One of my favourite interview based sites Freunde von Freunden has just released their first book. On the site you're introduced to a range of Berlin's leading creatives, which over the last year, has also extended to cover cities like London, Paris and New York. I guess you could say it is like Todd Selby's site The Selby, but if like us, you're after a little more information about the subjects, the editors of Freunde von Freunden spend quite some time interviewing them too. At an impressive 336 pages for 39 Euros, it's a decent belated Christmas present, sure to please the aesthetically minded among us.

Available for purchase here.

54 years ago, the owner of this house, visited Orcas Island for the first time and decided she would live there. 40 years late, she purchased a piece of forested land on a hillside populated with Madrone trees, firs, beech, moss and rocks. When she employed Gary Gladwish of his self-titled architecture firm, the brief was an open, simple and low maintenance design that blends seamlessly with its surrounding environment. The result utilised some of the owner's favourite materials including old wood recycled from a 100 year old barn demolished in eastern Washington, rusty steel as well as moss and rocks salvaged from the building site. Large doors slide away to open the house to the expansive views, creating a living room in the woods. The entry garden bisects the house creating two zones while it carries the site into the house and the eye out to the view. The 800 square foot art studio and storage areas are left raw to facilitate converting them to additional bedrooms at a later date.

Photography credit: Will Austin

The Why Knot bench by Canadian designer Kino Guérin comprises one long continuous piece of wenge veneer wood bended into a knot. Sculptural in form, the knot serves as a division in the middle of the bench so that two parties can sit comfortably and not disturb one another.

Whilst we're basking at the height of a warm New Zealand summer, New York based Kevin Erickson & Allison Warren have devised a 'Rope Pavilion' for a warm respite for our friends in the Northern Hemisphere. When placed upon the ice, the temporary structure provides shelter from harsh winter winds for ice skaters. Made from a Birch wood framework with wrapped manila rope to hold it in place, the little huts not only provide a nice resting spot, but look in keeping with nature too.

Five new watch sculptures have been created covering subjects from protest and CCTV to money and football. Dominic Wilcox has created a series of miniature time-based sculptures using a collection of vintage mechanical watches and customised model figures. By attaching tiny figures onto the second and minute hands of each watch, Wilcox has made unique, animated scenes from everyday observations and imagined situations. 

This minimalist floor lamp by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban extends beautifully over pieces of furniture. The Yumi lamp's materials consisting of fibre glass, aluminium and carbon fibre, are all visible  resulting in a stunning light. Incredibly light in form, the lamp personifies elegance at its best.

Fancy visiting the Marais district in Paris but looking for a more boutique experience than say that of a local hotel? Fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa has converted a traditional 17th century building into three apartments, each at an impressive 100 square metres in size. Each apartment features a fully operating kitchen, designer furniture (including pieces from Marc Newson, Jean Prouve, Charlotte Perriand and Arne Jacobsen,) and clean minimal bathrooms so that you can truly feel that you're staying in a home away from home. What's even more impressive is that breakfast is served daily from the designer's own personal kitchen (which is literally just around the corner).

You can always rely on Chanel and the man at its helm Karl Lagerfeld to put on a show that favours decadence over cost cutting, and their Paris-Bombay extravaganza was no exception. Sending models down a banquet lined runway, he transformed the Grand Palais in Paris into an Indian-themed dinner party for guests. Complete with chandeliers, decadent candelabras and a feast fit for even the most worthy among us, he proves yet again that there is something definitely to be said for living large. Let's all hope that our Christmas dinner on December 25th is equally as impressive and visually appealing.

The Forest light is a lighting system for walls and ceilings by Dutch design studio Ontwerpdup. Putting the onus on the owner, each light can be customised allowing one to grow the 'forest' and expand the unit as much as desired.

Designers 'Humans Since 1982' have stripped their light back to its bare essentials, to produce a light that consists of exposed LEDs. They wanted to create a light that pays homage to insect collections. Their LEDs are all arranged to accomplish a subtle and harmonious light.