Steve Lambert is an American conceptual installation artist and all around shit-stirrer. My kind of dude, really. I find his work to be intelligent, brave, eye-catching, interesting and funny, but these are just some of the reasons I love it so much. Each piece is also relevant and engaging, casting a light-heart but solemn critique on our daily lives, questioning our society and our beliefs…

Dark Island is a series of mixed-media works by Denver-based artist Evan Hecox, currently on show at the Joshua Liner Gallery in New York City. Evan has a passion for exploring unfamiliar cities with his vintage Polaroid camera in hand, which he later uses to recreate impressions left behind in his memory. These beautiful artworks are created using acrylic and gouache on vintage newspaper, capturing Hecox’s explorations of lower Manhattan and west Brooklyn in New York City.

I really love the way these pieces take a humble medium like broadsheet to a whole new level, using beautiful imagery and brilliant colour choices, and in turn giving them a new lease of life…

Regular readers would probably know about my “design love affair” with Swedish architects Claesson Koivisto Rune. This awesome threesome (get your mind out of the gutter) strikes yet again with a stunning home, situated on the west coast of the Baltic island Öland. Villa Widlund stands out as a true landmark against ocean views and beachside landscape. The building mass is elegantly pinched at the waist, with prefabricated concrete walls featuring graphic lines dancing across the facade that further accentuate the overall form. This pure white and robust concrete mass boasts consistent but minimal approach to construction and detailing, where main highlight in each room are generous proportions, soaring ceilings and windows looking out to spectacular outdoor views…

Dearest yellowtrace friends,

And so we meet again… I hope you’ve enjoyed all the posts during the last 5 weeks and that you haven’t missed me too much. Do tell! I thought it was only fair to give you a little update on what I’ve been up to, especially since many of you have been asking about our little ray of sunshine. So here goes…

Our baby boy arrived at 00:22am on 16th of April 2012. And just like that – everything changed. The world got bigger, hearts grew fuller and life meant more because he was in it. This is something I’ve often heard but never really understood… until now. His name is Luka (he lives on the second floor – and no, he wasn’t named after that song)…

Completed more than 10 years ago, this house looks as beautiful and relevant today as it did back in 2001. Featuring Vincent Van Duysen’s signature spare aesthetic, the house is a true expression of honest design essence, abstraction and purity. The choice of materials is sheer perfection – natural and raw, limited array of colours, combination of rough woven textures and smooth surfaces. Wide open spaces ooze calm and understated style, complemented beautifully with carefully selected furniture, objects and artwork. I am in love with the way historical references and detailing meet the sharp and the contemporary to create a perfect union. It is precisely this combination of formal rigour and sensuality which makes this home a very special one indeed…