Paris-based Agence Jouin Manku took on its first large-scale integrated architectural and interior design commission in 2003, when YTL Design Group from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, invited it to design the residence of a Malaysian power family.
Completed in the latter part of 2008, the residence is the ultimate expression of the taste, influence and industrial-scale capabilities of the prominent family whose entrepreneurial activities have shaped Kuala Lumpur’s skyline.
Three generations of the family inhabit the 3,000 square-meter residence designed to accommodate both private and public functions.
Department store Selfridges is encouraging shoppers to buy their extremely expensive £1,000 ($1,500) Easter eggs in the hope they will gain value.
How? Because each of these exorbitantly priced eggs will contain a gold coin which the store considers to be of good investment value.
A Selfridges spokesman said: “According to the financial institution Swiss bank UBS, demand for gold will double this year compared to 2007†Continue reading →
Showcased at the E-Marriage Fest wedding fair in Bucharest, this wedding gown with a train is 1,579 meters long (5,180 ft), which makes it the longest in the world.
The train of the wedding dress is studded with as many as 7,000 Swarovski crystals and it took designers 70 days to make it.
The wedding gown with the longest train in the world is priced at $5,200 and it will be sold at the festival through an auction. Romanian designer Oana Comanescu designed the gown. Via Javno
You might have seen this technique before during your days of reading books as a kid. But Esquire claims its never been done by a magazine before.
For the cover of their “How To Be A Man” issue the folk at Esquire have created a mix and match flipbook comprised of Justin Timberlake, Barack Obama and George Clooney’s faces
Go ahead and make your own face when the “How to Be a Man” issue goes on sale, beginning April 10. Continue reading →
David Ashen, principal of New York-based architecture firm D-ASH Design, designed the 50-foot-long trailer that expands to 1000 square feet when open for Jay-Z.
For concerts and events,  RocPopShop will travel around the country, featuring mohair sofas, suede walls, custom zebrawood cabinetry, a 46-inch flat screen TV, stereo system, and a custom gaming zone.
The luxury RocPopShop first popped up in Philadelphia on October 24 for Powerhouse Concert Tour.
The Chanel J12 Intense Black is made as a jeweled watch but replaces the jewels with baguette cut black ceramic pieces which are set into the eighteen karat white gold case.
The movement is the Audemars Piguet Caliber 3125 movement which has been specially adapted for Chanel. Continue reading →
Barcelona’s new wholesale flower market — Mercabarna-Flor — near the Barcelona International Airport was designed by Willy Muller Architects.
The most striking features of the new market are the multi-faceted angular roof structure and the multi-colored outer shell inspired by an aerial view of flower fields in full bloom. Source
Christie’s is offering a rare, 100-million-year-old petrified shell of an extinct Canadian marine creature.
This fossilized ammonite is expected to fetch $70,000 at an auction next week in France.
The fossil has naturally occurring iridescent colors created when the original shell substance turned into a mineral called aragonite. Continue reading →
Ergo Italy has launched a new sparkling notebook line, called Fashion Notes.
This luxury notebook is handcrafted and encrusted with 1.444 Swarovski crystals. Designed by Sbranchio, an extravagant Italian artist, Fashion notes combines creativity and high-tech features.
It is smaller than the standard A4 notebook, approximately 22 x 17 cm, and it features a 1.6 GHz Intel ATOM N270 Processor to provide the functionality you need. Continue reading →
Originally developed in collaboration with Jacques Cousteau in the 70s, Omega is re-releasing the Ploprof Diver.
The 2009 Ploprof Diver will feature a Co-axial Caliber 8500 movement, push-button lock bezel, and a water resistance of up to 1200 meters, twice the depth rating of the 1960s version.
It also comes on the choice of three new straps, the Shark , or a black or orange rubber strap (pictured above) that is adjustable to fit over diving suits.
Having already launched a bespoke audio system for the DBS in 2008, Aston Martin and Bang & Olufsen went ahead and introduced the BeoSound DB9 which has been designed to complement the luxurious, handcrafted interiors of the DB9.
It was developed exclusively for the car, meaning it is perfectly matched both physically and acoustically, the company said.
Among the highlights of the new audio system are the thirteen speakers positioned in ten locations around the car including two ’submergible’ twin acoustic lens speakers on both sides of the dashboard. Continue reading →
Scarlett Johansson proved she is indeed a bubbly blonde in a new campaign for Moët & Chandon.
The Hollywood actress looks her bombshell best in a series of smouldering images for the champagne house, who named her their first ever celebrity ambassador last month.
In one provocative image she pops the cork off a bottle of the French tipple, while in another she shows off her fancy footwork as she holds a champagne glass between her toes.
To protest the hyperinflation that has rendered the Zimbabwe currency worthless and to raise awareness of the dire economic situation there, the Zimbabwean Newspaper created an ad campaign featuring huge posters, wall murals, flyers, and even billboards all made out of trillions of Zimbabwean dollars.
Michael Jackson is reported to have paid £1 million to rent a large country house near the edge of an ancient 22-mile maze of haunted passageways.
The undisclosed home is thought to be close to the Chislehurst Caves in Bromley, in the south-east suburbs of London.
The three-storey pile – built in the 1800s – has quarters for 20 staff as well as an underground cinema, music room, indoor swimming pool, lake and private wood. Continue reading →
The Harbour Crane can lay claim to being one of the world’s most unusual hotels.
Bloomberg reports that the Crane Hotel was a functioning harbour crane used to unload timber until 12 years ago when a bigger industrial harbour was built nearby.
The machine room of the crane is now a luxurious bedroom for two that hangs 17 metres high between the sky full of seagulls and the roar of the Wadden Sea.
Guests reach the cabin via two elevators, the first stopping at a platform between the crane’s legs and the second shooting them up to what was once the machine room and is now a luxuriously furnished bedroom with lots of windows.
There is a huge double bed, two Charles Eames chairs, a table and a shower that has coloured lights you can adapt to your mood.
A large LCD touchscreen allows you to watch videos, some of which are provided. A small staircase leads up to the steering cabin.
Based on the A3 hatch, the soft top Cabriolet can seat four passengers. The soft-top, available in semi-automatic and fully automatic versions, can be opened hydraulically in just nine seconds.
This new model is offered with 2.0 TDI 140 CV or 2.0 TFSI 200 CV and with the S tronic dual-clutch gearbox that is available alongside the six-speed manual gearbox.
A medieval Islamic glass vessel sold in London yesterday for 1.6 million pounds ($2.3 million), more than 20 times as much as it fetched less than a decade ago, when it was dismissed as a fake.
The 8-inch-high “Rothschild Bucket†was offered in Sotheby’s “Arts of the Islamic World†sale as a mid-14th-century piece, Bloomberg reports.
The bucket is actually a glass finger bowl, intricately gilded and decorated with colourful enamels, that dates from 14th century Egypt or Syria. It was made during the Mamluk dynasty that ruled the region from 1250 to 1517. Continue reading →
Last weekend at Acker Merrall & Condit’s first Hong Kong auction of 2009, a 1928 Krug set a new world record for the most expensive bottle of Champagne sold at auction.
The 75cl bottle, from the Krug Collection range (the library collection of the renowned Reims Champagne house), fetched 164,560 Hong Kong dollars ($21,100 USD) after several rounds of fierce bidding.
The record was previously held by a Methuselah (6 litre bottle) of Louis Roederer, Cristal Brut 1990, Millenium 2000 that sold in the US for US$17,625 in December 2005.
D Pet Hotels is an exclusive resort and spa, in Los Angeles, that offers an unique experience from high-end luxury boarding to amazing relax services, which entice even the most discerning of dogs.
There are standard bowWOW suites which include doggie beds and flat screen TVs and there is also the Uber double suite: 22ft x 17ft of pure elegance and comfort, including modern queen size beds, extensive room decor and 42″ flat screen TV’s for your dog’s viewing pleasure.
D Pet Hotels offers the very best in doggie daycare consisting of three spectacular dog parks spanning 6,000sq ft of the hotel’s grounds. Continue reading →
Los Angeles’s best luxury real estate properties are being snatched up by foreigners, investors and savvy buyers alike.
The reasons are the historically low prices, a strong international demand for the Southern California lifestyle and the availability of the best premium properties, many that have not been available in decades.
LAClassicEstates reports 12 sales of properties in the “Over $10 Million” category in just the last 90 days, which averages one major property sale every week. Continue reading →
