by Montie Mahtani | Aug 27, 2015 | Trending Styles
We have seen an increasing trend in current times circling around the Scandinavian and Industrial themes, giving birth to a whole new concept called ‘Scandustrial’. Although this theme does give a very good balance between raw and refined looks, M3 Studio wanted to evolve the ‘Scandustrial’ theme to a whole new level.
Singaporeans love to travel and we are well-known for that. Many of us walk down the streets of Berlin, Amsterdam, Istanbul for example and marvel at the culture of the architecture lining along these very streets. So why not have such an experience in the comfort of your own home as well? By taking our travel experiences around the world into account, we created a ‘Street-Style’ theme within a home.
So what goes into a Street-Style themed home? We wanted to re-create the essence of being on the road therefore we decided to create a ceiling with lane markings to represent the road and used lights to illuminate the lane markings at night. Having a road above you is something totally fresh isn’t it? It was an awesome thought and we were very determined even though we were unsure as to how to really make it work.
We also gave careful thought to wall treatment and thought of traditional brickwork to lay along as we walk and cement screeding to represent the pavements where we step onto our journey. As you enter the house you are greeted by a never-ending long brickwall on a cement screeded paved floor. We then got a bolt of insipiration by putting a letter-box along the wall as we have all probably come across while walking around in different countries. We even got the letter box to be bright red in colour to represent how they used to be. A bit of nostalgic input in there.
So we have inculcated elements of roads, brickwalls, pavements and even a letter-box into our design. What’s more? To amp it up further, we even used some cement blocks that were unfinished and lined them up to form a partition for the Dining Area. We also painted the bomb shelter door a fire-red colour to represent a fire-escape door!!
With all the elements in play, together with strategic furnishings and decorations, we managed to give birth to a whole new theme that is not often seen yet, especially here in Singapore.
by Montie Mahtani | Aug 25, 2015 | Travel Inspirations
What better way to obtain design inspiration than to travel and explore? That’s exactly what the M3 Bloggers did! We went to Bali – not to surf, not enjoy the sun, sand and the sea (although that was awesome too!). No, we went there to study the Bali culture and why are they so famous for their rustic designs and art work. So we hopped on the nearest flight and off we were, to Bali – the island of the Gods. M3 brings you through our journey of exploration.
Bali is an island of the east of Java and it has been well known as a holiday destination for many of us who likes the beaches, surfing and all water sports. However what many people are unaware of is that Bali has a vast array of wood furniture and decorations including arts and paintings. Some of these are very traditionally done with the painter even just sitting on the floor at the back of the gallery, carrying on his work while customers walk in and out.
We visited places around Seminyak and we came across a vast number of shops selling very unique decor items that would be really difficult to obtain right here in Singapore. They came in all ranges of shapes, sizes and forms – table lamps to wall hangers to coffee tables to sofas and dining sets too. We were pleasantly surprised at our finds. We then decided to go one step further and explore the outskirts of the main town. Armed with only a motorbike and a phone camera, we searched high and low for traditional art galleries and antique shops.
And we were duly rewarded after hours of long journey. It was extremely satisfying to finally find art pieces that were simply stunning and all set up simply side by side in the gallery. We even met the painter responsible for all these works as he was just sitting down working on another of his masterpiece. We also managed to find a real gem – an old antique warehouse where they were taking and sprucing up old pieces for resale! What a find!!
Overall, we were extremely glad we managed to visit Bali and learn about their culture as well as appreciate their views on design. It was a great eye-opener for us and we shall strive to travel to more countries to gain more international and design experiences for us to grow and evolve as designers. Of course, visiting Bali would not be complete without taking a few snap shots of the landscape and it’s beauty!!
An exploration article by M3 Bloggers.
