Karim Rashid!

Karim Rashid, born in Cairo, half Egyptian and half English, grew up in Toronto and is one of the most creative and diverse designers today,  dynamically touching every aspect of design from  furniture to accessories, sunglasses,  toys, in fact he has over 3000 designs in production, over 300 awards and is working in over 40 countries but still manages to  have fun in the meantime. 

From his website: “In his spare time Karim's pluralism flirts with art, fashion, and music and is determined to creatively touch every aspect of our physical and virtual landscape”.
If you did not visit his website yet…please do it now, if not only for the fun of interacting playing your own music on it. What did I say above? FUN!

Vibrant colors and extravagant shapes are a trademark of this brilliant designer who I had the pleasure of meeting  in Vancouver during IDSWest 2010 (Interior Design Show) to exchange a few words in Italian (he spent lots of time in Milan and Naples, studying design with Ettore Sottsass and others) and the energy he gave the audience was unbelievable, it was a very intense talk and we were scrambling to keep up with notes while he continued moving on the stage, standing, sitting, walking…very entertaining and inspiring. You can read my post on this event, and his philosophy of design, clicking on “Karim Rashid at IDSWest, Vancouver”.

Karim in his kitchen, no fear of PINK! Of this color he says: “It's positive, it's the new black. So many men have issues with anything they consider feminine. I'm trying to break down those gender differences. I want every product I design to soften the world”.
Of course he has a few houses around the world, some simple as the prefab home (cost of about US 5,000 and three days for assembling it) outside new York and others more expensive and elaborated.

Let’s take a peek to some of his interiors:

A Loft with his own iconic pieces.

Yellow, pink, blue all mixed together harmoniously.

Talk about Neon colors!…I have to say I love colors but this interior will make me agitated!

Another house, another vibrant mix of colors in the living room: the picture on the wall was taken by Karim while his wife was kissing the shower door!

A bedroom in hot pink, white and purple, the painting on the wall was made by his wife.

Vibrant orange for this bedroom, full of energy.

A bathroom with funky tiles, pink sinks and red towels

Fresh mint green for another bathroom

He also loves RED! We can see it here not just on the carpet but on many of his clothing. Sometimes when I meet a new client for a project I love to see her/his closet, I can judge their preferences in terms of colors by the hues of their clothes, love of neutrals, love of blues, or lots of pastel colors... a major hint on their preferences.

A modular shelving created by Rashid, here with a collection of fun

and functional objects designed by him.

Finally…relaxing at home with  his wife, probably a rare moment in the

life of this energetic and vibrant couple.

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And now who first answered correctly my question on the previous post:

Can you guess whose house is this?

Congratulations to Princess Fingers Glued Together blog and to the others who took the time to write (you can see their comments on that post).

©2012 Brillante Interiors writes about new trends, timeless decor, iconic pieces, design ideas, or at times just musing about "a certain Italian way of doing things".


Brillante Interiors now offers also online consultations so please send an email and we can start the process. It will be an investment in happiness at home, a well designed house is always a good part of a great life and a beautiful room will make you happy every time you walk in!