A place to contemplate and switch off, to enjoy the luxury of slowness. In the heart of Sóller, one of the most charming villages on the island of Mallorca, the Meem Townhouse boutique hotel is a high-level accommodation facility, the result of a recent renovation by the Al Cuadrado Arquitectura studio. The design intent was to preserve the original complex, an ancient traditional Majorcan residence from the eighteenth century, with particular attention to sustainability which is reflected in the choice of natural materials and with an exquisite Mediterranean taste. A "life project" strongly desired by the family of the owner, with the aim of promoting the philosophy of slow living and redefining the concept of contemporary hospitality, basing its accommodation offer on the importance of reconnecting body, soul and surrounding nature. The intention was to make a new place available to guests, away from the noise of the city, where they could feel at home. The result? Seven suites with a fresh, clean and bright design. The predominance of white, the use of marble and wood, high ceilings with exposed beams and skilful plays of natural light give the entire structure a sense of peace and harmony. The innovative style of Ritmonio products proved to be perfect for a boutique hotel of such great refinement; the transversality of the offer and the wide range of finishes available have allowed the designers to freely design the bathroom environments, to enjoy them to the fullest. The multiple solutions with different installation possibilities, such as the built-in unit for bath and shower, have also left ample compositional freedom. The iconic series of the brand, Diametro35, was once again able to stand out thanks to the Gold finish, inspired by the most precious of metals. A choice that gives the necessary elegance and vitality for the Meem Townhouse suites, in which the refinement of style is a particularly felt component. Thanks to the ergonomics of the shapes, a prerogative that guarantees maximum comfort during use, Diametro35 Gold is well suited to these sophisticated and elegant spaces, which it personalizes with a refined and unmistakable touch; the series fit perfectly into the context, becoming the ideal element around which the daily ritual of personal care and well-being was given new shape, redesigning it and making it unique. Designing hotel or contract spaces with Ritmonio products therefore means acting in a conscious manner, to guarantee an intelligent use of resources and satisfy the accommodation experience with a real all-round "wellness experience". Perfect features for the top hotel standards: thanks also to Ritmonio products, guests of the Meem Townhouse go through a sort of "holistic journey" through all the nuances of hospitality, in a place that combines respect for tradition with all the requests of contemporary luxury living.

What more could you ask for than a personal luxury resort, hidden away in the privacy of your back garden? Breathtaking treehouses, boasting bespoke tree decks wrapped around your favourite view. Beautiful lines and quality craftsmanship; sunken bubbling spas and the latest in luxury living, all tucked away under an African thatched roof. A promise of blissful relaxation and tranquil surroundings at the end of every day. A chance for some much needed 'me time' in which to pamper your body and soothe your soul. Who would say NO to a little piece of heaven in your very own backyard - the chance to escape from reality and experience the sheer joy a 'Treehouse' life? Paul Cameron - www.treehouselife.co.uk

Window of Life - a frame of reference, a perspective I believe the strongest power of a person is their perspective, perception or frame of reference which is borne through our intrinsic values, principles and philosophy. It is unique to everyone because these values, principles or frame of reference comes about from our life's experiences which culminates in these values and it is as unique to everyone like our finger prints, no two are the same. As its said “one may be born in a village but the village is not borne by him”. Through the window of our eyes we see and perceive the world around us as we experience life and what we perceive we own. The eye is a sophisticated recoding device that fashions our feelings. The intricate recoding of war is best recorded through the eyes of the survivors. They have the convoluted recording which becomes their frame of reference portraying the lose, pain and degradation. Photographs may never be able to convey they way it feels. As a black male African, it is my perspective, frame of reference that drives me to with stand stereotyping. We all have dreams, potentials and life with a purpose built through the window of life and how we perceive the world.

As Inside Out Oxford’s Jim has qualified as a Mental Health First Aider, we thought it’d be interesting to look into the wellbeing benefits of using a bespoke garden room as a home office… 1. NO MORE STRESSFUL COMMUTE The average office worker spends between one and three hours travelling to and from work. Imagine simply crossing your garden instead! The reduced stress from not having to barge your way through the crowds for a seat on the bus or train, and cutting the risk of being stuck in a traffic jam, has a huge impact on mental health. And think about all that extra time you’ll have! You can hang out with the family, exercise, do something fun or just end your working day and relax that little bit sooner. If you spend two hours a day commuting that’s over 520 hours (or 21.5 days a year) free to do something else. 2. WORK AND HOME LIFE STAY SEPARATE Setting boundaries to separate your work and personal life not only increases efficiency at work, but it also reduces stress in your personal life, as anyone working from the kitchen table or bedroom can tell you! A key element of replenishing vital mental energy is having a physical detachment from work and home. The simple act of leaving the office after work helps with this, but this is impossible if you are working within the home. That’s why having a bespoke garden room as a home office, and creating physical boundaries between work and domestic life, is so mentally beneficial - and can help reduce burnout, too. 3. NATURE IS GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life has been scientifically proven to benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing, and can make you feel calm. Research found even just looking at a green space (for example through the window of your garden office) can reduce stress levels and boost a person’s ability to concentrate. So working in your home office while looking out at the garden, as well as bringing plants into your workspace, is a foolproof mood booster.

As Inside Out Oxford’s Jim has qualified as a Mental Health First Aider, we thought it’d be interesting to look into the wellbeing benefits of using a bespoke garden room as a home office… 1. NO MORE STRESSFUL COMMUTE The average office worker spends between one and three hours travelling to and from work. Imagine simply crossing your garden instead! The reduced stress from not having to barge your way through the crowds for a seat on the bus or train, and cutting the risk of being stuck in a traffic jam, has a huge impact on mental health. And think about all that extra time you’ll have! You can hang out with the family, exercise, do something fun or just end your working day and relax that little bit sooner. If you spend two hours a day commuting that’s over 520 hours (or 21.5 days a year) free to do something else. 2. WORK AND HOME LIFE STAY SEPARATE Setting boundaries to separate your work and personal life not only increases efficiency at work, but it also reduces stress in your personal life, as anyone working from the kitchen table or bedroom can tell you! A key element of replenishing vital mental energy is having a physical detachment from work and home. The simple act of leaving the office after work helps with this, but this is impossible if you are working within the home. That’s why having a bespoke garden room as a home office, and creating physical boundaries between work and domestic life, is so mentally beneficial - and can help reduce burnout, too. 3. NATURE IS GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life has been scientifically proven to benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing, and can make you feel calm. Research found even just looking at a green space (for example through the window of your garden office) can reduce stress levels and boost a person’s ability to concentrate. So working in your home office while looking out at the garden, as well as bringing plants into your workspace, is a foolproof mood booster.

As Inside Out Oxford’s Jim has qualified as a Mental Health First Aider, we thought it’d be interesting to look into the wellbeing benefits of using a bespoke garden room as a home office… 1. NO MORE STRESSFUL COMMUTE The average office worker spends between one and three hours travelling to and from work. Imagine simply crossing your garden instead! The reduced stress from not having to barge your way through the crowds for a seat on the bus or train, and cutting the risk of being stuck in a traffic jam, has a huge impact on mental health. And think about all that extra time you’ll have! You can hang out with the family, exercise, do something fun or just end your working day and relax that little bit sooner. If you spend two hours a day commuting that’s over 520 hours (or 21.5 days a year) free to do something else. 2. WORK AND HOME LIFE STAY SEPARATE Setting boundaries to separate your work and personal life not only increases efficiency at work, but it also reduces stress in your personal life, as anyone working from the kitchen table or bedroom can tell you! A key element of replenishing vital mental energy is having a physical detachment from work and home. The simple act of leaving the office after work helps with this, but this is impossible if you are working within the home. That’s why having a bespoke garden room as a home office, and creating physical boundaries between work and domestic life, is so mentally beneficial - and can help reduce burnout, too. 3. NATURE IS GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life has been scientifically proven to benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing, and can make you feel calm. Research found even just looking at a green space (for example through the window of your garden office) can reduce stress levels and boost a person’s ability to concentrate. So working in your home office while looking out at the garden, as well as bringing plants into your workspace, is a foolproof mood booster.

As Inside Out Oxford’s Jim has qualified as a Mental Health First Aider, we thought it’d be interesting to look into the wellbeing benefits of using a bespoke garden room as a home office… 1. NO MORE STRESSFUL COMMUTE The average office worker spends between one and three hours travelling to and from work. Imagine simply crossing your garden instead! The reduced stress from not having to barge your way through the crowds for a seat on the bus or train, and cutting the risk of being stuck in a traffic jam, has a huge impact on mental health. And think about all that extra time you’ll have! You can hang out with the family, exercise, do something fun or just end your working day and relax that little bit sooner. If you spend two hours a day commuting that’s over 520 hours (or 21.5 days a year) free to do something else. 2. WORK AND HOME LIFE STAY SEPARATE Setting boundaries to separate your work and personal life not only increases efficiency at work, but it also reduces stress in your personal life, as anyone working from the kitchen table or bedroom can tell you! A key element of replenishing vital mental energy is having a physical detachment from work and home. The simple act of leaving the office after work helps with this, but this is impossible if you are working within the home. That’s why having a bespoke garden room as a home office, and creating physical boundaries between work and domestic life, is so mentally beneficial - and can help reduce burnout, too. 3. NATURE IS GOOD FOR MENTAL HEALTH Spending time in green space or bringing nature into your everyday life has been scientifically proven to benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing, and can make you feel calm. Research found even just looking at a green space (for example through the window of your garden office) can reduce stress levels and boost a person’s ability to concentrate. So working in your home office while looking out at the garden, as well as bringing plants into your workspace, is a foolproof mood booster.

Kensington Drawing Room, with purple swivel club chairs and antique mirror coffee table. Mirror panels in the alcoves are medium antiqued. The silver accessories maintain the neutral scheme with accents of deep purple. For all interior design and product information, please contact us at info@gzid.co.uk

The kitchen at The Peacock Project was designed around a family with strong roots to their heritage with a need for cooking, entertaining, and the everyday life. We also incorporated a lot of personal details into this home with custom artwork and pottery by our client's children.

The owners of this Randwick semi-detached home came to The Designory looking to improve the overall flow and use of the home, update the joinery throughout and redesign their open plan kitchen. The brief for the kitchen design was to create an improved flow from the entrance to the house through to the open plan Kitchen, Dining and Living areas as well as improve the storage and layout for a more functional cooking and entertaining space. The client a creative herself, also loved a palette of timber, natural stones, greys with small hints of interests. The Designory team worked closely with the owners to bring the project to life by opening the spaces further to create a true indoor/outdoor connection and selecting special personal elements to create a bespoke finished project that the client loved. CREDITS: Designer: Larissa Raywood Builder: B2 Construction Photography: Danella Chalmers

This bedroom was designed for a mature, ten year old boy. After completing the MINI CASA client questionnaire with the child and his parents, I was able to get to know his personality and understand the functional requirements for the space. The boy has a spirit of adventure and a strong interest in marine life which directed the theme and colour palette. Functionally, it was important to create a space for him to study, sleep and relax with friends. As the parents intend for this room design to serve their child until he leaves home, it was important to select a timeless colour palette and quality pieces of furniture that the boy can grow into.

The kitchen at The Peacock Project was designed around a family with strong roots to their heritage with a need for cooking, entertaining, and the everyday life. We also incorporated a lot of personal details into this home with custom artwork and pottery by our client's children.

Our clients hired us to completely renovate and furnish their PEI home — and the results were transformative. Inspired by their natural views and love of entertaining, each space in this PEI home is distinctly original yet part of the collective whole. We used color, patterns, and texture to invite personality into every room: the fish scale tile backsplash mosaic in the kitchen, the custom lighting installation in the dining room, the unique wallpapers in the pantry, powder room and mudroom, and the gorgeous natural stone surfaces in the primary bathroom and family room. We also hand-designed several features in every room, from custom furnishings to storage benches and shelving to unique honeycomb-shaped bar shelves in the basement lounge. The result is a home designed for relaxing, gathering, and enjoying the simple life as a couple.

Brunswick Parlour transforms a Victorian cottage into a hard-working, personalised home for a family of four. Our clients loved the character of their Brunswick terrace home, but not its inefficient floor plan and poor year-round thermal control. They didn't need more space, they just needed their space to work harder. The front bedrooms remain largely untouched, retaining their Victorian features and only introducing new cabinetry. Meanwhile, the main bedroom’s previously pokey en suite and wardrobe have been expanded, adorned with custom cabinetry and illuminated via a generous skylight. At the rear of the house, we reimagined the floor plan to establish shared spaces suited to the family’s lifestyle. Flanked by the dining and living rooms, the kitchen has been reoriented into a more efficient layout and features custom cabinetry that uses every available inch. In the dining room, the Swiss Army Knife of utility cabinets unfolds to reveal a laundry, more custom cabinetry, and a craft station with a retractable desk. Beautiful materiality throughout infuses the home with warmth and personality, featuring Blackbutt timber flooring and cabinetry, and selective pops of green and pink tones. The house now works hard in a thermal sense too. Insulation and glazing were updated to best practice standard, and we’ve introduced several temperature control tools. Hydronic heating installed throughout the house is complemented by an evaporative cooling system and operable skylight. The result is a lush, tactile home that increases the effectiveness of every existing inch to enhance daily life for our clients, proving that good design doesn’t need to add space to add value.

Never in their wildest dreams could the clients have ever imagined the possibilities that existed for their tired, segregated and completely non-functional kitchen. The remodeling of the entire space not only presented the opportunity to create a kitchen that the owners had only dream of, but one that would reflect the quality of the home.
The brief was very clear: to create an open-plan kitchen that integrated into the living room whilst still remaining a defined space; provided direct physical and visual access to the newly landscaped outdoor pool and alfresco area without being a thoroughfare; satisfied the requirements of an enthusiastic and demanding gourmand by creating a kitchen that “feels like home" yet still packs a punch for the purposes of entertaining friends and business associates.
The original kitchen resided at the rear of the home in a small closed in room which bar a small opening remained completely separated from the living room making it virtually impossible for the owners to entertain. To pave the way for the sought after open-plan living the dividing wall that separated the kitchen and living room was bought down – a concept the clients had never even considered until now.
The new galley style design required access from several directions. The result is an innovative solution based on a design where the kitchen can be approached from all angles, allowing it to merge with the surrounding living areas as well as offer full view of the beautifully landscaped backyard.
The juxtaposition of parallel and perpendicular forms creates a pleasing aesthetic within the room making the most of light and air within the space.
At the heart of it all is the large unusual ‘L shaped’ island bench which anchors the utility of the kitchen and provides a solid foundation on which the rest of the room comes to life. As the activity hub of the kitchen, it serves dual purposes of preparation and breakfast bar/casual seating (for the master of the home) as well as providing additional serving space, particularly when entertaining.
Finished with a soft lacquered linear timber veneer, the island bench feature adds a sense of solidity to the room and contrasts perfectly with the block colour grey tones used in the remaining high gloss lacquered cabinetry and tiled floor. In addition to providing an interesting textural element to the space, the raised veneer section on the island cleverly conceals the cleaning/sink zone and ensures the preparation mess is hidden from view when entertaining
A fully functional ‘working wall’ of cabinets provides the perfect storage solution in a narrow space. Pantry storage plays a major role with a variety of pull out inner drawers. A number of high end Miele appliances have been integrated into the wall enhancing the cutting edge European look whilst also providing all the functional requirements of the clients demanding cooking style. To make the heights of the combi oven and combi steam (including warming drawer) align, a custom stainless steel drawer was designed for under the combi oven. The effect of this is a seamless look, as if the drawer is part of the appliances themselves.
Well considered functional details add practicality to the room such as the appliance cupboard where pivot sliding doors cleverly conceal a pull out stainless steel bench top. The cupboard serves dual purposes keeping everyday appliances such as the toaster and kettle hidden from view, yet easily accessible whilst also providing another work centre for the client.
Elements of the cabinetry extend to the sunroom where a custom made day bed has been incorporated into the existing bay window area creating visual continuity and cohesion
The project demonstrated some design constraints that had to be overcome. As the house is on a concrete slab there were some initial mechanical challenges reconfiguring the kitchen, as the original layout would significantly restrict what we wanted to achieve. Plumbing was trenched into the slab taking into account the necessary fall for the distance it was being moved and wiring for the electrical was also trenched in to both the slab and the block wall that backed onto the new ‘working wall’.
Another consideration was the desire to retain the existing parquetry flooring throughout the home while replacing the old clip-lock floating floor that resided in the old kitchen. As a solution 600X600 ‘steel grey’ polished tiles were used throughout the kitchen space. Careful placement of the tiles was necessary to ensure visually correct placement delineating the kitchen from the living area, creating a defined space sought after by the clients.
Working closely with the owners the stylized selection of materials and finishes reflects the client’s personal style. The strong colour palette is functional and elegant and complements the modern lines. The deep charcoals make a dramatic statement and are brought to life by the stark white bench tops and warm timber tones in the veneer.
In keeping with the streamlined finish requested by the owners, shadow line finger pulls create a flush finish along the surface of the cabinets and ensure that nothing protrudes into the work areas. Overhead cupboards have been fitted with tip-on touch catches to maintain the minimal look.
The overall transformation shows what is possible when adaptive design techniques focus on the possibilities within an entire space and not an existing room. The design reflects the very best in contemporary kitchen design, clever utilization of space through innovative and multi-functional structural elements. A unique approach to the application of materials, colours and textures result in a space that is efficient, attractive and above all else perfectly suited to the owners needs. The owners not only have a light-filled space, but now have all the inspiration they need to gather their family and friends for a meal and entertain in ultimate style.

Andrew Lee Photography
Eat-in kitchen - contemporary eat-in kitchen idea in Other with an undermount sink, flat-panel cabinets and black cabinets

That dip in the couch with grooves shaped perfectly to the curve of your back. Worn out dog ears in the book you borrowed marking each time your eyes started to close. An old adored skip in your favourite record and a life spent amongst the trees with only the city in sight. The weekend is yours and the world is low below. Welcome to the Hunting for George Loft Collection. This collection is reminiscent of New York loft living, converted warehouses and large light filled spaces. The collection was shot on location, in a converted warehouse in Melbourne and features a diverse range of stunning pieces for your home which are all available now at Hunting for George.

DINING AREA. This Malvern cottage was built 10 years before we began work and lacked any character. It was our job to give the home some personality and on this occasion we felt the best solution would be achieved by taking the property back to a shell and re-designing the space. We introducing beams, altered window sizes, added new doors and moved walls. We also gave the house kerb appeal by altering the front and designing a new porch. Finally, the back garden was landscaped to provide a complete finish.

Inspiration for a victorian kitchen remodel in Other with glass-front cabinets, an undermount sink and dark wood cabinets