Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Meredith James: Elevator Doors, 2019, chair, wood, plastic, acrylic paint, milk paint, and motor, 19 by 24 by 34 1/2 inches; at Jack Hanley.

There is an element of surreal playfulness to Meredith Jamess work. At first glance, Shadows on the Wall, her exhibition at Jack Hanley, looked like a sparse arrangement of nondescript midcentury furnishings: an armchair, desk, office chair, medicine cabinet, hanging light, and rotary phone. Upon inspection, these items revealed a surprise. Embedded in each was a trompe loeil sculptural relief depicting a miniature interioranother world contained within the ordinary furnishing.

Jamess previous works have often taken the form of immersive sculptures and installations that address perceptual phenomena. First exhibited at Socrates Sculpture Park in 2014, her installation Far from this setting in which I now find myselfwas an open-air version of an Ames room: a structure that appears to be a cuboid room when viewed through a peephole in its wall, but that actually has differing angles, a tilted floor, and perspectival distortions that together produce the optical illusion that people inside the space are of dramatically different sizes depending on where they stand. Jamess installation featured a background painted to resemble a park promenade, exploiting the relationship between the depicted landscape and the surrounding environment to heighten its destabilizing effects.

The most successful sculptures in Shadows on the Wall engaged the viewer in similar perceptual games on a smaller scale. In Gallery Reflection (all works 2019), the mirror of a plain wooden medicine cabinet was replaced with a scale model of the gallery wall opposite the sculpture. The work prompted the viewer to glance repeatedly between the actual wall and the sculpture to cross-reference the details: the radiators, bricks, molding, and fire escape were all meticulously reproduced, and an LED light gave the scene the ambience of daylight. While the embedded diorama was a convincing stand-in for a mirror reflecting the sculptures surroundings, the viewers own reflection was missing, disrupting the perceptual continuity of the encounter.

The sound of running water emanated from Bathroom Sink, a wall-mounted rotary phone with its receiver lying on the floor beneath it. A quarter-size peephole below the dial revealed a minuscule white sink with a tiny working faucet. With the disorienting sound component and the seemingly impossible presence of functional plumbing, the sculpture possessed a sense of delightful absurdity, which was amplified by the extreme contrast in scale between the phone and the sink.

In most of the other works on view, however, the relationships between the furnishings and the sculptural additions were less compelling. In Library, a diorama of a library with rows of identical books was inserted into a cozy armchair where the seat met the back. The illusion felt one-note, the artist relying entirely on the oddity of the inversiona library inside a chair instead of the other way aroundto animate the work. More arbitraryand gimmickywas Elevator Doors, a mustard-colored desk chair in which a small mechanized elevator door was embedded. The doors opened at regular intervals, revealing an elevator shaft. Ambiguity can be enriching, but in these works it suggested irresolution. Still, the sheer level of craftsmanship in each of Jamess sculptures is commendable, and the miniatures commanded ones attention even when the conceptual premise fell short.

Continued here:
In Meredith Jamess Sculptures, Furniture Becomes a Portal to Another World - ARTnews

NOVEMBER WAS THE MONTHof overscheduled evenings, stacked with events sprawling across three weeks and forty venues for the eighth iteration of Performa. The brainchild of RoseLee Goldberg, the biennial has since 2005 promoted the field of performance art as a coherent subdiscipline of the visual arts, drawing on histories of the avant-garde to firmly tie the fields lineage to art history. In fact, it is Performas habit to produce new commissions undertaken by visual artists with little experience in live media (at the expense, often, of supporting practitioners already active in this domain), though many performances this past month rose to the occasion.

This year, Performas anchor (following on the heels of past themes like Dada, Surrealism, Fluxus, and Futurism) was the Bauhaus, the Weimar-era German school defined by its programmatic interdisciplinarity and utopian aim to integrate art and technology. While the biennials art-historical referent often bore tenuous connections to its actual program, Kia LaBeijas reimagining of Oskar Schlemmers1922 Das Triadische Ballet(Triadic Ballet) proved an exception. The performer and photographer, who hails from the New York ballroom scene, reconfigured the ballets third, so-called black act, which mobilized artificial darkness as a backdrop against which dancers negotiated their bodies relation to mechanization, space, and each other.

A series of movements unfolded, first presenting LaBeija wearing iridescent crystal-studded garments underneath a pink floor-length veil, spiraling slowly and with poise through a maze drawn in white masking tape on the floor. In the duet that followed, the dancers mirrored, matched, and exceeded each other in a dynamic contest. Around them, light reflected wildly across the theater from the myriad spherical mirrors adorning their arms and head capsrealizing Schlemmers ambition to reconcile the body and its spatial surround. (Untitled) The Black Act thrilled as it reinvested the Bauhaus legacy of collectivity with the attention to her immediate community LaBeija brought to the piece: She worked with family, friends, and her partner Tana Larot, cultivating their talents and expertise to devise a largely intuitive and unscored performance. In a particularly remarkable scene, LaBeija took leave of the strictures of the sets abstract and geometric syntax, removed the grid taped to the floor, and broke into a virtuosic improvised choreographic sequence fueled by her jazz drummer father Warren Benbows spirited solo. (Her brother, Kenn Michael, also accompanied the performance with a software instrument of his own design, which he claims produces healing and meditative frequencies.) It was clear from the warm reception on opening night that the feeling of community and care was shared by the audience, who congregated in the center of the room as the artist bid everyone to dance.

The mobilization of the audience was even more central to Paris-based Paul Mahekes Sens, a work that also privileged darkness as a key element. Before the lights went off, we were warned, This is an interactive performance. Be mobile! Maheke entered, crawling along the floor of the darkened belly of the black box as we darted around him. In fact, we spent much time negotiating where to stand and where to look. Early on, Maheke self-eclipsed his head with a mirror, which emitted blinding beams back into the room as Ariel Efraim Ashbel (the lighting designer) targeted it with a spotlight. Temporarily marking Mahekes shifting coordinates within the theater, the light dramatized the particular conditions of spectatorship that would haunt the entire production: At its most salient moments,Sensenacted a dialectic of visibility and invisibility, illumination and obscurity, to conjure a fugitive presence and spectral embodiment.

But Maheke also played with the audience, drawing us close into a circle around him, then pushing us back in a choreography animated as much by his movements as it was by the pulsations and vibrations of Melika Ngombe Kolongos live set. Kolongo, who DJs under the name Nkisi, shifted to new beats after Maheke disappeared from immediate view, leaving us to make sense of the situation for ourselves. Momentary confusion gave way to tentative head-bobbing, foot-tapping, and eventually more dynamic thrusting as the theater transitioned into a temporary club. If this spontaneous scene of the audience dancing echoed Untitled (The Black Act)s closing celebration, in Sens this social formation felt more contingent, uncertain of how or whether to cross the divide between performance art spectatorship and club behavior.

Earlier that evening, I saw artist Nairy Baghramian and choreographer Maria Hassabis collaboration Entre Deux Actes (Mnage Quatre), a coproduction of the Kitchen and Performa that took place in a Fifth Avenue townhouse a few blocks north of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work staged a dialogue within a domestic space between Baghramian and Hassabi and two intergenerational interlocutors: the Swiss designer Janette Laverrireknown for her useless though highly specialized furniture and occasionally whimsical objetsand the Italian architect Carlo Mollino. Previously exhibited at the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden and Muse dart contemporain of Montreal, Baghramians collaboration with Laverrire updated a 1947 boudoir installation by the late designer, with the addition of Mollinos erotic Polaroids of women posing nude drawn from Baghramians personal collection. This threesome, titled Entre deux actes II (Loge des Comdiennes), 2009, was installed on the second floor, where Baghramians signature cast-rubber sculptures formed site-specific armatures that hugged the contours of the doorframes. Such minimal interventions were echoed by Hassabis dancers, who occupied liminal spaces like the grand staircase (Mickey Mahar lay precariously across it) or stood disconcertingly in the second-floor vestibule as audiences transitioned from the fluorescently lit white cube setting of the choreographersFIGURESpiece to the more theatrical (if stark) set of TOGETHER. This attention to passage is no surprise in Hassabis work, which decelerates movement so drastically that the minutest inflections of the body are rendered in an extended continuum, performers often appearing still, like statuary.

FIGURES placed five performers in disjointed synchrony (prerecorded sequences of numbers were intermittently announced, indicating the works underlying timing). The dancers executed solos, moving (slowly, of course) along a generally perpendicular axis, in supine or erect positions. As they approached one another, however, their bodily proximity yielded improbable encounters. It would be absurd to call these moments dramatic, though it would also be disingenuous not to admit that the performers cold and eerily blank stares, their unacknowledged physical closeness, produced an embarrassment ofunnamable affect. This discomfiting excess was finally sublimated in TOGETHER, the duet performed by Hassabi and Oisn Monaghan. Positioned on a rudimentary plywood platform, the pair inched toward each other in gestures of care, intimacy, and erotic attraction as their bodies entangled and moved from standing, to sitting, to suggestively crouching positions, then back again.

The interplay between objects and bodiesbe it in the latter's reification as sculptural form or in the anthropomorphizing of sculptural propswas a connecting thread through a number of works in the biennial, including va Mags Dead Matter Moves at the Judson Memorial Church and the long-overdue restaging of Yvonne Rainers Parts of Some Sextets, which had not been performed since 1965. (But who hasnt seen that photo of Rauschenberg flinging himself onto a stack of mattresses?) Dancer Emily Coates worked with Rainer to reconstruct the piece, which featured both Rainer habitus (such as Patrick Gallagher, David Thomson, and Mary Kate Sheehan) and new faces (artists Liz Magic Laser and Nick Mauss). Nuancing many now-orthodox analyses of Rainers task-based approach to dance, Parts of Some Sextets reminds us of the allusive way in which her work might engage with the theme of labor. Her use of objects illuminates such possibilities. Rainer praised mattresses both for their sheer materiality and abilityto generate ludicrous and satisfying scenes of nonstylized effort as they are lugged around a room, as well as for their associative capacities. (Mattresses, she wrote, evoke sleep, dreams, sickness, unconscious, sex but can be exploited strictly as neutral objects.)

What was clear however, and has been for some time, is that while objects arent really neutralRainer joked in the post-performance talk that the ghost of minimal art was close at handneither is the hollowed-out body of the unexpressive and desubjectivized performer. If Hassabis dancers stared out into empty space, irrespective of the audience surrounding them, so too did the dead teens lining the darkened hallways of Bunny Rogerss cynical Sanctuary, which portrayed the aftermath of an imagined school shooting (the performance took place at Essex Street Academy). More gimmicky than harrowing, Sanctuary turned a phenomenon of mass paranoia into a spectacularized and tasteless object of consumption, one that was barely consumed, in fact; audience members entertained the most mundane conversations among the corpses (who failed to remain convincingly immobile), and distractedly walked in and out of the live talent show rehearsal that took place concurrently in the theater and featured Rogers and friends performing in distinctly amateur mode. (An exception might be Allese Thomsons lengthy though compelling piano solo).

Sanctuarys flipside might have been Palestinian-Swedish artist Tarik Kiswansons As Deep As I Could Remember, As Far As I Could See, a deeply moving performance staged in the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House at Bowling Green. This workcocommissioned by Lafayette Anticipations in Paris, and premiering here two years after Kiswanson was denied entry to the US for the last Performa Biennialsaw a cohort of preteens from immigrant families in New York reciting lines of lyrical and aphoristic poetry on loop as they walked dolefully around the oval Customs office. Their locutions were as numerous as they were impactful, evoking migration, diaspora, historical consciousness, borderlessness, and predictions for the future. The performers embodied the paradoxical position of speaking volumes beyond their years, appearing like sages or prophets. And though they did this with the same vacant stare pervading several of the works mentioned above, the spell of disaffected liveness was broken when they cheerfully swarmed the space once the performance was over.

Rachel Valinsky

Read more here:
Rachel Valinsky on the Performa 19 Biennial - Artforum

Part 3 of 3, Read Part One, Read Part Two

Theres been a debate since the beginning of the industry about the definition of VR, and if a vehicle simulation using screens instead of headsets should be included. If players are immersed in a shared, dimensional virtual world, so the argument goes, where they have freedom of movement and interaction, are they not in virtual reality? Definitions notwithstanding, Vehicle Simulation is an important part of Location Based Entertainment and cannot be dismissed.

Mario Kart networked simulators are among Bandi's best sellers.

Bandi-Namco Mario Kart (Arcade Cabinet)

Bandi has several VR Mario Kart locations in Tokyo and the US. Last year, the company touted its partner AiSolves WePlayVR. Neither attraction was in their IAAPA booth this year. Instead, the company was promoting a two and four player networked vehicle simulation, also based on the Nintendo franchise title, for the relatively low cost of $10,500.

A sales representative said that while Bandi is still bullish on VR, neither Mario VR nor WePlayVR was selling as strongly as the cabinets. Were focused on bestsellers this year. He put the number of Mario Kart cabinets around the world in the thousands, making it far more popular than the most popular VR systems.

Ballast Technologies

Monetize your pool with this waterproof VR system for waterparks, and other public aquatic attractions. Their tethered system makes you feel like you are swimming with dolphins or on a spacewalk.

Their DIVR uses a combination snorkeling mask and headset to provide two underwater VR experience. Theres a free floating experience, where you snorkel through a reef or float over earth by the spade station. The company just announced DIVR+, which is a wall mounted thruster that give you the sensation youre driving an undersea or outer space scooter.

Brogent racing simulator coming to Times Square.

Brogent, which had a dominating presence at IAAPA, is one of the networked auto simulation leaders. ... [+] Note motion bases.

Brogent Systems

Tawian-based Brogent systems, known for building ride attractions aroundthe world, including for the Masters of Flight ride at Legoalnd Florida. The company plans to open another version in the heart of Times Square in 2020, Director of Innovation Andy Kiang reported at a news conference held during IAAPA that five additional flying rides are planning around the world in 2020, along with an indoor car race track in Times Square.

CXC Simulations

CXC Simulations once again brought its eight networked race car simulators on motion bases to the floor of IAAPA and drew huge crowds to its installation to watch the action. Drivers wore HMDs or used the panoramic screens in front of the cockpit.

The company was founded in 2012 by Chris Considine, a former race car driver with a background in technology and engineering. The CXC Simulations Motion Pro II was initially designed as a simulator for personal use at home, but now has thirty commercial installations around the world.

The largest, Megapolis, in Puerto Rico, has ten networked simulators in their location

The Motion Pro II does convert very easily to a flight simulator - ten minutes with hand tools is what is required to add the flight controls. As you can see from these photos, the elaborate installation isnt cheap. An eight cockpit system costs $726,000. With 20% utilization estimated revenue per year is 1,051,142, based on $20 for a ten minute experience.

DOF Robotics

DOF Robotics is a motion simulator company out of Istanbul, Turkey. They specialize in large custom simulator rides but recently have been combining simulators and free roam/shooting games. Two in-development titles, Dark Matter and Light of Hope, mix motion simulation thrill rides with interactive shooting gameplay.

LA Photo party's take on shareable AR filters. Social activity with friends at the game, event, or ... [+] concert.

LA Photo Party (Mobile AR)

Catching us unaware as we walked down to the aisles of IAAPA was photo capture kiosk specialist LA Party Photo. Using technology similar to that of a Snap filter, the company has been augmenting photos at theme parks, concerts, and sporting events around the world. We were offered several choices (ours above), which were sent to me via email, ready for sharing. The system is capable of capturing and masking multiple people simultaneously.

Paradrop

The best parachute VR weve ever done! The paradrop harness is attached to a lift, so youre really several feet in the air, feet off the floor, lifted and dropped as flying. Players score by points by maneuvering through way points on the mountains. The direction of the the wind on your face will shift as you do. The company says city fly-throughs, like the one they have in Singapore, add a different dimension to the attraction, and open up a big market.

The unit is in the $100,000 range, and its an eye-catcher. They have five titles including the Singapore city exploration. Theres an international leaderboard users can access from the QR Code on their receipt.

A potential high flyer we hope to see at IAAPA next year.

Skytech Ski Simulators

This skiing simulator can be calibrated to your skills from beginner to World Cup levels. Skytech was formed by avid pro skiers in 2010 to produce ski simulators of varying size (and price) to Olympic teams all over the world. Worldwide sales now exceed 1,000 installs. We started getting orders from parks and family entertainment centers from around the world and recognized theentertainmentvalue of the product, said Alex Golunov, Head of the US Office and co-founder of Skytech.

Olympic athlete Mikaela Shiffrin training on Skytech's ski simulator. The company is turning its ... [+] attention to the location-based entertainment market.

This is what Mikaela Shiffrin is looking at so intently.

Simulators cost anywhere $30,000 - 130,000 depending on the size and power of the platform and complexity of the virtual reality system. Golunov admitted theyve been experimenting with VR HMDs but because of logistical problems posed by weight, heat, sweat, and the stress of prolonged physical activity, they dont think it would add to their best-selling system that is already thoroughly immersive and beloved by many of its users. The company says GPS-scouting drones capture new ski areas all the time

This new two player cabinet was introduced at IAAPA 2019 in Orlando.

Triotech

Triotech launched the Storm at IAAPA. This fifty square foot coin-op combines VR, a D-box motion base, wind effects, and attractive cabinet featuring a 50-inch screen TV. The player with the most points at the end of the ride wins, which the company hope will foster repeat play of this $50,000 ride. Comes with three games. "They call us the rebels of the industry. And, quite frankly, we take it as a compliment," said founder and CEO Ernest Yale.

VR Coaster's Steampunk VR Scooter bumper car conversion.

VR Coaster

This company had no demo at IAAPA because what they do is retrofit coasters and bumper cars with VR. To date theyve converted 60 parks and 70 attractions. It takes two more employees to manage up to three hundred all-in-one Pico Goblin HMD. The way it works is that the ride has been downloaded to each headset, which transmits its position throughout the ride.

Most recently they created a Roam & Ride, which combines free-roaming virtual reality with a VR thrill ride. They are also working on a water diving attraction.

Ferrari Land Tarragona. Eight networked simulator on motion bases.

Wave Formula 1 Driving Simulator

Italys Wave places guests into the realistic fiberglass cockpit of a formula one racer. Though not an HMD VR experience, the simulation is fully immersive, with three screens that wrap around the driver. There are eight high end simulation centers in Italy. In terms of wicked coolness, these guys are probably the best. But that Italian styling dont come cheap. Each simulator is over $50,000.

The Barfatorium

VR systems today have frame rates over 90 fps, so motion sickness should be a thing of the past. BUT the proliferation of low cost motion bases for VR simulators has brought it back. Yes, the motion base looks better on the floor, and youre giving the customer something theyre not going to get from the best home system, including a stomach churning feeling you get when things are out of sync just the tiniest bit.

After some misguided soul (name withheld on request) told us it was good, we set out to try the only AR HMD system at the show. It was certainly ambitious. And it was backed by the established attractions producer Sartori. It was a dark ride of sorts, a cabin in which you sit. It rolls forward. Were wearing a custom (hacked together) HMD with a wide field of view. We flew around a projected mountain landscape while shooting. Everything was out of sync from the beginning, resulting in motion sickness

Extreme Bike. What could go wrong?

Xtrematics an interesting and original take on haptics. Theyre matching an HTC Vive with two machines, one a kind of rocking motorcycle seat, for racing and flying, and another for running. The standing unit is $13,500 and has ten titles. We straddled the ATV to race over the sand dunes, instantly lost the trail and had a dizzying ride over the dunes. Oops. Note to self: motion bases & VR = no fly zone.

We also tried a player vs. player Mech battle. Each player was in their own motion cabinet. The field of play was a cityscape. You could crush some but not all obstacles. You could turn at the waist, or turn your vehicle. There were heads up displays everywhere. Its possible someone who is more of a gamer would like this, someone who could tolerate a bigger cognitive load. We tore off the HMD and crawled out of that suck panting for breath.

Rabbids 2 player VR simulator on a motion base. Not for the weak of heart or ear. They've sold 500 ... [+] of these.

Finally, there is Rabbids VR from Ubisoft and LAI Games. This is an attendantless motion base (also from D-box) with two HMDs. Its based on Ubisofts pop culture characters Raving Rabbids, which are wild rabbit-like creatures who like to cause havoc and mischief, and speak gibberish, like Minions. They are the stars of the show you ride though, screaming in your ear the whole way. There are six five minute adventures to choose from. We picked Coaster Calamity and lasted about ninety seconds before tearing the headset from our eyes. Apparently few others have this experience as, according to Bob Cooney, LAI has shipped 500 units with no end in sight.

Alexis Macklin Wraps It Up

"Virtual reality's emerging prominence in the out of home landscape was on full display at IAAPA in 2019. We saw more vendors than ever before exhibiting solutions designed to be integrated into venues. Competition in the sector seems to be intensifying, and we expect lots of movement in 2020, said Alexis Macklin of Greenlight Insights. We expect to see some consolidation in the coming years, as competitive solutions drive costs down and force weak competitors out. Vendors such as Hologate, Virtuix Inc, and VRStudios are doing their part to innovate and gain a competitive edge.

"5G is a major tailwind for the Location-Based VR market as more bandwidth and cloud computing is brought closer to the network's edge. 5G's effect will create the opportunity for technology vendors to cut the cord and bring new free-roam systems to the market, in most cases eliminating the need for costly PC backpacks and motion-tracking technology. By 2023, Greenlight Insights expects VR systems incorporating standalone headsets will represent a majority share of the HMD used in the out-of-home market.

GreenlightInsights Global LBExR Forecast. November, 2019.

"A noticeable technology missing from the IAAPA floor was augmented reality. There was only a handful of companies exhibiting AR solutions on the floor, most of which showcasing AR projected on climbing walls. Venue operators, especially at museums, tourist destinations, and other edu-tainment centers, are looking at augmented reality to better engage with their patrons and target audience. Greenlight Insights expects this trend to accelerate as Web AR deployments become more commonplace. As it was with VR, the use of AR in the out-of-home entertainment sector will be first championed by content developers and software tools rather than system vendors, so it could be an emerging trend to watch at IAAPA 2020."

Joanna Popper, Head of Location Based VR at HP, does (almost) every VR experience at IAAPA in 2.5 Mins.

Many thanks for the kind assiatence of my colleagues Bob Cooney, Kevin Williams, and Alexis Mackin of Greenlight Insights, in the preparation of this series.

End of part three. End of series.

Read part One, The Best

Read part two, VR Enclosures

For an even more detailed look at IAAPA VR we recommend Bob Cooneys free IAAPA 2019 guide, which is full of details and pictures. You can download it here for free. We also recommend Kevin Williams free LBVR newsletter, The Stinger Report.

Read more from the original source:
IAAPA 2019 LBVR Part Three: Vehicle Simulations, VR Coasters & Other XR Surprises - Forbes

How to keep heat in and cold out this Christmas

BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

When the weather outside is frightful, it may take more than a fire to make your interiors delightful.

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/how-to-keep-heat-in-and-cold-out-this-christmas-38754803.html

https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/article38754802.ece/e5a70/AUTOCROP/h342/2019-12-05_lif_55403714_I1.JPG

When the weather outside is frightful, it may take more than a fire to make your interiors delightful.

The long winter evenings have arrived, along with wind, wet, and possibly snow, so it's time to make sure your home is well prepared for wintry weather. These simple seasonal switches will help keep your house homely come rain or shine - and let's be honest, it's going to be rain.

1. Keep your curtains closed

Closing your curtains limits heat loss and provides an extra barrier against the elements. Your boiler will thank you and so will your heating bill.

2. Draught-proof doors and windows

For windows that open, use self-adhesive strips to seal up any gaps around the frame, and use a soft, silicone sealant for windows that stay closed. Doors can be given similar treatment, but for floor level openings, it may be simpler to employ an old-fashioned, 'sausage dog' draught excluder. Letterboxes and keyholes are also classic sources of draughts. Plug them respectively with letterbox brushes and keyhole covers.

3. Install foil behind your radiators

If you have radiators fixed to external walls, slide a layer of tin foil between wall and unit to reflect as much heat as possible back into the room. Pick up special heat reflector aluminium foil to maximise retention and remember that hanging clothes on a radiator forces it to work twice as hard.

4. Insulate everything (but mostly your plumbing)

Exposed pipes can be snugged up with slip-on foam tubing, while boilers and water tanks can be easily dressed with jackets. A jacket costs 15-20 and should come with instructions (make sure you've measured your unit before you buy) and will slash your winter energy bills by reducing heat loss. According to the Energy Saving Trust, it should pay for itself in about three months. Wall, floor and loft insulation are similarly worthy projects, but may require professional installation for all but the most experienced DIY-ers.

5. Use a thermostat to regulate your heating

A modern, programmable thermostat has an inbuilt timer that will allow you to schedule your home's heating, so it powers down when you go out and then turns on automatically on your return.

6. Service your boiler

You do not want your boiler giving out: check the pressure (it should be at around one bar), and ideally get your unit serviced every autumn. If you don't schedule in maintenance for your boiler, your boiler may end up scheduling it in for you.

7. Clean out your gutters

Gutter-clearing is not a glamorous occupation, but fallen leaves and sticks can easily result in a clog and the ensuing build-up of rainwater can cause damp to seep into your walls. Get the ladder out, strap your gloves on, and prepare to get down and dirty.

8. Paper over cracks

To stop wet, wind, and, in some cases, heat-seeking rodents from sneaking into your home uninvited use foam adhesive and caulk to plug gaps in walls and skirting boards. High quality sealants are easy to peel off if you make a mistake, but once hardened should hold firm for many years.

9. Keep the slush away from your door

When you cross the threshold, you don't want winter coming with you and if you don't have a mudroom you're going to have to tackle the weather head-on. A rough-textured doormat will help shed mud and gunk from your shoes, a boot scraper is a must in rural environments and a plastic boot tray should protect your indoor floor.

10. Snug up!

At the end of the day, nothing cosies up a long winter evening like traditional home comforts and hygge. Pile on the blankets, set a fire going, brew some hot cocoa and throw on some Dean Martin. Bliss.

Belfast Telegraph

Read the original here:
How to keep heat in and cold out this Christmas - Belfast Telegraph

Kim Caravella, founder of habitatgreenwich in Cos Cob. Dec 4, 2019 Photo: Leslie Yager

Step inside habitatgreenwich for a unique experience. Founder Kim Caravella offers a carefully curated mix of new world and old world styles, plus unique furniture, home and leisure objects, original artwork and everyday essentials. Photo: Leslie Yager

On Thursday, Dec 5, h a b i t a tg r e e n w i c h founder Kim Caravella is hosting a how-to session titled, How to Style Your Shelves in her Cos Cob shop from 1:00-3:00pm.

Im eager to excite people with three decades of design knowledge and input. Ill offer creative ideas people can bring to their own homes including how to do coffee tables, book shelves, and consoles.

Its a scientific and mathematical equation, Caravella continued. The common mistake people make is in proportion and scale, and not juxtaposing the right textures and materials. This can be so exciting when you use the right materials. You can spend a lot of money but that doesnt result in excitement, she added.

Caravellas shop offers an authentic, inspiring, boutique shopping experience.

The mix features a carefully curated fresh, chic and relevant mix of new world and old world styles, plus unique furniture, home and leisure objects, original artwork and everyday essentials.

Expect a timeless mix of classic, modern and organic styles from around the globe. The inventory features the creations of world wide artisans.

She hand selectsevery unique shop item.

A career interior designer, Caravella has over threedecades of expertise from coast to coastworking with the most talented and upscale interior designers, architects, builders and tradespeople.

After college she attended New York School of Interior Design, and studied interior design, architecture and art throughout Europe with world renowned interior designers and architects.

Caravellas passionate mission is to think outside the design box and offerthe most exciting, always evolving, unique collections offurniture, lighting, home decor, textiles, artwork, jewelry andgifts whilesupportinglocal and worldwide artisans. Her collections are both inspired bydecades of exciting design work across the country.

h a b i t a tg r e e n w i c h h o m e is a spin-off affiliate company created when our clients asked how they could get the same feeling as our Shopwithin their own h ab i t at s. A Design Firm creating inspiring, unique,timeless Interior Design for smaller projects.

Affiliate Company C&C Interior Design with Partner Claudia Duvall offers inspired original design services forlarge scale Interior Design projects and entire design/build home projects.Visit at atcandcinteriordesign.com

In September2018 we had the wonderful opportunity to open a unique gift shop at Greenwich Botanical Center 130 Bible Street, Cos Cob, where there is a beautiful curated collections of gifts, home and garden decor supporting global artisans, causes and nonprofits.

The Gift Shop supports Greenwich Botanical Center with its proceeds and is open Monday-Friday 9:00am-4:00pm.

Visit link:
At habitatgreenwich, Founder Kim Caravella To Share Creative Interior Design Ideas on Thursday - Greenwich Free Press

Aerion has lured a key aircraft interior designer away from Bombardier as the Reno, Nevada-based supersonic business jet designer works toward the development of itsAS2 supersonic business jet. Tim Fagan, who led the industrial design of Bombardiers flagship Global 7500, has joined Aerion as chief of industrial design, Aerion announced on Monday. In that role, Fagan will steer the interior design of the Mach 1.4 AS2.

During his time with Bombardier, which spanned much of the past two decades, he also oversaw the industrial designs of the Premier cabins for the Global 5000 and 6000, as well as for the Bombardier Vision Flight Deck. In addition, he has had experience with commercial interiors with the Dash 8 Q400, has held customer-facing roles in business jet completions, and helped design the 2010 Olympic Torch.

Fagan outlined his ambitions for an AS2 interior that will be a unique vision of beauty and luxury, featuring visionary technologies, intelligent functionality, and genuine comfortfusing emerging tech with exquisite handcrafted materials, and delivered with a relentless attention to detail."

Aerion, which formed a partnership with Boeing in February 2019 for the continued development of the AS2, is hoping to begin flight testing of the supersonic business jet in 2024.

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Fagan To Lead Interior Design of Aerion AS2 - Aviation International News

Its December, which means its time for year-end lists, holiday gift-guides and the annual Pantone Color of the Year announcement.

In recent years, the Color Institute has selected shades based on their uplifting and life-affirming qualities. Last years nature-inspired Living Coral was chosen for its energizing and nourishing elements. The previous year, Ultra Violet was recommended for what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.

But in a global environment concerned with impeachment hearings, homelessness and climate change, can Pantone offer reassurance in what looks to be a contentious election year?

Pantone thinks so. On Wednesday, Classic Blue was announced as the Color of the Year for 2020. (If you are one of Pantones 2.2 million Instagram followers, you may not be surprised, given the ocean and sky teasers that were posted to the account prior to the announcement).

In a news release, the new color, which is darker than aquamarine and lighter than navy, is described as dependable and non-aggressive.

From a practical standpoint, the color forecast means youll be seeing this blueberry blue everywhere in 2020. Pantones announcement is the ultimate influencer as it will dictate blue trends in home decor, fashion, beauty even food in 2020.

Blueberries, flowers, paint swaths and more show off Pantones Color of the Year.

(Pantone )

We are living in a time that requires trust and faith, said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. Imbued with a deep resonance, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue provides an anchoring foundation. A boundless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication.

Everybodys comfortable with blue, added Pantone Vice President Laurie Pressman in an interview with the Associated Press. We know it. We like it.

Well, not everyone.

I like blue, and classic blue is certainly an attractive color, said Los Angeles designer Justina Blakeney. But its kind of like having scrambled eggs for breakfast. Im not excited, stimulated or inspired.

Some designers viewed the color choice as a response to next years presidential election. The Classic Blue represents confidence and calm in the midst of a stormy year ahead with the election and political, economic, and environmental turmoil in the world at large, said Angie Myung, co-founder of Poketo. The color also represents staying true to who we are.

Erica Islas, interior designer for Lamps Plus, thinks the timeless color is a return to basics.

This shade of blue reminds me of the color of the sky at a certain late hour and the still ocean, both of which are refreshing and serene, she said. It tends to work extremely well in all areas of the home including kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, kid spaces, bedrooms, offices you cant go wrong with it. The color is easy to work with in interiors and pairs well with a variety of colors, especially white, gray, taupe, yellow and greens. Designers have been using this color for decades so while we already know its a timeless color, its refreshing to see the color take the center stage. Were going to be using it for many years to come.

Adds Los Angeles interior designer Linda Hayslett: This blue is great because if used as a solid color, it can add some punch in a modern space. It can also make a sofa stand out or be a strong pop on a wall with paint or tile for a contemporary look. But it can also be used traditionally in looks such as for ticking in fabrics to get a Hamptons vibe or French Country feel. Classic blue is everywhere, even in chinoiserie and toile. I would even use it for some cool wainscoting.

For the first time, Pantone has teamed up with partners Tealeaves, Firmenich and Audio UX, among others, to offer a multi-sensory experience. Now, consumers can taste, hear and smell the Color of the Year courtesy of bespoke tea, perfume and sounds that harmonize the color, aroma, and taste of Pantone 19-4052 Classic Blue.

The Pantone Color of the Year highlights the relationship between trends in color and what is taking place in our global culture at a moment in time, a color that reflects what individuals feel they need that color can hope to answer, added Pressman. As we all head into a new era, we wanted to challenge ourselves to find inspiration from new sources.

Continue reading here:
Pantone names Classic Blue its Color of the Year for 2020 - Los Angeles Times

Aileen Lee meets interior designer Jackie Tyrrell.

Whats your background?

I am from Kildare and have always been involved in design one way or the other, from poster design to stage sets as a teenager, learning how to do joinery and carpentry after school and working in the interior decoration world, which led me towards interior design.

Once I knew this was the field I wanted to pursue, I focused on my formal education, learning the skills required and studying the great architects and designers, which opens your mind to all the possibilities around you and within your career.

I am very lucky, I love my job, I get to use both my artistic and technical skills every day.

Whats a typical workday like for you?

Like any professional you schedule out your week, book in projects, trades and clients and hope everything goes to plan.

You can be on multiple projects at the same time and you are relying on so many elements of each project running smoothly.

If one small part is delayed that has a knock-on effect on all other parts, so it can be a challenge. If I am not onsite and project managing, I am sourcing, drawing, sketching and coming up with ideas.

Tell us about a favourite project you have worked on?

I am rewarded on every project. Getting into your clients mind and producing a design scheme that they love is very rewarding.

Words can never really describe the emotion or look you may want in your home or the exact shade of colour youre after, so to untangle that for someone is wonderful.

Whats your design style?

Its eclectic. I like a mixture of lots of different styles, but I do lean more towards the Nordic or contemporary than the traditional.

What inspires your work?

I am surrounded by great design every day from beautiful wallpapers, furniture and lighting to stunning interiors on social media.

I am in love with architecture and enjoy nothing more than travelling to a city and walking the streets searching until the building I am looking for is revealed.

From Gaudi to Herzog & De Meuron, this is what inspires me, how they see environment and space, and their vision and single-minded belief in the process.

Whats your favourite trend at the moment?

I dont really follow trends, I am very aware of them and have to be as part of my job, but I much prefer working with clients on a project where I am extracting the clients style from them or working to a brief that is more individual and focused on the personal than on a trend.

Whats your most treasured possession?

I am a lover of art and have started a nice little home collection.

I love street art, one of my favourites is ADW, his work is not only beautiful but intelligent and relevant.

I also love Gay Brabazons work through different media she explores myth, legend and nature, and her work evokes a lot of emotion and connection for me.

I enjoy the pieces I own but what I treasure most is family, friends and my dog, Snoop.

Your favourite designer?

We really have some great designers in this country of ours. Its kind of like the music scene, its in our blood.

I dont really want to pick just one person or designer, but I do love the work of interior designer Risn Lafferty from KLD.

What would be a dream project for you to work on?

I would love to design the interiors of a yacht. You would have to consider things like movement, everything would have to be attached down in some way or slide-proof for those rough days at sea.

Intelligent storage, to hide or disguise all the engineering aspects of being on a boat with the aesthetics of a home, away from home.

When designing for smaller spaces, one uses tricks of the trade with lighter colours, recessed lighting and mirrors to make a space appear bigger while being mindful to keep everything lightweight.

Have you any design tips?

Break the rules. Try that colour a little darker than you might have, take the chance, have some fun.

http://www.jtd.ie

Facebook.com/JackieTyrrellDesign:

Instagram: @jackietyrrelldesign

Pinterest: @jtdesign123

The rest is here:
Break the rules and have fun: Meet interior designer Jackie Tyrrell - Irish Examiner

Its just such a beautiful thing, Mr. Read said, biased but not wrong.

The magazines readership is small, with a circulation of 55,000, but influential. Its beloved by those in the creative and visual arts especially. Clare Waight Keller, the artistic director of Givenchy; Nicolas Ghesquire, Louis Vuittons creative director, whose Paris apartment was featured in the December 2012 issue; Alessandro Michele, the fashion director for Gucci, who uses The World of Interiors as inspiration for his collections all longtime readers. So are Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and the photographer Tim Walker.

Christopher Bailey, the president and former chief creative officer of Burberry, said that while The World of Interiors appeals to the fashion crowd, its not fashionable. Ive read magazines all my relatively grown-up life. And World of Interiors is the only magazine that Ive kept and trooped around the world wherever Ive lived, he said. Theres something about it that does not feel throwaway. Its not trend-driven. Its not of the moment.

Those who work in magazines read The World of Interiors with a mix of appreciation and envy. In an age when editors of monthlies must compete, seemingly impossibly, with the daily dopamine hits of grams and memes and TikToks, The World of Interiors appears to occupy an earlier, more dignified era.

Founded in 1981, The World of Interiors now breaks every dumb rule of modern magazines. There are no celebrities on the cover (and rarely any inside). You dont feel the hand of advertisers, publicists or digital panic on every page. The design is low-key, almost academic, without gimmicky typeface or colors pushed so that everything looks Disney fake. In fact, the photography is rather moody and in chiaroscuro tones, giving the empty furnished rooms a compelling, dreamlike quality.

The World of Interiors isnt concerned with showing readers how to achieve such-and-such a look or selling an aspirational dream. Who expects to one day live in the Queen Mothers former residence? Still, the magazine has never come across as snobby, because three pages after Clarence House can come, say, the house-turned-museum that an African-American couple, a poet and her postal-worker husband, built in Lynchburg, Va., in 1903 and decorated with recycled materials and great flair. Or an ice hotel in Sweden. Or a mobile home.

The magazines point-of-view is distinct, even wacky. And inventive: Though product pages typically consist of clip art on a white background, The World of Interiors will collect the latest fabrics and drape them across a farm field in the Cotswolds.

Read the rest here:
Inside The World of Interiors, Cond Nasts Secret Weapon - The New York Times

2019 Best of Design Award for Building of the Year: TWA Hotel

Designer: Beyer Blinder BelleLighting Designer: Cooley Monato StudioLocation: New York City

Eero Saarinens TWA Flight Center at JFK International Airport is among the most significant examples of midcentury modern architecture in the world, but the landmark terminal had been subjected to a series of compromising alterations and additions, and critical maintenance had been deferred. Beyer Blinder Belle has been involved with the building for over two decades, first as an advocate to save it from demolition, then as the overall project architect for its restoration and adaptive reuse as a full-service airport hotel. This intervention involved the construction of two seven-story hotel wings, designed by Lubrano Ciavarra Architects with interior design by Stonehill Taylor, and an underground conference center with meeting rooms and a banquet hall by INC Architecture & Design, which are arrayed around the historic terminal.

The original is an architecture of optimism. The rebirth of the project celebrates that. That is extremely needed and refreshing in these times. -Carlos Madrid III

Design Architects for new Hotel Buildings, Consulting Architect: Lubrano Ciavarra ArchitectsEvent Space Interior Design: INC Architecture & DesignHotel Interior Design: Stonehill TaylorLandscape Architect: MNLAConstruction Manager: Turner Construction Company

Finalist

Project Name:Cottonwood Canyon Experience Center

Designer:Signal Architecture + Research

Location:Wasco, Oregon

Building of the Year Finalist: Cottonwood Canyon Experience Center by Signal Architecture + Research (Gabe Border)

Who wouldnt want to learn (or teach) there? Beautiful details give power to the overall restraint of the design, a nod to the surrounding landscape. -Oana Stnescu

Finalist

Project Name:Anita May Rosenstein Campus, Los Angeles LGBT Center

Designer:Leong Leong and KFA

Location:Los Angeles

Public: Anita May Rosenstein Campus, Los Angeles LGBT Center by Leong Leong (Iwan Baan)

This building is a diamond in the rough. Its bold and elegant presence not only supports urban beautification but celebrates its program and purpose. -Carlos Madrid III

More here:
The 2019 Best of Design Awards winners for Building of the Year - The Architect's Newspaper