Studio Guilherme Torres

A few weeks ago we received an email from Xenia Itikawa who works for Studio Guilherme Torres Architecture in Brazil. Xenia kindly offered to send some of their projects for us to publish. Clicking over to their website I quickly emailed back and said yes please! Xenia I couldn't wait any longer. I'm so impatient to share more brilliant Brazilian design. What is it about this design scene that excites so much? Studio Guilherme Torres' work is both reverent and irreverent. It pays homage to modern design but takes it further then lifts it up even more with wit and sexiness, serious sexiness. Hot, hot, hot! (More after the jump.)

Xenia just because I'm jumping the gun it doesn't mean that we don't want to see more photos. PLEASE send us lots of lucious and sexy Brazillian design.

  

  

  

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Monday's pets on furniture - part 2

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!)

"Hi! My name is Brecht Maes and this is my cat. Me and my cat are from Belgium. His name is Smitty and the Barcelona chair is his favorite to sit in."
- Brecht

"This is our 2 yr old Pit/Lab mix, Blue, on the newly revamped vintage day bed that (as you see from the extra image) he destroyed earlier this month! It was all original before, but now I actually like it even better! He looks terrified because he KNOWS he's not allowed on THAT couch in particular ever again! I love this little couch--the whole thing swivels around and the backs fold down to make a twin size bed!"
- Kristine (Albuquerque, NM)

"I don't know if windows can be called "furniture", but I nevertheless love them! They're from our summerhouse in Småland, Sweden. The cat is my family's, and she's called Silla. And she love those windows just as much as I do!"
- Karin

"This is my dog Buddy on the platform bed that my husband made for our guest room."
- Grace

"The first photo is our tabby Soren when he was a wee kitten perched on our antique rocking chair. In the second photo of our favorite red-leather chair you can see that in his old age, he has grown an appreciation for lounging over perching (as well as quite a belly)!"
- Beth & Brian Weiss (Little Rock, AR)

"Our black cat (Womble) can be seen lounging on our Wegner "Papa Bear" armchair footstool (which is in dire need of reupholstering, but our cats don't seem to mind.) Our Siamese cat, Poppy, blends well with the sofa cushions behind her (unintentional.)"
- Charlotte

"Sleeping Princess Norkadora!"
- Elizabeth

"Attached is a photo of JoePa and his sheepskin chair. JoePa is a Shetland sheepdog, so we like to think he loves this chair because it brings him back to his sheep-herding heritage :)"
- Sarah (Philadelphia, PA)

"This is Shadow, more commonly known as Tootsie. She is always very interested in any kind of change in the house, so when I bought this red chair recently, she claimed it as hers immediately and hasn't left it since!"
- Caroline (Colorado)

Monday's pets on furniture - part 1

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!)

"Here's my Golden Retriever, Rose, relaxing on my newly re-upholstered shabby couch. I found the couch at a resale shop, its been stripped, sanded, stained and waxed to a soft sheen complete with a down cushion."
- Michelle

"Meet Kiana.  She was rescued from Ohio, where pits are banned because of breed-specific legislation.  These days, she spends most of her time relaxing on her favorite chair, buried beneath the covers in our bed, or basking in the New Orleans sunshine."
- Kelly

"Passionate Willow (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) loves to cuddle in my office chair at the Timeless Paper design studio. I rescued her two months ago and she is appreciative of her new loving home."
- Emily (Drexel Hill, Pennyslvania)

"Hi there! Love your blog. This is Rosie, our Chinese Shar-Pei mix, curled up on our (obviously) super comfy IKEA sofa. We're not quite sure how she got herself in this particular position, but this is her favorite corner in the entire house!"
- Christina and John (Saint Petersburg, FL)

"George and Lucy lounging on a lazy day in their favorite chair."
- Ashley

"This is my dog, the name of it is Bidu, one lhasa apso of 3 years that like to sleep and is observing very."
- Katia (Jundiaí - SP - Brazil)

 "This is our lovely girl Frida, she sleeps everywhere but she prefers the dining armchair from Eames."
- Marianne

"Our recently adopted kittens (Lucillia & Harley) have in turn adopted the furniture in our second floor library. They get to enjoy the softness of the chairs and couches, while basking in the streaming sunlight. It's now an even better place to read."
- Matt (Philadelphia, PA)

"my name is Romy, a carioca (live in Rio de Janeiro) and this is Oliver and Flip in my otomam, enjoy the sun of winter in Rio"
- Romy (Brazil)

A milk & honey home

Kim and I have been so lucky over the past week to have readers send us snaps of their amazing homes. We maxed out at the end of last week but I thought you would love to see just one more. Julie Holloway and the men in her life have been renovating their home while Julie blogs her inspirations, befores and afters on Milk & Honey Home. It's not hard to see that she loves all things white and lovely and vintage and modern and fresh. What a beautiful family home! Life is good isn't it?

  

  

  

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A desperately needed vacation

Unfortunately today there will be no Flickr finds post. My husband and I are on a sort of mini-honeymoon in Prince Edward Island, visiting his family and friends (Jeff grew up there). I didn't have time to get a post ready before we left so I thought I'd just slap up a couple photos from our trip so far (I'm hoping to get my regular posts up throughout the week so you folks won't even miss me.) We arrived late Friday night after a 14 hour drive, and will be heading home next Saturday. We love it here - it is SO peaceful and relaxing. We're staying at my inlaws' cottage on Covehead Bay and it really is a little slice of heaven. We are hoping to make this trip a yearly summer ritual. Below will show you a glimpse of why we love P.E.I. - the first is the cottage, the second is the view from the window of the bedroom, the third was taken at our trip to a beach (Blooming Point) yesterday and the last 2 of bald eagles were taken by Jeff and his mother using his father's INSANE 600mm lens. They land daily on the top of the trees along the water line. (I have this set on Flickr for photos of this trip which I'm be uploading to as often as I can).