Skate or die(ning room)

Street art and skateboarding have always been things I've drawn personal inspiration from, particularly in terms of the clothes I've worn, the art I like and more recently, the way I decorate my home.

Although I've seen glimpses of other people also drawing an skateboard culture in decorating their homes some ways - perhaps a display of skateboards hung on the way, a photograph or maybe a framed graphic poster - I've always wondered if this could possibly be a living design style in it's own right, or was it just something that I tried to push through into every part of my house?

Then a while back I saw an episode of MTV Cribs featuring the wonderful house of my favorite skater Rob Dyrdek (a house I'd seen many times on his TV show Rob & Big). Seeing his house in detail, I began to suspect I wasn't the only person who was rocking a skateboard-inspired interior.

Recently I heard about a collaboration between Etnies shoes head honcho Pierre Andre Senizergues and skater/interior designer Gil Le Bon De Lapointe called 'Skate Study House'.

Drawing inspiration from the classic 1940s-1960s 'Case Study House' design projects (including living design by Ray & Charles Eames, Isamu Noguchi and many more), 'Skate Study House' recreates modern classic furniture design using skateboards.

The designs are as expensive as they are beautiful, leaving them out of reach for most. But they are inspiring, especially with the knowledge that this is a passion shared by other people...

But what I really what to know is... does Tony Hawk rock a Godfather Lounge Chair?

Above: Godfather Lounge Chair. Designed by Skate Study House.
Inspired by the Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman (see below).

Above: The original Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman. Design by Eames.

Above: Tokyo Lounge Table. Designed by Skate Study House.
Inspired by the Noguchi Table (see below).

Above: The original Noguchi Table. Design by Isamu Noguchi.

Bathroom Inspiration 1.2 - Grate Minds

We are have a full width steel grate in the bathroom, possibly like the 65AG lineal grate from Stormtech. Luckily, they make a 1200mm grate - perfect for the 1150mm width of our bathroom!

Bathroom Inspiration 1.1

Minosa - http://www.minosa.com.au/ - make beautiful beathroom furniture. We're going there tomorrow to find our vanity!

I will take the camera!

Bathroom Inspiration 1.0

Image from Trendsideas.com

Image from Trendsideas.com

Image from Trendsideas.com

Architect:
Tim Dorrington, NZIA, Tim Dorrington Architects (Auckland)

Builder:
Straight Line Building

Vanity:
Custom acrylic light box

Shower fittings:
Paini Cox mixer; Hansgrohe Rainbow slide shower

Shower enclosure:
Custom fixed glass screen from Sauvarins

Tub:
Great Baths

Tiles:
Jatoba Cinza Ferro mosaics from Artedomus

Laundry doors and shelving:
Meranti ply with clear seal

Accessories:
DCS Nicko Alto heated towel rail from LG Carder

The ugliest little bathroom this side of Reno...

Here's our bathroom in it's sad and current state.


But I can happily say that tomorrow we are going to find the vanity of our dreams, so that we can begin to renovate the bathroom and kitchen! How exciting!


Tomorrow we will be checking out Reece and Minosa plus a bunch of tile places to try to kick start the renovation.

Below is a floor plan of the new bathroom and kitchen. We're not really doing a lot to the kitchen, just filling in a doorway (where the toilet used to be) to create an area for the fridge, and tiling the floor.

In the bathroom, we'll remove the wall between the current bathroom and toilet, to make one large room. Then we'll remove the bathroom and change the configuration to make a much simplier, useful and modern bathroom.

Ikea Essentials Part 4.2

Here's how we've used Grundtal racks in our kitchen... So handy! We have fastened 3 racks (1 is shown below) to the underside of the top cupboards, as well as one under the bench top on the lower cupboards.

Ikea Essentials Part 4

Grundtal
This neat series of racks from Ikea is not only easy to install and beautifully designed - they are really reasonably priced too (it's the yellow ladles are hanging from!).

Photo by Girlzone41 on Flickr.

Ikea Essentials Part 3

Lack Shelves

These simple shelves can stand horizontally or vertically. They come in a range of colors and can be hung from the wall or even put on casters. But my favorite idea is to make a pair of these into a gorgeous bench seat, complete with custom cushions covered in your favorite fabric. Stay tuned for more photos!

Lack shelves from Ikea. From $199 AUD.

Lack shelf used as a bench seat by Shnnn on Flickr.

Ikea Essentials Part 2

Expedit Bookcases
My first encounter with the Expedit came more than 10 years ago at a particularly well known DJ's house. He had discovered that the unique square shape of each compartment in the Expedit offered the perfect housing for his record collection. Not to mention provide a very interesting feature in the lounge room.

Since then I have always had a soft spot for these shelves. Recently I have taken a fancy to the rainbow of books and collections people are applying to these bookcases (you can see one in the mosaic below).

Expedit bookcase from Ikea. Prices start at $269 AUD.
Photo mosaic made up of Expedit photos from Flickr.

Ikea Essentials Part 1

Although I do feel slightly compromised by the Furni nesting phenomena, I'm going to list my Ikea essentials, in no particular order. I think these items are design classics in their own right, even if they do come from Ikea. These are items that can be used as they are, but also have endless crafty possibilities. And they are reasonably priced!

Ribba Picture Frames
The most simple frame, but it's a great blank canvas for showcasing your treasures. They come in so many shapes and sizes too!

Ribba Frame from Ikea. Prices start at $9 AUD.
Photo mosaic made up of Ribba photos from Flickr.