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    Eight compact garden studios with neat storage solutions

    From cantilevered shelves to customisable pegboards, our latest lookbook rounds up eight examples of garden studios with storage designed to make the most of limited space.

    Garden studios are becoming increasingly popular in homes around the world, prompted largely by the evergrowing trend of remote work.
    Often slotted into small spaces, these structures typically have compact footprints and require efficient storage solutions to keep them clutter-free.
    The examples in this lookbook demonstrate some of the ways storage can be suitably integrated within a garden studio, helping save valuable space within their small footprints.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring Mexican holiday homes, full-length curtains and living spaces with swings.

    Photo by Wai Ming NgCork Study, UK, by Surman Weston
    Birch shelves and twin desks cantilever from the walls of Cork Study, which Surman Weston created in the narrow garden of a home in north London.
    The set-up was designed to help maximise space within the compact studio, which measures just 13 square metres and was created as a workspace for a musician and a seamstress.
    The two desks, complete with their own cubby holes, are broken by a long vertical window in the rear wall, illuminating the workspaces with natural light.
    Find out more about Cork Study ›
    Photo by Nancy ZhouNightlight, New Zealand, by Fabric
    Green storage boxes on wheels slot neatly below the workbench of this outbuilding in New Zealand, which occupies the future garden of a home being developed on the site.
    There are also slender slats mounted to the wooden framework of the 10-square-metre structure, forming minimalist shelves from which tools can be hung.
    Find out more about Nightlight ›
    Photo by Ashlea WesselThe Garden Studio, Canada, by Six Four Five A
    The founder of architecture studio Six Four Five A built storage into the wooden shell of his tiny studio, which he created in the garden of his Toronto home.
    Exposed vertical studs double as supports for shelves and a large standing desk made from birch plywood along one side, preventing cluttering up the 9.3-square-metre space.
    Find out more about The Garden Studio ›
    Photo by Jonas AdolfsenWriter’s Cottage, Norway, by Jarmund/Vigsnæs Architects
    This cabin-like studio sits at the end of a garden in Oslo, where it acts as a compact and secluded workspace for the owner who is a writer.
    Among its storage solutions is a plywood staircase that incorporates a shelving system beneath it, leading up to a mezzanine sleeping area that tucks beneath its pitched roof.
    Find out more about Writer’s Cottage ›
    Photo by Wai Ming NgWriter’s Shed, UK, by Surman Weston
    Another project by Surman Weston on the list is the Writer’s Shed, a shingle-clad garden studio designed as a writing retreat for an author.
    Inside, a cluster of shelves has been built around the chimney of the wood-burning stove, which is used to heat the compact structure. While providing valuable storage space, they are also intended as “a centrepiece for the client to store his library of books”, Surman Weston said.
    Find out more about Writer’s Shed ›
    Photo by Sarah BurtonTerrazzo Studio, UK, by Sonn
    In east London, architect Tim Robinson designed and built himself a little studio and workshop at the end of his garden.
    The narrow workshop contains a line of storage units raised above the floor, alongside a large pegboard for storing tools. Next door in the studio space, a rear wall of cabinets incorporates a concealed fold-down bed, enabling the space to become a guest bedroom.
    Find out more about Terrazzo Studio ›
    Photo courtesy of Boano PrišmontasMy Room in the Garden, UK, by Boano Prišmontas
    This modular pod is a prototype for a garden studio, developed by London studio Boano Prišmontas in response to an increase in people working from home prompted by the Covid-19 pandemic.
    Inside, the plywood structure can be fitted out with customisable elements including pegboards from which desks, shelves and storage can be hung.
    “My Room in the Garden was created with comfort and customisability in mind,” said the studio. “We wanted to allow people to be able to decide what their interior would look like or how much storage they would have, and we do that by creating a system of interchangeable elements.”
    Find out more about My Room in the Garden ›
    Photo by Shannon McGrathWriter’s Shed, Australia, by Matt Gibson
    This deceptively spacious garden studio that architect Matt Gibson created in Melbourne is hidden behind ivy-covered walls.
    An angular desk slots into one corner, with one side nestled below two generous high-level shelving units on the walls. Plywood was used across all of the surfaces, giving the interior a unified look that adds to the sense of spaciousness.
    Find out more about Writer’s Shed ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring Mexican holiday homes, full-length curtains and living spaces with swings.

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    Eight home interiors where full-length curtains add a touch of drama

    From a glitzy Parisian apartment to a converted garage in Buffalo, New York, our latest lookbook collects eight residential interiors where floor-to-ceiling curtains inject a theatrical feel.

    Curtains aren’t just for covering windows. A set of statement drapes can be an easy way to significantly change the mood of a room, particularly in apartment renovations.
    The selection below features curtains in stage-like living rooms, rough-edged bedrooms and cosy working nooks.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with statement carpets, furry walls and colourful bedrooms.
    Photo is by Luis Díaz DíazReady-made Home, Spain, by Azab

    Duck-egg blue curtains help to create a flexible open-plan layout at this apartment in Bilbao that was overhauled by architecture studio Azab, running the length of the living-dining-kitchen area to conceal storage space and a bathroom.
    “The curtains have theatrical and playful connotations and invites the inhabitant to perform with it, to change the space and to play with the mysteries, contradictions and paradoxes that privacy offers us beyond morality,” said the studio.
    Find out more about Ready-made Home ›
    Photo by Rory GardinerRuckers Hill House, Australia, by Studio Bright
    In this extension to an Edwardian family home in Melbourne, architecture practice Studio Bright raised the sitting room on a curved plinth, giving it a stage-like quality.
    Enhancing the effect is a heavy green curtain hung from the ceiling, which can be drawn across to turn the space into an impromptu theatre for the children to play in.
    Find out more about Ruckers Hill House ›
    Photo by Félix Dol MaillotAvenue Montaigne apartment, France, by Uchronia
    Sheer, rainbow-effect curtains cover the balconies of this opulent Haussman-era Parisian apartment, renovated by local studio Uchronia.
    Even the walls echo the curtains’ gradations of colour, while the brightly toned furnishings are designed to resemble pieces of jewellery.
    Find out more about this apartment ›
    Photo by Michael SinclairGas-holder apartment, UK, by Roksanda Ilincic
    Fashion designer Roksanda Ilincic brought her proclivity for bold colours and shapes to this London penthouse inside a former Victorian gas holder.
    Pale pink Kvadrat curtains over the full-height windows cast a rose-tinted hue over the rooms, where the colour palette is kept mostly neutral apart from some pops of bright yellow.
    Find out more about this apartment ›
    Photo by Florian HolzherrBig Space, Little Space, USA, by Davidson Rafailidis
    Peeling paintwork, uneven concrete floors and distressed wooden beams lend a distinctly rough-and-ready feel to this home-slash-workspace in Buffalo created out of a garage conversion by design studio Davidson Rafailidis.
    For the most part, the space is minimally furnished, apart from a set of high and wide drapes that introduce a luxurious twist.
    Find out more about Big Space, Little Space ›
    Photo by Norihito YamauchiLandscape House, Japan, by FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects
    Upon entering Landscape House in central Japan, designed by Japanese studio FORM/Kouichi Kimura Architects, one is greeted by a lengthy corridor lined entirely on one side by a full-length silver curtain.
    The fabric echoes a raw concrete feature wall on the opposite side of the corridor, as well as referencing the extensive use of metal throughout the building.
    Find out more about Landscape House ›
    Photo by ONI StudioPops, Poland, by Furora Studio
    Furora Studio wanted the design of this holiday apartment in Kraków to be slightly more outrageous than the standard residential interior.
    A velvety, salmon-pink curtain dresses an entire wall in the open-plan kitchen and living room, adding to a plethora of sugary colours and rounded edges.
    Find out more about Pops ›
    Photo by Maxime BrouillettMaison-Boutique Coloniale, Canada, by Michael Godmer and Mathieu Turgeon
    Most of the spaces inside Maison-Boutique Coloniale in Montreal – renovated by designers Michael Godmer and Mathieu Turgeon as their own residence and studio – are pared-back and neutral.
    But in an office space on the basement level, plush orange curtains line the walls, combined with dim pendant lighting and a black table arrangement by Muuto and &tradition for an intimate effect.
    Find out more about Maison-Boutique Coloniale ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with statement carpets, furry walls and colourful bedrooms.

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    Seven playful living spaces where swings provide dynamic seating

    This lookbook compiles seven living spaces where swings show they have a place beyond children’s playgrounds by providing a gleeful alternative to static seating.

    Swings typically consist of a seat made from a flat piece of metal, plastic, wood or canvas, but can also be made from found materials such as tyres and sometimes feature a wraparound design for added safety.
    This seat is then suspended by sturdy lengths of rope or chain from a frame, ceiling or tree.
    Swings have been used for hundreds of years by cultures across the world for both leisure and ritual-related purposes, and are enjoyed by people of all ages, from children in play areas to older people who might have swinging benches in their gardens.
    From basic playground swings transplanted into grown-up interiors to intricately crafted bench swing seats that look out over lush courtyards, read on to view a selection of interiors on Dezeen that feature suspended seating.

    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors animated by indoor slides, living spaces featuring metal furniture and spaces with oversized windows.
    Photo by Ishita SitwalaGujarat house, India, by Design ni Dukaan
    A wooden swing seat covered in pillows is suspended from the concrete ceiling of this house in the Indian state of Gujarat.
    The swing is situated in one of the house’s covered walkways and was positioned to allow the sitter to enjoy views of its open-air courtyard.
    Find out more about Gujarat house ›
    Photo by Jack HobhouseKenwood Lee House, UK, by Cousins & Cousins
    A cantilevered floating stair anchors a swing inside the hallway of this house in north London by local studio Cousins & Cousins.
    The wooden seat is suspended by softly frayed rope, creating a subtly rustic composition that compliments both the poured-concrete finish of the walls and the wood used on the ceiling, cabinets and front door.
    Find out more about Kenwood Lee House ›
    Photo by Yash R JainKarai, India, by Rain Studio
    Local office Rain Studio hung a polished wooden swing seat overlooking a verdant courtyard in this house near the city of Chennai in southern India.
    The seat is suspended from all four corners by ornately cast metal hooks and links, some of which feature animals such as elephants.
    Find out more about Karai ›
    Photo by Chase DanielAustin House, USA, by Melanie Raines
    Rustic Californian barns provided reference points for this house in Austin, Texas, which features a lofty double-height living space complete with multiple seating options.
    A metal-framed lounge chair flanked by integrated side tables is suspended from the ceiling’s wooden rafters by two long lengths of rope, adding to the interior’s whimsical atmosphere.
    Find out more about Austin house ›
    Photo by The Fishy ProjectThane apartment, India, by The Act of Quad
    Rigid metal uprights, each threaded with a cobalt-blue sphere, tie this swing seat in with the rest of the apartment’s blue-themed interior scheme, created by design studio Act of Quad.
    The seat is softened by a slim cushioned pad and has been attached to the ceiling with metal hardware.
    Find out more about Thane apartment ›
    Photo by Kevin ScottThe Perch, USA, by Chadbourne + Doss
    A pair of swings are strung up on the boundary between a covered entryway and a courtyard pond in this house in Seattle.
    The seats themselves were made from sheets of walnut timber and intended to provide the sitter with the experience of floating above the water.
    Find out more about The Perch ›
    Photo by BCDF studioParisian loft, France, by Isabelle Heilmann
    Hooks, carabiners and thick, knotted ropes affix this swing to the tall ceilings of this Parisian apartment’s living room.
    The suspended seat slots in comfortably with the rest of the eclectically-chosen furniture, including a mid-century cantilevered chair and a slouchy, ribbed sofa.
    Find out more about Parisian loft ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring interiors animated by indoor slides, living spaces featuring metal furniture and spaces with oversized windows.

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    Eight interiors illuminated by sculptural aesthetic lamps

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve collected eight interiors enhanced by aesthetic lamps including a 19th-century house in Stockholm and a retro-futuristic clothing store in Hangzhou.

    There is a growing trend for unusually sculptural and innovative lighting designs that don’t just light up an interior but also function as a piece of art.
    The examples below show characterful lamps used in commercial, hospitality and cultural interiors. But the same principle can also be applied to residential interiors for a similarly striking effect.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring inviting breakfast nooks, homes with central courtyards and tranquil interiors with oversized windows.
    Photo by Franziska KrieckFilips Van Marnix House, Belgium, by Koen Van Guijze

    Belgian designer Koen Van Guijze showcased his characterful lighting designs inside the centuries-old Filips Van Marnix house in Antwerp.
    The exhibition included his ribbon-like Circuit lamp, above, which was on show in the main staircase where its modern, graphic shape contrasted against a marble statue.
    Find out more about Filips Van Marnix house ›
    Photo by Shao FengAudrey boutique, China, by Liang Architecture Studio
    The Audrey boutique in Hangzhou, China, has an industrial interior made from steel and micro cement. But large pyramidal lights add a striking futuristic touch to the austere surroundings.
    The lighting fixtures, which appear to pierce through the ceiling, are made from acrylic and change their colours regularly to light up the space, which Liang Architecture Studio designed to have a retro-futuristic feel.
    Find out more about Audrey boutique ›
    Photo by Alexandra Svärdh and Bosse LindSoft Serve lamp, Sweden, by Crème Atelier
    Stockholm design studio Crème Atelier created its Soft Serve lamp, which was shortlisted in the lighting design category of the Dezeen Awards last year, to resemble “swirly ice cream”.
    “We were very intrigued by the creamy organic shapes of meringue and soft serve ice cream,” co-founder Jacqueline Kessidis told Dezeen.
    The 3D-printed lamp comes in a variety of sorbet colours and is made from a bioplastic made from recycled food packaging.
    Find out more about the Soft Serve lamp ›
    Photo by Laure JolietWine and Eggs, US, by Adi Goodrich
    Located in the Atwater Village neighbourhood of Los Angeles, the Wine and Eggs grocery has an interior that nods to Parisian cafes and Italian tobacconists and features multiple fun and colourful details, such as a blue-and-green checkerboard floor.
    Custom-made lamps by designer Adi Goodrich reference the name of the store.
    “At the beginning of the project I knew I wanted the lights to look like a sunny-side-up egg,” Goodrich told Dezeen. “After designing some wiggly shapes, I landed at the stacked circle.”
    Find out more about Wine and Eggs ›

    Bakers House, Sweden, by Färg & Blanche
    A residence built in 1889, which belongs to the family of one of the Färg & Blanche founders, formed the background for this exhibition by the Swedish studio.
    Among the pieces showcased were bulbous lights that appear to be bound in brass strips. These were scattered over the home’s patterned parquet floors, creating a well-lit path up a winding staircase.
    Find out more about Bakers House ›

    Cafe Mollien, France, by Mathieu Lehanneur
    The cafe of the Louvre museum in Paris was given a renovation by French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, who decorated the interior with pink acrylic light fixtures.
    The translucent lights create a modern contrast to the museum’s historic halls and were designed by Lehanneur as “three large pale-pink eggs” floating in space.
    Find out more about Cafe Mollien ›

    The Sensory Society, Denmark, by Helle Mardahl
    Bulbous glassware defines the work of Helle Mardahl, who started her career creating pastel-coloured glass objects.
    Since then, the Danish designer has expanded into lighting design, creating candy-like aesthetic lamps that were first showcased during design festival 3 Days of Design in Copenhagen, where they lit up a warm red hallway.
    Find out more about The Sensory Society ›

    Knuckle light, Sweden, by David Taylor
    Made by forcibly bending aluminium tubing, designer David Taylor’s Knuckle light has an industrial frame that is juxtaposed with oversized round white lightbulbs.
    “No two bends in the Knuckle series are alike,” the designer said. “Coercing metal into a form that it is specifically designed to resist is challenging at best.”
    Find out more about Knuckle light ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration, see previous lookbooks featuring inviting breakfast nooks, homes with central courtyards and tranquil interiors with oversized windows.

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    Eight inviting breakfast nooks for easy-going mornings

    For our latest lookbook, we’ve rounded up eight kitchens with welcoming breakfast nooks of different shapes and sizes that provide a relaxed place to enjoy a meal.

    Typically tucked into a corner in or near the kitchen, breakfast nooks offer compact dining spaces that are more casual than a formal dining room and cosier than an island bar.
    They are usually characterised by banquette seating fixed to the wall with a freestanding table and chairs, but the examples in this lookbook show how the idea of a breakfast nook can be adapted to suit any size space.
    From L-shaped benches in awkward kitchen corners to curved banquettes under bay windows, read on to see how a breakfast nook can be nestled into any home for the perfect morning coffee or casual meal.
    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 oversized windows overlooking lush views, houses with closed staircases and interiors that embody the “bookshelf wealth” trend.

    Photo by Carola RipamontiTeorema Milanese, Italy, by Marcante-Testa
    Design studio Marcante-Testa overhauled an apartment in Milan with a rich mix of colours and materials, creating a clear separation between the kitchen and an adjoining breakfast nook with its choice of surfaces.
    Geometric floor tiles in the nook contrast with the marble kitchen floor, but the two spaces are tied together with the sea-green colour of the tiles and kitchen cabinets.
    Find out more about Teorema Milanese ›
    Photo by Prue RuscoeBudge Over Dover, Australia, by YSG
    This breakfast nook sits in the corner of an open-plan kitchen and living area, next to bi-folding doors that open onto a pool terrace.
    Interior design studio YSG designed the nook’s banquette seating to follow the curve of the wall and upholstered it in brown and green fabric to suit natural surfaces in the Sydney home, including terracotta floor tiles, dark wood accents and marble tabletops.
    Find out more about Budge Over Dover ›
    Photo by Daniëlle SiobhánZwaag home, Netherlands, by DAB Studio
    Generous U-shaped banquette seating wraps the walls of the nook in this kitchen, situated in a home in Zwaag, the Netherlands, that was renovated by Dutch interior design practice DAB Studio.
    The studio chose grey upholstery for the seating and placed an Arebescato Orobico marble table at the centre to balance the expansive use of wood on the floor, ceiling, walls and kitchen cabinets.
    Find out more about the Zwaag home ›
    Photo by Anson SmartPacific House, Australia, by Alexander & Co
    A circular skylight illuminates the curving breakfast nook in this oceanside home in Sydney, which architecture studio Alexander & Co renovated to make it more suited to family life.
    Aiming to create a calm and contemplative space, oak built-in seating was tucked against a concave window that overlooks a swimming pool in the garden.
    Find out more about Pacific House ›
    Photo by Lorenzo ZandriSteele’s Road House, UK, by Neiheiser Argyros
    Steele’s Road House is a Victorian terrace in London that was renovated and extended by local studio Neiheiser Argyros to increase natural light in the home.
    A breakfast nook was added to the kitchen, with curved bench seating built below a bay window offering a more casual place to eat than the separate formal dining room.
    Find out more about Steele’s Road House ›
    Photo by Jan VranovskyNagatachō Apartment, Japan, by Adam Nathaniel Furman
    Designer Adam Nathaniel Furman nestled an L-shaped breakfast nook in the kitchen of the 160-square-metre Nagatachō Apartment in Tokyo.
    The tabletop adjoins the cabinets in the U-shaped kitchen and extends along a herringbone-tiled wall. Pink shelving was built over the nook to provide additional storage in the compact apartment.
    Find out more about Nagatachō Apartment ›
    Photo by Benjamin Hosking.Brunswick apartment, Australia, by Murray Barker and Esther Stewart
    Architect Murray Barker and artist Esther Stewart created a breakfast nook in this 1960s Melbourne apartment by tucking an L-shaped fixed bench into the corner of the kitchen.
    The kitchen was originally too small for a dining table, so the duo removed a wall that separated it from the living room and added the custom-made table and seating, which is lit from above by a square skylight.
    Find out more about the Brunswick apartment ›
    Photo by Tamara UribeCasa Pulpo, Mexico, by Workshop Architects
    Local architecture studio Workshop Architects added a breakfast nook when renovating a Spanish colonial house in Mérida, Mexico, aiming to add a sense of cosiness.
    Seating was built in the corner of the kitchen between two archways that lead to the living room and a storage room. On the opposite side of the kitchen, glass doors give views of two purple concrete dwellings that were built in the garden.
    Find out more about Casa Pulpo ›
    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 oversized windows overlooking lush views, houses with closed staircases and interiors that embody the “bookshelf wealth” trend.

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    Eight homes kept cool and bright by central courtyards

    In this lookbook, we’ve collected eight homes from Vietnam to the USA that are kept ventilated and illuminated by central courtyards.

    Courtyards have been used in ancient and contemporary architecture as a tool to trap and funnel breezes and natural light into the core of a building.
    Most often, they are completely open to the elements and can extend upwards through multiple levels of a building, with some surrounded by balconies, loggias, or walkways.
    Vegetation and water features placed at the centre of courtyards also help to cool the surrounding air, while seating or lounge areas provide a place to take it all in.

    One or more courtyards were dispersed along the footprints of the eight homes below, for interiors that are relaxing, open and bright.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring tranquil interiors with oversized windows, enclosed staircases and metallic furnishings.
    Photo is by Hoang LeHouse for Young Families, Vietnam, H-H Studio
    Designed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, this house in Vietnam features green spaces throughout its entirety so its owners could be connected to nature while working remotely.
    Its interior was organised around three courtyard gardens that were dispersed along a linear plan, while the structure extends upwards around them in a series of stacked white volumes.
    Find out more about House for Young Families ›
    Photo is by Rory GardinerQuarry House, Australia, Winwood McKenzie
    Australian studio Winwood McKenzie renovated the Quarry House by inserting a garden and internal courtyard through its narrow site, which split the residence into three distinct portions.
    The house’s newly built living, dining and kitchen border the courtyard on one side, while a multi-purpose room and study sits across the way.
    Find out more about Quarry House ›
    Photo is by César BéjarCasa Ederlezi, Mexico, Práctica Arquitectura
    Práctica Arquitectura divided this narrow concrete infill house in Mexico into two distinct portions centred around a courtyard.
    Hallways and staircases were oriented around the perimeter of the double-height space in plan and a living space and second floor bedrooms were placed on either side.
    Find out more about Casa Ederlezi ›
    Photo is by Matthew MillmanSanta Monica Modern, USA, Walker Warner Architects
    This L-shaped home in California encloses a spacious courtyard that features multiple seating areas, a ping-pong table, plantings and a concrete fire pit.
    Walker Warner Architects designed the courtyard to be suitable for entertaining, as well as to take advantage of the southern California climate.
    Find out more about Santa Monica Modern ›
    Photo is by Francisco NogueiraPortugal house, Portugal, Bak Gordon Arquitectos 
    Bak Gordon Aquitectos split this Portgual home into two portions by inserting a courtyard at its centre and populated the area with an interior garden, which is surrounded by windows and openings.
    “The small functional patio allows for natural light and cross ventilation as well as a permanent natural garden presence,” said Bak Gordon Arquitectos architect Nuno Tavares da Costa.
    Find out more about Portugal house ›
    Photo is by Javier Agustín Rojas.Casa Vedia, Argentina, BHY Arquitectos
    Two courtyards were inserted into the corners of Casa Vedia in Argentina, which the studio explained were employed to optimise interior spaces.
    Each courtyard is double-height, with plantings tucked along its perimeter. Additionally, two terraces were placed on top of the structure’s roof that sits in between them.
    Find out more about Casa Vedia ›
    Photo is by Rory GardinerCasa VO and Casa WO, Mexico, Ludwig Godefroy 
    Located in Puerto Escondido, Casa VO and Casa Wo are a series of houses organised underneath two large, circular concrete openings that fan upwards from a central meeting point.
    An entryway and garden sit under one such opening, while the remaining living spaces are tucked underneath the opposite across two levels.
    Find out more about Casa VO and Casa WO ›
    Photo is by Oki HiroyukiTile House, Vietnam, Bloom Architects
    Bloom Architects designed this home in Vietnam to stay cool despite the hot climate by creating a sloping, tiled roof that traps wind and pushes it into the interior of the house.
    “[In the] sunny season, tiles surrounding the house prevent it from being radiated [with] heat. Combined with natural ventilation, the house is always cool,” architect Dinh Anh Tuan told Dezeen.
    Find out more about Tile House ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring tranquil interiors with oversized windows, enclosed staircases and metallic furnishings.

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    Ten highlights from Design Doha exhibition Arab Design Now

    A disaster-proof chandelier from Lebanon and a towering sand dune-style stone installation feature in Arab Design Now, the main exhibition at the inaugural Design Doha biennial.

    Arab Design Now was curated by Rana Beiruti to capture the spirit of contemporary design across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the curator told Dezeen ahead of the opening of the first Design Doha.
    Set within the Qatari capital’s M7 building, the design biennial draws together a range of collectible design and installations.
    Selected works from 74 participants paid homage to the MENA region’s “extremely harsh and unique geography” and investigated the “use of materials as a guiding principle,” explained Beiruti.
    Here are 10 of Dezeen’s highlights from Arab Design Now, which is on display in Doha until early August.

    Sites – New Sites by Studio Anne Holtrop
    Bahrain- and Amsterdam-based architect Anne Holtrop has designed a cluster of large-scale mobiles made from vast slabs of lumpy resin.
    Holtrop took casts of a series of manmade and natural sites that he found across Qatar to create the textured pieces, which hang from bearing mechanisms and can be manually rotated by visitors to produce continuously moving formations.

    Constellations 2.0: Object. Light. Consciousness by Abeer Seikaly
    Over 5,000 pieces of Murano glass were woven together by Jordanian-Palestinian designer Abeer Seikaly to create this chandelier, which combines Bedouin weaving practices from Jordan with traditional Venetian glassmaking techniques.
    Brass and stainless steel were also integrated into the lighting, made flexible by the glass mesh.
    Once illuminated, the sculptural piece creates dramatic light patterns that nod to a starry night sky seen from the Badia desert, according to Seikaly.

    House Between a Jujube Tree and a Palm Tree by Civil Architecture
    Kuwait and Bahrain-based office Civil Architecture has designed a looming fibreglass roof proposal for a majlis – the traditional term for an Arabic gathering space.
    “It’s a 1:1 model of a roof of an actual house that we designed in Bahrain,” studio co-founder Hamed Bukhamseen told Deezen.
    Supported by steel and suspended from tension cables, the majlis features openings designed to accommodate tall trees and was created to explore the “symbiotic but blurred” relationship between indoor and outdoor settings.
    Photo courtesy of Design DohaNubia, Hathor and Gros Guillaume Stool by Omar Chakil
    French-Egyptian-Lebanese designer Omar Chakil was informed by his father’s homeland of Egypt when he chose alabaster onyx to create this monolithic shelving, a bulbous coffee table and a stool that glides across the floor on wheels.
    Taking cues from ancient practices, Chakil carved the rounded furniture from raw blocks of the material, which was sanded down over time using water rather than covered in varnish – something that the designer said had became common in Egypt, especially when making “cheap” souvenirs.
    “The whole idea of the collection was to use Egyptian alabaster, which was a healing stone,” Chakil told Dezeen.
    “The pharaohs used [the material], then it transformed it over time. It lost its soul. So I tried to put it in the contemporary context by using the shapes that healing emotions would take – so they are round and soft, even though they are very heavy,” he added.
    “I see that people are afraid to, but I want them to touch the furniture.”

    Tiamat by AAU Anastas
    Palestinian architecture office AAU Anastas is presenting Tiamat, a dune-shaped installation that forms part of the studio’s ongoing project, Stone Matters, which explores the potential of combining historical stone building techniques with modern technologies to encourage the use of structural stone.
    Positioned for visitors to walk through, the installation is a towering structure made of stone sourced from Bethlehem and informed by the Gothic-style architecture found across Palestine, Syria and Lebanon.
    According to AAU Anastas, the light, sound reverberations and climate control within Tiamat’s internal space is unique to stone construction.

    Clay in Context by Sama El Saket
    Jordan-born architect and ceramicist Sama El Saket took cues from her native landscape when creating this “taxonomy of Jordanian clays”.
    The result is a set of spindle bottle-style vessels, each made of a different natural clay found across Jordan. This gives the pieces their distinctive colours, textures and character.
    “These are all natural clays with no pigments added,” El Saket told Dezeen. “The colours are attributed to the different minerals that are found within the region. Some are sandier, some are rockier.”
    The designer noted that while Jordan features an abundance of clay deposits and a rich history of ceramic production, today most Jordanian clay is imported.
    Photo by Sabine SaadehLight Impact by Fabraca Studios
    Lebanese industrial design brand Fabraca Studios has created Light Impact, a solid aluminium lighting fixture that was designed as an alternative chandelier, resembling durable ropes.
    The piece was made to replace a glass chandelier that shattered in the aftermath of the 2020 Beiruit explosion, which destroyed a large part of Lebanon’s capital city.
    Light Impact is defined by “flexible characteristics designed to withstand another disaster,” studio founder Samer Saadeh told Dezeen. He added that the piece, which includes internal brass components, was designed as an ode to Beirut’s adaptability and resilience.

    Eleven by Sahel Alhiyari
    Eleven is a cluster of tall fluted terracotta columns by Jordanian architect Sahel Alhiyari that were made through moulding and forming rather than traditional cutting and carving.
    The architect handcrafted the segments, which are vertically stacked, using a similar technique to pottery-making,
    “As you twist and turn the material, it creates all of this stuff,” Alhiyari told Dezeen. The designer explained that the columns were deliberately created to celebrate imperfections, despite referencing classical architecture.

    Sediments by Talin Hazbar
    UAE-based Syrian designer Talin Hazbar is featuring her Sediments project, which previously gained recognition at Dubai Design Week.
    The work consists of blocky seating made from fishing ropes and fishing cage ropes extracted from the Persian Gulf with the assistance of the Dubai Voluntary Diving Team.
    Also made up of recycled rubber grains, the heavily textured seating was created to serve as a reminder of how we might attempt to clean up damaged coastlines, according to Hazbar.

    Whispers from the Deep by T Sakhi
    Lebanese-Polish sisters Tessa and Tara El Sakhi of the studio T Sakhi combined discarded metal salvaged from factories in Veneto, Italy, with Murano glass to create amorphous glassware that takes cues from underwater sea creatures.
    These pieces were arranged atop dramatic shelving inside the elevator connecting the first and second floors of the Arab Design Now exhibition.
    The result is a playful installation that draws together the Venetian lagoon and Lebanese glassblowing traditions.
    The photography is by Edmund Sumner unless stated otherwise.
    Arab Design Now takes place at Design Doha from 24 to 5 August 2024 in Doha, Qatar. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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    Eight tranquil interiors where oversized windows frame lush views

    This week’s lookbook explores eight peaceful residential interiors that feature expansive glazing and floor-to-ceiling windows framing verdant views.

    These eight projects all use oversized or unusually shaped windows in clever ways, creating interiors that embrace nature and forge welcome connections to the outdoors.
    Among this list of projects is an urban home renovation in Sydney offering scenic views over a plant-filled roof terrace, a curvaceous home that wraps around mango trees in a forest near Mumbai, and a mid-century home renovation sat beside a hillside in California.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors that embody the “bookshelf wealth” design trend, living spaces that feature metal furniture and offbeat homes with indoor slides.
    Photo by Fabian MartinezCasa Tres Árboles, Mexico, by Direccion

    Neutral calming tones feature throughout this revamp of a weekend retreat in Valle de Bravo, completed by Mexican studio Direccion.
    Designed to “convey a sense of refuge and retreat”, lush courtyards at either end of the home serve as a backdrop to the calm interiors and are visible through floor-to-ceiling windows and French doors.
    Find out more about Casa Tres Árboles ›
    Photo by Tom FergusonHidden Garden House, Australia, by Sam Crawford Architects
    Located within a conservation zone, this Sydney home was reconfigured by Sam Crawford Architects to transform the space into an urban “sanctuary”.
    A sloped terrace on the upper floor is filled with plants to create an “urban oasis” outside the house and offers a scenic yet private bathing experience for the residents.
    Find out more about Hidden Garden House ›
    Photo by Nils Timm12221 Benmore , US, by Ome Dezin
    This mid-century home renovation in California by US studio Ome Dezin features a tonal colour palette and has oversized openings to maximise views of the lush hillside.
    Originally constructed in 1960 by architects A Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmon, the renovation aimed to revive the home’s original charm and its connection to the outdoors.
    Find out more about 12221 Benmore ›
    Photo by Syam SreesylamNisarga Art Hub, India, by Wallmakers
    Nisarga Art Hub, a family home located in Kerala, doubles as a community arts centre for hosting workshops and events, as well as musical performances that are held on the structure’s innovative roof design.
    A central space features earthy, natural interiors with built-in seating that is fronted by oversized windows looking out over the neighbouring paddy fields.
    Find out more about Nisarga Art Hub ›
    Photo by Jim StephensonPoet’s Corner House, UK, by Oliver Leech Architects
    UK studio Oliver Leech Architects added a four-metre-wide skylight to this extension of a Victorian terrace house in south London.
    Tasked with opening up the home’s dark interiors, the extension offers views of a wildflower meadow roof along with views out to a rear courtyard.
    Find out more about Poet’s Corner House ›
    Photo by Inclined StudioAsmalay, India, by Blurring Boundaries
    This curvaceous home near Mumbai completed by Indian studio Blurring Boundaries was designed to wrap around five of the surrounding forest’s mango trees.
    Large, oval-shaped windows line the home’s interior and draw daylight in as well as provide views out towards the leafy forest.
    Find out more about Asmalay ›
    Photo by EvenbeeldWell House, Belgium, by Memo Architectuur
    Belgian studio Memo Architectuur renovated this dilapidated row house in Mortsel to accommodate a single-family home.
    The home’s bright, leafy interiors are lit by floor-to-ceiling rear openings that provide a picturesque backdrop to an open-plan kitchen and upper-floor balcony.
    Find out more about Well House ›
    Photo by Robin HayesHouse Dokka, Norway, by Snøhetta
    Two stacked timber-clad volumes comprise this home designed to resemble a “floating treehouse” in Kongsberg, Norway, completed by Snøhetta and Tor Helge Dokka.
    Optimising its location perched on a hillside, large windows finished with black frames look out onto the surrounding rocky landscape.
    Find out more about House Dokka ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors that embody the “bookshelf wealth” design trend, living spaces that feature metal furniture and offbeat homes with indoor slides.

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