All articles by Rebecca Paul

Rebecca Paul is a Brooklyn based artist, writer, designer and strategist currently living in Buenos Aires. With and Undergraduate degree in Illustration and a Master's in design and business strategy, Rebecca is equally passionate about discovering compelling business ventures as she is about exploring her own artistic expression. The written word is her tool for brining the two worlds together. Her previous work experience includes her position as the Business Operations Manager for Inhabitat.com, the leading website dedicated to green and sustainable art and architecture; as well as the Director of Content Strategy for Prodigy Network, a international company committed to building new economic structures through crowdfunding in Real Estate. Follow her on twitter and instagram @rebeccapaulz

Nimuno tape transforms any surface into LEGO-friendly territory

March 17, 2017

Nimuno tape transforms any surface into LEGO-friendly territory

By Rebecca Paul

This fun product from the innovative design studio Nimuno takes our childhood LEGO obsession to a whole new level. Nimuno Loops are a flexible and cuttable plastic equipped with a block-friendly top surface and a reusable adhesive backing, allowing you to make any surface LEGO compatible.
find out more here

Self-watering, transparent ‘Cube’ planter is perfect for bad plant parents

March 16, 2017

Self-watering, transparent ‘Cube’ planter is perfect for bad plant parents

By Rebecca Paul

As busy New Yorkers, we always welcome new products that help fill our interiors with lovely greenery while also making it easier for us to care for our leafy friends. Boskke, a design company known for their innovative planting products, recently introduced to the market Cube, a self-watering plastic planter that's perfect for the plant-loving urbanite. Not only is this compact pot self-watering, it's also fully transparent, integrating the look of earthy soil into your home decor.
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Marvelously mod prefab guest house was built in just two days time

March 15, 2017

Marvelously mod prefab guest house was built in just two days time

By Rebecca Paul

While many vacation homes are the result of an elaborate design process and lengthy construction, this house located in rural New York was designed and then built using prefabricated elements in just a couple of days. The U.S. firm Desai Chia Architecture is responsible for the single-story rectilinear space, also known as LM Guest House. The 2,000-square-foot prefab oasis is located in Dutchess County (about two hours north of Manhattan) and situated on a rocky outcrop of land that overlooks a trout pond and farm.
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MODOS streamlines modular block furniture with modern design and efficiency

March 14, 2017

MODOS streamlines modular block furniture with modern design and efficiency

By Rebecca Paul

Lego-inspired furniture systems are huge right now, and MODOS may have taken the most modern and minimal approach to the trend. Other modular systems, like Muebloc and EverBlock, are made of "blocks" that easily fit together and mimic the childhood toy in both form and function, but MODOS uses only two components--the small brushed metal connector and streamlined slabs of wood--in its tool-free assembly of desks, shelves, stools, and more.
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Anonymous commercial space in the East Village transformed into mod-inspired apartment

March 13, 2017

Anonymous commercial space in the East Village transformed into mod-inspired apartment

By Rebecca Paul

This modern and unique home has been designed by James Wagman Architects. Located in the East Village, Wagman's team were given a generous 2,000-square-foot space to flex their creative muscles. But there was one rule: the home had to feel warm and private. Sick of living in an open space, their clients, a young couple, had been in the apartment for four years and wanted nothing more to do with the open-space trend. Keen on leaving their loft life behind, they asked for defined quarters, good light, framed views, and the vibe of a peaceful retreat far away from the urban jungle.
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Distinctive Homes

Studio Tack transforms an old motor lodge into a minimalist boutique hotel in Upstate New York

March 13, 2017

Studio Tack transforms an old motor lodge into a minimalist boutique hotel in Upstate New York

By Rebecca Paul

This 1960s guesthouse in upstate New York was recently transformed into a charming boutique hotel by the Brooklyn-based design firm Studio Tack. The Scribner's Catskill Lodge boasts a modern yet rustic aesthetic, highlighting both good design and the property's expansive mountain views. The hotel is located close to Hunter Mountain's popular ski slopes, which are all visible from inside the cozy hotel.
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Steven Gambrel turned a Park Avenue apartment into a sophisticated playground for pastel colors

February 26, 2017

Steven Gambrel turned a Park Avenue apartment into a sophisticated playground for pastel colors

By Rebecca Paul

When one thinks of a sprawling Park Avenue apartment, what comes to mind is typically muted colors, clean lines, and classic decor, but for this Upper East Side duplex, the Steven Gambrel and the designers at his firm S.R. Gambrel created a home that retains this sophistication while displaying a bevy of cheery pastel hues, geometric patterns, and unexpected accessories.
See the whole home

RAH:DESIGN employed modern home-building techniques to design this cool dog house

February 24, 2017

RAH:DESIGN employed modern home-building techniques to design this cool dog house

By Rebecca Paul

While there are many doggie-abodes on the market, the designers at RAH:DESIGN found themselves struggling to find something that fit with their carefully curated home decor. Instead of continuing their search, they decided to take matters into their own hands and launched MDK9 Dog Haus. Not only was it constructed using modern home-building materials, but it includes human-level amenities such as an overhang for shading, metal mesh siding for ventilation, wheels for easy mobility, and a built-in feeder.
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Rare footage from Coney Island’s giant cycling Velodrome of yesteryear

February 22, 2017

Rare footage from Coney Island’s giant cycling Velodrome of yesteryear

By Rebecca Paul

Cycling culture in New York City has been a growing trend for over 20 years. However, its popularity and the bike lanes of modern day New York have yet to reach the impressive status of Coney Island's 1920s bicycle racing Velodrome. The Velodrome was a wooden racetrack that seated approximately 10,000 people, each of whom came to cheer or jeer the area's best cyclists.
more details here

History

Flatiron loft gets a spectacular renovation featuring high-end millwork and finishes

January 31, 2017

Flatiron loft gets a spectacular renovation featuring high-end millwork and finishes

By Rebecca Paul

This beautiful loft located in the Flatiron District was designed and renovated by the firm S. R. Gambrel. Known for their innovative use of texture and color, their execution of the interior is a complex but cohesive exercise in fusing a varied palette of the two. The loft was transformed to create individual rooms, and top highlights found in each are the cabinetry details and the millwork that stretches from the floor to ceiling.
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Distinctive Homes

Popular Articles

The mysterious origins of the famous New York Egg Cream

January 31, 2017

The mysterious origins of the famous New York Egg Cream

By Rebecca Paul

From Brooklyn Blackout Cake to Eggs Benedict, New York City is filled with gastronomic firsts. But while we have a clear origin for most of our foodie favorites, the New York Egg Cream is not one of them. This frothy sweet beverage is made from Fox’s U-Bet chocolate syrup, seltzer water, and a splash of milk, which makes its story even more confusing since the beloved drink contains neither eggs nor cream. There are a few theories currently in circulation about the name and origin of the Egg Cream, each varying in time and circumstance, but most confirming that the drink originated on the Lower East Side among Eastern European Jewish immigrants.
All the mysterious theories

History

The Horse Plague of 1872 brought New York City to a screeching halt

January 23, 2017

The Horse Plague of 1872 brought New York City to a screeching halt

By Rebecca Paul

In the fall of 1872, an unfortunate horse plague swept across New York City after making its way through Toronto, New England and Michigan. The New York Times headline from October 25th read, "The Horse Plague, Fifteen thousand horses in the city unfit for use." While the city was no stranger to disease inflicted horses, the magnitude of this particular outbreak was unprecedented.
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History

Ding uses your smartphone to revolutionize the doorbell

January 17, 2017

Ding uses your smartphone to revolutionize the doorbell

By Rebecca Paul

While smart home technology includes everything from turning on the heat to monitoring air quality, the simple job of a doorbell has been oddly overlooked until the arrival of Ding. A collaborative effort between the London-based startup and creative consultancy MAP (an arm of the industrial design studio Barber & Osgerby), the smart doorbell is a three-part system made up of an exterior button, indoor Wifi speaker (cleverly named Chime), and a corresponding iPhone app. When visitors come to the door, Chime functions as a normal doorbell, but the app allows residents to communicate with whomever is at the door remotely.
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TBD Architecture designs Tetris-like artist studios for an Upstate couple

January 16, 2017

TBD Architecture designs Tetris-like artist studios for an Upstate couple

By Rebecca Paul

TBD Architecture + Design Studio took on the challenge of designing two conjoined artist studios for a couple on the same property as their home in Watermill, New York. The creative housing is nestled amongst a cluster of trees at the edge of the site, and the double-studio structure is made up of two intersecting volumes each designed to accommodate the specifics needs of their respective artists-- a collage designer and a ceramist.
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Architecture And Design

Doc transforms from sofa to bunk beds with one swift motion

December 28, 2016

Doc transforms from sofa to bunk beds with one swift motion

By Rebecca Paul

Sofa beds are convenient in nature and have become the norm for multi-purpose furniture, but a large flat bed is not always the best sleeping solution for multiple guests (or tiny apartments). Enter Doc, a cleverly designed sofa from Bonbon Trading that easily transforms from a contemporary, comfy sofa into stylish bunk beds with one simple motion.
Learn more here

Molekule: The first air purifier to use nano-technology to destroy indoor pollutants

December 27, 2016

Molekule: The first air purifier to use nano-technology to destroy indoor pollutants

By Rebecca Paul

Spending time outdoors is a beautiful thing, however, Americans on average spend 90 percent of their time indoors. What's more is that the air we breathe inside can be five times more polluted than what's outside. Indeed, indoor air can harbor everything from pollen to pet dander and dust, to more harmful things like mold, bacteria and viruses. While plenty of air filters have been designed to catch these pollutants, none of them have the ability to eliminate them—until now. Molekule is being called the first "molecular" air purifier, and it uses nano-technology to completely eliminate airborne contaminants.
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Turn anything into a table or shelf in minutes using Be-elastic’s SNAP

December 14, 2016

Turn anything into a table or shelf in minutes using Be-elastic’s SNAP

By Rebecca Paul

NYC apartments often have irregular layouts and odd corners, and finding pre-made furniture that will fit nicely can often be a lofty task. As such, the founders of Be-elastic have designed an innovative furniture solution called SNAP to solve this problem. The SNAP assembly system is comprised of a simple snapping mechanism that allows users to design and assemble tables, stools, or shelving using whatever material they can find. The team has already experimented with a variety of items, creating tables from dart boards, vintage doors, and even bicycle wheels. But you can use your own design savvy to decide the color and number of legs your item requires.
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Expansive Flatiron loft stuns after undergoing a 10-year renovation by Frampton Co.

December 7, 2016

Expansive Flatiron loft stuns after undergoing a 10-year renovation by Frampton Co.

By Rebecca Paul

Located in the Flatiron District of Manhattan, this massive loft measuring an incredible 4,500 square feet was designed specifically by NYC-based Frampton Co. to meet the needs of a young family. Its transformation was realized through a collaboration between the designer and client in a series of projects spanning a decade. Updates over the ten years have included everything from the initial property scouting and spatial arrangement, to transforming the bedrooms into nurseries, to adding a playroom and library to the already amenity-laden space.
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Distinctive Homes

10 modern menorah designs for Hanukkah 2016

December 7, 2016

10 modern menorah designs for Hanukkah 2016

By Rebecca Paul

Our ongoing series Apartment Living 101 is aimed at helping New Yorkers navigate the challenges of creating a happy home in the big city. In anticipation of Hanukkah, we’ve rounded up ten modern menorahs for the design-minded. For thousands of years, people all over the globe have been celebrating Hanukkah (a.k.a. Festival of Lights), and this year's festivities are just around the corner. While the holiday invites participants to join in on a variety of joyful traditions like playing dreidel and eating potato pancakes, the eight-night event is centered around the lighting of the menorah. From emojis and dinosaurs, to elegant branches and minimal blocks, you can find a menorah in almost any style these days—so why not give the ancient nine-tiered a contemporary update? To help you find the right menorah design for your living space, we've rounded up ten of our favorite modern takes on the centerpiece.
have a look at all 10 here

NYC’s first ever piece of sidewalk art appeared in December 1969

Image Archives of the Century

December 1, 2016

NYC’s first ever piece of sidewalk art appeared in December 1969

By Rebecca Paul

Sidewalks and street art are pretty much synonymous in modern day New York City, but have you ever stopped to question when it all started? In the winter of 1969, New York City saw the birth of the sidewalk sculpture. While public art in an outdoor setting was not necessarily a new concept, this was the very first time it was situated immediately on the sidewalk. The work was a marble sculpture made by artist Gonzalo Fonseca, commissioned by the Twentieth Century Fund. Upon completion, it stood six feet outside of the organization's headquarters and weighed a whopping two tons.
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Studio Marchetti’s Dutchess County home is a series of pavilions sliding past each other

November 20, 2016

Studio Marchetti’s Dutchess County home is a series of pavilions sliding past each other

By Rebecca Paul

Living outside of the city comes with its sacrifices, but breathtaking scenery is not one of them, not to mention ample space and modern architecture. This beautiful home is situated on a hill in Dutchess County and was designed for a young family by the New York architecture firm Studio Marchetti. The structure is made up of a series of pavilions that slide past each other in order to highlight the beautiful views and includes a pool and pergola to further integrate nature into the living space.
Tour the property

Spectacular Upper East Side apartment is enlivened with vivid colors and uncommon shapes

November 9, 2016

Spectacular Upper East Side apartment is enlivened with vivid colors and uncommon shapes

By Rebecca Paul

The Upper East Side is home to a plethora of elegant residencies, and the interior of this 79th Street apartment from the design firm S.R. Gambrel is luxury at its best. Each room is impeccably outfitted to tell its own story, individual in point of view, but still fits together into one cohesive aesthetic. From the vivid color palette and wall decor to the ornate light fixtures and floor textiles, everything in this home is vibrant, lively and not to be missed.
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Distinctive Homes

Boulon Blanc transforms from coffee table to dining room table in one motion

November 4, 2016

Boulon Blanc transforms from coffee table to dining room table in one motion

By Rebecca Paul

Efficient studio living in any city requires planning and ingenuity, and with a limited amount of square footage, multi-use furniture can help to optimize your available space. Now, thanks to the French furniture brand Boulon Blanc, you can easily and stylishly transform your living room into your dining room with one swift motion. Their clever new table changes height in an instant, and is made from high quality components and materials. Inspiration for the Boulon Blanc table is drawn from aeronautics and precision time pieces, and the team spent over two years developing the table's sophisticated helicoid mechanisms.
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Federico Babina’s ARCHIPLAY turns famous architects into dramatic set-design illustrations

November 3, 2016

Federico Babina’s ARCHIPLAY turns famous architects into dramatic set-design illustrations

By Rebecca Paul

When we think about architectural drawings, fanciful illustration is not the first thing that comes to mind. However, illustrator and architecture-fan Federico Babina continues to surprise us with his wildly creative and intelligent drawing series that playfully explores the crossover of architecture and illustration. His newest set, ARCHIPLAY, depicts 27 of history's greatest architects as if they were theatrical set-designs characterizing each one with signature elements from the designers' most notable works. ARCHIPLAY includes favorites like Zaha Hadid, Walter Gropius, Frank Gehry and many more.
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Citee t-shirts are covered with city maps from 230 different locations

October 26, 2016

Citee t-shirts are covered with city maps from 230 different locations

By Rebecca Paul

It's no secret that we're huge fans off all things map related, and that's especially true when it comes to wall decor and t-shirt design. Alex Szabo-Haslam, a designer from Sheffield, England, recently launched a campaign for "Citee," an exclusive collection that includes exactly these items. In phase one of this project, Alex printed highly detailed maps of 80 cities onto t-shirts, and now he's using Kickstarter to fund round two where he'll expand his line to include another 150 locations.
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