Displaying posts from July, 2014

Ore Studios

I am tired of silver/stainless. I am going to make it my mission to introduce more copper and gold/brass into my new home. 

Cara Scarola and Andy Beers are the dream team behind interior design firm Ore Studios. Their rapport began on the first day of design school. While she maintains that she knew they would become fast friends based on their coordinating shoes, he can claim no such great intuition. (Her version makes a better story.) After three years of graduate work, dozens of late nights, and countless cups of coffee, that hunch was confirmed. By then, they had developed a shared vernacular and sensibility that informed the way they each approached interior design. Cara leads their office in Santa Fe and Andy in Seattle. These two bring dull spaces to life with comfortable decor that lightens, brightens and softens. Lovely! (…and a bit more coming up later)

As my crazy, busy, mad, mad , mad work week draws to a close you’ll still find me daydreaming of escapes and holiday homes, B&Bs and exotic places. Today you’ll find me in Lucerne, Switzerland in the stylishly domestic Bed & Breakfast 9. A small guesthouse that promises respite from the madding world, beautiful simplicity, a gentle stay. It doesn’t always have to be about cutting edge and high fashion. Sometimes it is about hearth and home and welcoming hosts. Bliss.

Classic and contemporary. Old and new. Dark and light. High, high, high and a touch of low. (Is that an IKEA rug I spy in the study?) I’m not sure if this one has been styled down, pared back for the photo shoot or not. I love the steel doors in the old part of the house and the sleek lines of the modern extension when viewed against the Edwardian gingerbread cottage lines of the old. Stalking old and new in Melbourne. Link here while it lasts.

It does not take long when perusing the portfolio of architecture and design firm Luigi Fragola that they are based in Europe (Florence, Italy in fact). Those brilliant folks on that side of the world really know how to make a space stunning with attention to architectural details. The shelving, cabinetry, floor tiles and colours used in these spaces is really knocking my socks off.