Erika Winters, Inc.

ERIKA WINTERS, INC.

Interior Design, Building, Art, Life Style

“Our Home is the Finger Print of our Heritage and Consciousness”

-Erika Winters

Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifestyle. Show all posts

Thursday, December 31, 2015

Dentro y Fuera... un punto de vista en la arquitectura y el diseño


A través de los tiempos el hogar es y ha sido considerado el centro neurálgico de la familia.
Pero si de-construimos la frase ¨Convivencia Familiar”, que básicamente se desarrolla al interior de los espacios llamados hogares, se concluye que implica:  “pertenecer a” y ¨compartir con”.

 

Cómo contribuyen entonces la arquitectura y especialmente el diseño a darle valor de convivencia a los espacios que terminarán siendo familiares?

Primero que nada deberíamos tomar en cuenta el perímetro y la forma; es decir, la presencia de la geometría como límite y demarcación de las interacciones de los usuarios e incluso de los procesos emocionales compartidos. Podríamos argumentar que son un punto nodal o toque de piedra en la construcción de la convivencia familiar. Mi opinión es que parte importante de la evolución viene desde Piet Mondrian con sus trazos geométricos bajo un concepto de simetría, orden y previsibilidad, y Joan Miró, que al contrario, propone en sus lienzos emulando microorganismos abstractos lo imprevisible, lúdico e incluso misterioso. Un cruce de caminos interesante entre la seguridad y la posibilidad. Si a esto le aumentamos los avances tecnológicos que resuelven formas infinitas en todo tipo de materiales (especialmente si son polímeros), abren paso a un estallamiento imaginativo del arquitecto creador y reordenador del mundo, de los espacios y por tanto de las interacciones emocionales que se viven dentro de ellos.




El dominio es entre estas formas simétricas y asimétricas, formales e informales que de pequeños espacios creados desde la arquitectura orgánica pasa a la geometría a gran escala. Un caso clásico que ha inspirado a cientos de arquitectos en el siglo XX y aún en el XIX es Frank Lloyd Wright, que con su talento deconstructivo no solo en la arquitectura si no también en el diseño, abrió una nueva de fusión entre la línea pura y analítica a la suavidad del desequilibrio orgánico que emerge desde la naturaleza. Lo estructurado incluyendo lo que está fuera de lugar y todo cuadra armónicamente.


Tomando esta base a la que nos hemos ya acostumbrado, es decir, la comunión de las formas analíticas en franca convivencia con las orgánicas plasmadas en una variedad infinita de posibilidades gracias a la tecnología contemporánea, acontece que los espacios a gran escala comienzan a replicarse con formas aún más prolíficas a pequeña escala en los objetos que son colocados dentro de esos espacios en los que se va planeando la convivencia familiar. 
Si bien la tecnología ha traído la democratización del diseño y la posibilidad de que en cualquier hogar se disfruten piezas de autentico diseño de alta calidad a precios diversos; también en cierto, que ese mismo efecto económico ha permitido el resurgimiento del taller culto; la quintaesencia del dominio de técnicas y materiales han manipulados por el ser humano en casi todos los procesos. 
Esto nos da como resultado una tendencia a los colores y materiales puristas; es decir, todo aquello que proviene tal cual de la naturaleza, regresándonos al goce y respeto de las cosas tan cuál son antes de tantos procesos y retrocesos tecnológicos que inundaron el pasado siglo, y que sigue marcando tendencia en el presente. 
Evidentemente esto nos instala instantáneamente a un tipo de vida mas sana, coherente, al cuidado del cuerpo a partir del ejercicio, a los hábitos alimenticios, ciertas disciplinas meditativas y, por supuesto, de forma de vestir. 
Es un proceso encadenado al que me atrevería a nombrar como el Santo Grial al que, afanosamente queremos llegar en esta época; Todo después de que es un hecho que muchos símbolos  y estructuras fueron basadas en la espiral y número áureo y por lo tanto continúan siendo la base de la arquitectura entre otras disciplinas.



Ese lugar de todas las posibilidades y de la comunión infinita con el aquí y el ahora; con el todo. 
Es el resultado de la creatividad humana a la cual se unen generaciones que se identifican o relacionan ya sea con la Tribu, el Gremio, el Circulo o Grupo al que se decide pertenecer. Ese es también el avance. La democratización de la pertenencia.

Un punto importante es “La Simplicidad” en la decoración,  la cual para este año 2016, involucra desde mi punto de vista, colores definidos y sólidos. El Blanco será el lienzo que enmarcara el detalle de color en la decoración; Y las tonalidades verdes de naturaleza misma, son el enjambre que soporta este lienzo.


El uso de materiales como el vidrio, madera, cerámicas y lacas al alto brillo son parte fundamental dentro del tema  decorativo. 
Aprovechar al máximo la luz natural a travez de puertas, ventanales y tragaluces es y será permitiendo para integrar el exterior con el interior de lo cotidiano de nuestro hogar permitiendo identificarnos aun mas con nuestro entorno. Luis Barragán abrió el sentido de los altos muros y “ser privado”, es un hecho que este concepto cada día es mas fuerte y no solo por los muros altos y privados, si no también por la certeza de la integración de los espacios. 

 

Por otra parte, encontraremos formas clásicas deconstruidas al máximo para crear el sentido de elegancia y exuberancia de forma simple, un tanto geométrica y orgánica gracias a las propuestas de principios del siglo XXI de  Philippe Starck y posteriormente de  Marcel Wanders.
También podemos encontrar destello de color vibrante y metálicos en objetos decorativos de formas orgánicas que son influenciadas por el  ingenio de Jeff Koons   Y aplicarlas a la vida cotidiana a travez de los ojos creativos y la  imaginación sensible en la geometría de Karim Rashid.



Considero que "El Todo y La Nada" forman parte de la nueva decoración, podemos admirar un lienzo blanco con tan solo una linea de color por largo tiempo y encontrar la sensibilidad y delicadeza del artista así como admirar una decoración recargada pero armoniosa que nos habla de nuestras costumbres y apegos. Al final considero que lo que importa en este momento, es:  “La Presentación”

Felices Fiestas!!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Setting Up a Studio in Los Angeles: Let the Adventure Begin . . .




For many years, I had the good fortune to have my showroom in a house on Atlixco 45 in the Colonia Condesa in Mexico City, in the same building where I had grown up with my sisters, my mother and great aunts, and where my mother and her brothers had been raised before me.


The Condesa district was also where my parents met each other, fell in love, and were reputedly the best-looking couple in the neighborhood. That’s right, my mum and dad.


As a young girl, my mother would tell me about the importance of “beauty”, “style” and “art”. This meant that I grew up surrounded by music and art books, and we would go on visits to museums, galleries, antique stores, and as we grew older she would take us to open-air concerts in Chapultepec Park and at Mexico’s largest public university, the UNAM. My mother also enrolled me on summer courses at museums such as the Carrillo Gil. And of course, how could I forget our ritual visits to La Lagunilla market in downtown Mexico City, where we would always come down with something afterwards!



These experiences definitely lie at the roots of the person I am today and provide a source of inspiration to me. The years went by and after spending my childhood playing in that house, I had become a woman. 

I named my showroom Erika Winters Design just over 10 years ago. 
Who would have guessed that after 40 years the house would become the home for my professional career as an interior designer. I converted a part of the house into my workshop, where I produced several pieces of restored furniture in a myriad of colors and exotic materials. A house that created decorative designs, dreams and realities. 



Thanks to my “good taste” and “characteristic style” I attracted clients who helped me continue to hone my skills and grow in my chosen career. I was always very attentive to my clients’ tastes and needs, translating them for their spaces to give a chic and urban touch, but always respecting their personalities.



At the same time, my curiosity led me to seek out and experiment in new fields to continue developing my imagination. Soon after setting up my showroom, I began to travel abroad, always seeking to broaden my horizons. 


Soon an opportunity arose in Los Angeles, California. “The Living Room” on Sunset Boulevard launched the Erika Winters Design brand, using one of my collections of restored furniture at my workshop in Mexico City. This gave me the wings to take off and cross new frontiers in the world of interior design. 


Almost without me realizing it, everything had fallen into place for me to take the next step. The change was not easy and required a lot of work along the way. 

Once established, I found I was in contact with new people and potential clients. I realized that my tastes in design, color and the cutting-edge were not far removed from my new situation.



 
After three years in my new space, I have been immersed in new styles, colors, materials, tastes and needs: the same raw materials but from a new perspective



I realize that I am still restless, opening up the panorama before me to offer new possibilities and radical changes. 

I now understand that I am the business. Wherever I am, or wherever I’m flying to, my home and my profession will always be right here, where I am. 

Enjoy
Erika Winters

Monday, October 6, 2014

New York: when love comes through the eyes.




Writing is not that easy, but in the past few years I have being training myself because the need to express my experiences, feelings, ideas and concepts.
Today I like to share with you some of my writing...


 I always remember my dad used to tell me that travel was everything: "¡Hija! si no has viajado no has vivido." He was the one who took me on my first trip to New York City. We arrived at the airport and took the bus straight to Central Station at Port Authority, on 42nd Street (which was very extravagant at the time). And I remember my first reaction, emerging onto the street and seeing the New York Times building, was to look up in amazement at the architecture from different periods contrasting with the blue sky. We were visiting in early March, at the start of spring, just as the city was beginning to thaw. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.


I confess: I fell for Manhattan right there and then. And ever since that first trip to the city that never sleeps, I have not lost my sense of wonder. My last visit was no exception, because this time it was my turn to show my children the magic of the “Big Apple.”


The days went by a whirl, at the cutting-edge of architecture, art, history and fashion, days that I’m sure my children will remember forever.


Apart from visiting contemporary art museums such as the Guggenheim and the MomA, the Frick Collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, we also toured the Chelsea art galleries to take in some contemporary conceptual art. 



  We walked the High Line, the mile-long linear park built on a disused railway line, enjoying great architecture and design from every angle. We admired the impressive combinations of concrete, wood, innovative materials and vegetation that have been turning Manhattan into an awe-inspiring and sublime city, not just in its exterior spaces but also in its sober, elegant and modern interiors; my fellow interior designers here are using bold colors and fantastic textures. The furniture and decorative objects have been perfectly chosen to convey a sense of “ordered chaos” in which everything always looks like it belongs, due to that fact that is openly visible and available to all the senses. And so to take advantage of all the Big City has to offer, we entered all the hotels, restaurants and bars that our legs could carry us to; we wondered at the interiors full of majestic marble, luxurious carpets, magnificent candelabras and beautiful bronze filigree work found on many of the handrails and doors.

 

 We visited a range of hotels, from those with the longest histories and traditions such as the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, the Pierre Hotel and the Plaza Hotel, to the more contemporary and modern Standard, High Line, ACE Hotel, NoMad Hotel, and the Bryant Park Hotel in the American Radiator building. We also explored every corner of Noho, Soho, Greenwich Village and Tribeca.



And since every trip must have an element of surprise, the three of us headed to the Upper West Side where my children and I ended up dining on hamburgers and milkshakes at Tom's Restaurant, just like Jerry Seinfeld, Elaine Benes, Cosmo Kramer and George Costanza use to do. 

 Our trip coincided with various important events, including the Spring-Summer 2015 "Design Fashion Week" in Manhattan. The catwalks were overflowing with incredible designs, prints and colors: this season’s three most important aspects, which are being combined in free-spirited and geometric forms, with great contrasts. Primary colors again! Yellow, Blue and Red are the dominant colors.  Black and White are the canvas for the rest of the palette.


I think the Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera deserves all the praise this season. However, ultimately everything is relevant, especially here in the capital of art, fashion, design and the avant-garde, since trends and fashion are made by the people who wear what is created by the catwalk and underground designers.  











And it is even truer to say, fashion changes every day.

                          







                             



                             Enjoy
                          -Erika Winters-

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Best Of Houzz 2014 Award


Erika Winters® Design of Los Angeles, CA Receives
Best Of Houzz 2014 Award
Annual Survey and Analysis of 16 Million Monthly Users
Reveals Top-Rated Building, Remodeling and Design Professionals
LOS ANGELES, CA, February 4, 2014 – Erika Winters® Design of Los Angeles, CA has been awarded “Best Of Houzz” by Houzz, the leading platform for home remodeling and design. The L.A. based design firm with over two decades of projects was chosen by the more than 16 million monthly users that comprise the Houzz community. 
The Best Of Houzz award is given in two categories: Customer Satisfaction and Design. Customer Satisfaction honors are determined by a variety of factors, including the number and quality of client reviews a professional received in 2013. Design award winners’ work was the most popular among the more than 16 million monthly users on Houzz, known as “Houzzers,” who saved more than 230 million professional images of home interiors and exteriors to their personal ideabooks via the Houzz site, iPad/iPhone app and Android app. Winners will receive a “Best Of Houzz 2014” badge on their profiles, showing the Houzz community their commitment to excellence. These badges help homeowners identify popular and top-rated home professionals in every metro area on Houzz.  
“Our home is the fingerprint of our heritage and consciousness”, Erika Winters®

“Houzz provides homeowners with the most comprehensive view of a home improvement professional on the Web, empowering them to find and hire the right professional to execute their vision,” said Liza Hausman, vice president of community for Houzz. “We’re delighted to recognize Erika Winters® Design among our “Best Of” professionals for design as judged by our community of homeowners and design enthusiasts who are actively remodeling and decorating their homes.”
With Houzz, homeowners can identify not only the top-rated professionals like Erika Winters® Design, but also those whose work matches their own aspirations for their home. Homeowners can also evaluate professionals by contacting them directly on the Houzz platform, asking questions about their work and reviewing their responses to questions from others in the Houzz community.
Follow Erika Winters® Design on Houzz http://www.houzz.com/pro/erika-winters/__public
About Erika Winters® Design
Design runs through Erika Winters´ veins. Her passion is to enrich everyday life with sophisticated, chic and timeless design. Her goal in interior and furnishings design is to create a calm and comfortable urbane feeling and environment. 
Erika's focus is on end-user comfort in her integral interior design. Attention to detail is crucial for Erika throughout the design and manufacturing process. 
Erika Winters´ path and work of two decades has drawn great media attention. She has been published in Architectural Digest Mexico, Habitat, Casa Viva, Mexico Design, Real Estate, Entre Muros of Reforma newspaper and Vogue Mexico. 
Erika Winters is extending her influence beyond Mexico City and is already beginning to make her mark in Los Angeles, California.
About House
Houzz is the leading platform for home remodeling and design, providing people with everything they need to improve their homes from start to finish - online or from a mobile device. From decorating a room to building a custom home, Houzz connects millions of homeowners, home design enthusiasts and home improvement professionals across the country and around the world. With the largest residential design database in the world and a vibrant community powered by social tools, Houzz is the easiest way for people to get the design inspiration, project advice, product information and professional reviews they need to help turn ideas into reality. For more information, visit www.houzz.com

                               This are some of images of our projects, more can be found in Houzz

Contadero Decor by Erika Winters® Design

 Rosaleda Decor by Erika Winters® Design

 Christmas Decor by Erika Winters® Design

Rejuvenation Project by Erika Winters® Design

Sunnynook Project by Erika Winters® Design

Rosaleda Decor by Erika Winters® Design

Tine Decor by Erika Winters® Design

Del Sol Decor by Erika Winters® Design

M-8442 Project by Erika Winters® Design



Enjoy,
Erika Winters