REAL ESTATE // WHITE HOT

This interior renovation, for a penthouse apartment in Copenhagen, was inspired by a private hotel suite for a Danish couple living in Spain. The designers created a clean, simple space with built-in niches to minimize the need for space-absorbing lamps and other furnishings. They also installed an intelligent Home Control System that can control the lights, turn on the fireplace, and the air-condition with a single touch on theI-phone. Gotta love it!

The rooftop terrace, that is almost the same size as the apartment, was completely redone in a minimalist wooden structure that allowed a Japanese inspired grass garden on the top of the concrete building overlooking the Copenhagen skyline.

REAL ESTATE // FLOWERBOX CONDO

The Flowerbox building is a new doorman condominium, in NY's East Village, that has built-in, self-watering flower boxes ardorning its exterior. The modern unit pictured was designed by Pulltab Design to evoke an indoor-outdoor feel. A wall of ivy was planted along the interior balcony that overlooks the living area and directly below the garden, is a shallow, 12-foot-long reflecting pool, where goldfish dart just below the surface. The floors are concrete, and the windows are floor-to-ceiling to allow plenty of light.

REAL ESTATE // HOUSE 'LITE'

Touted as "Antwerp’s narrowest house,” this Belgian office, residence and studio is of Kate Moss proportions but packs major style. Located in Antwerp's former red-light district, architects Pieter Peerlings and Silvia Mertens converted a 2.4-meter (7 feet 10 inches) wide space between two buildings into four distinct levels for living - one each for work, dining, relaxing and sleeping, plus a bath tub on the roof.

The floors are all wooden and a one-piece staircase transports you from the ground floor to the rooftop. The glass exterior walls allow plenty of light to flood the space and gives the illusion of living in something roomier than a matchbox. The large glass walls also allow you tap into the area's sordid past of exhibitionism by giving you permission to put your "business in the streets". The multi-color lighting scheme completes the seedy notion. This is definitely an incredible use of space. Source

REAL ESTATE // MALINALCO HOUSE

The Malinalco project is a pretty piece of Tetris nestled in the serenity of a high-end GolfClub in Malinalco-Mexico. Architect firm Buscando la Aurora used indigenous building materials and simple, clean lines to create a 2-level dwelling that appearantly blends into the local landspace. Whether or not that's true, to me, is uncertain, but one thing that the Malinalco is one beautiful box.

REAL ESTATE // NURAI

The UAE continues their quest for world dominance of cutting-edge real estate and unsurpassable luxury, as they continue to pump out oh-sh*t-I-can't-believe-it type of developments.

One of their latest ventures resides on a natural island called Nurai, which is located just minutes off the Abu Dhabi coast.

Nurai was painstakingly transformed into an unapologetically luxurious resort and exclusive private residential estate, comprised of one boutique luxury hotel resort with 60 suites, 31 beachfront estates and 36 water villas.

Each of Nurai’s three residential model types comes with a range of unique luxury amenities like private beaches and gardens, infinity swimming pools, concealed service quarters, and outdoor showers.

Entertainment and recreation facilities will include three restaurants, multiple lounges, a private helipad & marina with arrivals lounge, and an ESPA spa and fitness center. Commute time to Abu Dhabi from the island is 25 minutes by boat and 5 minutes by helicopter.

Pre-sales for the development are going on now with prices ranging from about $3 million to over $22 million.

Nurai Website

THE GOODS // AVRA VERDE: QUIET LUXURY

A design concept by Rick Joy that places 7 luxury-eco-concept residences on 40 acres of the pristine Saguaro Desert. Each residence will enjoy a permanent concierge, picture-perfect views, and a common-use Hacienda for guest accomodations. The vision is to promote an indoor-outdoor lifestyle merging sensory experience, artisanship, and environment sensibility; to create the most unique private residence enclave in the American Southwest. This is desert-luxury at its best. It's just us and the lizards...

THE GOODS // DUPLI CASA

This is very fly. The Dupli Casa is a private residence in Germany created by the brilliant J. Mayer H. and team. It effortlessly connects the interior with the outside to offer larger than life views and a very open living space. This three-story struture is angular, but manges to keep a great level of "softness" with its womanly curves, as it fluidly "melts" down the hill. The contrast of the dark wooden floors and stark white walls speaks directly to my heart. Some serious partying could go down here...Amazing

THE GOODS // GREEN IS THE NEW LUXURY

Project: Skyline Residence
Design Architect: Beizberg Architects
Principal: Hagy Beilzberg

Perched atop a ridgeline in the Hollywood Hills, the presence of the Skyline Residence represents an honest approach to creating an environmentally sensitive building without sacrificing beauty nor budget. The architect's general approach to this project was adopted from "Carbon Neutral Economics," or the purchasing of goods which are manufactured locally and capitalizing on the natural features of the site to save carbon pollution resulting from transporting materials.