This massive building has undergone quite a transformation since its industrial origin in the 1960s. Holgaard Architects did a fantastic job breathing new life in to the striking apartments contained within – our favorite color, of course, is a prominent feature.

Notice how the sparsely lit rooms are bathed with glossy surfaces. Nothing is so reflective that it catches glare from artificial lighting, but the largest surfaces have just enough shine to brighten the space in a snap.

Some rooms are more “finished” in appearance than others are but, even the most thoroughly sleek modern interiors take cues from this building’s past with architecturally influenced furnishings.

The project consisted of a seismic upgrade and restoration of a heritage building in Vancouver’s historic gastown district, and a warehouse loft interior design project.  The loft is organized around a new courtyard open to above, inserted into the heritage fabric of the building, allowing light into the centre of the very deep plan.  All other interior elements are rendered crisply using precisely machined elements, conceived to stand in strong contrast to the rough heritage fabric of the existing shell

The owner is a bachelor who became deeply invested in Gastown before its rundown warehouse spaces became fashionable. (Indeed, his various business ventures there have helped spur the area’s revival.) So, when he approached designer Omer Arbel, then working at Peter Busby’s offices, he asked for a home that would “just let the space be itself.”

The space, though, had been practically abandoned, used as rough storage for an appliance vendor. Arbel was handed a mess of clumsy interior walls and years of spider webs. His task: preserve the history that lurked there, all while overlaying it with a real, functional living space.

The first myth of Gastown living—that one must sacrifice fresh air and greenery for the rush of city life—was dispelled in short order. Arbel knew that neither Water Street nor Blood Alley was going to offer lush vistas, so he created, at the heart of this loft, a walled courtyard that only looked up to the sky. Light and breezes spill through its open top into the home and, when three of the courtyard’s walls roll away, one might easily stroll from room to room via a happy cube of garden.

“Everywhere,” says Arbel, “we were really just dropping these objects, these boxes, into the larger plan.” Against a surround of vintage brick, for example, the kitchen’s crisp white millwork hovers, with space above and below to emphasize the box-within-a-box effect. One is constantly aware, here, of contemporary design as a sort of complement to (rather than an abolisher of) the original warehouse.

Look up and you’ll see a network of original Douglas fir beams, lit up to dramatic effect by a set of skylights. There’s a five-foot volume between the beams and the building’s actual ceiling—another clearly defined envelope.

Ultimately, though, Arbel’s loft does what a great loft ought to: it gets out of the way. “You want to revel in an open floor plan like this,” he says. “Part of the promise of living in a loft is the way nothing’s fixed.” There are no walls to break off the living space, kitchen or dining area, save for a couple of paper “soft walls” by Molo, which accordion, shift or disappear depending on that day’s whims.

Arbel can create structure when it’s called for; he’s justly happy with the bathroom, where a vanity area, a tiled shower and a halo of light at the shower’s rear make up a set of three nesting boxes. But mostly this is a home where the owner’s superlative (and eclectic) collection of furnishings can take centre stage. Baroque chandeliers and Parisian café chairs share the space with Buddhas and Japanese wind socks.

The massive dining table is a replica of one at nearby hot spot Salt Tasting Room restaurant. A modern abstract painting by Charles Forsberg and a stunning chandelier enhance the scale and conversation.

Large hanging fish kites catch the light in the living room. Architect Omer Arbel’s tips for how to introduce modern elements to an existing space ripe with character:

1. Use dramatic colour shifts to distinguish new objects, while respecting vintage surfaces and palettes.
2. Embrace the contrast between old and new. “It’s a tense conversation at times, but within that tension there’s a wonderful place to inhabit,” says Omer.
3. Use “reveals” to delineate materials. Allow for breathing space in the transition from new walls and fresh flooring options to existing walls and ceilings.
4. Apply discreet trim to define the lines between vintage and modern elements.

This characteristic also renders the space dreamlike as well as a perfect entertainment space. Every element has been custom designed to the smallest detail to fit the particular needs of our client and his desires and habits.

The interior design of the small loft apartment strives not only to accomplish the owner’s functional requirements, but also to reach a spatial experience perceivable with all our senses by means of material, colors, and shape combinations.

This loft conversion is located in the Bubeneč Prague district in a corner apartment house built in the thirties. The attic is northeast oriented,facing the street. Originally, it was used for drying laundry. The basic disposition concept reacts to the configuration of the surrounding urban environment. The “social” quarters utilize a view of the Stromovkapark and a ZOO in Troja, the bedroom part is placed in front of a high-grown lime-tree. The tree obstructs a view from the opposite buildings and helps cool the interior in the summer.

The concept arises from two contradictory requirements; an effort towards the most effective usage of limited floor space, and at the same time, the creation of a clear,generous space. The loft apartment is therefore conceived as a duplex apartment; the kitchen – living room is two-storey and offers a view into the roof construction. The quiescent part of the disposition (bedroom, bathroom and toilette) is spanned with an open gallery containing a study.

If need should arise the study can be used as a guest-room. In the future, the gallery will function as the parents’ bedroom and the present bedroom will be changed into a children’s room. The gallery is accessed via staircase and a steel footbridge, creating an intimate “promenade architecturale“, thus enabling perception of the elevated living-room space and the gallery space from different perspective.

The goal of the design was to create a clean interior without decorative overkills. Every centimeter of space is used as storage space. The staircase to the gallery also functions as a kitchen unit, a gas boiler and a bookcase are placed into the niches between chimneys. Bathroom cabinet harbors a washing machine and a drier. Space above the toilet holds cleaners and closet literature. Inbuilt wardrobes form an entire bedroom wall as well as a gallery wall. An electric switchboard is part of the inbuilt furniture. On the gallery, two working tables are placed into the space between windows, offering a view of the roofs of the opposite houses.

The interior material solution creates a dialogue between rough surface of the original brick chimney walls and the clean contours of plasterboard constructions. Mass of the sanitary space is clearly distinguished by gray plaster inviting to be touched. Floors and solitaire furniture are oak; the inbuilt furniture is white varnished. The kitchen was designed with great care. Even though it is small, it offers all the necessary surfaces and spaces. Kitchen cabinet doors are made of oak veneer, the worktop is patinous granite neroassoluto, appliances and holds are stainless-steel.The rare-facing panel of the kitchen is lined with glass of the same tincture as the upper cabinets.

Once you get inside and up the stairs, you are on the beach with the whole horizon in front of you, long before you even set foot in the sand. Kelly grew up near the ocean, and this environment gives her power and energy.

The house is over 600 square feet and has six bedrooms – all but one with a sea view – and five magnificent marble bathrooms. Of the original house from the 1960s only the foundations remain. The facade facing the sea is covered in weather-resistant cedar with elegant copper details. Indoors the dominant type of wood is white stained walnut on walls, ceilings and floors – a discrete background to the great works of art from around the world. No furniture is higher either in the dining area or in kitchen or living room than 40 cm, to be able to better see the sea below.

Colors evoke feelings. They’re powerful, sensual, pleasure only, and dramatic. Color is everything

says Kelly. It’s about creating a hierarchy of tones, where a tint is allowed to dominate and put the character in the room. The rest secondary, whether in terms of shape, pattern or material. Unique color compositions create either visual tension or harmony. Both can be equally magnificent. One can have many colors in a room, but for this to work, proportions, value and structure of the colors to be right.

When you choose paint, follow your heart and trust your feelings. Balance and refinement of these colors can be achieved later with the help of textiles, art and rugs.

An interior in neutral tones, which need not be monotonous and boring. The solution is to create an interesting contrast with a cool metal object, a sculpture or painting, fancy carpets and textiles. Everything goes in the same tones, but is still very different in material, texture, shape and pattern. You have to decorate in harmony with the architecture and surroundings. The inspiration was Malibu : the sand and the sea, no bright colors belong in this environment. Instead Kelly had chosen muted, soothing colors and unpolished, organic surfaces in interaction with the surrounding nature.

The color palette and materials were inspired by what you can find on the beach, seaweed, driftwood and shells.

Fashion inspires me in many ways, a decorative button that I found in London can provide the theme for the decoration of an entire room. An old piece of jewelry can be a fantastic source of inspiration for an accessory that I create. I may be affected by a pendant in the art deco style, or a cigarette case when I make a cabinet or furniture. An antique metal buckle can inspire me to dress a room with a metal panel, which I did with the kitchen in Beverly Hills.

It’s all about paying attention and have an open attitude to new and unexpected opportunities.

Kelly has collected art and stuff since she was a teenager. She moves around things occasionally, a room can be full of art, while another has only one painting over the fireplace.

Kelly collects fabrics, trim, decorative boxes, sculptures and art from all eras. Fabrics are a great inspiration, both in terms of color, texture and pattern. Her favorite period is from mid-1920’s, when modern design began to be felt, until the 1980s. She is studying carefully the shape of the object of ensuring that the different items complement each other. It should never have too many sophisticated furniture in the room, because then it just plain out. Mix instead new and old, simple and stylish with gilt, she says. Then highlight the different style, the beauty instead of disappearing into the crowd.

She falls for things related to her feelings and then playing with different solutions for every environment, without having any definite rules, either in terms of style or end result. With Kelly choosing marble for their building she visits various quarries and to be inspired by color and shape before she decides what will become the next kitchen, bathroom or floor.

I bring my camera, a tape measure and a sketchbook wherever I go. I’m constantly on the lookout for the next cool gadget, patterns, or detail for inspiration for new projects. In the office, I have drawers full of visual appeal divided into different categories, which I use in my design, if not right now, so probably sometime in the future.

Kelly has decorated homes for Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale , and the loft buildings for the Hollywood elite.

She has also done interiors of the luxurious resort hotels, as Viceroy in Santa Monica and Anguilla , and the Tides in Miami Beach with her ​​husband Brad Korzen , starting in 1999. She has her own home fashion boutique on lyxvaruhuset Bergdorf Goodman in New York . Even penthouse restaurant BG overlooking Central Park is Kelly’s works. She has their own collections of handmade rugs for The Rug Company and textiles for Sferra , and gold-trimmed china for Pickard . She has already managed to write design trilogy Modern Glamour , Domicilium Decoraus and now Hue .

This picturesque, former ” Playboy Playmate of the Month “(September issue 1994) from Myrtle Beach in South Carolina born in 1967. Henens mother was also a decorator and even antique dealer. His father was an architect and engineer, so Kelly grew up surrounded by design and good taste. Then there was the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston where she studied graphic design and interior design. After a period in New York, she came eventually to Hollywood to try his luck in films.

Very soon she realized that it was not for her, and instead started its prospective design empire Kelly Wearstler Interior Design , ( KWID ) in 1995. She now has two sons, Elliott 8, Oliver 7, along with her ​​husband, hotelier Brad Korzen

Kelly gets up half past five every morning to have time to train before she takes the boys to school. The family comes together for the daily dinner at six thirty in the evening. Children and family traditions are more important than anything else for Kelly, who would arrange large, well-planned dinners during the holidays.

She describes her style as “The Elegance Of The Unexpected”, or the art to mixing unexpected items, materials, colors and textures successfully.

Everyone should rely on their ability and capacity to take risks. Only when you develop as a person. Whether you succeed or fail. It does not cost a fortune to decorate, I still go to second-hand stores and find the pieces I really like for a cheap price.

The three bedroom house showcases an angular design partly hidden by a stone facade kept intact. An open plan kitchen combined with the dining and living room were constructed on the original part of the building. Beautiful stone walls merge with modern furniture to create an outstanding interior design. Replacement windows, sliding doors and skylights were carefully placed to ensure natural light in all rooms of the house. A rooftop deck offers beautiful panoramas of the city with its 360 degree view. Other features include a two car garage, cellar, gym, second living and study room. Tell us what you think about this creative mixture of styles or if you think something is missing in order to call this home desirable.