House Apelle, a charming single family home, is located in a wooded area of Finland. Designed by the unique architect and artist Marco Casagrande, of Casagrande Laboratory, this home was designed with particular attention to the surrounding environment. According to Casagrande: The building rests in a natural harbor like a boat in a sheltering pocket surrounded by bed rocks and trees… The house is in the forest as much as the forest is in the house – the architecture is a mediator between the modern man and nature. The interior is largely open, with few walls separating a central living space from the private areas on the sides of the house. Large windows and the use of natural materials bring the outdoors in. This is a lovely multifunctional home that bridges the gaps between modern and traditional, beauty and function, man and nature.

Markthuis is a private home renovation and extension by BARCODE Architects, also known as the Buro for Architecture and Contemporary Design. Located in Belgium, this house was designed around the owner’s art collection and hunting trophies. The structure features an open plan living area with a double height ceiling. The walls in this space serve as tall exhibition walls. The bedrooms and intimate dwelling spaces are placed on the upper story for privacy. I love how BARCODE Architects kept this structure minimal in order to maximize the viewing of the artifacts in the home. Like a museum or gallery, this home enhances the objects inside it. Every detail is perfectly designed to create a clean, crisp palette. And check out that staircase: it is a work of art in itself!

In 2008 Shay Alkalay of Raw-Edges designed the Pivot cabinet. The drawers of the wooden cabinet are hinged together, which means they can both be opened at the same time. A feature of which conventional drawers do not have. Since, Alkalay has created two new additions to the Pivot line for one of Europe’s leading table manufacturers, Arco: the Pivot Desk and Vanity. The Pivot Desk lowers the Pivot unit and adds a desktop. A functional workstation, great for small spaces or living rooms. The Pivot Vanity is the same concept as the desk but the top has a recessed edge and a mirror can be added.

Italian full service advertising agency, Concept Store, based in Pescara, have designed this elegant, minimal and beautifully presented wine packaging for Vecchie Vigne. The design, lead by Marco D’Aroma of Concept Store, has a clear minimal layout for the label’s flagship store, Gentile, which includes a beautiful use of typography, spacing and colour contrast. The preciousness of the product is given by the care and study of individual details, ranging from the choice of paper and clever use of black and white lettering. The wine itself, is a red 2009 reserve, however I am unable to give you an opinion on the taste. If you happen to taste Vecchie Vigne at some point in the future, please share your thoughts. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this packaging as much as I do.

The DeskBox is an elegant little worktable, created by Israel-born UK-based designers Yael Mer & Shay Alkalay of Raw Edges studio for the furniture brand Arco, It its “box” mode, the item is barely extended from the wall. But as you pull the cover down – it turns into a nicely sized workstation. Designers explain: The Deskbox is a practical small table/cabinet that is hung onto a wall and it is ideal for settings where there is little space available for furniture. It is an elegant small work place, which is excellent for working on a laptop for instance, and it can be retracted to form a closed box, half the size of the table top. I like how seamless and fluid this design is. An opening on the back for cables and cords and a small storage compartment complete the piece.

Coca-Cola Light is the sponsor of ARCO, the International Contemporary Art Fair that opens today in Madrid, and for celebrating it they have made a special edition of their classic bottle. It is made of aluminium with a pearl white background and has two of the most representative icons in Arco: a red circle that indicates when a work has been acquired and a label that describes the work, including the tittle, measures and the technique used. I really enjoy this kind of works where a brand reduce its image to the minimum expression.

We are going to Hollywood Hills today, visiting home built in 2008 by XTEN Architecture. As always I particularly love the integration of architecture into the landscape while opening it to the city below. There is a lot to notice but let’s have a closer look at the materiality throughout: steel beams, glass in various renditions (such as fixed clear plate panels, mirror plate walls, light gray mirror glass panels), dry stacked granite (fireplace), charcoal concrete (cantilevered stair), floor to ceiling rift oak panels, dark stucco, cut pebble (flooring). The repetition of building elements deepens the continuity of space but with the right amount of interest, don’t you think? The house opens on every side “to capture the prevailing breezes to passively ventilate and cool the house” and I can easily see myself spending warm Californian afternoon here.

The simple and intuitive Mutewatch , designed by Norra Norr, is a silent alarm in the shape of a vibrating wristband. It serves as a quiet reminder that helps you to follow your own agenda without disturbing people in your surroundings. By gently tapping the touch screen the time lights up. Swipe the screen to browse through the clock, alarm and timer functions. The watch features a built-in motion sensor that automatically adjusts the strength of alarm vibrations. A simple flick of the wrist activates the glowing display. Mutewatch comes in three colors; charcoal-grey, poppy-red and pure-white.

This House in Pozuelo de Alarcón, Spain, has been designed by the prestigious Spanish architecture studio A-cero, led by Joaquín Torres. The projects of this studio have a great sculptural character, playing with volumes and sheets. Combining these with modern projecting, blocks and plates results in very interesting light and shadow compositions. Overall, A-ceros projects have a minimalist feeling, from the principal elements to the tiny details.

Hammerthor are a brand of mens underwear based in Denmark, that have been in manufacture since 1893. I hear that they are responsible for Japanese-based Comme des Garçons’ line of underwear, as well, some of which have their trademarked designs, and others that are simply rebranded. According to their website: Back in 1893, when the original Hammerthor quality was established, following the latest fashion was not so crucial. In those days, customers were more concerned with quality. As clothes were expected to last for many years, it was important that they were durable and practical. These basic principles are what we still live up to at Hammerthor I discovered Hammerthor when I was researching underwear devoid of logos or the name of the brand on the elastic band. I bought them through oki-ni, who also stock some mouth-drooling pieces by Raf Simons and Jil Sander. So far they have proved to be pretty comfortable. Does anyone have any other recommendations?

Lausanne based Big-Game studio created a series of cork floating boats for the Portuguese company Materia. The toys, simply titled ‘Bote’ are made of a cork base and a plastic mast or cabin that can be easily changed. A perfect kid’s gift now the summer is approaching fast. The boats will be exhibited during I Saloni 2011, at Via San Marco 38, Milan, April 12–17. Photography by Julien Chavaillaz.

Pull out your Catholic school uniform correctness of blue boy blazers and over the knee-high, pleated charcoal wool skirts. Prep school status has been glamorized by Vera Wang. Funny that I remember, there was a question mark over my stiff school uniform growing up. As a keeper of tradition, the restricted dress code could not help me shine with cool confidence. Vera Wang’s Pre-Fall 2011 collection projected a British shoolgirl theme with a sort of country, baroque dressiness. Ms. Wang’s prep school girl had an youthful edge and tough image: mini pleated skirts with over the knee leggings; abbreviated cardigans with a touch of leather and fur; an abundance of charcoal hues. A pared-back, dark, boyish take on the über polished and put together A+ girl—arguably my uniform of choice.