CONTEMPORARY HOME DESIGNS – If I had to describe the word ‘contemporary’ in the context of home designs then I would sum it up as a “Statement of Living”.
I was browsing through a few home design magazines the other night when a friend of mine looked across and remarked that he could not see how anyone could find contemporary home designs attractive or an appealing way to live as all appeared nothing more than a stack of boxes. I almost choked on my fine Single Malt!
I was aghast how anyone could come out with such a general rationalization that all contemporary home designs were simply a collection of stacked boxes. I was having none of it and decided that a little education, of the finer things in life, were in order and the only decent thing I could do was to pour him a very large singe malt to begin with his enlightenment.
A beautiful contemporary home, that is perfectly lighted at night.
I grabbed a few home design magazines that contained both contemporary and what I would refer to as the ‘Council House’ mentality and laid them side-by-side. The first thing I pointed out is that regardless to what you may perceive the shape to be, they are all boxes, that is square or rectangle rooms. Granted on the few occasions you can come across very unusual homes that do consist of circles, ovals, hexagons and more, but for the standard layout, nearly all are squares and rectangle, due to the functionality of the shape.
Curving sections soften the sharp edges of this stunning contemporary designed home.
In my view, where the contemporary sets itself apart, is in the architects ability to create a living environment that brings the construction materials more into play, so instead of being an uninteresting brick wall, that’s likely to get covered up and painted, it becomes an integral part of the living space. Techonolgy also plays a huge part in modern construction and none is more evident with the amount of glass that is used. 30 years ago it would have been impractical to use large sheets of glass and for a number of reasons, including safety and heat loss. Today both of these concerns have been overcome and this has afforded us the ability to make huge statements about our life-styles, create more natural light in the home, and where views are evident, make full use of them by bringing nature closer to the interior.
Simple but stunning – why complicate a perfect design?
After explaining for about 10 minutes the virtues of modern design he pointed his finger at the exact same picture that started the conversation and declared; “I rather like that.” No, it couldn’t be the single malt, he’d only had a few sips, but rather what had occurred was that he was now looking beyond the box and thinking more outside it.
Living unit design to fit in with nature, hence the timber and water below.
After a few more single malts and lots of discussion we both came to the conclusion that contemporary modern house designs are generally not built for the masses but for the individual and this is the core purpose of the architect – to build a home that is pleasing and functional that reflects the individuals personality and needs. We are now lucky enough to live in an age where even planning officials are prepared to consider contemporary designs that do fit in, but just in a different way. We are all individuals and no two people have the same aspirations in what a home should look like, how functional it should be and how aesthetically pleasing it should be.
Contemporary design doesn’t always mean steel and glass.
Below I’ve include some other fine examples of contemporary homes which I’m sure some you will find extremely appealing.
Beautiful contemporary design, creating light and calm.
Imposing design that looks warm, light and inviting.
Clever roof line slopes to soften the whole look and feel of the building.
Soft lines help blend the building to the landscape while the brilliant white makes sure of its presence.
Design allows for huge amounts of glass in order to take full advantage of the views.
When you first view a contemporary home design, like the examples above, your first impression might be that these buildings are bold and in-your-face. But stop for a moment and gaze a while longer and before long you might begin to view these, as do many contemporary design enthusiasts, that these are in fact bold, soft, demanding in places, comforting, open, light, airy and above all extremely easy to live with. The contemporary design is meant to be uncluttered and provide the architect and importantly the owner with a statement of pure individualism.
I think this way of living creates a Zen effect and certainly anytime spent in such a home will certainly put your Chi right in balance. I hope you’ve enjoyed my rantings and I’m sure you can appreciate that I am passionate about contemporary design and I hope some of my passion rubs off on you. If you like my article… please share it – Thank you.
