House & Garden South Africa
"The starting point for the design was the show-stopping view from the first floor. 'This needed to be a space that everybody could use and enjoy,' says Justine, so it became a large open-plan living area with wide doors that open onto a smart covered terrace under the three central arches of the house. Furnishing this striking space proved somewhat difficult. 'But then Constanze came up with the brilliant idea of building a C-shape seating area in the same whitewashed plaster finish as the walls,' says Justine. 'Suddenly the room made sense and I loved how it extended the architecture of the building into the living space."
Exhibition – The New Nantucket
The collaboration of HFP Ambuske Architects Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, Perspectus Architecture, Cleveland, Ohio and Constanze von Unruh Interior Design, London was included in an exhibition on Nantucket celebrating modern design on the island.
Otthonok
Diplomajat a magas presztizsu Royal College of Art es az Inchbald School of Design-ban szerzo hemet lakberendezo samara az esztetika, a kenyelem, a praktikussag, a nyugalom es a rend megteremtese elsodleges fontossagu enteriorjei megvalositasanal. A butorok es kiegeszitok a klasszicista es modern stilus harmonikus talalkozasai. Mielott nekilattak a hazkeresesnek, mar bennfentesek voltak a szigeten. […]
Andrew Martin
Interior Design Review Vol 7
"I am very interested in the human experience within all forms of space. In any context, either formal or relaxed, I try to create environments for wellbeing. Christopher Alexander's book 'A Pattern Language' has brought about a major shift in my thinking of how to arrange space. Design is a continuous learning process and one should never stop educating the eye through art, travel, boo, film, theatre and society."
Dream Homes
Andreas von Einsiedel
A London-based German interior designer and her family spend their holidays on the island of Nantucket, in a house that was just a tiny two-bedroom cottage. She discovered that it could be enlarged and took on the project herself, with the help of an architect who, critically, could advise on any planning restrictions. There are many historic restrictions on the island and preserving the vernacular style was important. The roof space was opened up and a large garage converted to become a kitchen (with an English Aga set into a niche) and a spacious dining-room. The attic provided several bedrooms and bathrooms. As the house is used year-round the owner included a fireplace, which has full-height bookshelves on either side. The interior decoration suits the location, only minutes from the beach: pine floorboards, white Lloyd Loom future and striped cotton-covered sofas are relaxed and casual, and the tongue and groove boarding suits the mood and the architecture. Mixing contemporary furniture with several antique pieces gives a holiday home a feeling of permanence and provides a chafe of shape and texture in such a neutral background.
Superior Interiors
April 2009
Constanze cooperated with a design and branding chief executive and his architect on the conversion of a church into a private home.
Beautiful Homes
USA, Spring 2006
'Left in their natural dark finish, four new walnut bookcases Constanze designed for the drawing room, like others she sprinkled throughout the house, provide dramatic contrast to the room's pale grass cloth and even lighter wainscoting. ... An additional feature contributing to the home's sleekness is the window treatments. Their tailored look is as much about what doesn't show as what does. The tops of all draperies are simple linen panels. ... With the background so tidy, the furniture can afford to go more eclectic, and it does. The drawing room includes antique Italian consoles, an 18th-century French chandelier, custom sofas, and a minimalist metal table.'
More Dream Homes
100 inspirational interiors
Interior designers are responsible for a lot more than simply choosing colours, furniture and fabric. At the centre of a constantly changing world that seeks to balance the requirements of comfort, style and function, they influence the way in which we all live, work and relax. Herself an interior designer, the owner of this London house trained at the Inchbald School of Design, which is renowned for producing graduates of impressive technical ability. She lived in the house for a while before moving out and beginning work on it. Efficient storage was a high priority, based not eh need to instil a sense of calm and order into a busy family home. The owner designed a modern layout with the emphasis on informal entertaining on the ground floor and private retreats above. Scale and materials have been carefully considered. Cupboards and shelving stretch up to the ceiling, providing extra space and good clean lines. All the floors and the four corner shelving units in the living-room are made of the same timber. To avoid having too much solid wood, she used wood-framed doors lined with linen fabric and double plantation shutters in the bathroom. Furniture is a chic mix of modern classics from Cappellini to Christian Liaigre.
Interior Magasinet 2003
July 2003
"Vill, vakker go vindfull. Nantucket er omgitt av et buldrende Atlanerhav, men er ellers en fredfull idyll som i smmermanedene er et attraktivt fristed for travle storbymennesker. En smabarnfamile fra New York City nyter sommerlivet her."
Homes & Gardens
May 2003
"Against the serene backdrop of painted walls and pine flooring, which extends throughout the house, Constanze furnished the interior with a few well-chosen antiques - all shipped over from England - mixed with simple, contemporary pieces and classics such as the Lloyd Loom chairs used for casual kitchen dining."
House & Garden 1999
February 1999
"When it came to decoration, the notion of the beach - its colours and textures - dominated Constanze's 'dressing' of the house: off-white and grey-green shades in cottons and linens, raffia, pickled-pine floorboards, white enamel and silver stainless-steel, pebbles as drawer pulls, and granite honed to beach -stone smoothness."
Better Homes & Garden August 2000
'It was also important to Constanze to create a series of rooms that reflect her preference for simple design and natural materials. "The decorative scheme was inspired by the surrounding landscape - this is a beach house, so in the main I used colors and textures that I associate with the seaside," she says. "Little details such as horn tassels on the slipcovers and drawer handles made from pebbles are meant to be fun, buth they are also reminders of the wildlife and the beach." ... 'Constanze continued the Shaker theme upstairs, where tongue-and-groove wainscoting provides an authentic period touch.'
House & Garden UK
“The starting point for the design was the show-stopping view from the first floor. ‘This needed to be a space that everybody could use and enjoy,’ says Justine, so it became a large open-plan living area with wide doors that open onto a smart covered terrace under the three central arches of the house. Furnishing […]
Perspectus
The co-operation of the client, the architect and Constanze resulted in a sensitive contemporary take on a historic theme. The minimal style of the complete renovation of North Star looks at first sight clearly contemporary. However, the purity, simplicity and discipline of the interior is in complete harmony with the restrained and pure ideals of […]"I FIND CONSTANZE VERY EASY TO WORK WITH. I LIKE HER STYLE AND SHE PROVIDES CLEAR ADVICE AND DIRECTION WITHOUT FORCING A PARTICULAR ROUTE OR STYLE ON ME..."
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL #1
"I FIND CONSTANZE VERY EASY TO WORK WITH. I LIKE HER STYLE AND SHE PROVIDES CLEAR ADVICE AND DIRECTION WITHOUT FORCING A PARTICULAR ROUTE OR STYLE ON ME.
House & Garden April 2003
April 2003
April 2003 Constanze's dining room made the H&G cover."CONSTANZE IS EXCEPTIONALLY PROFESSIONAL, RESOURCEFUL, HARD WORKING AND ORGANIZED. HER LONG-TERM ASSOCIATION WITH SOPHISTICATED, GLOBAL PROJECTS, HER PRESTIGIOUS..."
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL #2
"CONSTANZE IS EXCEPTIONALLY PROFESSIONAL, RESOURCEFUL, HARD WORKING AND ORGANIZED. HER LONG-TERM ASSOCIATION WITH SOPHISTICATED, GLOBAL PROJECTS, HER PRESTIGIOUS
Essential Home
Judith Wilson
The well planned sitting room should be comfortable and tranquil, but above all a reflection of its owners' personality and tastes. The more restrained the shapes and colours of its major building blocks - sofas, chairs, tables - the more flexible a backdrop you will create for new pieces and accessories as fashions wax and wane.
House & Garden 100 Leading Interior Designers
House and Garden’s special edition of the 100 leading interior designers included Constanze. “Clean lines, lots of white, and interesting pieces of furniture characterise Constanze von Unruh’s interiors. She likes ‘the real thing’ – good quality wooden floors, fabulous linens. ‘Timelessness in interiors is crucial.’
Maisons Cote Ouest
July 2003
“Des bleus oceaniques et des motifs traditionel simples, des rayures et des ecoussait ornent les tissus des canapés et des chambres. Les choix du mobilier s’est limite a l’essentiel: quelques meubles anciens, tres fonctionnels, en pin et des choix plus design, comme la chaise tressee en jonc de Tom Dixon.”
House & Garden June 2003
January 2003
“Constanze von Unruh designed the main bedroom; shown with hand-embroidered organic Swiss cotton pillowcases…”“YOU HAVE CREATED A PERFECT SANCTUARY, WITH EVERY COMFORT CONSIDERED, IN THE MOST PURE AND CALMING STYLE … EVERY SINGLE DETAIL WAS SO THOUGHTFUL.”..."
client testimonial 4
“YOU HAVE CREATED A PERFECT SANCTUARY, WITH EVERY COMFORT CONSIDERED, IN THE MOST PURE AND CALMING STYLE … EVERY SINGLE DETAIL WAS SO THOUGHTFUL.”
The Royal Opera 2003
2003
Gayle Warwick Fine Linen custom made hand embroidered organic linen for an exhibition Constanze staged at the House and Garden Fair. Constanze's setting was used for an advertising campaign in the Royal Opera Magazine.
House & Garden March 2004
March 2004
“Her ideas were awe inspiring. Had she shown me the individual pieces of furniture, lighting and fabrics, I probably would’t have jumped, but put them together and you get a truly individual look that fits together ad feels exciting. … Constanze made everything seem so easy, but her scheme fulfilled all my requirements and all […]
Deco Home
“Während die Umgebung vor Charme nur so sprühte, hatte der einfache 50er-Jahre-Bau, der hier stand, jeglichen Glanz verloren. Als Restaurateurin erkannte Justine schnell das Potential dieses Ortes und engagierte den lokalen Architekten Rolf Blakstad sowie Interiordesignerin Constanze von Unruh für die Neugestaltung: Eine Erholungsinsel mit traditionellem Ibiza-Flair für Justine, Richard und ihre drei Töchter im […]
Ibiza Blakstad Houses
Rolf Blakstad Architects
Can Blanc, situated on Punta Blanca in the southeast of the island, overlooks the transparent turquoise-green waters of the cove of Es Puet, and the island of Illa Redona. Just metres from the sea, it is one of the first houses built in the area as a foreign summer residence in the mid-1950s. ...
The interior and exterior spaces were opened up and a pool and garden were built on the side by the sea. There is also a patio and a guesthouse to the back.
Andrew Martin International Interior Design Awards
International interior Design Review Vol 4
The Andrew Martin International Design Awards is the Oscars of the Interior Design Industry. To be included in the book is a badge of honour. p>"My main love is furniture and architectural detail. I like clean and simple lines but will add quirky elements as I believe there has to be a sense of fun. Timelessness in interiors is crucial, as ultimately, everyone becomes bored by a trend. Creating a comfortable interior is like painting a picture. It is all about the layers from plumbing to architecture, from panelling to papers. The light, colour, art and furniture follow. But you always have to reflect on the entire picture so that you can prepare the canvas."
Living in New England
Text Elaine Louie, photography Solvi dos Santos, foreword by Bill Blass
Constanze von Unruh, a German interior designer who lives in Nantucket in the summer, has a distinctive personal style. Whether working with an antique, a new fabric, or a contemporary chair, con Unruh treats everything with a modernists' hand. The scale is big the lines are clean. Function is self evident, and light and air proliferate. "I like big, clean statements," she says, "and a few whimsical silly things, or it gets overpowering." ... Texture is another von Unruh signature. She a raffia cloth and draped it over a plain wood table, which is behind a sofa. By the windows facing the front porch, she put an old, anonymous French wood table and a sculptural, curvy cantilevered chair made of rush, and designed by Tom Dixon, the English furniture designer.
The Sunday Telegraph Magazine
July 2004
'The designer opened up the space, inserting French windows into the back wall. ... With its pickled pine floors and sea-green slate counters in the kitchen, the house's interior reflects the natural world outside. Von Unruh wanted to create a simplified, 'naive' interior, as relaxes as a beach dress. Details like the red and white sriped sofas, reminiscent of beach towels, and the horn toggles used to fasten the slip-covers on the chairs make it clear that this is a house that does not take itself too seriously."
Kitchen Essentials
Fay Sweet
Designed to cope with the endless wear and tear associated with chopping and preparing food, as well as water splashes, worktops and splash backs are also expected to scrub up beautifully when the cooking is over. In addition, kitchen surfaces can offer an excellent visual and textural opportunity to draw together other stylistic elements of the room's design."I TRUST CONSTANZE. SHE IS VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND SHE CARES PASSIONATELY ABOUT WHAT SHE DOES. SHE OFFERS A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW AND CHALLENGES ME..."
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL #3
"I TRUST CONSTANZE. SHE IS VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD AND SHE CARES PASSIONATELY ABOUT WHAT SHE DOES. SHE OFFERS A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW AND CHALLENGES ME.
House & Garden 2001
February 2001
February 2001 House and Garden featured a profile of Constanze
Interior Magasinet 2001
May 2001
"Hun har sin egen distinkte personlig stil. Enten hun jobber med en antikvitet, et nytt stoff eller en moderne stol, behandler hun alt med modernistens hand."
Deco Home
August 2003
“Constanze, die in London bei Christie’s Kunstgeschichte studiert und Kurse an der Ichbald School of Interior Design besucht hatte, wollte das Innere des Ferienhauses passend zur Umgebung gestalten: ‘Lässig, maritim – ein Platz fuer die Familie zum Gluecklichsein!’ Deshalb holte sie die Farben der Insel ins Haus: gebleichter Pinienboden, Sisal, helles, lichtes Weiss.”
Rare
Advertising Feature
The use of black American walnut flooring in one of Constanze's interiors was so successful that Lassco Flooring who had supplied the material used it for an advertising campaign.