Interior Design Sense

Christmas is only 4 sleeps away and thankfully I finally finished my Christmas shopping. Every year I say I’ll get it done early and it NEVER happens. Wishful thinking. Now I’m trying to get some baking out of the way. I made some butter tart shortbreads last night and they actually may have turned out okay. (Phew!) Anyway, hope you’re all on track with your holiday “to do” lists and have a bit of peace and calm before the big day. Perhaps I give you a bit of a break from the chaos with some soothing photos from the website of French interior stylist and journalist Sophie Maillot-Juillet.

Fabulous brights and sexy whites. Check! Boho or mid-century modern. Check! Relaxed casual and family stylish. Check! Home of our dreams. Check! It’s Swedish style and it is, as we know, very now, very hot. These shots are just a taste of the portfolio of Swedish photographer Stellan Herner. Don’t you just love that first shot? The green. OMG. Stellan has me drooling with each image. Remember that moody grey Scandinavian dream of a home we featured here? A Stellan shoot. Time to add to the inspiration files again.

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 little Italian Greyhound Zoey caught in the act again sneaking on the bed underneath the covers.“
- Tracey (Edgewood, Washington)

“First is a picture of our 2 year old, 18lb orange baby Rigby in his favorite orange chair. Next is our 8 month old comedian, Magooo, a rescue from the local shelter, lounging on our Ikea bed and duvet. I guess he got bored with our photo shoot and tried to sneak in a yawn. They are the best of friends but it has been impossible to get them to be still on the same piece of furniture long enough to take a picture together.“
- Kristen (Columbus, Ohio)

“1. Grey the Min Pin likes to be taller
2. Queen B seeks out sunshine to sit in around the room“
- Golfgal

Here’s one from me. This is Edgar on my DIY sofa that I am always covering with something new. This month it’s a kilim rug. I think he approves.

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 indiana, our 13wk old vizsla pup.  he has obviously made himself quite comfortable in the 3 wks we have had him home.“
- Anne

“The first one is of my cat Trooper who loves that old chair, it’s upholstery is a thick, scratchy wool of some sort, all the cats love to roll all over it.
The next picture is of my Great Dane, Olive. She likes to curl up on chairs that are way too small.
And the last one is of Olive and Merlin, lounging in the sun on my Ikea Karlstad couch.”
- Liane

“These are my cats, the dynamic duo, Roo and Missy on my bed. We live and sleep all together in NC.”
- Donna

“a tripod cat on a tripod mid century table“
- Caitlin (Seattle, WA)

OK time to fess up. I stalk. I stalk homes for sale, I stalk designers, I stalk interiors photographers. Oh boy do I stalk interiors photographers. Something sexy about a hot home snapped just right by a guy or a gal with a camera to die for. It’s hard to top the last post by Kim but, oh my, the homes that Patric Johansson has photographed. To die for. Just like Patric’s photos themselves. (Previous evidence of stalking here.) So much more on the website. The man is in demand and I know why!

I saw a couple photos of a home on Emma’s blog the other day and I swear I thought I was going to have a stroke. It’s so perfectly eclectic and funky and random that I had to post it here so I can refer to it at least once a day for the next 10 years. (It belongs to interior designer Marie Olsson Nylander, her husband and 3 children and was featured in Residence magazine).

P.S. I finally got around to posting a list of my favourite Ottawa shops – they’re on my page so click here.

I’m drowning in Christmas must-does and must-goes. I’m drowning in unpacking and house zhushing. I’m drowning in real life work and day to day drudgery. I’m cranky and rude and rushed and tired. I’m just overwhelmed and my standards and expectations are way too high. Why does this time of year do this to me? I don’t need to be perfect. I don’t need to go everywhere, see everyone, clean behind the fridge before the family comes round. I need to step back, take a deep breath and evaluate what is important. Like life itself. This year the Australian Red Cross Blood Service has launched a new campaign … the perfect gift for Christmas. Give something that will really make a difference this Christmas  by donating blood and giving the gift of life.

The hard facts here in Australia:

• Every donation can save three lives.
• Every donation is valuable because 1 in 3 Australians will need blood, yet only 1 in 30 donates.
• The need for blood is constant and all blood components have a limited shelf life, which is why donations are needed every day. Blood and blood treatments are delivered to hospitals around Australia 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – even on Christmas Day.
• Australia needs over 26,000 blood donations every week to save lives and to meet the need of patients.
• Donations made in December could help patients recover to be home for Christmas or the New Year.

If you live in the Land of Aus maybe you can help ARCBS save lives this Christmas. Go here for more information.

I’ve said this plenty of times on the blog – I LOATHE WINTER. It’s only December 17th and I don’t know how I’m going to make it through the rest of the season. I wear flannel PJ’s to bed, which is made up with polar fleece sheets. I could use a little vacay from this nonsense, and since I likely have to wait until February to make it south, I thought a virtual trip to a villa in Pattaya, Thailand would do for now. Chakraphan wrote us an email with some photos of this heavenly villa he designed. It’s part of a grouping of 7 private villas called Villataya, each one containing 2-3 bedrooms, with 205 – 250 sq m of space and a private pool! It’s beautiful, and I’m about to close my eyes and attempt to teleport myself there… 

P.S. Happy birthday Valerie!!!!!!

I’ve got a little before & after for you all this morning. It’s from Sandra, whose dining room and den we’ve blogged in the past. She had an antique Victorian chair redone and wanted to share it with us. I absolutely love the fabric she selected – so fun! Thanks Sandra!

Ooops! Sorry! That was meant to read “Stalking family homes”. I’m really taken by the casual yet stylish feel of this seaside home. Not beachy. Definitely not beachy but I can just imagine kids in wet bathers and sand trekked in from beach trips. Lazy evening dips in the pool and toys strewn across the grass. Cricket on the gravel and dogs barking madly. Family movies. Big breakfasts after a morning dip. And friends. Yes friends making the pilgrimage every weekend to visit. Link here while it lasts.