Design

On both, the front and the lake side, this sculptural villa shows very expressive and ornamental facades. Facing Mount Pilatus the white concrete elements are dotted with circular openings that allow glimpses into the two-levelled orangery with its exotic plants, as well as the lounge, the guest tract and the staircase accessed through one of the openings at the ground floor — via ArchDaily

The new Academia Blackstream Chronograph watch has obviously been inspired by a sports car universe. The black velvet face of the new DeWitt watch makes one feel its sporty elegance. The classical seconds are featured via a counter at 9 o’clock. It is visually balanced by another counter at 3 o’clock that will remind you an eye-catching speedometer of a racing car. The two sub-dials are interconnected by a “radiator-grille” that will make you think of the mechanical components of a car motor. The dial also demonstrates an elegant sunray pattern — via Infoniac

The peculiarity of the TX 800 Series watch is its linear chronograph minute hand featured at 9 o’clock. The dial of the watch demonstrates a sporty design. It is completed by hour indices, skeleton hour and minutes hands that are provided with luminescent inserts to guarantee perfect night-time visibility. The dial is shielded by a sapphire crystal — via Infoniac

After finishing his Hollyhock House and the Imperial Hotel, Frank Lloyd Wright began to push his ideas concerning patterned concrete blocks. Utilizing the textile block, Wright built four houses – La Miniatura, the Ennis House, the Freeman House and the Storer House – as a way to truly challenge himself, as he explained in Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer and Gerald Nordland’s book, Frank Lloyd Wright: In the Realm of Ideas, What about the concrete block? It was the cheapest (and ugliest) thing in the building world. It lived mostly in the architectural gutter as an imitation of rock-faced stone. Why not see what could be done with that gutter rat? Steel rods cast inside the joints of the blocks themselves and the whole brought into some broad, practical scheme of general treatment, why would it not be fit for a new phase of our modern architecture? It might be permanent, noble beautiful— via ArchDaily

Let’s say you get a lot of floor traffic or you have a kid that jabs Hot Wheels into the ground. Maybe you have a dog that runs in circles, and you want a strong wood floor. You’ll probably look for a high Janka number — a measure of hardness — to find something that will hold up against denting and wear. You might even consider this hardened strand woven floor from Cali Bamboo, which took home a 5,000+ pound score in recent tests — via Jetson Green

This is the bike that Wakako Togashi, designer at Hide Motorcycle, rides to work every day. It’s based on a 2002 Harley-Davidson Sportster 883R, and Wakako describes it as “very comfortable riding” — via Bike EXIF

To many people the ability to tote around an MB&F is a dream. It represents the pinnacle in indulging a luxury lover’s gadget fetish – to wear a highly complex, beautifully made creation which is a wearable statement of one’s values and appreciation for the more avant garde fine things in life. It is a statement as much as it is a love of art. Max Busser has resolutely captured a niche section of the luxury wrist watch market, and offers no signs of letting go — via A Blog to Read

The inspiration for the models was found in non-traditional vision of urban architecture, presented in the famous Fritz Lang film – Metropolis — via Infoniac

The 48 mm watch is clearly identifiable by virtue of red-tinted sapphire crystal, which lends it incredible brightness. The crystal layer, covering the dial, is applied with hour-markers and the F1 logo, nestled at 9 o’clock, which produce an amazing three-dimensional effect — via Infoniac

The Santos 100 Squelette watch from the jewellery and watchmaker Cartier boggles the audience’s imagination with its total transparency — via Infoniac

This $115,000, 16-watch winder is shaped in the form of the now legendary 1001hp-producing Bugatti Veyron engine. It is controlled by a color-coded touch screen on top, and looks, well, pretty ridiculous — via Hodinkee

Suppress any shocked response and consider how often you end up sitting in something made of leather (or slip your feet into leather shoes, pull out a leather wallet, etc…). There, now let it loose – what do you think of this curious furniture series? It is the real deal – constructed with everything from alligator scales to zebra skins, buffalo pieces to ostrich parts … and more — via Dornob

If Richard Mille and Hublot had a developmentally disabled child, it would be Cvstos. I kid! The Swiss brand never fails to amuse me. Especially the “V” style “U” in their name. I must admit though that the V looks better in writing. “Custos” just looks odd. Some of their designs I like, some I don’t. This Challenge-R 50 Chronograph watch has some things to admire, and areas to make fun of. What is interesting is that most of these watches are available for half price online — via A Blog to Read

Dryers are notorious for shrinking and damaging clothes, but a clothesline is not always an option for those of us pressed for time (or living in small spaces, for that matter). This ‘best of both worlds’ solution combines the gentleness of line drying with the compact convenience of a traditional clothing dryer — via Dornob

— via Bike EXIF

— via Bike EXIF

— via A Blog to Rread

— via Infoniac