Fritz Hansen Milan Showroom Updated

While we are working hard to put the final touches on the new CMID blog behind the scenes, it has been instructive to look at old postings and wonder about the progress or changes that may have been made over time.  Measuring change is, we think, an important exercise in interior design as a means to draw inspiration from established style or assessing your own ideas against new and innovative thinking. It keeps you sharp.

Consider the contrast between the Republic of Fritz Hansen Milan Showroom circa 2013, which you can see here and its showroom at the Salone del Mobile 2015, the world's most important furniture fair in Milan, as shown.  The shift in style and presentation is quite stark. The contrast is illustrative as to how Fritz Hansen aims to promote ideas as to how to use its products by having settings that is, perhaps, easier for customers to visualise, and indeed understand. The warmer, more homely stage that stylist Christine Rudolph has designed for last year's Salone enables Fritz Hansen products - old and new -  to better perform in a way that highlights quality and, importantly, practical application. 

Whereas the 2013 presentation was rather clinical in its form, the slightly dishevelled look of the 2015 incarnation speaks more about the design practicality of the products without detracting their style worth.

Let's be honest, the lived-in look of the presentation will be familiar to many and, we think, helps better explain the products.

The value of natural light cannot be underestimated in showcasing interior products. The 2015 presentation uses it with great effect, bringing the room to life.

The bikes, the books, the casually placed throw rugs are key supporting  players to the main attraction of the presentation.  The warmth and personality they add it each room only brings out the presence of the Fritz Hansen products.

This could have been a somewhat sterile view were not for the shoes, which softens the visual in a nice way.

An unmade bed - good heavens! And yet, it forms a critical centrepiece to showcase the surrounding products.

CMID does a lot of kitchen work and we admire this one for its simplicity, efficiency, and openness.  Intriguing splash back I might add. The colour palette is striking and works really well in promoting the kitchen's role as a inviting focal point in any household.

Words by Craig Greaves.

Photographs via Fritz Hansen FB page.

Paddington Project by C+M Studio

The excellent Est magazine has unveiled an inspiring redesign of a Sydney terrace house.  This C+M Studio project successfully converted a small worker's cottage into a tranquil, minimalist and sophisticated residence.  This is yet further demonstration of marrying limited space with practical and stylish living.  It is a marriage that many modern urban dwellers aspire to and they would do well to take note of this high-quality project.

To round-off the redesign,  C+M Studio partnered with leading Australian furniture retailer,  Living Edge, along with artist Sebastian Goldspink, to create Paddington Project in which some displayed furniture and home wares are offered for sale.

This not the first time the Sydney-based C+M Studio has featured on this blog.  Regular readers may recall their Cross Street project, see here, where they filled the newly renovated Cross Street apartment,  with incredible artwork, furniture and home wares available for purchase.

A simple, clean and refined stairwell.

The almost clinical pairing of pale wood and white interiors lends lightness to the terraced house without any loss of warmth and comfort.

Abetted by a high ceiling and an open transition to a neatly orientated backyard, the careful use of interiors and restrained furniture makes the space appear more spacious.

It is worth noting the colour palette throughout the home is essentially reduced to white, pale wood, greys with shots of copper.  This appears to be in keeping with the style direction of  C+M Studio which focuses on pared back motifs and the use of natural materials.  In dressing up the small space, the constrained use of colour enables the house to look uncluttered and elegant.

Words by Craig Greaves.
Photographs by Caroline McCredie via C+M Studio.

New Work - Living Room

Here's a hero shot from a project, that was completed earlier this year, where we furnished a living room for a family of four.
We started with a colourful kilim style rug from Armadillo and Co to anchor the new and existing furniture in front of a fireplace. For the new comfortable sofas, a neutral and children friendly fabric was chosen, which we enhanced with colourful feather filled loose cushions. To complete the picture, we introduced warmth with a timber Radial coffee table from Citta Design. Lovely.
Photograph by Charlotte Minty.

The Sunday Bench

I love a good bench and have admired many beautiful timber ones from clever furniture makers, who were usually inconveniently located overseas. However a couple of weeks ago, I noticed a new project by Alana Broadhead of Fancy New Zealand Design blog being launched and it had a great name - The Sunday Kind. How cool I thought. Then bam! there it was, their launch product - a fantastic timber bench called the Sunday Bench. It's a beauty and it's very much on my list. What a great bench - lovely simple lines, the timber (available in blonde (my preferred choice) and black), the straight legs with rounded feet and the great many functions that this useful piece of furniture can be as Alana says so herself - "I love to change up my space every so often for a fresh look. So I wanted to create a flexible piece of furniture that could be used in multiple rooms and in multiple ways." And these photos, styled by Alana, beautifully demonstrate some of the options - in the entrance, up at the dining table and at the end of the bed. How about the bathroom, in an office and in a kid's bedroom? You are only limited by your imagination. If you like it as much as I do, you have a chance to win one with Homestyle magazine here. Nice!

Photographs by Melanie Jenkins via Homestyle and via The Sunday Kind

Michel, Helsinki

Here is a restaurant that I have been inspired by recently - it is called Michel and located in Helsinki, Finland.
Designed by the clever Joanna Laajisto, a Finnish interior architect and designer who trained and made her career in Los Angeles designing large scale commercial projects before returning to her native country. Laajisto was inspired by 1940's kiosks that were built in the Finnish capital for Michel. I love the use of white tiles, pistachio green painted panelling, marble lined walls, natural timbers and cognac leathers. The interiors are light, modern and fresh (as well as stunning and timeless), which works beautifully alongside Michel's uncomplicated, fresh and approachable menu. Lovely.

Photographs via Joanna Laajisto