It's a cover-up

Books to Inspire: Alvar Aalto Houses

Finnish Alvar Aalto is perhaps best known for creating stunning glassware, furniture and textiles, which are still sought-after pieces today. From his iconic vase to his cantilevered birch wood chairs, we see his creations everywhere. But did you know he was an architect?

Alvar Aalto Houses by Jari and Sirkkaliisa Jetsonen, presents 26 innovative single family homes built according to his designs between the 20s and the 60s. These were built in Finland, Estonia and France and are still considered architectural gems today.

With a hugely successful career that spanned half a century, Alvar Aalto was one of the 20th century's most important architects. He designed almost 100 houses taking a new and unique approach that cleverly combined modernist principles with traditional Finnish architecture to create a  individual style that is both exclusive and desirable.

What was so unique about Alvar Aalto's approach in architecture was that he and his wife Aino Aalto, also an architect, saw it as a complete body of art. Their designs progressed beyond the shell of the building to demand special treatments to interior surfaces as well, including furniture, lamps, furnishings and glassware. It is this holistic approach to his works that made him so successful and his works so instantly recognisable.

"There is an ulterior motive, too, in architecture, which is always peeping out from around the corner, the idea of creating paradise. It is only purpose of our buildings. If we do not carry this idea with us the whole time all our buildings would be simpler, more trivial and life would become - well, would life amount to anything at all? Every building, every work of architecture, is a symbol which has the aspiration to show that we want to build a paradise on earth for ordinary mortals." - Alvar Aalto

Even the Alvar Aalto museum showcasing his works was designed by the man himself. Truly holistic.

Books to Inspire: IKEA the book

Why not? Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all drawn to that blue and yellow Swedish giant. Plus, as we are virtually piggybacking off this amazing home retailer, we really need to take our hats off to them.

IKEA the book talks about how this home retailer went from a one man show selling furniture off the back of a truck to one of the most recognised home retailers on a global scale in less than 50 years.

It also presents the designers who are behind the many successes at IKEA.

I once saw an episode of a television series called megafactories where they looked at the manufacturing process for IKEA sofas. It was very insightful. This book also explores the manufacturing processes from concept to execution, and discusses just how the pieces are engineered to come together so easily in consumers' homes.

This excerpt says: One of the pioneering child-friendly efforts was the Klippan sofa. Suddenly children were allowed on what used to be considered a parents-only sofa. The living room's most expensive piece of furniture, constantly exposed to chocolate stains and spilled milk, caught up making "stricter" parents less fearful about their furniture.

This is exactly why Bemz came into being - all our slipcovers are machine washable, child- and family-friendly. However, we are giving you one thing IKEA can't: at Bemz, thanks to our 180 strong collection of fabrics, you can give your sofa, chair or even bed your own unique look, one that won't be repeated in homes throughout the world.

From Scandinavia with love, indeed

Do you ever jump from one link online to the next and the next and end up somewhere wholly different from where you started? Sometimes that's a good thing: I was doing that today and came across this beautiful shot on From Scandinavia with Love.

Nice place! Very contemporary but not without a bit of playfulness and lots of vibrant colours. I love the way the room has been built on a monochromatic palette of white with black highlights and then brightened with injections of a gorgeous sun yellow and real red. By sticking to those two colours when choosing accessories and even pieces of furniture, the overall look is a clean, sophisticated and modern one.

By the way, those two free standing Karlstad chaise longues are in Stockholm Stripe - Jet Black.

Bemz + Bantie = fab new designer collection

Bubbel by Bantie at Bemz on an Ekeskog sofa

Once again, Bemz has created the opportunity for easy and inspired home updates by transforming Ikea sofas around the world into something truly unique and individual. This latest collaboration with up-and-coming Swedish design-team Bantie, will see four new patterns added to the Bemz Designer Collection.

The Bantie Designer Collection for slipcovers at Bemz includes the Kokeshi, Salamander, Bubbel, and Korall patterns, available at Bemz in a total of seven colorways.

Kokeshi by Bantie at Bemz on an Ekeskog armchair

Playful Kokeshi (above), depicting the ever popular Japanese wooden dolls, is a modern interpretation of a classic toile de Jouy pattern with a distinct and affectionate Japanese twist.

Left: Salamander by Bantie at Bemz on an Ekeskog sofa; Right: Korall and Kokeshi by Bantie at Bemz in two colorways on Nils chairs

Salamander (left) seems to simmer with emotion and movement while Bubbel (photo, top) and Korall (photo, right) are more earthy depictions, using wonderfully unique organic treatments of shape and form with obvious retro influences.

Kokeshi by Bantie at Bemz on a Nils chair

These new fabrics, machine washable as always, will be available as sofa and chair covers at bemz.com from January 2011.

"Aside from the fact that we clearly love the Bantie patterns, we see this launch as a natural continuation of our work with both classic and modern Scandinavian design," says Bemz CEO and founder Lesley Pennington.

Korall by Bantie at Bemz in two colorways on the Stockholm Easy chair

Stockholm-based Bantie’s style is a contemporary one but not without a sense of humor and a serious nod to the past. Inspiration is drawn from a wonderful mélange of eclectic and modern design influences, pulled together with Scandinavian inspired color palettes and design sensibilities.

Bantie founder and CEO, Wilhelmina Wiese’s take on the upcoming launch: "It's fantastic to be able to initiate a collaboration with Bemz, and the idea that our wonderful designs will end up on IKEA furniture all over the world is very exciting."

Left: Salamander by Bantie at Bemz on an Ekeskog sofa with Kokeshi by Bantie at Bemz on a Nils chair at back; Right: Bubbel by Bantie at Bemz on Jennylund armchairs

The individual behind the vision for this collection is Ulrika Gyllstad, whose background in fashion brings new thinking to the fabrics in terms of coordination and cohesion. Modern and timeless design that allows room for personal and genuine esthetic, sits at the heart of the design house’s collection.

Bantie is the latest in a series of designer collaborations for Bemz, which recently launched collections from Designers Guild of Britain, Marimekko of Finland and Lisa Bengtsson of Sweden. These join the Swedish design classics Stig Lindberg, Viola Gråsten and Göta Trägårdh to make up the Bemz Designer Collection.

With these seven new patterns from Bantie, the total number of fabrics available via bemz.com will exceed 170.

Summer special: 10% off Archipelago favorites!

During its best moments, summer inspires us to dream of salty seas and summerhouses by the waterfront. With the help of Bemz lifestyle “Archipelago“ and some new Bemz slipcovers you can recreate a nautical look in your own home and always have your own warm summer dreams! Psst, keep reading to check out our special Archipelago offer...  

For the classic navy look, combine fresh Stockholm Stripes in Real Red, Deep Navy Blue, Caffe Latte and Sand Beige with their matching solid color, or mix it up with another color hue and fabric texture, like Unbleached Linen.

To recreate the boho chic archipelago style of faded jeans, go for a base of Light Denim Blue and complement with pixel rose pattern True Rose or multi-striped Static Stripe in Light Denim Blue and Caffe Latte.

Feel like introducing a cool summer breeze into your living room or dining room? Shop now and get 10% off Real Red, Deep Navy Blue, Soft White and Absolute White (in our 100% panama cotton weave, stain protected and machine washable)! This offer is available until Sunday July 25th, and applies to all Bemz products (sofa, chair, and/or cushion covers, and fabric by the metre) in the above mentioned fabric choices. The price you see online is the discounted price, and this offer is only valid for orders placed and paid online.

Shop latest Sunday 25th to get your Archipelago discount!

Personalization hits a whole new level, Scandi style

There is a lot of love out there for Scandinavian design which is most often characterized by simple, uncomplicated designs, minimalism, stylization, functionality, and low cost mass production. Yeah, that last one sure brings a certain Swedish furniture giant to mind - but let's not forget the equally colorful, equally global and equally loved Danish designers who generally appeal to the younger shoppers: Lego.

So what do you get when you throw these two Scandi giants into one pot and have it stirred by two very creative French designers? A Lego kitchen!

Parisian design duo Munchausen, made up of Simon Pillard and Philippe Rosetti, picked up a basic kitchen island at Ikea and then covered it with Lego pieces. They used more than 20,000 pieces!

The result is certainly a one-of-a-kind creation that gives their kitchen a playful yet artistic edge, that is still functional: the epitome of Scandinavian design!

And judging from the rest of the house, I'd say these boys know how to mix functionality and playfulness without sacrificing on style. If you want to create a look like this, check out our Playground Lifestyle.

If you liked that Lego kitchen, check out this Lego table made by Irish agency Boys and Girls.

Lego kitchen and home photos c/o Goluza at Maison Française

These are odd birds

Karin put me onto these guys, Oddbirds, after seeing some of their stuff recently at Formex. I love that lamp!

Aside from having totally quirky-cool and utterly unique pieces, they also share the same philosophy as we do at Bemz: they sell what they consider to be "incomplete" products. They leave room for your personal input and own creative flair to ensure the final crowning glory is yours.

Some of the Oddbirds products that immediately caught my eye:

You can check out their full range on their website.

And speaking of Formex, Lesley gave a talk there again this year. 

Following on nicely from last year's talk The E-Commerce Revolution she gave the aptly named: The E-Commerce Revolution Part 2- The impact of Social Media Social Media is the new buzz on the Internet- what is it? Is it really relevant? How does it affect you in the retail industry? 

Well done Lesley.

Romantic and inspiring in White

A couple of clever, style-savvy Swedish women put together an interior design book called Romantic Homes: Inspiration in White and it sold out in three days.

Petra Eriksson and Ingela Broling got to know each other as bloggers due to their reciprocal interest in interior design but inspiration for the book stemmed from their desire to share real homes with their audience.

They felt that by using homes that belong to real people, people who are not interior designers but who, like us, love beautiful things and want their homes to be a haven, an oasis from the world, to show how a home can emulate personality, would be a greater source of inspiration to their audience than designer made homes. They hoped their readers would realize that similar results are within their grasp.

More importantly though, these two ladies wanted to show their audience that no matter the budget or life situation, a dream home can be achieved. According to Ingela and Petra, it is not dependent on the limits of your resources but rather on how you choose to use the resources you have. Very clever I thought!

Petra and Ingela's aim to inspire has been achieved as you can see from the selection of photos they have shared with us here. I am not surprised the book has done so well - they have done a magnificent job.

Romantic Homes: Inspiration in White is available in Scandinavia, Germany and the Netherlands. For more information please contact Ingela and Petra here.

Lego Architecture - Aren't they clever!

With more than Scandinavian roots in common, we at Bemz have always loved Lego. The Danish giant harnesses individuality, providing each builder the opportunity to create exactly what is on the box or to pursue their own creations. From those simple little interlocking bricks of our childhood, to the amazing range of movie-themed kits today, Lego stays one step ahead of the game with products catered to every age, interest and ability.

Their latest addition, Lego Architecture, will definitely keeps those Lego fans (purists and kids alike!) coming back for more. So far there are renderings of six world famous buildings, including two of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous: the Guggenheim Museum (above) and “Fallingwater” (below).

What's brilliant about this new challenge is the unique insight it offers into the actual design and construction that went into these world class buildings.

 

The name 'LEGO' is derived from an abbreviation of the two Danish words "leg godt", meaning "play well" and although it may be true some of us remain happiest left with a pile of bricks and our active imagination, isn't it wonderful to tap into the imaginations of some of the world's best?

Photos c/o Lego.