For thousands of years imaginative people across the globe have stared into the depths of the sea and wondered what it might be like to live in an undersea dwelling. The H2ome represents the world’s first undersea residence, a custom-built structure available for purchase from U.S. Submarine Structures. You can choose your own sea-floor site, or have the company set you up with a remarkable undersea location.

Nestled atop Cortez Hill stands the historic ‘El Cortez’, San Diego’s leading landmark since its grand opening in 1927. From its opening through the 1950s, it was the most glamorous apartment-hotel in San Diego, hosting multiple U.S. Presidents such as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Gerald Ford, as well as entertainers like Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley. Today, the historically significant ‘El Cortez’ combines a contemporary high-rise lifestyle with the lure and attraction of old world charm.

While the building’s exterior is Spanish Renaissance style, owner Sasha Favelukis of Sequoian Investment Inc. considered modern Australian design team Pauly De Bartolo and Ivan Rimanic of De Bartolo + Rimanic Design Studio (DBRDS) a natural choice for the remodel of his 600 square foot condominium. To maximize space in the 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom small home, an ‘Australian-inspired’ custom kitchen was designed to provide additional depth of storage as well as a linear bench which runs the length of the kitchen, dining and living area to maximize storage and provide window seating.

The kitchen is clad in white oak to impart a textural balance between the dark wood floors and the white walls and features. A white modern interior allows the space to evolve from bright and clean during the day to evocative and golden in the evening, capturing the dynamic view of the San Diego skyline at night.

To reflect upon the history of the space in an otherwise modern interior, a wall featuring period-style moulding and a soft grey color was designed for the bedroom.  All of the design elements were hand selected to provide a cohesive, relaxing and unique feel for this modern living space. The only original elements are the bathtub and bathroom floor. To make his design vision a reality, De Bartolo reached out to the team at Hold It Contemporary Home to supply all of the furniture, artwork and accessories.

Through minor, non-load bearing interior modifications to the converted hotel rooms, DBRDS transformed the feel of the condominium into an open floor plan, allowing for flowing space and more natural light. The General Contractor on the project was Alan Loghman of Pacific Design & Construction. Read more …

Maarten Heijltjes & Simon Akkaya are the Dutch designers behind Goedzak – a special garbage bag for items that are still useable. ’Goedzak’ means both ‘good bag’ and ‘do-gooder’ in Dutch. According to the engineers, their concept is a friendly way to offer products a second chance and stimulate sustainable behavior.

Goedzak is one of the resulting designs from Akkaya’s graduation project “Design for Altruism” at Delft University of Technology. His goal was to design products that stimulate people to act to benefit others, preferably complete strangers.

Source: Springwise

Mike McAllister, Managing Partner, takes you behind-the-scenes as we get ready for another trip to Las Vegas Market! At right, Mike snaps a pic of A Kanjanakaset, Buyer, considering new products. To follow Mike, A, and Dwayne Lutridge, Design Consultant, LIVE at Las Vegas Market, simply “Like” our Facebook page! On January 28th and 29th, our team will be posting status updates, photos and video throughout the day!

“We are off to another market tomorrow morning.  5AM wake up, 7:15 flight and on the World Market Center Las Vegas show floor by 9AM. We have been attending the LVWM two times a year since 2005.  Three buildings and 5 million square feet of furniture and accessories.  Less than 10% of what is shown is contemporary, and less than 1% will even be considered to be part of Hold It Contemporary Home.  So you can imagine it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Looking forward to keeping you up-to-date!”

A hospital stay is a nerve-wracking experience for children and adults alike. With this in mind, the Jason Bruges Studio in the UK, created an interactive LED installation on the walls that lead to the operating room at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital to both distract and delight young patients. Hoping to calm kids with glowing images of animals, the Nature Trail transforms the stark, sterile environment of the hospital into a magical journey. An incredible 70 panels and 72,000 LED’s are embedded into the wall panels and triggered by motion, so that they illuminate abstracted animal shapes amongst a forest scene.

Source: Inhabitat

Add organic shapes to your space with Thai Air Roots! Each unique piece is collected from liana vines from the tropical jungles of Thailand, then bleached and sanded for a distinct look.

These stylish sculptural pieces are available at Hold It Contemporary Home, so come check them out at the store! Prices range from $595 – $1095.

Open plan offices and public buildings, CCTV, online profile sharing, cameras built into our laptops; never has it been easier for humans to connect, but what about when we want to withdraw?

By creating an enclosed space HUSH provides a personal retreat, an escape into a dark, quiet, natural space, or state of mind. HUSH can also be transformed to provide more traditional open seating.

From product designer Amanda Buckley, a side table with a series of glass shelves that spin up and down a central thread and can be adjusted to any height “with a quick spin.” Says Buckley, “Valezina Table is about experiencing delight and amusement in how it is used, including the vibrancy of its materials; as if it was a fine toy.”

Source: MoCo Loco

Simplicity in form, versatility in function, and boldness in design. These are the words to describe the Tower Table from Calligaris, an edifice of glass and steel that mirrors the specter of modern skyscrapers. With two easy to deploy leaf extensions, Tower can transform from a standard dining table to a spacious gathering space for dining or conference. See it now at Hold It Contemporary Home. Available in clear or smoked glass.

Available at Hold It Contemporary Home starting at $3295

Read more …

In San Diego, foodies consider it the most wonderful time of the year. Restaurant Week is almost here. From September 18 until the 23rd, restaurants around San Diego will feature prix-fixe menus for either $20, $30 or $40. It allows people to try out new restaurants and different menu items at their favorite hotspots. For more information, check out San Diego Restaurant Week’s website.