Displaying posts from September, 2018

Have have many dear readers of the blog who have followed us for years and years. Shirley is one of them. I featured her B&B (Abadin in L’Orignal, about an hour drive east of Ottawa) back in 2012. Alot has happened since then as I learned in an email from Shirley the other day and it was so moving I had to share.

Lots has happened in the past years , I almost died last year because of a vicious immune system disease , and I was kind of told if the chemotherapy does not work for me , I might have 3 to 12 months left. Did not take that and went to do my own research and found out to fast again, meaning water fasting for days at the time, to give my body the chance to heal itself through Autophagy. To make a long story short , I did it instead of dying or staying ill on heavy meds for the rest of my life I am off all meds and healthier then ever before.

My story is here just in case you know somebody who wants to help themselves: Shirley’s Personal Health StoryOf fasting and healing – The tale of Shirley Lindemann’s recovery

But why I am telling you all of this is , I had an art exhibition coming last year when I was at my worst, but the pieces I created were some of the best work I have done in my 45 year career as an artist. All black and grey. Now I needed the perfect back ground to display them in a way that satisfies my message. So I decided to flip our B&B living room from all white with chrome accents to all black with copper and gold accents.
Her artwork is breathtaking and really quite moving, and the redecorated space works so well to show it off. Congrats on beating this horrible disease Shirley, for creating such wonderful pieces of art, and for sharing with us.

Trying to find and create more space in any home can be tricky. Even more so if you live in an apartment and have little to play with in the first place.

Fortunately the experts at MADE.com have produced a clever guide to getting the most out of your space and bending the rules so that even if you can’t create more space – it will look like you have!

Every room is different so they have come up with some unique tweaks that will work best in these specific places:

Living Spaces

When it comes to increasing space, plants are an afterthought if even considered at all. Hold on a second – they not only bring oxygen into a room and add colour, they can create depth and dimension depending on the décor and design.

Nobody expects plants to adorn a small living space so if plants are present, it can’t be a small space can it?

A quick and easy solution if you are a renter and can’t make or afford any structural or colour changes to your environment.

Outdoor and Balconies

Anybody can add decorative touches like lighting and flowers but what about adapting to the available space?

A simple idea is to use lower furniture, especially on a balcony. Rustic, rattan chairs or loungers or a bistro set of hardy resilient but charming chairs and tables are the perfect place to see the sun go down in those long summer evenings.

Bedrooms

There is a lot of space to be had in bedrooms if you know where to look. Specifically using the space that is usually hanging around above the bed!

By raising the bed, you suddenly free up areas that can be used to store clothes, shoes, toys, consoles etc. If you can raise the bed high enough you could even create enough room for desk space and a mini-office.

Offices and Hallways

Talking of offices, while you may not be able to replicate an open-plan design, you can maximise your own space to have a functional modern workspace within your home.

Utilising existing areas that would appear to be useless space at first glance is a great idea; what might be too small for a printer or router could be ideal for stationary or books. Some basic joinery and carpentry et voila – a quirky shelf space any hipster would be proud to put their books in – if they still read them.

Bathrooms

Traditionally the smallest room of any property, sometimes space cannot be increased so other solutions must be found from necessity.

Changing the colour and materials within a bathroom can create a light and airy feel and the illusion of a greater area. Alternatively by utilising luxury materials such as polished marble a bathroom will attain a spa or hotel quality that means space is readily sacrificed for the quality of the ambience experienced.

Kitchen and Dining Areas

A smaller kitchen or combined food preparation and eating area can be a challenge to keep clear and clutter free so the ingenuity of the spacial engineers at MADE.com really stands out.

Cutting surfaces, drawers and tables can foldout and be stored snugly when not in use so any aspiring chef can have all their materials and surfaces within easy reach when they need them, and they can literally disappear when they don’t.

Also taking a pragmatic view to storage in a kitchen can yield amazing results. Why use up floor space with a wine rack when one can be suspended from the ceiling with a minimum of fuss, also creating a Mediterranean style focus?

You’ll be toasting your increased dining area in no time!

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This post was contributed by a guest writer.

A fresh, fabulous, family home in a light-filled apartment in New York City and to-die-for windows? Sounds amazing … and it is! The added bonus is the modern black and white scandi vibe with blonde wood. West Village Apartment by U.S. and Brit-based Sheep + Stone Interiors.

 

 

Photography by Brooke Holme

A calm city retreat in Auckland

Posted on Mon, 3 Sep 2018 by midcenturyjo

Beautifully tailored with some stunning material choices and clever storage, this monochromatic Auckland apartment is rich in details. The stone kitchen counter top is so stunning I just want to run my hands all over it and the brass Art Deco inspired brass screen … swoon. The surprise is the rich terracotta tones of the master bedroom. Hereford Apartment by New Zealand interior design studio Hare.

A renovated apartment in Copenhagen

Posted on Sun, 2 Sep 2018 by KiM

I’m loving the energy in this eclectic 1898 home in Frederiksberg, Copenhagen belonging to Cathrine and Anders de Lichtenberg that I spotted on Architectural Digest Mexico. As the story goes, it was completely renovated (kitchen became a bathroom, living room became a kitchen…) and is now a contemporary space filled with statement pieces of furniture, such as a Arne Jacobsen Series 7 dining chairs, a Vertigo pendant by Constance Guisset, Poul Kjaerholm PK22 chairs, a Romeo Rega table, a Hans Wegner Flag Halyard chair, a FOS diamond table etc. Also, this may be my favourite pink kitchen.

Photos: Martin Solyst