design art pictures: renovation

Showing posts with label renovation. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 27, 2026

Inside Nate Berkus & Jeremiah Brent’s Portuguese Farm | Open Door | Architectural Digest

In this Architectural Digest episode, interior designers Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent tour their beautifully restored 400-year-old farm in Portugal. The couple transformed a dilapidated ruin into a multigenerational family home that honors Jeremiah’s Portuguese roots while blending rustic charm with modern interior design.

Key Highlights of the Farm:

Landscaping & Restoration: The pair emphasizes the importance of nurturing the land, having restored original water channels, wells, and historical iron structures (1:20, 13:28). They also designed a dream pool on the property (1:26).
The Kitchen: Once a space for milking livestock, the kitchen now serves as the heartbeat of the home, featuring Robert Mallet-Stevens chairs from 1930 and original elements (4:37-5:15).
Living Spaces: Throughout the house, they preserved original millwork, stone floors, and doors, while decorating with unique finds from flea markets and auctions, such as the sculptural bird piece (3:15, 4:17, 10:11).
Family-Focused Design: The home includes dedicated spaces for their children, Poppy and Oscar, reflecting their distinct personalities—Poppy prefers a Louis XVI style, while Oscar leans toward a maximalist aesthetic (6:57-9:14).
Multigenerational Living: The farm serves as a home for three generations, including Jeremiah’s mother and her husband, who live in a separate house on the property (2:17-2:25).

The designers share that beyond the physical structures, the true spirit of the home comes from the land itself, the sounds of nature, and the intentional slow pace of life their family enjoys in the Portuguese countryside (2:35-3:04, 14:15).

Monday, May 18, 2026

An Architect’s Hidden Bedroom Inside His 420-Sq-Ft NYC Studio | Architectural Digest

This video features architect Brian Messana of Messana O'Rorke providing a tour of his 420-square-foot studio apartment in New York City's West Village. Known as the "jewel box," the space is designed to maximize functionality and airiness while minimizing visual clutter.

Key design highlights include:

The "Jewel Box" Bedroom: A central feature of the studio, this 7'2" cube is clad in unlacquered, living brass (3:02). It functions as a private, elevated bedroom with storage space underneath (3:36) and is designed like a piece of art that doesn't reach the ceiling to maintain the room's scale (3:51).
Storage Strategy: To avoid visual noise, Messana lined the north and south walls with integrated storage for clothing, books, and shoes (4:19). The closets feature both atmospheric cove lighting and task lighting (4:45).
Living Area & Multifunctional Furniture: The living room serves as a comfortable place to relax and watch movies, with a recessed, brass-framed television (6:54). Messana emphasizes that every piece of furniture, including their expandable table, was meticulously curated for both scale and function (5:53).
Concealed Kitchen: The kitchen features fully retractable doors that allow the space to transform between a functional cooking area and a clean, minimalist living space (7:15). It includes high-end appliances like a dishwasher, induction cooktop, and steam oven (7:46).
Workspace & Bathroom: The apartment includes a flexible workspace area that doubles as a dining spot (8:42). The bathroom is hidden behind a secret door integrated into the fumed oak closet wall, finished in Carrera marble with hidden medicine cabinets to create the illusion of a larger space (9:44).

Messana concludes that the project's goal was to master the art of organization, similar to the design of a ship or recreational vehicle, resulting in a tranquil home that feels much larger than its actual footprint (10:36).