It’s a recurring contradiction in design to wonder if we need to design yet another chair with everything we have. Luckily, not all people have been stuck there throughout history, for we would continue to sit on chairs harder than rock. But examining existing objects and materials is part of a designer’s job, not just creating something new. Sometimes it serves to enhance something that already had it, but for some reason has fallen into oblivion, was no longer used, or didn’t bother to further improve its design. Others introduce technical improvements that did not exist at the time. And then there is the inexplicable cyclical inertia of elements from the past unexpectedly reconnecting with the present. Here are five examples of how to make good use of materials, gear, and resources that no longer seem to offer savings.
Composite walls with the Matilda grid collection.
Long live the blinds. asymmetrical design
Concrete or terracotta grids are part of our landscape and our Mediterranean culture. It is a resource used mainly until the seventies to create housings and partitions that offer privacy while allowing ventilation and thermal comfort. His designs have evolved, leaving behind those we all remember, to give way to more contemporary, minimalist and architectural proposals, in contrast to the floral and geometric designs of Arabic inspiration and heritage.
With the aim of bringing this style into the 21st century, the designer Inma Bermúdez created the Matilda collection for the Nadis company from Castellón. Two extruded terracotta pieces, one with 2 perforated circles and the other with 16, allowing to create compositions that appeal to tradition and nostalgia from a modern language. They enable exterior and interior borders and divisions that create attractive plays of light and shadow.
They can be used individually or mixed, which makes it easy to avoid symmetries. This was one of the goals: to achieve a versatile design that stimulates the designers’ creativity. In addition to the natural tone, they are also available with a black enamel surface.
Linoleum floor in a house renovated by Studio Hanghar Luis Díaz Díaz
To save linoleum. ecological and diverse
Linoleum has returned to our lives, just like bicycles: because it’s healthy, sustainable and economical. This type of floor has fallen out of use with the appearance of new ones – and also because it’s so cheap and ruined your image -. However, it is a material that has been given prominence for its natural composition, as it is made from linseed oil mixed with other elements such as cork or wood flour, ground stone and jute. It is therefore recyclable and biodegradable, two qualities of great value in this era.
On the other hand, its surface is antistatic, making it perfect for allergy sufferers. It offers a very soft and comfortable footprint and also offers acoustic cushioning. At the design level, it is much cheaper than other floors and is available in several formats and colors, so there is a lot of freedom in design, as in the renovation of this house in Madrid by the Hanghar studio. The large format linoleum used in this project made it possible to create a floor that gives the feeling of a continuous floor and connects all the spaces. In this way, the different spaces do not transmit a very clear and corseted function, allowing their occupants to assign them the one they prefer.
In this case, the Hanghar studio opted for a reddish tone as an abstraction of the traditional clay tile, contrasting with the remaining white surfaces or stainless steel.
The Odisseia chair by Dooq with bouclé fabric.
‘Bouclé’, an unexpected fabric. pleasant imperfection
When we started seeing bouclé in the upholstery of certain furniture proposals last year, we had no idea that its use would become a trend. Possibly fueled by the natural, organic and raw style that reigns supreme in interiors, this bulky curly yarn with a slightly coarse and imperfect texture but pleasant to the touch fits into living spaces like never before.
It is no coincidence that most of the pieces in which we see him have sinuous and organic shapes, such as the Shona armchair, designed by Charlotte Hancke for Made, or the Loll sofa with footrest, designed by Paola Navone for Gervasoni. If her particular aesthetic appeals to you with something but doesn’t fall for it, here’s a clue: Chanel. This is a fabric that has been closely associated with the company since the sixties, particularly in their famous jackets.
Indoors, it has not only found its way into the upholstery of chairs, armchairs and armchairs, but also into textile accessories of all kinds, such as blankets and cushions. And above all in white, which brings light and naturalness to the interiors and is combined with materials such as raw wood or brass (base of the cantilever chair Odisseia by Dooq).
House in Alcobendas of Municipal Branch.Asier Rua
exposed brick Without prejudice, but with care
This resource has been used so many times that there are even solutions on the market to recreate it using all sorts of fake materials, from wallpaper to polyurethane panels. The grace consists in leaving the original without revoking it to emphasize its rustic or industrial touch. But its unbridled use has meant that exposed brick has met with rejection at the Gotelé level.
However, it remains an attractive resource when used creatively and in the right natural spaces. Well, if it’s not the original from another time, why not use a real one? The architects of Sucursal Urbana did this in their home studio in Alcobendas (Madrid), with whose design they wanted to enjoy the beauty of raw materials.
In search of the stone that could give them the most play, they came across Ceranor’s Megatosco model. They used it to raise the interior walls since the starting room was a rough room. They arranged it in a continuous joint instead of the traditional balanced way. In this way they reinforced the verticality of their cracks with a very fine visual result, achieving a beautiful continuous profile. The space has gained warmth and reconnects with its origin, since it is not a dwelling.
The Fantin kitchen.
Nomadic kitchens. new furniture
The kitchen is one of the few parts of a home that is usually given to us and cannot be moved. When we think of nomadic kitchens, we imagine camping equipment rather than household appliances, kitchens in cabinets or industrial models with open metal modules that keep everything in view. The kitchen is usually conceived as a fixed space, but new lifestyles encourage more versatile proposals than the ones mentioned: free-standing modules that act as furniture and contain all the necessary appliances, including built-in ones.
Aesthetically they are usually more like an industrial kitchen as they are more metal and do not have top modules as they would need to be fixed to the wall. They suggest open shelving (less awkward to attach) or fronts terminated in a shelf that may have built-in lighting. The Fantin company has developed high modules to integrate electronic devices. The color palette allows you to opt for a colorful design. Another brand that also works with this type of kitchen is Buster + Punch, in their case with a level of details, finishes and elegant accessories with a refined design.