The Color Condition: designer interview

Homebuildlife caught up with the creators and designers from The Color Condition to find out more about their vibrant paper streamers.

Design Reunion by Habitat

Simon Pengelly for Habitat

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Habitat will launch Design Reunion, a collection of six pieces created by acclaimed designers who have previously collaborated with the brand. Shin Azumi, Tord Boontje, Sarah Campbell, Claire Norcross, Simon Pengelly and Aaron Probyn worked closely with the brand's creative director Polly Dickens to develop a range of statement pieces.

Meet The Makers: behind-the-scenes at Selfridges' food halls

Selfridges has announced an eight-week summer campaign that will introduce customers to the artisans and producers behind the delicacies available in its Food Hall.

Launching on Monday, Meet The Makers will include special food tours and demonstrations as well as Meet the Michelin, a dinner series hosted by Michelin-starred chefs, and Make My Magnum, a dessert bar in which you'll be able to customise your own Magnum by dipping it into chocolate and applying a range of coatings such as chilli and rosebuds.

Hand-crafted parasols by Sunbeam Jackie

Ideal for the summer season, Sunbeam Jackie's luxury, hand-crafted parasols are made of a patchwork of antique, vintage and designer fabrics.

Moskva: Urban Space at Venice Architecture Biennale 2014

Moscow's installation at this year's Venice Architecture Biennale highlights elementary shifts in architecture throughout the city's past, and reveals new urban possibilities. The exhibition features inverted prisms that hang from the ceiling with photographs of familiar buildings attached to them.

GROW: The contemporary garden fair

Opening to the public tomorrow on London's Hampstead Heath, new contemporary garden fair GROW will bring together 100 carefully selected exhibitors selling plants, furniture and gardening accessories.

A Scandinavian Midsummer by designjunction

Habitat's Platform Gallery in London is currently hosting A Scandinavian Midsummer, an exhibition and pop-up café created by designjunction and curated by Michael Sodeau Studio.

Cars That Feel by Soap Creative

VIVID Sydney "Cars That Feel" Time Lapse from Soap Creative on Vimeo.

For arts festival VIVID Sydney this year, digital agency Soap Creative used lights, sound and visuals to imbue a series of Toyota cars with human characteristics and personalities. Programmed to 'wake up' as the sun set, the cars invited affectionate interactions from passersby - such as hugs and tickling - and responded in different ways.

For more insight on how domestic objects are taking on emotion and personality, subscribers can read our technology report Animated Appliances.

Luminaire by Rem Koolhas and Swarovski at Venice Architecture Biennale

Luminaire by Rem Koolhas in collaboration with Swarovski © Gilbert McCarragher

Dutch architect Rem Koolhas has collaborated with Swarovski to create Luminaire, a lighting installation that surrounds the entrance to Monditalia, one of the exhibitions that takes place at this year's edition of the Venice Architecture Biennale.

Football goes pink: Benefit's pop-up pub

To coincide with the World Cup, Benefit Cosmetics will open a pop-up pink pub called Gabbi's Head on 12th June. Serving pink cocktails and canapes while showing all of the major games, the pub will also be home to Benefit beauty artists, who will offer complimentary brow waxes, skin care sessions and make-up.

Quilted embellishment: Live from D'DAYS, Paris

Design studio A+A Cooren has partnered with upholsterer Ateliers Philippe Coudray to create the Merybench sofa, presented at this year's edition of Parisian design event D'DAYS. 

Its softened, rounded structure is imprinted with partially quilted motifs instead of the usual all-over treatment. This creates a subtle yet very modern tone-on-tone embellishment.

Tea for One by Design K: Live from Clerkenwell Design Week

London-based studio Design K is showcasing its latest creation at Platform, one of the main events of this year's Clerkenwell Design Week, which runs until tomorrow. Tea for One is a side table made of wood with an embedded saucer and a loose tea cup, drawing inspiration from the traditional English afternoon tea.

W Hotel London tableware: Live from Clerkenwell Design Week

At this year's edition of Clerkenwell Design Week in London, W Hotel is showcasing the prototypes of three drinking glasses, the result of a collaboration between the hotel and one of the event's exhibitions, Platform.

Backing British farmers and growers: Live from RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2014

For the fourth year running, Waitrose and the National Farmer's Union have collaborated on a stand that celebrates both horticulture and agriculture at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. For this year's display, the companies have been inspired by the extreme climate change; designer Penny Riley explains, "We wanted to highlight the problems growers endured with the flooding."

London Design Festival 2014 preview

London Design Festival 2014 identity by Pentagram

The 12th edition of the London Design Festival, which will take place September 13-21, will include once again several major projects at the Victoria & Albert Museum as well as two new design districts and an installation in Trafalgar Square by AirBnB.

Chelsea Flower Show-inspired menus

Tom's Kitchen. Photo by David Griffen Photography

Next week's RHS Chelsea Flower Show has inspired two restaurateurs to launch special menus inspired by the show's beautiful horticultural displays.

Tom's Kitchen has created a light and floral menu that includes crab with basil mayonnaise, cucumber and nasturtium leaf; cod with apricot rose and saffron; and courgette and pistachio risotto with courgette flowers.

Wedgwood tea experience

To celebrate the launch of its luxury teas and new teaware range Daisy Tea Story, British teaware brand Wedgwood collaborated with food historian Tasha Marks to create a tasting experience.

Selfridges launches Fragrance Lab

Photo by Hufton+Crow

Selfridges today launched The Beauty Project, a ten-week celebration of all definitions of beauty, which includes an experiential in-store installation called Fragrance Lab that promises to match customers with their own character, distilled into scent.

The Urban Gin Garden at Clerkenwell Design Week

Portal restaurant on St John Street will be turned into an urban gin garden for Clerkenwell Design Week this year, which runs 20th to 22nd May. The garden will include a special installation by multimedia artist Lauren Baker, a grow-your-own cocktail workshop and mini garden fair hosted by Grow London, and tasting workshops by British gin brand Sipsmith.

Lights cameras action! Milano Design Film Festival 2014 and its awards

From the boundary of the usual by Toni Meneguzzo

Sustained by last year's success, the Milano Design Film Festival has tripled the seating capacity for its second edition in Milan on October 9-12 and planned an international tour, which sees it touching down on 19 June at Italian Cultural Institute in Paris, for three dates in July at MAXXI in Rome and 24 - 30 September at Beijing Design Week.

Highlights of the festival will include From the boundary of the usual, a short film on Piero Fornasetti’s world by Toni Meneguzzo, and REM, a feature-length documentary by Tomas Koolhaas about his father Rem.