Displaying posts from February, 2015

Elle Decoration Sweden (photo: Petra Bindel)

I love vintage kitchens. There is something so comforting and unpretentious about them, filled with character and they look even better with scratches in the butcher block, wine stains on the counters, and pots and pans hanging from any surface with a hook. I thought I would do a round-up of vintage kitchens (love the ones with industrial touches too) in the hopes of inspiring anyone who has a vintage kitchen to maybe reconsider updating it. Because you may regret it. 

Covet Garden

Covet Garden

Rum Hemma

Homelife (Photo: Sharyn Cairns)

Homelife

Hus & Hem

The Design Files

Elle Decoration Sweden (Photo: Esther Sorri)

The Design Files

The Design Files

Better Homes and Gardens

casa de boneca

The Design Files

DAILYFIX

Inside Out (photo: Fiona Galbraith)

MilK (Photos: Julie Ansiau)

Freunde von Freunden

Long day. I just want to soak in a big tub and relax. In a cosy room just like this. Peaceful, beautiful. By interior designer Jenny Wolf.

Take a 19th century pie factory, people passionate about coffee, an interior designer (Caroline Choker), a garden full of heirloom vegetables and fragrant herbs and you get an amazing venue. The Grounds of Alexandria, Sydney. Meet for a coffee and some of those amazing pastries?

I have a dream remodel to share with you today. I am always intrigued with spatial configuration and how architects can create really functional spaces out of ones that previously weren’t. In this instance, Bunker Workshop reorganized a series of interior spaces in this late 19th century Beacon Hill, Boston home. Bathrooms, bedrooms, utilities, and a kitchen were reconfigured to support the needs of a growing family. A limited material palette of wood, steel, and brick bring warmth and texture to the white cabinetry and millwork throughout. The resulting spaces honestly make me giddy. 

The kitchen blows my mind. Having the sink and stovetop in the island means no need for uppers, and large pantry units are then utilized for easy-access storage. 

Let’s take a moment here. *sigh* To not have to get down on my hands and knees in order to to rifle through my lower cabinets to yank out small appliances would be so sweet. 

OMG look at that expanse of cabinets AND display space! What a DREAM!!!

Hellooooo island!

AND A BAR!!! I’m dying a little bit inside right now. 

Even the bedroom is home to a wall of cabinetry for all the storage you need. 

I have always wanted a row of cabinetry that expands from one room into another. This leads from the bedroom and becomes the bathroom vanity. Freaking GENIUS!!!

(Check out another one of their kitchen renovations here)

If you would like to send me photos to include in the next pets on furniture post, please ensure your photos follow these 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, if the photo is too dark or unfocused it may not make the cut. Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to kim[at]desiretoinspire[dot]net. Thanks!

This is a photo of my 4 month old puppy, Oliver Wicke on our vintage chesterfield sofa flanked by two Bertoia Diamond chairs in our event venue, Warehouse:109!  
– Corinne (Plainfield, IL/Chicago, IL)

We recently got a dog who keeps me company while I design, and he likes to balance on our One Drink Table. His name is The Head Honcho, but we call him Honcho for short.
– Katy (Brooklyn, NY)

Here’s Westan three years later…
– Dylan

I am the cat-mom of Jenks who you featured on Monday’s Pets on Furniture on October 14, 2014.  It was the same day you featured a tribute to your boy Bubba Cheeks.  I know it’s a lot to ask, but I wondered if Jenks might get one more go round?
I had to put my sweet boy down for his final rest today.  A combination of Diabetic ketoacidosis and a tumor forced me to make the awful, horrible decision. Jenks was loved by all my friends though he *seemingly* barely tolerated all of us. He was prone to following me from room to and rarely ever slept on any of my prized budget MCM furniture! I once said, truthfully, that HE was my most prized possession. If one can ever really say they own a cat and not the other way around. He was a moody cat, didn’t play much, but he gave good snuggle and let me know in little ways, every day, that he loved me. I’ll miss his obnoxious ways, his peculiar demands for attention and the way he lay in my arms like he was royalty – hence one of his many nicknames – The Prince. He was a good cat, a great cat and I loved every bit of him.
The pictures I chose are dark and a bit out of focus, but I wanted to show Jenks with some of my most valued pieces. I’m going to miss my Lil’ man so very much. But he’s no longer in pain and he’ll live forever in my heart and all the photographs I’ve taken of him over the years. I would trade every piece I own to have him back with me today.
– Barbara (Norwich, CT)

Even in the heat of a New Zealand summer Meme is still happy to spend a few hours on her favourite leather Flutter Chair.
– Liz

While I was preparing this post last night I turned around and spotted this scene right behind me. Mimin and Lucky taking advantage of the warmth of the faux sheepskins on the Panton chairs (with tunes playing through the Bluetooth speaker my husband built) on my vintage repro Componibili.

And on a sad note, my 3 stray kittens are still outside, and it has been brutally cold lately. (-39C overnight) The person I was emailing with at The Avery Foundation a few weeks ago never answered my last email, so I am going to assume that’s another rescue organization who isn’t going to help. I have decided that when I get back from my holiday down south, I am going to trap these little guys and figure it out myself. I can’t live with this situation any longer and I don’t want them to die. I have had too many cats die on me over the past few years and I can’t deal with any more horrible endings. I mean, look at these faces…