Curves in all the right spaces: eight ways to soften up those hard lines

Best in class: curves from designers going with the flow


1. Forget hard lines and embrace soft curves instead. A gorgeous adults-only escape on Tenerife's Costa Adeje on the southwest of Spain's largest Canary Island is the Royal Hideaway Corales Beach whose lower levels appear to have been hewn from the volcanic rock. By island architect Leonardo Omar and designed by MKV Design, it won the best European Hotel award at last year's European Hospitality Awards. Its wellness spa has banished straight lines in favour of undulating curves, where its bowed glass walls open on to potted palms and green ferns set against a restful limestone curved exterior wall. With a warm timber floor underfoot and a sweeping coffered ceiling above, the furniture and circular coffee table have been kept deliciously simple. leonardoomar-arquitectos.com; barcelo.com

2. The opening of The Orient, Isrotel's newest hotel, situated at the tip of Jerusalem's German Colony shows the value in meticulously preserving the original features of this swanky complex, where 39 rooms are housed in a lovingly-restored 19th-century Templar heritage building, where curves form part of the personality. Conserved by architect Eyal Ziv, who worked with Constantina Tsoutsikou, creative director at Hirsch Bedner Associates on the look. Here the bed is set under a vaulted ceiling with pier-style mirrors set on either side of the bed to, ahem, mirror the rooms womb-like form and to help refract the light from the bedside lamps into the room. isrotel.com

3. Has spring sprung? Let's take a look through the round window at the Dewdrop chandelier by Giopato and Coombes. The window's tempered glass distorts the spring greens outside in the same way a beautifully spherical and simple drop of morning dew distorts anything you view through it. This is a sculptural light that looks as good unlit as it does when illuminated. giopatocoombes.com

4. Doors too are aping the new curved form. Arched glass patio designs leading out to a private pool from the Tarina suite at the Istoria, on the Greek isle of Santorini, have been inspired by the distinctive architecture of the Cyclades islands. Athens-based Interior Design Laboratorium created a deceptively simple look for this design hotel. Set in a location where the black volcanic sand of Perivolos Beach meets the caldera waters of the Aegean Sea the arch shape of the exterior door is echoed in the doorway to the room's kitchenette. istoriahotel.gr; idlaboratorium.gr; designhotels.com

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5. On the same balcony to the Aegean is a series of villas in the north of the island in the village of Imerovigli that are suspended high above the loulaki blue sea and overlook the volcano. North of the capital Fira, Vora's Cycladic curves are echoed through the room with Athens-based K-Studio carrying the idea from the dark wood of the bathroom door frame through the niches in the living room that create an authentic sense of place and a very soft version of broken plan. Outside is a private plunge pool. k-studio.gr; voravillas.com

6. Italian firm Moroso's Redondo armchair by Patricia Urquiola has a padded shell that wraps around its back and seat. Its decorative stitching has been inspired by America's mid-century cars, in particular the soft curves of their bodywork and the on-the-road comfort the seating provides. The elegant design is similarly well upholstered and ranges in price from €2,583 to €3,120, depending on the fabric selected, at Minima. minimahome.com; moroso.it

7. British furniture company &New's freestanding Gray screen is named after our own screen queen Eileen Gray. Its large format, powder-coated aluminium curves, 175cm high by 97cm wide, comes in 12 different colours and can be used to divide an open-plan living space or hive off an area to increase privacy. It also adds visual interest and costs about €1,346. Also pictured is the Robot side table, about €415, both ex delivery. andnew.co.uk

8. You can work in these softer forms in circular rugs and oversize large mirrors. This simple báinín coloured rug from Jonathan Adler draws the eye in because of its bold Greek key round border. It costs about €3,500, from the UK store or can be customised online to any size, about €52 per sq ft, ex delivery. Sandyford-based Rug Art's Pure Blooming is a 2.3m hand tufted, viscose round that costs €1,380. Dublin-based Elements of Action showed a new collection of Bubble mirrors at this year's trade show, Showcase. The brass rounds framed in a walnut band with a polished disc set within the 6mm mirrors straddle reflection and art, from €2,500. uk.jonathanadler.com;rugart.ie; elementsofaction.net