Monday's pets on furniture

If you'd like to send me photos to include in next week's "pets on furniture" post, please ensure your photos follow my 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. Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don't send closeups of your pet! Thanks!

This is my lovely little black pug Elliot – helping me "spice up" a picture for my blog of a classic Wegner chair as well as my newly made posters with diamant pattern.
- Katharina (Copenhagen)

Here is a picture of Nigel on a lawn chair. He is a Welsh Terrier.
- Jeff

Here is Lapo relaxing on the Barcelona ottoman in our living room.
- Tiziano (Reggio Emilia, Italy)

This is our new family member. Stray dog that we adopted a month ago. Now we have two cats (both rescued) and Terrie, female dog. She is two years old. This picture is taken in our Bela Vida Gallery.
- Belma (Sarajevo) 

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Dinesen

Delicious. Divine. Dinesen. A Danish flooring company that sources floor boards that are so beautiful, so perfect that the best in the business must have them in their designs. Think Anoushka Hempel, John Pawson and almost any Scandinavian architect you can name. I stumbled across them when I found the MacDonald Wright Architects website. There, lurking in the links, was a company that puts the wood in my flooring love. Oh bad, bad pun but folks if I could marry a piece of oak or Douglas fir I'd tie the knot with these planks.

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Four Room Cottage

Common in the inner city areas of my part of the world are small wooden worker's cottages from the late 19th century. Four rooms with a central corridor wrapped with a verandah. This extension by Brisbane based architects Owen and Vokes adds areas to eat and meet and bathe but orientates them to the outdoor spaces. The lovely old garden with its spreading frangipani is now a part of the indoor outdoor lifestyle along with an outdoor fireplace for entertaining and cooking. Windows and openings allow the light to penetrate the building and a modern take on the lean-to or enclosed verandah is given a new lease on life. A relaxed and stylish family space that respects the heritage of the building but lets the home re-invent itself for the present.

  

  

  

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Random photos around my home

I spent the day at my sister's cottage yesterday (trying to enjoy every last bit of summer while I can) so I had no idea what to blog today. I decided to simply take some photos around my house - inside and out. Hope you like. :)

First up, some photos in my kitchen.

I have a wall-mount Tolomeo on either side of my stove. Still one of my favourite lights of all time. 

Branches from a tree at the cottage ended up on top of the fridge (less cats can eat them up there).

Antlers from Alberta that I adore and some baskets on top of my pantry.

There are always cheap herbs from the grocery store sitting on my kitchen window sill. Oregano is one of the cutest plants.

I am obsessed with avocados. I could eat them at every meal. I just bought a whole bunch so they're sitting in a stack of Green Light District pasta bowls (next to one of their vases) on my dining table.

A few photos in my living room (we still adore the new sofa, just wish I had more time to spend on it)...

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Design Crew

Got a problem? Need some help? Just standing 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! This week's problem is from Kylie.

Help me I can't take it anymore! I hate my kitchen and the family room is just BLAH. We live in a rental and I can't paint the walls or damage the kitchen in any way (the landlord's words not mine). The furniture is all hand me downs and the room is where the two older kids do their homework while I get dinner ready. We like to keep an eye on their computer activity as well. My youngest uses it as a playroom. I don't have much money to spend. I really need your help. I want something light and bright and beachy. Can I do beachy in a room like this?