Interesting yes. Take a look at this after office photo and then gaze upon the before photo underneath. Now imagine how you would feel working in each space. Quite a difference indeed. Might be a New Year’s resolution? Just a thought.

Have a fabulous festive evening with sparkles and twinkles for 2009!

After photo of office space. Not the best placement for the desk since the door is now at a peripheral view. FYI, the optimal desk position in Feng Shui is with a wall supporting your back and a view of the door and window.

Before photo. Um, not the best space to work in, imho.

For more info on who this is, visit the photographer Laurence Kim.

and here they are. Feast your eyes on these:

I know. Not a lot of detailed explanation here. The idea is to let your imagination guide you. And then, if you want more details go here.

Shocking I know.  I can’t help myself sometimes. I get excited about interior design from far off places. Sweden happens to be a favorite.

It’s a loft space. That’s all I know. It’s located in Sweden and featured in the Swedish design mag, Sköna hem.

I’m also getting the impression that some designers here like white walls, and bring in elements of color in other ways. It works for me. Clean lines in this space open up to comfort and warmth with the pillows and lounge-esque zone of the sectional sofa. The chairs remind me of that guy in the Bose commercial who sits in a very similar chair and receives a gust of wind from the sound. The dark rich colors help ground the space.

What drew me to this design was the simplicity. Love the warmth of the wood floors, the old-world tub in a modern space and that wall piece is just fabulous. I don’t know what it’s made of. Looks like some type of re-purposed, stressed metal. I wouldn’t be surprised. Notice that clever shelf on the right wall, which looks like it can be closed. I’m hoping for a big window on the far left side and a skylight.

Feels very warm and personal, like perhaps some of these pieces were brought back from someone’s travels.

Interesting. What a fabulous way to capture natural light without creating a heavy energy overhead.

Source: Sköna hem

The new Shibuya Station (subway station) in Tokyo, Japan, designed by Tadao Ando, looks like an underground spaceship, situated 30 meters down. In a recent interview with Wallpaper Ando explains some concepts behind the design.

“It is composed of a central void contained inside an egg-shaped shell and aims to reduce the station’s dependency on air conditioning equipments by letting the outside air blow into the underground space, creating a natural ventilation system that is energy saving.”

We love that.

The hub station is a connector to 2.5 million commuters who use the underground system and that section sees about 400,00 of them daily.

The idea behind the design was to keep a continuous flow of energy moving smoothly. That translates to a positive experience for the traveler and very good Feng Shui. I’m seriously impressed.

I love this story I read on Skylab recently. It is sweet, courageous and is just what we need to connect to each other in simple yet profound ways.

Even if you’ve never been to New York City, you’ve seen people on the subways in lots of films and you understand how day to day, people commuting this way, seem to remain silent amongst each other and disconnected.

The story

So there’s this woman, Evelyn, who is a regular NYC subway commuter and is aware of the silent, distant energy of the train ride. She decides one day, after gaining much courage to write a note (pictured above) and hand it out to random people.

This part is cute.

In her voice, “Honestly hon? I was terrified. The first time I did it, I hid in the corner of the car for almost my whole journey home. I only raised the courage two stops before I had to get off. I quickly stood up, took a deep breath and just started handing out the note. Truthfully, I’m not sure I knew what I was doing until I had no more paper in my hand. But I tell you something. Somebody always wants to talk to you. Always.” Skylab

Yes we humans do like to connect and talking is a great way.

One woman’s response

Here’s one woman’s response after she was handed the note, “But I don’t understand,” I said, not sure whether to look at the amazing note or the amazing Evelyn herself, “Where on earth did you find the guts to do this?” The words are clumsily slipping out of me for the surprise. “I’m British so public displays of expression tend to be completely off limits for me. I think what you’re doing is absolutely amazing.”Skylab

Yes, and so do I. Evelyn, you are my hero. May you start a trend that spreads from subway to subway in city to city across our planet divine. Thank-you Skylab for sharing this story.