Fabbrica Restaurant by Tjep

This is a new restaurant located in Rotterdam harbor, right between the boats and the cranes, Dutch that was designed by Tjep and has been nominated for the Dutch Design Awards 2006. This cool restaurant is called Fabbrica, a new Italian restaurant. Fabbrica meaning factory in Italian, they envisioned the canteen of a very special factory: a very romantic factory where pleasure is produced for guests.

Like in the canteen of a factory you will find long tables and benches at Fabbrica, but than colored in Italian ice-cream shop style colors: pink and pistachio green. The oven is placed in a huge tank, covered with italian mosaic. A large wall composed of crane elements is use to store wood to fire the oven. Every detail combines industrial sturdiness with soft colors or decorative elements.

Tjep Designer chose not to intervene with the authentic industrial character of this nineteenth century warehouse so they left all the structures in original state. The walls for example are left intact, in several places large glass panels were placed in front of them covered with Italian wallpaper patterns. The result is that the patterns seem to float in front of the wall in a complex game of reflections. Lovers get to sit in a train structure that floats in the center of the space.

The logo of Fabbrica is based on a font in which the point on the i resembles the beautiful shape of a hand made pizza, but one can also see a full moon, as it enlightens Fabbrica at night.

Praq Amersfoort Restaurant by Tjep

A new unique restaurant concept from two wonderful entrepreneurs at Praq by Tjep that would welcome parents and their children without looking like a playground. The first Praq restaurant opened it's doors shortly after and became quite succesful and well-known. After 5 succesful years our client realized that the formula had the potential to become a restaurant chain, thus opening two new venues is 2008. Presented here is the first of the two that opened in Amersfoort, Netherlands. Again Tjep tried to create a restaurant that is inspiring and fun for children, while being comfortable and enjoyable for their parents.

The space is characterized by a monumental farm style roof composed of huge massive wooden beams. Within this space we tried to create a playful world by placing furniture and elements that form crossovers between objects and furniture or furniture that refers to the space itself.
For example a table becomes a window, a bus or a kitchen. The six meter high construction in the center looks like an abstract cloud evoking something of a colorful game while contrasting nicely with the handcrafted architecture.

One space is reserved for children and their parents while the other is reserved for adults. The adult space clearly fits the same world only here the accent is more geared towards cosiness and style. By the way Praq means mashed food for children in Dutch, however, the plates sereved at Praq are very refined and tasty.

Special items:
Window tables, Tunnel benches, Movie house, Play table, Car table, Bus table, Kitchen table, Drawing table, Balancing dish table, Dish lights

Project Team
Frank Tjepkema, Janneke Hooymans, Tina Stieger, Leonie Janssen, Bertrand Gravier, Camille Cortet.

Refreshing Pluk Interior Design by Tjep

A new colorful take-away restaurant that is called Pluk was designed by Tjep and offers: fresh juices, yogurt shakes and special salads that customers can compose by themselves: the so called tossed salads.

The essence of the formula is to enjoy good food. The emphasis on health is implicit. Pluk says: if you are consuming the healthy things 99% of the times, you can indulge yourselves with 1% of wiped cream. Pluk offers the 99% and the 1% next to each other, on top of each other or mixed with each other.




The interior tries to reflect this juxtaposition of healthy and fun. For some reason healthy wants to look boring but we just said no! The counters contain fruits and vegetables in three color groups.

They are actually fake, but because of the way we integrated a special gradient effect the whole counter becomes simply delicious, by the way it took us months to develop the exact right color, gradient and fruit/vegetable combination to get this result: people who enter Pluk are overwhelmed and just cant resist ordering one of the wonderful specialities specially prepared by Aïda and Zeger.




These new friends came to us last year and asked us to help them out with they're dream... since the opening last June the whole Tjep. team is addicted to Pluk. Anyway if you are in Haarlem in the Netherlands check it out! Tjep. was responsible for the identity, naming and interior design of Pluk.

Busby Seo Challenge

Wanna follow the New Challenge on SEO Competition Contest that was held by Busby Web Solutions Search Engine Optimisation Challenge with a big price/reward for the winner :

First Prize : $5,000
Second prize: $2,000
Third prize: $500

"Busby has created a World Cup Series for the web solutions industry which gives you the opportunity to prove to your colleagues, friends and anyone who is interested that you are the best at your chosen field within the web solutions industry."

The Competition Start date is at 1st June 2008, 12:00 midday, Perth, Western Australia
and End date of 31st August 2008, 12:00 midday, Perth, Western Australia. So there is still a lot of time for you to start register and try your best skill in the Search Engine Optimization Contest. Go a head and register now...:)



Proove your best skills and optimize your website / blog to be at the 1st page of google indexing and take the 1st to 3rd position to compete with another 539,000 google index on "Busby Seo Challenge" keyphrase and get rid of of about 354 Busby Seo Challenge Entrant and be the winner for this cool Busby Seo Challenge.

Frank Lloyd Wright | Robie House 1910

Frank Lloyd Wright : At the age of 8, I knew I wanted to be an architect. I was 10 years old when my mother first taught me about Frank Lloyd Wright. He was the 1st architect I would ever learn about. I learnt much more about his works later on when I was studying architecture in university.

I became fascinated by his architecture and his philosophies on space, form and nature. I learnt about so many modern architects but no one ever stood out like FLW to me. I was utterly captivated by his ingeniousness.

When I was in Chicago, I had the privilege to visit his ‘prairie houses’ in person. I had seen and studied a lot of his works through books but nothing compared to seeing them in person. You do not necessarily have to love FLW’s taste in design, colours and form but I think when you understand the principles behind his architecture you realize what a genius he was and how ahead of his time he often was.

If you drive through Oak Park and do not recognize his buildings, you would think some of them were designed in the 70s most likely_ but they were all built between 1890-1910_ a time when Victorian houses with pitched roofs were being erected.

The most fascinating thing about FLW is how his architecture always evolved and how his career spanned over 70 years. His understanding of space and form in unison with nature (organic architecture) was complimented by his great knowledge in engineering and structural integrity_ he was a true Master.

Boswall Road House by AJ Burridge

Designed by AJ Burridge. A glass entrance leads directly to the ground-level garden room. Large oak-framed glazed sliding doors access the decked patio and garden. An open staircase leads up to the mezzanine office lit by a side window and rooflights, which in turn accesses the main house.

"We loved our flat but it was isolated from the garden and spoilt by a dark, dismal entry stair. Now we have a bright modern entrance and garden room that makes the most of the external space. " Carol Anderson, client


























The stressed skin timber structure designed by SKM Anthony Hunts allows the slate roof to float over the ground level glazing.



























"...a refined simplicity of design coupled with a restrained palette of materials...combining...oak with glass and crisp white plastered walls, creates a sense of visual calm... "
Fiona Reid, Homes and Interiors Scotland issue 36



























Structural Engineer: SKM.AnthonyHunts
Photography: Mate Gibb & Zoë Maxwell
Publications: Homes and Interiors Scotland, Grand Designs March 2006

Fantastic Condo

This is a fantastic condo located near Clark and Devon in Rogers Park. Gut rehab in 2005 and still looks like new. All new paint, fixtures, granite counter tops, hard wood floors.

Jaime Rendon Arquitectos on Sereno House

Designed by Jaime Rendon Arquitectos, This Sereno House is located at the suburbs of Medellín (Colombia), 2,150 meter AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level). The outstanding visual over the valley (named Valle del Aburrá), and the native forest that surrounds the house make this site unique in its type. The longitudinal house location in reference to the plot enables walking trough while enjoying the exterior outlook.

The built-in white concrete volume encloses the social and the service zones, as well as the bedrooms. The built-in black stone volume surrounds the master bedroom and the private study (wood-box), both are linked by a iron built-in bridge.

Sun-light and shade splits the social zone in summer time, as result of the patio, the study, the bedrooms location against south and east facades. At the end of the year, the sun is south located and the whole area has a steady shade over the social zone, not only because of the house location but the native forest sun shade effect.

Architects: Jaime Rendon Arquitectos
Location: Medellín, Colombia
Project Team: Jaime Rendon, Felipe Campuzano, Fernando Zapata
Structure Engineer: Luis Bernardo Gonzalez
Contractor: Luz Estella Orrego
Soil Study: SOLINGRAL LTDA
Electrical Design: INGELECTRICA LTDA
Construction year: 2006-2007
Photographs: Sergio Gomez, Felipe Campuzano

The entry is a dual connotation, i.e., colossal and tiny, which best elucidates the “zaguán y el alero” (hallway) very popular in the traditional Colombian houses.
Related Article : Sereno House by Jaime Rendon Arquitectos.

Augusto Fernández Mas (K+A Diseño) | Aquino House

This single-family residence was designed by Augusto Fernandez Mas and located in Cuernavacas, Morelos, Mexico on a steeped lot in front of federal government lands and aside a river; it entailed a series of building and environmental restrictions. The sloped terrain made retaining walls necessary, as well as a drainage system to channel large amounts of rainwater.

The house is configured by orthogonal shapes and materials such as wood, stone and metal without artificial claddings. It stands with no protagonism against the rich and abundant surroundings.



























A series of spatial and comfort requirements led to juxtaposed concepts. The family wished for large open areas that could somehow, blend with the nature around, bluring the lines between “inside” and “outside”. Another request was an isolated studio with room for thousands of books, compact discs and LP’s, which must maintain related with the exterior.

Double heights appear in the living room and the library. Materials remain simple with soft textures: calcareous stones, open pore marbles, tropical woods, steel, glass and concrete. The main intention was for each interior space to face the river or the old amate tree, which is located towards east and has a 30 meter extended foliage that appears to envelop the house.



























Architects: Augusto Fernandez Mas (K+A Diseño)
Location: Cuernavacas, Morelos, Mexico
Project year: 2005
Construction year: 2006
Collaborators: Edurne Turcott Unzueta, David Alba
Landscape: Mario de la Garza & Daniel Aguilar
Woodwork: Fernando Acevedo
Structural Engineer: Enrique Garcia
Constructed Area: 490 sqm
Photographs: Fernando Cordero.

Best New Home listing Sites at NewHomeGuide

First Time Home Buyers usually don’t know where to start looking for potential properties that they can buy. There are also a lot of essential facts about home buying that they are yet to learn. This is not a problem with NewHomeGuide.com where you can immediately start searching from thousands of home listings. You can either make a quick property search or use their advanced search tool for a more specific home.

Buying a Home is a big investment decision and NewHomeGuide.com knows this. Registering an account with NewHomeGuide.com will give you the privilege of saving your searches. This can give more time for you decide on which property to invest in. You can also get special discount and offers which gives more value for your money.

If you are one of the First Time Home Buyers, you can learn tips about home buying in their resources section. Here you can find articles about home buying, financing and moving or relocating. Finding the perfect new home for you and your family should not be a problem even if it is your first time looking for one. At NewHomeGuide.com, you can search, save and own your dream home with additional deals and discounts. Newhomeguide.com is the place to go to find everything you are looking for and more. Should you choose to have your home built exactly the way you want, newhomeguide.com can even help you decide on a builder for your new home construction.

Home Improvement Loan

Looking to start your own business? Searching a reliable and excellent provider of home improvement loans? or Are you one of those people who wanted to secure an unsecured home improvement loan for the renovation of your house? If you do, you should get the chance now and visit this great site that will help your bisnis, home improvements load provider, and many more at afsloansonline.com. It is a consulting company that will help you get Home improvement loan for vacations, starting a business or any reason, anytime. You can find any information regarding some preparation for applying your home improvement loan at this site. They provide a great opportunities to those qualified applicants who are seeking a Home improvement loan for the over-all make up of their houses.










Home improvement loans are fixed rate loans which basically require no collateral security and are generally use for home improvement projects. To avail these home improvement loan the consumer must be of either 18 years of age or older than that and to avail a unsecured home improvement loan the consumer would not be in need of providing much of the documents.

There are basically various types of home improvement loan; like secured Home improvement loans and unsecured home improvement loan. The consumer has to decide on which type of loan he needs to go and then avail that particular type of loan to improve his house without much stress and difficulty.

AFSLoans has no application fee, no hidden charges and some of the lowest interest rates for home improvement loans. You can borrow between $10,000 to $100,000 with 24 to 48 hours approval. Their site is very user friendly. Borrowers can even check their unsecured home improvement loan status. See the detail below :
Afsloansonline Feature :

No ApplicationFee
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Home Maintenance Guide

Seasonal tips for protecting your home when you’re there and when you’re not. Your home is one of your most important investments. By keeping it properly maintained, you can help reduce the risk of a loss and help ensure the safety and well being of your friends and family. This guide provides seasonal tips for all areas of your home, including : Exterior , Electrical, Patio, Interior, Pool, and Driveway.



This guide provides seasonal tips for all areas of your home, including: Exterior Interior Electrical Pool Patio Driveway We’ve also included a Vacation Checklist and a Pool Safety and Maintenance Checklist to help you protect your home while you relax and enjoy life. Please take a moment to review this guide and familiarize yourself with these important inspection and safety tips.

Source : www.travelers.com | Size : 101680

Home Buying Guide

Home Buying Guide : 7-Step Guide for Buying Your Home

Step 1: Analyzing the Number
Analyzing the Numbers Affordability Analysis, Tax Benefits, Credit Reports, Finance Guides ...

Step 2: Finding a Home
Home Styles, Location, Home Search, Agent Search, Location Guides ...

Step 3: Making the Offer
Home Inspection, Contract Negotiations, The Offer, Contract Guides ...

Step 4: Understanding Cost
Understanding Escrow, PMI, Taxes, Estimating Monthly Payments ...

Step 5: Pick Your Mortgage
The guide will link you to our companion site for information: PickMyMortgage.com
• ABCs of Mortgage Loans,
• Steps in Picking Your Mortgage
• Mortgage Loan Types
• Rates
• Apply Online

Step 6: Qualifying for a Loan
Debt Ratios, Rate Locks, Loan Product Comparisons, Submission Guides ...

Step 7: Closing / Settlement
Closing Costs, Settlement Steps, Closing Guides, HUD-1 Settlement Statement ...

The Essential Home Decorating Guide

For millions of people worldwide the decoration of a house is the realisation of a dream - the act which turns a house into a home. To help you achieve your decorating vision, Harris has created The Essential Home Decorating Guide, an informative and practical handbook, which will help you to benefit from Harris’ established knowledge and expertise.

Offering you concise and practical advice, together with inspirational ideas for your own home, this fully illustrated guide provides a valuable insight into the principal decorating steps and techniques from preparation through to product care.

Decorating is undoubtedly a rewarding experience, and is an opportunity to express your personal tastes and style. With a good understanding of how to approach your decorating project we hope you will have an enormous amount of fun bringing your home to life.

Mexico House for sale

On the Riviera Maya's most cherished location, Rosewood Residences at Mayakoba; are the next evolution of art as architecture. 32 collectors' homes are nestled in the cooling jade of mangrove jungle, suspended over tranquil lagoon waterways. Spacious, dual-level homes. Unrivaled residences so beyond unique they are singular to the world. Rosewood Mayakoba; is located on the southeastern shore of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, on the coast of the Caribbean Sea. A few hours flight from most U.S. cities, Cancun International Airport is just over 30 minutes away and accommodates a host of airline carriers, major car rental firms, private air travel and transportation options including shuttles to the Mayakoba; resort.

The grand gates of Mayakoba; welcome you to a resort private and complete. Cradled at the sweetest spot of this garden paradise, the Rosewood Residences set themselves apart with a distinctive character born of the generous nature of the land. As you weave your way through limestone paths, emerald jungle and sea, in an instant you have arrived greeted by your host-Rosewood Hotels & Resorts.