Interior Design Top Magazine Stories of 2008

Here are the five hottest design stories of last year.

Staff -- Interior Design, 1/5/2009

We're counting down the top 10 magazine articles on InteriorDesign.net! Here are the five hottest design stories of last year. 

5. 

White On White...On White
To hear Benjamin Noriega-Ortiz tell it, the house his friends purchased in Sagaponack, New York, was a total turkey. "Like a really bad version of the Sydney Opera House," he says, rolling his eyes while describing an early-1980's folly of intersecting triangles.

4.

Malibu Modern
Set at the apex of Point Dume in Malibu, California, this house offers the proverbial best of several worlds: staggering Pacific Ocean views, a Case Study–caliber architectural sensibility, and Asian accents. The combination comes courtesy of the diverse backgrounds of the architects and the interior designer.

3.

SoHo So High
Architects—talented and committed ones, at any rate—always seem to have a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder. They're consumed by rational planning and methodology and passionate about uniformity, accuracy, proportions, and plumb lines. With this notion in mind, you might jokingly wonder if Victoria Blau is as crazy as a loon.

2.

Down Mexico Way
John Houshmand was not looking to buy 9 acres in San Miguel de Allende. Although friends had long encouraged him to visit the artsy Mexican town, their enthusiasm had the opposite effect. "I'd been avoiding San Miguel like the plague," the New York–based furniture designer jokes. But when he finally did go—for a 36-hour stopover en route to the Yucatán—he overheard someone on the street mention land for sale.

1.

Home, Suite Home
It had been years of shuttling between Yabu Pushelberg's Toronto headquarters and its Gotham outpost. "I was sick of staying in New York hotels," says principal George Yabu. The firm is currently working on three hospitality projects in the Big Apple, so Yabu and coprincipal and life partner Glenn Pushelberg could have created a hotel that suited them perfectly. Instead, a scouting request from star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten led the Canadian designers to put down actual U.S. roots.