LOSING THE INTERIOR DESIGN FORMULA: office furniture at home

We are refurbishing offices for the first time in years. As a result we have recently looked at various manufacturers and distributors of office furniture. The wealth of styles and qualities available on the market today allow for a number of "cross-over" permutations. Clearly office furniture can be used in studies or home-offices, but many boardroom tables will serve as wonderful dining tables and a number of sheleving solutions could be ideal for media rooms and home cinemas. Have a look around. You might like to start with Matteo Grassi's leather topped meeting table or Tecno's uncompromising clean shapes and proportions.

LOSING THE INTERIOR DESIGN FORMULA: in the kitchen

Interior design cyclically loses it's formula. And what inspiring times those are... Periods when high street and top end of the market designs all seem to strive for the same "look" are contrasted by phases during which interior design heads in multiple directions. The quest for the holy grail, a new and original union of practical and aesthetic concerns, is momentarily open on more fronts.

After a long period during which the UK looked to its European neighbours and actually saw them, the "minimalist formula" was found. Interior design in the 90s applied this formula at every opportunity. Over the last decade however British designers' confidence has grown. Furniture, fabrics, wall papers, just about all expressions of mainstream interior design appears to be searching for a new recipe. Lines are being softened, colour is embraced, pattern is no longer to be frowned upon, every expression of design is potentially acceptable.
This lack of an apparent formula does however confirm an underlying principle which is as valid for interior design today as ever before: the talented lead the way and manufacturers follow, albeit with a delay of a decade or two.
Take kitchen design: Johnny Grey has been producing kitchens like these for the last 3 decades or so. While the price tag falls miles outside the scope of most budgets the inspiration it provides is as cutting edge as it gets. The "soft geometry", the confident colour palette, the quirky references to familial comfort, this is the stuff that 2008/2009 interior design trends are made of!

REFURBISHMENT & RESTORATION: historical buildings in the centre of Rome

In a city such as Rome a vast proportion of refurbishments take place within historical buildings. Obiously protected by conservation laws, these buildings are also safeguarded by the inborne love of historical detail present in most Italian architects. Interestingly, in Italian the words "refurbishment" and "restoration" have virtually idential meanings and there is a single translation for both terms: "restauro". The framework of each project is set by the historical value of the structure. This however in no way limits the immagination and capacity for experimentation of some young architects. While searching for a valid example of a small scale project to demostrate the work of young Roman architects I noticed this 60 sq m space developed into a studio by a young Roman architect, Carola Vannini. Here an old store space under the arches in Piazza Vittorio (in the area of Rome known as the Esquilino) has been restored with great understanding of past, present and world trends.

NO GLOBAL DESIGN: the italian connection

Prof. Morlacchi's work could not be more Roman and less globalised. After decades teaching architecture and conservation techiniques at the universities of Rome, Chieti and Pescara, Prof. Morlacchi has printed some of her painstakingly accurate surveys of the historical centre of Rome (available in various formats from approx. 50cm to 150cm wide). The problem? If you want one of these prints you'll have to write in for the address, find your way through Villa Borghese, up and down a hill and through a small gate. There you'll find her at work under overloaded shelves of drawings, sketches and prints. But you never know.... you might be able to mail her the cash (credit cards and cheques strictly out of the question).

ID & ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINES: the Italian connection

While in Italy I thought I'd read every interior design magazine I could get my hands on. In the UK mags are basically available in two flavours: standard (indipendent publications) and free (i.e. distributed as integral part of a daily newspaper on a particular day of the week/month). In Italy there is a third variety, the semi-free mag. My favourite is distributed with "La Repubblica", which costs slightly more on the last Saturday of the month. Presumeably this allows the publication not to be entirely reliant on advertising and advertorials. Other daily newspapers publish interior design inserts and for some reason these appear to me more informative and up to speed than some of the standard Italian i.d. publications. Have a look at Repubblica's Casa&Design and ATCasa by Rizzoli Corriere della Sera. On a slightly more radical level, and involving a bigger commitment both in terms of time and money, you might prefer to acquaint yourself with Domus, The architecture and interior design magazine founded by Gio' Point in 1928 (or their website, also available in English). Taschen recently published a 12 volume collection covering the Domus years between 1928 and 1999.