CEILING FANS

If you are a discerning homeowner who is living in Singapore and am currently looking around for good looking ceiling fans to be installed in your home, I must warn you that you are in tough luck. I can't understand why many manufacturers haven't fully embraced the notion that ceiling fans need to look as good as they perform in a home, especially those in Southeast Asian countries where the temperature and humidity can be too much to bear at times. Or shall I say most times...

In my line of work, I have come across too many cheesy looking fans which just would not cut it if style and function are what you are wishing for. Some are just ridiculously 'designed' with blades that spin outwards or shades that look more like hideous little trumpets.

But before you start to whine, you'd be happy to know you stumbled upon this post.

Last Friday, I passed by this little shop called Amasco at Joo Seng Road and what a surprise I had when I saw these gems inside. Yes, these are by no means great beauties, but their clean fluid curves and lines really caught my eyes. And a brief 'fan audition' proved that these fans are not just banking on their handsome looks alone - they move a hell lot of air too.

So hop over to the shop if you're seriously considering a ceiling fan for your home. You'd be glad you made the trip.


Stan

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'DESIGNER TALKS HOME' INTERVIEW SERIES: MARTYN LAWRENCE BULLARD

Award winning interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard is widely known for his glamorous and worldly home interiors for clients such as Cher, Elton John, Christina Aguilera, Eva Mendes and Ozzy Osbourne. His illustrious career also includes designing commercial projects such as the Colony Palms Hotel Group and the executive suites for Paramount and Warner Bros Studios.

Bullard was profiled in the January 2010 issue of Architectural Digest as one of the top interior designers in the world. Late last year, he also received the prestigious Andrew Martin International Interior Designer of the Year Award. Recently, Bullard appeared on Bravo TV's Million Dollar Decorators and published his first personal book, Live, Love & Decorate.

Home Rejuvenation has the pleasure to speak to the man himself about his fascination with the industry, lifestyle and of course, interior decor.

What drew you to the architectural and design industry? is that original fascination still alive within you today?

I was drawn to design from an early age , apparently my mother tells me I used to scribble the shape of houses on a chalk board and play with the rearranging the furniture in my sisters doll houses from the age of 3 ! .... My passion developed as I grew older and visited the great houses and museums of Europe eventually culminating in my love of all the decorative arts and finally filtering this knowledge into a full fledged design business 18 years ago.

I am still fascinated by all things decorative and literally live and breath my industry. I am as passionate today as I was the day I started , actually probably more so.

Tell us about your typical day (at work and at home).

My day starts usually with about 50 emails from around the world which I will try to answer as I sip my coffee first thing in the morning. As I am working in 4 different countries currently I have to juggle all sorts of time zones. I usually make my way to my office first for an hour or so to go over the days tasks and then my appointments start. Either client meetings , vendor appointments or site visits. We line 3 or four of these up , depending on where in the city they are. I try to be back at my office by 4 pm to re group with my staff and look at what we have to do , what needs immediate attention and how our delivery schedules are going. I also may meet re new furniture or fabric designs and review whatever needs my attention from my various licensing partners.

We usually close around 6pm , sometimes I will stay later to review accounts and important client needs.

Finally once home I will work out in my gym for 45 minutes and get ready for either a client dinner or meeting friends , or the thing I love the most these days with my busy schedule , to stay home and have dinner and a movie in my mini screening room set up. That to me is the ultimate relaxation and leaves me refreshed and inspired to re start up my new day !

In your opinion, what are the key challenges in designing a residence?

The key challenges to designing a residence is really to get an understanding of your clients needs and decorative desires. Its vital to me that my clients homes are a representation of their personal taste and style. I decorate for them and not to infuse my style on them , I want the interiors to sing their personality and be completely custom to each person or family. This can take time and trust to become so acquainted to each persons taste and translate it for them.

Tell us about your own home.

My personal home is a Mediterranean villa built in 1923 by Rudolph Valentino , later becoming home to Gloria Swanson and William Faulkner. Because of the history and design style of the architecture I have decorated it to look how I believe it would have in its original days. I have used lath and plaster on the walls as they did in the 1920's. Wonderful stencils in between the beams , rich , full draperies , fine 18th century Italian and Portuguese furniture , but of course it has my personal twist of lots of colorful fabrics and contemporary art and photography.

The floors were reclaimed from an old barn so they retained their original patina and all the houses hardware was reconditioned and restored. I historically restored the residence as much as I possibly could and have taken great pride in retaining as many original features as possible.

As an architect/ designer, what do you think defines an inviting home?

An inviting home is one that is made comfortable and warm. Modern luxury I believe is comfort and because of that I think all furnishings should be deep and lounge-like, nothing should look uncomfortable or appear too precious that your guests are afraid to sit down. I think lighting plays a great part in this also. Always have lights on dimmer switches to create atmosphere and use lamps for ambient lighting wherever possible. It is vital to an inviting home not to clutter the space. Let your possessions breath and thus become more special and attractive. Also never save anything for best , use everything you love , every day , as today is your Best . Live , love and decorate !

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SCRAPWOOD FURNITURE BY PIET HEIN EEK

I'm guessing Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek's design style may not be everyone's cup of tea. Mr. Eek faithfully kept to the environmentally friendly ethos of “reduce, reuse, recycle” for his thesis project and turned to some very fine cabinetmaking techniques to transform wood scrap into, well, some very chic looking pieces of furniture. Or rather, should I say art.

Stan

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HANDS-ON SUNDAY: MAGAZINE-FRAMED MIRROR

This week, courtesy of Fleeting Thing, we show you the steps to create a mirror frame out of some cardboards and old magazines. It's really not difficult to make and the result is well worth the effort.

Stan

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NEON COLORED APARTMENT BY RE-ACT STUDIO

We are loving the electrifying neon colors infused into this contemporary home, as envisaged by Romanian studio Re-Act and architect Mario Kuibus.


Against the white and grey background, the violet glass/ plastic walls, yellow chairs and orange screens immediately pop out and demand one's attention. The transparent and reflective nature of the materials used in the design work to create an ethereal and somewhat futuristic effect effortlessly. Link





Stan

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PARVEZ TAJ - HOME REJUVENATION CONTEST: WIN AN EXCLUSIVE PRINT ON RECLAIMED WOOD

Los Angeles-based artist Parvez Taj is setting his eyes on your home. In collaboration with Home Rejuvenation, Parvez is giving away an exclusive piece of his eco painting - a 36" x 22" Douglas Fur wood plank harvested from old buildings in Southern California and printed with beautiful graphics using UV curable inks - to one lucky reader who resides in the U.S.

Parvez has dedicated his career to making beautiful art accessible. He uses paints, photographs, software and UV cured inks to create his signature style of wall art - of which he is a pioneer of the technique. This is a reflection of his dedication to the principles of elegant, sustainable design - a waste-to-energy initiative that presents a low impact art alternative. His works are often formal and conceptual motifs that engage issues of mass culture and comment on contemporary society, creating an imposing presence of irony, wit and play.

To stand a chance to bring this stunning piece of art home, you only have to send us an email by 30th Oct, telling us why you like it and where you intend to install it if you win. Kindly note that this contest is open only to U.S readers of Home Rejuvenation.

And if you like Parvez's other prints on reclaimed wood, you might like to visit the upcoming Gilt sale on the 18th of October. His works will be featured and available for sale on that very day!

Stan

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'DESIGNER TALKS HOME' INTERVIEW SERIES: ROBERT & CORTNEY NOVOGRATZ OF SIXX DESIGN

Sixx Design is made up of married designers, Robert and Cortney Novogratz who can renovate and turn around even the most ho-hum of properties. Their company is named after their six children (which has now turned into seven) and specializes in blending vintage flea market finds with modern furnishings to create unique, one-of-a-kind homes. They also have a fabulous book Downtown Chic out in bookstores, as well as a TV show 9 by Design on Bravo.

The lovely couple tells Home Rejuvenation their original aspirations as designers, lives as parents of seven children and the design of their abode at 400 West by Matthew Williams.

What drew you to the architectural and design industry? is that original fascination still alive within you today?

We were both doing different things when we first came to New York. But we decided to completely makeover a condemned brownstone in Chelsea, and learned a lot and realized this was our true passion. We have evolved since then, but our love for architecture, design and décor has only grown.


Tell us about your typical day (at work and at home).

Our office is in our kitchen, so that allows us to be home part of the day to be around our seven children. We sit with our design team around a huge French lab table (that is our dining room table!) and we meet with clients there, go to job sites, go off to shoot our TV show, and make other TV appearances. It is a very hectic life, but we love it!

In your opinion, what are the key challenges in designing a residence?

You always want to strike the right balance between looking stylish and also serving the needs of the people who are living there. Also, we sometimes have some ideas that the owner of the house might not think is right for them, and that means we have to reach a compromise but still not dilute our design aesthetic. But we love the challenge.





Tell us about your own home.

Our current home was originally a dilapidated BMW garage - bright pink two stories with no roof! We razed it and built a six-story townhouse with a garage, a basketball court, lots of outdoor space. Now it's a complete getaway within the city. An oasis for all of us...




As an architect/ designer, what do you think defines an inviting home?

An inviting home has to be functional, comfortable, and soothing to the people who live there. It should also be colorful, fun and stylish. A home should be a place of refuge for the people who live there, and also a place they can show off their creativity and style. We like to do this with an eclectic mix of colors and neutrals, vintage and modern, high and low. This make every member of the family feel good to be there.

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