Interior Design Sense

Welcome beyond your wildest dreams of holiday luxury. Drink in the modernist beauty that is Villa Amanzi, a stunning six bedroom residence with a 15m infinity pool and breathtaking views over the Andaman Sea at Phuket, Thailand. Millionaires row but a girl can dream.

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 cats, Izzie (aka The Biz) and Mr. Mischief Monkey Man Poopstinks (aka Monkey, The Poop, or Mischief P. Stinks) taking over the couch. 
- Kerriann (Norman, OK)

- Hanna (Tallinn, Estonia)

1. While shooting Emily Schuman’s incredible home, I was lucky enough to snap this shot of Luna… she is a sweet but shy kitty

2. This dynamic duo belong to crafty modern quilter Alissa Haight-Carlton, and they are not afraid to show you how cute they are.
- Bethany

This is Felix, my daughter’s cat. She would be so happy seeing it in your blog.
- João (Jaraguá do Sul, Brazil)

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 black lab Porter.  We’ve been fighting him for 9 years to stay off the furniture, but we’ve pretty much given up.  This is one of his favorite spots. 
- Carrie & Ryan

This is by far my cats’ favorite place to hang out in the apartment. The window overlooks I-90 and Lake Union in Seattle, so there is no shortage of things to look at, and facing west gives them a good amount of lazy day sun to enjoy (when we actually have sun, that is…).
- Rebecca

Our little guys name is MAX he’s an 8 year old Yorkshire terrier, and He LOVES our new Wing back!!
- Ashli

Penelope’s favorite spot in the house is our bed – she loves perching herself up at the end of the bed to watch youtube videos of other dogs on the TV. She also loves burrowing underneath the covers and finding a warm spot behind my knees. Sometimes we’ll come into the room and she has built a fort out of the pillows – and you’ll only see her eyes peeking over the top
- Jamie

Last week I was a guest of Freedom for the launch of their Autumn 2011 collection. Impressive in every way. Heading in a new direction, the line is a mix of sophisticated design with the highest quality workmanship. There is something for everyone whether just starting out, family living or downsizing, a rambling cottage or chic townhouse. To grab your attention here is Freedom‘s limited edition range. Bright, fun, punchy and directional. The Venus dining chairs are in a delicious range of colours. Be quick for these. They won’t last. The bespoke fabric featured on the Threadneedle armchair was a collaboration between Freedom and a group while of Sydney graduates and then milled in Italy. There are only 2000 metres of the Pixel fabric which is featured on the Digital sofa and because of the pattern no two sofas will be quite the same. Thought I’d start with these statement pieces just to grab your attention. More photos to come. Everything from chic city living pieces to Belgian farmhouse country. My camera finger was snapping. (Point and click. I’m no professional photographer but you get the idea.) The range is released in mid-March. Catalogue out then.

Here’s what the agent says …. “This superlative warehouse conversion in “Leicester House” an historic 1880′s building provides privacy and vast spaces. It features soaring warehouse ceilings, huge original arched timber windows, exposed red brick walls, imposing brick archways of 65 cm depth and high gloss timber floors. By day it is imposing and by night dramatic.” Expressions of interest … means big bucks. What do you think? Great space but would you do it differently? Link here while it lasts. (Thanks Maddie!)

Annaleenas HEM
Ralfefarfars paradis
Remodelista
Designtripper
operation paper cut
79 ideas
tiny.k

How’s this for a reader’s reno! Lisa and her family stripped, ripped, roofed, windowed and walled. They painted and floored. Recovered old chairs and hung lights and shelves. They made themselves an attic retreat perfect for sewing and stowing, reading and chilling. Work your way down. It’s well worth the scroll. A fabulous room and it once was a “hole”. Sorry for the bad rhymes but well done Hobbs family!

Got a problem? Need some help? Just stand there shaking your head? Don’t know what to do? You’re not alone. Send us a link to photos of your design quandary and let the Desire to Inspire design crew help you …. that’s you lot … the readers …. get to it! I have a Saturday to enjoy.

“I have a bit of an issue. I’ve just found the perfect apartment, except for one detail. My new bedroom features only one wall for my bed to go. And not only does that wall have an off centered window, but that window is very low. About a foot off the ground. I’m really hesitant to but my bed up against it when my mattress will cover part of the glass. Is there a rule about this? How can I make design sense of an off center window cut off at the bottom by a centered bed?” - Kayla

Behold the bits of Kayla’s new apartment she is not having problems with ….

And now the horror that is Kayla’s bedroom ….the listing photo ….

And the truth ….

“Here are the new pictures of the room. I apologize for the blurriness.  Also, the window is weird. It opens on a hinge, and its close to the ground. I put the mattresses in there just for size illustration purposes.” – Kayla

Come on readers. Let’s help Kayla out. We know you are a super talented and opinionated bunch. Don’t prove me wrong! (If you have a problem contact me with a link to your photos here.)

I have received several requests lately for photos of dining table centerpieces (or centrepieces, however you want to spell it) so I thought I’d finally take the plunge and post some for your viewing pleasure. I think I’ve been avoiding this request because often times in photos of dining spaces the tables are either left bare or are too over-styled for every day use. I managed to find some photos of centerpieces that are conducive to every day dining and while MANY of the photos in my stash featured a vase of flowers, I tried to find some that were a bit more creative. I currently have a large Ikea tray in the center of my table piled with my current favourite things (see here), which makes it very easy to remove if I need to set the entire table for a meal. So if you prefer a collection of items on your table, place them on a tray to make your life easier. Otherwise, your favourite large bowl would be perfect (stuffed with apples/oranges/lemons is cute), or include a cute table runner (I love my new one), or perhaps a tray of grass….

AT Casa
Kelly McGuill
Bolig Magasinet
Edina van der Wyck
Hus & Hem
Apartment Therapy
Lonny

There was a time on DTI that week after week I slavishly copied images from my extensive retro interior design book collection. One day I just couldn’t scan anymore. I had come to the last one. It was a sad day. Today is a good day for lovers of the retrolicious. Thanks to the wonderful Lia we get to crave and cringe again for one more day. Images from “Schoner Wohnen” from 1976. This has reignited my retro design book addiction. I’m on the hunt for more! If you need more retro too head to my (extensive) collection of past posts here.