Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
The warmer months arrive and with them come countryside vibes and golden trends to help homes glow throughout the season.
Architect Joana Santos Barbosa, who launched her own Portuguese brand in 2012 called INSIDERHERLAND, has designed a series of summer pieces alongside her master craftsmen and jewellers to illuminate spaces within every room.
She said: “The golden tones carry me to my childhood summers, passed between the beach and the countryside, where the warm breeze and the rays of late afternoon sun made each day a special moment.”
The nature-inspired pieces range from shades of gold, mustard and brown, are entirely handmade and each creation tells a particular story through its meticulous design and traditional techniques of working wood, upholstery and brass.
The Na Pali two-seat sofa evokes the breathtaking landscape of Na Pali coast located on Kaua’i Island. The mystique of the dramatic valleys, striated walls and sharp ridges is reproduced by the handcrafted upholstery work. The wooden sides extend as cliffs from the bottom to the top and the front feet get the form of the numerous sculpted needles across the landscape.
The Figuero dining chair derives inspiration from the charming Figueroa Mountain located in the sunny California on the south-west of the United States of America. According to Joana, it is a magical landscape and the dining chair recreates its curves in particular detail.
The Osani mirror is inspired by the Osani game played by Efé children of the Ituri tropical forest in the Republic of Congo. She said: “The human circle represents the spirit of mutual help in this tribe, thought to be one of the oldest on earth. The ebony veneer captures the effect of children’s outstretched legs around the center and the aged gold leaf brings to mind the soles of their feet and their sun-bleached heads.”
Last but not least is the Inspiring Trees Wall Lamp. Geometric and seemingly minimal, it is fully handcrafted in brushed brass finished in gloss varnish and recreates a vertical ‘treetop’. The light is distributed by the several levels and diffuses controlled by the geometry of the overlapping pieces, lighting the surrounding space in an unexpected way.
