designilicious

from the eyes of a child...

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 12:39:39 PST

Life is an amusement park.... as this scene reflects. Painted by my daughter Ella when she was 4 years old.

Today is the start of 2012. May this year bring us love, laughter, sweetness, beautiful and colorful memories and all the health we could ask for. May our life be an amusement park and may we all create lovely images in our minds just like that of a four year old.

designilicious on Etsy

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:36:13 PST


Joy Drop Earrings with Chrysoprase. Find this in my Designilicious shop on Etsy.

Peace Love Joy Drop Earrings with Appatite

Maile Leaf dipped in 24 kt gold with garnet

So loving making these pieces!

Peace . Love . Joy

Lisa

and life goes on....

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 21:21:05 PST

And to think that my design career was over. I am overjoyed at the fact that I am currently up and running again! This designilicious girl is busier than ever! So...here I sit amongst my wall of books, designing beautiful houses again. In between, I take a break to teach pilates, maybe make some jewelry, go to a ballet or hip hop class or two, break to make dinner...and design yet again. Can life get any better?
Life goes on in this designilicious home...
And I am happy!

another project takes over

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:26:02 PDT

So excited about the fact that a store owner asked to showcase my jewelry! Lucky me!!!

I can now add jewelry designer to my resume. Loving every moment!!!

BTW...by the time I posted this...I sold every piece. Hurray:)

Here's to the white spaces...

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 13:18:31 PDT

Well...i am on vacation with my girlies. So excited to be home. This tells you something. I cannot blog from L.A. because of my crazy hectic schedule. Here I get to stop and smell the roses (or at least the Frangipani Flowers).
As my design instructors in Architecture school used to tell me...sometimes it is about the negative spaces (the white spaces, the void spaces, the un-designed spaces). It is the breathing space. Not every moment has to be designed. Same with life. When we stop moving around...maybe then do we understand the important moments.
Here's to the white space.

Get Wrapped UP

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:40:25 PDT

Get Wrapped up in Gold!

Get Wrapped up in Jade!

Get Wrapped up in Pearls!

Get Wrapped up in Silk and Silver!

I LOVE getting Wrapped Up in Things!!

Wanted to share with you the new things I am working on. I am absolutely in love with Chan Luu!! Who isn't??

Anyway, rather than spending $300 on one of her leather wrap bracelets, I decided to try and make one. I kinda got carried away. Check out my latest projects. They are shown on Etsy.com and will be showcased on August 8th.

Enjoy! http://www.etsy.com/listing/51883212/get-wrapped-up-in-jade

yes I am here and yes I am alive

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 16:55:48 PDT

Soooo many changes in my life lately. On top of being an Architect and Interior Designer, I am now officially a certified Pilates Instructor. YAY!! Just wanted to let you all know. This is what I have been doing for 9 very intense months.
I also wanted to post this beautiful photograph hubby took. Think of it what you'd like. I absolutely love it.

So...if you want your dream home designed...or an amazing body...hit me up.

Love to you all :)

Bo01

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:34:59 PST

The conceptual sketch for a 27-unit block in Bo01, Sweden's 'City of Tomorrow' in Malmö

I decided to share a project I had worked on once upon a time when I worked at Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners. This project has been published several times...but I decided to quote bits and pieces from a site called ArchNewsNow: "In May 2001, Sweden presented its first international housing exhibition (and one of the largest ever mounted) in Malmö called Bo01: The City of Tomorrow. It combined not only temporary exhibitions that envisioned urban life in the future based on environmental sustainability and information technology, but also included an actual mixed-use development called Boplatsen. Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners (MRY) from Santa Monica, California, collaboration with Bertil Öhrström of FFNS Arkitekter AB of Sweden, was the only American firm among many European and Scandinavian architectural practices commissioned to design a residential city block in the city’s new housing and office district."

"The site was an industrial brownfield – formerly a SAAB automobile assembly factory. To remove the underground pollutants, the landscape planning combines biology and sustainability, using different species of flora that can extract the pollutants from the ground.

Ranging from two-and-half to four-and-a-half floors in height, the building has a total gross area of 33,000 square feet on a site area of 18,228 square feet. The project houses 27 rental apartments, from 600-square-foot studios to 1,950-square-foot, three-bedroom units, with no floor plan repeated."

"One of the challenges was to make each unit unique and still relate the entire block to the surrounding urban fabric. This was met by developing a flexible system for articulating the perimeter’s exterior elevations and the correlation between interior space and exterior expression. Since the different individual units are stacked, the potential for exterior chaos is mediated by a super-order grid that is composed of ribbed pre-cast panels on the perimeter of the city block site. A datum of alternating horizontal and vertical panels modulates the random placement of windows, creating a syncopated pattern that reflects the flexible configurations of the dwelling units from floor to floor. A contemporary reinterpretation of the traditional board and batten construction and the louvered texture of the panels capture and reflect the precious northern light while providing a discreet street presence.

The exterior treatment contrasts with the vibrant, almost playful architectural expression – and vibrant colors – of the interior courtyard facades. In this shared social space, undulating and twisting glazed towers that vary from two to four floors “dance” around a west-facing garden. With distant views of the Öresund Sound at higher levels, the living room of each unit occupies part of a tower, projecting inward to “borrow” space from the garden while making the interior units feel more spacious. Likewise, entire walls of glass open onto the garden, allowing the units to literally flow into the landscape. In the evening, when their screens of fretted glass are lit from within, the glass towers glow like a series of Chinese lanterns in the garden."

"The courtyard, better known as “The Yard,” interprets the metaphor of an island wetland through its formal design and plantings. Oriented toward the west, a central mound or “island” is irregularly divided into distinct parts: the eastern part is an “uncultivated” landscape of reeds, grasses, and a spiraling pool, while the western part is a timber deck. Residents can gather, formally or informally, in this central outdoor space, especially in the summertime. Individual footbridges above an expanse of marshy land reminiscent of the geography and flora of the nearby Öresund Sound, lush with grasses, reeds, bamboo, and perennials, link the residential cores to the island. The marsh vegetation is fed by recycled rainwater through manmade streams and a pond made of regular-cut stones and concrete, and provides an ever-changing palette of color and texture through Malmö’s diverse seasons and light conditions.

Photovoltaic panels on the roof provide heating and cooling for the building. Roof surfaces are also covered with grass to restore oxygen to the atmosphere. Rainwater is recycled and used to irrigate water gardens. Run-off water from other surfaces such as metal panels, paving, and concrete, is directed into a perimeter channel and then brought into a central cistern, cleaned, and returned to the ocean."

"All exterior windows are triple-glazed to provide insulation; the outside layer contains transparent Aragon gas that warms air as it passes through the layer on its way to warm the interior. An “intelligent wall' that runs through each unit supports power and data cabling, and orients all mechanical and technical equipment toward the interior of the block.

The project represented Sweden at the 2001 Venice Biennale, and received Sweden’s 2002 Building of the Year Award."

So...this is just a glimpse of the projects I have worked on...now I'm working on some crazy exams which I am taking on Friday. Wish me luck :)

Tree licious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 19:13:47 PST

I stumbled on this AMAZING tree house design in Dwell. It is perched on a hill in Los Angeles.
These photos are taken by Eric Staudenmaier.

"When a 40-year-old pine tree fell over at the rear of a Brentwood estate in Los Angeles a few years back, its owner, an art lover and a philanthropist, let it lie. The tree revived itself, continuing to grow from its newfound horizontal position. At that point, the owner decided to honor its resilience by incorporating it into a 172-square-foot office / guest house."

Rockefeller Partners Architects spent about eight months on the design. “It was a complex little puzzle,” said Chris Kempel, the project’s architect. “It was like taking a box and poking it with chopsticks,” he said about five slightly canted steel columns that pierce its cedar exterior. “We had a bunch of fun with it.”"

Makes me want to go hug that tree :)

and she wears many hats...

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 13:46:04 PST

Piers Atkinson has worn nearly as many hats as he has designed.

An artist, illustrator, milliner, costume designer, party planner, fashion editor, project manager...

His creative energies only seem to be matched by his insatiable curiosity.

Here are his designs for hats and headbands from his Sprin/Summer 2010 collection

It is appropriately called 'Sex on the Brain'

Enjoy!

a sweet and delicate apology....

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:50:11 PST

I soooo apologize my lovely 4 followers (as my friend stated) for writing, posting and uploading inspiring images so infrequently. My life took a complete unexpected turn-around and I found myself a bit upside down. I am still in my awkward upside down position...but I decided I do best in precarious positions...so here I am.

Please accept a delicious Pierre Herme Macaroon in a tempting flavor and color of strawberry, lemon, green-tea, rose, saffron-scented peach and apricot as my apology. I promise I will try to write more frequently...whether I am on my head, my side...or conventionally on my feet.

Maison et Objet Fair

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:09:10 PDT

Just some images from the Maison et Objet Fair in Paris this Fall. I haven't been online in a while and I needed some inspiration. I hope these images will inspire you...'Titikaka' bench by Naoto Fukasawa for B

'Taste' porcelain collection by Paolo Navone for Reichenbach

'taste' collection by Paolo Navone

'Mormor' series by Gry Fager for Normann Copenhagen

'Pleat' ice bucket by ECAL/Delphine Frey for Christofle

transitory objects

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:41:44 PDT

there is a shift between art and architecture...a shrinking gap between the two disciplines. with this as a cue, the Thyssen Bornemisza Contemporary Art museum has opened it's latest show TRANSITORY OBJECTS.

vienna holds a special place in my heart since it is one of the places i studied architecture. unfortunately i cannot attend the show, but if you happen to be there, think of me.

an architectural prototype from nikolaus hirsch and Michel Mueller called cybermohalla hub, 2008.

francesca woodman's then at one point i did not need to translate the notes; they went directly to my hands, from 1976. an example of woodman's notion of the body as an architectural object.

made from low density, recyclable polymer, greg lynn's FORM blobwall from 2007 is a lightweight, highly aesthetic reworking of the building brick. would love to use this on one of my buildings ; ).

laszlo moholy-nagy's neon signs were taken in chicago in 1939. this image is one of the first and most jarringly contemporary examples of light trailing in photography. I love this artist!

alisa andrasek is director of biothing - a laboratory that produces artificial computation techniques for design. these flower-like models, Mesonic Emission from 2007, were produced using laser techniques.

iconolicious ZAHA

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:29:00 PDT

i am so excited about the truly inspirational architect Zaha Hadid's first italian project which will soon open...the upcoming Maxxi National Modern Art museum in Rome.

this new project covers a large strip of the waterfront area of Reggio Calabria and includes two separate buildings, as well as the landscaping work between them. As the city’s mayor, Dr Giuseppe Scopelliti stated, this will be a project, planned to give a new breath to the whole area: ‘Ever since I was first elected in 2002, I was looking for a project to rejuvenate and regenerate the area. We decided to invest resources in the beautiful seaside kilometre of the harbour, to create a prestigious project, something that would become a icon of Reggio Calabria.’

the complex will consist of a Museum of the Mediterranean History and a multifunctional building for performing arts, including a library, auditoriums, gym, craft workshop areas and a cinema.

keeping its connection with the Reggio Calabria area strong, the museum will be devoted to one of the most famous people coming from the region, Gianni Versace.

‘It is a fantastic, very ambitious project. We really pushed the limits with the design,’ Patrick Schumacher added proudly during the signing ceremony last week, explaining how the design draws inspiration from organic forms, aiming for distinctive shapes, in order to be visible both from the sea and the coast; the complex is set to become one of the region’s most contemporary landmarks.

this may require a trip to Reggio Calabria!

sparkle icious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:07:13 PDT

we were in beverly hills and i was dying to go into the divine and ever so exquisite van cleef and arpels shop on rodeo. mr. hubbilicious looks for any excuse to enter spaces which ooze extravagance and glisten with very colorful 'sparkle'...although he claims it's for my sake that he likes to frequent these types of boutiques.
while there, we were surprised when we overheard a father trying to coax (if not beg) her 6-ish year old daughter to loooove a dainty little trinket-ish clover from the sweet alhambra collection. uuhmmmm...who does that??? his wife was decked out in vc&a ...while dressed in the typical southern california uniform of a tank top, jeans and flip-flops. anyone walking around rodeo with heels and head-to-toe haute-iness is definitely not from here. i love where i live.
anyway...so i decided to dedicate this space to estelle and alfred...without whom we wouldn't be able to spend thousands on trinket jewelry and wear it with pride. to arpels and van cleef...i will love you forever!

this piece was inspired by the textile below

chantilly lace shawl, 1860

vc&a...we feel eternally feminie in your presence...

dragonfly brooch in round diamonds and pink sapphires

sketch of a choker made for the duchess of windsor, 1934

btw...mr. hubby did surprise me with my very own trinket...thanks hubby!

flutter licious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:58:24 PDT

a native american butterfly legend...

if anyone desires a wish to come true
they must capture a butterfly and whisper that wish to it.
since they make no sound,
they can't tell the wish to anyone but the Great Spirit.
so by making the wish and releasing the butterfly
it will be taken to the heavens and be granted.
{author unknown}

style icious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 15:18:23 PDT

check out this hip, modern, chaotic and crazidelic hair salon/music hall in dublin--the style club. all due to the vision of new yorker garry cohn (an architect who works at douglas wallace in dublin). 'I was thinking of Alice in Wonderland as a punk rocker,' he says of his interiors. 'It works because of the carefully placed proportions of graphics, geometrics and natural forms, meaning your eye doesn’t get lost. And then the white floor with its tiled runner grounds the whole space.'

alice in wonderland as a punk rocker

wall of convex mirrors

26 styling stations

even the washrooms have style

carefully placed proportions of graphics and geometries

natural graphic forms throughout

the exterior

yummi licious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 19:08:57 PDT

i was thinking about my mother in law who is going through a hard moment....so i decided to bake some yummiliciousness with my girls. flowers make us smile....so we did. hope you do also!

they were delicious...

p.s. please think a positive thought for my lovely mother in law!

super contemporary

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:33:13 PDT

there is an increased movement by designers to think of the public and less of the individual as a consequence of environmental design. super contemporary, a new exhibition at the design museum in london has commissioned 15 of London’s leading creative minds to design something that improves life in the city, inspired by the city.

Here are a few of the design proposals:

lamp-post chandelier by thomas heatherwick - 'the design maximises drama, creating spacial experiences that work for passers by on an intimate scale and produce a grand, impressive effect'.

installation of the lamp-post chandelier.

new london bunny bin by paul smith - when someone approaches the bin a sensor on the hoop reacts and the rabbit's ears flash.

paul smith sitting with his bunny bin.

rain it in by paul cocksedge - 'following the fact that an electric charge attracts water, cocksedge experimented with controlling rainfall - imagining a london with rain-free pavements, bicycle guards and stadiums'.

thames pin by kit grover - a symbol shaped like the river Thames that is also a desirable object in itself.

the super contemporary exhibition will take place at the design museum in london from 03 june 2009 to 04 october 2009. check it out at http://www.designmuseum.org/ .

invention licious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:36:19 PDT

i'm a sucker for great design. i am just kicking myself because i think these are amazingly thought out and so well-designed...i shoulda come up with these pieces.
hope you enjoy them as much as i do!

orgone lounge by marc newson.

librolounge by todd bracher. just relax and read a book.

alberto colonello’s design for Boffi: the on/off Kitchen shown in the the 'off' position.

alberto colonello’s design for Boffi: the on/off kitchen shown in the the 'on' position. soooo sleek, futuristic and barely there.

bloom ottoman by todd bracher

alufelt chair by marc newson.

designilicious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Wed, 27 May 2009 22:00:17 PDT

one of the reasons i started this blog about design is that it makes me stop and focus for a moment about the parts of design which really matter to me: how the space, light, color, texture and scent of a space makes me feel. I love a calm, harmonious, well-balanced space...and i truly believe that this type of space affects all aspects of our everyday lives.

my designs are influenced by objects, images, people and experiences which surround me. i actually hear, taste, feel and smell something about these influences, and they usually create a feeling so evocative that the feelings permeate my thoughts and my designs.

i live in a very linear world, where my designs stem from grids and symmetry...this provides the structure and balance to my designs. however, once the structure is in place, i like to break up the rigidity with whimsical and asymmetrical forms.

lately i have been adding inspiring images to my image notebook. here are a few which really spoke to me. i hope they are also some type of inspiration for you.

nostalgic

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Tue, 26 May 2009 13:40:12 PDT

i wanted to give a shout out to my very talented hubby. here's a photo he took a couple of weeks ago. how lucky we are to live in such a photogenic city! hubby is out of town...but this photo he took keeps me company while he's away. hope you have a photogenic day.

chandel icious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:00:40 PDT

lately, something about a chandelier makes me happy. I love the way the light reflects and refracts from the crystals. i love the symbolism behind what a chandelier signifies--everything luxurious and grandiose. i also love the ornate and decorative forms which chandeliers come in. i was in a drawing mood...so i decided to draw a couple of interpretations of chandeliers. just something i felt like doing between deadlines (like i had nothing else to do).

enjoy!

going...and going...and going....

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Mon, 18 May 2009 21:13:13 PDT

i've been going and going...and that's why there is a lack of posts on my 'design' blog. but here's one about my ache-y back...and ridiculously high-heels (the cause of my ache-y back).

and i promise there will be more design in my design [blog].

to all those who keep going and going and going....here's to you. may you too have more design in your design... and may your favorite shoes be the cause of your ache-y back.

sculpt ilicious

noreply@blogger.com (lbwDESIGN) — Tue, 12 May 2009 08:12:35 PDT

Balloon Dog (Blue), high chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating

Chainlink, polychromed aluminum, galvanized steel

Cracked Egg (Red), high chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating

Balloon Dog, oil on canvas

we went to the LACMA yesterday....yes, i am proud to say that my children are officially members of the museum!

the museum is always so inspirational to me. i come back completely revitalised and so eager to keep the creative process moving. i've been thinking about the work of one very iconic american artist jeff koons.

koons' re-creation of very banal objects seems, at first glance, very cynical...especially when koons himself states that his works have 'no hidden meaning'. then what, jeff, are you trying to do by taking this mundane object (we would rather throw away) and monumentalizing it? i came to the realization that in fact his work is full of meaning.

marcel duchamp once stated, "The creative act is not performed by the artist alone; the spectator brings the work in contact with the external world by deciphering and interpreting its inner qualifications and thus adds his contribution to the creative act."

the meaning in koons' vibrant and gleeming installations are all about the meaning WE as the viewers decide to give it. to me they talk about impact, juxtaposition of unexpected materials, and the risks an artist is willing to take.

i hope you enjoy these pieces as much as i do. and, whether or not you enjoy them, i hope that you will get to experience them in reality...in the way that you choose too.