While some people strive to make the very difficult look very easy, Lili Haydn works body and soul to squeeze every last drop of energy out of her overwhelming and emotional performances, whether she’s onstage with Roger Waters performing for hundreds of thousand or in a small cafe performing for dozens. If you ever get a chance to see her live, consider yourself very lucky! A classically trained violinist and talented songwriter, Lili Haydn has a powerful ability to put a modern spin on the old world sounds.  In her music you can hear three distinct voices, her song, her singing, and above all her violin. Her greatest strength is the ability to weave together passion and compassion, a philosophy that has extended to her involvement with charitable causes such as Amnesty International and Artists for Human Rights.

Read more

Outdoor textiles have been the neglected product area for outdoors. I have hardly seen any innovations since the beginning of the boom in outdoor designs. I have yet to meet someone really inquisitive or ambitious about them. That’s why I love the work developed by designers like Deborah Sommers who really understand the concept of the outdoor room and how textiles can add to the party. She understands some rooms might be ugly or difficult ugly (like a dark patio enclosed between tall buildings) and some are naturally beautiful and all you have to do is maximize those positive assets or mask the negative ones.

Read more

I received the chance to test out DuPont’s latest Corian app called MySurface, and my gosh — totally helpful. I’m on the verge of purchasing a fixer-upper and cannot even imagine how useful this app will be when choosing my countertops.

I suppose the only thing better would be if it would actually cook the food that I’d serve on the countertops…

Download it from iTunes here.

Formwerkz envisioned something very flowing and relaxing for the Furama Hotel chain’s spa. What they designed was a seamless experience of rooms without sharp corners and no straight, dingy corridors. The experience looks to be very soothing, and calm, which is exactly what you want a spa to feel like.

Read more

Just when pop music is starting to sound homogenized again, a band like Grizzly Bear comes along to shake everything up. Grizzly Bear certainly wasn’t destined for top 40 radio stations but rather the iPhones and playlists of indie rockers around the world. These boys from Brooklyn croon their way through twelve tracks and create a landscape as isolated as the island their CD, Veckatimest, is named after. The songs twist and turn unpredictably around musical codes in such unusual ways that they probably even leave Bjork scratching her head trying to make sense of it. That’s not to say popular musicians aren’t jumping on the Grizzly Bear ride. Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood says they’re his favorite band. Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold says Veckatimest is the best album of the 00′s. Grizzly Bear’s own Daniel Rossen, unfazed, says, “Our music will always be a little bit strange.”

Read more

Materials are an important part of modern interior design and architecture. In this economy more people are definitely working on improving their existing homes rather than upsizing. SOLI Architectural Surfaces just opened a new showroom on Melrose Avenue in LA, and they wrote to introduce me to their line of surfaces including tile, slate, metal, glass, and stone. My favorite is the Hoshi tile. It reminds me of a beautiful Nakashima cabinet I saw this past week at Moderne Gallery.

Read more

If you are a movie lover, perhaps you have seen Hamlet, directed by Kenneth Branagh. The film kicks off with a shot of the old King lounging outside, reading a book in a garden…in the middle of winter with thick snow all around him! Well, that idea of enjoying outdoors way beyond the summer season is coming back really strong. Designers have jumped on the idea and are developing creative solutions that work brilliantly whatever your lifestyle.

Here are a couple of options to explore.

My personal favorite is Qrater, an ultra-cool campfire designed by Dirk Wynants. It was imagined as a tool to promote togetherness which is such a lovely idea (even for non-cowboys)!

It works brilliantly as an alternative to a DVD evening and offers a real escape from daily urban life.

Read more

Not too many video blogs have launched in the area of design, but leave it to Eric Meeks to create a really unique concept. In-Store Designer is a video blog featuring what’s “in-store” at independent design firms. Each week shows a new store and the designers who inspired its contents.

In a world that is becoming more dominated by mega corporations who try to define us it becomes harder and harder for independent designers to gain recognition. This show aims to bring people closer to independent design through web exposure.

Watch the first episode here featuring Craig Olsen.

Imagine if your favorite magazine decided to compile a “best of”. That’s exactly what Elle Decor Editor Margaret Russell, along with other fellow editors, did. They rounded up the best rooms from Elle Decor over the past 20 (wow!) years and released Style and Substance: The Best of Elle Decor. I would say this is going to be a bestseller and a must-have for all decorating enthusiasts. The book is 240 pages and is available on Amazon.

The style icons and celebrities whose homes and work are featured include Cindy Crawford, Sarah Jessica parker, Madonna, and Julianne Moore, as well as fashion icons including Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, Kenneth Jay Lane, Ralph Rucci, Monique Lhuillier, and Donatella Versace.

Editor’s note: Please welcome our first ever Design Milk intern, Catrina Dulay. She is a graphic designer and blogger. Learn more about Catrina on our About page.

Espacio C Mixcoac is a training facility designed by ROW Studio located at the Mixcoac Distribution Center in Mexico City. The colorful furnishings allow people who spend time in the facility to get a taste of the rainbow. This taste is infused with the classic flavor of Coca Cola thanks to the red epoxy paint used to coat the ceiling and walls. In addition, graphics that are based on the Coca Cola logo swarm the wall surfaces. Three rooms can be joined together for common activities, two more small rooms function as nooks for smaller activities, and a large main hall can be utilized for bigger activities. The openings in the walls permit natural lighting and ventilation to enter the space and the wall’s coating turns full surfaces into dry erase board surfaces that are fun for everyone (except for maybe left-handed individuals like myself).

Read more