Thursday, 30 March 2017
The Design Diet - Part II
Following up on previous features on how good design can help you stay in shape [Step 1: buy a Waterrower in black American walnut] Design Trawler is back with more advice for a design led healthy lifestyle. This time, the focus shifts to the kitchen, and to this, quite frankly, pornographic, frying pan designed by Rodolfo Dordoni for KnIndustrie.
This frying pan is the most healthy frying pan in the world. Buy this frying pan and lose all appetite, for all foods, that could possibly warrant using it. To paraphrase the Rules for Living "It is better to focus on the pure joy of being close to high design than to [eat anything that involves *actually* cooking]"
Thursday, 23 March 2017
The Wine Room at Ultraloft
Ultraloft, LONDON [2015] - Design Trawler is today pleased to announce the successful completion of 'Phase B' of the Private Wine Room project at Robert's Bar.
Doubling existing capacity from 130, to 260 bottles of cellar storage; spanning six digitally temperature and humidity controlled zones. The Private Wine Room at Robert's Bar will be Ultraloft's premier wine
Categories:
Bar,
Dining,
London,
Lounge,
Technology,
Ultraloft,
United Kingdom
Friday, 10 March 2017
Playful, Bold & Considerate at Heart
Almost one year after taking on Ultraloft, the first room renovation is complete. Starting with the heart of the home, Design Trawler's kitchen scheme takes inspiration from Clive Christian, the Southern Med and the open restaurant kitchen for a look that's warm, sharp and packed with character.
Minimalist it may not be, but if the kitchen is the heart of the home, far better that heart to be playful, bold and considerate, than generic, sterile and plain. Read on for the what and why for each element...
Wednesday, 22 February 2017
Pinstripe Blankets for Blokes
In 2010 Design Trawler introduced the concept of the 'man cushion' and now, as the leaves begin to fall and temperatures drop, it's time to introduce a whole new category of masculine soft accessories! [well, apart from Iberian wolfskin throws and also those of the reindeer variety favoured by President Obama]
Continuing the theme of sartorial tailoring in the home is the pictured wool and cashmere pinstripe throw by Joop! Made in Italy, it perfectly sits alongside the suitably herringbone and crew cousins of that very first blokey bolster. Design Trawler advises against wearing it in to the office as some kind of dapper man-pashmina. The world probably isn't quite ready for that.
Categories:
Bedroom,
London,
Lounge,
Ultraloft,
United Kingdom
Thursday, 16 February 2017
Love in the IKEA Carpark
It could only happen in the Ikea car park. On a quick trip to said purveyor of quality meatballs and mock-intrecciato placemats, Design Trawler's classic Saab 900 coupe made a new friend. Of all the car parks in all of the world, it had to be at Ikea! I came back to the valet station [vintage Saab's need hand valeting, obviously] to find this incredible 1978 precursor parked-up next door.
The chances of pulling up alongside a classic Swedish design icon are about as likely as finding a complete set of screws with your BESTÅ bookcase. Only 17 of Design Trawler's 1987 coupe remain on the roads, and even fewer for it's elder brother. Comparing the design side-by-side is a real treat, and it's easy to follow the evolution of one model to the next. Here's to you TWT 134L!
Categories:
Cars,
Comment,
Sweden,
Ultraloft,
United Kingdom
Thursday, 2 February 2017
Planes, Yachts and Italian Scooters
I often debate with myself 'when I'm not in Ultraloft, where do I feel most at home?'. While on some days, I seem to live on the London Underground [yes, even Design Trawler commutes], there is something about a life in transit that's alluring.
As any frequent flier will tell you, the glorious feeling of being in the skies without a care, phone signal, or limit to the finely balanced bubbles that merrily dance through your eleventh glass of Krug is a contender for the prefect home away from home. So too is life on a yacht; like the aircraft; yet with more room to roam, more architectural curves, teak, chrome, azure oceans and freshly caught seafood to accompany the Dame Clicquot's finest. Or what about Italy? Grand palazzos, Italian design at it's finest, Portofino, pasta and prosecco. It's a tough decision for Design Trawler.
Imagine my surprise therefore, when I discovered a hotel that caters to this very niche home-from-home demand; part aircraft, part yacht, part Italian villaggio... it's even part tube carriage too!
Thursday, 12 January 2017
Year of the 羊 Yang
Design Trawler would like to wish readers a Happy Chinese New Year in this, the year of... [if the picture hasn't given you a clue already], the Sheep... or Goat, or Ram, depending on how you interpret your Chinese lunar symbols and abstract yet playful wire sculptures.
While the yang might be one of the least desirable zodiac symbols, old wooly has a long and celebrated design history. From the iconic $7.5m Lalanne sheep owned by Valentino and Yves Saint Lauren [here's a tip, buy yours for £199 from Not on the High St], to the Prince Charles backed Campaign for Wool, and recently championed Auskin rug of legends. May your year be prosperous and filled with fleece.
Saturday, 7 January 2017
Artful Resolutions for 2017
Go Forward. That's the title of the print that's now up on the wall in Ultraloft. An ink on paper edition by Tracy Emin that's simple and pastoral. No neon handwriting, no subtext. An unmade bed, it is not.
If I did New Year's resolutions, this would probably be it. Go Forward. Continue to do what you've been doing well. No rules, or alterations required. Go Forward. Quietly, confidently, with taste and unquestionable quality. Double framed white on silver, with two mounts, on a Quink ink blue board.
Categories:
Art,
Living Room,
London,
Lounge,
Ultraloft
Monday, 2 January 2017
How to Steal a Kandinsky
Not satisfied with pinching Damien Hirsts from Mayfair couturiers, Design Trawler's next great art heist sets the bar a little higher. How about a grand master? Something like a Kandinsky; grand master indeed of modernism; having taught at the Bauhaus and being credited as of of the world's first abstract painters. A learned economist and lawyer, I'm sure old boy Wassily would appreciate this heist. So let's begin...
Categories:
Art,
Comment,
Interiors,
Ultraloft,
United Kingdom
Wednesday, 14 December 2016
An Attractive Portfolio
Regular readers of Design Trawler will know I have a fondness for the blurry world of art and enterprise. Where does the line between attractive folly and attractive investment sit? Does it exist at all? Well, that won't be answered here, but nonetheless, take a look at these attractive enterprise-themed follies...
My collection of antique stock certificates culminated last month with the arrival of a beautiful slice of the Société Anonyme André Citroën; or rather a share certificate from the ubiquitous French car maker responsible for gems like the DS. Dated 1927, it sits alongside an attractive portfolio from the era; ranging from real estate investments in the Cote d'Azue and Biarritz, to L'Autodrome automotive raceway, the Stadium de Paris, and Union Diamantifère diamond company. Art and enterprise in perfect alignment.
Categories:
Art,
Interiors,
Living Room,
Lounge,
Ultraloft
Saturday, 3 December 2016
The Design Family Tree
Design Hero Sir David Tang excellently calls out in his famous FT article the contrived designers and homeowners that specify books by the meter and artworks for particular spots in the home. In much the same way, [and most likely in the same homes], the Christmas tree and decorations will exude taste, effortlessly matching the decor of each room with bespoken ornaments all bought from the same book, and installed while said owners are out of town by an army of Christmas decorators.
While trees of the hotel lobby variety are invariably elegant, for the home they lack narrative. Ultraloft this year inherited the family tree with its multitude of brightly coloured decorations and lights gathered over the 30 years that the tree came down from the loft every December to proudly stand in the bay window of the family home. I said it in 2012, and it is particularly relevant in this instance...
"Establishing a narrative over time is as important for a collector as it is for an artist. Where collections are concerned, it's easy to make new additions, but considerably less easy to make old additions."
I can't imagine a day when the family tree won't stand proudly in at least one room of whichever Ultraloft I happen be living in. I'm especially pleased and excited by the opportunity to add to its narrative with my own collections, and Blue Dog by Britto [pictured bottom left] fits right in alongside the Iberian fur throw.
Categories:
Comment,
Interiors,
Living Room,
London,
Lounge,
Ultraloft,
United Kingdom
Thursday, 1 December 2016
The Festive Collection
One of the wonderful things about the home as art gallery is that it makes your chosen exhibits very accessible. Well, at least to you, and those privileged guests that you chose to let through the doors at cocktail parties and celebrations [admission prices in 2015 are increasing to one bottle of Krug per visitor].
Christmas is almost upon us, and Design Trawler feels it only appropriate to allow Ultraloft's 20th Century Italian newstype sculpture to partake in the festivities. That's right, not even fine art will escape the decorations this Christmas. Expect the Hirst to decked in holly and Graham the springbok bathmat to don a suitably Rudolph themed red nose. Well, if you can't have a little fun with your collection...
Categories:
Art,
Brussels,
Comment,
Interiors,
Italy,
Living Room,
Lounge,
Objects,
Ultraloft,
United Kingdom
Tuesday, 29 November 2016
Petrus, Thunderstorms and Pipe Tobacco
Call me a kleptomaniac, but I can never quite bring myself to leave a cork [correctly presented to diners by a smart sommelier] on the dining table after I leave a restaurant. Likewise, even when I open up the cellars of Ultraloft for a splash of Petrus on a Tuesday evening, the noble cork will be salvaged.
From restaurant table to pocket, or from home cellar to hand, corks of all designs and pedigrees invariably end up in vases or crystal platters scattered around Ultraloft. Who needs dried flowers smelling of moon harvested orchids and Indonesian ylang ylang when you can apply a fine mist of 'Thunderstorm' or 'Pipe Tobacco' from Demeter to said bottle-stoppers? This is home fragrance done right.
Thursday, 17 November 2016
Objet d' Bubble Wrap
Everyone loves bubble-wrap. Design Trawler in particular, loves bubble-wrap. Not only is it a signal for the imminent arrival of a new and exquisite objet; meticulously crafted from unbelievably rare and fine materials [Han Dynasty warrior heads, 3D printed forms of unimaginable detail type stuff]... but, also it has an opiate 'popability' that, alongside raising a paddle at Phillips, is the human equivalent to catnip.
It was in the atelier of the masters of glass where I picked up this platter by Rony Plesl for BOMMA. Cast using a specialist moulding technique, the server suspends in time the playful form of those joyous little pillows. It's brilliant simplicity is both iconic and poetic; infinitely fragile and yet reassuringly permanent.
Categories:
Czech Republic,
Living Room,
Lounge,
Objects,
Ultraloft
Wednesday, 2 November 2016
Why I Listed My Home on AirBNB
"Are you crazy?!", "YOUR apartment?", "Aren't you worried?", These are the typical reactions I've had when I mention that I listed Ultraloft on the vacation rentals website AirBNB. Or to be more accurate, the study which has a generous sofabed, reclaimed neon signs and a digital shark. And to be fair, I was asking myself the same questions after I hit the 'list your space' button... But I'm pleased that I did.
The reason I listed Ultraloft on AirBNB was born somewhat out of my recent visit to the Grand Apartment Budapest; a living tribute to a pair of amazing jetset octogenarians, and part challenge to myself. AirBNB takes care of the damages threat, providing $1m of cover for all hosts, I'd only be offering up the spare room; mostly to single travellers; mostly when I'm in the country; and in the apartment, and quite frankly I have a lot of cool stuff that others might want to see [that, or they just need somewhere to stay for the night that has an ounce more character than a Travelodge]...














