Island Living
A Caesarstone and Raw-Edges collaboration.
At this year’s Interior Design Show in Toronto, quartz surface manufacturer Caesarstone unveiled a collaboration with Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay, co-founders of award-winning London design studio Raw-Edges. The conceptual installation, Islands, reconsiders the concept of home and living surfaces, making them a sculptural element of home design instead of the typical topper to cabinetry. This revision of the domestic environment effectively isolates different units within the structure’s surface instead of placing them atop or around it, forming different arrangements for storage, working, and life around the house. The project has now travelled to Milan for the annual Salone Internazionale del Mobile furniture fair, which begins tomorrow.
“In the Islands installation we are showing how Caesarstone as a main sculptural element can interact and hold other elements together, for example kitchen cabinets, bath tubs, fish tanks, and wooden building blocks,” states Mer, who graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2006 alongside Alkalay. “We always strive towards the alternative, the humoristic, and always question the traditional approach to design.” Inspiration for the project was drawn from Caesarstone’s Classico collection and its new 2014 Supernatural designs—durable surfaces in natural, earthy tones that complement the materials from which the swappable items that fit into each unit are made (reclaimed wood, terracotta, and glass are a few).
There are Islands models for various kitchen, bathroom, and entertainment uses. One holds a shower, another an array of potted plants, one even functions as a sleek ping-pong table. Indeed, the collaboration is playful and unique, bringing the variability and solidity of surface to light.
