Author: jjfdesigns

Architecture, California, Cool neon lights, Design, Eclectic, Googie Architecture, Mid-century Modern, Minimalist Design, Unique Places

Beautiful Googie Architecture

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Union 76 Gas Station

The dramatic upward-curving roof is one of the most iconic examples
of Googie architecture that still stands today.

gas station 1

What looks like a flying carpet anchored to the ground with pillars at
the intersection of Crescent Drive and Little Santa Monica Boulevard in
Los Angeles is actually a functional gas station. It’s also one of the most
iconic examples of Googie architecture in the world.

gas station 2

The dramatic upward-curved canopy decorated with red square tiles was
originally designed in the 1960s by architect Gin Wong to be a part of the
city’s airport, but when that plan was changed, it ended up as a Union 76
gas station. When the fluorescent lights that follow the curve are turned on,
Jack Colker’s 76 station, as it is commonly known, goes from flying carpet
to embellished spaceship.

Googie_GasStation
It was completed in 1965, right around the time when the eye-catching
Googie style was extremely popular in California. Inspired by the SpaceAge,
fast cars, and jets, Googie style buildings contain steel, plastic, and neon,
twisted into crazy shapes and designs. Several of these whimsical creations
were demolished in the decades that followed but there are still handful of
them scattered around the Golden State.

Union76Gas_MichaelLocke.jpeg

gas station 4
Atlas Obscura

Autumn, Beautiful Places, National Parks, Nature

Beautiful Fall Foliage

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fall leaves

Some consider Autumn to be the most incredible time of the year. Gorgeous colors vibrantly encoring the end of summer as the trees put themselves to bed for the long sleep of winter. The Great Smoky Mountains floods with thousands upon thousands of annual visitors all hoping to achieve a breath taking view of the beautiful renaissance of nature.

The Smoky Mountains team has once again released their foliage prediction map, updated for 2017. The complex algorithm uses historical and forecasted precipitation and temperatures, as well as historical leaf peak and observational trends to predict when the trees will be at their most colorful. As each year passes, there’s more historical data to consider, and therefore, the predictions get more accurate.

This 2017 Fall Foliage Map is the ultimate visual planning guide to the annual progressive changing of the leaves. While no tool can be 100% accurate, this tool is meant to help travelers better time their trips to have the best opportunity of catching peak color each year.

Architecture, Eclectic, Humor, innovative architecture, Unique Places, Whimsical

Beautiful Upside Down House

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“What if I should fall right through the center of the earth…oh, and come out on the other side where people walk upside-down?” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.

And now something weird for your Friday. You wouldn’t think the world would have so many upside down houses, but it does. People have built them for all kinds of reasons, from starting up a tourist attraction to commenting on the absurdity of politics.

upside downhouse 1

Upside Down House in Usedom, Germany: Designers Klausdiusz Golos and Sebastian Mikiciuk have a very nonchalant approach to this tourist exhibit, saying, “We didn’t do it for a reason. We just wanted to do something different.”

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Upside Down House at the Old School House Museum in Lee Vining, California: Part of an outdoor exhibit at a roadside museum in California, this tiny shed gets top billing as the “legendary upside-down house!”

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Wonderworks in Orlando, Florida: They bill themselves as “Central Florida’s only upside down attraction — an amusement park for the mind, featuring over 100 interactive exhibits.”

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Upside Down House in Poland: Daniel Czapiewski, an entrepreneur in Poland, built this house to comment on the insanity of contemporary politics (and bring in tourists as well).

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Casa de Cabeca para Baixo in Rio: Don’t know too much about this upside-down house, except that it’s located in Cabo Frio, Rio de Janeiro, and the Flickr member who took the photo says “They are reforming it. It’s a Showroom from a house-construction shop.”

Architecture, Capitol Hill Seattle, Craftsmanship, Design, Industrial Style design, Interior Architecture, Interior Design, Lighting Design, Minimalist Design, Renovation, Reuse, Seattle, Washington State, Work space design

Beautiful Workplace Design

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GoCstudio re-imagines a century-old Seattle building to house digital product company

studio-office-seattle1US architecture firm GoCstudio has created an open office for a growing tech company that features original brick and timber elements, along with new enclosures made of ebony-stained plywood.

gocstudio_seattle 2.jpgThe office is located within the upper floor of a 100-year-old building in Seattle‘s Capitol Hill district. Encompassing 14,000 square feet, the space serves as a second office for Substantial, a digital product studio.

gocstudio_seattle 3.jpgThe company had occupied a portion of the floor since 2013, and decided to take over the full story when its neighboring tenant moved out. Local firm GoCstudio was charged with overhauling the entire floor, to read as one unified space.

gocstudio_seattle 4.jpgThe challenge was to create a cohesive open-plan workspace which retained the feel of the original Substantial space and would maximize the existing character of the building – exposed brick walls, old-growth Douglas Fir beams and roof decking, and the beautiful warehouse-style window walls.

studio_5.jpgThe architects worked closely with the client to understand day-to-day operations, as well as the company’s love of hosting parties. Their research led to the conception of the office’s signature element: The Forum, an assembly area for social and business activities.

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A large aspect of Substantial’s working practice is the hosting of public and private events thus creating a large social space that could be multifunctional was an important factor in the design of the expansion.

studio_7.jpgThe social space was situated near the entry staircase and looks toward a large reception desk faced with a steel door from the old office. The room is illuminated by a large skylight.

studio_8In the kitchen, the team installed two bars made of cross-laminated timber planks, along with several black dining tables with colorful chairs. Employees can be found working here throughout the day.

cstudio_9Surrounding The Forum are conference rooms, with walls made of black-stained plywood and large panes of glass. Additional enclosures were inserted on the north side of the floor. A large portion of the office is given over to open areas with versatile workstations.

The space is filled with natural light, thanks to large floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides of the building. For the first time in many years, views are opened up through the building, from east to west.

studio_10

Other projects by GoCstudio include a low-lying winery that blends with Washington’s natural terrain, and a floating wooden sauna that can accommodate up to six people.
Project credits:
Architect: GoCstudio (Jon Gentry, Aimée O’Carroll)
Builder: Montlake Associates
Lighting Designer: KMJ Design, Kathy Justin
Owner: Substantial
Photography: by Kevin Scott
Read more 

 

Design, Fabrics, Interior Design, Minimalist Design, Modern Design, Scandinavian Design, Styling, Textiles, Texture

Beautiful Textiles

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Swedish brand HIMLA has launched a unique collaboration with interior
stylist and photographer Daniella Witte, and the imagery she has created
is stunning. Representing Scandinavian Simplicity, most of HIMLA’S products
made from linen, but they also work with other natural materials like wool,
silk and cotton.

living_curtains_Daniella-Witte.jpg

Using textiles from the range, Daniella has created a relaxed interior with
natural colors and a simple aesthetic. Beautiful stone floors are softened
with sheer linen curtains and a warm layering of textiles that carry through
to every room in the home. These include soft rugs underfoot in the living
room, scattered cushions on the sofa and a lovely layering of tablecloth and
napkins on the dining table. Bathed in light, the bedroom is my favorite.
Read more about this inspiring collaboration here. Love the stone floor!

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bedroom.jpg
Styling and photography by Daniella Witte for Himla via TDC

Design, Dining Rooms, Interior Design, Living Rooms, Minimalist Design, Modern Design, Scandinavian Design

Beautiful Renovated Home

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This beautiful Copenhagen apartment was featured in
Elle Decoration South Africa earlier this year.
Copenhagen living room
Located in the Frederiksberg, the couple renovated the once run-down
apartment themselves. Restoring the original architectural detailing,
they have introduced new contemporary additions to provide a strong
yet understated contrast. The couple have also incorporated their own
stories and heritage. Justine’s South African roots can be seen in details
such as the fabrics and lithographs created by artists such as her aunt,
South African artist Deborah Bell.

Copenhagen chairCopenhagen bedroom.jpg
Bringing in a number of delicate heirlooms, Jonas’s Danish upbringing
is also evident. Featuring natural materials such as wood and stone, the
home showcases the pair’s attention to detail and the interaction between
origins, functionality and aesthetics. The end result a beautiful!

Copenhagenlights.jpg
Images 1-5 Styling Marie Monrad Graunbøl / Photography by Mikkel Tjellesen via Elle Decoration.  Last image via justinebell.com

Babies and Kids, Children, colorful design, Cool bedrooms, DIY, Furniture, Interior Design, Kid Spaces, Modern Design

Beautiful Kid Spaces

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How to crate a beautiful, cool, functional space for kids.

VINTAGE-DESK-WITH-HOUSE-SHELF-AND-DOTTY-WALL-FROM-PINTERESTSeptember is almost here and that can only mean one thing: back-to-school time! But homework doesn’t have to be boring – and neither does your child’s desk. Whether it’s for homework, drawing, coloring or simply chilling with a favorite book, study spaces can be both functional AND fun.

Here’s how:

1. Choose an area that works within the room

ATTIC-ROOM-BY-VAN-STAEYEN
Image sourced from Van Staeyen

Placing a table along the length of the room (as pictured above) makes an area that may otherwise not be used for anything, useful – especially in a loft or attic room like this one. It’s light and bright, thanks to the window and the cheerful sunshine yellow and white, with plenty of desktop space for every activity you can think of! Don’t forget alcoves, unused corners, underneath loft beds, and even cupboards – they can make perfect study zones too!

DESK-IN-CLOSET-BY-THE-LAND-OF-NOD
Image sourced from The Land of Nod

2. Hang a shelf

WALL-MOUNTED-DESK-AS-SEEN-ON-ESTILOESCANDINAVO
Image sourced from Estiloescandinavo

If you don’t have a lot of space, consider hanging a wall-mounted shelf instead. Simple and smart, yet effective as well. If it’s next to a wall, even better – hang some extra storage for all those arty bits and pieces and to help keep everything tidy and organized. And don’t forget all that extra space underneath the desk. Stack some storage boxes, bins or baskets to stash away all the mess when work and play is over.

KIDS-WALL-DESK-STYLED-BY-SUUS
Image sourced from En Suus

3. Choose a colored chair or stool

COLOURFUL-STOOLS-IN-PLAYROOM-BY-SAARKELOVES.jpeg
Image sourced from Saarkeloves on Instagram

These Ikea steps look amazing painted in bright colors and used as stools. Love how the drawers divide up the two areas whilst serving as functional desktop legs, not to mention brilliant storage for paper, pens, crayons and books.

Likewise, these sweet vintage chairs in this kids’ room (below) add a pop of bright color whilst being perfectly in keeping with the style of the room:

COOSJE-BLOG
Image sourced from Coosje 

4. Decorate!

Colored paint, wallpaper, wall stickers and wall art all help to add color and character to the walls, giving the study area its own identity. This simple yet creative two-tone ‘mountain’ design on the wall, which defines the corner and separates it out from the rest of the room:

CORNER-DESK-WITH-PAINTED-WALL-FROM-MOMMO-DESIGN-BLOG-IMAGE-FROM-WILD-ONES
Image sourced from Wildones

How cool is this grey and white cloud wallpaper for the alcove surrounding the desk?

KIDS-DESK-STYLED-BY-BOBBY-RABBITImage sourced from Bobby Rabbit

5. Add a peg board

A simple pegboard above the desk is decorative, functional as storage and the perfect solution for displaying their creative masterpieces:

KIDS-PEG-BOARD-BY-AIMEE-WEAVER
Image sourced from Aimee Weaver
PAINTED-PEGBOARD-AS-SEEN-ON-PRETTY-LIFE-GIRLS-BLOG
Image sourced from Pretty Life Girls 
PEG-BOARD-DISPLAYING-WALL-ART
Image sourced from Petit and Small

So, whether it’s for a 2, 12 or 22-year-old, you can keep the study space both fun and functional by adding elements such as a bright chair or stool, a colorful shelf or pegboard or a decorative wall feature through paint, wallpaper or wall art. And let’s face it – when you have kids, there is plenty of wall art to display.

For more ideas visit petitandsmall.com
Architecture, Art Deco, Color, colorful design, Design, Homes, Minimalist Design, Modern Design, Modernism

Beautiful Pink House

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4-Laurinda-Spear-Bernardo-Fort-Brescia-Arquitectonica-The-Pink-House-Miami-Shores-1976-79-Photography-by-Eric-Meola

The Pink House, otherwise known as The Spear House, is one of the best known and most photographed residences in Miami, Florida. It is a quintessential symbol of modernism and sits at the edge of Biscayne Bay in the older Miami suburb of Miami Shores, is intended as an urban house within a suburban context. Rigorously conceived as a study in different planes, the house is painted give shades of pink, ranging from deep near-red to pale pink, which heighten the illusionistic perspective of the house and define the series of planes. Pink was chosen because it seemed to be the most tropical of all colors and at the time was rarely used. Many factors make the house interesting bit its controversy has all the intrigue. designed by Laurinda Spear and Bernardo Fort-Bescia of Arquitectonica for Spears’ parents in 1976, it’s a series of planes and framed views designed to maximize East/West breezes.

The Pink House, Miami Shores, Florida, 7800

Although the house was initially conceived as an object standing on its own, the west façade, facing the city, is scaled down; its dimensions diminish to relate to other houses on the street in an almost mathematical cadence. The east façade, designed for long-distance viewing from Miami Beach and the bay, is scaled so that it looms large. The approach is through a tropical grove — almost a tunnel– which opens to a geometric landscape with palm trees spaced regularly in a carpet of pavers.

pink jhouse ext 3.jpg

The house has a precise sequence: the façade, the courtyard, and then the rooms, each framing a different view of the bay. The house encloses a swimming pool, which, along with the living areas, is the piano, one level above ground. The house in narrow — only 18 feet wide — to capture the bay breezes and daylight as well. The Spear House is more rigorously mathematical than Arquitectonica’s later work, yet in many ways it is seminal, establishing a number of paths of inquiry that the firm has pursued consistently, including color and cadence.

The Pink House, Miami Shores, Florida, 7800

Its color statement received a lot of attention in the late 1970s when it was built.
Neighbors were disturbed by the 5 shades of pink, which were chosen to reflect
the tropical climate and were rarely used at the time. Ultimately a grove of trees
were planted to shield the house from the street.

The Pink House, Miami Shores, Florida, 7800

pink house porthole large

pink house pool

pink house pool2

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PinkHouse_MiamiShores1

early-collage-study-pink-house-copy
Original sketch

rendering 1

rendering 2

Architecture, Art, Hospitality Design, Hotel Interiors, Interior Architecture, Interior Design, Minimalist Design, Modern Design, Scandinavian Design, Sculpture

Beautiful Hotel Interiors

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Located in a brutalist former bank headquarters in Stockholm, Universal Design Studio’s latest project, the At Six hotel, is home to one of Europe’s most significant hotel art collections. The London-based studio carried out a complete interior renovation to create the 343-room luxury hotel in the Swedish capital’s Brunkebergstorg Square, and also designed a new entrance. The scheme includes 10 floors of guest rooms, a penthouse suite, a 100-cover restaurant, a wine bar, cocktail bar, a 2,000-square-metre events and flexible work space, and Scandinavia’s first slow listening lounge.

hotel-at-six-standard-room

The art collection is curated by Sune Nordgren, formerly of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.

art

The gorgeous monochrome interior contrasts shades of warm grey and highly textured natural materials with soft furnishings and classic furniture. The aim was to reinterpret the brutalist aesthetic of the building and the immediate architectural landscape of Brunkebergstorg Square. “A palette of sawn stone, blackened steel, fine timber and polished granite lends a sense of permanence and authenticity to the new interior,” explained Universal Design Studio.

hotel-a2

“Moving away from the uncompromising and unforgiving aesthetic characteristics often associated with the brutalism – the brief was to create a desirable, fashionable destination,” said the team. “Design is focused on humanising the architecture, bringing a sense of desirability and luxury to a brutalist building not often associated with these traits, turning the hotel into a contemporary version of a metropolitan grand hotel.”

hotel-3.jpg

Pieces of contemporary and classic furniture are complemented by specially commissioned pieces created by local makers and established Scandinavian designers. Custom lighting by Rubn is installed in each guest room, and local glassmaker Carina Seth Anderson has created a series of sculptural, hand-blown glass vessels for the lobby as well as tabletop pieces for each dining table in the restaurant.

six 5

The handrail of the grand white granite staircase in the hotel’s lobby was wrapped in leather by a local saddle maker, while a communal table in the wine bar was carved by local artist Lies-Marie Hoffman from a single Swedish elm trunk. Bedrooms feature timber wall panelling and marble credenzas that run the full length of the room. The hotel is one of four 1970s buildings that occupy Stockholm’s Brunkebergstorg Square. The buildings were built during a government initiative that aimed to replace much of the city centre’s belle époque grandeur with brutal modernity.

six 6

Although the high-rise building was originally designed by Swedish architects Boijsen & Efervgren as a hotel, it ended up functioning as the headquarters of Swedbank, never fulfilling its intended purpose. Now owned and operated by Petter Stordalen of Nordic Hotels & Resorts, the hotel is at the centre of a wider regeneration programme that aims to transform Brunkebergstorg Square into a social hub within the city.

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hotel 4

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Poetry, Soulful

Beautiful Poetry

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As the week comes to an end a bit of poetry is on my mind reminding me to always hold on to my power and never relent under any circumstance.

INVICTUS
Out of the night which covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

~ William Ernest Henley
Written 1875

large_invictus-redeemed.jpg
Reflective

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Unchained

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Carefree

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A Bit Smug is good thing sometimes

spring_joy___black_and_white_by_airsteve-d5ybxtx
Pure Joy

Architecture, Art, Humanity, innovative architecture, Interesting People, Public Art, Public Spaces, Road Trips, Unique Places

Beautiful Castle

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When in Colorado you won’t want to miss visiting Bishops Castle, an extraordinary work of one man. For 40 years, Jim Bishop has been building a castle on a mountainside in central Colorado. Every year since 1969, Bishop has single-handedly gathered and set over 1000 tons of rock to create this stone and iron fortress
in the middle of nowhere.

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With the help of his parents Jim saved up and bought himself a two and
a half acre plot of land in rural Colorado, planning to hunt and live on it.
A frontier spirit, when Jim decided it was time for him and his wife to get
a house, he figured he would build it himself. What started as a one room
stone cottage would soon grow to astounding proportions: it may be the
largest one-man architecture project in the world. Today the frontier
fortress reaches over 16 stories high, has three large cathedral windows,
wrought iron walkways and a steel fire-breathing dragon. Today Jim Bishop
is 63 and is still building. It is unlikely he will stop anytime soon.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS AMAZING STORY AND HOW TO VISIT HERE