A studio house designed with Feng Shui

A studio house designed with Feng Shui

by | Nov 5, 2020 | IN THE WORLD OF DESIGN, KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, LIVING THE HOUSE, PRIVATE APARTMENT, SLEEPING AREA

Spaces where we live, as well as representing us, must have a positive influence on the quality of our life and has to be studied and designed in the best possible way. Even more when, as in this case, life and work take place in the same environment. Designing a studio home with Feng Shui means making these two aspects coexisting harmoniously in everyday life and spaces.

 

THE FENH SHUI

We have often heard of Feng Shui, but what is it? It is certainly neither a philosophy, nor a religious or spiritual practice, it is not a style of furniture and not even a form of bio-architecture.

Feng Shui can be defined as the study of how natural and built environments influence our psychophysical conditions.
Practicing this discipline means understanding how the various elements of an environment that affect our physical conditions, our moods and our behaviors, are activated by our primordial instincts. These include: shape, proportions, symmetry, number, color, tactile sensations, sun exposure, artificial light, sound and attention paths.

Feng Shui literally means “wind and water”, in honor of the two elements that shape the earth. In fact, with their flow, they determine the characteristics of a particular place.
It could be said that the profound meaning of this discipline is “Creating the best conditions for the development of life”. Its goal is to make an environment suitable for the people who lives there or for the activities that take place there.

In fact, each of us relates to the room in a non-verbal way: what surrounds us inspires us with emotions or instinctive reactions of which we are almost always unaware and some of these are universal for the human species.

Matter of Feng Shui are these sensations and to work on the human psyche we act on the physical world.

feng shui

A STUDIO HOUSE

The greatest representation of the coexistence of home-work based on Feng Shui is this realization in the Lombard capital. Our client, a holistic operator, needed an ambivalent space in chaotic Milan to be used both as a residence and as a location for her courses.

For this reason, she turned to Marzia and Germana from SpazioUmano to make the apartment as suitable as possible for her needs through Feng Shui. The housing unit on two floors is located in the context of a condominium still under construction, chosen near the city center.

Having always been sensitive to Feng Shui, we have followed the two architects with pleasure. Reading and interpreting their design choices in the best possible way has been a source of inspiration for us and a professional challenge accepted with enthusiasm.

Each building has a recognable front and a back. This polarity determines the orientation of the house in the space that is symbolically guarded by two celestial animals: the black turtle and the red phoenix. The first is associated with protection and health and it is identified with the most intimate areas of the house such as the bedroom and bathroom. The red phoenix is ​​instead an indication of freedom and identified with the entrance and the “active” areas of the house.

The other two animals supporting the main ones are the green dragon, linked to our more rational left hemisphere and therefore synonymous with organization, home management and work, and the white tiger, linked to the more intuitive right hemisphere, therefore associated with emotionality and artistic activities.

THE PROJECT

Being a home-studio, the active areas of living and working had to coexist according to Feng Shui principles, in the part of the red phoenix, but still be separated from each other.

The access to the apartment is therefore characterized by a scenic aerial staircase illuminated on the right side by a large glass wall. This staircase, made with white painted aluminum support and wooden treads, leads to the upper floor used for holistic courses. The instinct is to go up, choosing to be accompanied on this almost emotional path of ascent.

On the opposite side of the large window, the access to the private house is out of sight. A sliding wall decorated with a spiral geometric pattern with opal inserts hides the everyday life’ interior. The light coming from the outside filters through the opal shapes of the sliding wall, creating plays of light inside the apartment.

The living area that opens to the view is an open space with a square plan, whose kitchen is placed on the corner opposite the opening.

Feng Shui entrance
Sliding wall Feng Shui
Wall Feng Shui

A FENG SHUI KITCHEN

The entrance with living area is characterized by the presence of a full-height corner bookcase, where vertical and horizontal shelves gives rhythm. Small objects and books become the real protagonists, standing out among the matt lacquered MDF profiles of the bookcase.

In front of this, the low open cabinet with doors and internal shelves visually closes the room by introducing the kitchen. The latter is arranged at an angle and anticipated by a large table in natural oak and support profiles in black iron. Above this, a witty and youthful light point with suspension elements of different shapes that intertwine on the horizontal support element.

Further element of character are the chairs that surround the table, with bright colors and simple profiles.

The actual block of the kitchen is made up of mutually intersecting volumes, creating a rhythm and visual dynamism also reflected in the material choice of the coverings. On the one hand, the block with service columns which also houses the free-standing refrigerator and built-in oven. Doors in matt lacquered MDF are interspersed with natural and dark-stained oak inserts, creating visual dynamism.

At the front, the basaltine countertop is transformed into a backsplash and back surface in the firing area, giving life to material and luminous contrasts with the uniform riser in white Lacobel.

The overlying wall units best express this play of intersected volumes with open compartments in natural oak that alternate doors in matt white lacquer and inserts in dark stained oak.

Natural materials with a soft touch blend perfectly with darker and rough inserts. Distinctive signs can also be recognized in the lower volumes, such as the drawers with oak fronts that underline the horizontal reading of the kitchen.

Feng Shui lights kitchen
Side kitchen oak doors
bookcase entrance laquered white
Kitchen table oak wood

ADVICE

Designing a multipurpose interior means being able to bring together different aspects of everyday life. Especially when it comes to connecting the working world to the private one, the home environment plays a fundamental role so that nothing can be left to chance. Choosing to design with Feng Shui involved in this example the coexistence of instincts belonging to two aspects of our life, in a single home-work environment.

We are ready to calibrate your daily and working space on the basis of your needs and desires, in order to create interiors in perfect harmony and balance even with your inner “I”.

How a kitchen takes life: the phases of realization

How a kitchen takes life: the phases of realization

by | Sep 7, 2020 | IN THE WORLD OF DESIGN, KITCHEN, PRIVATE APARTMENT, WORK IN PROGRESS

Discovering bespoke furniture, have you ever wondered what are the phases of realization that give life to a kitchen? We are ready to show you our creation and production process! The design of a custom-made kitchen is born from the meeting between the customer’s wishes and personality and the designer’s experience, capable of satisfying the functional and aesthetic needs of both. What the customer sees is the transformation of the project, shown in its most satisfying graphic form, into a finished and complete product. However, there is a world behind the creation of a kitchen: from the artisan production phase, with boards with strong resistance and workability, to the painting of the components, from transport with packaging to final assembly. Let’s follow the production process of this minimal kitchen.

design phase perspective phase

The design: a continuous dialogue with the customer

The design of this kitchen stems from the need to optimize spaces in an environment already strongly characterized by floors with geometric marble patterns. The presence of a relevant flooring has given rise to a project that responds to the same chromatic characteristics. In this way, the minimal line of this kitchen is born. Here, the lower volumes and upper wall units in matt white lacquered MDF give brightness and freshness. The black marble top houses the built-in sink and the induction hob, transforming into a splash back and side back. The vertical reading wall units holds the hidden lighting that is also reflected by the white Lacobel splash back. The graphic rendering of the project allows you to get an idea of ​​the general layout of the kitchen, studying the different components based on the best practicality. We try color and material combinations and studies alternatives in the volumetric composition. In this phase, the ability to read and interpret the client’s wishes is essential for the designer. On the other hand, the customer plays an active role, becoming an integral part of the design team. The best projects are in fact those that do not stop at the first solution, but undertake new design challenges, evolving from time to time following the brainstorming between the client and the designer.

design phase top view
Minimal kitchen Verona design front

From the design offices to the lab: the executives

Once approved and defined in the smallest detail, the kitchen project goes directly to our laboratory, ready for the construction phase. The three-dimensional model developed during the design phase is reworked to take on a new look. From a graphic and realistic setting, it is transformed into a functional model from which the executive tables are processed to be addressed to our artisans. After an accurate on-site survey, where electrical predispositions, discharge and existing constraints are highlighted, the model is adapted and designed in detail. Extremely simple designs that give up their aesthetic presentation in favor of greater clarity of reading. Dimensions, cuts and joints are underlined to make the realization cleaner. Our kitchen is therefore broken down, from a three-dimensional model in digital format to A3 tables with plants and elevations so that the experience of our craftsmen can give life to the actual realization.

Between cuts and painting: the realization in laboratory

The MDF boards are cut with special machinery preparing the joints for household appliances and related attachment points. Any special processes are carried out with the numerical control machine or with the pantograph, at rest during this project. In the meantime, our guys in the internal painting department prepare the samples with the different chromatic shades. There are infinite shades of each color,. Even of white, that contextualized in an interior can give life to different effects and perceptions. Once the cutting of the single components is finished, the assembly test takes place. Screws, hinges and drawer guides now come into play by verifying the right composition of the kitchen, which is in full construction phase. If our bespoke furniture passes the assembly test, the components are broken down again and passed to the painting compartment.

minimal kitchen realization
painting laboratory
laboratorio piallatura
assembly test Minimal kitchen Verona
Assembly test laboratory

Traveling to the final destination

The different components are ready to undertake on their journey. The packaging is careful and punctual, ready to foresee and avoid damage during transport. The load is organized in order to optimize the movements, whether it is short distances or in the case of international travel. Packed properly and accompanied by all the appliances required, our kitchen leaves for Verona, ready for the big day of presentation to the customer. Expert hands and assembly tool kits quickly shape our minimal kitchen. The load-bearing structures for wall units and lower volumes are prepared, to which the various external components are gradually added. Lighting under the wall unit, handles with aluminum shell, shelves with rods for height adjustment. All details that now become fundamental for the final realization of the kitchen. Once the assembly is complete, broom hands, dustpan, vacuum cleaner and good hand works. Everything is cleaned from dust and work shavings, removing any protections and any construction site structures. And here it is, bright and minimal, functional and able to accommodate products and foods of all kinds.

assembly phase Minimal kitchen Verona 01
assembly phase Minimal kitchen Verona 02
assembly phase Minimal kitchen Verona 03
assembly phase Minimal kitchen Verona 04

A minimal kitchen: the final product

The day of the official presentations has finally arrived. The black marble top chromatically contrasts the lower volumes and white lacquered wall units. Different storage points ensure space optimization with removable trays and baskets but also height-adjustable internal shelves. The drawers for cutlery, table linen and pots are designed in different heights depending on their use. The recessed handle makes the aesthetic impact elegant and essential, while the white painted shell ensures greater durability and resistance over time. Upper shelves are perfect for small objects, visually lightening the terminal part of the wall units. In this way the natural light diffused by the side window spreads freely in the space giving a touch of freshness. After viewing the finished product with the customer, with a good handshake and the wish for a next collaboration, we come back to the base, ready for new challenges! Other projects are already under construction and willing to become reality. To continue your journey discovering the creation of a kitchen, you can learn more about the types of cladding: an Emperador marble kitchen and a kitchen entirely steel covered.

finished product minimal kitchen
windows view kitchen
refrigerator view minimal kitchen
recessed handle drawers detail

Boho Chic Style: a mix of vintage and modern

Boho Chic Style: a mix of vintage and modern

by | Aug 27, 2020 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, PRIVATE APARTMENT, SLEEPING AREA, STYLE TIPS

Very popular in recent years, the Boho Chic style is characterized by the combination of various other styles that flow into a balanced mix of furnishings. Since there are no precise guidelines, if not the freedom of spirit of its inhabitants, we must be very careful not to furnish the house in a chaotic and disharmonic way.

living room reference

Entrance and living room in Boho Chic style.

The meaning of the word

There is a lot of talk about Boho Chic style, but what is the meaning of this term? Boho comes from the abbreviation of “Bohémien“, a French word born in the nineteenth century to identify the unconventional lifestyle of penniless artists, writers, musicians and actors of the major European cities, combined with the word “Chic” which indicates the modern trend to make even a style that was originally more rustic and natural elegant and refined. This expression took hold at the beginning of the millennium in the fashion world but soon merged into interior design as well. The Boho Chic style is an original combination of Nordic, ethnic, hippie and modern furnishings that everyone can interpret in their own way, also as regards the colors and finishes, different from each other and the unique pieces that distinguish it. Each space must tell the story of those who live there and the houses furnished in this style have some common points but they never resemble each other.

Parisian style dining room

A bright Boho Chic style living area, with play of colors and wallpaper.

Boho Chic living room

In comparison, a living area in the same style based on the dark tones of wood and leather.

Vintage and unique pieces

A necessary element in this type of style is the recovery of antique or vintage pieces of furniture to be combined with other modern ones. The two eras in comparison give this cross-section of “timeless home” to the environment and each piece of furniture, each object and each decorative element contains a history and a personal and indissoluble bond with its owner. A Boho Chic home is constantly evolving, up to the filling of every available square meter. Thus an eccentric environment comes to life, made of unique colors and objects, travel memories and emotions.

Boho Chic living room

Boho Chic living room with antique sofas and armchairs, of different styles and eras.

Parisian style living room
Parisian style dining room

Here are two images of a living room and a dining area that Modulor created in Parisian Bohemian style

Materials and Colors

The colors are strong and lively in the Boho Chic furniture, even if light and bright tones are preferable, especially for the walls that highlight the color of the furnishings and accessories, whose shades can range from the ivory of the curtains to the terracotta of the vases, green plants or the textures of carpets, cushions and chandeliers. Colors reminiscent of foreign spices, such as turmeric, paprika, cinnamon and saffron, are highly recommended, or in recent years the most popular themes for any wallpaper on the walls are jungle and tropical. Very important are also the fabrics, the velvets, the opulent or geometric patterns that recall countries such as Morocco and India and the woven wood of armchairs and sofas.

texture and colors in Boho Chic style

Wallpapers and natural colors are fundamental in the Boho Chic style.

boho chic entrance

An entrance characterized by woven wood furnishings.

bathroom reference

Bathroom with neutral colors, wooden elements and green plants.

Lights and Plants

Having a lively domestic vegetation is fundamental in the Boho Chic home, the insertion of plants, vases on the ground, wall and ceiling makes the house even more warm, welcoming and hippie. Plants can also be functional elements of the space in their function of separating the various portions of the home environment. Another fundamental element are the lights, which are not uniform and homogeneous as in modern furniture but are located in several parts of the environment and with very different characteristics, both in intensity and in type. The soft lights must not be missing and also the projection of textures on the wall through lanterns with geometries engraved on the surface.

green as furniture reference
lights Boho Chic

Lights and plants, undisputed protagonists of the Boho Chic style.

Boho Chic living room
Boho Chic living room

Oriental rugs, plants and decorations in these Boho Chic living areas, undisputed giants of Boho Chic style.

Those who choose the Boho Chic style love to travel, even if only with their thoughts and bring many cultures and souls into their home that make it a real cosmopolitan environment.

Luxury style: care of detail and high quality

Luxury style: care of detail and high quality

by | Aug 3, 2020 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, PRIVATE APARTMENT, SLEEPING AREA, STYLE TIPS

Timeless and always updated, the luxury style is surrounded by refined and elegant interiors. The care of detail goes perfectly with the choice of high quality materials, manufacturing and design.

Luxury living room

Zona living in stile luxury. GEZA Gri e Zucchi Architettura, DLN Penthouse. Foto: Gianni Antoniali

Modulor elegant dining room

Careful furniture selection for this Modulor dining room

Modulor burnished brass display cabinet

Burnished brass details enrich this display cabinet in the living room

The luxury style in the western concept

Speaking about luxury style could means excess and opulence of Arab culture with furniture covered in gold leaves, mirrors and golden mosaics with excessively sinuous lines. It is therefore important to refer of this style in its western concept, which renounces opulence and excesses dictated by a deliberately exhibited richness in favor of attention to detail and refined preciousness. The luxury style in its western sense rather expresses a taste of elegance and uniqueness of the products, often owner-oriented designed.

Modulor luxury kitchen Milan

Plays of reflections for this Modulor kitchen of neutral colours

luxury industrail apartment 08

An entire marble covering bathroom shows all its elegance between linear shapes and polished metals

Finishes and material

Traditional materials are chosen for their timeless beauty, even more if characterized by a fine finish. Without a doubt, the luxury style is the explosion of the marbles in their most colorful veins. Coming from all over the world, they show their preciousness with strongly characterizing ventures or slight chromatic alterations. The precious essences of the wood are also protagonists, often matching refined finishes. These were accompanied by fabrics with particular textures and the inevitable velvets, which have come back into vogue in recent years. The heart of luxury style lies in privileging quality: quality of materials, manufacturing and design. In its contemporary sense then, the luxury style meets brass details, inserts in painted glass and plays of reflection of shiny materials.

Modulor luxury materials selection

The marbles in the most colorful essences are the undisputed protagonists of the Luxury style

luxury fabrics Milan apartment

Velvets, suede and metal effects for this Modulor-signed bedroom

Modulor wooden finish

Inner lighting and wooden textured covering for this luxury wardrobe

Modulor selection luxury furniture and fabrics

Velvet and fine fabrics accompanied by metal finishes enrich the furniture.

Modulor 3D wood finish

An elegant and contemporary 3D finish for this Modulor work

The contemporary luxury style

One of the most constant styles in the history of interior design, it owes its continuous success to the ability of adapting to stylistic changes over the years. Contemporary luxury in particular eliminates even more excesses and extravagances. In combination with the minimal style, it becomes more and more a sort of “added value” inside the domestic interior, standing out for its particularity. It tends to enhance the interiors in which it is, rather than the single product, becoming an elegant but delicate stylistic imprint. Contemporary luxury is a lover of brass finishes, even better if combined with velvets and suede. It meets stylistic variations according to the context. It manages to appear light and delicate if contextualized in essential interiors or with a strong impact if set on dark color ranges.

detail hanoi vietnam

Care of detail and high quality materials for this prestigious Modulor work in Hanoi, Vietnam

master bedroom

Burnished brass and velvet define the details of this Modulor master bedroom

reference luxury bedroom
reference luxury living room
reference luxury kitchen

Selection of contemporary luxury references, between feeble chromatical palette and particular material finishes

Choosing the luxury style means choosing quality materials and refined design. Perfect for those who are addicted to details and a lover of elegance. Suitable for determined personalities and people fascinated by perfection.

A cerulean blue modern kitchen

A cerulean blue modern kitchen

by | Jul 30, 2020 | KITCHEN, LIVING THE HOUSE, PRIVATE APARTMENT, STYLE TIPS

The cerulean blue hue defines the stylistic firm of this modern kitchen, set on dark wood tones with brass finishes. The care of detail gives shape to an extremely elegant project, modern in aesthetics and contemporary in settings.

Modulor modern kitchen with dark tones_01

The on-view composition

An interior that becomes furniture. The design of this kitchen diverges from the traditional vision of the closed room to become an open space composed of different volumes.
The main block is a visual union of the low volume in ribbed wood set between wall units with a vertical subdivision and full-height columns.

The common thread that contain the perception of the environment is the brass base, taken from the light and linear handles.
The island block with rounded shapes and overhang countertop, elegantly conforms to the main volume, despite a stylistic change in the design forms.

Indeed, it is this difference between the straight and geometric shapes of the back unit and the rounding of the profile in the central island that defines the stylistic imprint of this kitchen.

The traditional closing shoulder is replaced by a recessed library that visually lightens the perception of the kitchen characterizing the furniture. A full-height bookcase compartment that alternates shelves in a well-balanced geometric composition.

recessed bookcase side abutment
bookcase abutment division sleeping area
Modulor modern kitchen with dark tones_02

Functionality and aesthetics in symbiosis

Not only the general volumetric setting, but also the internal organization demonstrates a perfect relationship between functionality and aesthetics.

As a demonstration of this, the central island is equipped with rounded corner doors in order to make the best use of each available corners.
Shaped white shelves stand out among the dark tones and blue doors of this modern kitchen, showing all their functionality. The choice of appliances is also avant-garde, as for example the induction hob with attached extractor hood that reduces the functional components to the essential in favor of visual essentiality without sacrificing the practicality.

Modular kitchen island ribbed wood
open door with shaped shelves

Colors and materials

Cerulean blue matt lacquered MDF, dark ribbed wood and brass are the protagonists of this modern kitchen in which dark tones are chosen for their elegance.

A rigorous environment that is being fascinated by contemporary functionality.

The chosen shade of blue, extremely modern, is enriched with a warm appearance especially when combined with the dark-dyed ribbed.

It is precisely the materiality in the latter’s finish that enriches the main volumes of the kitchen with movement and rhythm.

The brass of skirting boards and handles, underlines the design lines with a precious character that gives refinement to the project.

Modulor materialboard
Modulor modern kitchen with dark tones front view
Modulor materials finishes

Advice

The choice of colors and materials often defines the character of an interior. We are often intimidated by intense colors and dark tones, especially if imagined on large surfaces. The final impact can instead reserve great surprises, and give a touch of freshness and modernity.
Here is another example, in this case a dark gray kitchen with oak inserts.

Discovering Scandinavian style: essential and functional

Discovering Scandinavian style: essential and functional

by | Jun 23, 2020 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, PRIVATE APARTMENT, SLEEPING AREA, STYLE TIPS

Being able to identify the style that best suits our personality is a strong point in the design of domestic interiors. For this reason, we have thought to collect for you a series of references that can best show the different styles of the interior design. Accompanying you in their discovery means setting the first references that will allow us to undertake customized solutions, in which different stylistic elements harmonize in a unique and identifying way. We start our journey with a Scandinavian style, essential but extremely functional. We will show you images of our creations matched with material and chromatic references and with extremely identifying design icons and interiors in order to give you the best overview of this style.

essential kitchen front

A Modulor kitchen in Scandinavian style with essential and delicate lines

The Scandinavian style in its architectural settings

Scandinavian style has swarmed our home’ interiors in recent years. Originally from Northern European countries, it has fascinated us more and more with its essentiality and harmony with nature. It is from the latter that Nordic designers and architects, first of all Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen, drew inspiration to create projects in perfect harmony and functional balance. Before on the furniture terms, the Scandinavian style analyzes the relationship between Man and Nature on an architectural level. From this, the choice of the orientation of the building and the relationship with natural light become of fundamental importance. This, at high latitudes, in the winter months becomes very scarce, if not completely absent. It is therefore essential being capable of making the most of what nature offers with large windows and bright surfaces.

Alvar Aalto Carrè House Scandinavian Style

Alvar Aalto, Maison Carrè

Arne Jacobsen St. Catherine's College

Arne Jacobsen, St. Catherine’s College

Colors and materials

Fresh and bright environments are the distinctive feature of the Scandinavian style. If on one hand the architectural conformation wants to make the most of natural light, on the other it is up to the chromatic choice the ability to illuminate and lighten the interior. Here then the white becomes the undisputed protagonist of the interior. The visual delicacy identifies this style and is obtained by adopting soft colors, preferring pastel shades. To these are added the natural essences of woods, a material certainly preferred in the Nordic interiors. But pay attention to this: wood is chosen for its naturalness and refinement. Therefore, painting and surface processing that alter the original perception of the material are excluded. Favor the natural essences of oak, walnut, oak, larch, ash and first of all birch.

Milan apartment

The lightness of a Modulor kitchen in scandinavian style

Scandinavian style, reference 01

Sinuous lines for greater ergonomics of the furniture

Scandinavian style Modulor palette

Natural materials and chromatic palette in neutral tones

Modulor selection forniture and materials

light wood essence chosen for essential furniture

Scandinavian style kitchen

Pastel colors for a fresh touch and character

Modulor pastel colors palette

Pastel colors for a touch of grit without sacrificing delicacy

Lines and geometries

Above all the essentiality that characterizes this style is given by the conformation of the furniture and the interiors themselves. Simple and regular geometric lines are preferred, which allow themselves to be fascinated by the sinuous forms of nature but only if justified by greater ergonomics. Geometric patterns and organic lines influence each other to give shape to a light image, but first of all to respond to greater functionality.

traditional villa Sicily kitchen front view

White with its brightness is the color par excellence in the Scandinavian style, as this Modulor kitchen

Scandinavian style living room

Essential furniture and delicate colors for this living room

living room library

Recessed library between wooden essences and pastel colors

Conclusions

Choosing the Scandinavian style means choosing a delicate and fresh interior. If your personality is careful to detail and a lover of simplicity, you will surely be fascinated by it. Airy and bright spaces like your light thoughts and delicate and natural colors like your character, in symbiosis with nature and its perfection.