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Wrap-Over Pergola Updates a Villa in St Tropez

Architects Vincent Coste add an intriguing wrap-around and fold-over pergola to the side of this house in St Tropez, on the coast of France.

This pergola creates an upper story walk-around space that shields the original house from the sun, and from sight.

Originally a charming, traditional coastal home with the Moorish influence much seen in this region of the south of France…

… the walkway now creates a very different facade to the private side of the home.

With its new pergola, now the villa is all about the pool.

The shade it casts brings welcome relief from the hot St Tropez sun.

An additional renovation was to fence in the pool from the neighbors gaze with high walls and a stucco staircase.

Hidden in this new garden wall is an outdoor shower out in the sun.

A clever lounging spot is created under the new staircase leading up to the walk around deck.

Inside, one bathroom is updated with the simplicity of timeless materials like this travertine stone bench.

Walls were knocked out of the original cramped home, to open it up.

The exterior bathroom wall has also been taken out, bringing the garden in to the ensuite.

Likewise, the formerly dark kitchen space now opens the entire wall to the outside.

Tropical plantings form a graphic contrast to the white stucco and turquoise pool.

Instead of baking under a stifling sun, now the villa and its pool form a cool oasis.

The new facade creates an odd intersection with the traditions of a sloped tiled roofline – but what fun to be able to walk for the first time through the neighbors’ trees!

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Design Dilemma: Cool Table Lamps

One of the most critical elements in any home is light. Good natural light is critical during the daylight hours if you want a space that feels good to be in. And in the dark of the night, it’s also important to have good artificial light. Any good lighting scheme is going to include table lamps, which can be incredibly versatile, functioning as general light in a room, task lighting for reading or mood lighting. A simple table lamp can be a wonderful opportunity to not only light your home but to bring a little “art” in as well. And if you don’t believe us on what a difference a lamp can make, check out the room below:

See how the lime green table lamp provides a pop of color that balances and plays off the pendant lamp as well? And although we don’t endorse lamps obscuring paintings, in this instance, the lime green also works as a wonderful contrast against the black and white painting.

And here’s another example of what a good table lamp can do:

These vintage buckets and burlap lampshades pick up on the homespun, rustic, somewhat folkloric look of the room. Even when the lamps aren’t in use, they’re fun and fitting.

And here’s a third example:

The fisherman table lamp is the perfect finishing touch in a nautical-themed baby’s room. It makes a statement without getting overly dramatic.

So if you’re looking to add a little drama in the table lamp department, we recently ran across these ideas:

The Kate Spade Saturday Table Lamp from West Elm caught our fancy. A little mid-century, a little mod, it somehow reminds us of a Miro painting. It costs about $200.

Here’s another view:

Also at West Elm, is the Lens Table Lamp. Inspired by factory lighting, it gives a nod to the industrial look. But even after that trend has become passe, we think we still wouldn’t mind keeping this lamp around. It’s $139.

Are you looking for something really different? If you’re into black humor, you might appreciate The Titanic Lamp by Charles Trevelyan.

Or, another gallows humor candidate would be The Colgao by Enpieza:

And this one’s by Patrick Jouin. The Bloom Table Lamp by MGX is made with polyamide that can expand and collapse so you can transform the shade from a bud to a blossom, thereby regulating lighting.

So by now, you’re getting the picture. A table lamp shouldn’t just be any old table lamp. A lamp is an opportunity to do something fun, inspirational, sculptural and interesting.Why not eschew the traditional lamp with lampshade and do something like this:

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Long Eco Family Home with Huge Roof Lawn

A full length green lawn marks this extraordinary large family home.

The lawn reflects its bucolic setting in the countryside outside São Paulo in Brazil.

At one end, the home houses a picture perfect garage, like a child’s drawing.

The long plan allows for six bedrooms and a master bedroom on the pool side, and another suite with a private entrance.

An opening in its center creates a transition between interior and exterior.

The central patio opens out on an enormous pool almost like a lake in front.

This central patio opens to both sides under a low flat roof.

The pool extending outwards from the underground patio creates another long axis view at right angles to the house.

This central opening is an enormous underground patio that faces out towards the pool.

To one side of the open patio, the indoor great room opens out fully to the front and closes up behind the screen doors, like the bedrooms.

While the central patio has a long low flat roof, the living room has a gabled roof that follows the roof line.

The rooms all face out to the morning sun.

A tiled stone floor is set in to the concrete as if it is a rug in the center of the great room.

To one end of the great room the dining area catches the morning sun.

The kitchen is warm and inviting.

A very unusual home.