Interior Design Sense

We received the following email recently from Ewelina: I am a young interior designer from Poland (Europe), taking my first steps in designing. It’s not easy in my country to change peoples’ mind and attitude as far as interior design is concerned. Many people still don’t care how they live, but hopefully it’s changing, slowly but still it is. Ewelina sent along photos of 2 of her projects which I’d love to share with our readers. (Check out the second one, my favourite, after the jump).

First set of photos is my latest project of a living room combined with kitchen. It’s an old apartment, so it required to be change almost entirely.The only thing that hasn’t been changed so much, is the kitchen. Before the renovation the kitchen had olive-green colour, so that the room seemed to be sad and dark. Thanks to the great material that it is made of (oak) I decided to change only the colour, despite it would be much easier and cheaper to make a new kitchen. All the shelves where hand-painted!. It took a lot of work form my carpenter The living space has a silk curtains and cushions, and a silver and glass accessories, such as table and the bracket next to the door. One of my favourite thing in this interior is a crystal table lamp, it gives romantic, warm light.

As most of the world knows by now my home state of Queensland is facing dire floods. 75% of the state is disaster affected and the water keeps rising. 36 years ago as a 12 year old I witnessed this city succumb to the last big flood. Now I am back in my old city of Ipswich and even though the rain has finally stopped and the sun has come out the flood will be even bigger than the “big one” back then.

I awoke this morning to the sounds of alarms and helicopters. We are safe on a hill but just a few blocks away the river was creeping into the business district. At 6 o’clock I ventured out and this is what I found. The waters are still rising and the peak will be at least 2 meters higher than the levels in these photos. 4000 homes will be flooded. Downstream in Brisbane, ten times bigger than Ipswich the number of affected properties is just that, up to 40000 homes and businesses inundated in some way. It is not over yet.

The following stunning Danish home belongs to Tine Kjeldsen, owner and designer of homewares company Tine K Home. Her aesthetic is SO appealing to me. Lots of white, with doses of grey and bits of black and plum. This house is perfection – I might add a few pieces of unpainted wood furniture and some ethnic pieces to give a bit more natural vibe. (And I really wish I could do all white floors but my plethora of cats means I need to get that idea out of my head). 

Grey days, heavy rain, raging waters and dark times in my part of the world. Perhaps some beauty from Australian photographer Sam McAdam. Simple, classic, inspiring. One of our premier editorial photographers. I want to wax lyrical about this portfolio but I have to rush. Water is rising. We are safe but my city is not. Keep us in your thoughts.

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. (Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it). And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send me closeups of your pet!)

“This is our baby Gena and she is ready to take a nap on her favorite sofa.“
- Rasa (Chicago, IL)

“I send you a pic of Nala and Ulfi on my Ikea Lunna chair.“
- Inma (Sevilla, Spain)

“Georgie, in Flatiron manhattan on a daybed.
Georgie on a swivel club chair.
It’s Georgie again on his favorite vintage chair“
- Lauren

“This is where I regularly find Cheeko my Long Haired Chihuahua hiding. He thinks the comfiest spot in the house is on my bed or on top of Winston, our Cavalier King Charles on the couch!“
- Clare (Australia)

“Attached are 2 photos of my 10 month old rescue mutt, Lyman. I bought this set of vintage chairs and table a few years ago for $50 at a thrift shop in West LA. When I rescued Lyman over the summer, he immediately discovered them and enjoys hanging out here while I am working at my desk.“
- Rebecca

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. (Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off…and your pet happens to be sitting on it). And second, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don’t send me closeups of your pet!)

“My name is Zoe and I am 4 yrs. old. My breed is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. I happen to be a Queen though. I hang out at European Antique Market (our store) with my Mom during the week. I’m very people-ized and have a knack for showing our clients how livable Country French furniture can be. My goal in life is to “Desire to Inspire” and mommy says I do.“
- Zoe c/o Shawn (Louisville, Ky)

“This is Pounce, hanging out on his favorite Platner chair.”
- Ida (Paris)

“Fatguts is not actually fat, he just acts like an overweight cat, maybe its all the hair. He is dopey, and clumsy, and he thinks this bed is his. He will quite happily sprawl across the whole bed, and look quite perturbed when he gets kicked off.“
- Andrea (Murwillumbah, Australia)
  

“1. Valentim, our 11-year old persian, sleeping in the new wood chair;
2. Mimi and the flowers…“
- Ivana (Brazil)

“It is so hard to take photos of pets, especially my cat Kuzya. But he was practically posing for these.“
- Nat (Ottawa)

Ah Umbria! Beautiful, beautiful Umbria! If I had won the lottery last week I would be winging my way to Italy right now. Escaping the incessant torrential rain swamping Queensland. I know it is not summer over in Italy right now but I’m prepared to rough it through the winter at Castello di Reschio. That way all will be ready for your visit when the weather warms up. 5 bedrooms, might have to wheel in a few trundle beds. If I rent it from now to eternity you all might be able to make it for a week or two. Line starts on the left

… to do a Saturday post on the main page but we promised ourselves that we would take January weekends off and I’ll be buggered if I’m the one to break the New Year’s resolution first. (This does not count Kim!) I have had to satisfy myself with more home tour and new old house bedroom ideas over on my page. Come over if you are having withdrawals too.

Today’s reader request comes from Jenny: “Hi, can I do a request for a post on beds without headboards? I just got rid of my giant, oppressive headboard and I’m trying to style my room with my bed having just the Hollywood frame, but I need some inspiration. Thanks!” I too am a big fan of the simplicity of headboard-less beds and my bedroom is currently sporting this style. These photos should hopefully give anyone currently new at the headboard-less bed situation ideas on how to spruce up the bed without a potential monstrosity behind the pillows stealing the show.

Ekenstam
Lonny
Murdock Young
Nuevo Estilo
Per Magnus Persson
Riddarfjärden Fastighetsmäkleri
Hus & Hem
Pernilla Hed
Elle Decor
Apartment Therapy

Ever notice the difference between editorial photography and architectural photography? One conveys a story, the other an idea. The first is often styled and “contrived”, a set, make believe. A room is tweaked and tarted to fit a storyline or an editor’s vison. Architectural photography is a showcase. It tells the truth and trumpets the details of a designer’s work. It concentrates on big picture as well as the intricacies. Dianna Snape is one of this country’s best architectural photographers. She takes an the designer’s creation and captures it for prosperity, to educate and inspire. The rooms are beautiful in both but photographers like Dianna understand the architect’s vision and her images are records of the beauty, as important as plans and elevations.