A R C H A D E 0 2 : I C A N S E E A R A I N B O W

Apologies for being a slacker this past week, design has taken a bit of a back seat to another obssession of mine - Wimbledon. All my blogging time seems to have been spent watching (or screaming at) the tennis instead. I have to say I'm not usually a fan of Ladies Tennis, but the few games I've caught this year have been pretty fantasic, particularly the Laura Robson matches. Did anybody catch them? There have been some ridiculous outfits aswell. The Williams sisters have always been the most 'fashion forward' (ahem) of the Ladies game, but this year there is a new contender in the form of Bethanie Mattek Sands. Described as the Lady Gaga of the sporting world, Bethanie arrived for her match wearing an outfit devised by Alex Noble, the very same man behind Lady G herself. Isn't it something else? I love the ridiculous anti-glare patches! (yes that's what those black things are...)

Bethanic Mattek Sands at Wimbledon

Bethanie at another tournament

 Unfortunately my computer is saying no to tennis today (damn you iPlayer!) so it is back to design blogging for me! As it's another dreary day in Glasgow, I think some pick-me-up design is definately required. I stumbled across the rainbow stair this morning and thought it would a good starting point for a new Archade. The stair itself is but one part of a London home called the Rainbow House,which I might do a full feature on later as it's just so beautiful. I love the contrast between the colours and the stark white walls, and the indentations in the wall for the hand rail. Ah, i feel cheerier already!!

Rainbow House by Ab Rogers

Barajas Airport in Madrid

Streetology T-Shirt Vending Machine by Facet Studio

Les Cabanyes by Arqtel Barcelona

Rainbow House

L I T T L E M O N S T E R

Posting pictures up of yourself really is a different kettle of fish to design blogging – I feel all exposed and vulnerable! Kudos to all you fashion and beauty bloggers out there as I really don’t think I’m cut from the same cloth. Anyway, I thought I should report on my costume, or at the very least show a picture or two or me being Lady G. I actually think it turned out fairly well. It’s not really visible as I’m wearing my beloved grey hoodie which I always wear in the house but I managed to fashion the plastic dress out of a £1.99 shower curtain (thank you Argos!) which my completely-not-into-fashion boyfriend helped me to make. And I got the lobster on my head which was a miracle in itself – who knew what could be done with an old wire coathanger and a few hair bobbles? As I mentioned before, the theme was Under the Sea so here’s a list of the best outfits that I clocked that night: A Fish Finger, the Titanic, the Iceberg that hit the Titanic, a Seahorse, a Treasure Chest and a Shark attack Victim. Roll on next year! 

G E E K C H I C

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The one and only Paper Boy

I really, really need to stop blogging about furniture! I didn’t know I was so into furniture until I looked at all my recent posts. I couldn’t resist this Space Invaders chair though – it just had to be shared. I’m not even a gamer – I had a Sega Master System when I was wee, which was the predecessor to the Mega Drive i.e. ANCIENT!! I also had a Spectrum before that (inherited from my older brother) which I’m quite positive absolutely no-one will remember, it made an excruciating noise similar to dial-up internet whilst loading and had great games on it such as Paper Boy! Anyone remember? (Cue deafening silence). Lol, those were the days... Anyway, these delightful creatures have been designed by Dorothy and I’m sure will be popping up in many a games room in the future. I quite fancy one myself!

D O T D : P U Z Z L E

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Oh my goodness I just can’t keep up with the design world! I’ve seen so many things over the weekend that I’d like to blog about but I’ve had no time whatsoever. And all the spare moments I’ve had have been spent watching the wonderful tennis. Did anyone see Andy Murray win at Queens this afternoon? I sneakily watched it in the office, hiding behind my computer!  

I saw this lovely little table earlier, which I think reminds me subliminally of my current mood (not quite with it). I should explain. It’s called Missing Pieces, and is made up, unsurprisingly, of all the missing pieces from hundreds of jigsaw puzzles. Designed by Rupert McKelvie, it reflects the notion of creating something of worth with objects that would otherwise be redundant, which is a nice idea. It’s recycling at its best!

M R S C H A I R

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This ladylike chair by Vladamir Tsesler would be a great sidekick for Mr Chair, which I wrote about the other day. Wouldn't they look cute together?

D O T D

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Ok so today's Design of the Day is ever so slightly off topic, in that it's not anything to do with architecture! It's a one off, I promise! I just think it should be mentioned as it's the reason I haven't been blogging as much as I should because I've been stressing about it. I'm attempting to make myself a costume for a party, and this is the challenge I have set myself. The theme is under the sea, which I think is actually pretty difficult, unless you want to go as the Little Mermaid! ( I have heard that Ursula is going to be there, so I'm V excited about that!) So, last week at work whilst I was 'researching' images of jellyfish, crabs, shrimp, and any other sea creatures I could think off, I came across a pic of Gaga sporting a lobster and that was me sold. Easy, I thought, all I need is a plastic lobster and some spray paint. Hmmm, quite.

So,yesterday I received my lovely red lobster through the post and last night I spray painted, glittered glue-ed and diamanted my little heart out. The result is semi-decent, which is a relief as I was having doubts about the whole outfit. Now I'm left with the impossible task of getting it on my head, as it's actually quite heavy. I'm thinking wire coathanger...? I'm also going to try and do the dress out of the polythene or whatever I can pick up in B&Q later today. I will be wearing slightly more clothes though, rest assured! The last thing is the hair. My hair is blonde already, but I've bought some lovely yellow spray for the underneath parts. I just don't know if (as my hair is highlighted already) the colour will stay in permanently. Does anyone know? I really don't want to be sporting out-of-date Gaga locks on a permanent basis!   

A R C H I V E 0 1

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I have a unequivocal lust for buildings like this. Anything barn shaped, or rocking the archetypal house look with a cute little pitched roof I guarantee I will love. This holiday home in Suffolk by MVRDV is no exception, which is poised on the cusp on a hill and looks like it could come unstuck at any moment. Although the building is entered at ground level, the 15m cantilever forces inhabitants headlong into nature and provides two different experiences of the environment. A glass floor in the living room serves as a constant reminder of the building's precarious position. Although I like it, I feel like you would suddenly become more conscious of your weight in this house (particularly on the swing), which is probably not a good thing!

Generally, I wouldn't like this shiny sort of material, but in this case I think it works very well. Given the form of the building, I really think a non-domestic-home material is fundamental in keeping the design contemporary. It's also pretty good at reflecting the greens of the forest, which allows the house to integrate better with the surroundings. What's not to love..?

D O T D : M O M E N T O M O R I

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If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Not so for Pool, who have given the ubiquitous white garden chair that we all know and love a bit of an emo makeover. Cheerily entitled ‘Souviens toi que tu vas mourir’ which translates as ‘remember that you will die’, the chair is supposed to remind us of our own mortality, and the fragility of life. Not exactly a hot topic of conversation at the average garden party I would imagine! In spite of its gloomy nature I really like it, and kudos to the designers for making a basic object a little bit cooler.  

T H E W H I T E S T U F F

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I came across this little gem earlier. After perusing all the wonderful white bits and bobs on Helen’s blog the other day, this stark white interior jumped out at me! I also heart Nendo very much. They are a clever bunch, doing everything from furniture and interiors to perfume bottles, as well as the wonderful, but just-a-little-bit-mental, mental health institution without any doors. Yes, really. I just can’t figure out how they got the clients to go for it! I guess it’s a testament to how awesome they are, if nothing else. 

The interior for this cafe for children and parents still has Nendo’s trademark peculiarities, and is designed to reflect the hugely different perspectives of its little and large inhabitants. Distorted scales are used to engage with both adults and babies, and the result is an Alice in Wonderland style room, where the floorboards change scale across the room and a huge sofa is a massive play area for one user and a tiny changing area for another. It's very minimalist and clean looking for a child friendly cafe you may think, but Nendo have thought of everything. From the ground, babies and children can delight in images of animals and birds in that place forgotten by adults: the underside of the table.