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    Highstay designs Paris holiday apartments for Olympics visitors and holiday makers

    Hospitality brand Highstay has brought a contemporary spin to these 19th-century Parisian apartments, which its team has renovated to offer accommodation during the Olympic Games and beyond.

    The holiday apartments are intended for short- and long-term stays of up to one month, offering an alternative to hotels “for those coming to the city this summer for the Olympics”, Highstay said.
    Highstay’s has created holiday apartments within historic buildingsThe apartments are spread over four central Paris locations: Champs-Elysées, Saint-Honoré, Louvre and Marais.
    The majority are located within historic Haussmann-era buildings typical of the French capital and were designed by Highstay’s in-house team to retain their character while offering a contemporary twist.
    Each apartment is designed with a neutral palette and contemporary furniture”Our interior designers combine the quintessential Parisian style of 19th-century architecture with contemporary materials and modern equipment,” said the Highstay team.

    “The association of natural stones, elegant woods and high-quality fabrics shapes the atmosphere of a room and best connect our guests to the spirit of a place.”
    Parquet floors, bronze mirrors and marble accents are common throughoutRanging from one to three bedrooms, the apartments are decorated in a neutral palette, combining classical mouldings with minimally detailed stone and pale wood surfaces.
    Common materials and elements found in most of the interiors include arched architectural features, parquet flooring, travertine surfaces and dramatic marble used across fireplaces, bathrooms and kitchens.
    The buildings’ classical mouldings were retained”Each high-end pied-à-terre positions the kitchen area as the focal point and central hub, inviting conviviality while suite-style bedrooms offer a warm and intimate ambience through carefully selected wood materials, varied fabrics and textures,” said the team.
    Unique features tailored to the different contexts of each location range from large-scale upholstered or wooden headboards to full-wall panelling, bronze-tinted mirrors and various contemporary furniture and artworks.
    The kitchen area is positioned as a focal pointIn the two-bedroom Louvre I apartment, which overlooks the famous museum on Rue de Rivoli, a grand salon room contains the kitchen and living area.
    A ring-shaped light hangs over the centre of the tall space, which is vertically emphasised by the kitchen millwork and full-height windows.

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    Arched niches display decorative items on either side of the dark stone fireplace, from which the TV emerges at the touch of a button.
    The primary bathroom is wrapped almost entirely in richly veined black-and-white marble accented by black fixtures while the second is clad in warm-toned travertine.
    Highstay’s Louvre I apartment includes a bedroom with dark walnut panellingParis is gearing up to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games over the summer and is preparing by renovating many of the city’s iconic sites and landmarks including the Grand Palais, which is set to host the fencing and taekwondo events.
    Only one permanent new sporting venue – a timber Aquatics Centre by VenhoevenCS and Ateliers 2/3/4 –  is being constructed for the event, in a bid to minimise its carbon footprint.
    Louvre I also has a bathroom with walls and floors lined entirely in dramatic black and white marbleOther accommodation options across the city for design-minded travellers include the Canal Saint-Martin hotel designed by Bernard Dubois, Hôtel de la Boétie by Beata Heuman and Hôtel Madame Rêve by Laurent Taïeb.
    The photography is by Thomas de Bruyne.

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    Puerto Rico guesthouse by Dreamers Welcome features retro-modern interiors

    Four vacation rental apartments within a green-painted building in San Juan, Puerto Rico, are each designed with a slightly different take on “minimalism meets retro-chic”.

    Verde contains four minimalist apartments: two studios and two one-bedroom apartments, all a 10-minute walk to Ocean Park Beach.
    Each of the four apartments in Verde has a different interior, including the cool-toned Verde 1The units were designed and are operated by LGBTQIA-owned hospitality group Dreamers Welcome, which manages over 60 rentable rooms across hotels, multi-unit properties and single-family dwellings in Puerto Rico and North Carolina.
    All of the spaces at Verde are designed to create a “cohesive contrast where minimalism meets retro-chic charm”, according to the owners.
    Verde 1 studio features concrete furniture and a giant keyhole that leads to an outdoor showerThe loft-like Verde 1 studio boasts 12-foot (3.7-metre) ceilings and opens onto a private terrace, complete with a water feature and hammock.

    Inside, antique checkerboard tiles cover the floor and polished concrete furniture elements including a table-cum-counter and a centrally positioned headboard add Brutalist touches.
    Verde 2 has a warmer palette, with honey-toned floors and colourful accentsWalls are painted pale blue until halfway up, then replaced with beige that continues across the ceiling.
    A giant keyhole behind folding glass doors provides access to a small outdoor pool with a shower.
    Verde 2 has access to two outdoor spaces, including one with a pink concrete tub and rain showerVerde 2 features a warmer palette, with honey-toned floor tiles and pink concrete surfaces including the outdoor shower and soaking tub.
    This one-bedroom apartment has access to an additional terrace, wrapped with wood slats for privacy, and has colourful accents throughout.
    In Verde 3, tinted glass gives the room an amber glow”The oversized windows overlook a verdant plant enclosure allowing for plenty of natural light to pour in,” said Dreamers Welcome.
    Upstairs, Verde 3 is another studio unit, where retro-tinted glass gives the whole space an amber glow.
    Neutral hues are used through the majority of one-bed Verde 4A compact kitchenette opens onto a balcony enclosed by concrete blocks and more tinted glass.
    “Midcentury modern pieces like lamp fixtures, peacock chairs, and wood panelling create a unique contemporary vibe rooted in the past,” Dreamers Welcome said.
    In contrast, Verde 4’s bathroom features olive green walls and a pink double vanity and showerThe final one-bedroom apartment, Verde 4, is decorated in neutral tones apart from the bathroom, which has olive green walls and pink concrete double vanity and shower.
    A hammock is installed in the bedroom and a corduroy sofa in the living area can sleep a third guest.

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    There’s a full kitchen for those who wish to cook for themselves, and a balcony for eating and relaxing outside.
    Two of the four apartments also have access to a secret room, which is lined entirely with silver foil as an homage to Andy Warhol’s Factory in New York City.
    Two of the units have access to a Warhol-themed secret roomGuests won’t know if the space they’ve booked is one of those with access until they arrive and discover the room by exploring for themselves.
    Dreamers Welcome was founded by entrepreneur Stephan Watts and artist Roy Delgado, and the duo design the interiors for each of their properties themselves.
    The apartments are housed within a green-painted building 10 minute’s walk from Ocean Park BeachPuerto Rico’s Caribbean climate makes it a popular tourist destination, particularly for American tourists, and the island has a wealth of accommodation options to cater to them.
    A 1920s residence that was destroyed by Hurricane Maria and then converted into a luxury holiday home in Dorado, and pairs of apartments stacked in rectangular concrete blocks to form a self-sufficient guesthouse are among other choices for holiday makers.

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    Furora Studio designs Kraków rental apartment Pops with “very sugary interior”

    Bespoke scalloped edges and a Verner Panton S-Chair feature at the Pops holiday apartment in Kraków, which Furora Studio designed to be more playful than a permanent home.

    Named Pops after lollipops, the dwelling was conceived by Diana Żurek and Gutek Girek of Polish firm Furora Studio.
    “The project is a temporary apartment for anyone who wants to spend time in an attractive and very sugary interior,” said the designers.
    Pops is a holiday apartment in central KrakówSpread across one level of a multi-storey building in central Kraków, the rental home includes an open-plan kitchen and living room.
    This space was dressed with a velvety salmon-pink curtain, which stretches the length of one of two of the walls, and a central display cabinet finished in pistachio green and “crowned with frills”.

    Furniture including a decorative display cabinet was custom-made by Furora StudioMuch of the furniture and other design elements were custom-made by Furora Studio and follow the same toy-like geometry as the cabinet – a combination of round and wavy motifs created in pastel pinks, greens and creams.
    For example, a white and turquoise pendant light with scalloped edges was suspended above a circular dining table, while a ribbed half-moon alcove was created as a backdrop for the wall-mounted television.
    Pastel hues define the apartment”First and foremost, we aimed to find suitable forms,” said Żurek, describing the studio’s starting point for the project.
    “Most of the elements were custom-made because we wanted to maintain the coherence of the interior while ensuring proper functional arrangement,” she told Dezeen.
    “Essentially, each element was its own small project. The selection of shapes, milling, small details, and perfecting the form – all of these were important considerations.”
    A ribbed, half-moon alcove was created as a backdrop for the televisionAn olive-hued, L-shaped sofa was tucked into one corner of the living space and echoed by the kitchen splashback, finished in the same green colour.
    Żurek described the apartment’s double bedroom as “a pink box with a whimsical headboard and an abundance of pillows”.
    Designer Diana Żurek described the bedroom as “a pink box”In one corner, a light green built-in desk was positioned in front of a sculptural Verner Panton chair.
    The iconic S-shaped seating was originally designed by Panton in the early 1960s and recently influenced the furniture created for the Dreamhouse at the centre of the set design in this year’s Barbie film.
    “We rarely have the opportunity to be in interiors that evoke memories of earlier years, when as children, we had few responsibilities and sought joy and playfulness,” noted Żurek.
    “But this is not about returning to preschool or infantilising the space,” stressed the designer.
    “It’s about positive energy. We sought solutions that would more literally create a colorful space, full of rounded patterns, light colours and a sense of relief,” she added.
    The studio added a Verner Panton chair to the apartmentThe bathroom is also awash with pattern, featuring a jumbo scalloped-edged cabinet and pink and brown terrazzo tiles.
    Bulbous pendant lighting illuminates the space, which contains a walk-in shower.
    Summarising the holiday apartment, Żurek called it a place to “have fun and cuddle”.

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    “Certainly, there are many enthusiasts of such candy-like solutions, but this interior may not be for everyone, especially for long-term use, such as in the case of a private home,” reflected the designer.
    “For short-term rentals, I believe most people would be tempted to experience how it feels to be in such a vibrant interior,” she added.
    “These projects allow for the use of [design] solutions that might be somewhat tiring on a daily basis, but spending a brief moment in such a place opens us up to new experiences, feelings of peace and relaxation.”
    A jumbo scalloped-edged cabinet features in the bathroomElsewhere in Kraków, London-based office Studio Mills transformed an apartment at a converted monastery into a family home. Polish practice Projekt Praga created a bar with a self-service beer fountain within the taproom of a centuries-old brewery just outside of the city.
    The photography is by ONI Studio. 

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    Five “quirky” sleeping pods top Watchet's East Quay arts centre

    UK studios Pearce+ and Fægen have designed the interiors of five sleeping pods that stand on top of the Invisible Studio-designed arts centre on the dockside in Watchet, UK.

    The studios aimed to design the pods, which were created to provide interesting accommodation for people visiting East Quay and the town, to align with the ethos of the arts centre.
    The sleeping pods are located on top of Watchet’s East Quay arts centre”The whole of East Quay is about culture, purpose and imagination – it is a hub of creativity, opportunity, artistry and ideas,” explained Pearce+ founder Owen Pearce.
    “It is also most importantly about community – multiple hands and many eyes,” he told Dezeen.
    “We wanted this to be captured in the pods also, providing inspiring, exciting, different, unusual spaces and involving as many hands as possible in the design, from artists to makers to kids.”

    Two pods are raised on stiltsThe five pods are located in a series of metal-clad boxes on top of the East Quay arts centre, which was designed by Bath-based Invisible Studio with Ellis Williams Architects acting as executive architect for the local social enterprise Onion Collective.
    Two of the pods stand on stilts above the building.

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    “All the pods are linked to their surroundings by fantastic views of the Bristol Channel, the Quantocks, the marina and the town,” said Pearce.
    “The form of the buildings feels rooted in the area as they jut and protrude as if continuously added to like some of the old houses in the town.”
    The walls of pod two were CNC etchedEach of the five pods is designed by Pearce+ and Fægen to have a different character and involve local artists and the community.
    The first sleeping pod, which was built with reclaimed furniture and materials, was designed as a “living museum” where guests are encouraged to leave an item and take one away.
    Etched illustrations cover the walls of pod two, which is designed by artist Isabelle Mole and aims to tell the story of the town.
    Pod 1 contains a “living museum””Our overarching aim was to provide a connection between guests and the local community,” explained Pearce.
    “This is done, for example, through direct object transfer in pod one as guests donate objects of meaning and take something in return or, in pod two, by visually exploring the stories and myths of the town in CNC etchings on the walls.”
    Pod four contains a cargo netThe third pod aims to evoke the feeling of a 1920s ocean liner, while pod four “is about play” and has semaphore signals painted on the walls. Here there is also a cargo net for sitting, which is reached by a staircase hung from the ceiling.
    Bristol graffiti artist Andy Council worked with local schoolchildren to create the interior of the fifth pod, which will be redecorated each year by an artist chosen by the Onion Collective.
    Bristol graffiti artist Andy Council decorated the fifth podIn line with the ethos of the project, Pearce+ and Fægen moved to Watchet for a year to act as contractor and fabricate the interiors of the pods with the help of a small team.
    Pearce hopes that the pods will provide fun places for visitors to stay and bring income into the community.
    “The brief for the competition was quirky places to stay,” he explained. “The client wanted to have fun with the pods and to provide an opportunity for inventiveness from architects.”
    “The building’s aim is to support a local artistic community and provide opportunities that weren’t available before. A key part of the economic strategy of the building is to attract guests from afar to bring in much-needed income, which in turn supports cultural and education work,” he continued. “The designs are then targeted to create a cool place to visit in order to do that.”
    Pearce+ previously collaborated with UK studio Hugh Broughton Architects and artists Ella Good and Nicki Kent to create the inflatable Martian House, which is currently installed in Bristol.
    The photography is by Joseph Horton.

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