Feeds

Tin Restaurant and Bar in Berlin demonstrates how glamorous mundane materials like concrete, hammered zinc, gray paint, and halogen bulbs can be.

Designed by Karhard Architektur, the interior features the humblest of materials: cement-bonded wood particle boards, a long custom zinc bar burnished to a sheen with thousands of hammer blows, and 82 standard halogen bulbs suspended from the ceiling. The only off-the-shelf product used? The ICF Myto Cantilever Adirondack seating by Konstantin Grcic. For more information, go to Tin Restaurant and Bar.

Above: The ICF Myto Cantilever Adirondack seating by Konstantin Grcic surrounds a custom table.

Above: Allium blossoms provide the only note of color in the subtly glowing interior.

Above: The dining room features layers of soft gray.

Above: The architects created a system of halogen lights to add a soft glow.

Above: The architects intentionally left the radiators unfinished for a rough lux vibe.

'Badboot' was designed by architect Pieter Peerlings and Silvia Mertens of Sculp(IT) Architecten, known for the narrowest house in Antwerp (remember this incredibly popular Archinect Showcase Feature?).

The best window box is the one you can't see. Whatever you planted in there should be so happy that it cascades down the wall to spill onto the sidewalk, threatening to trip passersby. Here's how to get the look:

Above: Coleus, sweet potato vine, and caladium: They like a little shade, which makes them the perfect combination to plant beneath a balcony or eave. Water them every day. Image via Stately.

Above: Just try to stop sweet potato vine after it gets going. The chartreuse shock of Ipomoea 'Bright Ideas Lime' complements purple and red shades; consider pairing it with Ipomoea 'Bright Ideas Rust' (both are $10.95 per plant, from White Flower Farm). Image via Katie's Flowers.

Above: Coleus is a tropical plant; its range of colors is exuberant. For a compact variety, we prefer the deep burgundy of Coleus 'Garnet Robe' (Above), with leaves edged in chartreuse; it's $8.95 per plant at White Flower Farm. But if you were leaning more toward magenta, we totally understand; Coleus 'Stained Glassworks' is a trailing variety to consider ($9.95 per plant at White Flower Farm).

Above: The intense pink and green shades of Caladium 'Carolyn Wharton' show best in shade; this plant needs to be fertilized regularly. It's $10.95 apiece from White Flower Farm.

Above: A simple Pine Window Box is unfinished; paint it to match your trim. Prices range from $36 to $54 at Jamali, depending on length.

Above: No need to paint these. Teak Windowboxes come in a variety of lengths and depths; prices range from $55.95 to $137 from Gardeners.

Above: Teak Windowbox Brackets come in three sizes, to accommodate window boxes with depths of up to 12 inches; prices range from $14.95 to $19.95 per pair from Gardeners.

Hackney designer Philippe Malouin worked with traditional craftsmen from Beirut to create a series of bowls and plinths by shaping wooden blocks made of many smaller, tessellating batons. (more…)

Slideshow: we’ve already featured three artists’ studios from Canadian Fogo Island, making this wooden hut on legs the fourth (photographs by Bent RenĂ© SynnevĂĄg). (more…)