Cuba’s capital, Havana, is celebrating its 500th year anniversary in November this year, a legacy that has led to a delightful cultural atmosphere, one that has drifted into the design sector. The style of Havana decor is a wonderful, bright and fun, as well as easy to replicate with a few simple touches. Here are some key trends that easily bring Cuban decor into your home.
Cuban decor is nostalgic and charming — a trend that is likely here to stay. With a few easy touches, a room can be transformed into a bright and fun haven to enjoy a mojito in as if you were in Havana!
After designing the pieces Let it Be and Come Together in 2017 and 2018, designers Ludovica and Roberta Palomba at Poltrona Frau have fortified their third installment that further pays homage to the Beatles. Get Back and the other two pieces inspired by the musical legends are welcoming, tailor-made pieces that offer a return to comfortable spaces, where one can really feel at home.
Get Back
Inspired by the refrain, “Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged,” the Get Back sofa was designed a product of “in-depth research into comfort,” according to the brand when the piece was introduced at this year’s Salone del Mobile.
With generous, spacious and open lines, reclined backrests that encourage relaxation, and numerous modular elements to combine freely in lots of different compositions, it’s difficult not to find a sense of inner peace when sitting on this sofa.
On top, soft cushions and chaise elements offer unexpected depth, as well as an alluring invitation to “Get back home” and enjoy the relaxing and convivial atmosphere of your living room.
Let it Be
Rejecting convention and formalism, Let it Be was the first of the Beatles-inspired modular furniture systems designed by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba for Poltrona Frau.
Channelling the popular Beatles song, this seating solution embraces and reinterprets the notion of the Roman triclinium where individuals lay down, ate, talked and lazed about in earlier times.
As a refuge for relaxation, the sofa’s infinite configurations afford individuals the opportunity to curate different arrangements to fit their space and lifestyle.
The purity of the design is accentuated with beautiful details including leather and saddle leather stitching as well as refined plush cushions.
Come Together
Keeping comfort and sociability in mind throughout the creative process, Come Together was born out of a desire to offer people a place for sharing — even moreso, an invitation to rediscover the dimension of physical and concrete proximity of exchanging ideas and emotions.
Each facet of the design encourages people to come together and enjoy the company of others. With limitless compositional possibilities, this system features a series of accessories that are versatile and functional.
Differing elements were designed to connect seating compositions to ultimately create more livable, shareable and convenient arrangements.
All photos courtesy Poltrona Frau.
KB Home Design Studio is known for working with customers as they are building a new home to help them personalize the space for their individual needs.
“Because each customer is unique with different tastes, we must be able to include choices that reflect many design aesthetics,” says Gena Kirk, Vice President of Design at KB Home.
This method comes readily at hand with a market that is continually evolving, with millennials currently making up the largest share of homebuyers in today’s market. We spoke with Kirk to learn more about how designers and brands like KB Home are staying on the pulse of emerging design trends and what millennials are really desiring in their homes.
What tools outside of work help inspire you while you work?
These are some of the mediums that aid me in selecting the best choices for our KB Home Design Studio customer. In addition to the usual interior design outlets that inspire me, I am also inspired by our supplier partner’s innovative products and consumer research such as Moen’s Magnetix Handheld Shower and Shaw’s Luxury Vinyl Plank flooring.
We’re accommodating a wide variety of customers who are looking to personalize their home at an affordable price so the more information we have about the products being developed and available the better we can provide value products to our KB customer.
Gena Kirk, Vice President of Design
KB Home
Are there some that don’t inspire but help you get away from work?
I am personally inspired by such mediums as home design shows, decorating magazines, Houzz, Pinterest, Apartment Therapy, decorating blogs and following retail furniture trends.
What kind of styles/trends are most prevalent in millennial-bought homes today, and why?
In millennial-built homes, we’re seeing from the KB Home Design studio a few things. For example, they’re prioritizing things such as flexible spaces within the home, an eye towards health and wellness, an interest in technology and a minimalist design. KB Home tracks these interests to make sure we’re offering our millennial buyer what they’re expecting and what they want to make their homes their own.
Millennials are purchasing only the square footage they need verses the biggest home they can afford. This makes flexible spaces very important to these buyers and they want to make best use of that space.
Millennials also have an interest in the home as a source of health and wellness. They have an interest in things like door fixtures that are antibacterial, or no-touch have become popular, as well as Energy Star HVAC that helps not only cut down on utility costs, but also provides clean indoor air.
Lastly, millennials are looking to a minimalist design aesthetic. This also helps maximize their living space and provide a clean, modern look. They will use neutral paint colors, like greige, to warm the space.
What has been your favorite project to work on at KB Home?
My favorite and most rewarding project to work on was designing, creating and building the new KB Design Studio. KB Home was able to highlight our personalization options in beautiful design studios across the company. Our suppliers have their product on display and are uniquely merchandised to promote customer interaction and product sales. Additionally, our customers love the interactive displays and organized choice making the selection process easy and fun!
Was there anything that inspired you specifically?
Designing the KB Home Studio was more challenging than designing a room. I considered the warm and welcoming feeling that I wanted the space to convey, as well as the idea that the KB Home studio needed to inspire our customers and provide them with a creative space to fully personalize and envision their new home.
KB Home Studio. All photos courtesy KB Home.
The powder room used to be an afterthought, but for people who entertain this space has become an important design moment. In fact, when it comes to luxury condo buildings, developers are now going above and beyond to create distinct powder rooms that leave a lasting impression – with details like custom wall paneling, unique custom lighting and specially made marble vanities that highlight today’s style trends. To perfect your own powder room, we’ve come up with a few tips based on stylish New York residences.
Embrace the Selfie Lighting
Often small spaces, powder rooms can still offer a great place to capture that perfect Instagram photo, especially if there is good lighting. To create the perfect selfie space, lighting must be on point to not only adequately brighten up the space, as well as both capture the best pose and highlight the style and decor of the room.
350 West 71st Street
Photo by Alan Hill / Redundant Pixel.
There is some flexibility in this regard. For example, this chic powder room located in one of the residences at 350 West 71st Street offers flawless, bright lighting, making it the perfect spot to apply makeup.
Soft light, however, offers some of the best places to take photos. A great example is seen at 555 West End Avenue, where the mellow glow of the lit mirror highlight the powder room’s luxurious features, from the custom Calacatta gold countertops to the Lefroy Brooks fixtures.
With this lighting choice, you achieve a warm, inviting aesthetic that people will spend trying their best to capture.
555 West End Avenue
Photo by Hayes Davidson.
Keeping Fashion-Forward
Staying on trend can sometimes be difficult when it comes to home design, so the best way to do so is highlight classic, elegant finishes that remain stylish over time, while incorporating accents and decor that is on trend. Some classic finishes are beautiful marble counters and sinks, black and white tiles or wallpaper, and metallic detailing.
One Waterline Square
Photo by Noe & Associates with The Boundary.
Designed by celebrated architect, Robert A.M. Stern, 30 Park Place offers 157 residences, all managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Within the powder rooms of Penthouse 78B, marble vanities offer a minimalistic yet beautiful setting with its clean lines and silver accents, both elegant and modern.
The Champalimaud-designed powder rooms at One Waterline Square are jewel-box-like spaces fashioned in striking black and white marble.
Every bit as luxurious as the master baths, the sparkling powder rooms feature best-in-class materials and fixtures, including polished Bianco Dolomiti marble flooring, polished Nero Marquina marble vanities and feature walls, Dornbracht fittings, and more.
30 Park Place
Photo by 30 Park Place.
Customization is Key
No matter your style, custom finishes or accents are also a defining decor element that can make or break the style of your powder room. Detailed design elements and customized, select finishes make a strong modern statement, create warmth and elegance in every space. Not only will these be a unique focal point, but inspirational in design for those looking to spruce up their own spaces.
Greenwich West
Photo by Alan Tansey.
Located at 110 Charlton Street, Greenwich West’s interiors have been beautifully designed by star Parisian architect and interior designer Sebastien Segers, who is known for his work with clients such as Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior and more.
A standout within, the powder rooms at Greenwich West are outfitted in Zebrino marble with custom-designed curved vanities featuring Laufen toilets and Hansgrohe Axor Bouroullec collection fittings in polished nickel.
A contrast of black and white, Segers’ signature ogee edge shape makes this a statement room.
Custom designing everything in the 61 light filled residences at 40 Bleecker in NoHo, the powder rooms leave no detail unturned.
Within the powder rooms, hand-selected statuary marble envelops the area and a unique lighting design by Bill Schwinghammer.
40 Bleeker
Photo by Bjorn Wallender.