Modern style: rigorous, elegant and prestigious

by Giulia | Jun 9, 2021 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, PRIVATE APARTMENT, SLEEPING AREA, STYLE TIPS

The modern style links the vision of interior design to architecture, in a relationship of mutual collaboration. Between rigorous furnishings, bright rooms and a prestigious appearance, the modern-style interiors express timeless elegance.

The modern style in history: the masters of design

To fully understand the modern style, it is useful to take a few steps back in time to its historical origins.
We are between the two World Wars in a context of renewal that involves the formal plan of architecture, but also urban planning and design.

Under the classification of Modern Movement, also known as International Style, belong the currents De Stijl, Bauhaus, Constructivism and Italian Rationalism.
The main exponents are architects of the caliber of Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies Van Der Rohe, Alvar Aalto and Walter Gropius.

Starting from a strong conception of architecture as an organic structure in relation to the external context to which it belongs, the Modern Movement also sees the house for its social use and not just as a family unit. Frank Lloyd Wright with his organic architecture gives excellent examples.
Among these, the Waterfall House, designed in its architectural conformation in strong relationship with the surrounding geological and natural context. Each element is configured both on the architectural level and on the interior design level based on a strong contamination between inside and outside. In doing this, the choice of proportions based on the human figure is fundamental.

Natural materials combined with organic shapes that favor horizontality, but also harmony and brightness become the key principles of the Modern Movement. Instead, the priority need is to achieve the best functionality of the building, which can also determine its aesthetic beauty.
In doing this, the house frees itself from the unitary vision to which it was accustomed to take on a social meaning in relation to the surrounding buildings.
The extreme example is the building that itself becomes a city, as in the case of Le Corbusier’s Unitè d’Habitation.

Eileen Gray’s E-1027 House, a modern style living room with iconic piece of furniture.

Left: modern style living area (Photo: Andrew Pielage, Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation)
Right: Fallinwater House by Frank Lloyd Wright (Photo: courtesy of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy)

Villa Savoye by le Corbusier. The relationship between inside and outside is expressed in bright rooms and ribbon windows

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Unitè D’Habitation, Le Corbusier. The building becomes a social community by offering, in addition to the family housing units, all the services necessary for individual life.

Modern style furniture: the strong relationship with architecture

The modern-style interiors both in the course of history and in the contemporary context are based on a strong relationship with the architectural context in which they are inserted.
This is how bright environments are created. Here, the exterior constantly communicates with the interior through functional choices that also justify the aesthetics.
Therefore, windows can take on a more elongated shape and it occupy a higher position than the standard ones. This allows the entry of natural light, which will obviously be studied according to the optimal orientation of the house, but at the same time allow the inhabitants not to be seen from the outside.

The subdivision of the rooms between the sleeping and living areas is based on a logic that considers the orientation of the house and its visibility or protection from external factors.
The hearth is definitely a central point in the design of a modern style home.
A place of aggregation and socializing, it expresses hospitality and intimacy at the same time, creating a strong suggestive interior.
For this reason, in modern homes par excellence it occupies the central position with respect to the living area, becoming the fulcrum for the arrangement of the remaining rooms.

The living area of this modern style attic with the iconic chaise longue designed by Le Corbusier

Modern style kitchen and living room with reflective materials and simple lines for this Modulor creation

A modern living area on the bottom of which an elegant wall with a three-dimensional effect is identified

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The equipped corridors of this Modulor realization express their modernity in the choice of material.
Soft and textured to the touch and extremely elegant to the eye.

Una cucina moderna firmata Modulor con particolare attenzione alla scelta cromatica e materica

Shapes, colors and materials between past and present

The choice of materials in a modern style also comes from the contamination between inside and outside.
Great importance is given to materials capable of enhancing the brightness of environments through their reflective and brilliant surface, even better if of natural origin.

Wood knows its maximum expression both in the traditional form of the Modern Movement and in its contemporary conception.
Chosen for its malleability and natural aesthetics, it brings the exterior directly into the home interior, also molding itself into irregular shapes. Over the years, it has also known the polishing treatments and the recent painting that make it possible to obtain reflective surfaces capable of giving brightness to the environment.

Neutral tones are favored, starting with the classic white, but colored variants are also welcome especially in the current years. In this sense, it is important to underline how the contemporary trend in the modern style prefers monochromatic colors and tone-on-tone games that opt for desaturated colors.
Prestigious and elegant interiors that do not, however, give up a touch of color capable of giving character to the rooms.

The design forms abandon their rigidity and linearity in favor of simple but sometimes irregular solutions. To enrich a modern style home, the icons of Modern design cannot be missing. Here then are seats with leather padding and chromed aluminum structure with slender lines.

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Materials, finishes and aesthetics of the modern style, including upholstery in warm-colored leather and chromed aluminum

The attention to detail of this wall is expressed in an elegant and monochromatic three-dimensional surface inserted in a prestigious Milanese apartment.
Inside there is a door identifiable by the handle with soft modern shapes.

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In the modern style of recent years, the great icons of design are often inserted in environments that are more daring, not only with neutral colors but also desaturated colors with a timeless beauty

The rediscovery of modern style

In recent years the modern style has undergone a great revaluation. The soft but rigorous shapes of the design icons of the Thirties are back in vogue in a contemporary reinterpretation proposed by the main brands.

Just think of the Five To Nine dormeuse proposal, born from the Studiopepe project for Tacchini (2020) or the Camaleonda modular sofa designed by Mario Bellini for B&B Italia (2020). But also, the new Pacific (project by Patricia Urquiola for Moroso) and Soriana (design by Tobie and Afra Bianchin Scarpa for Cassina) both launched on the market during Digital Design Week 2021.

Soriana, Tobia Scarpa and Afra Bianchin Scarpa, Cassina, 2021
Five to Nine, Studiopepe, Tacchini, 2020

With its rigorous and prestigious interiors, the modern style is aimed directly at personalities who love architecture and its relationship with nature. Characterized by a timeless beauty, it is aimed at rigorous characters but at the same time open to new changes.

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Giving new life to furniture: adapting them after a move

by Giulia | May 31, 2021 | IN THE WORLD OF DESIGN, KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, PRIVATE APARTMENT, SLEEPING AREA

Facing a move means turning your life around, renovating your home and introducing new furnishing accessories.
Beginning to pack, you make a natural selection of the objects to take with you, recognizing for each their own emotional value.
Many times, this process also involves the world of furnishings, which accompany the owners in this moment of transition.
Giving new life to furniture also means renewing the context in which they are inserted, managing to adapt them in terms of aesthetics and functionality to the new environments.

Adapting furnishing to a new context

When the furnishings are custom designed, their conformation responds to the needs of the customers, perfectly matching with the architectural context in which they are inserted. In doing this, a strong link is born between the rooms in which they are inserted and the shapes, proportions and mechanisms of use of the furnishings.
This would suggest an indissoluble bond between the two components, which would break when the furniture undergoes a relocation.
It is absolutely not said!

In fact, among the potential of custom-made furniture there is a flexibility factor that allows us to give new life to furniture by making few changes.
These make it possible to transform the general imprint of the furniture in order to adapt it to the new context both in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

A perfect example are the adaptations made to these furnishing extrapolated from an apartment between classic and contemporary. Let’s discovery this apartment among transformed furniture and new additions.

The kitchen: increases the work space and storage volumes

The kitchen certainly represents the beating heart of a home.
In the case of this apartment between modern and contemporary, its conformation was born from a natural reading of the architectural context in which it was inserted.

The corner development made it possible to exploit the side part with service columns with anthracite gray lacquered MDF doors.
These are equipped with column ovens on the right, pantry with removable trays and a central compartment for the free-standing refrigerator. The front is made up of lower volumes with large drawers and service doors and upper wall units in a brilliant white Lacobel.

The new arrangement has provided additional useful space for the overall dimensions. Being able to use additional space on both sides, the most natural solution was to exploit the remaining gaps with additional volumes.
On the right, we provide a service column which houses a modern wine cellar accompanied by a door with height-adjustable internal shelves.

On the opposite end, the main problem arises when the worktop is made of natural stone, which has undergone a chromatic change over the years.
To avoid incurring a visible difference between the added part and the existing one, a wooden top was thus created. It also acts as a cutting board for preparing meals. An element that not only solves an aesthetically weak point, but also provides a functional solution.

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The living area: a new contemporary aesthetic

To equip the living area, we recovered the furniture made in 2006.
The choice of colors was already avant-garde at the time. Even in a contemporary reworking they can adapt perfectly, resulting elegant and current. The TV cabinet in glossy anthracite gray lacquered MDF alternates flap doors with service drawers, whose recessed handles give visual lightness.

In this case, giving new life to furniture means adapting them to the new context in which they are inserted, managing to exploit the flexibility of the same.
Small changes have been made, mostly considered maintenance. Re-lacquering where necessary or remaking of structural parts.

The same approach was then applied to the service hanging columns, which are made up of doors in the upper part and small drawers in the lower part. Their new position side by side allows them to welcome guests introducing them to the living area and, at the same time, create a visual divider from the more intimate dining room.

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Children’s bedrooms: new tailor-made solutions to exploit architectural voids

The sleeping area houses the two small bedrooms whose conformation alternates architectural voids with important structural elements.
A tailor-made solution was therefore designed in both rooms in order to include all the necessary furnishings without sacrificing practicality and visual freedom.

For the first bedroom it was therefore decided to take advantage of the basement that leads to the mezzanine area to equip it with a shaped wardrobe.
Since the room is intended for a child, the dimensions and heights necessary for the clothes have certainly facilitated the design. Despite having little space available, taking advantage of the inclined height of the basement, it was still possible to create a double-height wardrobe with alternating shelves with fixed hangers.
The wardrobe is accompanied by a standing alone chest of drawers which is also used as a support surface.
The large one and a half bed is inserted in a niche. The latter used in the depth to fix shelves with hidden lighting.

In the second small room, the depth of the niche is useful for a certainly wider wardrobe. Full-height doors with push opening accommodate fixed tubulars, drawers for linen and shelves for folded items to satisfy the needs of a young girl.

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The master bedroom: a wardrobe like new

The master bedroom is best equipped with a large wardrobe with sliding doors placed parallel to the bed.
Its linear aesthetic combined with spot ceiling lighting allows at the same time to hide its grandeur.
The result is a capacious and functional volume which, in the aesthetic impact of the room, tends to disappear while giving character and elegance.
Relocated from the old house, the different internal height has led to a reduction in height which has thus made it possible to better adapt to new environments.

The composition of the wardrobe comes from a natural division into three departments, corresponding to the division of the sliding doors.
On the outside, the double-height hanger houses removable glass shelves in the center. These are particularly suitable for storing folded shirts using the external sliding mechanism to reduce the internal height between the trays.
In the central compartment, the large linen drawers are accompanied by a pair of shelves for folded items and hangers in the upper part.
The left compartment instead houses a double hanger to accommodate long dresses and coats whose greater height compensates for the reduced space reserved for folded trousers and skirts.

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Giving new life to furniture does not only mean rejuvenating it and making changes to its aesthetics. The bespoke design allows you to create furnishings that are versatile and able to adapt to new environments. Restoring a balance between aesthetic conformation in relation to the room and functional needs becomes the main goal.

If you want to deepen the theme of furniture flexibility, we suggest you this article in which series furniture and tailor-made solutions help each other!

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A cerulean blue modern kitchen

by Giulia | 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.

bookcase abutment division sleeping area

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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.

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 modern kitchen with dark tones front view

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.

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An Emperador Marble kitchen

by Alice | May 22, 2020 | KITCHEN, LIVING AREA, LIVING THE HOUSE, PRIVATE APARTMENT, STYLE TIPS, WORK IN PROGRESS

A monolithic kitchen, entirely covered in marble, shows all its elegance in a project that emphasizes such a precious and distinctive material. Walls and surfaces, in Emperador marble, are recognized for their very dense and varied white and beige streaks on a warm gray / brown background. Such a sophisticated design line can only be accompanied by modern and innovative mechanisms.

THE PROJECT

The renderings provided by Tanya Kutzmina, a cosmopolitan Russian designer we had the pleasure of working with, immediately show the intrinsic characteristics of the project. The concept of the master kitchen, part of an open space, encloses high walls and monolithic surfaces in an ambivalent environment, inert at first glance but able to transform itself into an equipped and representative kitchen for the guests of the house when needed. Two types of marble alternate in this large space. On the one hand, Emperador dark marble, which symbolically defines the functional parts of the kitchen, becoming a scenographic setting for “acting”. On the other, Emperador light marble, clear and bright, which amplifies the perception of the environment by reflecting the light of the large windows and embodies the essence of everyday life. Living and acting therefore become the reading keys not only of the stylistic composition of the rooms, but also define the way to relate to them.

THE COMPOSITION

The structure of the marble kitchen is an island and the central monolith opens with a drag mechanism that becomes a snack corner. Opening, it also shows a cooking area with three different types of fires: induction – teppanyaki – grill. On the internal front there are drawers entirely covered in the same marble and equipped with cutlery holders, crockery holders and potholders. Above it stands a splendid custom-made hood in stainless steel, as large as the island, equipped with filters and LED lights. All made with laser cuts and remote engine preparation. The dark marble of the island spreads into the floor and flows into the back wall. An ingenious book system opens the central doors folding up into two side compartments and revealing a broken interior that houses a sink, a dishwasher, baskets inside the doors, an oven column and exposed shelves with underlying LED lighting. The stainless steel top and back give a touch of modernity between the eternal elegance of the Emperador dark marble with which the surrounding surfaces are covered. On both sides, two large and spacious refrigerators enclose the central block of the kitchen. The covering of the Emperador light doors continues along the entire adjacent wall, hiding an access door to the second service kitchen. At the center of the room, a huge table stands for several diners in dark Emperador with bases made to measure in stainless steel and marble. These counterbalance both visually and physically the grand plan.

THE REALIZATION

Creating this kitchen was a new, arduous and stimulating experience. We accepted the challenge by finding solutions to the various executive problems that immediately arose. Among these, the union of two materials, wood and marble, so different in finishes, weights and typological characteristics. Obtaining the dynamism of the kitchen, with mechanisms suitable for the fluid movement of the parts and the arrangements on site for their perfect functioning with different materials and systems, required a lot of attention and an active collaboration with Tanya in Moscow, who followed the construction site. The marble, which was provided to us by Marmi Galli, a company with which we have been collaborating for long time, was used in 2 distinct thicknesses: 20 mm with 45° cuts to cover all the structures, and 5 mm thick screened for the application on the retractable doors to guarantee the functioning of the mechanisms with respect to the weight. We have taken great care of the quality of the mechanisms and the guides, both manual and motorized, especially for the doors of the shelf and the island snack top. We leave this video of Tanya the task of accompanying you in the living area and guiding you to the kitchen. Seeing it accomplished is a great emotion for us and awards our commitment.

The Moscow marble kitchen project fits perfectly into the series of single-material projects we have made. Among them, a kitchen entirely covered in steel.

← We are back in work! Discovering Scandinavian style: essential and functional →

One kitchen a week, part 3: contemporary hi-tech

by Giulia | Mar 7, 2018 | KITCHEN, PRIVATE APARTMENT, STYLE TIPS

A contemporary hi-tech kitchen whose aesthetic line is very dynamic thanks to the choice of metallic materials, to the play of reflections and opacity, but at the same time, it has warm and soft colours.

The contemporary design of the appliances increasingly accustoms us to metal surfaces, glossy finishes and technological elements with an aerospace-inspired design. Often inserting these elements in our kitchens means having to deal with the resulting visual impact. In response, on the one hand, we can see industrial-style kitchens, strongly focused on the total harmony of the furnishing with metals and reflective surfaces. On the other side, we can find increasingly contemporary interiors trying to mix the style of the different components by exploiting the chromatic and material contrasts. These two currents do not necessarily represent the opposite of the other. In fact, it is possible to uniform the elements in a style that is so contemporary, but which also manages to reflect the elegance and domesticity of the rooms.

THE PORJECT

This kitchen with a hi-tech scent is an excellent example: the customer’s taste responds to the trend of mocha colour, with its warm and soft tones. Taking advantage from the alternation of more or less warm colours and glossy surfaces combined with the opaquer ones, an elegant and at the same time dynamic interior has been achieved. Starting from the separating element of the living area, which is equipped to host storage doors supporting the living room on one side, and recessed ovens and others storage units from the inside. The result is a deconstructed kitchen, which does not give up to the functionality of a compact kitchen, but which takes advantage of the visual opening of the open space. The passage of this partition is underlined by a led strip whose linearity refers to the most dynamic and technological interiors. The central island with its mocha-coloured upholstery holds the induction hobs and free surfaces used for preparing meals. An extremely functional element is the cylinder that houses the electrical service outlets, which can be activated by pushing. A recessed element whose extraction technology is extremely simple. It is also capable of transforming an often visually cumbersome component into a design element. The lower part of the island acts as storage point while in the upper part, a cylindrical design fan is suspended from the backlit false ceiling. The latter can give greater dynamism to the kitchen. The two corner components of the remaining part respond in the same way with the upper wall units organized with doors and containing volumes in the lower part. The different height of the upper wall units creates dynamism also recalled in the chromatic choice.

COLOURS AND MATERIALS

The technological setting of this hi-tech kitchen is also visible in the choice of materials with excellent technical performance. In fact, the mocha-coloured dekton was chosen for the kitchen countertop, incorporating the island’s one. In addition to a significant aesthetic value, which summarizes elegance and modernity, it enjoys excellent technical performance, such as perfect resistance to high temperatures and hardness. It therefore lends itself to be an excellent material in its field while giving a strong stylistic imprint. The back shelf of the countertop alternates the mocha-coloured dekton with a glossy lacobel with a neutral hue. The alternation of opaque to glossy surfaces is possible using textured lacquered MDF which is turn coated, where necessary, by lacobel.

Compare this hi-tech kitchen with the previous ones: contemporary pop kitchen and fresh, gritty and lively kitchen.

← One kitchen a week, part 2: fresh, gritty and lively One kitchen a week, part 4: essential and elegant →

Modern style: rigorous, elegant and prestigious

The modern style in history: the masters of design

Modern style furniture: the strong relationship with architecture