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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”.

    Ten interiors with pastel colours that freshen up the home for spring

    “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.

    East Quay arts centre in Watchet takes cues from ad-hoc harbour buildings

    “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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