Displaying posts from July, 2011

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[.]comand PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

We bought a leather couch just because of our dachshund, Tucker.  We wanted to avoid the vomit, snot, and other liquids that seem to seep out of our animal from ruining our furniture.  Success!  Now if only we’d thought of the damage his nails would cause.
– Michelle (SLC, Utah)

This photo is my 5 year old Shih Tzu, Oscar, on my Grandmother’s antique orange velvet chair.  You can also catch a glimpse of her beautiful record player next to it. Oscar always makes himself right at home; He has never met a chair he didn’t like!
– Melanie (Austin TX)

In the past few years since moving in to my downtown Toronto loft I have made many furniture purchases. I often take a photo to track the transformation of my space or share with friends and family. My bengal cat Argos is usually the first to make use of any furniture in the house. This is the new sofa and area rug, cat approved.
– Michael

We rescued Mon when he was a puppy. He loves this armchair, which can be rotated so he can keep an eye on us at all times.
– Juan José (Sada, Spain)

Maxwell, our chocolate lab, is not supposed to be on the couch. Sometimes Maxwell is bad.
– Donna (Boulder, Colorado)

I’ve sent in a little pic of my two furry babies Alfie (left) & Andi (right)… loving life on the faux fur throws we use to ‘snug-up’ our King Furniture leather lounges during winter.
And couldn’t help but include a pic that truly highlights Alfie’s love of sitting atop any throw/scatter pillow he can find…. no matter it’s shape (or more challengingly for me – it’s value !)
– Amanda (Bar Beach (Newcastle), Australia)

Locksley thinks, ‘She REALLY needs to get this chair covered.  AND hang this picture!’
– Cyndie

I’m sending you some pics of my lovely ginger girl – Pannacotta.
– Justyna (Warsaw, Poland)

Here’s a picture of Cocoa-Puff on the Lazy Boy – how appropo!
– Maggie (West Palm Beach, Florida)

Winter here in Australia, a land more often associated with sun and surf not winter and snow. Today I’m stalking in the high country of Victoria and the resort village of Dinner Plain. Welcome to Under the Moonlight designed by Giovanni D’Ambrosio. It’s a contemporary (and expensive) take on the traditional cattlemen’s huts of the area.

“Perched on the edge of an alpine reserve in Dinner Plain Village, part of the highest approved freehold land in Australia, the home is located just 10 minutes from down hill skiing at Mount Hotham. Featuring extensive 8 x 9 sq metre glass panels, sweeping alpine views are drawn in to the interior of the home, which also features a 20 tonne cantilevered fire place made of local stone.”

Forget the stone fireplace look at the bathroom! A divan perched beside the spa. Dark and decadent. This is definitely a bachelor’s pad in the snow, no? A sexy private après-ski lair. Glühwein anyone? Link here while it lasts.

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!

Andrea from Australia emailed. “I’m hoping your lovely design crew can help me out with something. I’m in a bit of a quandary about some renovation decisions for a downstairs studio which is currently being built.”

The demo begins

“Our house is built into the hill, so the back wall of the downstairs room is below ground level, and the front wall at ground level. This means there are only windows on two sides, and it has the potential to be a bit dark. The space will be used primarily as a Studio space so it is important to bounce light around. It will also be occasionally used as a guest room so needs to be a little bit swish.”

A little further on and the builders have started

“I can’t decide on flooring and lighting. We don’t have a lot of room for either, due to low ceiling height constraints. So timber floors and recessed lighting are not an option. I’m hoping your design crew has some ideas. Terrazzo, or a concrete finish? Tiles or Vinyl? It needs to be serviceable and yet light and reflective. Something that looks smart enough for a guest room, and serviceable enough for spilt paint, oils, thinners, hammers or anything else I can drop on it. The lighting is also a problem. We don’t have enough space to do down lights, and at this point I am thinking of hiding some LED lighting behind one of the beams, and some wall lights of some description combined with some good floor lights. What to do? Apologies for the photos but the renovation is in progress and far from finished!”

You can see more of Andrea’s renovations on her blog Strong Southerly.

Happy Canada Day to all of our Canadian readers out there. I hope you enjoy the day off and partake in some typical patriotic nonsense like an overload of beer consumption, food and fireworks – all at someone’s cottage on a lake. The weather is supposed to be GORG here in Ottawa which will be perfect for the aforementioned activites – and coincidentally Wills and Kate’s visit. 🙂 In the spirit of Canada Day, I thought I’d feature some spaces decked out in red and white (like I did this day back in ’09)- and while red is probably my least favourite colour, it is a quick and easy way to inject some drama and energy into your decor.

Folio

Hus & Hem

Jake Fitzjones

Darren Chung

Lonny

Design*Sponge

Domino

Domino

Hus & Hem

Magnus Marding

Agent Bauer

Apartment Therapy

happy homes

houseworks ltd

Vanessa Hadaway

Apartment Therapy

INGRAO

Murray Fredericks