From Fantasy To Reality

Well, the house at Noosa is quickly approaching completion and the joinery is put in place.  At Phil Darwen Design we offer a full service that includes the design and detailing of all the joinery units in a house.  These include the kitchen and bathrooms, storage cupboards, entertainment units, and wardrobes.

Occasionally, we also get the opportunity to design items such as these...

These bookcases were designed as part of the concept in the upstairs library, and the owners liked them so much that they are now going to be a feature of the completed home.

Apple Architecture

One of the largest technology companies in the world, Apple has cemented itself as the premium brand for consumable electronics. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad are just three of the products that have made Apple a part of the lives of the majority of people on the planet.
Where do you get these wonderful toys you may ask...from an Apple Store of course! And these products are housed in buildings that showcase the overall simplicity in design that is the backbone of everything that Apple does.
Here are just a few of the stores from around the world...


Fifth Avenue, New York



Boston, Massachusetts



Somewhere in China ;-)



Upper West Side, New York



Shanghai, China



Grand Central Station, New York



Albuquerque, New Mexico

All these stores are stunning examples of architecture that elevate the process of buying a product to an experience that solidifies a customers loyalty. I am a fan of the architecture of behind these stores and of course the architects that design them. The majority of the larger retail stores has been designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, who also (in a strange twist of fate) designed the personal home of Microsoft founder Bill Gates on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle.
These large retail stores aside, I always get pleasure from visiting my own little piece of Apple architecture right here in Brisbane...



Chermside, Brisbane

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Social Media

It's been almost a month since my last post on the blog.  I'm spending more time updating the Facebook page of Phil Darwen Design and less time here unfortunately.  The Facebook page is very easy to keep updated, add images, share links and videos, and pretty much everything else you could want to share.

In order to get the news from the design studio out to as many people as possible, Phil Darwen Design posts regular updates to various social media systems.  We have a Twitter feed, the Facebook page, the website (and it's embedded blog), a YouTube channel (still in it's infancy but we are getting more content together for this) and of course our Pinterest boards.  
I'm sure there are more but at the moment this seems to be the limit in the amount of different outlets we can manage comfortably.  Feel free to check out any of our feeds. Follow along if you'd like. Share your feedback. 
It's a small world we live in.  Thanks to technology, it's getting smaller by the day.

For Sale

I just found out that one of the best houses I've designed in my career is reluctantly up for sale.  The stunning Serpentine House at Doonan has been put on the market so that the owners can take up new opportunities.  If I had the money I would buy it myself!

Here is the link to the real estate listing...
http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-qld-doonan-108633811

Onward & Upward!

As no doubt happens in every business, sometimes you get a few "difficult" clients.  The kind of clients that don't appreciate, don't communicate and generally don't remunerate for your time and skill.  Now that these "difficult" clients are finished, it is like a fresh breeze has swept out the cobwebs that were weighing down the creativity of the designs.


It is now time to focus on the new clients with the vision and appreciation for good design.  It is also the start of a fresh direction in design, a time to take what has been learned and push it even further towards bigger and better things.

Hello, and welcome to television!

I have joined You Tube!  I have set up a channel, uploaded a video (linked below) and subscribed to other channels that I find of interest.

You Tube is amazing in that anyone with a computer can upload a video or slideshow and it is instantly available for the world to see!  Feel free to check out the official Phil Darwen Design you tube channel via the link on the menu bar of the website and be sure to check back regularly for updated content.

Best new iPad app

About a week ago, I downloaded a fantastic app for the iPad called Paper by fiftythree.  What a great app!


Using this very simple and elegant app, I can get down ideas, sketch layouts, develop elevations and make notes on the go or while sitting with clients. It's actually quite useful from the building design viewpoint.

It's free from the App Store too (although the additional pens can be purchased separately).


Highly recommended, two thumbs up!