Interior Design Sense

It’s all about the light. I know we say it over and over but these pictures from the portfolio of photographer Hector Sanchez prove it. These are wonderful rooms that don’t need the glare of the spotlight to shine. I think the blue undertones that Hector captures in his shots are beautiful. Cool and elegant. Speaking of cool and elegant how about that lounging nook in the bathroom! Indulgent. Don’t miss the cool apartment with plenty of retro touches including globes and a clever wardrobe arrangement after the jump.

Monday was quite a day – 45 degrees celsius here in Ottawa (that’s with the nasty humidex), work all day, a third visit with the florist for the wedding coming up in less than 3 weeks, and then a trip to deliver cat #9 to his new home (he was one of my fiancé’s cats, who wasn’t getting along with my 7). So I’m drained, exhausted and so damn hot (my house has no A/C). When my twin sister sent me a link to a story on Husohem, I figured I’d follow along with Jo’s landscape posts from yesterday and post this gorgeous yard.

Up a winding lane in a village nestled beneath the Swiss Alps. Climb a rustic stair and … wow! This amazing renovation is by Christian Speck of Formzone. Lashings of rough and just enough luxe. It’s sleek and minimalist modern meets stone monolith and I love it. Age old beams and so fresh you can smell it pine. I dream of a view of the alps like that. A remarkable house in a remarkable part of the world.

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 border collies, Rex and Lou, hanging out on my Montauk overstuffed chair.  Truly a dog’s life!“
- Kristi

“I took this photo when I caught our cats, Chicken and Skroggins, sleeping on the same sofa together. I couldn’t resist the temptation to surround them with heart Post-It notes, as this was a rare moment between these two little frienemies.“
- Amanda (Toronto)

“This is Henry, my co-workers Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.  He comes to the office to hang out and is perfectly content sitting on our Generation by Knoll chairs!  Sometimes he falls asleep and snores!“
- Angela

“This is Yoko, my three year- old Maine Coon Cat on our well-used and loved Blu Dot sofa.“
- Kate (Brooklyn, NY)

“Norton the wonder dog!“
- Lee
  

“Here’s a photo of our mixed siamese cat Oscar. He’s seen here sleeping on our bed. Above him is a painting by local (we are from Singapore) artist Paul Koh. The word painted is ‘猫’, Chinese for cat. More of Paul’s paintings are found in http://www.catmasutra.com/index.html. As quoted, the trademark ‘eyes-wide-shut’ and ‘ear-to-ear grin’ of the Catmasutra cats embody this deep-seated childhood innocence cum devil-may-care bravado.“
- Kwang

“MacFarlane Hugo is my ten-year old mut. He’s not allowed on the furniture, but he loves this living room couch that was reupholstered from its original mohair from my Great-great grandmother’s home. This picture perfectly captures his ‘I’m innocent’ look.”
- Lauren

“This photo is of Molly (age 13), sitting on her favorite piece of furniture in my sunroom.”
- LuAnn (Louisville, KY)

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 cat ‘Grey’ decided to help out in a recent photo shoot in my studio at home. I was shooting the photo to capture my art in a house setting but kitty decided he wanted to be the centerpiece and ended up stealing the show!“
- Erin

“Love the blog and just had to send in this pic of our cat “Skipperdoodle” on our bed. We got her after a cruel person threw her from a moving vehicle and our friends, who nearly ran over the injured and frightened kitten, brought her to our shop. She is now spoiled rotten and loving it.”
- Caitlin (click her name for Skipperdoodle’s full story)

“I’ve attached a pic of my two cats – Smokey and The Bandit lounging in my new $10 garage sale find – a Hauser wicker chair which is in our ensuite bathroom.  Obviously the chair now belongs to them!“
- Debbie

“Attached is a photograph of Beans and Junie, our two chihuahuas.  This was taken in my Aunt’s and Uncle’s living room at their beach house.  As you can see, they had a very tiring day at the beach!“
- Lisa, Chad, Syd, Keegan, Beans and Junie Jorgensen

“This is Mayo, our 8 year old mixed breed pup.“
- Rhiannon (San Francisco)

“Bella enjoys how the chair cradles her during nap time….i’m sure of it. “
- Charlotte

“This is our cat Linus snoozing on the couch after a long morning of playing with the dog!“
- Lauren & Colin

“This is our 4 year old Boston Terrier Brady!  He’s a total ham and always sits in the cutest positions like he’s just ‘hanging out like the rest of us!’“
- Melissa & Jason Bilodeau (Manchester, NH)

“My dog Smooch has already staked out his place on the brand-new furniture (I haven’t even removed the tag yet!). He likes to be able to see out the front window so he can warn us of possible intruders.“
- Beth (California)

I couldn’t resist. I needed more garden inspiration from Rick Eckersley and his team. A contemporary Aussie garden? Why not this one as a perfect example. See more of Rick’s work in the post below.

It’s a quiet start to the week on Desire to Inspire. Our American friends are celebrating the 4th of July long weekend away from their computers but that doesn’t mean that the rest of us don’t want something inspiring for a Monday. Rick Eckersley designs gardens that are, quite frankly, gorgeous. Practical, livable and just so inspiring. Rick and partners Scott Leung and Myles Broad are some of the foremost garden designers in Australia and it’s not hard to see why.  The website is a treat with so many beautiful gardens as well as sections on focal points, plantings, pools and more. Today I’ve chosen two of their designs. The first is a suburban backyard complete with vege patch and chickens. The second, after the jump, is a new twist on an Australian native garden. Love!

vintage_and_chic	cassie lynne
polishedtwo	retroppo
kellylj	jbonne
design boner	Like That One
Telstar Logistics	Vintage Love
afeitar	lookiloos

Fifilynn
darlingclementine

… it’s cold in Australia … bbbbrrrr

WINKS – weekend links. Here we list what has come in during the week, things we’ve found and things we think you’ll want to see. If you’d like to see your blog or website featured email us and if we think it fits with our readers we’ll link you. So what’s in this week?

• Beautiful, beautiful bone inlay furniture from Sang and Serena.  A chance meeting in India, the desire to promote artisan creations and the result? Stunning furniture and gorgeous textiles.

• Good looking and good for you. Previously available only to the trade the Q Collection uses carefully selected natural and non-toxic materials and heirloom craftsmanship. Love the look!

• There’s a tactile sensuality about Rosemary Hallgarten’s designs. Gorgeous rugs and pillows and this OTT shag leather chair and ottoman. Shake it baby!

• The Lace Glass by Lasistudio. Reclaimed beer and soda bottles transformed into gorgeous new drinking glasses. The romantic side of eco-design. Available through Matteria.

• Colour is Gretchen Langner’s tool. Vibrant energizing colour. This artist turned textile designer creates a hand screened contemporary range of fabrics, dZign, perfect for a modern look. And as if the choice of colour ways isn’t enough (I loved playing in the colour lab) there is always custom!

Happy Friday! How about a bit of wonderful architecture and interior design from SchappacherWhite Ltd., a New York-based firm founded by Steve Schappacher and Rhea White. Whether it be modern, contemporary or country chic, these folks know what they’re doing. I think my favourite has to be the first group of photos, of a 1904 farm house renovation in Shelter Island, NY. Black and white seems to be where it’s at these days and I could not love it more.