Turn it Sideways

They captured the look of a library with a snapshot, turned it sideways and created this unique space for an espresso bar. Very cool.

via NiceArtLife compliments of Nema Workshop

Car Lift

The car lift. It's badass and I'd say pretty much a high end item but it's still sweet. They're like anything custom. The price will depend on design, application and where it's located in the house. We have installed some of these in the past and it got my attention because one of the customers randomly stopped by the office yesterday. There are a ton of different manufacturers out there depending on the application and look you may or may not be targeting. It still requires a very close relationship between contractor, architect and manufacturer from design development all the way to installation.

This is a nice clean look and great if you have the opportunity to utilize a portion of basement. It's called the Phantom Lift from American Custom Lifts. All you have to do is pull in and onto the platform, hit a button and the car lowers leaving an empty platform for another car. Very slick.

via Cardok and American Custom Lifts

Cape Town

This place is just spectacular. It's the Bridle Road Residence in Cape Town, South Africa. It's been getting a ton on press on sustainability with the landscaping as well as the house itself. One of the coolest features (as side from the badass view of the Atlantic Ocean and the beauty of outdoor living) is the pool system.

It's all natural and self cleaning utilizing plants, sand, gravel and a waterfall that cascades down the side of the home. Are you kidding? And, they designed the waterfall to also act a screen to give privacy to one of the bathrooms. Genius. Here's a picture (below).

The craftsmanship and overall collaboration of design (from the inside, out) on this place is so well done.

This photo, in my opinion, just captures the whole experience of this place from the view to the indoor/outdoor living, to the eco friendly pool system. The private reflection pool in this shot cascades down the building and provides that screening (photo above). There's a ton more detail on both sites listed below.

via The Cool Hunter and TheCoolist

Pallet

Sometimes something temporary can turn into something permanent. The pallets are a perfect example. A very cool idea. It may seem a little sterile and informal but it's another sweet example of adaptive reuse. This is an office space designed for an advertising agency.

Creative and unique. The pallets give a rustic character that seems to warm the space just enough with the white walls and black accents of the handrail and chairs.

design by MOST Architecture photos via the Contemporist

Corporate Ship Yard

Reuse, give back and turn out a badass place. Done. I'm referring to the Urban Outfitters Corporate Campus. Have you seen or heard about this place? It's four old historic buildings in Philadelphia's ship yard. My sister-in-law, Leslie used to work for Anthropologie (part of the U.O. family) and I remember her talking about the space with such passion. She wasn't kidding. If you've ever been in one of their stores (Urban or Anthro) you'll notice the similarities in vintage design and the refurbished finishes. They have a craft and style that carries all the way through from corporate to customer.

I feel like I've been talking about it all this week but I'm such a firm believer in creativity and adaptive reuse. This is a perfect example, just on a much larger scale. There's a cool connection between the two industries with similar characteristics. Both create, build, refurbish or fabricate whether it's a ship or article of clothing.

It looks raw in a way, yet it's so refined from the timbers to the exposed duct work. The mass of the facility and the amount of natural light really give a comforting atmosphere. I could go on and on. This place is amazing and so well done. Check out more photos on ArchDaily.

photos by Lara Swimmer via ArchDaily

Rustic and Modern Elements

You can find ways to utilize salvaged materials in so many ways. It just takes a little research, some patience and a little creativity. I do like this idea for a cottage or cabin. It's rustic and reclaimed with some fresh modern finishes.

This idea I think is sweet and again, a fantastic use of reclaimed wood. They built these units out of salvaged material from a barn dating back to the early 1900's and some old fruit and whisky crates. This is actually the kitchenette at a creative design company out in Portland, Oregon called Parliament. You can see the entire office here. They did some very cool design work, worth checking out.

These are actually the cabinet pulls that were later installed on the reclaimed, custom built cabinets shown in the previous photo. Genius. A perfect way to finish it all off. It works so well with the overall design.

Top photo via Livingetc

Bottom 2 photos by Lincoln Barbour via Parliament

Modern A-frame Cottage

This cottage (or lake house) reminds me of a modern take on an A-frame style house. We see a ton of them in northern parts of Michigan with the amount of snow that can accumulate in those areas. The traditional A-frame with the steep sloped roof helps to keep the snow from piling up on the roof over the course of some long winters.

On the interior they used all plywood and just painted it white from the floor to the walls. It's simple and low maintenance - cottage all the way. Throw in an old school wood burner, grab some local wood and you have your heat for the winter.

The cottage has the large glass wall (shown in the top photo) opening up to the lake which I'm sure provides a sweet view. I also think that it's important to take into consideration which direction the natural light will come from and how much shade you will have. These few things can go a long way in helping determine finishes and how you heat and cool the place.

A cool use of exterior materials with the cedar shake and adding color to the few windows in this place. A nice way to make a little statement or add that pop when it seems as though the winter months can bring not just snow but a ton of gray. It's so low maintenance using the natural cedar shingles, perfect for a cottage on the water.

photos by Jens Rotzsch via Arch Daily