Lego releases flower and bonsai kits to help people "switch off and relax" at home

January 31, 20211 min read

Toy brand Lego has released construction kits that allow grown-ups to build flower bouquets and bonsai trees from bioplastic components.

The Danish brand’s Botanical Collection consists of two sets, both featuring snap-together components derived from sugarcane.

Flower Bouquet contains elements to construct bunches of model flowers and grasses while the pieces in the Bonsai Tree set combine to create a miniature tree with optional blossom.

Kits to build individual roses and tulips are also available.

“As adults look for new ways to switch off and relax, we saw an opportunity to help them switch off after a busy day and relax as they immerse themselves in creating these beautiful botanical builds,” said Lego senior designer Anderson Ward Grubb told Dezeen.

Lego flowers as part of Botanical Collection — Lego’s Botanical Collection is aimed at adults

Lego launched the collections as many people are spending extended periods of time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. The completed models … Read more

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Best sleep gadgets – 5 buys to help you get the good night's rest you're craving right now

January 31, 2021January 31, 20211 min read

The best sleep gadgets can lend a hand when it comes to chasing our recommended sleep hours. While few things can replace a hot drink and an early night as a recipe for a good night’s rest, the latest technology is starting to find ways to help us to fall asleep faster, dream deeper and wake more refreshed. So if sleep is proving elusive right now, read on to find out how the right piece of tech could be the answer.

Keep up to date with our top buys for your home with our buying guide reviews

Sleep tracking won’t instantly make you sleep longer or better, but it can help identify how long and how deeply you tend to sleep and how long it takes you to nod off. The best sleep gadgets are designed to help. How deeply you sleep and how long it takes to fall sleep … Read more

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5 Property market predictions for 2021

January 31, 20211 min read

It seems that everybody has been making predictions for our housing markets for 2021 and they’re all extremely positive.

While on the one hand I love to hear this, on the other hand I’m always concerned when everybody thinks the market is going to perform in a particular way as we’ve seen how wrong consensus opinion has been over the last few years.

Having said that, I agree that we’re at the beginning of a new property cycle and all the pieces of the puzzle are falling into place to have a number of great years ahead for many sectors of our property markets.

So let’s have a look at 5 property trends that I think will occur in 2021.

1. Property demand from home buyers is going to continue to be strong

One of the leading indicators I watch carefully is finance housing approvals, and these are at record … Read more

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A Sensitive Update For This Grand, 100 Year-Old Garden in Sydney

January 31, 20211 min read

A Sensitive Update For This Grand, 100 Year-Old Garden in Sydney

Gardens

by Amelia Barnes

This grand Mosman garden was recently update for improved functionality by Wyer & Co. Photo – Nicholas Watt

The garden is a cumulative effort from a number of designers over a one-hundred-year period and was originally built as a series of ‘garden rooms’. Photo – Nicholas Watt

Fundamentally, the brief called for greater privacy and functionality of the garden. Photo – Nicholas Watt

The entire property stretches over 2000 square metres, meaning certain areas or ‘rooms’ within the garden experience their own unique climatic conditions. Photo – Nicholas Watt

Symmetry and form have been celebrated, as well as the wraparound verandah, now enfolded with layers of greenery. Photo – Nicholas Watt

The Federation home sits respectfully

This week designers and architects created whale-shaped furniture and buildings

January 30, 20211 min read

This week on Dezeen, architecture and design looked to the ocean as whales informed the shape of both a wooden chair and a cultural building in China.

Chinese studio Open Architecture designed Pinghe Bibliotheater, a new library and theatre at the Shanghai Qingpu Pinghe International School China, to resemble a blue whale rising from the ground.

Woocheol Shin also drew on the ocean mammals when designing his Whale Chair, which the graduate designer made from bent plywood and stainless steel to mimic the shape of a whale’s tail.

Ocean House by Rob Mills Architecture & Interiors living room — New Dezeen Lookbooks section presents curated picks of home interiors from Dezeen’s archive

We introduced our new Dezeen Lookbooks section, which features a selection of home interiors and design trends from Dezeen’s image archive chosen by our editors.

The aim is for the lookbooks to help designers and design lovers to find ideas and inspiration for interiors … Read more