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    Patricia Urquiola creates lofty showroom for Moroso in Manhattan

    Moroso has opened a new showroom in Manhattan designed by Patricia Urquiola, marking the 70th anniversary of the Italian brand.

    The 4,300 square-foot showroom (400 square metres) has a double-height space that was previously occupied by an art gallery.
    There are spaces for meetings and officesDespite its scale, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola sought to replicate the feeling of a home, by setting up the furniture in smaller configurations that could be seen in a living room or another intimate setting.
    The space is located at 105 Madison Avenue, in central Manhattan. It replaces the brand’s previous showroom in the SoHo neighbourhood, which opened in 2007.
    The showroom is located in New York City”The new Moroso showroom in New York transcends the concept of the exhibition space,” said the Italian brand founded in 1952 by Agostino and Diana Moroso.

    “[The showroom] introduces visitors to the company through a series of appealing domestic settings in which interiors in restrained colours heighten the appeal of the furniture on display,” Moroso added.
    Large columns were finished with handmade terracotta tilesThe team refinished the interiors with colourful pink finishes, new wooden floors and curved surfaces rather than corners.
    “The interiors are reinterpreted with an emphasis on their gently curved contours and lack of sharp angles, while particular attention is paid to colour,” said Moroso.
    The inaugural collection includes a sofa that is meant to look like moss-covered rocksLarge columns within the space were finished with shiny, handmade terracotta tiles, complementing the prevailing colour palette.
    Along the walls at the periphery of the space, Studio Urquiola created plant-filled alcoves, which help break up the space into smaller sections.
    Plant-filled alcoves line the walls of the space”Everything is studied in detail, and even the lighting is designed to make the space elegant and welcoming, while plants and niches create focal points in the different rooms,” said Moroso.
    In addition to the main exhibition space, the showroom includes a smaller mezzanine at the back, where the brand can host architects or other design professionals for meetings.

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    The mezzanine space is divided into a lounge area, workstations and a glass structure with meeting rooms and a private office.
    A blue staircase connects this level to the ground floor and to the cellar, which has larger pieces.
    “Studio Urquiola’s architectural design alters the existing structure while maintaining its spatial characteristics, perfecting and emphasizing their soft, enveloping language with warm tones of terracotta and wood,” said Moroso.
    Patricia Urquiola also created furniture for the inaugural connectionThe inaugural collection on display at the showroom includes a sofa that is meant to look like moss-covered rocks by Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna Lindgren of Swedish design studio Front, and a series of colourful furniture that was designed by Patricia Urquiola called Pacific, which is finished in wool upholstery.
    Patricia Urquiola founded her eponymous studio in 2001, with her partner Alberto Zontone. The studio takes on architectural commissions, as well as designing furniture, products, and exhibitions.
    Other projects by the Spanish designer include the Haworth Hotel in Michigan, which was revamped to become a “design showcase” and a table with mix-matched legs for Cassina.
    The photography is by Alex Kroke unless otherwise indicated.

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    Dezeen's top 10 home interiors of 2022

    As part of our review of the year, we look at 10 home interiors that our readers admired in 2022, including a home with a mirror-cube bathroom and a concrete apartment in a brutalist tower block.

    Natural materials took centre stage in homes this year, with many projects using wood to create calm, peaceful interiors. Also popular were exposed concrete walls, colourful glazed tiles, and minimalist interiors with plenty of green plants.
    Read on for Dezeen’s top 10 home interiors of 2022:
    Photo by German SáizConde Duque apartment, Spain, by Sierra + De La Higuera
    Traditional Moroccan zellige tiles in vibrant colours were used to define the different spaces inside this Madrid apartment by Spanish studio Sierra + De La Higuera.

    The interior design was informed by the owners’ Mexican and Galician heritage and features timber and terracotta walls, as well as a Mexico-influenced kitchen and dining area finished with emerald green tiles.
    Find out more about Conde Duque apartment ›
    Photo by Lorenzo Zandri and Christian BraileyEnergy-saving home, UK, by Architecture for London
    British studio Architecture for London designed this home in Muswell Hill, north London, for its founder Ben Ridley. The minimalist interior of the three-floor Edwardian house is clad in natural materials including wood, stone and lime plaster.
    The home was designed to be energy-saving, with the lime plaster used to form an airtight layer throughout, mitigating any heat loss.
    Find out more about the energy-saving home ›
    Photo by Joe FletcherTwentieth, US, by Woods + Dangaran
    The winner of this year’s Dezeen Award for House interior of the year, Twentieth by Los Angeles studio Woods + Dangaran was designed with its living spaces organised around a decades-old olive tree.
    The interior of the three-storey house features exposed white bricks, as well as floor-to-ceiling glazing and a large travertine fireplace, while wood-panelling gives the home a mid-century modern feel.
    Find out more about Twentieth ›
    Photo by Serena EllerDiplomat’s Home, Italy, by 02A
    This Italian apartment, designed for a diplomat who goes on frequent work trips, was left intentionally unfinished. In the bedroom, mirrored screens enclose a small bathroom to create what interior studio 02A describes as an “immaterial cubic volume”.
    The whole flat is filled with antique and mid-century furnishings, which have been combined with contemporary cabinetry. A vibrant colour palette contrasts with the building’s original tiled flooring.
    Find out more about Diplomat’s Home ›
    Photo by Fran ParenteGale Apartment, Brazil, by Memola Estudio
    The concrete structure of the building was left exposed for local studio Memola Estudio’s renovation of this São Paulo apartment, with dark, polished wooden floors contrasting against the industrial-looking walls.
    A mosaic stone wall and a picture wall that showcases the owners’ artworks also feature in the home, which was opened up to create better sightlines.
    Find out more about Gale Apartment ›
    Photo by Jonas Bjerre-PoulsenForest retreat, Sweden, by Norm Architects
    This traditional timber cabin was turned into a pared-back holiday home, which Danish studio Norm Architects described as “designed for a simple life.”
    The studio used a minimalist colour palette for the house, with walls covered in beige dolomite plaster. Oakwood was used for the flooring and cabinetry in the cabin, in which Norm Architects also inserted a raised daybed-cum-window seat where residents can sit to take in the view of the forest.
    Find out more about the forest retreat ›
    Photo by Nicole FranzenEast Village apartment, US, by GRT Architects
    Warm colours, oak wood and glistening ceramic tiles create a welcoming feel in this New York flat, which was renovated by GRT Architects.
    The studio added metallic details such as brass bars to the interior, creating a stylish contrast against the wood. Herringbone parquet flooring adds to the cosy feel of the home inside Onyx Court, a six-storey corner Beaux-Arts structure in the city’s East Village.
    Find out more about the East Village apartment ›
    Photo by Olmo PeetersRiverside Tower apartment, Belgium, by Studio Okami Architecten
    Located inside a 20-storey brutalist tower in Antwerp, the duplex Riverside Tower apartment was renovated by Bram Van Cauter, founding partner of Studio Okami Architecten, for himself and his partner.
    The result is a thoroughly modern flat that combines exposed concrete walls with bright colours and contemporary furniture, as well as plenty of green plants that give life to the grey interior.
    Find out more about Riverside Tower apartment ›
    Photo by Michinori AokiTokyo apartment, Japan, by OEO Studio
    Copenhagen-based OEO Studio drew on both Scandinavian and Japanese design to create this Japandi-style apartment in Tokyo’s Opus Arisugawa housing complex.
    It features striking details such as a rammed-earth wall and built-in concrete seating in the entryway (pictured). Furniture finished in smoked oak and oiled pinewood nods to Scandinavia, while Japanese Ōya stone was used for the columns that divide the living area and kitchen.
    Find out more about Tokyo apartment ›
    Photo by Peter BennettsWest Bend House, Australia, by Brave New Eco
    Shortlisted for the House interior of the year category at Dezeen Awards 2022, West Bend House was designed by Australian studio Brave New Eco as a “forever home” filled with timber, terracotta and other eco-friendly materials.
    The home also features saturated colour details such as a bathroom clad in sapphire tiles and a khaki green sofa and purple curtains in the living room.
    Find out more about West Bend House ›

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    London apartment features fish and chip shop-informed kitchen

    A steel kitchen that references London’s many fast food shops takes centre stage in this apartment designed by local studio Holloway Li for its co-founder Alex Holloway, which also has a bathtub in the living room.

    Located in north London’s Highbury, the apartment is set in a converted Victorian house and was renovated to create a home-cum-photography-studio for Holloway and his partner Elle Parmar Jenkins, founder of vintage furniture store Goods In.
    The apartment includes a custom-built stainless steel kitchenHolloway Li sought to update the single-storey space while also maintaining many of its original features.
    Part of this process included removing the master bedroom entirely to create an open-plan living space from what were originally separate rooms, and adding two extra windows to illuminate this interior.
    Holloway Li looked to local fast-food shops to create this design”We exposed and retained the original timber verge beam keeping all the screws and not cleaning it up at all,” said Holloway, who founded the studio with Na Li in 2018.

    “We wanted to express the formation of the external butterfly roof internally by opening up the ceilings to show the vaulted geometry internally,” he told Dezeen.
    This triple-aspect living space contains a striking kitchen clad in circle-brushed stainless steel with a curved splashback that takes cues from the kebab and fish and chip shops that Holloway grew up surrounded by in London, according to the designer.
    Pink and orange accents feature throughout”A lot of our studio work often fuses aspects of what people might consider ‘low culture’ with a more high-brow aesthetic,” said Holloway, who explained that the kitchen was not created as a parody, but rather intends to honour the materials found in fast food outlets.
    “This is what London is – a mix of high and low always across the road from one another. It’s part of what makes it interesting, and having grown up here it was important to add those vernacular visual flavours into the space,” he added.
    “Also, I hadn’t seen that material [circle-brushed steel] used in a domestic setting before so I knew it would be unique.”
    A bathtub was inserted into the living spaceThe studio chose a neutral colour palette interrupted with pops of vibrant colours such as orange and blue, which was led by the rosy-hued exposed plaster walls that frame the space.
    Breaking with tradition, Holloway decided to insert a bathtub into the living space where the master bedroom used to be to make use of its panoramic natural light and to add an alternative touch to the apartment.
    The same resin used to create the dining table top is found in the bathroomIt is positioned next to a bespoke timber Holloway Li desk and a vintage Eames office chair that Parmar Jenkins uses when she works from home, while light-hued Douglas fir flooring and chunky geometric sconce lights add to the warm interior.
    Other furniture pieces by the studio include a chubby orange armchair that Holloway Li launched at this year’s London Design Festival in collaboration with Uma Objects as well as the dining table and a shower screen that were both formed from a gridded resin off-cut salvaged from a previous project.

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    Holloway’s favourite element of the apartment is “the windows and reflections,” he said. “It is very rare to have a room in a Victorian terrace that has windows on three out of four of its sides.”
    “The kitchen in turn – on the old side that doesn’t have a window – reflects the opposite windows so it actually feels like you are surrounded by light,” he added.
    Colours in the living space are also hinted at in the apartment’s one bedroomThis apartment is not the first of Holloway Li’s interior designs that intend to directly respond to their contexts.
    Previously, the studio dressed the Wunderlocke hotel in Munich in hues that nod to the paintings of the late Munich-based painter Wassily Kandinsky, while it designed bathroom brand Coalbrook’s showroom with industrial materials that echo the building’s original function as a tobacco-pipe factory.
    The photography is by Edmund Dabney. 

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    Self-Portrait wraps London store in mint-hued Cornish clay and tonal surfaces

    Luxury fashion brand Self-Portrait has opened a store in London with mirrored surfaces and Cornish clay walls that combines “minimalism, materiality and colour.”

    Located on the corner of Kings Road and Duke of York Square in Chelsea, London, the 200-square-metre store was designed by Self-Portrait founder and creative director Han Chong in collaboration with New York-based architect Andreas Kostopoulos.
    The store was designed by Self-Portrait founder Han Chong and architect Andreas Kostopoulos”Inspired by spatial design and the idea of self-reflection, features in a myriad of textures including chrome and mirror dominate the interior walls and reflect tonal surfaces in mint green,” Self-Portrait said of the interior.
    “By leveraging on minimalism, materiality, and colour, we wanted to create an intimate, sensory and focused experience, free from any interferences or visually distracting architectural qualities and functions that can typically overwhelm retail environments,” said Kostopoulos.
    Tonal surfaces were added to the interior of the storeThe store interior is characterised by natural materials. Mint-pigmented Cornish clay covers its walls and provides a textural quality through its visible markings, which are reminiscent of limewash.

    Custom terrazzo flooring in hues of white, grey and mint blankets the majority of the floors while some areas, including fitting rooms, were decorated with plush carpets in matching colours to add a softer touch to the space.
    Mirrors visually extended the space and blurred the boundaries of the storeBetween the textural clay walls, expanses of mirrored panels adorn the vertical surfaces and surround street-facing windows from floor to ceiling to visually extend and blur the boundaries of the retail space.
    “I love the idea of spatial perception, blurring the lines between the interior and exterior, vertical and horizontal,” explained Chong.

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    While using rich and textural materials, Chong and Kostopoulos also looked to create a space that was minimalist and free from distracting architectural elements by reducing the store to its bare essentials.
    Overhead lighting throughout was subtlety concealed behind a gridded, drop ceiling that creates a contemporary and modernist look while also adding a contrasting textural quality.
    Cornish clay was applied to the walls to create a textural finish”I am so proud of the space we have created – it’s the perfect blend of art and architecture, which provides a serene and minimalist home for our collections,” Chong continued.
    “For me, this store has become the perfect physical manifestation of our brand – it’s a contrast of the effortless and the studied, with a focus on quality, materials and craft.”
    Custom terrazzo covers the floor of the storeSelf-Portrait’s ready-to-wear collections were displayed on chrome-finished clothes rails in front of windows while accessories were organised across chrome display tables.
    Antique furniture was combined with contemporary pieces throughout the store. A Max Lamb chair was neatly placed in a mirrored corner of the retail space, while wooden chairs were scattered throughout.
    Antique furniture was combined with contemporary piecesSelf-Portrait is a contemporary luxury brand that was founded by Chong in 2013 after he graduated from womenswear design at Central Saint Martins.
    Elsewhere in London, AMO created a terracruda-clad shop-in-shop at Selfridges that featured curving display areas and brutalist-style furniture for French fashion brand Jacquemus.
    Design studio Perron-Roettinger recently unveiled its design for a pop-up store for Kim Kardashian’s homeware brand SKKN, which the studio clad in raw plaster and cement.

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    Butterfly House renovation contrasts traditional features with modern materials

    British studio Will Gamble Architects has modernised a heritage-listed terraced house in south London, adding a series of bespoke joinery elements that help to repurpose the existing living spaces.

    Known under the nickname Butterfly House, the project involved the refurbishment and reconfiguration of a Grade II-listed home in Lambeth for a couple of lawyers and their two young children.
    Will Gamble Architects has renovated the interior of Butterfly House in LondonThe building, which dates back to the 1840s, was originally conceived as a four-storey family home. But it had previously been knocked through to a neighbouring property and separated vertically into flats before being returned to a single dwelling.
    Will Gamble Architects was asked to create a contemporary home that makes the most of the available space while retaining the features and character of the existing architecture.
    Micro-cement covers the chimney breast in the dining room”Despite its heritage listing, the building had been messed around with and many of the original features were ripped out,” project architect Miles Kelsey told Dezeen.

    “We were required to preserve the proportions of any rooms that hadn’t changed too much and focused on identifying the minimal permissible alterations that could have the biggest spatial impact.”
    A built-in bench provides seating in the dining areaThe scheme returns Butterfly House to its original interior layout, with the kitchen and dining area on the ground floor, living spaces on the first floor and the bedrooms above.
    In order to adapt the existing floor plan to meet the clients’ needs, the architects repositioned some of the internal openings and introduced joinery elements with built-in doorways and storage.
    The original fireplace in the kitchen was retained”Because we were restricted in what we could do with a listed building, the bespoke joinery allowed us to maximise the potential of each space,” Kelsey added.
    “The joinery also enabled us to create a really clear and coherent design aesthetic throughout the project that responds to the clients’ request for natural and honest materials.”
    A white-painted stairway leads to the upper floorsA restrained, pared-back material palette is applied throughout the interior, with the oak joinery complemented by surfaces of micro-cement and stone.
    The neighbouring property was used as a reference for reinstating original features including the architraves and skirting, which stand out thanks to the sober treatment of the modern additions.

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    “Our idea was that the traditional decorative details should sit alongside more contemporary elements like the joinery to create a strong contrast between old and new,” said Kelsey.
    “We didn’t want to overly embellish the contemporary elements in order to maintain a sense of coherence across the whole project.”
    Light permeates the living room via its refurbished French doorsThe kitchen and dining room on the ground floor are linked by a large oak-framed opening that allows a view through the house towards the windows on the other side.
    A chimney breast in the dining room was reinstated and covered with a pale-grey micro-cement finish that is echoed in the dining table.
    Built-in storage on the other side of the room conceals a new doorBuilt-in cabinetry on either side of the chimney provides practical storage while a bench positioned along the opposite wall offers seating for the dining table.
    The living room on the first floor contains large refurbished French doors on one side and a newly instated door on the other side, set within a full-height storage element.
    The home’s custom joinery is made from warm oak woodThe pared-back material palette extends to the bedrooms on the two upper floors, where the oak joinery is used to create storage, headboards and partition walls such as the one separating the main bedroom from its en suite bathroom.
    Butterfly House takes its name from the typical roof form that tops the terraced property. It also references the bowed floors and ceilings uncovered during the renovation, which were remediated as part of the project.
    Wood also features in the bathrooms of Butterfly HouseWill Gamble founded his eponymous architecture and interiors studio in 2018. Based in Barnes, London, the firms works on commercial and residential projects, often involving the adaptation of historic structures for modern use.
    The practice was longlisted for emerging architecture studio of the year at the 2022 Dezeen Awards.
    Its previously completed projects include a glass-walled extension to a Georgian red-brick house and the transformation of a ruined 17-century parchment factory into a contemporary residence.
    The photography is by Nick Dearden.

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    Great White Melrose in LA offers outdoor dining on a pink-plaster patio

    Pink plastered columns and fireplaces surround this open-concept restaurant on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue, which co-founder and creative director Sam Cooper coloured to match his childhood home.

    Cooper and his business partner Sam Trude recently opened Great White Melrose as their third and largest location in the city, following outposts in Venice Beach and Larchmont Village.
    Fireplaces face each other across the patio dining area at Great White MelroseOn the site of a former laundromat, the 5,000-square-foot (465-square-metre) restaurant was designed by Cooper and his in-house team. Along with its casual menu by chef Juan Ferreiro, the space combines influences from coastal cultures in Australia, Mexico and Europe.
    Dining is available on a partially open patio facing the street, beneath a roof of slatted panels between weathered timber beams.
    The pink-toned plasterwork was chosen to match the colour of co-founder Sam Cooper’s childhood homePink fireplaces face each other across this area, which is lit with a soft glow from large woven pendants found in Pakistan.

    “Completely visible from the street, the open concept was developed very intentionally to create a relationship with the neighborhood, the antithesis of the way so many Los Angeles – and specifically West Hollywood – hospitality venues operate,” said the restaurant team.
    Reclaimed cobblestones sourced from Germany cover the floors inside and outGuests arrive via a ramped cobblestone walkway that passes through a procession of pink arches, each draped in greenery and featuring sconces built into the plasterwork.
    The colour was chosen to match the home where Cooper grew up in Australia, adding “a sentimental touch” to the project.
    The interior space swaps pink for neutral tonesThe reclaimed cobblestone flooring sourced from Germany continues inside, where pink is swapped for neutral tones and a focus is placed on craft.
    A bar made from Portuguese limestone runs along the back of the space, with arched niches behind displaying wine bottles on wooden shelves.
    A bar made from Portuguese limestone runs along the back of the roomOn the main wall hangs a large painting by Berlin-based artist Danny Gretscher that brings hints of the colours found outside into the room.
    Glazed doors with black metal frames concertina open to connect the indoor and outdoor areas.

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    Rattan chairs and brown-toned seat cushions found across both echo the laid-back style typically found at hospitality venues in the Mexican resort of Tulum.
    “Our West Hollywood location is an extension of what we’ve found to be a successful formula that considers all of the necessary elements for an unforgettable dining experience,” said Trude.
    Lighting is integrated into the plasterworkGreat White Melrose combines “interesting art, design, architecture, music, and a variety of options as it pertains to both food and beverage that feature the best ingredients and an ever-growing list of talented makers”, he added.
    Melrose Avenue is a popular destination for tourists and locals alike, thanks to its wealth of boutique shops like Forte Forte, eateries such as the now-shuttered Auburn and design galleries including Francis Gallery LA.
    Great White Melrose is the third outpost from Cooper and business partner Sam Trude, following locations in Venice Beach and Larchmont Village”I have always enjoyed this part of West Hollywood, which seems to seamlessly connect all of the different worlds within it such as entertainment, nightlife, tourism, etc,” said Cooper.
    “There is a real energy about this space and the surrounding area and we are excited to tap into that with Great White Melrose.”
    Other hospitality projects to open recently in LA include Hotel Per La, designed by Jaqui Seerman in a neoclassical building.
    Last year, we rounded up six of the best restaurant designs in California.

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    Ten contemporary interiors with innovative stone furniture

    Spinning top-shaped granite chairs, marble shelves and a candy-coloured onyx counter are among the stone furniture pieces used for the interiors in our latest lookbook.

    Stone, especially marble, has long been used for dining and coffee tables, as well as for countertops. But a number of contemporary designers are now experimenting with bolder and more unusual stone furnishings.
    The examples in this lookbook range from a stone seat in a rural home built for an older couple to a striking granite counter in a Finnish clothing store and multicoloured swivelling marble chairs.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring ten interiors that make use of the colour of the year, homes with sliding doors and lounge areas with suspended fireplaces.
    Photo is by Margarita NikitakiEsperinos, Greece, by Stamos Michael

    Greek designer Stamos Michael designed the Esperinos guesthouse in Athens with a mix of furniture classics and his own designs. These include a small stool the designer made from two blocks of stone found in a quarry in Tinos, a Greek island in the Aegean sea.
    The stool’s rough texture matches the house’s structural stone shell, which Michael has displayed by carving out small sections of the walls.
    Find out more about Esperinos ›
    Photo is by Rory GardinerArmadillo showroom, Australia, by Studio Goss
    This Sydney showroom has a sparse, simple material palette of concrete, plaster and tiled surfaces that designers Studio Goss created to function as a backdrop to the rugs on show.
    In front of a tiled wall, a chunky stone table is surrounded by graphic black chairs, while an oversized paper lantern adds another geometric touch to the interior design.
    Find out more about Armadillo showroom ›
    Photo is by Ed ReeveSwivel, UK, by Sabine Marcelis
    Rotating chairs made from natural stone including granite, quartzite, marble and travertine make up the Swivel furniture installation by designer Sabine Marcelis.
    The colourful chairs were installed in St Giles Square as part of this year’s London Design Festival. “The main concept was to inject some colour, fun, lightheartedness and liveliness into the square – in an adult playground way,” Marcelis said.
    Find out more about Swivel ›
    Photo is by Simone BossiMA House, France, by Timothee Mercier
    A ruined farmhouse in France was turned into an “intimate refuge” named MA House by architect Timothee Mercier for his parents.
    In the peaceful white living room, white cushions were inserted into a blocky stone plinth to form a minimalist sofa with an angular shape.
    Find out more about MA House ›
    Photo is by Thibault De Schepper&C office, the Netherlands, by Anne Claus Interiors
    Pastel-hued onyx slabs decorate the stripy bar counter in Dutch media company &C’s hybrid office, store and cafe in Amsterdam, which was created by designer Anne Claus Interiors.
    The studio also used the material for display plinths in the shop, round tabletops in the cafe and for the boardroom’s table. The colours of the joyful stone furniture were chosen as they suit the &C brand.
    Find out more about &C office ›

    The Audo, Denmark, by Menu and Norm Architects
    The interior of Danish boutique hotel The Audo, designed by local studio Norm Architects as the headquarters for design brand Menu, features multiple elegant coffee tables made from black and white marble slabs.
    These veiny marble tables complement tactile white boucle sofas and the terracotta plaster walls in the earth-coloured bedrooms.
    Find out more about The Audo ›
    Photography is by Mikko RyhänenNanso, Finland, by Studio Joanna Laajisto
    Studio Joanna Laajisto’s interior design for the Nanso womenswear store in Helsinki, Finland, features plenty of natural materials, including a chunky service counter made from red granite from the nearby town of Mäntsälä.
    The studio also used the same stone to create a display stand, placing a slab atop a small metal box to form a sculptural and practical furniture piece.
    Find out more about Nanso ›

    Casa Salvatori, Italy, by Elissa Ossino Studio
    This Milanese apartment, filled with marble artworks and furniture, is fittingly owned by the head of Italian stone brand Salvatori. Designer Elissa Ossino Studio transformed the white apartment by using the brand’s own marble collection in creative ways.
    A Colonnata oak bookshelf features veiny marble shelf dividers in different colours, creating a sculptural piece that is as eye-catching when it’s empty as when it’s filled with books.
    Find out more about Casa Salvatori ›

    Spun chair, Singapore, by Heatherwick Studio
    London-based Heatherwick Studio reproduced its spinning top-shaped Spun chairs in marble for the garden of the brand’s EDEN skyscraper in Singapore.
    “As gardens are places for rest and contemplation, a seat seemed like a natural solution that would encourage people to either sit for a moment of quiet contemplation or to perhaps engage in a conversation with a neighbour,” Tom Glover, project leader at Heatherwick Studio, told Dezeen.
    Find out more about Spun chair ›

    Glogauer apartment, Germany, by White Arrow
    A circular travertine table in a decorative beige hue is matched with cane dining chairs inside the Glogauer apartment in Berlin, which New York studio White Arrow renovated for a young family.
    The flat was gutted to create more living space, though the designers preserved its existing high ceilings, ornate doorframes and coving. Vintage furnishings were used to decorate the new interior.
    Find out more about Glogauer apartment ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring ten interiors that make use of the colour of the year, homes with sliding doors and lounge areas with suspended fireplaces.

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    Shimmering crystals decorate National Museum of Qatar restaurant by Koichi Takada Architects

    Australian studio Koichi Takada Architects drew on Qatar’s pearl-diving history when creating the interior of Jiwan, a restaurant in the Jean Nouvel-designed National Museum of Qatar.

    More than four million Swarovski crystals form an undulating ceiling installation resembling the northern lights at the Doha restaurant, which was designed by Koichi Takada Architects and serves food by French chef Alain Ducasse.
    Above: Swarovski crystals decorate Jiwan’s ceiling. Top image: the restaurant’s terrace has rounded dining booths. Photo is by Victor Bellot.The interior of Jiwan was informed by Qatar’s history of pearl diving and by the architecture of the museum, which Atelier Jean Nouvel designed as a series of colliding disks.
    “The palette of materials that we drew from was very much about paying homage to the unique Qatari landscape – where the desert meets the sea – as well as the iconic architecture,” studio founder Koichi Takada told Dezeen.
    Qatar’s history of pearl diving informed the restaurant interior”We chose a mirrored finish for the ceiling to draw the reflection of the Persian Gulf deep into the space, as well as to reflect the gentle movement of the four million Swarovski crystals that dance from the ceiling,” he added.

    “The curvature of the crystal paths on the ceiling and the organic-shaped leather dining booths respond to the curvilinear architecture, with a luxury silk carpet underfoot.”
    Its carpet was designed with sand and sea coloursJiwan, which seats 130 guests inside and another 130 on its terrace, has pale pink walls that were designed to curve like the shell of an oyster, providing another nod to the pearl-diving theme.
    The interior also features a carpet with both orange and blue tones, which were informed by the sand and sea surrounding the museum.

    Cave-like gift shops created by Koichi Takada Architects inside National Museum of Qatar

    “The interior colour palette was in keeping with the pale desert-rose hues of the architecture and Qatar’s expansive desert landscape,” Takada explained.
    “We designed a silk carpet to integrate the impressive colours of the Persian Gulf – transitioning from deep aquamarine through turquoise to a lighter desert-sand colour inspired by the Qatari inland sea Khor Al Adaid. At its edges, the flooring blends almost seamlessly into the architecture.”
    The terrace was designed to reflect the building’s architecture. Photo is by Victor BellotFor Jiwan’s terrace, which overlooks the “desert rose” shape of Nouvel’s building, the studio created circular dining pods. Set within curved cream walls, these have burgundy booths and bronzed tables.
    “We designed the space to sit carefully within and yet not touch the architecture,” Takada said. “In effect, the interiors are designed so that if one day they are removed, the architecture will remain untouched.”
    Visitors have views of Doha BayKoichi Takada Architects has designed six interior spaces in total for the National Museum of Qatar, including two cave-like gift shops with undulating wooden walls.
    The museum is among a number of cultural projects and architectural landmarks that have been completed in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is currently taking place in Qatar.
    The country was heavily criticised for its treatment of migrant workers in the lead-up to the World Cup, which saw the country build numerous new stadiums to house the games.
    The photography is by Julien Lanoo unless otherwise stated.

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