Blog - Moody Monday - Contemporary Hand Printed Designs

Posted on May 11, 2015May 11, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Here’s How to Turn Small Interiors Into Real Bijoux

They say small rooms can be a headache, but they can also be a blessing in disguise! If you are looking to make the most out of a tiny space – be it a living room, guest bedroom or second bathroom, here are our top tips on making the most of it.

Using a pale colour scheme can make the space look more airy and bright, and even a tiny single bedroom can look quite spacious:

To keep the room from becoming too bland though, we recommend adding some bold patters or textures, such as a feature wall, to give a point of visual interest to the room. Here’s our interpretation, using the Black Keys wallcovering:

Using a small room for multiple purposes can be quite the challenge ass well, so that’s the best time to bring the big creative guns out. For example, consider incorporating furniture that isn’t your typical ‘home office’, but rather something that will bend in with the rest of the room design. Here are two examples, first of a living-room & study area, and the second of a bedroom & home office:

And finally, we’ve looked into small bathroom as well. We really dislike than feeling of being crowded and uncomfortable in a tiny restroom. Luckily, there’s a way around it, and we find that adding a dash of personality, with an accent call, can help to create the illusion of more space, even to the tiniest bathroom:

Posted on May 7, 2015May 8, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Hats Off to Leo Burnett’s New Moscow Office!

Have you seen Leo Burnett’s new office in Moscow? We have – well, virtually a least, and we think it’s a splendid large interior design! But as with most things in life, it’s all a matter of perspective. And with this giant pair of spectacles literally overseeing Leo Burnett’s open-office plan, you can’t help but see the very creative and stunning appearance of the place:

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Created by Nefa Architects, and with with additional credit going to Dmitry Ovcharov, Maria Yasko, Daria Turkina and Maria Boyko, the space brilliantly combines a minimalist two-colour design, with the enormous pair of thick, black-framed glasses:

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And to add yet another twist to the place, there space features a red coil of seating weaves, along other red accessories in the space; we particularly like the scaled-up red desk lamps that are placed around the large office space:

Looking at these pictures once more, we can’t help but read the underlying message the Leo Burnett is possibly passing on to their creatives: THINK BIG!

Images via Behance.com

Posted on May 5, 2015May 8, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Design Trends From Salone Del Mobile, Milano – Part 1

The Salone Del Mobile di Milano has recently finished, so we took a sneak peak to see what the latest trends in furniture design are. The first piece that grabbed our attention and won us over, are the root vases, created by Milanese designer Giorgio Bonaguro and produced by DRIADE.

We think these are a brilliant execution of an ambivalent object: they combine a simple, clear glass cylinder on the outside, with an internal element of coloured glass imitating the roots of a flower:

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The creative vase is both appealing in design, and functionality as it can be turned and used either to hold one single flower, or flipped over, to hold a colourful bunch:

The vases are made in blown borosilicate glass, and come in three lovely hues: yellow, green and blue, the central colours of nature, representing the sun, grass and skies. What a lovely touch!

all images © andrea basile studio

Posted on May 4, 2015May 8, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

A large space design that enhances creativity – found in Bangkok

We found this gem online, and simply fell in love with it! The two floors of the Bangkok University Creative Centre (BUCC) designed by Supermachine’s architects Pitupong Chaowakul, Nuntawat Tassanasangsoon, Suchart Ouypornchaisakul, and Worawit Hongwiang are a mesmerising journey of colour, shape, light and texture. We love the way this large space design fosters creativity, in every one of its rooms and halls. The BUCC includes a workshop, library, exhibition space, viewing room and offices:

The entire large space design is centred around the 180 square-meter wall – “Lo-Fi pixel wall”, an installation of 10,000 custom-made rotating four-sided plastic pieces in pink, blue, green and yellow, that students can play around with, to create colour patterns or write messages:

BUCC-2 — The “Lo-Fi pixel wall” – one of the main attractions in the BUCC

We really like the feel of this place, as it seems to perfectly exemplify the type of oasis where creative ideas are born. In fact, just looking at these pictures is getting our creative juices flowing! What’s you favorite creative space?

Posted on April 29, 2015May 8, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

A Small Bite of Industrial Design

This week we’re taking Moody Monday out, and exploring industrial designs in restaurants. We’ve chosen two quite different ones, to get different perspectives on how industrial design can fit in with the eating experience.

The first is the PAT’S steakhouse in Melbourne Australia:

We particularly liked the uncommon mix of industrial look and cosiness of this space, created by the tangled lighting system on the ceiling build on pipes, and the warm, lively orange hues of the walls. It builds a balanced look for the place, both inviting and enigmatic.

On a more heavily industrial note, we like the Blue Butcher restaurant in central Hong Kong, China: Blog-1

The use of steel, reclaimed wood, leather and raw plaster gives this interior an amazing industrial yet funky feel. According to the restaurant’s own website, Blue Butcher is trying to recreate the atmosphere of the Prohibition era, using exposed light fittings and long steel metal staircases. We think they’ve done a good job, and we particularly like the heavy dark unrefined wood tables. The only question is… will their food be as amazing as the interior design? We hope so!

Posted on April 23, 2015May 8, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Bringing the outside, inside: nature in interior design

With nature coming back to life, we’re continuing to look for inspiration in the lively world around us, and how creative nature elements can be used in interior designs, to add to the uniqueness of the room.

We were particularly drawn by this idea of bringing nature with into your living room. Essentially, we live surrounded by nature, so why not invite it in our interior spaces as well? This particular example gives the impression of having a tree growing out of your walls, bringing you a cup of tea! Refreshing!

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This creative 2-in-1 chair and coat hanger is both functional and aesthetically pleasing; it saves space by incorporating a hanger into a chair, and it mimics a tree with growing branches. This is a whimsical take on the fact that traditionally, chairs used to be made out of wood from trees. And even though this one in particular is made of alternative materials – moulded plastic or a type of steel or metal frame, it still keeps the connection to nature, by taking the shape of a tree.

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If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be a bird, this chair might take you closer to finding out. Taking inspiration from the shape of a birds nest, we imagine this chair to be a very cosy space, and another whimsical incorporation of nature into the interior space.

Do you use elements of nature into your spaces? We’d love to read your ideas!

Posted on April 21, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Using 3D in interior design – news from the Moody Monday Studio

We’re excited to share news form Moody Monday’s studio, on a collaboration we’ve been working on over the past few months. As part of a project initiated by Design Factory, Eliza of Moody Monday has joint creativity with light and paper sculpture designer Sharyn Dunn.

In this fusion, Eliza and Sharyn are looking to combine 2D and 3D in an almost sculptural piece, that will allow both designers to experiment with new materials, and work in new media: Eliza is particularly interested in developing her work in 3D, while Sharyn is passionate of pursuing further work in colour.

We’ve been keeping track of our progress on this exciting new project, and the photographs below were taken in the initial stage. The two designers have been sending designs, sketches and samples to each other, in order to agree on the direction to move forward with the project:

The work is challenging and exciting, as Eliza and Sharyn are working collaboratively with a fair physical distance between them too. This has definitely made it a challenge to meet and exchange ideas, especially in such visual and tangible forms of work. Luckily, that’s been bridged quite effectively by the use of modern technology, over the Internet, digital photography, emails, Skype and the more old school postal service.

We’ve now moved further with the project, so alongside paper drawing, we’re doing a lot of print & pattern design and folding in our Edinburgh studio:

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We’re hoping for an outcome that will materialize as an accessible form of art piece (wallcovering or lighting accessories), by creating innovative, stylish objects with a practical end-use. In our vision, this product will add an artistic edge and personality to any interior space that’s looking for a contemporary makeover.

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The project, once finalized, will be displayed in an exhibition at the National Centre for Craft & Design’s Roof Gallery, between July – September 2015, with more details following soon!

Posted on April 16, 2015April 16, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Shapes and geometry in interior design – some inspiration

In this blog post, we’ve turned our antennas to the playful use of shapes and geometry, in interior design. Here are our top three picks.

The first example stems from the tiny world of bees, as we think nature is a great source of exquisite inspiration. If bees had contemporary awareness and the ability to use and appreciate furniture, we’re sure they would have a lot to buzz about this stylish coffee table:

And since we mentioned bees, we think this wall covering would make for a nice match inside their beehives as well. In fact, the vibrant color mix and geometric pattern of the wall covering looks pretty stylish in this contemporary living room as well:

And in a more abstract composition, we like this particular feature wall that ties up in a contemporary, urban room. The play on various sizes and shades of gray rectangles creates a nice pattern on the accent wall, adding an extra coolness to the place:

Posted on April 14, 2015April 15, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Beauty by imperfection, in a Tokyo loft apartment

Sometimes, novelty comes in unexpected forms, or in this case – designs. G Studio has created a surprising interior in a loft apartment in Tokyo, with a truly unique feel:

Unlike the usual finished look of many modern trend interiors, dominated by polished surfaces and finishes, this very industrial design embraces the opposite of the sleek and smooth.

According to architects Teruya Kido and Suma-Saga-Fudosan, the intention was to reflect the real culture of Tokyo, especially as this particular living space is intended for tourists in search of alternatives to the classical hotel accommodation.

We think G Studio’s approach to this build is a reminiscent of Wabi-Sabi, creating a space that shines beautifully through its imperfect, impermanent and incomplete look.

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Moody Monday Media

Patterns in Interiors

In this new blog post series, we look at creating patterns through the use of colour, in order to create unique and lively interiors. We take our inspiration from spring/ summer colours and explore how these can be mixed and matched to recreate the zing of the season.

We start with a bold, orange themed interior:

What we particularly like about this interior is the mix of lively, bright colours and the predominance of curvy lines and organic shapes, reflected in the shape of the furniture and in the patterns on the wall coverings and coffee tables.

In a very different composition, we found this very contemporary blend of purple, lime green, black and white:

The straight lines and sharp angles used in this interior help create the illusion of extra height in an otherwise low ceiling room. The use of lime gives a fresh, spring-like feel to the interior. While the general rule of thumb is to use only two colours (three, at most!) for large areas, such as a feature wall, we think this particular design has successfully pulled it off with all four hues it features. Bold to the bone!

All colours aside, you can create a striking design, using just black and white and a sneaky pink accent:

This seemingly simplistic design also adds height to the room. While black and white is not a colour mix you would expect to find in nature, the drips on this wall art gives a touch of authenticity, and the pink drip in particular is a nice surprise to break the monotony. All in all, it’s an inspiring way of pulling together the neutral flooring and the all-black chairs and lamp into a stunning and stylish interior design.

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