Arteriors Present a Furniture Collection Inspired by the Natural World

Founded in 1987 in the United States by Mark Moussa - now the president at the helm of the brand - Arteriors are celebrating 35 years as leaders and trendsetters in the world of luxury lighting, furniture, and accessories.

Known for delivering impeccable quality pieces and artisanal craftsmanship, Arteriors debuted its new Spring Summer 22 collection at London Design Week in Chelsea Harbour’s Design Centre in March.

Featuring strong links to the natural world, malleable wickers and rattans, grained mango woods, natural abaca, and solid teak feature across the collection highlighting hues of neutral beige, warmer mid-tones and shades of burnt ash.

Taking inspiration from motifs found in nature alongside shapes representative of the animal kingdom – incorporating mushrooms, meandering garden vines, and abstract botanicals into designs across items from furniture to lighting and accessories - this collection is all about grounded interiors in an ode to mother nature.

Expanding seasonally with 500 new products launching per bi-annual collection, Arteriors shows its diversity and creativity by working closely with skilled designers and pulling inspiration from around the world, always balancing nature and design - from the understated to the unexpected, offering an extraordinary assortment with special attention to material, scale and finish.

For this collection in particular, bringing textural variation and material innovation inspired by traditional craftsmen in Southeast Asia allows designs to merge modern creativity with traditional resources and expertise.

“We honour the ingenuity of our master artisans, passing down from generation to generation. Perhaps none more significant than those from Southeast Asia, where intrinsic artistry has inspired our collection of natural materials with inventive detail. Modern forms, rich textures & craftsmanship evoke a contemporary yet warm aesthetic.” - Arteriors Design Team

Browse items from the latest collection online at www.arteriorshome.com or visit the London showroom to see the designs first hand.

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Introducing the Fusion Collection from leading British manufacturer of the finest architectural hardware, Croft. With a history of over 150 years, Croft remain a family-owned company that specialise in crafting unique, hand-finished decorative hardware that displays unparalleled attention to detail.

Incapsulating industrial architecture whilst successfully balancing style, strength and quality, the Fusion Collection comprises of a door handle on a covered rose, T bar mortice knob, bathroom turn, and cabinet fittings in over 25 different finishes and patinas, including Light Antique Brass and Autumn Bronze to add warmth to the home.

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SBID is excited to introduce a new weekly blog series - the Judges' Interviews - in which, leading up to the 2022 SBID Awards ceremony, you will get to meet and find out more about the people who will be evaluating the contestants' projects this year!

In this week's interview with SBID Awards Product Design judge; design advisor & founder of Habitus Design Group, Samantha Drummond discusses her views on the hospitality sector, what innovations are needed in those spaces and how hospitality design can shape the guest experience.

How would you define the power of design?

Design is a means to problem solving. In a hospitality setting, this begins with understanding the customers', as well as the client's, needs and aspirations and from this developing a framework for concept development, innovation and creativity. Such an approach is as much linked to strategy as it is to aesthetics. Yes of course the look and feel are important but what matters even more is how the design makes guests feel. Are they at ease? Is their curiosity aroused while their sense of belonging is stimulated? Will the memories they take away with them convert family and friends into your next guests? Design has the power to evoke emotions, to change the way people experience a space and to encourage them to stay longer.

You design both extraordinarily large resorts and boutique, single-purpose hospitality destinations. How would you compare the challenges?

In fact, the creation of large resorts and small hospitality destinations face many similar challenges. All projects, regardless of size, require the same fundamental disciplines.

However, one thing that is different is that the larger the project, the larger the team and therefore more people management is required, sometimes internationally across different time zones. Also, it’s often the case that larger projects have more aggressive deadlines in order to achieve completion on multiple spaces simultaneously.

How do you use design to shape the guest experience?

Hospitality design is a wonderful opportunity to create a stage for guests to live a charmed life during their stay. We aim to craft experiences that make guests feel glamorous, special and cherished. There are many elements that go into the design mix but I do think lighting is very important in shaping the experience as are unexpected surprises – a beautiful repurposed item for example or curated collections of books and, of course, bespoke artwork. Such things help guests connect emotionally, add layers of meaning and create memories.

What inspires you both professionally and personally?

So much inspires me – I think that’s the nature of being a designer... food, art, music, craftmanship, the natural world. In my work, I love to take on an empty building, a vacant plot of land or even nothing more than a vision in the client’s mind. That’s when I really have to use my imagination to come up with something genuine which hasn’t been done before while also engaging my Advisory head and making a sound business case for my proposal.

There is also the ‘who’ inspires me and here I have been so lucky. From my extraordinary clients who have taught me so much about business over the years to the many world-acclaimed architects, designers, artists and chefs I have been privileged to collaborate with. They have all been an inspiration.

Do you think there are any hospitality sectors that would particularly benefit from product innovation?

Wellness is a sector that is constantly evolving in terms of treatments, new experiences and now the wide offering from pampering to medical interventions, mind and body wellbeing. I am sure there is opportunity for product innovation here. I also think that in the aftermath of the pandemic, “working from alternative locations” has become a way of life and the hotel bedroom desk could be ripe for a renaissance. However, this will not be as before. An innovative approach to resolving the room’s working space is definitely called for.

Cover image: Private Residence, Denmark

Questions answered by Samantha Drummond, Design Advisor & Founder, Habitus Design Group.

This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a daring yet cosy apartment design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, IDA SRL & RS Interiores.

Take a tour!

What was the client's brief? 

Our client was looking to design their home, an apartment with earthy tones. They had not thought of any style or hadn't stumbled upon ideas that they would have liked in detail.

What inspired the design of the project?

The inspiration for this design came from my clients own personality, once we sat down to talk about them, I had the picture in mind of what their home would look like. A sleek super simple yet edgy design, industrial yet comforting spaces.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

The hardest hurdle to overcome was choosing the correct colour tones, shades of neutral and nude colours to go along with such a daring yet laid back design concept.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

I just loved the way everything came together, from the textures, colour tones and overall furnishings.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

I have been an SBID Member and former winner for a few years now; I believe in the community, we are a group of professionals in design who support each other and push each other to be better - this is why I enter the SBID awards each year.

Questions answered by Rosadela Serulle, Head Interior & Lighting Designer, IDA SRL & RS Interiores.

What strikes you about this West Sussex kitchen on first glance is the sheer number of finishes and techniques on display. Testament to the craftsmanship and skill involved in creating it, the space has been transformed from its previous incarnation. “When I first visited the house, the kitchen was dated but the room as a whole was bursting with potential,” remembers Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio. Here, he reveals how he channelled his client's love of antiques and eclecticism to turn it into a sociable space designed for serious cooking.

What was the brief?

The couple are keen on entertaining, but the kitchen also has to function as an ad-hoc office, as our client's partner works from home. And then, because our client works in an auction house and loves antiques, they wanted us to take an eclectic approach to the design with a rich mix of materials and finishes. In this case, less is not more! My brief was to create the feel of freestanding furniture, rather than of a fitted kitchen – so it looks like somebody has gone out and bought lots of lovely pieces. As such, the kitchen we designed for the couple is a beautiful, informal, living, dining and kitchen space that ticks all boxes.

What can you tell us about the metallic finishes?

When the couple visited our Notting Hill showroom, they instantly fell in love with our signature Metallics Collection copper-fronted cabinets. Naturally, we integrated two into the design — either side of the window for a lovely framing effect. The copper is a living finish that will mature over time, developing a rich patina.

How did you create the paint effect on the cabinetry?

The painted cabinets were given a primer in our workshops and then hand painted in situ by our artist Emma, in close collaboration with the client. The beautiful burnished paint effect was inspired by the grey-green elements in a favourite copper vase. There are four hand-painted layers, one of which is a tinted pearlescent. This makes the paint shimmer, so the colour isn’t flat, and it’s this that unites all the finishes in the kitchen.

What is the purpose of the freestanding cabinet?

This tall freestanding piece acts as a breakfast cupboard housing a coffee machine, toaster, kettle and all other breakfast paraphernalia. It has the aged-pewter finish on the doors, over which we've put a protective finish so that fingerprints don't mark it and the surface is easy to clean.

The cabinets below the breakfast cupboard feature a pattern we call Choppy Water. Solid oak panels were carved and then stained dark to create the effect. If you look carefully, you’ll see that it’s been finished with gold-leaf appliqué, which injects a dash of glamour into the kitchen. Both the wood and the appliqué are protected by a 5% sheen lacquer. The Choppy Water finish has also been used on the appliance housing opposite.

What material did you use for the worktops and why?

We used the same work surface throughout, which is a man-made quartz called Arabesque from Stone Italiana. It is a very practical solution — non porous, hard wearing, resistant to heat and scratching, and does not require sealing. What’s more, it allowed us to seamlessly incorporate a sink, also in Arabesque. Losing the join lines between the worktop and the sink lends the kitchen a sleek look.

Ledbury Studio kitchens start from £50,000.

Timeless elegance is guaranteed with Versilia Marble from RAK Ceramics, a porcelain tile that will bring an air of luxury to any setting.

Inspired by the natural, effortless beauty of marble, with all the practical advantages that porcelain brings to interiors, Versilia Marble displays striking grey veining set against a neutral white backdrop for instant attention.

Durable, straightforward to install and easy to care for, this revised classy marble surface is the ideal choice for worktops, wall surfaces and floor coverings. The high gloss finish gives the material the edge, even when used over compact spaces where reflecting light equals the illusion of spaciousness.

Tapping into the continental trend for worktops with a slim profile, Versilia Marble is 9mm thick and in measurements from 60x120cm per tile. The Mega Slab format allows for greater consistency when used over large areas, with less need for grout lines and a seamless finish.

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In response to the changing pressures on kitchen-living environments to keep them tidier and more organised, The Myers Touch Design Studio are increasingly designing kitchen pantries and larders in a range of custom solutions, so homeowners can hideaway dry foods and small appliances whilst keeping them accessible to the main kitchen space.

“A truly great kitchen will include great storage for all your family food preparation, cooking and entertaining requirements. We love the re-emergence of the pantry; that tucked away place to arrange and carefully store food, from flour and potatoes to hams and jams. Away from the harm of underfloor heating and tempted pets, these well-ventilated rooms can be as simple as a dark cupboard or as elaborate as a glass-framed minikitchen. Visibility of goods, and easy access are crucial, as is flexibility, allowing for those 3-for-one offers on extra-large boxes of cereals! Even better if you can include a fair-sized worktop for storing plated buffet food when entertaining" - Keith Myers, Director of The Myers Touch.

Traditionally a staple in every British household, larders and pantries designed by The Myers Touch range in sizes and styles. From freestanding units and pantry solutions opened via pocket doors, to large walk-in pantries and larders featuring floor-to-ceiling shelving and box storage, pantries and larders are increasingly seen by consumers as a modern essential in a new kitchen. Even within smaller kitchen spaces that don’t have the space for a walk-in larder, tall cabinets with multiple drawers, pull-out drawers and shelves are a popular option for organising supplies and keeping worktops and cabinetry clutter-free.

Bespoke pantries and larders are also a chance for their design team to truly reflect a customer's personality within a scheme. From colourful interiors that contains internal wicker storage baskets, shelving and marble countertops to pull-out drawers that store spices, sauces, dry foods and pet foods, many customers are embracing their hidden pantry or larder as a statement piece within their kitchen.

"By incorporating both bespoke and SieMatic’s multi-award winning ‘Multimatic’ modular storage system within our pantries and larder spaces allows our design team to truly customise storage systems within our kitchen spaces. The Multimatic multi-functional aluminium system includes a comprehensive range of interior fittings for drawers and cabinets that gains around 30% more storage space. The flexible shelving system also provides easy storage for even tall objects such as bottles or chopping boards" - Helena Myers, Director of The Myers Touch.

The Myers Touch unique, holistic approach formula is to explore and apply a personal and bespoke ‘Design’ for a customer based on their ‘Life’ desires. Based on this formula, their design team carefully choose a range of cabinetry, materials, lighting, appliances and seating solutions to precisely match a client’s brief that brings ‘Light, Space & laughter’ into the finished design.

If you’d like to feature your project news here, get in touch to find out more. 

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In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards winners of the Flooring & Floor Coverings category, IVC Commercial, the designer shares details about the winning project, discuss the company's journey to becoming zero impact by 2040 and sheds light on the key considerations for specifying floors for different environments - commercial and residential.

How important is it to enter the SBID Awards & receive industry recognition for your work? What are the benefits?

We invest heavily in design and product development and pride ourselves on creating high performance flooring for commercial interiors. Entering awards are a key part of communicating our story of innovation to the design community. SBID’s stature makes the awards a must. To be recognised gives the entire company a lift and supports conversations around new technologies to a wider audience. In short, it is testament that the solutions we produce are recognised as among the best in the industry.

What do you think made this particular design an award winner?

Studio Moods gives designers the flexibility to achieve a truly bespoke floor, which I believe is its strongest asset. The floor is available in a variety of geometric, tessellating shapes and various wood, stone and colour effects. By choosing a personalised combination from these building blocks, designers can create a unique and exclusive design. Ultimately, Studio Moods makes bespoke flooring more accessible. The floor’s performance and recycled content also add to the many benefits of this collection.

Tell us about IVC Commercial’s ‘Journey to 2040’. How does the role of sustainability influence your approach to product design?

Our Journey to 2040 is a road map to reducing our footprint with the ambition to become zero impact. It influences the actions we take not only in development and design but also in manufacturing, installation and end of life. This manifests itself in many ways: the recycled content of products and research into materials that are easier to recycle, more efficient manufacturing, loose lay installation and post-use recovery and recycling.

Your flooring solutions span a wide range of sectors. What are the key considerations for designers when it comes to specifying flooring in a commercial space vs residential?

At IVC Commercial we specialise in flooring for commercial environments, but we are part of IVC Group – with residential brands including Moduleo and Leoline. Key is the ability of flooring to respond to the challenges of the project in question. Broadly, providing durability and remaining easy to maintain are two of the priorities. Specifically, it can be acoustics – particularly important in a growing number of environments – comfort and the ability of the floor to respond to design intentions. In the majority of the projects, it is a combination of this factors that determine the suitability of the floor for the space in question.

Now that you’ve won an SBID Award, what are the next steps? Is there anything new you are excited to be working on?

Based in Belgium, our research and development team is always busy working on new designs and innovations and we’ve already launched some fantastic new products to the market since we won the award for Studio Moods. Our new Imperfection carpet tile collection – inspired by the Japanese world view of wabi-sabi – is our first to be made from ECONYL®, a yarn that’s made from nylon waste including old fishing nets. It also features a 94% recycled content acoustic backing, so it’s a carpet tile that performs well for the environment, looks fabulous and improves comfort – maybe it’s even another winner! Of course, there’s plenty of exciting developments in the pipeline too.

What advice can you give to young designers starting out in the design industry?

I’d encourage young designers to be solution and client oriented and to take inspiration from lots of different sources. As an example, for our own product design we look to fashion and global trends as key sources, so it’s best to be open minded. With solutions for specific challenges you may be encountering on projects, it’s always worth talking to your flooring supplier as your default flooring option might not always be the best one for the job in question. We’re always more than happy to talk flooring at any stage of the project and might even be able to suggest a better solution to meet your needs.

Questions answered by Alison McLaughlan, UK head of marketing, IVC Commercial.

This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a modern high-tech office and urban farm design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Wolter & Yu.

Within a factory in an industrial district of Hong Kong is the future of farming - a high-tech urban aquaponics farm, sustainably growing high quality vegetables and flowers.
Part office and part grow room, the design takes the concept of flexibility and mobility to the extreme: Ceiling-mounted, bi-folding glass panels create a private meeting room when needed, but opens up the whole room for other needs. Dry erasable paint, is applied across the entire office wall, facilitating the free flow of ideas. Height-adjustable desks and ergonomic chairs create comfort for employees, behind HDTVs displaying operational metrics.

The plant room uses 3D printed plant walls mounted onto movable archival track shelves to create dense vertical grow farms. Nutrient rich water from a fish tank and electricity to power perpendicular panels of light are funnelled across the ceiling and down each movable shelf. This allows the farm to adjust the distance between each light panel according to the requirement of different types of vegetation, while excess water is filtered and returned to the fish tank, creating a closed ecosystem. The result is a sustainable, compact, flexible office and urban farm design. You can view a virtual tour here.

What was the client's brief? 

The brief for Full Nature was to convert a 180sqm unit in an old high-rise factory building in Hong Kong, into a high-tech urban farm that specialises in growing sustainable, aquaponic vegetables and edible flowers. The office is divided into 4 areas: 1. Entrance corridor, pantry & print zone; 2. Office Area (work zone & meeting zone); 3. Farm / Grow Area and 4. Washrooms & Shower.

The design responds to the client’s objective to find ways to improve sustainable farming. While aquaponics uses fewer resources compared to traditional farming, the design is a multidisciplinary approach to create use space more efficiently by introducing flexibility for both the company and the product. More importantly, we created a scalable modular system for the grow area by tackling product as well as spatial design.

What inspired the design of the project?

The words flexibility and mobility really drove the concept – instead of creating spaces that are dedicated to hosting clients and visitors, or plant rooms with corridors between each rack of plants planted in soil, we sought an intersection of design: hospitality, office and coworking, product, agriculture, and technology. For example, by using 3D printing to create vertical pockets of vegetation, we reduced the amount of soil needed, vertical water pipes mean no excess water would pool in one area but not another, and the amount of light and electricity required to run the whole farm was significantly reduced. It is definitely an unconventional project. We ventured into a collaboration where Full Nature had the urban farming know how, and we brought in our design knowledge, to create a comfortable office design that was also doing something good for our planet.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

Definitely space – one of the biggest tasks was to increase as much production as possible, without the detriment to the office and its employees. We wanted people to also feel happy to work there, and for guests to come in and feel in awe of the product. So we used only glass to divide the office room from the plant room: Every day you are going to work in an industrial building but no view, but you get greenery and bright warm light coming through while you work! The other difficulty was when we were designing the movable track system – trying to get water and electricity connected to long heavy shelves that move is very difficult and took some trial and error. We created prototypes with 3D printing to test out our ideas until we found a solution that worked.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The nature of the project is unique, current and forward-thinking. It’s not every day a client who wants to improve farming approaches you and says ‘I want to increase efficiency of my office and farm, but also make it look good!’ It’s a project that responds to current global issues, sustainability, limitation of resources and space. When we first started talking about this project, we found it was so well received amongst industry leaders but also the general public, so it’s a great feeling to have our design doing something good for our city, and having the great response to it afterwards.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

The esteemed SBID awards is well known, well regarded and well received. We wanted to share our experience and work with other designers and industry leaders. Being an SBID  finalist is an honour, and we look forward to entering other interesting projects in the near future!

Questions answered by Christina Yu, Lead Designer, Wolter & Yu.

The evolution of Silestone® has inspired Ethereal, a collection of white canvas surfaces with intricate marble look patterns which recreate the natural beauty of the sky.

In addition to kitchen and bathroom applications as a worktop or splashback, Silestone® is also ideal for more ambitious interior design projects where interior cladding, furniture cladding and flooring is required. Ethereal is perfect for both commercial and residential projects where a modern yet timeless aesthetic is desired.

Silestone® Ethereal features HybriQ+® technology, meaning that in the production process 99% of reused water from the production processes is used, along with 100% renewable electric energy. What's more, a minimum of 20% recycled raw materials are used in the material composition, alongside mineral raw materials, helping to provide an eco-friendly solution for luxury architectural or interior design projects.

Silestone® by Cosentino, the leading global hybrid mineral surface for the world of architecture and design, is excited to introduce its second collection worldwide under its new corporate image. The new Silestone® emblem and character has given rise to the Ethereal collection, which is supported with a major campaign featuring entrepreneur and international fashion icon, Cindy Crawford.

Ethereal by Silestone® represents a quantum leap in terms of design, innovation and sustainability, in line with the transition that Silestone® is undergoing externally and internally with the development of the cutting-edge HybriQ® and HybriQ+® technologies. This evolution of Silestone® has inspired Ethereal, a collection of white canvas surfaces with intricate marble look patterns which recreate the natural beauty of the sky, perfect for both commercial and residential projects where a modern yet timeless aesthetic is desired.

This marble-inspired collection consists of four colours, namely Ethereal Dusk, Ethereal Haze, Ethereal Glow, and Ethereal Noctis. Each colour showcases a deep, fine veining on a white foundation and thanks to HybriQ+® technology, they have been developed with at least 20% recycled raw materials, helping to provide an eco-friendly solution for luxury architectural or interior design projects.

Silestone® Ethereal Colours

Ethereal Glow is simply pure, classic elegance. Its golden and grey veining merges with a tinged white foundation, with veining running through the entire design to bring an accent of colour to every corner. Inspired by the sunset and its igneous colours and glow, it is an evolution of Silestone®'s internationally acclaimed and widely popular Eternal Calacatta Gold colour.

Ethereal Dusk showcases an urban look in which the bluish tone of its veining brings a modern and avant-garde touch to any space. It symbolises a unique, unforgettable and personal sunrise, with feelings of peace, solemnity and tranquility.

Ethereal Haze includes a dynamic range of grey tones to emit plenty of personality. It takes inspiration from the way the wind moves the clouds over the mountains, with the result both calm and characterful thanks to an interplay of gradients which blend into pure neutrality.

Ethereal Noctis is synonymous with sophistication. The tinged white foundation is broken up with short grey and black veins, providing contrast, depth, simplicity and modernity, inspired by the darkness after sunset.

If you’d like to feature your product news here, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.