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    Birdhouses informed by skyscrapers and modernism feature in Dwellings exhibition

    Andu Masebo and Rio Kobayashi are among 23 designers who have created birdhouses for an exhibition held at South London Gallery that aimed to unpack “what it means to build a house for a bird”.

    Conceived by design studio Computer Room and birdwatching collective Flock Together, the Dwellings project focused on shared themes of sanctuary and exploring our relationship with nature.
    The Dwellings exhibition was held at the South London GalleryThe exhibition held in the Orozco Garden and Clore Studio at South London Gallery from 31 August to 1 September 2024 comprised an eclectic series of 22 objects and images, ranging from practical solutions to expressive conceptual responses.
    The varied contributions encapsulated the unique thought processes and skills of makers including ceramicists, glassmakers, architects and photographers.
    It aimed to unpack “what it means to build a house for a bird”Many of the designers created their own takes on conventional birdhouses, which are typically made from wood and feature a hole just large enough to provide an entrance for the nesting birds.

    Other participants opted for a more abstract approach, such as artist and designer Moe Asari’s site-specific project exploring the attempts to reintroduce black kites to a Dutch nature reserve.
    Various materials were usedThe show’s co-curator Masebo, who runs the Computer Room design collective alongside Jesse Butterfield and Charlie Humble-Thomas, developed a birdhouse via a remote collaboration with his uncle Dan O’Conell – a trained carpenter based in Ireland.
    Without conversing throughout the process, Masebo and O’Connell sent materials back and forth between London and Ireland, each making their own alterations until an object with the form of a birdhouse emerged.
    Each design was “chosen to be good for birds”Butterfield’s contribution to the exhibition is a wooden structure informed by skyscrapers and modernist architecture. Bird Metropolis provides space for eight nesting house sparrow couples within a tower carved into organic, tree-like forms.
    London and Copenhagen-based designer Daniel Schofield’s birdhouse uses renewable cork bark as an alternative to wood, which he suggested is an odd choice of material as it requires cutting down a bird’s natural home to create an artificial one.
    “The form and proportions were chosen to be good for birds,” said Schofield, “but also simple to produce industrially and locally, hopefully giving more chance of these being made en-masse, and giving the best opportunity of making more homes for birds in our urban landscape.”
    Timber featured throughoutKobayashi’s playful response to the brief called The Guest House For An Ostrich is elevated to an appropriate height so an ostrich could hide its head inside rather than burying it in the ground.
    The birdhouse features an aerodynamic form and details that reflect the ostrich’s ability to run at great speeds. Its front surface is scorched to give the impression that aerodynamic friction has set the wood alight.

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    Ceramicist George Baggaley created a birdhouse in his signature organic style, which is embellished with glazes that accentuate its undulating surfaces.
    Ovulo by Jaclyn Pappalardo features a welded form reminiscent of shapes found in nature. The curved profile with a hook at one end for suspending it from a tree branch was produced using a process that involves inflating metal using water.
    Dwellings focussed on shared themes of sanctuary and exploring our relationship with natureOliver Hawkes worked with a charity called Global Generation to build birdhouses using material offcuts donated by eyewear brand Cubitts. The project aimed to engage young people in the making process and educate them about issues relating to the environment and bird cohabitation.
    Many of the pieces created for the exhibition were available to purchase, with all proceeds helping to support South London Gallery’s communities and learning programmes.
    The photography is courtesy of Computer Room and South London Gallery.

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    Paris apartment merges “minimalism with the grandeur of Napoleon-era architecture”

    French architect Joris Poggioli has renovated his Paris apartment, aiming to preserve its historic features while integrating modern design elements.

    Poggioli sought to renovate the apartment located in a mansion that was once Napoleon Bonaparte’s office, while preserving its “historic soul”.
    Joris Poggiolio has renovated his apartment in Paris”It was an opportunity to merge my passion for minimalism with the grandeur of Napoleon-era architecture,” Poggioli told Dezeen.
    “The goal was not just to restore but to allow these historical elements to shine once more in a contemporary context, while also bringing forth the voice of our generation, our era, through my intervention.”
    The apartment is located in a mansion where Napoleon Bonaparte had an officePoggioli aimed to restore the 90-square-meter apartment’s original features, which had been obscured by years of modifications.

    “When I first stepped inside, it was like entering a fortress with layers of flooring, insulation, and makeshift walls,” explained Poggioli.
    “Slowly, I peeled away these layers, revealing original parquet, mouldings, and architectural details that had been hidden for decades”.

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    Influenced by Napoleon’s historical connection to the building, he sought to honour its heritage while introducing a modern touch.
    To achieve this, Poggioli focused on subtly highlighting features of the apartment, including the grand proportions, the flow of light through large windows, and the overall sense of space.
    “I wanted my design to feel like it was embracing the historical skeleton of the building, enhancing its spirit rather than competing with it”.
    It has high ceilingsThe 4.2-metre-high ceiling, a focal point of the apartment, heavily influenced his design choices.
    Elements like an oversized headboard in the bedroom and a mezzanine-like upper floor were introduced to accentuate the tall ceiling.
    “The soaring ceiling height was one of the most striking features of the apartment,” explained Poggioli. “It immediately influenced how I approached the design, giving me room to think on a grander scale”.
    “The void, the space itself, became necessary for thought—it allows mental images to escape and flow freely,” he continued.
    The bedroom features an oversized headboardThe apartment also features sculptures borrowed from a client, a collector of Amerindian art, whose pieces have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
    Puiforcat also lent a series of bowls designed by American artist Donald Judd, while the other pieces come from Joris’ collection.
    “These pieces were selected because they represent a bridge between tradition and modernity, much like the apartment itself,” said Poggioli.
    “Amerindian art brings a sense of deep-rooted culture and craftsmanship, while the Puiforcat bowls, with their sleek, timeless design, add a layer of refinement,” he continued.
    “Together, they create a balance that reflects the overall philosophy of the space—a harmonious coexistence of the past and the present, each enhancing the other.”
    Various sculptures can be found in the apartmentOther apartment renovations recently featured on Dezeen include an apartment in Barcelona by architect Raúl Sánchez and a brutalist apartment in Canada by architect Jean Verville.
    The photography is by Alice Mesguich.

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    Neri Oxman launches New York practice in Foster + Partners-designed studio

    Designer Neri Oxman has unveiled a studio in Midtown Manhattan designed with architecture studio Foster + Partners that houses a production workshop and wet lab.

    Oxman unveiled the lab for her studio, Oxman, in a building originally designed by American architect Albert Kahn as a car manufacturing plant and renovated by Rafael Viñoly Architects to house shops and offices.
    Neri Oxman has unveiled a studio designed with British architecture studio Foster + PartnersOxman’s team worked with Foster + Partners to design a two-storey studio on the 9th and 10th floors of the building.
    The 36,000-square-foot space (3,345 square metres) is characterised by white-painted walls and columns, and is largely open – most of the dividing walls are glass. The lower floor features design offices, a library, kitchen and lounge, while the upper floor holds the wet lab and production studio.
    “Every detail of this project has been developed in conjunction with Neri and her team, reflecting Oxman’s holistic approach that spans scales and disciplines,” said Foster + Partners founder Norman Foster.

    “Both levels of the new studio have their own distinctive characters and contain a range of highly adaptable workspaces and labs, which enhance creativity and will become an epicenter of world-leading research.”
    The studio is located in a building designed by Louis Kahn and renovated by Rafael Viñoly ArchitectsOxman said that the design of the studio was meant to be open, flexible and technical to enable collaboration between the designers, scientists, architects and other employees who work there.
    She said that the space was meant to facilitate the actualisation of her The Krebs Cycle of Creativity – a rendition of German-British scientist Hans Krebs’ diagram depicting stages of energy generation in organisms.
    It is two storeys and contains a wet lab and central glass staircase”The dream for this building, this lab was to embody the diagram,” said Oxman.
    “The lab looks clean and nice on the inside, but inside, packed in the ceiling and in the ground, are conduits that are embedded for insert allowing access to data, to power, to gasses that feed the workstations – there’s 70 miles worth of Ethernet and an optical cable for cloud computing.”
    It is characterised by white-painted walls, glass dividers and wooden furnitureThe entrance space for the studio is a central atrium lit from above by panel lights in the ceiling that conceal the complex mechanical systems, including over 100 miles of colour-coded cabling to enable high-speed data.
    One side of the first floor holds the design studio where rows of custom-produced wooden desks run perpendicular to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows that overlook the high-rises of Hell’s Kitchen. A garden terrace with walkways and plants runs outside the windows.
    Conduits in the walls allow for access to data, power and gasses according to OxmanOpposite the windows run a series of private offices, completely lined in glass, with vitrines featuring samples of Oxman’s work, serving as visible dividers between each wood-backed space.
    On the other side of the first level, past a central stair, is a long conference table used for displaying work and models, and behind that a series of enclosed spaces for respite.
    It is meant to foster collaboration between employeesThe floating staircase was custom-designed for the space and has a single stringer at the top of the space and interlocking glass panels.
    The second storey holds a production workshop with robotic arms and 3D printers to fabricate shoes made from polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) – plastic-like molecules derived from bacteria.
    The interior is largely openAcross an atrium is a wet lab with custom Krion benches. Opposite the windows are a series of “capsules” that are heavily mechanized and can be used to simulate natural environments.
    According to Oxman, the studio is currently working on three primary areas: urban design and architecture, product design and molecular biology.
    The space was meant to facilitate the actualisation of The Krebs Cycle of CreativityOne of the biology products is a device called ALEF, which uses sensors to monitor biodiversity by training it to intake biogenic volatile organic compounds – described as “smells” – to provide data about environments.
    “From a biodiversity chamber designed to study and heal a struggling ecosystem to a ‘scent computer’ designed to concoct a functionalized fragrance with no harm to the environment, we seek to advance our understanding of the natural world while offering alternatives to methods of designing molecular goods that rely on monocropping,” said Oxman.
    “In fact, one of the most ecologically biodiverse environments in New York City currently thrives in our lab.”

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    The opening of the studio corresponds with the announcement of this endeavor, as well as the bioplastic shoes and a series of modelling systems for urban design based on what Oxman calls “ecological programming” – AI-driven modelling programs used to make planning decisions to optimise for nonhuman, as well as human, life.
    “The Lab’s organizational ‘parti sketch’ perfectly mirrors the organizational and operational logic of the company, enabling tight physical and visual connectivity across zones dedicated to hardware, software, and wetware design,” said Oxman. “In other words, one can design, build, and deploy a bioreactor in a matter of hours.”
    “We are a design and innovation company,” she said. “We operate across scales, across disciplines and application domains, to target and to heal three broken industries.”
    The opening corresponds with a biology product called ALEFOxman, who is a former tenured professor at MIT and led The Mediated Matter Research Group, is known for her experiments in novel materials for construction such as melanin and silk.
    Earlier this year Oxman was caught up in an academic plagiarism row with Business Insider reporting that her dissertation was “marred by plagiarism”. She responded to allegations in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying she “omitted quotation marks for certain work that I used”.
    The photography is by Nicholas Calcott
    Project credits: 
    Collaborators: Foster + Partners, Adamson Associates Architects, Sciame HomesConsultants: Benchmark Woodworking, Cosentini Associates, Front Inc., Hollander Design, Jacobs Associates, Pentagram, Percival Scientific, Inc., Persak & Wurmfeld, Shen Milsom & Wilke, LLC, Silman, Spiralis, Syzygy 3, Inc., Tillotson & Associates, TKO Project Management

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    Futurestudio designs New York bathhouse to be both transportive and grounding

    Canada’s Futurestudio has designed the interiors for wellness space Othership’s first location in New York City, employing a deep, earthy palette and atmospheric lighting to heighten the experience for guests.

    The 9,550-square-foot (887 square metres) sauna and ice bath experience in Manhattan’s Flatiron District is Othership’s third outpost, following those in Toronto’s Adelaide and Yorkville areas.
    At the entrance to Othership, a patchwork curtain blocks views from the streetAt Flatiron, “journeyers” have access to a spacious 640-square-foot (59-square-metre) performance sauna and ice baths for up to 16 people in a private cold sanctuary room.
    There’s also an amphitheatre-style tea lounge, where guests can gather around a central fireplace to socialise.
    Cedar panelling along the corridors visually extends the sauna experience into public areasFuturestudio, led by founding principal Ali McQuaid Mitchell, designed the interiors to feel equally transportive and grounding.

    In the reception area, a curtain of custom-designed patchwork textile softens the entry and blocks views from the street.
    Atmospheric lighting is used throughout, including around the plunge poolsCedar panelling behind the counter and along the corridors visually extends the sauna experience into public areas.
    Narrow ceramic tiles stacked in a variety of bonds and pebbled river-stone flooring installed in the wet zones both add pattern and texture.
    River stones are used for flooring in the wet areasThe saunas are designed to provide heat up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit (88 degrees Celsius), with aromatic snowballs providing humidity that feels like 200 degrees Fahrenheit (93 degrees Celsius). The custom-designed ice baths are kept as low as 32 degrees Fahrenheit (zero degrees Celsius).
    Between sessions, guests are encouraged to relax and converse in the 700-square-foot (65-square-metre) tea lounge on bleacher-style seating around a full-height central fireplace.
    Performance saunas are designed to reach up to 190 degrees Fahrenheit (88 degrees Celsius)A halo-shaped light, custom-designed by Futurestudio and Anony, circles the stack and shifts colours to mimic sunrise, sunset and moonlight.
    “At Othership, every element harmonises to support the founders’ vision of redefining wellness through immersive and connecting experiences,” said McQuaid Mitchell.

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    The tradition of hot and cold bathing dates back to the Roman period, and is said to bring about an array of health benefits.
    “As a society, we’re starting to think much more about how much our emotional state impacts not only our physical health, but day-to-day life,” said Robert Bent, co-founder and CEO of Othership. “Othership’s unique take on hot and cold therapy has helped over 200,000 people de-stress and transform their relationships.”
    Guests can relax and socialise around a fireplace illuminated by a custom light fixtureSpa and bathing experiences are gaining popular as social spaces in New York City, offering an alternative to bars and restaurants.
    “People are tired of going to a bar or restaurant in order to have a social night out; there needs to be a better way,” said Amanda Laine, Othership co-founder and lead facilitator. “People want to reconnect with themselves, relax, drop their guard, and feel safe.”
    Lighting plays an important role in setting the mood throughout the bathhouseAnother brand, Bathhouse, recently opened a second location – also in the Flatiron District – following its Brooklyn venue in a converted soda factory that was shortlisted for leisure and wellness interior of the year at Dezeen Awards 2020.
    In other parts of the world, bathhouses with notable interiors include a space in Tokyo designed as a contemporary take on a traditional sento, and a white marble mikveh used by Mexico City’s Orthodox Jewish community.
    The photography is by Ian Patterson.

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    Eight interiors that show the versatility of futons and daybeds

    Our latest lookbook explores how futons and daybeds can offer a tempting spot for relaxation in different residential interior settings.

    By providing a place to sit, lie down or take a nap with a compact footprint, the humble futon, and its more sophisticated cousin the daybed, can be a useful tool for interior designers.
    Our selection of projects below includes various ideas for how they can be deployed, from corridors and cosy reading nooks to living-room centrepieces.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring sculptural coffee tables, statement rugs and oversized sofas.
    Photography by Shantanu StarickLonghouse, Australia, by Partners Hill

    A plushy daybed next to a woodburning stove provides a warm spot to rest in the living room of this sprawling home and restaurant in the Victorian bush, designed by architecture studio Partners Hill.
    The base is made from Australian cypress pine, while the cushion’s pale blue is intended to invoke summery blue skies even in the depths of winter.
    Find out more about Longhouse ›
    Photo by Jill TateNorth Bank, UK, by Elliot Architects
    A futon languidly festooned with sheepskin rugs, throws and cushions occupies a corner of the double-height living, dining and kitchen area of this barn-like house in north-east England’s Tyne Valley designed by Elliot Architects.
    It is nestled in the crook of a large square window, providing views of the surrounding countryside and ample natural light for reading.
    Find out more about North Bank ›
    Photo by Bryan W FerryDaunt’s Albatross, USA, by Home Studios
    In the Koda Suite of the Daunt’s Albatross boutique hotel in Montauk, New York, a chunky daybed hides behind a linen curtain.
    It forms part of Brooklyn-based Home Studios’s attempt to create the feeling of a “remote family home” through its overhaul of the former motel.
    Find out more about Daunt’s Albatross ›
    Photo by Tom BirdPoirot’s Bijou Apartment, UK, by Intervention Architecture
    Poirot’s Bijou Apartment – named because it occupies a space in the London building in which Agatha Christie’s fictional moustachioed detective lived – demonstrates how the daybed can be a space-saving device.
    Intervention Architecture created a bespoke plywood piece that can double up as a sofa, store flatpack stools and even wheel forwards to support the bottom end of a fold-down double bed.
    Find out more about Poirot’s Bijou Apartment ›
    Photo by Piet-Albert GoethalsApartment A, Belgium, by Atelier Dialect
    Designed by Belgian studio Atelier Dialect, this ultra-luxe Antwerp apartment features two daybeds. In the living room, a black leather De Sede DS-80 contrasts with the room’s cool, hard, cement-washed surfaces.
    Another huge, grooved daybed upholstered in brown velvet, designed by Jonas Van Put, occupies a raised platform behind a gauzy white curtain in the snug.
    Find out more about Apartment A ›
    Photo by Eric PetschekMount Tobias holiday home, USA, by IDSR Architecture
    ISDR Architecture founders Todd Rouhe and Maria Ibañez de Sendadiano designed their own custom daybeds for their holiday home in the Catskills.
    The daybeds occupy a brightly lit mezzanine loft space and are dressed with cushions and rugs from Danish brand Vipp.
    Find out more about this Mount Tobias holiday home ›
    Photo by Keith IsaacsNova Residence, USA, by Harding Huebner
    Nova Residence, a hillside house in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains designed by local architecture studio Harding Huebner, contains possibly the most famous daybed of all time.
    Set among several other modernist and mid-century furniture pieces in the open-plan living area is a Mies van der Rohe Barcelona daybed, whose tan colour contributes to a palette intended to mirror the terrain outside.
    Find out more about Nova Residence ›
    Photo by Michael SinclairTelevision Centre Penthouse, UK, by Waldo Works
    Design studio Waldo Works pursued a retro aesthetic with the interiors for this penthouse apartment in London’s 1960s Television Centre.
    In one section of the corridor, a tall shelving unit carrying leafy plants screens two pixel-print daybeds, forming an unexpected reading nook or children’s play area.
    Find out more about Television Centre Penthouse ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring sculptural coffee tables, statement rugs and oversized sofas.

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    Studio Tarea creates “90s fever dream” inside pink Richmond eatery

    Pink walls, carpet and upholstery define this intimate restaurant and cocktail bar in Richmond, Virginia, designed by locally based Studio Tarea.

    Pink Room was created in a former studio apartment, transformed into what Studio Tarea describes as “a 90s fever dream where you can have a cocktail made from concrete”.
    A studio apartment was transformed to create the compact Pink RoomThe team renovated the space for chef Brittanny Anderson, creating an 18-seat restaurant in which she can cook a weekly updated menu while conversing with her guests.
    “Between the short timeline, the tiny footprint, and the client’s vision of bright colors and funky textures, it was a test for us,” said studio co-founder Nolan Beck Rivera.
    The restaurant’s large windows are veiled with silver-bead curtainsWith partner Cameron Billinghurst, the studio looked to girls’ bedrooms in the 1990s that featured Spice Girls posters and fluffy bedding as primary references.

    The aim was to elevate this nostalgic aesthetic with materials including glass and polished metal to offset the bright colours and plush textures. “We found a nice balance between our modernist tastes and Brittanny’s maximalist vision,” Rivera said.
    Glass and metal tables were chosen to offset the all-pink paletteThick-piled carpet with colour-blocked patterning forms a soft covering across the floor, helping to dampen acoustic echoes
    Across the ceiling, a collage created by artist Monsieur Zohore depicts women in pop culture with food.
    Food is plated and served from a small open kitchen, from which the chef can converse with her guestsFrom the compact kitchen, food is plated and passed to a peninsula with bar seats for four, or served to the five glass and metal tables.
    Two four-tops are positioned in the centre of the room, while three two-tops share a cushioned and upholstered banquette along the wall.
    Several pop-culture references are sprinkled throughout the interiorLarge windows are veiled in silver-bead curtains that partially conceal the view from the street.
    Smoked polycarbonate sliding doors disguise the powder room, in the apartment’s former bathroom past the kitchen, where a vintage mirror hangs above basin.

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    A trio of polished nickel sconces are mounted on the dining room wall, while three glossy ceramic pendants hang above the peninsula.
    Additional cove and under-shelf lighting glow orange and pink as the evening service draws later, adding to the experience.
    The mood is set by lighting that includes nickel-plated sconces”Part of the experience of eating there is looking around at the unique light fixtures, trying to find the hidden Miss Piggies, spotting pop-culture references,” said Rivera.
    “Obviously Brittanny’s food is the centrepiece, but the interiors really complement it.”
    The apartment bathroom was upgraded to a powder room, which includes a vintage mirrorPink in its many shades is a popular choice for restaurant decor, from Ken Fulk’s pastel-hued Swan in Miami to the bold monochrome JAM Record Bar in Sydney by Akin Atelier.
    Meanwhile, other eateries that have taken a different monochromatic approach include the all-blue Only Love Strangers in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and the buttery yellow San Sabino the West Village.
    The photography is by Nolan Beck Rivera.

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    Seven bathrooms elevated by stylish shower curtains

    Our latest lookbook showcases the myriad of ways shower curtains can create visual impact in bathrooms, from bold pops of colour and pattern to elegant, long drapes that add a sense of serenity.

    Practically, shower curtains provide privacy and prevent water from splashing outside showers and bathtubs, but they are also an opportunity to add decoration to a bathroom interior.
    The examples below showcase how curtains can introduce material variety to the hard, sterile surfaces usually found in bathrooms.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring homes with conversation pits, kitchens with metal details and kitchens with brick floors.
    Photo by Lorenzo ZandriNelson Terrace, UK, by Paolo Cossu Architects

    Neutral-toned curtains were suspended from an elliptical rail over the freestanding bathtub at Nelson Terrace, a Georgian home in north London that local studio Paolo Cossu Architects overhauled.
    The curtains add texture to the muted colour palette in the bathroom and provide an enclosure when using the ceiling-mounted shower head.
    Find out more about Nelson Terrace ›
    Photo by Christoph RokittaBerlin Mitte apartment, Germany, by Atheorem
    Local architect Atheorem updated an apartment in Berlin, creating a wet room with a serene and ethereal quality by adding all-white finishes and minimal fittings.
    A pair of floor-to-ceiling curtains close off the shower area, adding texture to the white material palette and filtering in soft natural light.
    Find out more about Berlin Mitte apartment ›
    Photo by Kensington LeverneEmber Locke, UK, by Atelier Ochre and House of Dré
    Striped shower curtains were chosen to jazz up the bathrooms of the Locke Hotels’ outpost in west London, designed by local studios Atelier Ochre and House of Dré.
    The simple yet striking pattern adds visual interest to the hotel room interiors, which were decorated in a mix of rich, warm tones.
    Find out more about Ember Locke ›
    Photo by JC de MarcosMinimal Fantasy, Spain, by Patricia Bustos Studio
    An iridescent pink shower curtain hangs in the monochromatic Minimal Fantasy apartment in Madrid, which was designed by local interior design practice Patricia Bustos Studio.
    The practice applied 12 shades of pink across the home’s interior, including on the bathroom tiles and sanitary ware.
    Find out more about Minimal Fantasy ›
    Photo by Mariell Lind HansenCanyon House, UK, by Studio Hagen Hall
    For this London home renovation, architecture office Studio Hagen Hall added muted purple curtains against a shower screen in the cork-tiled bathroom.
    The curtains add a sense of privacy and separation between the bathroom and the adjacent bedroom, which was decorated in a complementary dusty pink colour palette.
    Find out more about Canyon House ›
    Photo by Federico CairoliHouse in Cunha, Brazil, by Arquipélago Arquitetos
    Copper piping outlines the shower area and hangs the curtain in this wet room, located in a countryside house in Brazil that was designed by São Paulo studio Arquipélago Arquitetos.
    The metal details complement the home’s earthy material palette, which features straw-coloured bricks from a local pottery studio.
    Find out more about House in Cunha ›
    Photo by French + TyeMo-tel House, UK, by Office S&M
    Local studio Office S&M overhauled a Georgian townhouse in London with bold colours, including a bathroom with bright yellow accents.
    The studio matched the bathroom’s shower curtain to the yellow-painted window frame and colourful grout between the white square tiles.
    Find out more about Mo-tel House ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring homes with conversation pits, kitchens with metal details and kitchens with brick floors.

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    White-washed Mondrian Ibiza hotel perches above Cala Llonga bay

    Spanish studios Beades Architects and Cuarto Interior have revived a 1970s hotel property overlooking a bay in Ibiza, using local materials and mid-century furniture to transform its interiors.

    The Mondrian Ibiza is perched on a steep hillside above the beach and turquoise waters of Cala Llonga, on the Balearic Island’s east coast.
    Sculptural furniture forms lounge areas in the Mondrian Ibiza lobby”The building was initially constructed as the first purpose-built hotel in the region in response to the growing number of bohemian tourists on the island,” said the hotel team.
    “Despite the launch of super clubs in many central hotspots, Cala Llonga, with its lush greenery, remained an oasis of slow living and authentic island life.”
    Tonal decor is used throughout the hotel’s communal areasFirst built in 1972, the whitewashed structure steps back as it rises, creating spacious balconies for the front south-facing rooms.

    The Mondrian group collaborated with Beades Architects and Cuarto Interior to reimagine the 154-room resort, which has an unusual layout that operators Ennismore had to rethink.
    In the guest rooms, textured plaster walls provide a backdrop for woven leather headboards”Opposite to most guest journeys that are about getting you up to the roof, for this property you arrive on the higher level and gradually make your way down through the spaces to end up four floors lower on the beach,” Ennismore’s global VP of design Mark Eacott told Dezeen.
    Arrival at the hotel brings guests into a whitewashed reception area on the fourth floor that’s “inspired by the area’s natural caves”.
    Mid-century-style furniture is used in the bedroomsA gallery of contemporary art pieces and ceramics gently slopes down to a niche enveloped in indigo blue, which forms the check-in area.
    A variety of mid-century-style furniture pieces forms lounge areas, while a giant patterned rug leads to the main Sun & Moon bar framed by four chunky rounded columns.
    Sliding windows are angled to face the best viewsApproachable from all sides, the bar counter front is carved with reliefs and inset with circular lights designed to emulate the silver bracelets sold at the island’s markets.
    Guest rooms on the upper levels are arranged either side of a long corridor, and oriented at an angle so that their sliding windows face the best views and balconies don’t overlook the neighbours.
    Guest room balconies offer private spaces to relax outdoorsIn the guest rooms, the decor continues the Mondrian’s neutral scheme while incorporating accents like woven leather headboards and textured linen curtains.
    Slatted wood cabinets are designed to evoke the fisherman’s dry docks found on the coves and beaches across the island.
    The white-washed building stands in contrast to the verdant surrounding hillsMondrian Ibiza is connected to a sister property, Hyde Ibiza, and shares several common facilities across the lower terraces.
    These include a swimming pool, bar and lounge area, while another pool is reserved for Mondrian guests – both surrounded by cabana beds.

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    Between the two hotels, guests have access to seven restaurants and bars, including Mexican eatery Cuyo on the Hyde’s upper terrace, and a Japanese dining experience called Nico on the Mondrian’s third floor.
    For casual fare during the day, the poolside Bungalow bar and grill offers bites and cocktails in a tropical-themed space that spills outdoors.
    Mondrian Ibiza shares a main pool area with sister property Hyde IbizaArt placed throughout the hotel is curated by London-based collective Gone Rogue, and includes resin sculptures by Corine van Voorbergen in the lobby.
    “The hotel bears all the aesthetic hallmarks of a Mondrian, yet there is a softness, and an element of movement conveyed through structural curves, organic shapes and sculptural fluidity that speaks to the island,” Eacott said.
    The hotel occupies a renovated 1970s property that was one of the first in the areaIbiza offers a wealth of options for tourists looking for a relaxing getaway, as well as those arriving to enjoy the famed nightlife.
    In Ibiza town, the Montesol Experimental and The Standard hotels cater to a younger crowd, while countryside retreats like Aguamadera and Campo Atelier provide guests with a slower pace.

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