In an effort to inspire and lift up those who are making cool things or are living particularly compelling stories, I curate blog posts that I'm calling "Inspired By's". Enjoy!
photo: #IHaveThisThingWithFloors https://www.instagram.com/ihavethisthingwithfloors/?hl=en
About a year ago, while I was preparing to start the design process for The Skin of Our Teeth by Thornton Wilder, I was looking at different rock-based floor and wall treatments that mimicked, or were in conversation with, cave walls. The first act is set when mammoths and dinosaurs roamed the earth - pre-ice age - but with a distinct Leave It To Beaver vibe. I had images of Palm Spring mid-century living rooms popping in my head. I discovered that the material I was really after was Terrazzo. Once I started thinking about it, of course I saw it everywhere. And I love it!
Check out this amazing bar top in the London restaurant Omar's Place. This color palette is a dream.
"Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical binding), polymeric (for physical binding), or a combination of both. Metal strips divide sections, or changes in color or material in a pattern. Additional chips may be sprinkled atop the mix before it sets. After it is cured it is ground and polished smooth or otherwise finished to produce a uniformly textured surface." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrazzo
I am smitten with it in non-stone applications like this tableware from Bow & Knot....
wallpaper by Papermint Paris....
and these clothes made from Atellier Brunette fabric.
These interior apartment applications have me all hot and bothered to rip out my kitchen and start again. The color and texture elevate and enrich a space. It feels so luxe and retro but modern.
(left: backsplash Marmoreal by designer Max Lamb; center: color palette & texture inspiration by Lucy Cashmore; right: History Repeating apartment design by Marcante Testa)
Perhaps I'll start small with these bangles or the iPhone cases from Form Maker.
What's inspiring you these days? Drop me a line or send me a DM on Instagram.