AKOKO - VISUALISATION AND DESIGN BY FARM VISUALS

Visualisation by Farm Visuals

Visualisation by Farm Visuals

Visualisation by Farm Visuals

I met with the client for this beautiful project towards the end of 2017.  He wanted to create a contemporary Nigerian cuisine experience - the setting to showcase the ambiance and best of Nigerian Culture

Aji off course was also interested in using our beautiful natural Clay-works clay plasters for the interior walls and ceilings to represent the rich heritage of open wood cooking - the oldest method of cooking known.  Shown here is a beautiful rustic clay plaster to represent the smokey ambers and glowing red ames.  The rest of the interior will have a more contemporary feel - in keeping with the theme

Introducing Aji to Jack from Farm Visuals came next - and together they could develop the brief and design the Architecture Concept for what will be a truly unique restaurant and dining experience in London

I am super impressed by how lifelike these visualisations are looking and even more excited to see this project come off the ground

Amazing work from the guys at Farm

Image renders via Farm Visuals

THE HIDE OUT RENOVATED BY DAN BRUNN ARCHITECTS

Originally designed by Frank Gehry, recently renovated by Dan Brunn Architects and located in Los Angeles Little Osaka neighbourhood

Images via Dezeen

Read the full story here

THE COW SHED : SUFFOLK : BY NASH BAKER ARCHITECTS

I love this project by Nash Baker Architects


Photo credits:  Nick Guttridge
Images via:  Nash Baker Architects

JUST BE YOU

an urban village original

JUST BE YOU

What does it mean though to ‘be you’

In a world where we are constantly being bombarded by having to behave this way or that way or looking like we have just stepped off a magazine cover or driving this car or that - what about just being you - to not be recognized as a matter of your belongings or what you have achieved - but to be recognised by your truth, by speaking your truth and by living your truth and by standing up for your truth

I believe the more of us stand together in our uniqueness, in our perfectly flawed humanness - that vibration of realness will start resonating with more and more people and soon we will be a whole collective of humanity - a mass of humankind - human kind - that in our tribes and droves will pull together and form a powerful movement of love and of light and of warmth 

I think its already started happening

I imagine a beautiful spiderweb with soft sparkly threads with each strand connecting at very specific points to form the most perfect web

Imagine each one of us - are those connecting points on that beautiful and perfectly formed web - our place just perfect and within that we form a perfect whole.

Now imagine I want to be you - so I start mirroring you, your behaviour - what you say and what you do, how you do your hair …. and soon my connecting point disappears and your connecting point becomes thicker - if more and more of us want to become someone else - the more and more gaps there will be forming in this once perfectly formed web - and it will start being off balance

When the web has too many holes - too many copies of copies of copies of people - the web will become too week to stay strong enough to stick together….. and we will start picking holes in each other because of the holes in our web

It feels like we need to almost forget everything we think we now and learn anew how to be me and you how to be you - spend some time hanging with your soul - and really feel how does it feel to just be you

You are enough, you are perfect - you are exactly where you need to be

The more true we become to our selves - the more space we make for our soul to shine, and the less space there is for our ego to want to change us into something we are not.  When we are in this state of accepting our true self - just purely by the act of acceptance, we are allowing ourselves the space to grow into the most perfect version of ourselves - and therefore move back to our original space, our original connecting point in that perfectly formed web - imagine it so thin and so beautiful yet so delicate with sunlight and dewdrops now being caught by this web - and suddenly the most beautiful rainbow colours are reflecting and shining out from each and every connecting point on this web - and this web is starting to rotate and move and with each rotation each connecting point are getting stronger and stronger and truer and truer to themselves - yet it all happens collectively because of the connectivity between each of us, between each point - until it reaches a point where the force of the rotation causes the web the disintegrate in the most beautiful of explosion allowing each one of those tiny little connecting points to go off into the atmosphere and slowly growing new connections and forming a new webs until the whole is connected as one big beautiful rainbow of magnificence

Imagine recognising each other from a place of truth- and moving in our lives from that place of realness and rawness - but also imagine once we start accepting ourselves and our place - by accepting it - we are actively standing in our place - and therefore we are allowing ourselves the space to grow into where we need to be…… its all about the ebbing and the flowing like the phases of the moon and tides - neither are fighting the other - a perfect unison in movement creating an energy field that will draw in what is needed and release what no longer serves us

Making space to draw in more of what is needed and releasing each time that which no longer serves us ….. nothing is permanent, we are forever changing - but only by accepting our truth we are allowing the changing to happen - when we are fighting our truth - that is when we become stuck, we become stagnant - we feel stuck

And because we think from a place of self and not from a place of truth -the place of self wants to be seen

The place of truth is just being

CALMA UBUD - BEAUTIFUL NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Sometimes we stumble upon a website or in my case a beautiful stay - and you just feel like you have arrived - and you are home

That's how I felt when I found Calma Ubud - and yes .... the feeling of calm, and peacefulness and tranquility all springs to mind.  A gentle structure nestled amongst the ricefields in a traditional Balinese village just outside Ubud - surrounded by nature - and magical sunsets at night

I love the lightness and the brightness and the vast open plan lounge and breakfast area that overlooks the soothing turquoise waters of the swimming pool - pool view, ricefield view - nature all around
What more can one want?

This a small luxury resort with only 10 beautifully designed individual guest rooms and suites - the emphasis here is definitely the simplicity of the design, the traditional Balinese craftsmanship enhanced by the contemporary tropical architecture - I'd like to call this rustic eco chic - however I do believe this is rather less rustic, and lots more luxury

Definitely one for the list ..... 

Images via calma ubud

August 2016

To say that I am a little bit unprepared for the arrival of August - is not quite an understatement....
Yet, I will take this little bull of a month by the figurative horns and make the absolute most of it!

My energy still seems to ebb and flow like the tides come and go - and I am learning to just go with it.  I stack up on juices and smoothies and healthy concoctions by the gallon loads it would seem.
Watermelon is top of my list for my daily fix.

And with summer now in full swing - bar the wintry grey skies of the past few days - we must trust that even better days are still a coming

And as its way past my bedtime already - I hope you're all in good spirits and good form to enjoy this August month - and make the most of it, the most best of the best

x

Image design by me

UMA UBUD HOTEL, UBUD, BALI - DESIGNED BY STUDIO JENCQUEL

a Ubud Hotel, Ubud, Bali

Overlooking the beautiful Tjampuhan Valley, Uma Ubud Hotel is a luxury boutique resort designed to reflect the beauty and tranquility of the Balinese landscape.

When Uma Ubud decided to grow, Studio Jencquel collaborated with architect Yew Kuan Cheong to design 17 new rooms and villas for the resort, taking the existing concept and freshening it with a modern spin. Walled with tropical gardens and nestled in the hills, the space emphasises the lush tropical vegetation surrounding the property.

IMAGES AND TEXT VIA studio jencquel

WHAT IF ...

"What if our religion was each other. 

If our practice was our life. 

If prayer, our words. 

What if the temple was the Earth. 

If forests were our church. 

If holy water the rivers, lakes, and ocean. 

What if meditation was our relationships. 

If the teacher was life. 

If wisdom was self-knowledge. 

If love was the center of our being." 

~Ganga White

Image via Pinterest

NO MORE BLUE MONDAYS

'She was a lost bird in a deep blue sky.

But when she spread her wings, she remembered how to fly'

Atticus

M E R A K I

I love the sound of this word - and I love what it represents - and I love the beautiful layout and the softness and sharpness of the design - like someone had put a whole lot of thought and a whole lot of soul into it...

And that's just it really -  it kind of dawns on me a little bit more, each time I read it - it's not about being in the perfect place in your personal life or your professional life or relationship or even family life or the lack thereof - but to me when I read this now - it represents something far deeper - and before when I read it, I longed to be there - that place, that future we sometimes so long for - that moment of contentment - but no

I read this now and the message I receive is so so clear - and it says  - when you do something, do it with soul, give it your all, do it with creativity and do it with love, put yourself into what you are doing whole-heartedly and yes give so much of your all - that you leave a beautiful piece of magical stardust that is you - you leave a bit of yourself behind in whatever it is you're doing.  Now isn't that simply beautiful?  In stead of longing for something that is not yet with us - let us rather be fully engaged in the moment at hand, in the work you do, in the meetings you attend - in the friendships you cultivate and in the company you keep

I imagine in essence the message is also a form of manifestation - to do something with so much soul and so much love and so much creativity - that whatever it is you are doing - it will draw you closer and it will draw closer to you - whatever, wherever and with whomever it is you should be

Wow profound I'm thinking - but content I'm feeling now, that I can understand it.  And that I can live it - I do try, and even though I may not always get it right, I will keep going and keep trying.  I am the art director of this very unique and this one and only life of mine - I'm still finding my way, but I'm happily doing so - and I'm gathering wonderful sparkles of lightness and magic along the way - and also sharing and sprinkling that magic stuff around wherever I go

I'm kind of feeling like I will have a peaceful sleep now - all is ok, all is good and all is exactly how it should be right now.  And tomorrow things may look very different again - and I'll be going through this whole process again - but that's ok because the me of this present moment, will remind the me of the future moment of this moment of contentment and that it is bliss 

Good night all you beautiful creative love filled and light filled souls - here's to the new beginnings of each new day -  with the knowledge and wisdom of the past and with hope and courage and faith in the future 

Image credit unknown
Image via Pinterest

BEAUTIFUL MINIMAL CAPE TOWN HOME

Utterly inspired today by this beautiful minimal Cape Town home  (being also utterly distracted from the heap of admin that awaits ... but alas, let's share something inspiring first - and then back to the task at hand)

Found these images via Stylejuicer, a deliciously inspiring blog and I quote:
'It’s the home of make-up artist Algria Ferreira-Watling who by her own admission comes from a poor background and never dreamt of living in a palace. She says she has never needed things but instead has always wanted to live in a little house with the peaceful feel of a monastery.'

A neutral and natural palette - and through her stylish yet minimal approach, Algria has created this very peaceful zen-like home ... natural materials, lots of wood, and whites ... rustic concrete floors, and oh my oh my those stairs

We can definitely live very well, if not better - by making better choices, having less is definitely having more - having less is having more time - more time to enjoy life and living an inspired life

Totally in love with this Cape Town home - and who would not want to sit and while away some time on that front porch and watch the world go by.... makes me a little bit homesick right now - but - only a couple more months and I'll be visiting my home away from homesweethome - yay!

Photography:  Greg Cox
Images via Stylejuicer


http://stylejuicer.com/home-and-interior/a-calm-and-pure-home-in-cape-town/

C29 OPTOMETRIST STORE BY 314 ARCHITECTURE STUDIO

At first glance the most prominent design element to me - was the interesting way in which an outdoor 'courtyard' space was created, for the clients to relax in - at the C29 Optometrist store in Chalkida (Greece).  That was at first glance... and still to me a very effective, yet minimalistic way to create a space within a space 

However, then I looked again at the rest of space, at how each element in the design complements the other, and makes it whole - completing it  - and it kind of dawned on me that quite naturally what would seem the most impactful - is not really so... 

314 Architecture was behind this creative take on an optometrist store.... beats a specsavers that's one thing for sure!

Images via Dezeen