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Twelve contemporary bathrooms with a spa-like feel
For our latest lookbook, we have selected 12 spa-like bathrooms created by architects and designers to relax and unwind in. More
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Ten outdoor spaces with warming fireplaces and fire pits
For our latest lookbook, we’ve rounded up ten outdoor seating areas that incorporate stylish fireplaces and roaring fire pits to warm yourself on chilly spring evenings. More
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Five cannabis dispensaries and shops with soothing interiors
As New York prepares to legalise recreational marijuana, we’ve rounded up five of the most enticing retail spaces created by interior designers for cannabis dispensaries and CBD shops in the USA and Canada. More
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Eleven stylish home-working spaces that complement the decor
Home offices don’t have to look like work offices. For this lookbook, we’ve rounded up eleven remote workspaces that don’t compromise on style. More
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Ten contemporary children's bedrooms to inspire design-savvy parents
For this interior design lookbook we’ve chosen 10 stylish kids’ bedrooms featuring bunk beds, raised beds and whimsical cloud-shaped lights.This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbooks series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous articles in the series feature inspiring outdoor living spaces, calming green kitchens, and living rooms with beautiful statement shelving.
Adorable House, Japan, by Form
Skylights funnel daylight into this family residence in Tokyo, which has a main living space along with a bedroom on its first floor. Its pared-back children’s room features white walls and simple wooden furniture.
Find out more about Adorable House ›A Room for Two, London, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
An elaborate plywood structure built inside one of the rooms of this flat in London’s Barbican Estate turns it into a bedroom for two children.
Designed by Studio Ben Allen the structure contains two beds and a desk as well as playful archways, steps and a fold-down desk.
Find out more about A Room for Two ›Fahouse, Quebec, Canada, by Jean Verville
Canadian architect Jean Verville designed this holiday home on a gently sloping site in a hemlock forest in southeastern Quebec. At the back of the home, the children’s bedroom is located in the pointed roof space.
Find out more about Fahouse ›100.60 Apartment, Bilbao, Spain, by Azab
As part of the refurbishment of this apartment in Bilbao, architecture studio Azab created a pair of triangular-shaped children’s bedrooms underneath the sloping roof.
Both bedrooms have beds that can be rolled away to create more space for playing and are fronted with corrugated plastic walls.
Find out more about 100.60 Apartment ›The Mantelpiece Loft, Stockholm, Sweden, Note Design Studio
Stockholm-based Note Design Studio reconfigured this loft apartment so that the parents and both children could have their own room.
The children’s bedrooms are on mezzanine levels and include inbuilt wardrobes and a bed painted in blush pink.
Find out more about The Mantelpiece Loft ›Room for One More, London, UK, by Studio Ben Allen
Studio Ben Allen updated this apartment in the Barbican Estate by reconfiguring it to include a child’s bedroom – a feature that lends the project its name of Room For One More.
The bedroom has a raised teal bed that is accessed by a short flight of stairs, which can be pushed in to form a small desk. A chunky armchair upholstered in grass-green fabric sits beneath the practical bed.
Find out more about Room for One More ›House for a Photographer, France, by Alireza Razavi
Paris architect Alireza Razavi designed this summer house in Brittany for a photographer.
A mezzanine level added to the attic room contains beds for two children and is connected by a ladder to the children’s play area below.
Find out more about House for a Photographer ›House-within-a-House, London, UK, by Alma-nac
Architecture studio Alma-nac has extended a 1950s property in Brockley, south London, to create a contemporary family home.
Its second floor contains three bedrooms beneath the peak of the roof, including one for a child, which the studio describes as having “cathedral-like proportions”.
Find out more about House-within-a-House ›Budge Over Dover, Sydney, Australia, by YSG
Interior design studio YSG has revamped a house in Sydney using terracotta brick, aged brass and aubergine-hued plaster.
The children’s bedroom has lighter tones with sky-blue walls and whimsical cloud-shaped lamps hanging from the ceiling.
Find out more about Budge Over Dover ›Tel Aviv apartment, Israel, by Toledano Architects
This apartment in Tel Aviv has a plywood cabin located in its children’s bedroom.
Toledano Architects designed the space, which is laid out like a playground and filled with objects that promote creativity, to be a nook for the home’s youngest residents to escape to.
Find out more about Tel Aviv apartment ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing peaceful bedrooms, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.Read more: More
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Life Meets Art book offers glimpse inside homes of leading creatives
Norman Foster’s lofty dining room and the tactile living space of Faye Toogood are among the home interiors revealed in author Sam Lubell’s new book, Life Meets Art.Life Meets Art was curated by Lubell to “reveal a new side” to over 200 of the world’s best-loved creatives by offering a glimpse inside their private spaces.
The homes of both notable and lesser-known architects, designers, musicians, poets and artists from across six different centuries and more than thirty countries are also shown – many for the first time.Top: Richard Neutra’s former home features in the book. Above: Life Meets Art by Sam Lubell
“It started with the people, the world’s most talented, interesting, original, and in some cases strange artists, architects, writers, musicians, and more,” Lubell told Dezeen.
“We knew we wanted to reveal a new side to these creatives, but we also wanted a lot of surprises, people and places that people might not have heard of.”
“All the spaces are reflections of their owners”
According to Lubell, one of the most significant discoveries in the book is how “all the spaces are reflections of their owners”.
“There’s this phenomenal feedback loop between a creative person and their living space,” he explained.John Pawson offers a look inside his minimalist home and studio
“Their experience inspires their art, which inspires their home, which inspires their art, which inspires their experience, and so on,” he continued.
“Every square inch is fueled with a creative vision that manifests in entirely different ways. We learn how they’ve shaped their homes, and how their homes have shaped them. It’s almost like peeking inside someone’s body.”
“The homes of designers have most influence on residential design trends”
Lubell believes Life Meets Art also encapsulates the extent of the influence that architects and designers have had on residential interiors.
According to Lubell, this “trend rolls through history”, and is evident in homes ranging all the way from Charles Moore postmodernist dwelling in Texas to the minimalist London residence of John Pawson.
“I think the homes of architects and designers had the most influence on residential design trends,” Lubell explained.
“This makes sense because that’s their speciality, and in many cases, their homes were opportunities to experiment with and advocate for entirely new design philosophies.”
Read on for Dezeen’s pick of 10 designer homes in the book:La Voile, France
One of the most notable contemporary architects to feature in the book is Pritzker Prize-winning architect Foster, with his La Voile residence that he created within a 1950s tower on the French Riviera.
The building was carved out to create an open, futuristic interior, with a series of balconies overlooking a white-walled dining room and a living room at its heart.Toogood/Gibberd Residence, UK
Toogood’s minimalist home, which she shares with Modern House co-founder Matt Gibberd, is located in a 1960s house in London by Swiss architect Walter Segal.
In her living room, pale bricks are used as a tactile backdrop to a number of pared-back furnishings that range from her own pill-shaped coffee table to playful geometric tapestries.Cabin at Longbranch, USA
American architect Jim Olsen created this stilted woodland house for himself at the age of 18 and remodelled it several times since.
The dwelling is characterised by its exposed-wood framework and large windows, captured here in this seating area, which is designed to retain focus on the home’s natural surroundings.Rainbow Penthouse, UK
The vibrant and colourful home of Zandra Rhodes, aptly named Rainbow Penthouse, is an embodiment of the fashion designer’s trademark style.
Located on top of London’s Fashion and Textile Museum, which she also owns, the penthouse apartment is filled with colour-blocked surfaces and adorned with her personal art collection.Finn Juhls Hus, Denmark
Modernist furniture and artwork fill every space of Finn Juhl’s former home in Ordrup. This includes the living room, photographed above, within which his Chieftan lounge chair takes centre stage.
In the book, Lubell describes the dwelling as a “perfect example of how Juhl weighed interior design and architecture equally”.Moore/Andersson Compound, USA
The final home of late Charles Moore, which he created for himself was in Texas, perfectly captures the bold postmodernist style for which he is best known.
Life Meets Art spotlights the dwelling’s main living area, which is crammed full with decorative pilasters, a collection of toys, colourful ceramics and statues of kachina dolls.Villa E-1027, France
Furniture is the focus throughout Villa E-1027, the former clifftop home of modernist designer Eileen Gray that is now open to the public in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin.
Life Meets Art homes in on its main living room, which features her the iconic Bibendium chair and the glass and steel E-1027 side table.Rashid Residence, USA
This gallery-like kitchen and dining room forms part of industrial designer Karim Rashid’s four-bedroom townhouse in Manhattan.
White walls and floors form a backdrop to bright finishes that range from a luminous lime-hued backsplash to a multi-coloured carpet that echoes Rashid’s joyful approach to design.Juan O’Gorman House-Studio, Mexico
Located just outside Mexico City is the home of the late architect, painter and muralist Juan O’Gorman, which he built for himself in 1933. It is positioned close to La Casa Azul, the dwelling he created for Diego Riviera and Frida Kahlo.
Today it is owned by artist Paulina Parlange, who has teamed its bright, light-filled finishes with an eclectic mix of furnishings, murals and patterned textiles.Neutra VDFL Research House, USA
Large glazed walls that frame views of a neighbouring reservoir line the Neutra VDFL Research House – the former home of modernist architect Richard Neutra.
Lubell selected the dwelling for the book in recognition of its innovative, mid-century design, which he describes as “strikingly ahead of its time”.
Photography is courtesy of Phaidon.Read more: More
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Ten welcoming living rooms where the fireplace takes centre stage
With spring still a few months away in the northern hemisphere, this is the season to snuggle up in front of an open fire. For our latest lookbook, we’ve rounded up ten cosy living rooms where the fireplace is at the heart of the interior design.This is the latest roundup in our Dezeen Lookbook series providing visual inspiration for the home. Previous articles in the series showcased living rooms with calm interiors, peaceful bedrooms, Japandi interiors and domestic bathrooms designed by architects.
116 Sorauren and 118 Sorauren, Canada, by Ancerl Studio
The living room of 116 Sorauren Street in Toronto, one of a pair of twin townhouses designed by Ancerl Studio, has been made cosy through the use of natural materials and plenty of textiles.
A black steel fireplace sits on a cast concrete plinth against the back wall. The plinth extends to create a comfortable nook has where the owners or their guests can warm themselves.
Find out more about 116 and 118 Sorauren ›Three Chimney House, US, by T W Ryan Architecture
This modernist white-brick house in Virginia (above and top image) has three white chimneys that define its external form. Inside, one of them opens up into this starkly elegant, brick-clad fireplace in the living room.
Here, tall white walls and ceilings create a contrast with the more traditional upholstered furniture. Warm colours ranging from pale aubergine purple to a mustard yellow were used on the seating by the fireplace, which is practical during cold winter months as well as being a decorative feature all year round.
Find out more about Three Chimney House ›Pound Ridge House, US, by Tsao & McKown
Tsao & McKown drew on Japanese architectural principles when designing Pound Ridge House. The influence that can be seen in the pared-back fireplace built onto a square stone hearth that sits between the living room and the dining room.
The design references an irori, a traditional Japanese sunken hearth which is often square in form and set in the middle of a room.
Smoke is extracted by a bronze flue in the form of a truncated pyramid that hangs from the ceiling of the lounge, which is filled with wood detailing and cream-coloured textiles. A generous skylight lets the light in during the daytime.
Find out more about Pound Ridge House ›Teton House, US, by Olson Kundig
With views like the ones from Teton House (above and top) in the mountainous terrain of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, you don’t need art on the walls. Olson Kundig used floor-to-ceiling windows to take advantage of the vistas. But the view is almost upstaged by a substantial black fireplace in the centre of the glazing.
The simple form of the fireplace is complemented by leather chairs in warm brown hues as well as wood surfaces and woven textiles, creating an inviting, relaxing atmosphere.
Find out more about Teton House ›House for Grandparents, US, by Dash Marshall
The renovation of this California farmhouse was informed by the state’s Spanish missions, and its geometric forms and spartan material use reference these religious structures. But there is nothing ascetic about the house’s comfortable living room, where a broad brick fireplace sits on one wall.
A colourful painting and rug add vibrancy to the room, while two cylindrical metal coffee tables pick up the warm glow of the fire.
Find out more about House for Grandparents ›Smith Residence, Canada, by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple
Inside this holiday home on the Nova Scotia peninsula, a massive fireplace keeps the living room toasty. Made from granite that was sourced from a nearby quarry, the fireplace features one aperture for the fire and one for storing logs.
Its sits underneath the black steel trusses that support the exposed roof. In front of the fire, a soft high-pile rug and two brown leather sofas complete the design of the living room.
Find out more about Smith Residence ›Wasatch House, US, by Olson Kundig
An enormous bronze flue dominates the library in this Utah home by Olson Kundig, which has the feel of a living room thanks to a wide leather sofa and two cognac-coloured leather chairs. These sit in front of the unusual portrait-shaped fireplace, which is set in the monolithic flue and fronted by double doors.
A colour palette of dark browns and greys create a pleasantly laid-back atmosphere in the capacious room while ceiling-height bookcases flank the fireplace.
Find out more about Wasatch House ›Lincoln, Belgium, by Notan Office
Modernist architect and designer Alvar Aalto inspired the design for this fireplace, set in a rooftop extension in Brussels by Notan Office.
It wraps around a corner and was built from concrete and ceramic construction blocks in warm orange and pale grey hues. “A fireplace is a kind of artifactual element in a house,” architect Frédéric Karam told Dezeen. “I wanted to express a sense of organic and rough feeling for such a function,”
Find out more about Lincoln ›Little Peek, US, by Berman Horn Studio
Little Peek is a holiday home in Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine, designed by the Berman Horn Studio founders for themselves.
Designed to be used in all seasons, the house nevertheless has a summer feel thanks to its light interior and many generous windows, as well as an enclosed patio.
But in the open-plan kitchen and living room, a built-in fireplace set in a narrow stonework flue helps keep the room warm during cold New England winters.
Find out more about Little Peek ›Casa Prè de Sura, Italy, by Casati
A freestanding fireplace in the form of a trapezoidal prism decorates this living room in Italy, set in a gabled house by Austrian architects Casati that has rough limestone interior walls.
The white fireplace functions as a decorative piece as well as a heat source. It has been cleverly designed with a side ledge on which the owners can stack wood. Beige and cream hues were used for the colour palette, matching both the fireplace and the limestone walls.
Find out more about Casa Prè de Sura ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing peaceful bedrooms, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.Read more: More
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The Dezeen guide to wood in architecture, interiors and design
Thinking of using timber in your architecture or design project? Our guide to 15 of the most popular types of wood and wood products has links to hundreds of examples for inspiration.
Ash
Ash is a deciduous hardwood that produces a beautiful pale timber with a grain similar to oak. Versatile, shock-resistant and with no odour, it is widely used for furniture and objects.
Architect R2 Studio used solid ash to create a staircase with a perforated plywood bannister in a London domestic extension while Hannah clad an off-grid cabin in upstate New York with infested ash wood. In Valencia, Francesc Rifé Studio used ash throughout the interiors of a facial and dental clinic named Swiss Concept (above).
See projects featuring ash ›Bamboo
Bamboo is a type of grass rather than a tree but its fast-growing canes are widely used in architecture and design both in their natural state and processed into wood-like lumber and fibres.
Bamboo canes are used for the structure, walls and doors of this clothing factory in Colombia by Ruta 4 (above), while designer David Trubridge has reissued his Cloud lighting collection using bamboo strips instead of plastic.
See projects featuring bamboo ›Beech
Native to Europe, beech is a hard, heavy, fine-textured hardwood widely used in furniture making and as a flooring material. It is also commonly used as a veneer and the timber is suitable for steam bending. Beech wood ranges from creamy white to pink or red in colour.
Designer David Ericsson created the Madonna chair from solid beech for Swedish brand Gärsnäs while Peca designed cylindrical furniture with beech wood dowels (above.)
See projects featuring beech ›Cedar
This coniferous softwood is weather-resistant, making it suitable for cladding including shingles as well as outdoor furniture. It has a fragrant aroma and insect-repelling qualities.
The wood comes from a handful of species of genuine cedar trees that grow at high altitudes including Lebanon cedar and Cyprus cedar.
Additionally, there is a range of American conifers that are commonly described as cedars, including western red cedar and Atlantic white cedar, which are technically different species.
Cedar-clad buildings are particularly common in America. Bates Masi Architects used oversized cedar shingles for the cladding of this home in the Hamptons (above and top) while HGA Architects and Engineers covered these Vermont dwellings in cedar boards.
See projects featuring cedar ›Cherry
The wood of the cherry tree has a warm reddish colour that darkens with age. It is fine-grained and easy to work, making it a popular choice for furniture and homewares as gives a rich tone to interiors.
Azman Architects used cherry wood to create partitions in a London apartment while John Pawson paired the timber with limestone for his Jil Sander store in Tokyo (above.)
See projects featuring cherry ›Chestnut
The sweet chestnut tree produces timber with a brown or reddish-brown colour and a coarse texture. It is suitable for outdoor uses including cladding, shingles, decking and outdoor furniture, as well as for indoor furnishings and objects.
Architect K-Studio used chestnut wood for the lattice of a Greek holiday home, (above,) while designer Mikyia Kobayashi built an electric mobility scooter from the timber.
See projects featuring chestnut ›Cork
The bark of the cork oak tree has come into favour in recent years as a material for both architecture and design projects. As well as having a pleasantly musty smell it has good insulation properties and is fire resistant, making it appropriate for internal and external cladding.
Its noise reduction properties, sponginess and durability make it suitable for flooring as well while the sustainable way cork is harvested without damaging the tree gives it good environmental credentials. On top of this, cork can be recycled.
Architect Matthew Barnett Howland demonstrated the versatility of cork by building a recyclable house from the material, (above,) while Jasper Morrison is one of the designers who has used cork conglomerate to make furniture.
See projects featuring cork ›Douglas fir
Native to western North America, Douglas fir is an evergreen conifer. A softwood, it is a type of pine rather than a true fir and is commonly grown as a Christmas tree. Its timber is pinkish to red in colour.
Douglas fir, which is also known as Oregon pine, is widely used in construction. Architectural uses include the cladding on this barn-like house in England (above) by Elliott Architects and the exposed structure of this cabin in the Netherlands by Crafted Works.
See projects featuring Douglas fir ›Larch
Larch is a deciduous conifer that grows throughout the northern hemisphere. The heartwood is usually red or brown in colour. Tough and durable with waterproof qualities, larch is widely used outdoors for fencing and cladding as well as boat-building.
Projects using larch include Arklab’s twin houses in Germany that are clad in untreated larch and a house in Scotland by Mary Arnold-Forster Architects that is clad in burnt larch (above.)
See projects featuring larch ›Maple
There are around 200 species of maple, ranging from shrubs to large trees identifiable by their pairs of winged seeds and five-lobed leaves.
This deciduous hardwood is widely harvested for timber, which has a fine grain and ranges in colour from white to golden or red. The wood is used for a variety of indoor purposes including furniture and objects and is particularly prized as a flooring material for sports halls and dance venues.
Designer Thomas Heatherwick created a modular desk with wooden planter legs made from maple (above), while architect Naturehumaine clad a staircase in angular panels of solid timber as part of a renovation of a Montreal apartment.
See projects featuring maple ›Oak
There are around 500 different species of oak tree, many of which produce hard, durable, versatile timber that can be used structurally, for external and internal cladding, for doors and windows and furniture and flooring.
Architect Thomas-McBrien used oak to clad the interior of this kitchen extension in London (above), while this off-grid cabin by Out of the Valley has a structure of oak beams constructed using traditional joinery techniques.
Oak furniture includes Cecilie Manz’s Workshop table for Muuto, which has a solid oak frame and an oak veneer top.
See projects featuring oak ›Pine
There are dozens of species of pine. It is a coniferous softwood, often with a yellow or reddish colour and containing many small knots that give pine objects and interiors a rustic look, plus a distinctive sharp scent.
Many types of pine trees grow quickly, making their wood cheaper than other timbers. This partly explains pine’s widespread use in construction and joinery. More hardwearing than other softwoods, pine is also widely used for flooring and staircases.
Architectural uses include the slatted cladding on this beach house in Chile by LAND Arquitectos (above), and this Swedish lakeside house by Dive Architects, while design projects that use pine include a furniture collection by Studio Sløyd that attempts to revive interest in a type of timber that has fallen out of fashion in recent years.
See projects featuring pine ›Spruce
Spruce is a genus of evergreen coniferous tree native to the northern hemisphere. One of the most widely used of all timbers, spruce wood is often confused with pine but is generally lighter and softer with a creamy white, pale yellow or red-brown colour.
A softwood, spruce is easy to work with and is used extensively in construction, including structural elements and internal and external cladding, in the production of plywood and in carpentry.
Architectural uses include the cave-like interior of this suite at a luxury resort in Greece designed by Tenon Architecture and the panelled interior of Kvadrat’s design studio in Copenhagen (above) by Caruso St John.
See projects featuring spruce ›Sycamore
Sycamore is the name given to a range of deciduous hardwood trees including the European sycamore, maple sycamore and American plane. It is often confused with maple and has similar-shaped leaves and winged seeds.
The timber is white to light brown with a fine grain, sometimes featuring a speckled pattern.
Susceptible to rot if it gets wet, the timber is not generally used for construction or outdoor purposes but as it has no odour and does not stain it is widely used for kitchen implements as well as furniture and objects.
Designer Faye Toogood used sycamore for a range of furniture while architect Giles Reid used the timber for a bar in a Japanese restaurant in London (above).
See projects featuring sycamore ›Walnut
Walnut is a dense hardwood that polishes well and often has an attractive colour and an intricately patterned grain. It is particularly suitable for carving and furniture making while walnut veneers are prized by luxury car brands and cabinet makers.
Popular varieties include European (also known as English) walnut and black walnut, which is native to the USA.
Furniture that makes use of walnut includes the 50th-anniversary edition of Arne Jacobsen’s Lily Chair, which is finished in a walnut veneer, while architect Scott Whitby Studio designed a bedroom that features bespoke walnut furniture (above.)
See projects featuring walnut ›Numerous material products are made from wood and there are many ways of treating wood to change its appearance and performance. Here are some of the best-known.
Blackened wood
Blackened wood is increasingly popular as a way of finishing natural timber, particularly for cladding and furniture. The surface of the timber is blackened by singeing it.
Cross-laminated timber
Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is an engineered construction product made of strips of wood bonded together with their grains at right angles to each other for rigidity. It can be used for small buildings like the woodland cabin by Otraum Architects (above), and is strong enough to use structurally, including for tall buildings such as the proposed 13-storey Dock Mill tower by Urban Agency.
Plywood
Plywood is made of thin veneers of wood glued together with crisscrossing grains to produce sheets that can be used for internal cladding, structures and even for external use when protected from the weather adequately, plus a wide range of products.
Birch plywood is particularly prized due to its fine grain and silky appearance.Architects Diana Salvador and Javier Mera used plywood to build a cabin in Equador for themselves beside a river in Puerto Quito (above), while Toledano + Architects used steam-bent plywood to create a sinuous partition in this Paris apartment.
Steam-bent timber
Some types of wood can be formed into curves by subjecting them to steam, which softens the material and allows it to be bent in a mould. Steam-bent timber is widely used to produce furniture as well as cladding and features such as bannisters.
Chipboard
Chipboard, also known as particle board, is a cheaper engineered product consisting of small pieces of wood bonded together into boards and can be used for larger architectural projects like this house in Alicante, Spain (below).
Oriented strand board
Oriented strand board (OSB) is made of larger strands of wood arranged so their grains run in different directions and then compressed and bonded.Recent popular wooden projects on Dezeen include a cork and cross-laminated timber extension to a traditional Catalan house, a pair of timber-clad cabins on a coastal hillside in Chile, a cosy woodland cabin in Finland and a wooden tofu factory in the mountains of eastern China.
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