All About Pink

Barbiecore became a trending hashtag on TikTok earlier this year, and a quick look around will tell you it involves a whole lot of pink (and the brighter the better). Valentino’s Fall ’22 Ready to Wear collection highlighted a very specific shade of pink that has become emblematic of Barbiecore, called “Valentino Pink PP” after the fashion house’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli. Verging on magenta, this neon hue is impossible to ignore, and used alone, it could be a bit much. For interiors, Barbiecore enthusiasts often layer different shades of pink for a slightly softer effect.

Decorating Your Dream House

For inspiration, start with the source. Barbie’s actual Dream House has evolved many times since its first debut in 1962, but since the 1980s, it has typically featured at least four shades of pink, often accented by white, purple, and turquoise. It’s never crammed full of stuff, so despite the loud colors, it doesn’t feel too chaotic. Accent pieces like overstuffed armchairs, chandeliers, and playful wallpaper patterns make a big impact. To mimic this effect without transforming your entire home, look for eye-catching accent pieces like a giant spray of feathery pink pampas grass in a vase, a vivid framed print like this Riot Grrrl-inspired piece, or a graphic pink wallpaper like this banana leaf motif.

If something about Barbiecore appeals to you but you’re not quite ready to go full Barbie, try integrating a little pink into your life for a touch of fun. You might be surprised at how well it can integrate into all kinds of color schemes and decor styles. Even in dark, somber spaces, a pop of salmon, bubble gum pink, or fuchsia can be a breath of fresh air. The softest, palest pinks paired with gold and white can evoke the old-school glamor of 1950s Barbie without being too in-your-face. A pink accent wall, faux fur throw pillows, and a cute side table would be enough to capture the trend’s intrinsic mood-lifting qualities without going overboard.

Don’t Be Afraid to Be Extra

Of course, if you want to go full-throttle Barbie, have at it. House Beautiful recently interviewed Adora, the owner of Nashville’s infamous The House of Adora, which truly feels like somebody cast a spell on Barbie’s home to expand it to human proportions. From the front walkway to the kitchen, it’s meticulously curated and very pink.

“I only very recently heard the term Barbiecore, and I love it,” Adora says. “Barbie pink is glamorous and unafraid. I’ve had people on social media tell me they used to be embarrassed that they liked the color pink but that they aren’t anymore. It makes me sad they were ever made to feel that way. But I’m so happy the tide is turning. Pink is such a wonderful color, and I love that more people are embracing it. Like how could I not be happy every time I walk onto my pink porch? Barbie-inspired design feels like the ultimate meaning of living your best life!”

The post Barbiecore: How to Decorate Your Very Own Hot Pink Dream House first appeared on Dornob.

The 1300-square-foot apartment is Gautrand’s first private interior design project. Like many Parisian apartments of a similar age, the space started out rather dark, with a lot of small, enclosed rooms. The clients wanted Gautrand to open it up, infuse it with daylight, and make it feel more modern and playful.

“We wanted to break from the ideas and images of Bourgeois Parisian apartments and lean more towards something that is more in the order of a holiday house, like a ‘cabane de plage,’ those small but colorful shelters from which one steps out to the sun and sky,” says the owner. “We wanted to create something that leaned more towards an artistic statement, and not just a historical one. We wanted to use color and we wanted to sculpt the volumes.”

“Sculpt” became the key word for the renovation. Gautrand approached the project almost like an assemblage, slicing out some areas and bringing in new shapes and modes of circulation. Walls were removed and new voids created to take full advantage of the large windows on the eastern and western facades, allowing the light to travel to two levels of living spaces. These spaces were then divided into zones, each with their own particular style and mood.

At the center of the home stands its most memorable feature: a blocky new staircase in a soft shade of pink that makes the yellow wall behind it look even sunnier. Slightly offset from each other, the steps almost start to cantilever out to the left as they reach the landing and turn upward, arching over niches for a fireplace and shelving.

The stairs lead from an intimate, understated living room tucked beneath the loft up to a vivid yellow mezzanine with an angled ceiling, just beneath the roofline of the historic building. This level contains the primary bedroom, a guest bedroom full of built-in storage, a strikingly textural marble-lined bathroom, and a hallway topped with a long, narrow skylight. Best of all, the bedroom opens onto the full-height living room atrium via atelier-style windows.

“The goal was to create a strip of natural light, through which the sun’s influence, whether it be cold white winter light or warm summer, could cast its shadow and influence the interior, upstairs and down, throughout the day,” says Gautrand. “A traditional staircase would have interfered with the continuity of this strip of sky and so I began playing with the relief that these 20-centimeter thick pieces of cellular concrete would make, and the stairs came out of this. Then I decided to make it even bigger, so that it extended up the wall of the mezzanine and onto the wall under the skylight.”

The post A Chunky Pink Staircase Brings a Playful Spirit to a 17th-Century Paris Apartment first appeared on Dornob.

Interior design experts are all over the internet telling us which items, colors, and styles are soon going to feel like the modern equivalent of shag carpeting and harvest gold appliances (which have possibly out so long that they’re almost cool again). Here are four of the biggest offenders:

Midcentury Modern Everything

Image via Froy

Midcentury modern is an enduring style for a reason, and many people consider it a classic that can never be “out.” That’s still true when it comes to individual pieces or small collections, but there’s no denying that we’ve had a solid 15 to 20 years of midcentury modern mania that’s led some people to completely overdo it in a way that ultimately feels cookie cutter. Does your house look like a midcentury modern showroom? Mix it up a little. Bring in some color and texture, items from different eras, and objects that represent a little more of your own personality.

Millennial Pink

Image via Enter My Attic

Is this a beautiful shade of pink? Yes. At least, it is if you like pink at all. It’s soft, it’s warm, and it’s got a sort of hazy Wes Anderson feel to it that’s easy to love. But now that it’s 2020, it feels very last decade. In fact, it’s probably safe to say millennial pink will be one of the defining trends of the 2010s, once we have a little more distance and perspective from them. In the mean time, let’s put it away for a while and experiment with some new colors.

Geometric Shapes

Image via Sara Elman

Sharp, graphic lines make a big impact and add visual interest. But we’ve seen a lot of geometry in interior design over recent years, both in the form of larger architectural details and prints and patterns found on decor. Chevrons, crosses, and triangles feel painfully 2010s at this point, but even geometric shapes that are a little less ubiquitous could use some freshening up. If you want to move forward but keep visually interesting accents, try replacing these items with softer, rounder curving shapes.

All White Everything

Image via Hall of Homes

It’s not hard to see the visual appeal of all white interiors. They’re common in art galleries for a few reasons: they amplify daylight, give the eye an easy place to rest, and make focal points pop. Plus, we’re so bombarded by visual input and clutter nowadays that being in a pure white space feels like a mental vacation. The problem is that not only are they incredibly impractical (ever try to cook a full Italian dinner including marinara sauce in a white kitchen?), but they can also feel sterile and cold. If you want to feel like you live in a vaguely extraterrestrial mausoleum a la Kim and Kanye, go for it. But this kind of minimalism is more for show than for actual living.

Obviously, as with all trend-related advice, take this with a grain of salt. Don’t get rid of stuff you still love. Donate the items you don’t feel connected to anymore instead of throwing them out. Check resale shops and thrift stores before you buy something new. And if you really want to avoid all the waste that comes with trend-chasing, always ask yourself whether you’re replacing something because you truly want or need to, or because you’re blindly following trends that will soon fall over the same cliff as all those before them.

Get some more tips for updating your space for 2020 with six new standout interior design trends.

The post 4 Dated Interior Design Trends to Ditch in 2020 first appeared on Dornob.

Set inside a 1930s mansion in the neighborhood of Salamanca, Bustos’ installation is imagined as a retro-futuristic dressing room for a super heroine, illustrated here in a lightning bolt-shaped portrait of model Ronja Okane by Mexican illustrator Paul Fuentes. This rather David Bowie-esque element sets the mood for the entire space, which expertly blends a number of different design trends into a cohesive whole.

Iridescent colors, feminine shapes, a sense of surrealism, a little bit of Memphis-style patterning, and the look of a 1960s movie about the future come together for a result that brings minimalism into a new visual era — one that’s perhaps a little less boring and monochromatic. After all, aren’t we a little tired of seeing almost entirely featureless white spaces elevated as the pinnacle of avant-garde interior design? Wonder Galaxy reminds us of the visual elements that made us wide-eyed and awe-inspired as kids.

Bustos, who has a background in painting and fashion as well as furniture and interior design, is renowned for her ability to bring fun and irreverence into high-end spaces. The bubblegum couches featured here are a particularly evocative choice, as are the oversized “bubbles” in the bathtub, which mimic the shape of the lamps overhead.

Even as it draws from trends of the past, the installation feels fresh and exciting. Noting that adults tend to write off fantastical things as immature, Bustos visualizes a “childhood futuristic revival” where we can stop being so serious and let our imaginations take over.

She adds: “Wonder Galaxy is a journey into the future that explores the relationship between the future and the fantasy or dream world that makes us become children again…we think that a future injected with color and with a certain surrealist air can help us recover that creative energy of childhood. We started with the pink, that color that means so much to [me] and that has a magic that turns everything serious into playful, that modernizes the most classic piece or refreshes the most sober and boring atmosphere.”

“Wonder Galaxy is a risky and colorful dressing, a three-dimensional reality that reminds us of an Austin Powers movie but in which we are the protagonists. The game of arcs and asymmetric volumes gives us a feeling of infinite depth, expanding the space resulting in a perfect balance. The gradients of colors suggest a host of parallel and utopian realities in which we could live if we wanted. Put to dream…the best thing is to do without limits. Fantasy colors and soap bubbles are mixed with unusual materials such as the iridescent or the fabric of the ceiling to generate an atmosphere that transports us to another galaxy and helps us to visualize new horizons where to dream and be ourselves.”

Casa Décor’s other decorated spaces are worth checking out as well, particularly the complementary Punk Revolution lounge-bar by Miriam Alía Mateo, The Cage hotel lobby by Inmaculada Recio and Silvia Trigueros, and the Jung Dreams living room by Juan Fuentes.

The post Wonder Galaxy: A Retrofuturistic Pastel Palace by Patricia Bustos first appeared on Dornob.

In this region, sprawling properties are common. The structures built on them aren’t necessarily all clustered together, so they can take full advantage of their surrounding landscapes. The quiet rural municipality offers lush forests, grassy meadows, the perfect weather for swimming pools, and often even views of the Atlantic Ocean.

For this project, architecture firm Atelier 1111 wanted to maximize connection to these natural features, seamlessly integrating the architecture into the protected enclave of stone pines, olive trees, and cork trees.

The property features what Atelier calls a group of “four elements” — the main house, a garage, a swimming pool, and this smaller “Cottage House,” which is partially sheltered within the earth. All of these structures are located “in very distinct parts of the land” and take inspiration from their immediate surroundings. In the case of the Cottage House, the first structure to be built on the site, the architects looked to the texture of the cork trees as well as traditional earthen vernacular architecture of the area, like the rammed earth houses of Alentajo.

“Most of this project was a discovery,” they explain. “We did not start with a predefined form or image. We were always in between fusion and imposition. Outside, we sought to adapt the construction to its context, but at the same time, add something to it. Inside, we wanted to take advantage of the light variations, trees movements, and smell, feeling the landscape through the different seasons of the year.”

Intended as a place to sit and contemplate nature, the Cottage House is “implanted” into the hillside to help protect it from the elements and give it a unique perspective of the forest. Though it’s undoubtedly modern in form, it feels almost like an extension of the land. Comprised of an entrance porch, a living/kitchen area, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a storeroom, and an informal terrace, the house needs no air conditioning or heat thanks to its living roof.

“We have always tried to make spaces based on simplicity, keeping only their essence,” adds Atelier 1111. “They might express a certain roughness, but this is eventually compensated with other elements. In this project, we had a special interest in shadow and thickness in transition moments.”

“Sometimes, the interior walls and ceilings continue to the outside. When the windows are completely open, the interior space grows and the limit is redefined. Although there are texture variations, the materials, in and outside, are exactly the same. We chose solid materials, with a remarkable thickness and weight. The aging way of each material was fundamental to these choices. We really want to [create the feeling of] time passing through the construction, just like it passes through all of us.”

The post Earth-Sheltered Pink House in Portugal Looks Like a Modernist Sculpture first appeared on Dornob.

That’s why we think Pharrell Williams’ first foray into the world of drinks and dining is sure to make waves, especially considering the fact that San Francisco trendsetter Ken Fulk, French celebrity chef Jean Imbert, and hospitality wunderkind David Grutman are all involved. Welcome to Swan and Bar Bevy: the newest hip offering to grace Miami’s Design District.

The project is mainly the brainchild of Fulk, who’s done a great job of channeling old-school Miami into both the overall concept and the subtle intricacies of this 250-seater restaurant and tropically-themed bar. The result is a blend of classic Floridian design and contemporary sophistication. Yes, this restaurant and bar could not exist anywhere else but Miami — despite the fact that there are hints of inspiration from lots of other places worked into it, making for a truly unique offering.

The restaurant’s circular bar is most definitely a highlight here, painted a pastel shade of pink and adorned with diamond shaped mirrors along the rim of its dropped ceiling. This pattern is repeated in both the carpet and the detailing in the bar panels. The materials are at once sumptuous and familiar, with floral throw cushions and wicker-backed chairs reminiscent of your grandmother’s veranda paired with House of Hackney wallpaper to bring it into the modern era. An eclectic collection of artwork permeates the space and seamlessly compliments all the rosy hues within. The effect is one of exaggeration and excess, but it’s so carefully pulled together that it also feels timeless and comfortable.

Bar Bevy is a decidedly more sultry offering, consisting of a single darkened room that’s dripping with luxuriously patterned wallpaper, statement oriental rugs, dark wood on the floor and ceilings, and the occasional lantern to illuminate the corners and seating areas. The Art Deco theme still pervades this exotic space, though it very much feels like it’s also tinged with Eastern influences. The bar’s corridors and restroom areas provide some light relief in the form of bright white wooden paneling inset with green leafy patterns.

Of course, the biggest draw to Swan and Bar Bevy is Jean Imbert: the French chef who dazzled Pharrell Williams with a private dinner inside a New York apartment some years ago and who is now Williams’ partner in this venture. The menu will feature a list of American-French cuisine thought up by this auteur, of which collaborator David Grutman says: “We’re trying to go simple. We don’t want to overdo it with a million sauces. You’ll notice a little French influence, but it’s not going to be traditional. And you definitely won’t see the same old tuna tataki that’s basically on every menu right now.”

The post Ken Fulk Designs Pharrell Williams’ New Miami Restaurant and Bar first appeared on Dornob.

When Mexican actress Linda Christian first bought this Spanish style home in Bel-Air with husband Tyrone Power more than 65 years ago, Hollywood was all abuzz about the iconic couple’s new digs. Not only did a portrait of Christian by Diego Rivera grace the interiors, but the house itself was also described as a work of art. A 1952 issue of Modern Screen magazine gushed: “Painted a tropical pink, which contrasts with its black wrought-iron accents, it looks almost like a jungle flower half hidden among the lush growth of trees that cover this particular section of Bel-Air.”

Alas, as is too often the story, the couple eventually divorced, and the celebrated house went on to become home to a procession of other movie icons, including Henry Fonda, Paul Newman and wife Joanne Woodward, Diane Keaton, and Elizabeth Taylor. With each new resident, the house changed. The painting of Christian disappeared, the pink nuances grew faint, and each inhabitant left a little piece of themselves behind.

New Times, Big Changes

A couple with two college-age children recently purchased the home, planning even more changes with the assistance of renowned interior designer Cari Berg. Since Berg had designed the couple’s last home, she was already familiar with their tastes and preferences and felt perfectly comfortable taking on the challenges of the project.

She began the transformation in the living room, where the famed portrait of Christian originally hung. Over the years, it had morphed into a dull combination of gold walls and ceiling beams. Berg described the room as feeling “muddy,” adding that “It never really popped in terms of contrast.” For that reason, her first big task was to lighten the wall colors and darken the beams.

A Truly Fluid Environment

One of Berg’s most innovative ideas was to fill the interiors with stylish furniture and accessories that could easily be moved around to meet the needs of several different social occasions. These furnishings are a mixed bag of high and low-profile pieces, as best showcased in the placement of a pair of overstuffed “chair-and-a-half” loungers next to straight-backed upholstered chairs and distinct hammered gold side chairs.

Creativity Takes Courage

Matisse’s famous words seem to have inspired the female half of the couple to leave her own mark on the home, collecting artwork full-time for two years in a quest to help Berg perfect every its nook and cranny. She started by covering the walls with carefully chosen high-end art by John Baldessari, Ruben Toledo, Russell Young, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, and Ed Ruscha. She also gathered dramatic black and white photos for the house, working shots from Harry Benson, Ruth Orkin, and Julius Shulman into the décor.

Berg explains: “She was so open. When a space was looking too pristine, I would say, ‘We need to mess it up — it needs to get funked up with some vintage or something.’ And she would understand. It was a great project and so fun to do.”

The post Famous Bel-Air Home Gets Major Makeover first appeared on Dornob.

It took a lot to get here: three years, three tropical storms, and hundreds of artisans and builders, to name a few things. The clients had long admired the late Ricardo Legorreta’s recognizable style and hoped to someday build a house designed by his firm, which is now led by his son. Víctor dreamed up a 30,000-square-foot home that would slowly unveil itself to visitors piece by piece, leading from an unassuming hallway into a dramatic two-story interior courtyard with a reflecting pool and six full-sized palm trees.

“This sense of mystery is very common in Mexican architecture,” explains Legorreta. “It is an architecture about emotions, one that keeps you discovering as you wander through it. From there you go to smaller courtyards and gardens of even smaller scale that create special atmospheres for the more intimate spaces.”

Fulk’s intimate relationship with the clients and familiarity with their tastes allowed him to craft a luxurious retreat that’s so highly personalized it’s instantly iconic. First and foremost, there’s the main color: a shade of pink for which Ricardo — a modernist Mexican architect taught by the great Luis Barragán — was famous. Then there are all the custom accents, from encaustic cement tiles from Oaxaca to a streamlined linear fireplace by Kettal.

Overlooking the ocean, the home certainly isn’t lacking in views of water, but the architects and designer added several more water features throughout the property to give it the feel of an island in its own right. Fulk explains that he “went to great lengths” to perfectly match the shade of the infinity pool to that of the ocean outside to blur the line between them as much as possible.

Casa Grande boasts no fewer than 22 beds for its owners and their guests, with built-in furniture made from the same plaster as the walls giving it an easygoing vibe. Other features include whitewashed wide-plank wood floors, stone, and handmade textiles gathered from various travels around Mexico.

Fulk reminisces: “As the clients arrived to see their completed home for the first time, a mariachi band played in the courtyard while a troupe of dancers wearing long skirts embroidered with ‘Casa Grande’ glided down the staircase. Tequila shots (with tamer refreshments for the kids) and maracas were passed around. After a delicious dinner, as my birthday gift for the wife, the DJ turned up the disco music, and right on cue, hot-pink fireworks exploded in the sky, reflecting in the pools around the property.”

Photos courtesy of Douglas Friedman via Architectural Digest

The post Casa Grande: An Iconic Pink Luxury Retreat by Víctor Legorreta first appeared on Dornob.

A great case of design being transplanted and thus transformed, the Doorclaxon is a simple hand-held horn taken out of context and installed in your entry door.

When someone reaches for the handle, they may or may not notice it is a tad pink and perhaps a little more rubbery, but they will understand when they grip tight only to have the handle collapse and hear a loud honk emitted.

Dieter Volkers is an inventor in the classical sense – he tinkers with odds and ends, addressing everyday issues. Of himself and his workshop, he writes: “My shed is a wonderful place. It’s a craft area, a breeding place for a traditional inventor. It is a place where I can set my mind free. The products are the result of functional objects. Objects which are powerful in their aesthetics. My collection represents the actions of our daily lives. Central is the value of ‘normal’ things and acts, such as passing a door.”

The post Announcing: Delightful Door Horn Doubles as Handle & Bell first appeared on Dornob.

Plush pink pillows and a partially pink-painted wall on the one hand, straight lime-green shelving lines and table legs on the other – this may be a bit much for most tastes. Still, there is something to be said for the striking contrast between these brightly-colored surfaces and the white-painted walls rising up from likewise-white carpets.

Wide-open living, dining and kitchen areas feature this primarily pink-and-green theme, while a children’s room is highlighted with a bright yellow table, bench and bed set with a glowing blue-lit ring on one wall.

Maybe it is just another case of Italian design styles gone wild … though one could also argue it is the ultimate hybrid of kid-friendly livability and tone-down adult aesthetics.

Designed by (and for the family of) Simone Micheli, this set of interior spaces crosses conventional design boundaries – it mixes a playful color palette with minimalist forms, combining a touch of artistic whimsy with contemporary cool. And the best part: with the architect as the client, there is no one else to blame should the colors not come out quite right!

The post Modern Highlights: Classic Interiors + Contemporary Colors first appeared on Dornob.