Fun or Dangerous Job

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Amazing Ice Hotels and Snow Castles of Finland

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Paradise set in a Deep Quarry - Songjiang Hotel

This incredible luxury resort complex tucked into a Chinese quarry in a popular weekend destination area will sleep up to four hundred guests at a time and includes cafes, recreation areas and even rooms and gathering spaces under the water. The reuse of a quarry is itself an environmental move - augmented by the use of geothermal heat to directly change the building’s temperature but also to generate power for the structure.

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Ice Buildings

Have you ever sat back and wondered whether it would be possible for you to create a castle made of ice? Or perhaps an ice palace or frozen hotel?

5. Ice Hotel, Quebec, Canada
Every January 10km east of Quebec City, an extraordinary ice hotel is erected. It boasts 85 beds covered with deer furs and is made with 15,000 tons of ice. The only place that is heated is the bathroom!

Ice Hotel

4. St Petersburg Ice Palace, Russia
For over 200 years now Russia’s old imperial capital, has recreated the ornate ice palace, built in1740 for Empress Anna Ioannovna. Visitors pay 150 rubles ($5; 4 euros) to see the complex, which was made with over 3 tons of ice from nearby lakes. You can also have your wedding here for the sum of 10,000 rubles.

Opening ceremony of the ice palace

Ice Sculptures

Russian ice palace

3. The Ice Hotel, Jukkasjärvi Sweden

The World’s first ice hotel began in 1990 when French artist Jannot Derid held an exhibition in a cylindrical igloo. One night, there were no rooms available in the town, so some of the visitors decided to spend the night in the attraction, wrapped up in sleeping bags on top of reindeer skin. These were the first guests. The hotel now boasts over 80 rooms each year and only exists between December and April. With every year that passes, the design of the building and rooms changes. It is unique.

Ice hotel Sweden

Ice Hotel Sweden

2. Saint Paul Winter Carnival, Minnesota

The Saint Paul Winter Carnival has been going since 1886 after a New York journalist described the town as “another Siberia, unfit for human habitation.” The local Chamber of Commerce, eager to prove him wrong, created one of the most marvelous winter spectacles. The carnival features everything from the famous ice palace, (pictured below both in 2004 and 1887) to bobsledding and ice horse racing. It even has it’s own royal family!

Saint Paul Winter Carnival 2004

St Paul's Winter Palace 1887

1. The Snow Castle of Kemi, Finland
The snowcastle of Kemi in Finland is the biggest in the world and it’s rebuilt every winter. In its first year, the huge ice sculpture drew up to three hundred thousand visitors.

The hotel sits on between 13,000 to 20,000 square metres of ground, depending on which year it is built. Every year, the architecture is completely different. Three features remain however, these are: a chapel, a restaurant and a hotel.

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18 Extraordinary Modern Beds and Bed Designs

Considering we spend a third of our lives occupying them, it is surprising bed designs have remained so stable throughout history - until now. Here are 18 groundbreaking beds that are straining to free themselves from convention, predictability and even gravity.

Image: Le Beanock.

Its origins lost in antiquity, the hammock has been a popular and practical alternative to terra firma sleeping arrangements for thousands of years.Le Beanock’s contribution to this tradition is scale: slung between walls on a series of heavy-duty chains, their double-sized (but presumably only one-person) hammock is an eye-catcher, a room centerpiece and a sheer joy when it is time to sweep the floor.

Images: Max Longin.

But other modern beds also aren’t keen on being grounded either. Take the Bed Float - not only can it be fully dismantled in a jiffy (with part of the bed frame forming a carrying case), it is also designed to look as if it’s touching the ground as little as possible.

Images: Lago and Yanko Design.

Similarly overcome with the urge to levitate are these two beds. Joel Hesselgren’s vision is of bed legs that also double as side tables, in a modular design that can be divided into singles or doubled up and expanded as need be - “a bed that grows with you”. Lago’s Fluttua bedaims for a David Blaine trick: from the right angle, there is nothing but air under this bed.

Images: New York Times and Shawn Lovell Metalworks and Casket Furniture.

Children like their beds to look like anything but beds (for example, pirate ships are popular) but this habit is not just confined to the kids. TheOkooko bed looks almost seaworthy, albeit in a Columbus rather than Blackbeard style. The Tree Bed - part four-poster, part Lothlorien - can’t make up its mind whether it is a bed or a bird’s nest. And the Casket Bedseems perhaps a little too perfect for those with an angsty, gothic-revival obsession with creatures of the night.

Image: Private Cloud.

Another design trend happily carried over from our childhoods is thecradle. Private Cloud have taken the concept and thoroughly updated it with more than a splash of style and pupil-dilating beauty.  Rollers can be fixed under the leg-arches to allow safe rocking to and fro, or to lock the whole bed in place - and the whole piece can double as a comfortable (and stable) lounge-chair.

Image: Lomme.

If you thought Private Cloud looked modern, the Lomme will be a revelation. This egglike bed comes equipped with a “light therapy” alarm clock, a massaging viscoelastic memory foam mattress and a control unit that is a specially modified iPhone. (At this point, you will be correct in assuming the Lomme isn’t cheap). With muting acoustics and a distinctly calming aesthetic, the Lomme seems guaranteed to give you a trouble-free night’s sleep, wherever you are.

Images: Come Up To My Bedroom exhibition and Architonic.

Some beds have something to hide. All that’s lacking from this wicked-looking mousetrap-style bed (created for an exhibition, not for sale) is a box of chocolates as a lure, and possibly some kind of first-aid kit. ThePump It bed, on the other hand, could not look less innocuous…since until it is inflated, it’s just a corner of your carpet. An ideal solution to the problem of friends inviting themselves over for the weekend.

Images: Lectus and Techeblog and Tovdesign.

As much as minimalist is a pure and beautiful thing, maybe there’s such a thing as too minimalist. The classic-lined but somewhat severe Lectus Stripe Bed is a masterpiece of pared-down design, but just howcomfortable is it? The Foetal Position Bed is even more demanding: you either lie in exactly the correct way, or you fall off - there is no middle ground. Taking constraint one step further, the Hold Me Bed is arguably the safest in the world, as you’d have to work extraordinarily hard to roll off it.

Images:  Trendhunter and Metronaps.

Yet it is not just the design of beds that is changing - their function is similarly in flux. As evidence builds that power napping has a profound positive influence on concentration and energy levels throughout the day, business of the future will have to find suitable furniture for corporate napping programmes. Here are some beds that are ahead of the curve. The two Cocon Napping Pods (the first reminiscent of Ridley Scott’sAlien) and the stunningly hi-tec pod from Metronaps seek to tackle sleepiness with the sturdiest of modern technology…

Image: Nappak.

…while Nappak is keen for a quickly, easily inflated solution to the problem!

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7 Beautiful Bathtubs and Bathroom Collections

Showers, bathtubs, etc., are no longer plumbing fixtures. They are pieces of beautifully designed and carefully crafted furniture that aren’t just meant to be utilitarian, they are meant to complement your personality and facilitate your lifestyle. The following collection is sometimes intricate, sometimes minimalist, but always beautiful and practical.

Gruppo Treesse - Milo

(source: gruppotreesse)

Another design by Alessandro Lenarda, Milo is much more unconventional. With options of leather or wood headrests and drawers, this Japan-inspired tub experiments with combination of disparate elements while maintaining beautiful geometric symmetry and stylish craftsmanship.

Artweger - Twinline Shower & Bath

(source: artweger)

Why compromise when you can have the best of both worlds and be economical at the same time? With the all-in-one Twinline design from Artweger you no longer need to decide between a shower and a tub, or be forced into one option because your small bathroom can’t accomodate both. Small but beautiful and functional, Twinline allows you to enjoy a bath when you’re in the mood while giving you the option of a quick shower when you’re in a rush.

Jacuzzi Morphosis - Alpha

(source: jacuzzi-morphosis)

The Alpha from Morphosis is a two-person whirlpool tub with an unforgettable design. Inspired by nature, the design aims to ‘envelop, charm, and amaze’, but is not all beauty, it also comes with hydrotherapy and hydromassage built-in. The arch of the tub embraces you in a protective gesture simpilar to that of a seashell.

usTogether - Ebb Collection

(source: ustogether)

The Ebb bathroom concept is innovative, beautiful and practical. The incredibly modern design is formed by fusing together concepts of bath, sink, and shelving units into a natural symmetry and connectivity. The bathtub and sink are made from natural acrylic stone and both have semi-transparent glass side panels.

Tueco - Hydrospa Seaside

(source: tueco)

The latest Seaside bathtub from Tueco is truly fantastic. Backed by studies and certifications, the bathtub is whisper quiet, ensuring the only sound you hear is the soothing sound of water flowing gently, allowing you to relax without any distractions. With patented hydrosonic ultrasound technology, Tueco’s bathtub doesn’t just bring superficial comfort, it massages 2/3 cm deep into the skin, 3 million times per second, and evenly distributes the effects throughout your body.

Gruppo Treesse - Calypso

(source: gruppotreesse)

Designed by Alessandro Lenarda, Calypso Wenge is an experiment with wood design. With no superstructure to support it, the wooden shape itself becomes the shelf. At 183×70x61/79, Calypso is a deep tub with a comfortable backrest which will truly help you relax.

Santambrogio Milano - Simplicity Collection

(source: santambrogiomilano)

If you’re looking for a minimalist design, it doesn’t get better than this. While keeping it incredibly simple, the designers haven’t compromised on elegance and beauty. Predominantly using transparent glass (with touches of stainless steel) the finished product is both visually luxurious and deceptively simple at the same time. The collection includes wash basins, faucets and a tub.

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