Bungalow Project was Built with Limited Time and Budget by SHED

A charming architectural project was built with strict time and budget are minimal by SHED architecture. With the remodel a few rooms and redesigning existing space, the project was successfully built on time and in accordance with a predetermined target. Long story short the project owner wants all integrated into one room. Suppose that between kitchen, dining room, bathroom into one place. Also in the main hall floor was made as widely as possible, so people can freely move therein. For that some decision was made to save on construction budget:

1. No changes were made to the exterior, so as to keep emphasis on the building interior. .
2. No major changes will be done on the existing pipe.
3. the clients would act as the general contractor with the help of a detail oriented architecture school grad who was a skilled and an experienced carpenter.

Here are some photos of the bungalow before the renovation:

Life of an Interior Designer in Romania with Ștefan Lazăr

Lazăr Ștefan is a Romanian designer and owner of EZZO Design, a Timisoara based studio. The interview below might give you a few answers about starting out as a designer, as well as the ups and downs that come with the job. We are certain you will find Ștefan’s experience captivating and inspiring .

• Ask: Tell us a few things about Ezzo Design and the man behind this studio, Lazar Stefan. Let’s find out the story that started Ezzo Design ( how did you decided to begin, how did you come up with the idea, what inspired you to start this business and so on )
• Lazăr Ștefan: Passion is my beginning, my development and hopefully I’ll end just like that. Naturally, this chain started with the first ring: „Stefan Lazar”. „When I started making „ambiental design” I had a few dim ideas about what this field means. I had never met an interior designer up to that moment and even some time after I had decided to take up this business, it took a while until I met a real one. And, when I started meeting with such designers, it was all a queer experience. I’d look them up in magazines, find their contacts, call them and invite them for a chat at the brim of a cup of coffee. All this story started blindfolded. Every time I took a step forward I thought of the luck I had to have met people who trusted me and my powers and who allowed me to unwrap my inner self in this new job. Every work I made had been thus an opportunity to enhance my knowledge, absorbing new info like a sponge. I discovered I had resources I never knew I possessed and the rhythm I started doing things was very alert. I had the trump down my sleeve and I played it without having the slightest clue that it was a great card. Everything that I had won, I reinvested in information, I peeked at every ceiling and touched every background I came across, I traveled the world with a different perspective constantly feeling the need to quench the fire of my passion. From starters , I searched for a name as I didn’t want to go through this alone, I knew I’d have colleagues and we would all have to get along under the same umbrella whose spikes we had pinned up.”

• Ask: What did you do before starting Ezzo Design ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: I grew up witnessing the actions in painters’studios in Pitesti (the city I was born in). I have studied for 12 years now  domains which involve the use and creation of image. I first worked as a graphic designer and then as art manager for different companies, but something was definitely missing. I have always felt myself drawn to spaces and beauty. I can even claim I sometimes feel out of order. I’d rather have beauty instead of functionality which, honestly speaking, may make me seem I’m superficial. However I might score higher at some other important characteristics in the field.

• Ask: Is it hard to be an interior designer in Romania ? How do people see you when they hear about your job ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: It’s hard to be in any way and at any costs when you want to be proficient. Every day, there is the same hindrance, yourself. Once you have come to an agreement with yourself, it’s easier to stand out and evolve. My honest opinion is that, in this domain, you cannot have a job description , every person is defined  by one’s own authenticity and skills for the job. We can say that jobs in Romania fall in the stereotype of doctors, teachers, engineers,  „etc.”, and when you are enrolled by default in „etc.”, obviously people will ask questions about what you do for real. 90% of my clients are inquisitive from the beginning to reveal the mystery: what is that that you do?, What’s your offer?, us the designers ask each other „What do you do?” Considering the myths around the entire concept of interior designer, Hollywood has done a great job in misleading the public opinion. People don’t know what to expect when engaging with a designer and  what is more is that not being gay might actually come in as a surprise.

• Ask: Tell us 3 things that you’ve learned since you’ve started Ezzo Design.
• Lazăr Ștefan: Since my mood is creative and I have an artistic background, I had never known until then what Maths applied in the real life was. (I will now feign bashfulness and you will believe me.) 2. Verba volant, scripta manent. 3. Being an interior designer means responsibility in the first place followed up by creativity.

• Ask: Tell us something unusual that happened since Ezzo Design started.
• Lazăr Ștefan: Let me think, global warming started long before ezzo, right, so no, not this, world crisis started at right about a year that ezzo stood up and started taking its first steps, but I’m not sure I’m to blame for this either… Nope, I cannot dot the i.

• Ask: What is the most frustrating aspect of your job ? And the most rewarding one?
• Lazăr Ștefan: What is frustrating about my job is that most beneficiaries tend to quantify my work just compared to other jobs which, honestly, I don’t think I share many things with, instead of looking at real results, aspects, time and money saving, feeling… I am often compared with architects, which is not necessarily a bad thing, let’s say we share the same domain of activity, but my job has been constantly compared to jobs I don’t find any similarities to.

• Ask: How do you come up with ideas for a new project ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: Each and every project starts in the same way. I make an analysis of the requirements, I seek to improve the concept, I look for further information, I establish the image lines and then I start „knitting”. The most spectacular solutions come out of projects I first start with difficulty or great challenges. The ideas just roll, and are mostly extracted from nature, the surrounding environment, routine objects or experiences I’ve lived throughout the unfolding of the project. A new project makes my whole life slave to it. Even leisure tend to take shapes of the current project. Socializing, meeting friends and clients will always happen in locations that incidentally have to do with what I’m working on at that point. One particular project stands witness to  what I previously sais, as designing a house for a physically impaired person, I borrowed a wheelchair to better feel the environment and direct reactions.

• Ask: How do you find new clients for your business ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: I don’t look for my clients, I let them discover me, but I’m sure to leave clear tracks so their search is made easy. For example: : www.ezzo.ro

• Ask: What is your motto or favorite quote ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: No poultry, no fox. I tell myself that every day because deep inside I’m a poultry incubator and I need to leave that behind.

• Ask: Who is your design idol  ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: Well, I could not mention only one.  There are many and I have my deepest thoughts about their work. Karim Rashid is just as naughty as Picasso. Why be modest and expect eternal grace when life can give you moist eligible benefits. Zaha Hadid- is revolutionary for world architecture and increased appetite for a new type of shapes. Philippe Stark- I may compare the reaction to his works of art with the same shiver I get once meeting a lady I admire. The list can go on.

• Ask: How is interior design as a business in Romania ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: As profitable as selling green groceries, except we have to convince our client we are the ”healthy”  way to go and trust us.

• Ask: Did you got any unusual requests since you’ve started ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: I have no clue now, but somehow, I think it’s normal for people to contract me for more  unusual jobs. As designers, we are the ones who can bring to life particular thoughts, ideas in resonance to our clients’ demand. All in all, I cannot name something particularly odd.

• Ask: What are Ezzo Design plans for the future ?
• Lazăr Ștefan: A thriving development both personally and professionally. I yearn at creating and maintaining a high standard of values so that our hopes and our clients’ outspoken and hidden necessities meet harmoniously.

source: freshome

Painting Walls Red: How to Pick It and How to Get Rid of It

Painting walls red is an inexpensive way to add pizzazz to a room and bring a lush, romantic mood into your home. But red—and any bold color—is a bear to cover up when you suffer painter’s remorse. Here’s how to find the right red and how to cover your tracks when you decide to get rid of red.

Seeing red

Painting walls red is less forgiving than, say, painting walls Linen White. Make a mistake, and you’ll feel like you’re dining inside a tomato. Change your mind, and you’ll need at least two new coats of paint to cover your regrets. Here are tips on where and which red to choose.

• Painting walls red can make large spaces feel more intimate, and small spaces look more interesting. Splash a little red in a powder room, or on just one wall in a den.

• Bluish reds can be festive and a good choice for dining and living rooms.

• Orange-hued reds are anxiety-producing colors—popular in casinos—so keep them out of the bedroom. 

• Paint your selection of a sheet of poster board—not on the walls—and place it in different parts of the room, at different times of the day, and in different sunlight conditions. At night, turn on lamps to see how your red reacts to artificial light.

Choose to re-choose

Red walls don’t play well with new colors: Whites turn pink, yellows become orange, and blues look purplish. You won’t be able to throw up a coat of crème and call it a day.

Here’s how to neutralize red:

• Prime walls with water-based sealing primers, such as Benjamin Moore Color Foundations or Behr Premium Plus Interior Enamel Primer.

• Tint primer to make it closely match your final color. Or, choose a grey or pink tint to help transition from red to a more neutral color.

• Paint two coats of primer and let dry completely. Use fans to speed up the process.

• After priming, choose a good quality paint and you’ll likely need only two coats. For a high-quality paint, look for 100% acrylic and stick to national brands.

• Apply new color with a 3/8-in nap roller. The shorter the nap, the better the coverage, which is important when covering red colors.

Caralee Adams, a veteran journalist, has written for Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Fitness, and The Wall Street Journal

source: houselogic

Stylish Apartment Interior Design in Brazil

Situated in the West side of São Paulo, Brazil, this contemporary apartment belongs to young, single, businessman and DJ. Designed by Studio Guilherme Torres, the apartment is aimed to keep the owner living near his company and also grant his new home with all modernity. The FJ House is a typical apartment of the 80’s that has been through lots of renovation. The partitions are removed in order to make the interior look even more spacious, while the toilets and two bedrooms were kept for structural reasons. To create a concept of a box where the illumination, wall and floor covering could offer a three-dimensional effect, some windows were removed. The illumination was made by utilizing LEDs with no other light source for the whole interior. The illumination also helps to save more energy and creates scenographic effect. Plasterboard is used to build the walls and ceiling and polymer cement is chosen to cover it up. The corridors and lavatory were replaced by the kitchen that is integrated with the living room. The architect was also designed all of the woodwork that become the main element of the interior design. Besides that, there is also unique complement of the interior design that is great insights with very low costs, like the DJ table that is actually made of aluminum ladder. The furniture line is finished to follow an unassuming style that takes inspiration from the 70’s. The master bedroom is integrated with a bathtub, which make this suite looks very contemporary. Check out the images, we hope it will inspire you. [Photography by MCA Estúdio]

source : homedug

The Modern Indoor Stairs by Christian Siller

Siller Stairs is an Italian-based company producing unique contemporary stairway models from glass, stainless steel and wood. Its international trademarks are top quality and exclusiveness. Designer Christian Siller is the founder of the firm and he is currently developing all the designs according to his customers’ needs. For today, we chose to showcase 18 exquisite staircases that define and “upgrade” the interior within which they are placed. Delivering “character and soul”, these designs were custom made and achieved after a few serious planning sessions held between the company and the clients. Some of the stairs are transparent and seem to hover over the floors, enhancing the feeling of space. Modern and diverse, these charming models manage to deliver simplicity in its most elegant form.

source: www.freshome.com