Displaying posts from June, 2012

Maurizio Giovannoni, and architect and interior designer in Rome, emailed us about an apartment he designed: The apartment is a little penthouse (about 65 mq.) in Turku, Southern Finland. Before renovation, too many walls and doors blocked the spaces and the passage of light, and the most beautiful view of the historical sites of Turku was on the bedroom side. My principal goal in this project was letting the light flow in and creating a relaxing living room where my customer could do his creative work. The partial demolition of walls was a natural consequence, along with reversing the location of the bedroom and living room. After fixing this, we decided on the overall “concept” together with my customer, organizing all the details that colored the white spaces. That happened during my customer’s visit to Rome (due to my impossibility to travel in that period), and via 4oo e-mails between Turku and Rome. The result is what I now consider my style: a blend of cultures. There is nothing that stimulates me more than to study different countries and make some cultural themes recognizable but never intrusive in the project.  In this case, the floor is covered with parquet of white ash, the shelves are birch and the kitchen table is also birch but colored with heat. Wood is an omnipresent element in this flat as it constantly is for Finnish people, but the real attention is catalyzed by the nature theme pictured on wall paper, carrying colours and contrasts and a typical Mediterranean “courage”. The furniture itself is a mix of the 2 cultures and of past & present: the  grandmother’s armchair is a piece of Finnish vintage from the sixties as is the red floor lamp. The arc framing the wall paper is the famous Twiggy by Foscarini and the suspended lamps are Italian as well:Olimpia by Ideal Lux. Everything fits together in perfect harmony! (Photos by Mikko Ala-Peijari for Kauniit Kodit magazine)

I love this apartment. It’s spaces like this that make me want to forget my obsession with neutral/natural decor and grab a can of spray paint – or buy a row of chartreuse green kitchen cabinets. 

A huge thanks to Marie-France of Montréal for sending us a link to this breathtakingly fabulous flat that was for sale on Foxtons (it has since sold and was listed at a gotta-love-London price of £1,295,000). It’s a first floor 1 bedroom flat with wood floors, a sunroom and private terrace. The architectural details are worth the hefty price tag – I am drooling over the windows. The casual-vintage decor, in my humble opinion, is pretty close to perfection for the space. 

Comfortably luxe. Casually elegant. Sumptuously stylish. It’s layers of luxury and a true insight into living the fine life. foley & cox create homes (and yachts and planes… no trains and automobiles yet) that are aspirational, inspiration and just damn gorgeous. Highly individualised interiors for those with the need for the best. (See more in a previous post here.)

There is a bi-continental style to interior designer Patrik Lönn‘s work. His Swedish roots are evident but this US style shines through. With offices in New York and Stockholm Lönn’s designs are tailored and masculine, elegant and dark with layers of texture and exquisite materials. Timeless design with a carefully curated mix of classicism and modern luxe.

We received an email from Shirley who wanted to share her home with us: I am an artist but my husband and I are semi retired and just opened a Bed and Breakfast between Montreal and Ottawa in L’Orignal about 1.5 years ago. We bought a house that was unoccupied for more then 2 years and completely renovated it and I got all my artistic juices going to pretend I am an interior designer LOL ….. But we are both quite happy with the result and so far our guests are very taken by its ambiance too. I love that it’s not your traditional granny-decorated B&B – and it’s close to Ottawa so book me a room Shirley!