colourful Archives

Ivy Studio installs colourful marbles in Montreal’s Hayat restaurant

Montreal-based Ivy Studio has chosen a variety of dramatic marble to outfit a Middle Eastern restaurant, which features a colour palette influenced by “the earthy tones of the Syrian deserts”.

In Montreal’s Old Port neighbourhood, the 1,500-square-foot (140-square metre) Hayat restaurant is designed to reflect the cuisine served by chef Joseph Awad.

Entrance to Hayat restaurant with marble host stand in foreground — The marble host stand at Hayat sets the tone for the restaurant’s Middle Eastern-influenced colour palette

“This Middle Eastern restaurant’s colour palette was inspired by the earthy tones of the Syrian deserts and their surrounding greenery,” said Ivy Studio.

Upon entering is a screen of black hammered-glass panels, which also conceals the kitchen in the far corner.

Dining room with marble topped tables, green chairs and cream walls — In the main dining space, banquette seating runs along two walls below a fabric ceiling installation

In the main dining room, built-in benches form an L along two walls, while a pair of U-shaped booths sit against another that arches over them.

The seat backs are upholstered in mauve velvet and the cushions are wrapped in contrasting deep green leather.

Private booths positioned below an arched ceiling and behind a partition of black hammered glass — Private booths are positioned below an arched ceiling and behind a partition of black hammered glass

Closer to the kitchen is another small, semi-circular booth built into the walnut millwork.

Here the cushioned seats are covered in ruby-toned velvet, and a metallic light fixture is suspended above.

The bar counter made from teal, pistachio and cream-coloured marble — The bar is made from a dramatic marble variety with streaks of teal, pistachio and cream colours

Ivy Studio selected a wide variety of striking, richly veined marbles, “each contributing their own touch of colour into the space” according to the team.

The bar is made from a dramatic stone with teal, cream and pistachio striations, while the host stand and dining table tops in the main area are purple and white.

A red-hued semicircular booth tucked into walnut millwork — A red-hued semicircular booth is tucked into the walnut millwork close to the kitchen

The building’s exposed brickwork is painted cream to match the other walls, while the original historic stone between the large windows is left exposed.

“The ancient stone walls at the front and rear facades were left intact to showcase the building’s history,” Ivy Studio said.

Curved layers across the ceiling, which hide indirect lighting, are designed to evoke the smooth landscapes of the Middle East.

A fabric installation suspended above the dining tables curves around more strips of lighting, diffusing the light to create a warm glow.

Bar made from a dramatic marble variety with streaks of teal, pistachio and cream colours — The bar is made from a dramatic marble variety with streaks of teal, pistachio and cream colours

Walnut, stone and cream walls are also found in the bathrooms, which echo the colour and material scheme throughout the restaurant.

“The overall intention of the palette was to bring together the worlds of Middle Eastern nature and Old Montreal construction,” the studio said.

Hayat restaurant by Ivy Studio — The same material palette continues in the moody bathrooms

Ivy Studio has completed several interiors across Montreal that include colourful marble.

These include the Italian restaurant Piatti where the dark green stone contrasts the building’s rough walls and co-working office Spatial where purple surfaces pop against mint green millwork.

The photography is by Alex Lesage.

Project credits:

Architecture and design: Ivy Studio
Construction: Groupe Manovra

Reference

Interior Design

Familien Kvistad designs colourful Yellow House in the Apple Garden

By Zarkon Group,14/11/2023

Vibrantly coloured tiles and textiles feature in this house renovation in Oslo, Norway, designed by locally based duo Familien Kvistad.

The Yellow House in the Apple Garden is a 1950s house in Oslo’s Voldsløkka area, home to a family of four and their cat, “the rambunctious Caspian”.

Fireplace with yellow tiles by Familien Kvistad — Familien Kvistad has renovated a Oslo home

Familien Kvistad founders, married couple Astrid and Ziemowit Kvistad, have completely remodelled the interior using a palette that also includes solid ash joinery and lightly speckled terrazzo surfaces.

“When they bought the house, the family envisioned painting some walls, moving the kitchen and building two new bathrooms,” the pair told Dezeen. “Over time, things naturally escalated, resulting in a complete change of layout, roof windows, new insulation, siding… absolutely everything was replaced.”

Kitchen with ask cabinets and yellow tile splashback and cat — The kitchen features solid ash cabinets

The three-storey house has an enviable setting in a large garden filled with fruit trees. It was this that primarily attracted the owners, rather than the building itself.

“The house was relatively old, not architecturally distinctive and outdated inside on all levels,” said the designers.

Yellow House in the Apple Garden by Familien Kvistad — The house was originally built in the 1950s

However, shortly after they bought the property, the council enforced new conservation zone restrictions that made it impossible to alter the building’s exterior in any way.

The task for Astrid and Ziemowit was to modernise the house without changing or extending its structure.

“This is obviously a costly project; it would have been cheaper to build a new house,” they explained.

“However, the outer structure had to remain.”

Conservatory in Yellow House in the Apple Garden — A terrazzo floor and ochre sofa are installed in the conservatory

The renovation removed many of the old internal partitions, creating a more open layout. This gives the ground floor a broken-plan feel, made up of various separate but connected living and dining spaces.

The old loft was also removed and replaced with small mezzanines, revealing the sloping roof beams and increasing the ceiling height in the first-floor bedrooms and bathroom to up to four metres.

Entrance lobby by Familien Kvistad — Wooden ceiling joists are exposed throughout

The colour scheme was based on “earthy shades” of the owners’ favourite colours.

On the ground floor, this resulted in a feature fireplace clad in mustard-yellow Kaufmann tiles, a lounge sofa upholstered in a plum-coloured Kvadrat textile and a storage bench topped by forest-green cushions.

Lounge in Yellow House in the Apple Garden — A storage bench topped with green cushions lines the main living space

An abundance of wood brings balance to this bold palette, with Douglas fir flooring from Dinesen and solid ash kitchen cabinets matching the exposed ceiling joists.

This level also includes a sunken conservatory featuring large plants, a terrazzo floor, an ochre-toned sofa and electric-blue cushions. On the wall, an expressive painting displays similar colours.

Bedroom with wall carpets by Familien Kvistad — Custom-designed wall carpets adorn the primary bedroom

“During the renovation, the family sold most of what they already owned,” said Astrid and Ziemowit. “This meant that all the furniture was purchased new.”

“However, they did have some art from before,” they added. “Much to our delight, they fit perfectly into both the colour palette and the style.”

Staircase doubles as a shelving unit — In one of the children’s rooms, a staircase doubles as a shelving unit

Upstairs, the primary bedroom features a pair of tufted wall carpets designed and made by Familien Kvistad, depicting abstract landscapes.

One of the two children’s bedrooms features a playful storage unit that doubles as a staircase, while the other has a ladder to provide access to the mezzanine loft above.

Bathroom with green tiles and terrazzo bath and basin — The family bathroom combines green tones with terrazzo

The bathroom has a more mellow character, combining terrazzo sanitaryware with calming green tones. The basement floor mainly serves as a utility area, although it does include an extra bathroom and a living room that doubles as a guest bedroom.

Other recently completed homes in Norway include a “house of offcuts” by Kolman Boye Architects and a villa on piloti by Saunders Architecture.

The photography is by Magnus Berger Nordstrand.

Reference

Sustainable News

Anne-Sophie Rosseel creates colourful furniture that kids can assemble

By Zarkon Group,27/10/2023

New York-based interior designer Anne-Sophie Rosseel has created a sustainable children’s furniture collection that locks together for easy assembly.

Called the Interlockables, the collection includes tables, seating and storage for children and is the debut collection from Rosseel‘s House of RoRo brand.

A child sitting underneath a tree with their foot on a stool — Interior designer Anne-Sophie Rosseel has created a collection of children’s furniture

“Inspired by children and their ability to grow and learn at an astonishing speed, the collection consists of multifunctional and versatile children’s furniture that is sustainable, playful, and practical,” said the team.

“The designs are unselfconscious and simple in their use of materials, provoking a feeling of delight.”

A table in the sunlight — The collection is made of natural materials and dyes

Primarily made of Birch plywood and finished with non-toxic, plant-based dyes, the collection consists of furniture made of geometric shapes just slightly askew.

“I was looking for ways to combine toy storage with functional furniture that would look good in our home while reducing the clutter,” said Rosseel.

A wooden table and chair for children — The furniture comes flat-packed and locks together so that children can assemble them, with the help of a guardian

“Kids grow fast and if I was going to make a product, I wanted it to be as sustainable as possible and not have it end up in landfill after 2 years.”

The furniture comes flat-packed and slides and locks together so that children – with the help of a guardian – can assemble the pieces.

A blocky rocky chair — The collection includes chairs, tables and storage

The pieces were designed to be gender-neutral and not age-specific, with some elements that can be adjusted as a child grows.

The Box Table rests on rectangular legs that double as storage containers, which are accessed with removable panels on the table’s countertop.

A stool with small eyes cut into it — The pieces are sustainably sourced and manufactured in Canada out of birch plywood

Once a child outgrows the table, the countertop can be removed and the boxy legs converted into nightstands or side tables.

The Raymond Rocker chair fits flat-pack in a pizza-sized box and features slightly curved legs for “the child that doesn’t like to sit still”.

Artisanal dyer Audrey Louise Reynolds created a series of stains for the collection made out of plant-based pigments including mushrooms, flowers, mica and moss.

The dyes include a natural oil stain and five bold colours, although they will change seasonally and custom colours can be requested.

A small side table with wide legs — They are made of playful, geometric shapes

The pieces are ethically sourced and manufactured in Canada, with leftover scraps from CNC cuts reperused into “small toy wood pulls or puzzles”.

A pair of permanent sticker sketchy “eyes” comes with each purchase to be applied to the furniture at will.

Anne-Sophie Rosseel is a Belgian-born New York-based interior designer. She founded Rosseel Studio before launching House of RoRo in 2023.

Other furniture designed for children includes sloping wooden chairs that encourage “active sitting” by Studio Lentala and playful stools made of olive pits by Eneris Collective and NaifactoryLAB.

The photography is courtesy House of RoRo.

Reference

Interior Design

Mestiz celebrates artisan collaborations in colourful Mexico studio

By Zarkon Group,22/09/2023

Mexican design studio Mestiz has opened a showroom and workshop within a historic building in San Miguel de Allende, where its brightly hued collaborations with local craftspeople take pride of place.

The studio space is located on Pasaje Allende in the heart of the central Mexican city, renowned for its colonial-era architecture and arts scene.

Showroom filled with colourful furniture and homeware — Mestiz opened its new studio as a space to present its colourful furniture and homeware

Mestiz founder Daniel Valero collaborates with a variety of skilled local artisans to create furniture and homeware using ancestral crafts.

“In our studio, partnerships aren’t short-lived; they’re built to last,” he said. “We’ve nurtured long-term relationships with artisans, where learning and creating are an ongoing process.”

Plaster walls with red, orange and brown designs in front — Rough plaster walls of the remodelled space provide a neutral backdrop for the brightly hued designs

Pieces from Mestiz’s collection fill the interior of the studio, which occupies a remodelled stone building designed as a “wild habitat” brimming with personality.

“It was once a kitchen,” Valero explained, “and now it’s a space that respects the idea of Mexican cuisine, infusing it into our creative sanctuary.”

Items displayed on tiled ledges — Ledges covered in glossy tiles provide places to display smaller items the in the showroom

The studio comprises three principal spaces. In the showroom, the original wooden beams and the brick ceiling are exposed, and rough buttery plaster covers the walls.

Ledges and podiums clad in glossy tiles provide places for small items like spiky vessels and framed pictures to be displayed.

Workshop with red bench and shelf — In the workshop, red benches are used for assembling the designs

Larger furniture pieces like a triangular table and chairs with tufty backrests are arranged across the floor.

Meanwhile, textile artworks decorate the walls and huge, fibrous pink light fixtures hang overhead.

“Our creations aren’t just pieces; they’re stories,” said Valero.

“We believe in crafting designs that engage in profound dialogues with the context and history of each community we work with.”

Pink room filled with wicker lighting and furniture — A pink-toned storage room is also filled with products, which are all made from natural materials

The workshop is situated in a lean-to at the side of the building, where the rough stone walls are visible on two sides and other surfaces are left untreated.

Red-painted benches for assembling items and storing natural materials – palm, wood, wool, wicker and ceramic – are surrounded by partially completed designs.

Wicker lights suspended above chairs with tufted sides — Mestiz partners with artisans across Mexico to preserve and celebrate craft traditions

A pink-hued storage room is also packed with products, from wicker lights suspended from the ceiling to tall totems in blue, pink and purple stood in the corners.

“Our practice is a living testament to the merging of traditions,” Valero said. “Our pieces are the embodiment of cultural syncretism, where diverse influences converge to create something entirely new.”

Stone building exterior with view into showroom — The studio is located in a historic stone building in San Miguel de Allende

The rich creative spirit of San Miguel de Allende is also presented at the city’s Casa Hoyos hotel, where colourful tiles and local craft fill a former Spanish colonial manor.

Other Mexican designers continuing local traditions through their work include Fernando Laposse, who uses corn waste to create a marquetry material, and Christian Vivanco, who launched a rattan furniture collection with Balsa.

The photography is by Pepe Molina.

Reference

Sustainable News

Overtreders W secures hotel cabin with colourful straps

By Zarkon Group,17/08/2023

Dutch architecture studio Overtreders W has created Stable Stack, a temporary cabin hotel built using straps and borrowed materials, in Veenhuizen, the Netherlands.

The studio found the materials for the cabin in the village of Veenhuizen, sourcing concrete gutters and wood from carpenter Peter Kroes and roof tiles and paving slabs from Riedstra farm.

overtreder W built Stable Stack on a farm, by Overtreders W — *Stable Stack features a strap-fastened structure built with borrowed materials*

Instead of gluing, drilling or screwing, Overtreders W opted for tie-down straps to fasten the structure, so that the borrowed materials could be returned without damage and devaluation.

The studio also used the green straps as decorative elements and to add another layer of texture to the stable, “emphasising the versatile and innovative character of the structure,” it said.

STABLE STACK is a temporary hotel room with a view of farmland, by Overtreders W — *Stable Stack is a temporary hotel room with a view of farmland*

The studio designed the temporary accommodation to highlight Veenhuizen’s craftsmanship, history and environment.

The village, which is now a World Heritage Site, was first built as a reform housing colony, Landbouwkolonie Veenhuizen [agricultural colony Veenhuiz] by the forced labour of homeless people 200 years ago.

“In line with the modest history of the place, where labour and life took place with limited resources, this cosy dwelling has been created,” said Overtreders W.

“Stable Stack showcases the beautiful possibilities that the combination of craftsmanship and sustainable handling of materials can offer.”

STABLE STACK's Components were stacked and secured with straps, by Overtreders W — *Components were stacked and secured with straps*

Stable Stack, which is located in a peat meadow landscape and overlooks farmland, forms part of Veen Huis Hotel.

This is a project that celebrates 200 years of the village by maker and thinker collective Ketter&Co and local hotel Bitter & Zoet.

Hotel cabin in Netherlands — Stable Stack is one of seven temporary accommodations

It comprises seven temporary accommodations, created in unconventional ways, and opens its door for guests from May to October 2023.

“With a revaluation of the relationship between man and landscape and an explosion of creativity, the Veen Huis Hotel inspires an urgent conversation about the future of Veenhuizen as an experimental agricultural colony,” said Ketter&Co.

STABLE STACK is a permeable accommodation, by Overtreders W — *It was secured and decorated with green straps*

Hester van Dijk and Reinder Bakker founded and head Overtreders W, a small Amsterdam architecture studio specialising in temporary structures.

At Dutch Design Week 2017, the studio collaborated with Bureau SLA and designed the People’s Pavilion with borrowed and reclaimed materials. The pavilion was the venue for Dezeen’s Good Design for a Bad World talk series.

More recently, the studio built a demountable exhibition pavilion with pink hempcrete and recycled timber.

The photography is courtesy of Overtreders W.

Reference

Interior Design

André Fu designs colourful Casetify shop informed by shoji lanterns

By Zarkon Group,30/06/2023

Hong Kong-based architect and interior designer André Fu has completed the first global flagship store for electronic accessory brand Casetify in Osaka, combining traditional Japanese shoji paper lanterns with bright colours.

The store, which marks the first retail project by Fu in Japan, was informed by the urban landscape of the Shinsaibashi neighbourhood in Osaka where the store is located.

Casetify Osaka flagship by André Fu — The store is located in Shinsaibashi, the main shopping area in Osaka

According to Fu, the interiors aim to bring “the allure of the dynamic Shinsaibashi neighbourhood into the store”.

“The overall concept is rooted in a vision to celebrate the distinct context of the project with contrasting shapes and forms, capturing the neighbourhood’s cinematic streetscape in a world where bold geometries juxtapose against each other,” said Fu.

The storefront was designed as a floor-to-ceiling shoji lantern framed in bright orange. Customers are greeted by a round display table encircled by cylindrical shoji screens, with the same circular arrangement mirrored at the back of the store and its upper floor.

At the centre of the Casetify store sit cabinets that have been decorated with old phone cases, donated by customers in the recycling box located next to them.

A secret shoji window at the rear of the ground floor can be slid open to unveil customised online purchases.

“A lot of my work is rooted in the idea of a journey that takes the contextual quality of each project into an architectural medium,” Fu explained.

“The world of shoji lanterns that goes around you, that folds and unfolds, creates that effect,” he added.

“It transports you from the everyday reality of the neighbourhood to an imaginary, illusionistic expression that blends a relaxed sense of luxury with the popping Casetify colours that the brand is so well known for.”

Fu is known for his work on luxury hotels and restaurants, including the Upper House hotel in Hong Kong, the Berkeley London, and the Mitsui hotel in Kyoto.

More recently, he created a two-person “conversation” chair in collaboration with Louis Vuitton’s Objects Nomades, and furnished a model apartment inside the Jean Nouvel tower in New York with his homeware collection.

The photography is courtesy of Casetify.

Reference

Interior Design

Camille Walala takes colourful style to the max in self-designed studio

By Zarkon Group,05/06/2023

London designer Camille Walala has worked with carpentry workshop Our Department to fit out her own studio with a no-holds-barred version of her colourful design style.

Electric blue floors, graphically patterned cabinetry and a kitchenette with cartoon-like proportions feature in the space, which is located in the Regent Studios building off Broadway Market in East London.

Photo of a brightly coloured kitchenette in Camille Walala's London studio — Camille Walala designed her studio to include a kitchen with exaggerated proportions

The seventh-floor space attracted Walala and her studio manager Julia Jomaa with its sweeping views.

Knowing they would be in no hurry to vacate, the duo took their time with the design, working side by side in the studio for over a year while adjusting the position of their space-dividing furniture until they arrived at a layout with the perfect functionality for them.

Photo of Camille Walala and her studio team in their London office in Regent Studios — The studio chose to embrace colour in the design

Once they decided to embark on the interior design, it was not a given that they would embrace Walala’s signature bold colour palette, as they worried about it potentially clashing with future work.

“We were like, how colourful should we go?” Walala told Dezeen. “Should we keep it quite simple or should we actually go for it?”

But ultimately, she says the desire to feel inspired by their workspace and “inhabit the aesthetic fully” won out.

Photo of the workspace in Camille Walala's London studio — The studio is divided into two rooms including one for “clean” computer-based work

The studio is divided into two rooms – one for “clean” computer-based work and the other for “messy” activities such as painting and model making.

Walala and Jomaa created a 3D model of the interior in SketchUp before bringing in their favourite carpenters” Our Department – a studio specialising in design and fabrication for the creative industries – to realise the design.

The duo of Simon Sawyer and Gustave Andre built all of the elements in the space with a focus on achieving clean lines and pure block colours along with maximum functionality.

Close-up photo of colourful cabinetry at Camille Walala's studio showing relief pattern of cut-out shapes glued onto black MDF doors — Our Department achieved clean lines by sticking coloured shapes onto MDF doors

For the cabinetry, they used doors made of melamine-faced medium-density fibreboard (MDF) and applied a decorative technique they had used on previous Walala projects.

This involved CNC-cutting shapes out of thin MDF, before spraypainting and precisely glueing them onto the doors to create a graphic pattern while avoiding the fuzzy lines that can sometimes come from painting directly onto surfaces.

In the kitchen, the group worked together to exaggerate proportions as much as possible, with Walala saying she dreamed of achieving a “Bart Simpson kitchen” through elements such as chunky handles and bold grout.

“We designed the Lego House a few years ago, this really colourful house,” she explained. “Especially the kitchen in that space was really quite bold and almost like a cartoon, and we thought we should do something similar in our studio.”

By contrast, a more subtle feature is the double sliding door between the studio’s two rooms, which consists of a transparent fluted screen set within a black frame.

While it may be less attention-grabbing, Jomaa says the mesmeric effect of the fluted panels sliding against each other is like a “little animation of colour”.

Photo of a colourful office space with a yellow sofa in front of a big worktable — The workspace also includes natural details like custom tulipwood desk legs

There are also a few natural wood elements throughout the interior such as tulipwood desk legs to balance the liberal use of colour.

As with all residents of Regent Studios, Walala will need to return the rented space to its original condition when her studio eventually leaves, so there are no permanent fixtures and everything is designed to be dismantled.

Even the central “wall”, which contains floor-to-ceiling storage on one side, is freestanding. But the team used kitchen-unit feet to wedge it against the ceiling for stability.

Photo of details in a colourful office space with bold cabinetry, bright blue floors and plants and colourful ornaments on display — Everything is designed to be dismantled when the studio one day moves out

Walala and Jamaa have been working together for eight years and started off sharing a desk in a basement studio. Their recent projects have included murals, installations and a proposal for a car-free Oxford Street.

Walala is often seen as being part of the New London Fabulous wave of maximalist designers, alongside Yinka Ilori, Morag Myerscough and Adam Nathaniel Furman.

The photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

Reference

Interior Design

Ringo Studio completes colourful store for Our Place in Los Angeles

By Zarkon Group,17/04/2023

Brooklyn-based Ringo Studio designed a store for kitchenware brand Our Place that features colourful tile displays and expressive drapery that hangs from the ceiling.

The Our Place Melrose store is the brand’s second location in Los Angeles, following the inaugural shop in Venice, and is situated in West Hollywood’s busy shopping district.

Our Place pots and pans displayed on a tiered stand covered in cream tiles — The Our Place store is designed to showcase the brand’s colourful cookware

The interiors by Ringo Studio are based on the identifiable colour palette of Our Place cookware sets, which are known for in a variety of pastel, neutral and jewel-toned hues.

“It retains the warmth and intricacy of Our Place’s first store in Venice, concepted by Mythology, while also taking Our Place’s design ethos into new and unique expressions,” said the team.

Cookware displayed on three shelves and cabinets below, against a tiled wall — Many of the surfaces are covered in long rectangular tiles laid in a straight stack pattern

Elements derived from classical architecture were included, from fluted columns that support a wavy-topped table to arches that curve over shelving units and form punctured openings for showcasing small items.

Storage cabinets have rounded corners, as do the doors that front them, and many of the built-in elements also feature filleted edges.

An entirely terracotta-coloured space with a dining table laid with Our Place products — At the back is a space coloured entirely terracotta, which features a table displaying the brand’s products

Long rectangular tiles laid in straight stack patterns cover several of the walls and display stands.

Each tiled block or surface is a different colour, with large panels including terracotta, lilac and cream, and smaller sections in pale blue and green.

An area towards the back is decorated entirely in terracotta, which covers the floor and walls, as well as matching strips of fabric hung in rows from the ceiling.

There’s also a side room where Our Place products are laid out on a dining table with mirrors on three sides, creating infinite reflections intended to “welcome everyone to have a seat at the table”.

A small room with a dining table and two purple chairs, with mirrors on three sides — A side room features mirrors on three sides to create infinite reflections of a dining table setup

Covered in mosaic tiles and with an undulating front, the table is accompanied by a pair of purple velvet chairs, and from the ceiling hangs purple drapery.

“Infused with the cozy feeling of home, the streamlined suite of products are artfully displayed throughout the store, making them feel like chic, sculptural objects,” said the Our Place team.

The exterior of the Our Place store on Melrose Avenue — Our Place Melrose is located in West Hollywood’s busy shopping district and is the brand’s second location in LA

Ringo Studio was founded by architectural designer Madelynn Ringo, who has created retail experiences for companies such as Glossier, Studs and Funny Face Bakery.

Last year, the studio completed a store for fitness brand Bala in New York City, which includes scaled-up versions of its products.

The photography is by Jenna Peffley.

Reference

Interior Design

Eight bathrooms with colourful toilets and sinks

By Zarkon Group,05/03/2023

For our latest lookbook, we’ve gathered eight bathrooms where the sanitary ware adds a splash of colour, ranging from a green Portuguese “shower tower” to a bathroom with pink marble washbasins.

Although white toilets and basins are still the default choice, increasingly interior designers are experimenting with adding colourful sanitary ware to bathrooms.

Among the designs in this lookbook are stylish black toilets that add a graphic touch to the bathroom, as well as basins in a range of pastel hues including pale blue and avocado green.

This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with split-level living areas, mix-and-match flooring and homes with cleverly hidden lifts.

Tiled bathrooms inside Hotel Les Deux Gares in Paris — Photo by Benoit Linero

Les Deux Gares, France, by Luke Edward Hall

British designer Luke Edward Hall’s design for this Parisian hotel features plenty of patterns, bright colours and printed furnishings.

This can also be seen in the bathroom, where a green toilet and matching green sink stand out against the mustard-yellow wall and zigzag floor tiles. Above the sink, a mirror in a darker green hue complements the interior.

Find out more about Les Deux Gares ›

Annabel’s, UK, by Martin Brudnizki

The bathroom at London members’ club Annabel’s is an explosion of pink, from the pink marble sinks to the pale-pink flowers that line the ceiling.

“It’s really about fantasy – this is a club, you don’t come here for reality, you come to be transported somewhere else,” studio founder Martin Brudnizki told Dezeen.

Find out more about Annabel’s ›

Hygge Studio by Melina Romano — Photo is by Denilson Machado of MCA Estúdio

Hygge Studio, Brazil, by Melina Romano

Terracotta tiles decorate this apartment in Brazil and were used in the bathroom alongside red bricks that were formed to create a vanity.

Next to it, a black toilet adds a dramatic contrast against the forest-green wall, while green plants and tan towels match the interior.

Find out more about Hygge Studio ›

House Recast in London — Photo by French + Tye

House Recast, UK, by Studio Ben Allen

House Recast, a refurbished Victorian terraced home in north London, was finished with coloured concrete throughout.

In the bright green bathroom, the colour is contrasted with brass details, which were used for the tap and temperature controls by the small, circular sink.

Find out more about House Recast ›

VS House by Saransh — Photo by The Fishy Project

VS House, India, by Sārānsh

A black toilet almost blends into the veiny green marble backdrop in the bathroom of VS House in India, which was designed to focus on “the nature of the materials used to finish the insides”.

Grey Kota stone, a variety of limestone that is quarried in Rajasthan in the north of India, was used on the floor and walls.

Find out more about VS House ›

Nagatachō Apartment, Japan, by Adam Nathaniel Furman

Colour is everywhere in the Nagatachō Apartment by designer Adam Nathaniel Furman, which is located in Tokyo and has a dreamy pastel bathroom.

In the bathroom a pink toilet sits next to a baby blue sink unit contrasted with a bright, sunny yellow tap.

Find out more about Nagatachō Apartment ›

Small house with a monumental shower by Fala — Photo by Ricardo Loureiro

Small House with a Monumental Shower, Portugal, by Fala Atelier

Architecture studio Fala Atelier created a “shower tower” to house the bathroom and shower in this home in Amarante, Portugal.

Inside the tower, minty green tiles clad the walls while a matching sink surround in a pale green marble hue adds material interest.

Find out more about Small House with a Monumental Shower ›

Apartment in Habitat 67 by Rainville Sangaré — Photo by Maxime Brouillet

Unit 622 in Habitat 67, Canada, by Rainville Sangaré

Design studio Rainville Sangaré’s design for an apartment in architect Moshe Safdie’s brutalist Habitat 67 building mostly features discrete colours, but in the bathroom, colourful sinks and a matching mirror break up the monochrome surroundings.

The washbasins have black Corian tops and the smaller of the two is used to wash calligraphy brushes.

Find out more about Unit 622 ›

Reference

Interior Design

Office S&M unveils colourful office with plastic-bottle-wall meeting room

By Zarkon Group,30/01/2023

Architecture practice Office S&M has completed its own office inside a former paint-making workshop in Hackney, London.

With an entire wall of material samples and areas for modelling and sketching, Office S&M‘s workspace aims to act as a laboratory to support its ongoing exploration of materials “that are both practical and fun.”

Picture of a wall showcasing different material samples and a person touching one of the samples — Material samples are loosely placed to allow experimentation in the office

The studio, headed by architects Catrina Stewart and Hugh McEwen, frequently experiments with materials and colour.

For its own office, complementary shades such as electric blue, yellow, red and green, were combined.

Picture of an office's interior with electric blue walls, a red couch and a small pink mirror — The office combines bold colours

“For this workspace, we particularly used an electric blue and a bright yellow to contrast with each other and make the space larger,” McEwen told Dezeen.

“At the same time, because the workspace is south facing, we used the blue to cool the light and even out the warmth of the sun when looking at samples or drawings.”

Picture of a workspace with a communal desk in the centre, plants and green large windows in the background — The space has been broken into spaces for different uses

The office features a separate meeting room acoustically isolated with sheets of recycled plastic bottles.

The plastic-bottle wall also works as a point of light thanks to the bulbs it contains inside.

Picture of a yellow chair and a pink wavy side table in front of a recycled-plastic-bottle wall — According to the architects, the recycled-plastic-bottle “provides excellent acoustic insulation”

“For our own office, we decided to use another common waste material, plastic bottles, but reimagined, to build a soundproofed meeting room,” said Stewart.

“The recycled plastic insulation is easy to work with, and irritation free, compared to traditional insulation.”

Picture of a person drawing several illustrations of houses — The studio also includes ergonomic workstations

The space was divided into areas focused on collaboration, discussion and making to reflect Office S&M’s commitment to community-led design.

“We live in east London, and do much of our work in the areas near where we live and work,” said McEwen. “This gives us really local knowledge, so we can make sure projects have the most impact and can give back to the area.”

Picture of a three-storey building that previously was a paint-making business — The building is owned by Bootstrap, a charity that supports emerging businesses in Hackney

Additionally, Office S&M added plants, air purifiers and ergonomic workstations that intend to maintain the well-being of its occupants.

Other projects by the studio include a rental home for a young property developer that aims to offer a solution to London’s rental market, and the renovation of the Mo-tel House, a residence that features pale colours and bathroom counters made of discarded milk bottles and chopping boards.

The photography is by Ellen Christina Hancock.

Reference

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Office S&M unveils colourful office with plastic-bottle-wall meeting room

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