: the Victorians loved the Moroccan influence. In regards to the re-birth of the Family Room we painted the walls a soft grey and VOILA! A place you are drawn to. The openness beckons you to the garden in the back. Please note, rest of Canada, Victoria has been drenched in sunshine for a few months now. Also, the renaissance of the herringbone pattern provides a classic grounding of pattern and texture.....so well suited for this iconic legacy home! Until my next installment! We are going to be 2 weeks behind schedule, but we did add a gas fireplace insert and more updates to the electrical panel. I am excited for the rest of the cabinetry to come together. We have planned a mudroom area and laundry room storage, as well as cabinetry to finish off our sunroom. Next time we meet, I should have it all finished up! Can’t wait for you to see! Cheerio! Rita   For the techie in all of us - and this is an astonishing technological marvel by Intel! This tiny device that looks like a flash drive turns any screen into a Windows 10 PC Forget desktop computers and forget laptops, because there’s an even more compact PC that you should definitely check out. In fact, it’s barely bigger than a flash drive. The Intel Compute Stick CS125 Computer plugs into an HDMI port on any monitor or TV and you’ll instantly transform it into a Windows 10 PC. It features quad-core Intel Atom x5-Z8300 processor, 3GB of DDR3 RAM, Wi-Fi AC, Bluetooth 4, two USB ports, and more, and it costs less than $130 right now on Amazon. Here’s what you need to know from the product page:
 For under $200.00 CAD one has a perfectly functioning WIN10 PC - will connect to any hotel room HDMI TV.....so very cool!  This In-Ear Translator Can Interpret A Bilingual Conversation On The Fly  The recent news of German start-up Bragi leaving the consumer hardware business -- which likely meant an end to its ambitious true wireless earbuds, the Dash -- was unfortunate. I admired the company's ambitious vision of trying to make the Dash more than just earbuds for music listening; Bragi wanted to turn them into full-fledged assistants that can offer real-time translations of different languages. The Bragi Dash has likely reached the end of the line as a consumer product, without fully realizing its digital translator dream, but a Shenzhen-based start-up named Timekettle has created its own device that strives for that same goal. Named the WT2, the earphones are true wireless earpieces that are meant to be worn by two people who do not share a common language. There are no shortage of apps that can translate spoken words into another language -- including Google's excellent Translate app -- but where the WT2 stand out is each earpiece can automatically identify and interpret a specific language in real time, without getting confused by other languages or sounds, and without needing the user to prompt the listening/translation process with, for example, a button tap. . . . . more  Safdie Architects Design a Fourth Tower for Marina Bay Sands in Singapore     Safdie Architects have announced an expansion to the Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore. Linking to the existing resort and waterfront development, the project takes cues from the original three hotel towers completed in 2011. Safdie Architects will expand the existing resort with a new stand-alone hotel tower with about 1,000 suites and its own sky roof and swimming pool, as well as a 15,000-seat music arena. Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry announced that a fourth tower will be constructed next to MBS as part of a larger SG$9 billion project. The existing Marina Bay Sands is a 121,000 square meter mixed-use Integrated Resort located on a 16 hectare site of reclaimed land in Singapore. The complex includes a 55 storey hotel with 2560 rooms in total; a 1.2-hectare garden Skypark capping the towers; the ArtScience Museum on the waterfront promontory; two state-of-the-art theaters; a Casino; a Convention Center and Exhibition Halls; shopping and dining outlets; as well as an outdoor event plaza. Known for its famous 150 meter-high infinity swimming pool, the resort has become an icon for Singapore  ‘Do you play?’ The voice, soft - regal, as only a proper British accent can be, commanded me to turn on my barstool to look. Raising an eyebrow I looked at her. ‘Play? At what?’ ‘That’, she said pointing downwards towards the floor ‘That….fiddle, violin - whatever…’ ‘Uh no - actually not’, I replied. ‘Oh’ she said her mouth forming the word like a zero framed in crimson icing. Her eyes, liquid pools of emeraldShine, bored into me. ‘Then why do you have it? Is there something else in in there? Is it like a carry box or a carry-all?’ I took a long pull from my Bloody Caesar all the while taking in the beauty and porcelain luminosity of her face. It’s actually a ‘Tommy’’ I said 'A what?’ ‘A Tommy - Tommy Gun - cut down from a full Thompson sub-machine gun’ ‘You ARE kidding me?' I just looked at her - said nothing. 'So’, she asked again, with a wicked crooked smile, leaning back with her left elbow on the bar, and then uncurling towards me, ’Do you play?’ ©michael moore 2017 
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AuthorAs a professional interior designer (45+ years) and as a Certified Graphic Designer (25 years) I have devoted my life to the pursuit of design excellence. Winner of numerous design awards I have also spent 25+ years teaching Interior Design.....the greatest quote regarding design is: the greatest faux pas in design is irrelevance • Note Regarding Archives •
Weebly provides an archive header by month - such as March 2021 . . . . when you select a month, you will be able to access all issues posted in that month - there is no way, thus far, to provide the reader with archival access via Issue number - were working on it. Archives
August 2021
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