interior design ideas: September 2010

NH Architects: New Hire

Welcome to Jessica Cook, Bonin Architects' new Intern Architect! Jessica grew up in Danbury, NH and comes back to the Lake Sunapee region from Martha's Vineyard where she worked at a prestigious architectural firm for the past four years.

Jessica received her Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Studies and her Masters degree in Architecture from Norwich University and has a background in graphic design and conceptual art. She has a well rounded knowledge of architectural science and practice and takes a sustainable design approach to every project. Jessica is comfortable working independently and with the Bonin Architects team in every phase of design and construction.

NOTE: An "intern architect" is a graduate who is working toward licensure (which includes seven exams).

“Mario Anatomy”

Jason Freeny.

personal wooden radio WR01A-2B

Inspired by the iconic form of a portable radio : round knobs, speaker grill, handle, telescopic antenna and the battery case, basic 'box' shape. I combine dark & light color of woods to represent the basic part of the radio. It's not easy to do, since I want it looks as wooden product not an electronic one.personal wooden radio WR01A-2B

Caffeinating

Frederik Roije

Porte magazines Guidelines

alfonso architects

W101, dalla Svezia

SIWA Ivy ‘Paper’ Cap

Push Button House

Adam kalkin

Laura Resen’s interior shots

Tim & Mary coffee table

Polyvore.com

Polyvore.com is a fun site that combines vintage images and artwork with modern fashion ideas. I love their montages! Enjoy...

The Future of Green Building

For leaders of the green building industry, standards are weaved throughout the mission of the company. The leaders in green building and sustainable construction have been incorporating green components into their designs for years, before the green building movement emerged on the scene.

Construction Digital spoke with experts from McCarthy Building Companies, GreenStreet and Bonin Architects and Associates to discover the latest trends in green building, the factors driving sustainability and the effect that green building has on the overall construction industry in an article titled "The Leaders Shaping the Expansion of Green Building".

Look for the full article at Construction Digital online.

Poem

"Clasp my love around your neck,
wear my heart on your finger.
My soul will be your pendant:
I live to adorn you -
you're the precious one."

~Grey Livingston

Dragonfly Dreams

This piece is a bit of a departure from my usual vintage designs, but it really is stunning. While roaming around Gemstar in Enfield, NH (if you love stones, you really must check out this place!), I came across these amazing snakeskin agate stones and had to make something with them. I already had the dragonfly at home and knew the combination would make a great nature-themed necklace. Then the search was on to find a pendant for the dragonfly to rest on...and this gorgeous green leaf jumped out at me at a local bead shop. Perfect. I "test drive" all of my pieces before I sell them to ensure they're comfortable and secure, and I got a LOT of compliments while wearing this piece. It makes a statement! Available for sale on my website.

Furniture, Cool Leather Sectional

We were perusing through our old copies of Metropolitan Home today--oh man we miss that magazine!

Anyway, as we were looking through the pictures we were struck with how many clean-lined, cool living room scenes we find in Met Home. We thought this leather sectional fits in really well with that look, don't you?

The sectional is made by Moroni. We love this line. The leather is so supple and soft and comfortable. The construction is really nice too, firm but not too firm...Just the way it supposed to be.
You can find the sectional here. It costs about $5K including shipping, but if you are nice, there a nice coupon that you can use (hint: it's quite substantial).
Email us and tell us you find this item via our blog. We'll email you the secret code.

Loft Decorating Ideas

Lofts are in! They are everywhere you look. As cool as they are, lofts are often hard to furnish. By not having the divisional space of traditional rooms, one often has to be creative in furnishing a loft. Cool artwork, functional furniture and use of colors/texture are a must.

Here are a few ideas in furnishing your loft:

1)Invest in a great sofa--one that is comfortable to sit, snuggle yet beautiful enough as this is the first thing most people see after walking in the door. Here is a few of our favorites:

This sofa is long (105 inches), modern and classic. It can be done in our fabric or yours (we've done it in cream and chocolate--it's marvelous).

Domicile Sofa by Bolier $2595-customer own material

Another one of our favorite (this one sits so well, it's unbelievable how comfortable it is).

White Leather Sectional by Moroni $3500

Artwork is another very important component in furnishing a loft. Here are some cool ones that can be custom-size (yes, you can have it as large as you want it).

Oh Hey Longo $450 (36x24-Custom size available)

Check out the rest of the contempory art collection designed with lofts in mind.

For design ideas, we love Metropolitan Home Magazine.

For design inspirations, we love luxury boutique hotels. A good site to check out boutique hotels is Tablet Hotels.

Very Cool Modern Rugs from Mats-The Basics

We found a really great rug line that we just have to share with you. Despite the clunky name, they make wonderful modern rugs that are stylish yet clean-lined and simple. That's so hard to find, don't you think so? Many contemporary rugs are a bit too austere, too severe perhaps.

Here are some of our favorites:

The rugs runs between $500 for a 5x7 to $1500 for a 8 x 12. They are very well-made too. Most are made with 100% New Zealand wool, hand-tufted.

We'll be loading these up on our rugs section next week, so please check back soon.

Haus Schierle

The Curious Vignette

(Maxime Clair)

I finally did something I've wanted to do for quite a while. I started my own Flickr group! Its been on my mind for a long time, but I couldn't decide what the theme should be. Finally, this week it hit me, how about photos of unusual vignettes! As is often the case, I thought of this for myself first. I wanted a group for the many photos I take of "curious" moments. So I'm inviting all of you who like to preserve these types of configurations to check out my group and maybe join it! (Here)

(Yataro1)

(Carolina Eclectic)

(Kaylovesvintage)

Architect Services: Site Assessment

Site assessments by an architect are useful for many reasons: The architect:

     1. Reviews the condition and characteristics of the site;

     2. Analyzes the site location, driveway access, and makes notes about views;

     3. Studies and notes the solar access, prevailing winds, vegetation and natural features;

     4. Considers any special considerations (Shoreland Protection, land use, etc.)

If you own land and are planning to build a home in the Dartmouth Lake Sunapee region, contact Bonin Architects for a free one-hour consultation in our office or at your site to answer any questions your might have about the design and building process.

Or, attend our next Open House and Q&A with local green building experts on Saturday, September 18th at a Lake Sunapee custom home. For more details, look for our upcoming events.

interior design ideas