This week we bring you the Zeidler Residence, a project by the architecture firm Ehrlich Architects, a sleek and stunning Californian residence.

The house is situated on a bluff on the beautiful Californian coast, with an expansive outlook to the Pacific Ocean. The outlook to the ocean is central to the house, and as such floor to ceiling glass capture the view in almost every room.

Whilst minimal in design, all the muted, natural materials used here complement each other, and importantly don’t detract from the view, to which every main room is oriented. This house is outstanding design in every sense of the word.

Check out Ehrlich Architects for further details about this project.

Rio De Janeiro is undoubtedly one of the most vibrant, passionate and dynamic cities in the world, and is soon to be catapulted onto the world stage when it hosts the 2014 Football World Cup. Rio is nothing short of stunning in every sense of the word, and this unique tilt-shift video by Jarbas Agnelli and Keith Loutit introduce us to an entirely new perception of this magical city.

The “tilt-shift” effect gives the impression, the simulation of a miniature world, in this case with breathtaking results. So turn up the volume, sit back and admire Rio De Janiero and the 2011 Carnival in “The City of Samba”.

Visit the website of Keith Loutit for more incredible tilt-shift videos. The Music in this video, “The City of Samba – Part II” was composed by Jarbas Agnelli, and is available in iTunes.

Alfa Nero, built by Oceanco in 2007, is one of the more gracefully proportioned and stunningly appointed superyachts to ever grace the seas. At 82m (269 ft) long, the Alfa Nero is the 58th largest yacht currently in existence, and every element of this incredible boat screams elegance and sophistication.

Perhaps the most notable feature of the Alfa Nero is the 12×38 ft plunge pool on the lower deck, which serves a dual purpose of transforming into a helicopter landing pad. Why sacrifice one for the other when both are entirely possible?

The sublime elegance of the exterior is mirrored internally. The Alberto Pinto designed interiors strike a fine and delicate balance between complete luxury and beautiful subtlety. Tropical hardwood and soft leather are used together, contributing to the sense of opulence and grandeur that pervades this vessel.

The Alfa Nero is available for private charter through Yachting Partners International for the princely sum of $1,093,000. Per week. But whilst that may seem egregiously expensive, when compared to the asking price it’s a week of joy for a fraction of the cost.

Visit Luxury Insider for a comprehensive review. Exterior and Interior photos below.

Thick, thermally insulated concrete slabs comprise a significant element of the front facade, and continue throughout the house. In contrast to the front, the rear of the house is far more open, successfully capturing the sweeping views of the site. The high standards of Sullivan Conard have been upheld – a truly magnificent house.

Take a look at Sullivan Conard Architects for details about this and other projects.

This stunning penthouse is among the most celebrated property in Manhattan, belonging to Sanford Weill, the former chief executive and chairman of Citigroup. Located in the 15 Central Park West apartment complex on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, this incredible penthouse is one of the more spectacular adresses on the market, with hopes of $88 million dollars, the proceeds going directly to charity. For the record, $88 million dollars is not a typo.

The Weill Penthouse is beautifully appointed, and offers uninterrupted sweeping views of Central Park and the Upper East Side.

The property was purchased for $43.7 million in 2007, which means Weill’s investment is effectively doubled assuming his asking price is met. And here’s a fun fact: if the property were to sell for the asking price, this would effectively value each room at approximately $9m. If a sale of $88m is achieved, it would be the most expensive residential transaction ever recorded in Manhattan.

Both the quantity and quality of premium WordPress themes has accelerated rapidly over the past six months, and here are five of the best money can buy. Dominating this list are primarily high quality, portfolio themes that are guaranteed to bring your website to life. Don’t be deceived by the simplicity – the quality is in the details. Click on the images to view theme demos.

Classica WordPress Portfolio Theme

The first offering is Classica, a design entirely simple yet sophisticated. Judicious use of whitespace enables a clean-cut look that prioritises information without clutter. Certainly worth checking out.

Create: WordPress Portfolio Theme

Create Portfolio Theme is not as subtle as Classica, however this in a way highlights its strength. Images are plentiful on the homepage, yet never do they seems cluttered or claustrophobic. Similarly, little details such as the drop-menu highlight add a degree of sophistication.

The Cotton: Powerful Minimalistic WordPress Theme

The Cotton is, in my opinion, one of the most well designed WordPress Themes to ever have existed. Possibly a big call. Huge call, actually, but it’s that good. Maybe it just appeals to me, but I really do feel that everything about this theme is just right. Again, the beauty lies in the details, which includes the back-end Admin panel that makes customisation easy and simplistic. I bought this theme even though I would have no conceivable use for it. You should too.

Kundera Creative WordPress Tumblog

Tackling the cross-platform genre, Kundera is an interesting take on the somewhat tired portfolio concept. It’s a shame, then, that the designer decided to bestow their curious creation with such a stupid name. Despite that, the coding is sound and the design is excellent -well worth checking this one out.

Halo: Stunning WordPress Portfolio Theme

This theme is perhaps a little less known, but by no means is any less because of it. Again, simplicity wins here, as all images are spaced perfectly yet prominently. The focus that the logo area brings will also be an attraction for many.

Today’s free resource is a simple, elegant menu bar, perfect for any web project.

The colour is interchangeable, so can be altered to fit essentially any web project.
As always, completely free to use for personal and commercial projects, but please do not redistribute.

And if you like it, share it

Download this Resource

Simple, modern, elegant web buttons are easy to make, hard to make well (It’s all about the subtlety!). These look better on lighter backgrounds, but can be modified for darker backgrounds.

Free for personal and commercial use, but please do not redistribute.

Download this Resource

The internet, an Infographic. Numbers look so much bigger when they’re in color, so please take a moment to comprehend the vast extent to which the internet has grown in the short space of a decade.

Oh, and by the way, this took for freaking ever. So please Digg. No Really. Please.

It would take an incredibly enthusiastic maths nerd with a sizable calculator to work out the number of premium WordPress themes available online – there really are too many too physically count. So to make your life just that little bit easier, we’ve rounded up the best of the best currently on offer.

Showtime Business Theme

The first offering from Themeforest, Showtime, really is a testament to show just how far the premium WordPress theme market has come. Designed by Freshface, this light and airy theme redefines the typical product website, relived through refreshing graphics and the most amazing theme options panel you will ever see. It’s probably not healthy to get worked up over a theme options panel, but it’s seriously cool, and will make theme customisation a helluva lot easier.

Purchase the Showtime Business Theme

Implicit WordPress Theme

Second on the list is Implicit, a sort of post-modernistic offering featuring, well, nothing. But that’s kinda the point, and it’s not really a bad thing. Many premium themes lack the startling effect of vast, empty space and design subtlety, so it’s good to see that this crucial design technique is used to the fullest extent through the theme. The preview really doesn’t do this theme justice – you have to view the live preview to get the full impact.

Purchase the Implicit WordPress Theme

Premium Magazine WordPress Theme

The Premium Magazine WordPress Theme, by Maximus, is awesome. Not gonna lie, it’s just great. Firstly, it’s simple and functional yet visually appealing. Secondly, it doesn’t have a wanky name which is just so amazing. This theme has great potential for customisation too, another considerable bonus.

Purchase the Premium Magazine WordPress Theme

Synthetik WordPress Theme

Synthetik, which I will now reference as “Synthetic” considering that is the internationally accepted spelling, is a WordPress theme modeled on the originally popular HTML theme of the same name and design. The theme is a unique offering, with a distinctly discernible quality about it from the subtle navigation menu to the beautiful footer – an unusual yet enticing design.

Purchase the Synthetik WordPress Theme

The Professional

Anything from elegantthemes is practically synonymous with quality, and The Professional truly lives up to the standard. It’s the little details, like the popup slider on the frontpage to the simplistic beauty of the blog layout that confirms the exceptional calibre of this theme.

Purchase The Professional WordPress Theme

Delicate News

Like The Professional, Delicate News is a stunning WordPress theme, with a distinct emphasis on beauty through subtlety. An often unrecognised element to all elegantthemes is the extensive option panel, which like Showcase (above) is extensive and sophisticated. Delicate News is a creative alternative to the mainstream, and will certainly not disappoint.

Purchase The Delicate News WordPress Theme

Light Bright

Finally, Light Bright, another offering from ElegantThemes, presents simplicity at its best through a uncomplicated yet visually alluring design. Don’t discount this theme because of it’s basic appearance: Light Bright has a surprising amount to offer both for a casual blogger and the professional.

Purchase The Light Bright WordPress Theme