September 2020: 10 Home Decor and Renovation Articles to Check Out

As the month of pre-Halloween (September) comes to an end, giving way to the beautiful month of "spooky season" (October), it’s time to start getting cozy and digging out your warmer clothes as the temperature drops and leaves fall off trees. Autumn celebrations aside, it’s also time for our monthly roundup of the best design, decor and renovation articles found on the internet!

If you’re new here, we started this series back in May and have been going ever since. At the end of the month, we browse around different architecture and design blogs to find new and interesting articles published over the past weeks to keep you inspired. Here’s what we found for you for September!

September 2020: 10 Home Decor and Renovation Articles to Check Out

1. Architecture student designs clever greenhouses for sustainable farming

In an interesting design concept, University of Westminster architecture student Eliza Hague presents inflatable greenhouses made of bamboo and shellac to replace the common plastic ones found in India. 
The goal of the project is to help the communities living in the city of Jaipur grow their own supplies of food. The greenhouses that are currently being used, made of polythene sheeting, require changing every year, creating useless excessive plastic waste.

Read more about the project here.

Source: Inhabitat

2. Ikea plans on opening its first-ever secondhand store in Sweden

I’ve mentioned my passion for Ikea before, and this is some exciting news for everyone that shares the same sentiment. For those of you familiar with their “As is” section, IKEA says their new second-hand store will resemble it, but better. Here’s hoping they do the same in Canada!

Read more of the article here. 

Source: Apartment Therapy

3. Looking at the future of family expectations in architecture over the next few years

As the world population increases and settles in the big cities, it’s been estimated that almost two-thirds of all people will be living in urban areas instead of rural ones. With certain continents estimated to be more affected by this in the future than others (like Asia and Africa), so will the demand for food, housing, energy and water, thus affecting our environment.

Archdaily explores the phenomenon in this great article, which discusses the negative impacts of urbanization, the solutions and how this will affect the future of our architecture.

Read the full article here.

Source: Archdaily

4. Eka Papamichael’s superb Art Nouveau restored apartment

What is Art Nouveau? That is exactly the question I asked myself when I clicked on this article’s title. Interior designer Eka Papamichael scored this beautiful apartment in her native town of Tbilisi, Georgia, which is known for its Art Nouveau architecture and was prominent in pre-Soviet Georgia.
After years of decay, Papamichael restored the place, giving it a stunning new design that works perfectly along with its original cachet. 

Read the whole interview with more details here. 

Source: Elle decor

5. Ten eco-friendly and off the grid homes

Dezeen always delivers when it comes to presenting unique architectural creations and renovations. Once again, they did not disappoint with this short article about 10 examples of clever, eco-friendly and off-the-grid homes around the world that I’m sure we’d all love to move into!

See the full list with short descriptions of the houses here.

Source: Dezeen

6. The last Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home is up for sale

Known for his spectacular houses designed and built to blend into their surrounding landscapes, the Norman Lykes Residence was the last house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright before his passing. The construction started in Arizona back in 1959 and was completed by John Rattenbury in 1967.

To see the pictures and to read more about the house, click here.

Source: The Spaces

7. Architect Balkrishna Doshi on how design should be democratized

Here is an interesting one. 2018 Pritzker Architecture Prize winner, Balkrishna Doshi, was the first honoree from India, making history for the contest. Influenced by his travels, the architect’s approach helped redefine architecture style and education in India.

Currently exhibited in Chicago, the show explores Doshi’s designs made to impact communities on a social, cultural and economic level, the humanism behind his work and his specific mission, hence the name of the show: “Balkrishna Doshi: Architecture for the People,”.

Read more about the architect and the exhibit here.

Source: Architectural Digest

8. The women working in construction making a difference

Even though the article talks mainly about the United-States, the reality of women in construction here in Canada is not far off either. Recent data shows that only 9.9% of women are in the construction industry, with a third of that representing saleswomen and office personnel. 

Shocking, I know! While facing many struggles and hardships like wage gaps, harassment or being passed up for opportunities, the industry is somehow slowly changing, skipping the popular “& Sons” trademark and making way for some father to daughter passing of the trades. Here are some of these women making a difference.

The read the full report and interviews, head on here.

Source: Architectural Digest

9. 14 of Montreal’s leading architects imagine the city’s future

In a new and permanent exhibition at Montreal’s Biosphere, local architects present their visions regarding what the future holds for the city. The videos are now available online on the Kollectif website, which they produced themselves.  

Read more about the exhibit here.

Source: Canadian Architect

10. A Maine architect’s remodel of his family log cabin

In the woods of Maine, surrounded by tall trees, is Jocelyn Dickson’s family retreat. What was once a pretty normal log cabin is now an intricate remodel composed of separate cabins, which altogether are part of the same structure.

To see pictures and a description of the cabin, head on here.

Source: Remodelista

Here are our best home decor and renovation articles for the month

If this wasn't enough for you, we also have more from our home renovation blog for you to read! Here are some of the good ones we published in the past weeks for you to get inspired.

Renovation and Commercial Design: 6 Magazine-Worthy Ottawa Businesses

In this new series, my colleague Amanda explores businesses in different big cities across Canada, each of them with designs that are magazine-worthy!

More over here.

Renovation and Commercial Design: 6 Magazine-Worthy Calgary Businesses

Same concept here: magazine-worthy businesses across Canada! This time, we take you to Calgary where you can discover local shops to support. 

More about these here.

Design and Architecture: How to Combine Old and Contemporary Styles

Here, we discuss a subject that is often controversial: should we mix architectural styles, especially when we’re working with historical buildings? 

Get to know more on the subject over here.

10 Examples of Intergenerational/Multigenerational Homes

If you’re from a tight-knit family, maybe this living situation crossed your mind once. If you considered building a brand new home or renovating your current one to add a story, here are some examples that could inspire you.

Read the full article here.

See you next month!