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Kingston Lafferty Design includes “sensual” red kitchen in home renovation

Dublin studio Kingston Lafferty Design has transformed the architecture and interiors of this family home in Cork, Ireland, which features 1970s-style shapes and colours informed by the work of designer Verner Panton.

Positioned on Lovers Walk hill overlooking the city of Cork, the townhouse – called Lovers Walk – was renovated by Kingston Lafferty Design.

Living space with a green marble feature wall — Kingston Lafferty Design completed the renovation in Cork

The studio originally planned to just update the interiors, but decided that a more extensive architectural transformation was needed after discovering structural instabilities in the home.

Kingston Lafferty Design removed all of the floors, which lacked foundations and insulation in their concrete slab, and completely reconfigured the two-storey property’s layout.

Oak-lined hallway with colourful accents — Rooms on the ground floor were designed around an oak-lined hallway

“As the building was originally built in the 1970s, we wanted to return to its roots,” studio founder Róisín Lafferty told Dezeen.

“We thrived on inspiration from Verner Panton with his use of strong clashing colour, playful shapes and oversized elements,” she added.

Quartzite-clad kitchen by Kingston Lafferty Design — One of these spaces is a “sensual” red kitchen

The ground floor was adapted to include an open-plan kitchen defined by a counter, island and splashback finished in veiny red quartzite.

Ruby-toned timber was used to create the geometric cabinets. When layered with the quartzite, “it sounds like a disaster, but it’s a delight,” said the designer.

Living space with floor-to-ceiling curtains — The living room follows a similar design to the kitchen

The space, described by the studio as a “sensual red-toned jewel kitchen”, is one of several rooms on the ground floor of Lovers Walk that were designed around the central, oak-lined hallway.

“We used the hallway as the core of the house, which grounded the space with pops of colour stemming from it. Each room leading from the core appears like a framed view or window of colour,” explained Lafferty.

Marble feature wall designed by Kingston Lafferty Design — It includes a green feature wall that takes cues from Mies van der Rohe’s iconic Barcelona Pavilion

The living room includes blue velvet sofas and a green feature wall clad in swirly book-matched marble, which was fitted with an alcove reserved for a subtle fireplace.

When creating the polished stone wall, the studio took cues from the seminal Barcelona Pavilion, completed in 1929 by modernist architect Mies van der Rohe.

Green headboard in the main bedroom — A floor-to-ceiling headboard takes centre stage in the main bedroom

“We used green as an overall thread throughout the house, inspired by the surrounding landscape,” added Lafferty.

“Although depending on the time of year, the colours tend to change and so we were able to add in other rich colours that anchor the green such as burgundies and bright oranges,” she added.

En-suite marble-clad bathroom — Stonework also defines the en-suite bathroom

“One would assume this mix of colours would clash, but we choose the tones and textures of each to ensure that all of them would blend harmoniously,” Lafferty said.

Upstairs, the main bedroom and en-suite bathroom were dressed in the same eclectic interiors as the communal spaces. A floor-to-ceiling headboard, finished in diamond-shaped green tiles originally designed by 20th-century architect Gio Ponti, frames the bed.

Playful bed design in Lovers Walk by Kingston Lafferty Designs — A playful bed was added to the bedroom created for the occupants’ child

Balloon-like coloured glass vases were positioned on two bedside tables, which were topped with the same slabs of Rosso Levanto marble as the geometric vanity desk.

The bedroom designed for the occupants’ child features an alternative bed – a playful green structure with two stacked levels and half-moon openings that reveal a cosy sleeping area on the bottom level.

Other accents featured throughout the home include burl wood, terrazzo, plaster and brass. The repetition of 1970s-style thick pile carpets emphasises the dwelling’s textured material palette.

Lovers Walk is the studio’s “closest nod” to the work of Panton, explained Lafferty – “down to the selection of every tile, light fitting and exquisite piece of designer furniture”.

Deep blue-coloured guest bedroom by Kingston Lafferty Design — Deep blues characterise the guest bedroom

“Although there is such an array of materiality, it is balanced by repeated colour, shape and form,” she said.

“Every space in this house is an assault on the senses, in the best way possible.”

Lovers Walk by Kingston Lafferty Design — Lovers Walk was informed by the work of Verner Panton

Founded in 2010, Kingston Lafferty Design has completed projects ranging from a Dublin restaurant with oversized lollipop-like lamps and a co-working office in Belfast that includes a yoga studio.

The photography is by Ruth Maria Murphy.

Project credits:

Interior architecture and design: Kingston Lafferty Design
Woodwork: DFL
Stonework: Miller Brothers

Reference

Interior Design

2LG Studio includes emerging designers in You Can Sit With Us exhibition

By Zarkon Group,29/09/2023

Russell Whitehead and Jordan Cluroe of 2LG Studio have curated You Can Sit With Us, a London Design Festival show that offered “a seat at the table” to a diverse mix of emerging designers.

The 2LG Studio founders invited 13 designers from a mix of nationalities, races, genders and backgrounds to be a part of the exhibition, which was on show at London Design Fair.

Designers for You Can Sit With Us by 2LG Studio — Cluroe (top left), Whitehead (top right) and Adam Fairweather of Smile Plastics pictured with 9 of the 13 chair designers

The exhibition took the form of a dining room, featuring a long table surrounded by chairs that were each designed by a different participant.

Whitehead and Cluroe came up with the concept based on their own experiences of trying to break into the design industry and being made to feel like outsiders.

Chair by Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng in You Can Sit With Us by 2LG Studio — The chair by Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng features a black lacquer finish

“When we launched our practice nearly 10 years ago, there was an inner circle that felt very out of reach to us,” Whitehead told Dezeen.

“We were so bruised by the industry and felt blocked by certain doors that were firmly closed to us,” he continued.

“Instead of chasing acceptance where it wasn’t forthcoming, we decided to accept the love that was coming our way and put our energy there.”

Chair by Sam Klemick for You Can Sit With Us by 2LG Studio — Sam Klemick’s chair incorporates a sweater into its carved wood form

The aim of You Can Sit With Us, he said, was to give a platform to a new generation of designers who may be having similar experiences.

The exhibition’s name is a reference to the 2004 movie Mean Girls.

“We wanted this to be a safe space that actively welcomed new perspectives,” Whitehead explained.

Chair by Helen Kirkum for You Can Sit With Us by 2LG Studio — Helen Kirkum produced a lounge seat with upholstery made from trainer insoles

Among the most eye-catching designs in the show is a lounge seat with upholstery made from trainer insoles by Helen Kirkum, a footwear designer who typically crafts her designs from recycled sneakers.

Norwegian designer Anna Maria Øfstedal Eng has contributed a CNC-cut version of a hand-crafted ash chair she first made during the pandemic in a new black lacquer finish.

Chair by Benjamin Motoc — Benjamin Motoc’s piece playfully combines a sketch with a basic 3D form

A backrest with a sweater slung over it is part of the carved wood form of a design by California-based Sam Klemick, who had a career in fashion before she moved into furniture.

Rotterdam-based Benjamin Motoc created a piece that playfully combines a sketch with a basic 3D design, while Paris-based sculptor Bence Magyarlaki has produced a characteristically squidgy form.

Chair by Bence Magyarlaki — Bence Magyarlaki produced a characteristically squidgy form

Other chairs were designed by Amechi Mandi, Divine Southgate Smith, Wilkinson & Rivera, Net Warner, Hot Wire Extensions, Byard Works, Pulp Sculptuur and Blake C Joshua.

The participants were selected across design, art and fashion because Whitehead and Cluroe “didn’t want to enforce boundaries in that way”.

Chair by Byard Works — Rob Parker of Byard Works contributed a chair made from plywood and cork

Their chairs were arranged around a table produced by Smile Plastics using recycled plastic bottles and old tinsel, which created a glittering effect.

The exhibition was an important project for 2LG, and for Whitehead in particular, who battled mental health struggles following the pandemic.

The designer said the project allowed him to explore how “heart and emotion” can be a part of design.

“A lot of healing has taken place in the lead-up to this show,” he said.

Textiles by Granite + Smoke with 2LG Studio — Granite + Smoke produced blankets featuring the title, You Can Sit With Us

The project included a collaboration with textile brand Granite + Smoke, who produced colourful blankets emblazoned with the exhibition’s title message.

Whitehead and Cluroe also worked with homeware brand Sheyn on a series of suggestive 3D-printed vases.

“The collection we designed together is a celebration of our queerness, something we have not embraced fully in our product design output, but it felt more important than ever to put that out there right now,” added Whitehead.

You Can Sit With Us was on show at London Design Fair from 21 to 24 September as part of London Design Festival. See Dezeen Events Guide for more architecture and design events around the world.

Reference

Interior Design

Gonzalez Haase AAS includes rammed-earth “islands” at clothing store

By Zarkon Group,15/02/2023

Architecture studio Gonzalez Haase AAS has completed a store on London’s Regent Street for Icelandic clothing brand 66º North, featuring curved walls and freestanding plinths made from rammed earth.

The Berlin-based studio headed by Pierre Jorge Gonzalez and Judith Haase set out to create a holistic concept for the store that represents Iceland in an original way, rather than relying on stereotypes.

Shop front with stone facade and large window looking into a store with rammed-earth islands — The shop interior was informed by Iceland’s volcanic landscapes

Gonzalez Haase AAS let the natural elements and the country’s geology inform key design features such as curved grey walls that evoke the shifting weather and rammed-earth islands that represent the earth.

“The weather in Iceland is a very real and prominent feature in the land and we classified this as static (the island) and forever changing (the weather),” the studio explained. “The static island of Iceland stands still in comparison to the constantly evolving and adapting weather, but this influences the perception of the island.”

Shop interior with grey floor and rammed-earth displays — Rammed-earth islands add colour and texture to the shop’s interior

Upon entering the space, visitors encounter a series of curved walls rendered in natural pigmented clay sourced from Cornwall in the south of England.

The designers said the use of different grey tones represents the changing weather: “the immaterial, movement, changing, blurry and informal”.

Shop interior with grey floor, silver island and rammed-earth steps and partition wall — Grey walls represent Iceland’s shifting weather

The curved walls vary in height and frame different views within the store. At the entrance, one of the walls stretches back 18 metres, drawing the viewer’s gaze into the space and offering a tactile introduction to the experiential interior.

“These curved walls create different perspectives and atmospheres,” the design team added. “They sit in front of the existing white walls to create a dramatic foreground of rolling soft curves.”

A series of monumental rammed-earth islands are inserted throughout the floor plan, adding colour and texture that evokes the earth and magma of Iceland’s volcanic landscape.

The islands were created by artist Lennart Frank, who cast and sculpted them from an aggregate mix of different lava rocks to create a layered effect.

Close up of the rammed-earth display islands at the 66 Degrees North clothing store — The islands were made from an aggregate mix containing different lava rocks

A combination of pigmented aggregate and sand gives the islands their reddish-brown hue, while the rugged texture brings a tactile element to the space that complements the brand’s clothing.

The earthy tones are echoed in the metal clothes rails, as well as in the colour of a carpet applied to the surfaces within a more intimate space at the rear of the store.

Shop interior with rammed-earth floor, steps and partition wall — Earth-toned carpet was used in parts of the shop

A custom-made mesh ceiling was designed to evoke a misty white sky, while also concealing lights and technical equipment.

Mirrors and screens displaying films of the Icelandic landscape help to define the flow of movement through the space and add a playful dimension to the shopping experience.

Gonzalez and Haase founded their Berlin-based studio in 1999. The firm works on commercial, residential and cultural projects, developing spatial concepts and experiences that foreground the interplay between light and architecture.

Previous interiors designed by Gonzalez Haase AAS include a minimal office for a Berlin communications firm and a sparse, white-walled concept store in Lisbon that occupies a disused warehouse.

The photography is by Thomas Meyer, Ostkreuz Photography.

Reference

Landscaping

This Landscaped Outdoor Space Includes A Living Room With A Bookshelf For Plants

By Zarkon Group,04/06/2021

Architecture and interior design firm Onion has designed the second phase of the Sala Samui Chaweng Beach Resort in Koh Samui, Thailand.

As part of the design, they included an outdoor living room and sitting area that both include a bookshelf for plants.

An outdoor living room with a shelving unit designed to house plants.

At night, the plant bookshelves light up, while the living rooms are furnished with outdoor sofas, armchairs, planters, and oversized lamps, the living rooms create comfortable spaces for guests to relax in.

Another design detail of the outdoor living rooms are the pebbles that have been used in place of rugs.

An outdoor sitting room with pebbles and oversized lighting.

Let’s take a look around the rest of the hotel…

The Public Areas

The resort design has a bright white exterior, however, the lobby has been warmed up with the use of wood, and curved wood walls add a sculptural element. The hotel restaurant introduces blue accents and includes a variety of seating, as well as oversized black and white striped pendant lights.

A modern hotel lobby with sculptural wood walls, woven lighting, and round furniture.

A modern hotel lobby with wood walls, woven lighting, and round furniture.

A modern restaurant hotel with glass walls.

A modern hotel restaurant with blue, white, and wood color scheme.

A modern hotel restaurant with a blue and white theme, as well as black and white striped accents.

A modern hotel restaurant with window seat and banquette seating.

The Courtyards

The resort has a variety of courtyards and outdoor spaces including areas with chairs arranged in a circle and surrounded by trees, paths with nearby stairs that lead to the different levels of the resort, a swimming pool with sun chaises, and outdoor king-sized beds nestled between plants and shaded by large trees.

A modern hotel courtyard with outdoor chairs arranged in a circle.

A modern hotel with arches and white stairs with lighting.

A modern hotel with cut-out curved sections.

A resort swimming pool with oversized lights and a wood deck.

An outdoor king size bed for lounging in the sun.

The Spa

The spa area is defined by the use of the colors dark green and pink. The bathtub of the spa room is placed in the garden surrounded by the dark green walls, while the clear glass door brings nature into the treatment room.