Gypsy Interiors: Intimate Portraits of Colorful People and Interiors

Irwin Weiner ASID - We love to show our readers how other people around the world live. You won't just get our take on interior design and decorating in the United States. (How boring would that be in a world alive with color and imagination!) I was delighted to find today's design video, featuring Roma (Gypsy) families from Bucharest, Romania in their homes. Carlo Gianferro's photographs were taken between 2007 and 2008 and they comprise a coffee table book called Gypsy Interiors: Contemporary Roma Portraits. Gianferro took portraits of individuals and small family groupings posing on stairways and in living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms.

The interiors show a strong, in-your face decorating style. The patterns, colors, textures, and layering aren't for the feint of heart. Some of the interiors are extremely modern while others are quite traditional. All the rules of decorating are broken, which I personally love. What's the fun of decorating if you can't color outside of the lines? Above all, the photographs capture a sense of pride; these homeowners are showing off their homes, and their portraits are very intimate and inviting.

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Paris Scene: Art Elysees

Irwin Weiner ASID - A distinct pleasure in visiting a city like Paris is soaking up the beautiful art scene. Take your pick for genre, artist, and style in this city filled with many art choices. It was a wonderful opportunity to see the annual Art Elysees exhibits set up along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees, exhibiting private gallery stashes of contemporary art.

In today's featured video, the curator of Galerie Dil talks about Bernard Buffet and other featured French artists from his exhibit. Buffet's 1950s minimal, stark style is extremely expressive, and I enjoyed the equally spare interpretation of some of his exhibited pieces, particularly the one which described a sailboat scene as being "filled with dreams."

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This Tiny House on Wheels Began With the Small House Movement

Irwin Weiner ASID - Massive Victorian homes and their contemporary counterparts, the suburban McMansion, take lots of land, energy, and raw materials that aren't in keeping with our more frugal and green times. Back in 1997, architect Sarah Susanka started the "small house" movement when she published her book The Not So Big House, and the movement has taken many forms. It's a lifestyle movement embraced by today's Millenials - scale back on possessions; it's a minimalist decorating movement; and it's a reduce-your-home's-footprint movement.

Click on the photo to learn more about this other tiny house on wheels. (photo: Stephanie Diani for The New York Times)

Today's featured video shows contractor Tory Smith (whose contact information is at the end of the video) discussing a tiny house he designed for a newlywed couple - and it's on wheels, making it a take-anywhere, completely portable housing solution. Note that the not-so-big-house movement is now miniaturizing to so-called "tiny homes." The interior is a revelation, finding nooks and crannies for every basic living function. And you must admire Tory's reuse of antique building materials. We often forget that the greenest thing we can do in our homes is to reuse and recycle something old into our remodeling and design schemes. Thank you, Sarah, for creating a vibrant movement that tells us "less is more." Click here for more information on Sarah Susanka and her range of not-so-big books.

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Design Video: Derek Wilson Brings Us Inside His Studio (and His Head)

Irwin Weiner ASID - Belfast, North Ireland has seen more than its share of violence and urban flight. It was devastating for the city's economy and also for its artist residents. The last five years has seen a change, however, and noted ceramicist Derek Wilson has been part of that resurgence.

There has been a boom of sorts - it was so behind other cities - with graduates staying and designers and artists setting up. There's lots of support, and it's nice to be involved in the creative resurgence.

Designs from Mr. Wilson are inspired by the colors, light quality, and industrial heritage of his beloved Belfast. Like all talented ceramics artists, his work is both highly functional and sculptural, making them absolutely ideal additions to home decor.

Watch his video interview below, and click on any of his images for more information.

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