sustainability — Arren Williams

Hey! Shake out some of that Holiday stress, and let me show you a few fab finds that will inspire.

Today we're peeking into my new found love for smart home tech (Hey, Alexa!), along with a stunner of a Canadian designed and made lamp, and of course how could I say no to terrazzo that's this good?

Cheers, Arren

It's true, after being - honestly - too lazy to figure out smart home tech we finally took the plunge and made it happen. The result? After doodling around with it over the last while, I have to tell you we won't be giving it up any time soon.

For us, the all-new Amazon Echo is where it's at. Love the styling, and the boss sound (it's given our old speakers a major run for their money), but the major thing for me is controlling all our lighting. And not just on and off, nope, we're using it to perfectly dim the lights, and even change the lighting temperature from cool to warm with the Philips Hue smart bulb. Magic!

The Echo is also on the ball from a sustainability standpoint. When you add it all up, you're looking at a sweet combo of both 100% post-consumer recycled fabric and aluminum, as well as 50% post-consumer recycled plastic. #amazonpartner

This ravishing little number is giving me total ooh-ooh-ahs. Designed by Calen Knauf out of Vancouver, each Stutter Lamp is milled from a solid block of aluminum on a hi-tech 5-axis milling machine. Okay, who else would absolutely looove to geek-out and watch one being made? Form an orderly line, please.

I'm all the simplicity and attention to detail, with smooth curves and an anodized finish designed by Knauf to be completely tactile to entice you to touch it. Snap your very own hand-numbered Stutter Lamp here up on 1stDibs, I do believe you won't be sorry.

Speaking of recycling, I'm totally here for a peek at the custom made nightstands of Brooklyn-based jewelry designer, Caitlin Mociun. The tops are recycled from off-cuts from Dzek's fab Marmoreal slabs, the rest of which is now at home in Mociun's kitchen.

Made in Italy and available in two colours, with either a white or black background to the marble composite, Marmoreal is a collab between Dzek and designer Max Lamb, known for his love of working with primitive, old-school design methods in new ways. And, to keep those design-brain wheels turning, it can be used as a surface just about anywhere in the home, as well as for floors and walls. Want!

A fun part of my schedule this week was shooting remotely at home for Citytv’s Cityline. The subject was our principal bedroom, a space that had a forced renovation due to some major construction we endured over the summer.

Things have definitely changed in the space, and for the better for sure. I can’t wait to share the results with you, and it’s extra fun looking back at how the space looked when it was shot by Angus Fergusson for House & Home magazine more than 11 years ago.

Cheers, Arren

Dots and squares, oh my! Just say yes to this rather fab collab between creative consultants and 3D designers Terzo Piano and Or.nami wallpaper, which playfully toys with trompe-l'œil to stunning visual effect. Think simple graphic shapes and drop shadows inspired by architectural design.

Available in either vinyl or rather covetable silk, there are 4 designs in different colourways to whet your whistle - I’m already dreaming and scheming of a space where I can use them.

While one of my current projects includes a chic little bathroom in white and grey, this brand new collection by artist and designer Nathalie Du Pasquier for Mutina tiles definitely has me drooling.

More is definitely more here. Du Pasquier’s wonderfully barmy layering of pattern on pattern is key, with a perfect mix of fifties modernism and vintage designs all thrown together with gay abandon. And, if the 41 tiles in the Mattonelle Margherita collection aren’t enough, there’s also 11 coordinating paint colours for all you OCD design fans out there that want everything to match. Seriously.

Oh, and the art direction for the collection’s launch? It’s all feeling very cinematic and inspirational, and honestly I could happily post every single shot, but will show some restraint with the three faves below. Scope out the rest of the collection, here.

Wall: Star, Stripes, Marghe Black. Floor: Double Red, Stripes.

Wall: Marghe White, Frame Black, Marghe Half White, Marghe Half Black, Line. Floor: Petals, Line. Margherita Paint: Sand Matt.

Wall: Marghe Light Blue, Stripes, Star, Kite White, Square Black, Marghe Black. Floor: Marghe Light Blue, Double Red, Stripes.

Am I the only person that dreams about chairs? This one in particular sent me down a bit of an internet rabbit hole, to be sure.

I first spotted the vintage originals in this stunning apartment in Florence, with masterfully edited interiors by Massimo Adario (click here to see more). Though they couldn’t look more at home in this space with views across the Arno, these spectacularly curvy seats were originally designed by Czech architect Jan Bočan for furnishing the Embassy of Czechoslovakia in Stockholm in 1972.

While the originals, made for Bočan by Thonet in lacquered bentwood and cane, deservedly fetch a pretty penny, I was fascinated to see that new versions of the chair are de rigueur in all sorts of chic interiors in Australia.

Available in both black and natural from the folks at Worn, and stunningly well priced I might add (I did the conversion), the sad news is that they won’t ship outside of Australia. But, kudos to Worn for their commitment to ethical sustainability, since their Cane Loungers are made of non-chemically treated materials harvested from sustainably managed plantations. Plus, for every chair sold a native tree is planted to help offset carbon emissions.

Brownie points to whoever can send me a source closer to home…

Photo: Laura Fantacuzzi and Maxime Galati-Fourcade

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