This little micro-trend has been gathering pace for a while now, have you spotted it? With its many different incarnations, some of the most recent design examples are quite stunning.
Most people’s idea of pixel art is a very basic video game type graphic, childish console software created boxes in primary colours. Originally created using raster graphics software, the developments in digital skills and techniques in recent years have allowed far more intricate designs to be created.
I’m not usually a graphics loving girl but interiors with pixel focused design are pretty cool. What do you reckon, love or loathe? Would you be this brave??!
The bathroom above is very intricate, blimey, their tiler must have been at it for days! A stunning mosaic effect and beautifully executed.
I can’t work out whether the one above is a real kitchen or styled for a shoot but either way it’s visually impressive. Is it wallpaper or tiles, I can’t tell that either? I like it though đŸ™‚
Elsewhere in the interior design world, pixels are creeping in….
British carpet company Brintons wowed at Maison 2015 with this amazing pixellated carpet, I’d totally have that in my house. But avoid looking at it on hangover days đŸ˜‰
It’s not real for the faint hearted is it, this pixel trend? Imagine this vibrant cabinet against a brilliant white wall. That’s what you call a statement piece.
If crazy colour isn’t your thing, don’t worry, pixels can be calming too. When designed into an all-pale scheme they look futuristic and almost Zen-like.
One designer who’s embraced all things pixellated is Cristian Zuzunaga, creating textiles and furniture which boldly demand to be looked at. He originally trained as a graphic designer which goes some way to explaining his fantastic mastering of perfect pixel positioning. Cushions are meant to be fun, right? đŸ™‚
You know me, can’t resist getting timber in a blog post if I can help it. I can almost smell this extravagant display of different woods in a wall created for the Lululemon Yorkdale store in Toronto. Gorgeous, no….. Moregeous đŸ™‚
As you can see above, it’s not just interiors rocking the pixellated vibe. This amazing elevation on the Yardhouse, an affordable workspace in Stratford by Turner Prize 2015 nominated architects Assemble is pretty cool isn’t it? I’d have that on my house no problem!
If you’re not *quite* brave enough to spend all your pennies on a costly tiling job or architecturally designed wooden wall, how about a towel or two, that’s not going to break the bank is it. I snapped these the other week in Heals, great aren’t they?
Creating your own DIY rug or carpet area using carpet tiles can be far more design savvy than it sounds, as evidenced by the vivid example above. The pure white interior helps, as does the interesting seating area. I did something similar below using two shades of grey carpet tiles and then a vibrant blue to highlight the walkway in our new community Baths’ gym.
Everyone was very unsure when I tried to explain it but I think it works really well!
Slightly more avant grade than our gym floor is this rather fantastical cabinet, a kind of deconstructed mad scientist design where the joints are pixellated cubes. Crazy but fab and definitely not your usual high street find.
A pixellated effect can also be achieved with triangles, as shown in this striking artwork created by Gwen HERE. This painting was a three labour of love but it’s one sure fire way to get the perfect shades for your home!
Pushing the pixel boundaries into geometrics was Kit Miles for Dulux at Tent 2015. You can see where the inspiration comes from and the design is quite beautiful, though I guess pixel purists might disagree. When is a pixel not a pixel. A whole other blog post.
Have you seen any floating around the design world recently, do they tick all your boxes (sorry)? I pinned some more over on Pinterest but I’ll hazard a guess there’ll be plenty more to come in 2016.
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Addendum…. And indeed here we go! It’s now 2016 and I’ve a couple of cool additions.
Floor Story is an innovative flooring company with a difference, positioning themselves not as your average flooring retailer but as “your guide through the design potential that your floor can realise.” Their rugs are truly spectacular (as are they, I can attest, I met owner Simon Goff last night at LDF16 with the 2 Lovely Gays, who’ve created a beautiful new rug called Roses). Guess what I found on their site? Kaleidoscope:
Over at 100% Design, ‘Luxury Made’ was launched, a new section dedicated to, well, you know what. Some standard bling but also some delicious British workmanship such as this beautifully crafted collection of sycamore and oak pieces by British furniture maker Kevin Stamper. They are created from still life views such as vases of flowers, a plum tree (the violet and paint one below) or stormy seascapes, then translated into small pixellated cubes of sycamore to be colour washed and sealed then reassembled into the digital representation of the original ‘picture’. Amazing marquetry.
Kevin’s images are far more beautiful than mine taken above at LDF2016, do have a look here.
Addendum:
Even the fash pack are getting in on the act, with the Anya Hindmarch Autumn Winter 2016 collection rocking bold pixels both as a backdrop and accessories. Expect copies on the high street imminently…..
