Shuwa Tei of Intentionallies Architects designed this home for a family and their in-laws. In a residential area on the outskirts of Tokyo, this home is a concrete gem causing much house envy. We’re not going to lie, we’re suckers for the over use of glass, wooden flooring and sliding doors. Design Boom had us at this description “upon entering, the interior opens gradually, beginning as a continuous living room. Seemingly carved from
a concrete block, the lower portion of the stairway unfolds into a series of open riser treads which cantilever
from the bounding internal walls”.

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Jay Carroll’s job description makes us mad. Real mad. As a concept designer for Levi’s he basically travels the world picking up cool artifacts, hanging out at flea markets and chatting to interesting folks, all under the guise of providing inspiration for future projects and collections. Formerly of Rogues Gallery, you may also know him through One Trip Pass, a photographic journal of his jealousy inducing travels. Refinery29 dropped by his San Fran pad, a holding place for all the goodies that didn’t end up at Levi’s HQ. Very nice it is too. Take a look.

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Oh, fancy nosing around a well known dutch designers house do you? Well, look no further than Brooklyn Magazine, who have found themselves in the home of J Crew’s Frank Muytjens in North Brooklyn. As you’d guess it’s a shrine to mid-century goodness and general fine taste. The accompanying interview reveals his interior preferences. Frank likes piles of magazines, wooden stools and old rugs for his ginger dog to sit on. More at Brooklyn Mag.

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WSJ spent some time with designer, Raf Simons, at his home in Antwerp, Belgium. “Designed in 1968—Simons thinks it’s kismet that it’s the year he was born—by a Belgian couple who imported Modernist furniture, the two-story, open-floor-plan apartment is a primer in mid-century Modernism. A longtime collector of mid-century furniture, Simons knew he would buy it the minute he saw the wenge-wood floating staircase, built-in cabinets and floor-to-ceiling sliding-glass windows.”

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A departure from the traditional flute, Nick Munro’s Crackle Champagne Glasses are mouth blown in the Czech Republic and then submerged in cold water to achieve the broken effect. Sold in a set of two, these are on sale this summer at MoMA… just in case you were in need of a something proper to house those weekend mimosas.

Munro designed the glasses in 1995.

If you like drinking, music and “the past,” these hand-painted glasses are for you.

The illustrations that are hand-painted on these glasses are copies of figures depicted in the “Wiener Veduten”, a collection of prints published around 1800 illustrating Viennese society. The prints became immensely popular; contemporary copies and a few rare originals can still be seen in Viennese homes and businesses today. The prints were published by Artaria, a music publishing company that was known for publishing over 300 of Haydn’s works, most of Mozart’s works, and works by Beethoven, Gluck, Boccherini and Clementi.

Made in Austria at Lobmeyr. Available from Moss.

Invoking the warm embers of a glowing camp fire, the “KML” candle by Baxter of California for Unionmade is a bold blend of Cedar and Sandlewood moderated with Guiacwood Oil. A true collaborative effort, the “KML”candle was conceived in tandem by J.P. Mastey, President BAXTER OF CALIFORNIA and Todd Barket founder of UNIONMADE. Housed in a sophisticated round craft paper box, the candle is in battle ship grey wax.

Images of both packaging and candle after the jump.

bless shop relocated into the third floor of a residential building and re-emerged into a “home” concept in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg hood. One of the interesting plays in the new bless home is the rotating artists that house the space. The latest, “Mira Schröder, a German exhibition design + curatorial practice graduate and brand collaborator” has “reset” the shop’s look and feel. If you plan on visiting Berlin this summer, we advise you to swing by bless home. (sn)

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The mention of the Barcelona club will either incite you to keep reading or to toss a fist at your viewer. We’re happy that the Spanish club raises emotions in one direction or the other. Barcelona’s new home kit, developed by Nike for the 2011-2012 season, remains very true former editions: the burgundry, the striping… it all of course remains. “The black [away] shirt features a distinctive black and grey graphic on the shoulder reminiscent of the Catalan flag.”

Most important is Nike’s continued use of 13 reclaimed water bottles to produce the polyester that makes up the jerseys while saving your landfill.
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Fresh seating for 2011 from Established & Sons. “A crossbreed of an armchair and a rocking chair, Soft Rocker is entirely upholstered, right to the end of its rockers. It provides the soothing motion of a rocking chair, with the comfort of an armchair. Except for the expressive curve of the actual rocker, the design is intentionally boxy to give the impression that the shape is halfway between reality and an isometric drawing. However, its static form is deceptive for once sat in, it gives way to soft, comfortable movement. The back, seat and arms are aligned to best support a mental state of ‘relaxed alertness’ the perfect pose for reading the paper, a prolonged gaze out of the window or a good conversation.”

More looks follow.