Displaying posts from January, 2020

I want to be a potter

Posted on Thu, 16 Jan 2020 by midcenturyjo

I want to be a potter so I can have an amazing studio like this one designed by Jeremiah Brent. Don’t care if my pots are lousy. Just want to spend my days with my hands in mud in such a wonderful space. As for the terrace don’t even get me started!

Room + Board

Posted on Thu, 16 Jan 2020 by midcenturyjo

I published this post a couple of weeks before Christmas but I was a bad girl. I broke a press embargo but now that it has been published in Country Style magazine it’s time to feature this amazing holiday getaway again. An absolute must stay.

Introducing Room + Board the latest in the stable of fabulous accommodation properties by stylist and decorator Lynda Gardener. The purpose built open plan barn in the Victorian country town of Daylesford is part warehouse, part greenhouse and totally delicious. The perfect getaway for couples or single guests in Gardener’s signature style you can book here.

A renovated apartment in Tel Aviv

Posted on Wed, 15 Jan 2020 by KiM

Sorana Kfir, a designer in Tel Aviv, reached out to us about this apartment she designed for her client, who took it over after her parents passed away. Sorana planned the new layout and decor of the space, and though it appears very modern in its transformation, there are pieces left from the homeowner’s past as well as some remnants of the old space reused as I’ll point out below. It’s now an eclectic and homey space.

The hutch above was lined with tiles from the old backsplash. Love that!

The vertical light feature at the end of the hallway to the bedrooms was a partition originally located at the entrance of the apartment and was reworked to serve a new purpose.

Over the holidays Patricia emailed us about sharing her new home, named Hallelujah, with our readers and I was all for it because beachy vibes is totally what I need right about now. Some details from Patricia: I am a retired designer from Columbus, Ohio.  We purchased a new home in Grayton Beach, a laid back old Florida type beach town but with new houses too. I spent major part of year in a million stores both in FL and Ohio searching for the right piece and accessory for every room. House has five bedrooms and 5-1/2 baths, 3 decks and faces Western Lake, one of the coastal dune lakes along 30A.  We are 300 yards to a huge beach which runs the length of the Panhandle in FL. Our house is in a small gated area (that used to be a petting zoo back in the 60’s) with just six homes that are alike in appearance from the front. Area is known for their coastal dune lakes that empty into the gulf when there has been a lot of rain and it is a very neat phenomenon. I love that Patricia went with more grey tones than typical blues and the earthy vibe is very casual and perfect for the setting. The views across the lake are gorgeous! An all around stunning home, beautifully styled. Thank you so much Patricia for sharing your pride and joy with us.

News flash! The World Design Rankings have been announced for 2019. Who do you think topped the list? Where did your country come? What are World Design Rankings? WDR ranks all the countries based on the number of designers that have been granted an A’ Design Award. This year China beat the United States to the top spot among among the 106 represented countries, followed by Japan, Italy, Great Britain, Hong Kong, Turkey, Taiwan, Germany and Australia (yay!) rounding out the top 10. You can check out the complete list here (Sorry Kim Canada came in at 18) and when you’re there you can even zoom into a country level, click on the country name in the rankings table and you will be able to see top designers from that country. Best designers in that country will be displayed first.

The ultimate aim of the World Design Rankings is to contribute to global design culture through advocating and highlighting good design. The rankings provide a snapshot of the state-of-art and design potentials of countries worldwide by highlighting their creative strengths, design weaknesses and available opportunities. The “Design Business Insights” section provides a ranking of countries based on their success in diverse design fields and creative categories. Using the “Design Business Insights” section, media members and design lovers could discover leading countries for specific design sectors and get answers to their questions such as “Which country is best in industrial design”, “Which country is best in interior design?”,  “Which country is the best in fashion design?” etc.

With the best of the best showcased in hundreds of design fields and categories the Design Classifications allow you to choose the top ranking designers, artists and architects for your next project be it in architecture, interior design, furniture design, fashion design, graphics design and packaging design and more.

For several years Desire to Inspire has partnered with the A’ Design Award & Competition, the world’s largest annual juried design competition that honors the best designers, architects, and design oriented companies worldwide to provide them publicity, fame and recognition. Such an exciting competition. Such a prestigious award. Here are some of my favourite winners from 2019.


Bandage Sofa by Olga Bogdanova and Elena Prokhorova


Raw Radiator by Davide Diliberto


The Black House Housing by Buero Wagner


Aestus Vase by Oliver David Krieg


Bo Du Resort Hotel Design Commercial by Zhang Can – CSD Design Office


Flow Chair by Alexander Diaz Andersson


Kirin Wetland For Vanke Town Sales Office by Wang, Shaoqing


Quaint & Quirky Dessert House Dessert House by Chaos Design Studio


P.R Lounge Chair Lounge Chair by Alexandre Caldas


Cliff House Weekend Residence by Masato Sekiya


Shimao Loong Palace Residential landscape by Shimao Group


Sabrab Office Interior design by Sabrab Miguel Barbas

Believe you’ve got what it takes to take on the best of the best design from around the world? You can register for the 2019-2020 A’ Design Award and Competition here but time is short so get your entries in now.

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This post is in collaboration with A’ Design Award & Competition