The Blue Kitchen

There's a first for everything isn't there?

So when LRR Design was asked to a shop front window of a gourmet deli, The Blue Kitchen, in the middle of a popular mall, we definitely jumped on the chance to work on something new.

Lead time? Five days.

Soft bougainvillea type cherry blossoms peeking out of leafless branches in a teal cracked vases + handmade damask decoupage Easter eggs in a glass vase set amongst a variety of their products. Those handmade eggs were challenging, having to line up the pattern of the damask paper, tracing the curves on a plastic Easter egg.

Visit The Blue Kitchen at lower ground level, Rockwell Mall, Makati City, Philippines or Edsa Shangrila Mall, Pasig City, Philippines.

organisation at its best

Possibly the neatest and most organized pantry I have seen in my life. 

Definitely puts mine to shame and definitely reminds me that I must think about organising mine soon.

And oh my, those light fittings.....

See the rest of the house here.

taking it back to the drawing board

Been recently reminiscing about my university days in design school. 

I remember when I sat at my dining table in my one bedroom flat, with a foldable drafting board that could sit right on the table. It was a little white PVC, A3 sized Steadler that I could carry around with me if I needed it. It served it's purpose, and really and truly in those days, I had more things to worry about than searching for the perfect looking drafting table.

What I would give to have one of these vintage ones now however. The ones with the iron cast legs are my favourite, and reminds me of the days when there was no CAD or any renderings programs, where architects and designers would sit at these tables drafting plans and details till all hours of the morning. Nowadays, it's sitting in front of the computer with one hand on the mouse drawing lines on CAD. But this doesn't stop me from wanting one of these gorgeous tables, after all, they can lay flat and I'm sure my computer would fit right in as it's perched on one of these beauties.

Variety of sources but mostly from Pinterest.

L'amour français de pays

I don't think I would have ever admitted to loving French country style back then but since I began my interior design journey, my style has changed in ways I would have never imagined. Seven years ago, when I began my first year at Chelsea College of Art in London, my aunt gave me a French country decoration book that had been sitting in storage for years. I quietly accepted it, but had never really read through it. After all, being trained by architects to think like architects, this was merely a book of decoration and was nothing of use to me then. My books consisted of building methods, spatial theories, architectural history and books of current architectural wonders. In fact, I wouldn't have ever thought of bringing decor books like this into university or let alone have my tutor catch me reading it alongside Elle Decor. Who knew that a book like this it would be something that I would love years after?

Now, seven years on, and I am constantly falling for Louis XV Chairs, shabby chic distressed finishes, and the neutral simplicities that the French have mastered. I'd like to believe that my design strategies become an eclectic mix of contemporary and vintage French only using elements of their design language to compliment the lineal factors of the avant-garde style of todays architectural details.

Romance and elegance. A timelessness that I would definitely never tire of.

Click on images for sources

Sourced mainly from pinterest.

Moroccan Vintage

If you ask me to propose rugs for my design intent of a project, I tend to veer towards kilims, afghan rugs and persians as we did in our last two completed projects. But recently we were introduced to a new company, My Medina, who imports vintage Moroccan rugs straight into Manila. Their selection is limited at the moment, but stocks are readily available in Morocco and can be shipped over if required.  Their Beni Ourain rugs are wonderful simple weaves and they were the ones that mostly caught my eye. It's neutral tones and soft thick wool could cozy up even the hardest industrial spaces in an instant.

These rugs influenced the interior spaces of great influential architects such as Alvar Aalto who used Beni Ourain rugs in his famous Villa Mairea House as seen in the last two photographs below. Frank Llyod Wright, Arne Jacobson and Le Courbusier were others who chose Berber rugs for their spaces rather then Beni Ourains.

Historically, these carpets were by Moroccan nomadic tribes that used them to protect themselves from physical and metaphysical elements, believing that it would shield them from all evil. Each asymmetrical line and pattern created their own nomadic stories and craftsmanship. Nowadays, replications and copies are produced all over the world but as explained to me, with each uneven pattern and misshaped dimensions of these vintage rugs comes a story from the tribe that it belongs to.

I like that. I like it when there are stories to tell.

Click on photo for sources, this without links were sourced through Remodelista, Apartment Therapy + So Haute

To see more of what My Medina has in stock, you can find them on Flickr  and follow them on twitter @mymedina1 and on Facebook

Completion: The Residences

As our purchases sat in storage rooms waiting for a new model unit to complete, we actually forgot how much we loved every single item that we bought for this little apartment up in the mountain province of Baguio until we unpacked it all the day we began our completion.

With the drive about six hours away, purchasing for the unit was actually quite challenging. All we could do was  make sure every dimension, measurement and detail was listed down correctly with our survey as accurate as possible. So when we were told that we would have to decorate another unit instead of the one we surveyed, all we could do was hope that each measurement did not change. This of course didn't happen, and challenges were met, but it all worked out in the end.

A complete mix our our styles between vintage, sleek and chic to comfortable and warm. Soft earthy colour with touches of reds and oranges and a space full of texture.

We completely fell in love. And its now our favourite project to date.

Read more to see more photos of the space.