Fantastic furnishings in Brazil

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It's not an exaggeration to say that almost every piece of furniture in this Brazilian home from Rodrigo Maia Arquitetura is fascinating and worthy of comment. Indeed, we only say almost due to the likelihood that some nondescript functional items must have slipped in somewhere along the way; in reality, none seem to be clearly in evidence, at least not in these images. 

This is a home built on a hyper-awareness of contemporary design, a retro flair and, above all, a real sense of fun. It's also a home that adeptly answers the question how many unbelievably cool chairs can you fit under one roof? 

The answer: more than you might expect. Many, many more. 

Silver and pink

It's hard to know where to start with this room, since there's so much going on, but this seems like as good a place as any. Already, based on this photo, we can get a bit of a sense of what this place is going to be about. Uniqueness is the order of the day; the designer would clearly consider it a crime against creativity to plonk a standard armchair or a coffee table from IKEA down in the middle of his vision. 

The stand-out piece here is probably that space-age lamp, stretching its elegant neck out over the entire seating area. But also very impressive, although much more subtly so, is the colour scheme. The pastel shades and muted grey walls are the perfect foil to the outlandishness of the furniture itself.

Two zones

The open-plan design allows the dining and living areas to flow into one another, but there is also a clear demarcation between the territories of each. This is created not only by the difference in floor coverings—the living area is carpeted for maximum comfort while lounging—but also by the slight difference in colour schemes. Though white is key in both, the dining area steers clear of accent shades in favour of a more strictly monochrome look.

Fashion over function

There's a lot of good chair action to be seen in this picture. The two seen in the foreground on the left-hand side are so inspired, yet also so patently impractical, that they seem to function more as art pieces than as seating. 

But where are the frogs?

This lamp is yet another piece which simply has to be remarked upon—not only by us but, almost certainly, by every visitor to the house. It's frogspawn-like bubbly structure would look out of place in most home environments, and yet here it seems to make perfect sense.

The subtle approach

It's time for yet more outstanding chairs, this time accompanied by an equally outstanding side table. Pieces  as brazenly odd as this one work in this context because, while each furniture item itself has clearly been carefully chosen for its unique qualities, the décor is otherwise actually quite restrained. Walls and floors are fairly neutral and there are no prominent clashing colours or patterns. The result is that, as much as there is to look at, it doesn't generally feel like too much.

Different eras

In the kitchen, these strikingly modern chairs provide a strong contrast to the '70s-inspired wood-veneered walls.

A wall of nature

This wall of lush leaves seems decadent and wholesome all at once, offering a little bit of compensation for the absence of a garden. Once again, keeping most colours light allows the statement colours to, well, make a statement—in this case it's all that green. 

Tough decisions

The master bedroom is barely separated from its en suite by large sliding doors that can open almost completely. Those seeking relaxation would be spoilt for choice seeing two such enticing options side by side: that classic Eames lounge chair and the freestanding bath tub right next to it. Not to mention the sheepskin rug beneath… the 60s is strong in this corner of the home.

Sweet dreams

And finally, there's more comfort to be found in the form of this extended padded headboard. Bliss in blue.

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