Fall Picks From Those Who’ve Seen It All

by Ami Kealoha

Tasking seven online publications (including yours truly) with sourcing new housewares, the New York Times today highlighted 32 new products — from marble soda cans to modern beveled mirrors — and the people who picked them. Props to our participating colleagues, Apartment Therapy, Design Sponge, Hollister Hovey, Moco Loco, Peak of Chic and UnBeige for their picks. See ours below.

The Dancing Belly chair (above) is as much plaything as it is seating. It's $2,300 from Establishment.

According to Andi, one half of the glassblowing duo that makes up Esque, these hand-blown glass eyes (above left) look astonishingly real. Aside from their creepiness, we like the endless potential they create for bad puns (or helping out a crippled giant). They're $500 each from Esque.

Maybe it's the political climate or maybe it's scientific advancements like the Cern accelerator, either way Newgate's space-age design as applied to this Bubble Clock feels somehow relevant. It's £50 from Hiccup Gifts.

Jonathan Adler's Squirrel Ring Box (above left), with its secret acorn box, is a textbook example of the designer's witty takes on '70s decor. It's $120 from Jonathan Adler.

Marrying the richness of natural materials with VoIP technology, Hulger's Walnut and brass "Pappa" phone (above right) is a luxurious way to K.I.T. It's $300 from Hulger.

Coalesse Live/Work Furniture

by Ami Kealoha

Courtesy of Coalesse, I recently had the chance to visit their Chicago showroom to see their latest collection of furniture conceived for the modern workspace. The experience revealed a new brand (it's actually the merging of Metro, Brayton and Vecta under Steelcase's umbrella) that's totally in touch with — or perhaps even ahead of — clients looking for a reinvented approach to office furnishings. Taking into account factors affecting the ways people live and work today, such as longer hours, technology and collaboration, Coalesse's line marries smart design, an appreciation for aesthetics and durable construction. With their commitment to sustainability (of course), the company's approach is aptly termed "slow furniture."

Working with some first-rate designers and licenses, like Hans Wegner, Viccarbe and Otto & Jess, the collection's sense of color, craft and scale, as well as function, make it "not your dad's office furniture." Wegner's masterful designs, usually reserved for domestic spaces, are great examples. The legendary Wishbone chair's (pictured above right) gorgeously arcing line and its woven seat lends unexpected lines and materials to standard conference areas, while the funky Flag Halyard Chair (above left) encourages a supine position and what we can only suspect would be the wildest of daydreams.

Other pieces, like the forthcoming Saarinen-inspired table with an integrated port for cables and the like, are more practical, seeking to adapt classic furniture to office use. Above images via Core77.

In this category we also like a series of armoires, consoles and tables that have bells and whistles like self-closing drawers and magnetic, spring-loaded latches and are designed for needs most of us can relate to like hiding clutter and easy laptop docking. These items, meant to coordinate with couches and other more democratic furnishings, reflect a new approach to the executive office (image on right via Moco Loco) based on the idea that the workspace is 10% "I" and 90% collaboration. We'll take four, please.

La Noche en Blanco: Perpetual Sunshine

by Max Gold

Around three in the morning last Sunday, several hours into Madrid's La Noche en Blanco festival, I stumbled to Plaza Vazquez de Mella in search of Perpetual Sunshine. The brainchild of meteorologists, interior designers, and club kids, the exhibit is composed of 334 infrared bulbs that are wired to a computer. Using conditions of anywhere in the world where the sun is shining, the computer calibrates the bulbs accordingly. In this case, the machine adjusted the intensity of light and temperature to reflect the conditions of an ambiguous global zone that borders the Tropic of Capricorn (i.e. a tropical paradise), much to the pleasure of all spectators involved.

They also offered lounge chairs for those who were so inclined, but I preferred to continue exploring. See the video here.

Marcel Wanders: Mondrian South Beath Hotel Residences

by Ami Kealoha

by Tamara Warren

It takes a fairytale to capture the imagination in Miami's over-blown hotel district. Hence, "Sleeping Beauty" stirs 4 December 2008 when the Mondrian South Beach Hotel Residences opens it doors. Conceived by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, who nicknamed the property "Sleeping Beauty's castle," the one and two bedroom hotel residences overlook the Biscayne Bay, the Atlantic Ocean and the Miami skyline.

Named after the artist, the original Los Angeles Mondrian opened in 1996, leading the boutique hotel boom. The Morgan's Group has extended this venture to the East Coast with the Mondrian South Beach.

Enhanced by greenery and detailed etchings, the Mondrian South has subtle design cues from the legendary art deco hotels that color South Beach.

From the point of entry, the design language of the Mondrian is "island majestic" with 17' 6" ceilings leading to the 4,000 square-foot lobby bar, pool deck, lounge and restaurant. Surrounding gardens function as indoor and outdoor living spaces with seating areas, an outdoor bar, cabanas and a separate pool that make for a child-friendly destination. Two large meeting rooms with state-of-the-art audio and visual equipment are located on the Promenade floor with private balconies and a full service spa.

Wanders' accents emerge in nearly aspect of the interior structure. His furniture, lighting and accent pieces are found in virtually every section of the hotel. His mark is strewn on upholstery, window coverings and rugs, extending even to the bathroom. A vanity with integrated storage shelves and adjustable wall-mounted mirrors accommodates more primping than standard hotels and the neo-Baroque comes to an aquatic crescendo in the designer's signature crystal shower chandelier. Each hotel apartment comes with an iPod docking station and 42” flat screen monitors with integrated surround sound and CD/DVD player, adding to the atmosphere of technological polish.

The price on nouveau chic living isn't for the shy buyer with studios starting at $500,000, one bedrooms at $625,000 and two bedrooms at $1,000,000. See more renderings after the jump.

Mondrian South Beach Hotel Residences
1100 West Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139 map
tel +1 305 672 2662