Category — Interior Design

Check out this new capsule hotel that just opened last December. 9h is located in Kyoto, ready to service the burnt-out businessman or the broke backpacker 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I love the concept and the simple pictograms. Everything looks so futuristic!

Monocle has your video of, what is, a joint collaboration between Fumie Shibata (amenities), Masaaki Hiromura (graphic design) and Takaaki Nakamura (interior design).

Related:

• First Cabin capsule hotel

If you happen to be in a romantic and inconspicuous mood, a combination I can’t say I encounter often, head over to Roku Nana, a new secret bar that just opened up in Roppongi. Nestled between buildings, Roku Nana made claim to the 3rd floor and a strategically situated rooftop that affords views of Roppongi Hills and Tokyo Tower. Literally 6 7, the bar takes its name from the address (Roppongi 7th ward), the only thing that will help you find the place because there are no signs. Just an address and telephone number.

Roku Nana was designed by Yasumichi Morita whose firm Glamorous, if the name didn’t tip you off, has a taste for flamboyant décor that straddles a delicate balance between classy and corny. The bar is a follow-up to imoarai, his previous secret bar in Roppongi.

Verde Roppongi 3F
7-16-11 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tel：03-6438-9915

How cool is this new shop in the Marunouchi area by Tokyo Station!? I was just in this area a few months ago but this shop must have still been under construction. Designed by interior design and architecture firm Wonderwall, Pass The Baton is a vintage shop that derives its name from the concept of passing things on from one generation to the next.

The whole store is beautifully decked out with antique furniture, recycled consumables and 2nd hand chotchkies. Take note of the custom-chandelier made out of recycled martinelli’s apple juice bottles pictured below. An awesome concept, magnificently executed. As of now this is the first and only shop but I expect to see more locations in the future.

Wow! It’s great to see iconic Japanese photographer Yasumasa Yonehara’s home featured on The Selby (which is now offered in Japanese, by the way). Cluttered chic with a touch of erotica. That is exactly how I imagined his home would be. There’s a great (and long) interview over on Mekas if you would like to learn more about Yonehara and the explosive influence he has had on kogyaru culture  and the teenage-media industry as a whole.

The 2nd company competing in the “we’ll help you greenify” space is Wa-So, a uniquely Japanese company that specializes in greenifying your home, garden, shop, or pretty much any space you like, while maintaining – or in some cases, adding – Japanese aesthetics and sensibilities. Based out of Osaka, Wa-So offers more personalized services than GreenFortune, as they sit down with you to come up with a plan that fits your needs. Then they oversee everything from blueprints to construction (if needed) and installation. Below are some recently completed works from their portfolio.

Related:

• GreenFortune Streamgardens & Greenwalls

(image courtesy of Nagai Garou)

Holy hallucinatory awesomeness. I love this idea. Architect Ryue Nishizawa (of SANAA) designed the front window of Nagai Garou, a painting gallery in Tokyo, to include a bulging belly on the inside. It was in commemoration of Nagai Garou’s new gallery space in Ginza, which opened earlier this month. An ominous-looking vortex on a storefront would easily make me walk into any store.

(image courtesy of kurakichi-san)

via 野良犬のケンチク彷徨記

I would like to have one of these Mobile Speakers designed by Japanese artist Yoshihiko Satoh, for Marumiya Furniture. I love how it actually functions as a bag to hold your ipod. You can purchase them here (31,500 yen).

Found on id site

Architect Akihisa Hirata will be showing one of his latest creations, Flame Frame, at the Taka Ishii Gallery through the end of the year.

Hirata first gained an international fan-base with his biomorphic “csh” chair, which he showed in last year’s Frieze Art Fair. I’m not too sure how to pronounce it either…

Once again taking his cue from naturally occurring elements, Hirata’s Flame Frame – made from pressed aluminum – emulates the autonomy of flames. The piece is quite beautiful on its own but when repeated numerous instances it can be used as a partition or even a chandelier-like lighting fixture.

Related:

• IenoIe by Akihisa Hirata

Remember that silly rumor I irresponsibly disseminated about a month and a half ago? Well, my “please don’t make me look like a fool” prayers have been answered. Japanese renowned designer Tokujin Yoshioka just uploaded these images too his website.

Related:

• media skin by Tokujin Yoshioka
• Camper x NENDO
• Camper x Jaime Hayon
• Camper x Ingo Maurer

I would love to have an oversized cabinet like this and fill it will all my ceramic table ware that I’ve accumulated over the years.

Via my wife’s LEE magazine (No. 314, August 2009)