Form & Function

I'm usually not the type to swoon over cute electronic gadgets, but this nifty little thing has caught my attention. I must say this is the cutest gift I've received this X'mas. It's a black Mickey Mplayer designed by iriver, a company based in South Korea. What I love about this is that the design remains simple and clean while incorporating core functionality. It's not overworked. You will see a lot of thought is given to the design of this Mplayer, right down to the packaging. The two spherical ears are functional, with one that controls volume and the other to forward/back soundtracks. The quality of the music output is good in my opinion. I especially love the earpiece. It's made to wear like a necklace with the mickey player as a pendant. The Mplayer comes in many delicious colors, I'm so tempted to collect a few more. Did I mention it has won a few design awards too? I'm absolutely won over. Thank you Cindy!

(photo source: Akihabaranews.com)

And here's the latest of the pack - Mplayer Eyes. The LED eyes display different eye signals when in operation, showing various menus such as Play, Rewind and Volume like a monitor. Now that's what I call a good design with form & function!

Distressed Luxe


I'm at the stage of gathering materials to make up a mood board for the interior theme of our new place, which hopefully will be ready by sometime mid of this year. We've now decided on a term which I made up - 'Distressed Luxe'. Do not mistaken it for Shabby Chic, it's not. It's a theme which I hope will achieve an old world feel with some form of luxury, without looking shabby. Yesterday, while at a local bookstore, browsing through mazagines, a favorite pastime which I love, I came upon this vision of the french style which I think fits the mood. I'm in love with the whole color theme: french blue, white, black with a subtle touch of gilded pieces.

The monumental Salone Grande, which was built in the Fifties and based on 17th-century plans. The summer home for the Prince & Princess of Borromeo, Italy. La dolce vita!
(Source: W magazine)