Interior Design Sense

Ho ho ho! It’s almost time for reindeer and a jolly fat man. I wouldn’t be unhappy if I found anything refurbed by architect/designers Sam Gnatovich and Alexi Rennalls of SIMO Design in my stocking. (OK hard to fit a California Bungalow or a midcentury modern house in a stocking but you know what I mean I love that even while modernising these homes they have retained the original. It’s a young, vibrant take on the family home.

Richard Bubnowski is an architect and furniture designer based in New Jersey and I am totally digging his portfolio. He’s all about casual homes that are contemporary with a nod to the traditional, and have a rustic, beachy vibe (and often happen to be right on the beach!). It’s so fresh and liveable that I’m just eating it up! (I don’t know what it is about cedar shingles but I want some on my next house. Somewhere). 

Often I prefer to peruse the porfolio of an architect rather than that of an interior designer because you can really appreciate the spaces and structure when they’re not filled to the brim with stuff. This is exactly why I fell for architect Benjamin Waechter‘s portfolio. What you see is what you get. 

Iphigénie Soldatos is an architect based in Paris whose website I came across recently. I was immediately taken with the European feel to her projects and admittedly experienced some heart palpitations when I came across the photos that included decidedly modern spaces with vintage gilded portraits as artwork – one of my absolute favourite unexpected combinations. I leave you with some eye candy to take you into the weekend. TGIF!

Iphigénie Soldatos is an architect based in Paris whose website I came across recently. I was immediately taken with the European feel to her projects and admittedly experienced some heart palpitations when I came across the photos that included decidedly modern spaces with vintage gilded portraits as artwork – one of my absolute favourite unexpected combinations. I leave you with some eye candy to take you into the weekend. TGIF!

Lee Ledbetter of Louisiana is a phenomenal architect that I’ve been a fan of since my post back in ’07. He has designed many more magnificent homes in the last few years, including what is clearly the home of an art collector. Really classy spaces perfectly designed to show off fabulous art and furnishings. 

Lee Ledbetter of Louisiana is a phenomenal architect that I’ve been a fan of since my post back in ’07. He has designed many more magnificent homes in the last few years, including what is clearly the home of an art collector. Really classy spaces perfectly designed to show off fabulous art and furnishings. 

New from South African interior designer firm ANTONI ASSOCIATES. A family home in Pearl Valley Golf Estate located near Paarl, just 30 minutes away from Cape Town. With the initial house design by Gauteng based architect Gardiol Bergenthuin, the owners wanted the interior designers to create a modern family home with the emphasis on barefoot luxury. The boundary between interior and exterior is blurred with the house centred on a courtyard with reflective pond and natural finishes provide a foil to custom designed furniture. It’s contemporary and clean lined with a casual luxury. Sophisticated yet tough enough for a young family.

Obviously Jo and I have a thing for beautifully decorated spaces. Throughout the life of this blog my attention has been drawn more and more towards the architecture of the homes we feature. Washington DC based architect Donald Lococo has definitively captured my attention with his thoughful and meticulously designed projects. You almost don’t need furniture in these rooms – the craftsmanship and detail is gorgeous enough. 

Rough luxe, rustic yet modern, traditional married with minimalism. Indoor melds with outdoor, concrete and stainless steel, glass and pebbles and everything washed with beautiful natural light. The gallery and dwelling of Valerie Traan in Antwerp, Belgium by LENS°ASS Architect. Subtle beauty, the preservation of the old and the juxtaposition of the modern in a sympathetic way and always the presence of repeating patterns of brick or herringbone or block. After the jump a few more images from the firm’s design of a GP surgery in an old brick barn like structure.