Showing posts with label interior. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interior. Show all posts

Monday, June 10, 2013

Wrought Iron Beds and other Metal Furniture

I don't know why but wrought iron beds and other iron furniture always emanate a hint of romance no matter which design. Maybe it is the seeming fragility of the material that evokes this impression. Or maybe because most wrought iron beds are dressed with romantic materials such as lots of pillows, ruches, sheers and silky textiles etc.

Wrought iron furniture never seems to disappear entirely from the sonar of interior design despite any trends. And I know that quite a lot of people share this love for romantic furniture - therefore I did a little research and this is a collection of various styles I found. Maybe it gives you some inspirational thoughts if you are in the middle of decorating or re-furnishing your home.

A completely unusual free form is this lovely bed:

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Another very stylish and more classical form is this metal bed:

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The next bed is kept in a much more simple victorian style design but nevertheless elegant:

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A much more romantic version is this iron bed:

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The next example is a wrought iron daybed. Very simple in its design but with the right decoration a very sweet alternative to the classical chaiselongue or settée:

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Who would not love the next example - the embodiment of a romantic bed, transferred from a different time right out of the history of old Victorian homes?

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A very delicate version of an iron bed is the following example. It looks so fragile that one cannot imagine sleeping in a bed such as this one without collapsing...

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Unfortunately I could not find a better photo of the following iron bed. This design is unusual and truly  artistic. As a completely free and asymetric form it is reminiscent of a sculpture:

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And how stylish is this Italian canopy bed? You simply have to love it:

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Now the following example for a wrought iron bed is quite a different caliber. Grafted and gilded it has been transformed into a luxury bed ready to be used by a princess...

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In addition to above iron bed what about this one from a Moroccan palace:

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Imagine you have a bedroom and then a jewel such as this one. It would be THE eyecatcher and the pride of your home:

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This is a bed design that could be the main piece of a goth inspired room. Imagine dark walls, clad in deep purple velvets with lots of precious decorative objects carefully placed in the room, on the bed itself heavy silk blankets and cushions, all black and purple and ruby red and then this bed frame - perfect!

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The decoration of the following celtic style bed may not be to its best advantage but the frame is gorgeous. Oh what could you do with it in a goth style room with the appropriate lush colours such as deep purple and dark reds and tons of velvet and silks...

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Now who says that only beds can be made and designed in wrought iron? The palette of furniture is endless and the designs are innumerable.

Doesn't this sink look gorgeous? I would love to have one and additionally some matching mirror and other small iron furniture for the bathroom...

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And what about this beautiful little coffee table?

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Another beautiful example is the next one. As you can see it can be more than just garden furniture...


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And how sweet would look this little bench in a lovely sunroom? Surrounded by tropical palms and ferns it could become a wonderful dreamy place:

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 And last but not least - pets are dearly loved family members. So why should a dog or cat not have their own romantic bed such as this one? Don't they deserve some stylish furniture also?

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Hope you loved this collection of wrought iron examples. I think I have to do another post on ornamental iron - there are so many beautiful designs one cannot cover just in one post...

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

LUXURY PHANTASIES: Thrones and Bathtubs

How many synonyms do you think exist for the word "toilet"? Here are some examples from which a few  may not be exactly clubbable:
the ladies' room, men's room, WC, powder room, lavatory, throne, bathroom, latrine, privy, outhouse, can, commode, john, johnny, seat, pot, potty, restroom, litter box, sand box, washroom, water closet, chiffonier, loo, washstand, shitter, porcelain god, bog, the foreign office, public conveniences, carsey, crapper, bano, head, dunny, the dump, blow hole, thunderbox etc. I am sure there are much more.

Most of the symonyms I mentioned above are probably not appropriate for the examples I found during my little research because these "places" are more than just potties?

A 24-karat golden throne is this one - made in Japan, known to be the land of the most sophisticated toilets in the world...

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This golden sink with diamonds would certainly complement the golden toilet:
One brilliant cut diamond 2.00 ct, VS2 G, and eight brilliant cut diamonds 0.25 ct, VVS1 E, with Bazel setting in white gold.

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Another  24 carat gold plated lavatory that was unveiled at the last World Toilet summit and expo in China. It costs only $200, 000 and would be appropriate for any Royal Highness...

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The Hall Of Gold has become a famous tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Owned by Hang Fu­ng Gold Technology Group the golden throne is meant to be admired, not put to practical use...what a shame...

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Designed by Jemal Wright, this is from the “Isis” range of bathroom fittings and is either fully or partially handset with Swarovski crystals...costs only 75.000 $

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This is actually a Teuco Swarovski crystal bathtub and it is beautiful and fully functional...


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I think the following may rather belong into the bizarre section of expensive thones:
John Lennon's toilet from Tittenhurst Park, Ascot, which sold in an auction for 14.740 $. Btw - would YOU have thought that the Beatle finished his biz on a throne such as this one that may rather fit into a typical English cottage??

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It does actually not look like an expecially expensive bath tub but it is made of solid copper and hand-crafted. Over five feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, the tub is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate just about anyone. The fluted faucet and hand-held shower unit are designed with the same aesthetic quality as the rest of the tub, featuring a finely engraved starfish-on-seashell knob. So the Kallista Archeo Copper Bathtub is available for a mere 67,557 $

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The contrary of looking very expensive and not having to pay a fortune for this might be this example from Melanie Royals and her invention of the Modello Decorative Masking Patterns. "Any surface can be enhanced with design and decoration"... Melanie says and mentions a project by Kathy Wear where her beautiful stencils are used "to create a throne fit for a king":

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But back to the most expensive bathtubs. Here is one, made of turquoise malachite, designed by Luca Bojola and available for 222.000 $ only:

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There is a similar bathtub available, the Amaltea bathtub, also designed by Baldi of Florence, Italy,  but this is made entirely of the precious purple gem amethyst, and adorned with 24-karat gold-plated legs, priced at 190.000 $.

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Designed by Luca Bojola this bathtub is carved from a single piece of Amazonian rock crystal and measuring over 8 feet in diameter. Available for only 790.310 $. Nevertheless it is defintely beautiful.

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By the same designer a crystal rock basin matching the above bathtub:

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You think that's it? Not so. Here comes the  £ 1 million bathtub. It’s called “Le Grand Queen” and was sculpted out of an extremely rare stone that can only be found in the volcanic rocks in Indonesia.

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And last but not least you need the appropriate toilet paper. What would be more decadent than cleaning your derrière with money bills???


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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Fossils in the Bedroom

No - it's not what YOU are thinking - I am talking about a painting that depicts the theme of ancient fossils i.e. ferns. It was one of those crazy ideas - hanging a painting horizontally although it was painted vertically but I thought it just made sense when you placed it above the headboard of the bed.

The image that sparked this idea was the photo of a bedroom that I felt missed a little bit of drama (I love to play the drama queen regarding interior and art). The colours in this room are very appealing though, warm and inviting.


What I also did not like was the little window just above the headboard. From the Feng Shui oriented point of view it is never a good idea to have an opening - the window - behind your back and I personally would have covered it and hung a painting instead. Whether you believe in Feng Shui or not - a window behind your back weakens your position and causes an insecure feeling:

"Why is a bed under a window considered bad feng shui?
At nighttime your body needs strong support, as well as protection, in order to do its best with the work of regenerating itself. This is the reason a good solid headboard is highly recommended in feng shui. In addition to a good headboard, you always want to have a solid wall behind your bed. When you sleep under the window, your personal energy tends to get weaker in time, as it has neither proper support, not protection.(read more)"



The original painting was painted in acrylics on rayon. I am collecting minerals, crystals and fossils. But not only that - I am also digging them up, when I find the time and the right place. It is so much fun. Currently though I am rather painting them and so it came that a couple of paintings became a series about Minerals and Fossils such as this one, called Triassic Prints II. The name comes from the imprints of fossils you can often find in rocks. Ferns are the oldest plants on our earth - I love them.

This painting was created with a special technique that is normally used with silk painting: dye resist painting. This means, that certain parts or patterns are covered/created by using a substance which is removed after painting the rest. This process has been repeated several times on this painting although this is not silk but textile paints and acrylics on cotton. The result was a kind of "printed" pattern of the ferns with many additional "ghost prints".

"Triassic Prints II"
(from the "Fossils" series)
40" x 13", acrylic on cotton
©Petra Voegtle

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Addendum:

I am extremely suspicious towards statements of people that claim to be Feng Shui EXPERTISES but of course there is a lot of truth in this 1000 years of knowlege - actually "the history of feng shui covers 3,500+ years before the invention of the magnetic compass. It originated in Chinese astronomy dating back to 3500 BC." Briefly said "The goal of feng shui as practiced today is to situate the human built environment on spots with good qi. The "perfect spot" is a location and an axis in time."(Wikipedia) Therefore I have added a few interesting links about Feng Shui:


Monday, August 27, 2012

Buddha and Krishna in a Hallway

This is an image I saved a long time ago. A wonderful spacy hallway of a huge villa or even hotel somewhere in Asia. During my travels I have seen the most beautiful and spaciest lobbies in Southeast Asia where they seem to have plenty of place although this is paradoxical in overcrowed cities such as Hongkong or other Asian metropoles. But somehow there is always money somewhere which can buy these places with spaces that cover a whole village...



There is a beautiful Buddha statue in the background and I thought I have created another beautiful sculpture that could serve as a wonderful room devider: a triptych of "Krishna and Radha" without obscuring the view towards the Buddha but what an impact this could make:



This paravent has been entirely handcarved from pinewood and then painted with a varnish that looks like old ivory. It took me 9 months to finish this work from drawing to polishing and quite some blood as a sacrifice. The chisels are very sharp! It was inspired by Indian stone sculptures and wood carving but the design is truly original.
I have added a few detail photos for you so that you can see how filigree the carving is.




"Krishna and Radha"
Indian style triptych, hand carved, massive wood, 
85" x 93" x 7", 65 kg
©Petra Voegtle












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