MusaDesign, good news and discoveries: Interior Design, Art, and Technology blog

THE DUOFLOOR COLLECTION

The Duofloor Collection is an innovation in hardwood flooring. The concept of the Duofloor is to capture the durability and wear-layer of a solid hardwood floor with the added benefit of the stability and ease of installation of an engineered floor. Because the Duofloor is more stable than solid floors, the Duofloor can cover widths up to 12 inches & lengths of 12 feet. It is also important to acknowledge that the Duofloor construction saves more trees and is therefore more environmentally friendly than solid hardwood flooring. The Duofloor is the best of both worlds and highly recommended for high end commercial & residential applications. DuChateau Duofloors are distressed, hand-scrapped, smoked, and wire-brushed made in the customary Dutch tradition.

The Duofloor is ¼ inch (6.2mm) of European Oak, European Ash, or European Larch top-layer and features 7 layers of Birch substrate.

http://www.duchateaufloors.com

White Oiled

Natural

MusaDesign used Duchateau floors for some of projects.

- Far 4 . OLDE DUTCH (natural Oiled)

Zaw Pizza. ZIMBABWE (Wire Brushed)

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Labels: DuChateau Floors, far4, hardwood floor, MUSADESIGN, zaw pizza

elements of zaw: a suspended greenhouse

When a new Health Department rule called for a scrubbable and washable ceiling above the food preparation, our clients worried they would have to build a heavy-looking drywall dropped ceiling. We, instead, suggested a series of light acrylic panels dropped into a standard ceiling grid which met the new code and also filtered the simple fluorescent lighting above while a separate vertical panel would conceal the HVAC unit from the customers’ view.

The grid was set at 15” x 19” so that the resulting combination of acrylic and metal resembled a window pane. The series of “window panes” could open as ductwork needed to pass. The frosted white and metal windows hanging above the fresh ingredients mimic the appearance of a functioning greenhouse.

Labels: Interior Design Seattle, MUSADESIGN, zaw pizza

elements of zaw: finding the right refrigeration

The refrigerators that would hold the beer, wine, and sodas would be a crucial part of the interior scheme; we sought to design a functional and striking space uniting menu and beverage display.

Finding the right look meant working around the refrigerators, which meant endlessly researching all available commercial refrigerators to find just the right look and feel. We looked at full length refrigerators with doors, half-sized with doors, integrated walk-in refrigerator and retail side glass doors, and open-air curtain units.

Meeting with dozens of product reps, studying as much about storage capacity and energy efficiency, and discussing options and dimensions and suppliers; selecting the units that accomplished all of our demands proved quite difficult. Each change to the refrigerators resulted in changes to the way the additional dry red wine display and to the menu board design, size, and information frontages.

The use of modular cubes at full and half heights stacked on top of each other allow the clients to change the size of the overall display depending on the varying sizes and layout of future store locations and allowed them to reconfigure the displays based on their changing advertising and sales needs.

Labels: Interior Design Seattle, MUSADESIGN, Retail Store Design, zaw pizza

zaw materials: handmade tiles

Custom handmade oversized tiles were used for the retail countertop. We wanted to use this area as a canvas to show the clients’ commitment to sustainability. After sorting through the obvious options of countertops we invariably eliminated most because they were too polished, too uniform, or coming from too far away.

Tile is one of the oldest building materials. It’s made from natural materials, supplied locally, and formed by hand. It’s durable and easy to clean. We were able to create a precise look and size with the help of our friend, local ceramic artist Olga, who painstakingly formed, glazed, and baked each and every tile.

Labels: MUSADESIGN, Retail Store Design, zaw pizza

zaw capitol hill: creating strong elements

At this stage we developed ways to integrate the menu, wine, dessert, and ordering counter, creating dialogue between the shopper and the worker while showcasing the action in the kitchen.

With logo and brand identity established, we could investigate the vital store functions and elements through the eye of the brand. We could begin discussing the appropriateness of materials and how they could continue the brand's story.

We created a package of relationships: employees to customers, beverages to menus, visibility to food assembly, materials to the brand's identity.

Labels: Interior Design, MUSADESIGN, Retail Store Design, zaw pizza

zaw seattle: preliminary store designs

very early concepts, before logo or location

Without a real location or a finalized logo, we began by designing interactions: What actions will customers see in the kitchen? How will they read the menus? How will the employees greet customers? What should passersby see through the windows?

In both conceptual designs we created an open view for customer into the kitchen, which was the clients' main directive, and suggested ways to engage the customers and create a show. Integration of the menu with beverage display allowed the clients to easily suggest pairings while the increased scale and proportions of beer/wine displays and retail counter pushed the feeling more towards an old deli or bakery.

Labels: Interior Design Seattle, MUSADESIGN, Retail Store Design, zaw pizza

zaw seattle: initial design concepts

‘zaw: artisan pizza in the raw is a new place for great fresh pizza, salads, beer, and wine in Seattle. We at MusaDesign have been working with the energetic owners and visionaries to design their stores. Here we will be able to share the design process throughout its progress.

Pizza is a traditional food. It’s a meal to be shared. It has endured an onslaught of terrible modifications and experimentations. Our clients wanted to bring back classic pizzas. To us, that old-world feeling is present in bakeries and bookstores. In the wood and scale and light of those places, we can foresee dough being tossed, pizzas being assembled, and wine being displayed beautifully.

Because a ‘zaw pizza is assembled in store baked at home there’s a unique experience for the customer: shared between staying in and going out, preparing a meal without having to cook. Therefore this brand needs to follow the customer home, and to do so effectively, we feel that it has to feel a little homemade with an artisan touch.

Because fresh, local, organic ingredients would make up the main components of the pizzas and salads, the store needed to look like a place that wasn’t using microwaves to warm up bags of frozen pizza toppings. It needed to feel fresh to the customers, as well as the employees. It had to evoke trust.

We developed the mood board above to show the key elements that we felt should define the ‘zaw brand and the look of its store.

Labels: Interior Design Seattle, MUSADESIGN, Retail Store Design, zaw pizza

Seattle's Sensational Seven Interior Designers

Seattle Magazine has named MUSADESIGN one of the “Seattle's Sensational Seven Interior Designers with Northwest Flair”:

"MUSADESIGN (2617 Fifth Ave., 206.448.3301; 425.246.8464; musadesign.net) was founded four and a half years ago by Russian-born sisters Julia Sandetskaya and Polina Zaika. Growing up in a creative environment around their artistic father helped them both realize their love for design after testing different paths in school (Julia earned degrees in classical music, Russian, medicine and design, and Polina has degrees in art history and graphic design). The biggest chunk of their work is residential, taking projects from concept to completion with space planning, custom furniture, storage and lighting design, but their breakthrough work on Café Darclée earned them a Northwest Design Award for Environmentally Responsible Design in 2007. The green element is subtle—they used aluminum scaffolding, coconut plywood and chair seats made of recycled paper. Expert Advice When interviewing prospective designers, Sandetskaya says it’s important to judge them on more than just their style; she recommends posing a design challenge, whether it be a spatial or drafting problem, to test how they think."

http://www.seattlemag.com/BestOfHome2008: Interior Designers

Labels: Interior Design Seattle, MUSADESIGN, Seattle Magazine

MusaDesign receives Northwest Design Award

The Northwest's top designers were recognized at Seattle Design Center's annual Northwest Design Awards Gala held September 27 2007. The Northwest Design Awards competition recognizes interior design professionals whose work has made a significant contribution to the design industry. Projects are judged on the basis of problem solving, creativity, quality of design and beauty of the space. Awards were presented in fourteen categories: kitchen, bathroom, living room, bedroom, whole house (more than $200,000), remodel, best of traditional design, best of contemporary design, hospitality, retail, commercial, yacht/jet, outdoor living space, environmentally responsible design and student design. Among those being honored were Polina Zaika and Julia Sandetskaya of MusaDesign Company who won the award for Best of Environmentally Responsible Design.

To see images of MusaDesign award winning design, visit the Projects section of
www.musadesign.net and choose “Cafe Darclee” project.

MusaDesign is an interior design partnership specializing in residential and commercial projects in Seattle and around the world. We work with our clients to express their own ideas in the visual language of design, in an effective and environmentally conscious way.

http://www.musadesign.net/northwest_design_awards_winner_2007.htm

Labels: Interior Design Seattle, MUSADESIGN, Northwest Design Awards 2007