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    Sky-blue cafe in Buffalo features “Alice in Wonderland” staircase

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    Canadian design duo Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster have created a playful all-blue cafe in a century-old house in Buffalo, New York, with an optical illusion staircase.Named Tipico Coffee, the cafe’s identity was formed with the intention of designing a space that encourages social interactions and supports local craftsmanship.

    The cafe’s main bar is grafted from reclaimed furniture
    Reclaimed furniture and lighting made from construction-site string lights feature alongside an oversized staircase to nowhere which forms amphitheatre-style seating.
    The cafe’s main bar is made from ten reclaimed wooden tables sourced from classified advertisements website Craigslist.

    The main bar encourages social interactions

    The tables are grafted together and painted in sky-blue, forming a unified bar which runs along one wall of the cafe.
    “The process of designing the cafe really started with the idea of the social infrastructure of the grafted bar,” Jamrozik and Kempster told Dezeen.

    Drinks on ice are displayed between the bar’s table-tops
    The open bar has clusters of swivelling stools arranged around blue table-tops that jut out of the bar’s customer side, allowing easy socialising between customers and staff.
    “The different shapes of the tables come together to create opportunities for conversations,” continued the designers.
    “This is augmented with the use of swivelling bar stools that allow patrons the ability to turn their bodies to orient themselves to a new connection.”

    Swivelling stools encourage random encounters between customers and staff

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    Groups of circular olive-green garden tables and chairs, as well as built-in blue benches, make up two intimate seating areas behind each side of the bar, which are separated by a wall.
    The tables and chairs used are purposefully outdoor furniture. This means that the seating can be moved onto an exterior patio in the summer months.

    Tipico’s atmosphere is a mix of indoors and outdoors
    Various scattered potted plants blend green and blue furniture together and continue the theme of bringing the outdoors inside.
    Jamrozik and Kempster explained their intentions for using sky-blue as the cafe’s dominant colour.

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    “We wanted to use a vibrant colour to visually tie together the bar and benches to create continuity in the space and give visual emphasis to the bar as the main design gesture.”
    “We chose blue to both complement the olive green furniture and plants, but also to create moments of contrast with the bespoke yellow lights,” they continued.

    Potted plants are scattered around the space
    The bespoke lights designed for the cafe are composed of construction-site string lights, wound around sections of aluminium stock tubes. They hang above the bar and the seating areas.
    “We wanted to transform the string lights, while still making it clear what the source product was,” explained the designers.

    Lighting made from construction-site string lights
    Metal pegboard is another off-the-shelf material used in the space, making up a menu board behind the bar, a merchandise display board and a community message board.
    The bottom of the main bar and built-in-benches was also lined with wooden pegboard in order to “give them both a visual texture, taking advantage of the acoustic properties of the perforations,” said Jamrozik and Kempster

    A merchandise display board made from metal pegboard
    A sense of the building’s historic charm remains in the existing fireplace that is preserved, which is painted in a strip of the same sky-blue paint as the main bar.
    An over-scaled stairwell acts as an additional, cosy seating area fit for a couple of customers at a time.

    The building’s original fireplace and its playful stairwell
    Sealed off by a mirror and leading to nowhere, the stairwell is intended as an “Alice in Wonderland moment,” enhancing the cafe’s playfulness.
    “The stairway’s oversized steps effectively shrink the visitor and act as seats while the mirrored ceiling gives the impression that the space continues up,” explained Jamrozik and Kempster.
    “We imagine people will be drawn to the curious space and hope that they enjoy the tongue-in-cheek reference that plays on the domestic history of the original building,” continued the designers.

    Sealed off by a mirror, the stairwell is an optical illusion
    Jamrozik and Kempster note the importance of playful design in their work, which they believe connects people in public spaces.
    “We use the language of play to create social infrastructures: physical prompts which encourage contact between strangers.”
    “We believe that questioning the way people use and occupy space and their relationship to one another through playful encounters has enormous potential to speak across generations and cultural differences,” they continued.

    The importance of play is an influence in Jamrozik and Kempster’s design work
    Designers everywhere are acknowledging the importance of designing public spaces to maximise social interactions. In Montreal, Ménard Dworkind has created a cafe with a central standing bar, while Central Saint Martins graduates have created blocky outdoor furniture for a public square in Croydon, London.
    Julia Jamrozik and Coryn Kempster have collaborated on design projects since 2003. Their varied work spans temporary installations and permanent interior and architectural commissions.
    Photography is by Sara Schmidle.
    Project credits: 
    Architecture team: Abstract Architecture PC

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      Home Studios fills 20 Bond apartment in New York with one-off decor details

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      Design firm Home Studios used a medley of bespoke furniture and vintage finds to revamp this family apartment in New York’s NoHo neighbourhood.The 20 Bond apartment measures 2000 square feet (186 square metres) and is set within a building that dates back to 1925. Since the 1980s, it hasn’t undergone any significant renovations.

      Above: custom lights hang above the dining area. Top image: the apartment’s living room
      Brooklyn-based Home Studios was asked to carry out the much-needed overhaul of the dated apartment.
      Its owners – a couple with young kids – had grown to be a fan of the studio’s aesthetic after frequenting two New York restaurants it had designed, Elsa and Goat Town.
      This is, to date, only the second residential project that the studio has worked on, but founder Oliver Haslegrave says the creative process was much like developing a restaurant.

      A copper hood contrasts the kitchen’s blue-grey cabinetry

      “Like our hospitality projects, we envisioned an updated and modern space that defies the conformity of a typical residence,” Haslegrave told Dezeen.
      “20 Bond is a direct reflection of our practice in that the end product is both expressive and finely detailed, and marries contemporary and vintage influences.”

      Copper frames the apartment’s curved internal windows
      In the open-plan kitchen, a trio of ring-shaped pendant lamps made bespoke by Home Studios dangle above a walnut dining table. The nickel and brass spotlights that illuminate the central breakfast island were also crafted by the studio.
      Opposite the island is a series of cupboards painted a blue-grey hue called Pigeon by Farrow & Ball, accompanied by a custom extractor hood that’s clad in gleaming copper.

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      Copper goes on to border the apartment’s rounded door frames and skirting boards. The metal also frames the guest bathroom’s internal window, which bows outwards to form a curved wall.

      Curved forms continue into the guest bathroom
      Curves continue throughout the rest of the bathroom, where a mosaic of tan-coloured tiles sinuously winds around the shower, tub and a seating nook which is inbuilt with a storage box for towels.
      Haslegrave says that these features are meant to act as a small homage to the shapely form of buildings created by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

      Tan-coloured tiles serve as a backdrop to the shower and bathtub
      “The freeform curves found in [Aalto’s] work represent both a fluid motif and an engaging playfulness that we aim to incorporate in all Home Studios projects,” he explained.
      “We included images of Aalto’s Screen 100 and the Maison Louis Carré – the residential building in Bazoches-Sur-Guyonne, France designed by him and his wife, Elissa – in our initial project mood board.”

      The doorways and skirting in the apartment are also edged with copper
      More bespoke and vintage pieces can be found in the master bedroom, for which Home Studios has made a walnut and travertine headboard.
      A French floor lamp from the 1940s stands in the corner of the room, beside a boucle-upholstered armchair by LA brand Atelier de Troupe.

      A bespoke headboard and vintage French lamp feature in the master bedroom
      In the living room, two antique Danish chairs with woven leather seats have been contrastingly paired with a blocky side table by Sabine Marcelis, which is cast from candy-pink resin.
      An oak and brass shelving unit made by Home Studios dominates a peripheral wall.
      “The final product is a near-ideal extension of our process and values – a tailored place that offers its residents something special,” Haslegrave concluded.

      The nearby living area is dominated by a shelving unit made by the studio
      Home Studios was established by Haslegrave in 2009. Previous projects by the studio include the revamp of Bibo Ergo Sum, an eclectic bar in West Hollywood which takes visual cues from the early 20th-century Viennese architecture, French film posters and the 1967 film The Graduate.
      Photography is by Brian Ferry.
      Project credits:
      Architecture, interior design, furniture and lighting, styling: Home StudiosFabrication: Works Manufacturing, Shelton Studios, Zalla Studios, Anthony Hart, Anders RydstedtConstruction: Vertical Space

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      Recycled drink cans decorate exterior of Daily Paper's first US store

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      Over 13,000 flattened aluminium cans decorate the facade of Dutch fashion label Daily Paper’s inaugural shop in the US, which has opened in Manhattan, New York. The two-storey Daily Paper store spans 1,140 square feet (106 square metres) and occupies a prominent corner building in Manhattan’s Lower Eastside. Up until now, the brand has exclusively
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      The Maker Hotel in Hudson channels “old-world bohemian glamour”

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      Original decor features and vintage treasures helped Lev Glazman, Alina Roytberg and Damien Janowicz create an eclectic sense of old-world charm inside this boutique hotel in Hudson, New York.Host to just 11 rooms, The Maker Hotel is the brainchild of Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, the co-founders of skincare brand Fresh, and hospitality specialist Damien Janowicz.

      The Maker Hotel takes over three historic buildings in Hudson
      This isn’t the first time that Glazman and Roytberg have ventured out of the beauty industry – back in 2016 they also worked with Janowicz to open the doors to Bartlett House, a bakery-cum-cafe serving seasonal dishes in the town of Ghent, New York.

      When it came to creating The Maker Hotel, Glazman wanted to focus on “celebrating the world of makers”, utilising different forms of craftsmanship to foster unique spaces for guests.

      A newly built conservatory houses the hotel’s restaurant
      “During my travels, I always felt there was an opportunity to expand the hospitality experience – one that inspires and allows you to dream,” he explained. “We knew we could execute The Maker concept in Hudson because the area was so rich with artisans, history and design, and it was the perfect location.”
      “Moving away from standardized design, The Maker fuses different periods, and builds a home where this eclectic design can exist harmoniously,” Glazman added.

      Inside The Maker Hotel are just 11 guest rooms
      Construction works were first carried out to connect the various rooms throughout the 14,000-square foot (1,300 square metres) hotel, which is composed of three different buildings – a Georgian mansion, a Greek revival-style property and a carriage house that dates back to the early 1800s.
      New structural additions were also made, including a central courtyard filled with lush greenery and a “jewel box”-like conservatory that now accommodates The Maker Hotel’s main restaurant.

      The design team worked to keep as many original features as possible throughout the rooms
      Attention was then turned to the interiors, which were largely designed by Glazman – Roytberg focused on the hotel’s branding, while Janowicz worked on refining guest experience.

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      Glazman and the design team sought to keep to as many original features as possible, preserving the ornate fireplaces, hand-painted ceilings, stained-glass windows and tiled mosaic flooring that already existed across the three buildings.

      One room includes bookshelves and an oak fireplace
      Over 70 per cent of the decorative pieces are antique or were made bespoke by combining salvaged objects. Some of the artworks even come from Glazman’s personal collection.
      “The result is unexpected; an old-world bohemian glamour that fuses a worldly design ethos shaped by decades of travel,” he concluded.

      Most of the decor elements are antiques
      This same eclectic style seeps through to the guest suites, of which there are five typologies: The Bedrooms, The Terrace Lofts, The Corner Studio and The Maker Studios.
      The Maker Studios are each inspired by four different creative figures – an architect, artist, gardener, writer – and have been styled accordingly. For example, The Artist room includes a vintage easel, while The Writer room sees book-lined shelves arranged around an oak fireplace.
      When not in their rooms, guests can then enjoy the hotel’s pool, cafe or intimate cocktail bar.

      The Maker Hotel also includes an intimate cocktail bar
      The Maker Hotel joins a growing number of getaway spots in New York that are situated away from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan. Others include The Hoxton in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which sits on the site of an old water tower.
      Photography is by Francine Zaslow.

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      Crosby Studios founder Harry Nuriev adds “signature boldness” to his New York apartment

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      Tiled walls, purple carpeting and leathery cabinets are among the features Crosby Studios founder Harry Nuriev and partner Tyler Billinger have included in the renovation of their New York apartment. The designers, who run Crosby Studios together, used bold colours, geometric shapes and eclectic materials to bring their personal styles into the residence in the […] More