ECCENTRIC DISCOVERIES: Sleeping in a Chapel

More and more so-called designer hotels are sprouting. People become bored by "regular" hotels so more hotels start to think about an alternative. Why should smart hotel owners not use and invest in assets which are a bit out of the norm? As in this case.

A while ago I found this on the Internet and I thought you might be intrigued as much as I was about this very special interior design. I am talking here about a complete transformation which has resulted into something really beautiful: "a historic metamorphosis" as it is called on the website of the Martin's Hotels family in Belgium. It says:

"Martin's Patershof, the latest addition to the Martin's Hotels family, is a world first. In the historic heart of Mechelen, midway between Brussels and Antwerp, this 19th century Franciscan church has metamorphosed into a stupendous four-star hotel. A new universe of hospitality from Martin's Hotels which perpetuates the building's prime vocation. In an ultra-modern fashion and with the greatest respect for the integrity of the location. A substantial project, a feat of technology and taste, a heritage saved and reinvented, a completely new experience." (from http://www.martins-hotels.com/en/hotel/martins-patershof/welcome/)

I think this transformation of a chapel into a hotel has been accomplished with dignity. There is no need to think that this might be a blasphemy. Of course it is always sad when a church or any other formerly sacred building is doomed but isn't it much better to apply a new meaning to such a place instead of letting it rot as it is happening to so many? The beauty has been conserved! Isn't this the true meaning?

(all photos from http://www.martins-hotels.com/en/hotel/martins-patershof/rooms)

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ECCENTRIC DISCOVERIES: Oriel Harwood

How would you specify the furniture and objects created by Oriel Harwood? Art furniture, designer furniture, functional art? No matter how you are going to name it her creations are inspirational and definitely eccentric and beautiful eyecatchers.

"Oriel Harwood's audacious pieces - neither furniture nor ornamentation, but something in between - are not made for meek persons or clinically Noughties interiors. They are heroic, flamboyant, unashamedly ostentatious outpourings from the creative mind..." (from her website)

What struck me most at first sight were Oriel's chandeliers which reminded me of those wonderful decorations you can find in the backdrops of films featuring fairly tales and other phantasy epics. The more I was astonished when I found out that these art furnishings were meant to be in a "normal" home.
The  art pieces are reminiscent of nature's eccentric formations as you can find them especially in winter time, when the ice is forming incredible sculptures. 

 

Being a great fan of fairy tales since my childhood I started to do some research and what I found were these wonderfully eccentric pieces:

(all images courtesy of Oriel Harwood)

Finally I found this marvellous mirrored paravent on the website of 1stdibs under furniture. Whether it is still available there I don't know:

(image source: http://www.1stdibs.com)

The New York Times wrote 1989 :

"Most people have a limited view of pottery, says Oriel Harwood, a ceramics artist. ''They think you either make things like mugs and ashtrays or you do sculpture.'' Ms. Harwood, 28 years old, makes large freestanding pottery pieces that are designed to be decorative. If they prove functional or sculptural, it is just a happy coincidence...."

"Ms. Harwood has incorporated extravagant baroque and mannerist elements into her ceramics since her days at Middlesex Polytechnic, where she graduated in 1982. Ms. Harwood's objects have been shown at the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Orangery in Holland Park here, the Chelsea Flower Show, the National Garden Festival at Stoke-on-Trent and in exhibitions sponsored by England's Crafts Council."

''If you have a very straightforward interior, I think you need some quirky objects breaking it,'' she said. ''My work will probably become even weirder in the future.'' (from the New York Times)

Best you view this little video with Oriel made by the Media Center of the Deutsche Welle in November 2010. Oriel is talking about her art and how she feels about making her art. In Britain she is called the Queen of the Baroque which says it all...



Oriel's work is currently represented exclusively by the David Gill Galleries in London.

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ECCENTRIC DISCOVERIES: Colours for Happiness

In my former post I was talking about living in a completely white interior. Furniture by Lisa Whatmough is the complete opposite. Mostly styles from the 19th century downwards but hidden beneath surfaces which simply jubilate with striking colours and patterns in combinations which could make you crazy. But it is a happy form of craziness, it makes you smile, even laugh!

Eccentric nonsense you may say but I have found out that I simply adore certain pieces of this furniture. I think the trick is to use only one single piece in one room - this helps the eye to get used to it and appreciative for the happiness those colours will spread in your house.

"What started as a desire to showcase her collection of 19th century fabrics and silk turned out to be a fascinating business enterprise for Lisa Whatmough, who set up Squint in 2005 to make bespoke armchairs and sofas". (read more on luxury-insider)

(original image sources for above luxury.insider)

 

 

 (original image sources for above squintlimited)

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ECCENTRIC DISCOVERIES: Sleeping Underwater

The ultimate intangible eccentricity for me personally would be this underwater resort that will open its doors in 2010 on the Fiji Islands.

I am an outdoor girl and I love to be in the countryside, in the woods. There is nothing more satisfying than watching animals in the wild, see what grows out there etc. etc. But my absolute favourite place in the world is being under the surface of warm waters, in the pacific blue or any other ocean. This is my world, this could be my home, this is my very own origin that I feel deep in my soul.

After I experienced the colourful underwater world while snorkeling in southeast Asia for the first time in my life I was hooked. I have always loved water, learned to swim before I went to school and have spent all my summer holidays always near water, be it a lake, a river or the sea. But actually seeing the fantastic underwater world in reality in Asia made my heart leap and wishing for more. Much more.

I learned to dive on Maui 11 years ago. What would be a better place than the bluest ocean in the world. What could be a better place than the Hawaiian Islands. And I learned it the hard way - with a former navy officer who knew no mercy. It was an excellent training - not the swimming pool thing - but the real one, the one with huge waves, with sometimes no visibility at all but only touching for your partner in order not to be lost, the one where you had to walk quite a while with all that heavy gear on your shoulders, the one were you had to watch out for razor sharp corals or all kinds of stingy things.

I asked myself more than once whether I really wanted to do that, spend my holiday with a training such as this...but it was the best thing I could do - ever! EVER!

Now I found this link. The Poseidon Resort on the Fiji Islands. This would be the fulfillment of my dreams - to spend a week or so in a room such as the one that can be seen in the last pic. On the other hand I would have to win the lottery in order to be able to afford such a holiday - so I am afraid this will remain a dream...

(screenshots from the www.poseidonresorts.com website)

... but dreaming we can - can't we?
And what about creating interiors for a location such as this one? Imagine working in such an environment - this would be just too much... Imagine getting up in the morning eye to eye with a nautilus or even one of those wonderful whale sharks. And how about seeing a manta fly by?

A small series of silk paintings (which I intend to continue) would be the perfect decoration for an environment such as this one - but judge for yourself:

"Sepia"

"Nautilus"

"Humpback"

all 40" x 13", silk paintings by

©Petra Voegtle
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ECCENTRIC DISCOVERIES: Sleeping in Ice

Might this belong to your most eccentric fantasies - to spend a couple of days like an ice princess in a crystal clear chateau? Wrapped in furry blankets to keep you warm, listening to some ethereal music coming from nowhere, lights which seem to glow from within that crystal clear substance you call ice? A magical scenery that carries you into another sphere...

Quite a while ago I found this about an amazing hotel in Sweden, the ICEHOTEL, near the Torne river.

"The company Jukkas (now ICEHOTEL) has been a tourist operator in the region since the 1970s. For many years the company focus was on the summer season and the magnificent outdoor experiences offered by the land of the midnight sun. During the dark winter the river was frozen and the people of the small village of Jukkasjärvi went into hibernation. Read more"

What attracted me most on their website, was the incredible art that was carved from the ice and the interiors that were created in and from ice, each room by different artists and each year this had to be done anew. In 2009 you could find these rooms among others:

main hall

where you sleep under stars

the Mush room - a psychedelic experience

Recaptured - where fragmented fractures of frozen memories are recycled

the Queen's room

the Art room

From the years before I specifically loved the following rooms and other sceneries. I truly recommend scrolling through all the images of ICEHOTEL. It's magic!

the Taonga room - with Maori symbols

the Russian art nouveau room

the Recurrence room - from Japanese artists

the Dreams room - what could be a more magical environment...

the Cupola room - sleeping under a the cupola of heaven

a dreamy landscape - relegated into a different era or planet?

(all images with permission from ICEHOTEL, photographed by Big Ben Productions)

And in case you would like to be part of next season's designs - ICEHOTEL is calling for artists:

"We hereby invite artists from around the world to send us your ICEHOTEL suite design for 2009/2010. We need your proposal no later than July 15th 2009."
for Application form click here .

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My own fantasies about iceworlds have been created on silk, a scroll that depicts the fantastic colour hues of the artic landscapes. More under this link.

"Iceworld"
79" x 25", silk scroll
©Petra Voegtle