Displaying posts from April, 2020

“This historic Victorian townhouse located in Notting Hill, London, was reconfigured for an active family of five. The original building’s interior had narrow circulation and small, boxy rooms. It was gutted and replaced with a new central staircase and streamlined rooms that emphasize comfort and family friendliness. New open plan living spaces were created on the ground floor and transitional details are found throughout, striking a balance between the historic and the modern.”

Ladbroke Grove Townhouse in London by BWArchitects. Elegant and light filled, a modern heart in a historic body.

Photography by Justin M Weiner

My $50 dining room table makeover

Posted on Mon, 27 Apr 2020 by KiM

When we first moved in to our current house for some reason I had the bright idea that we needed a really long dining table. Possibly because our previous house had no dining room and therefore the table was in the middle of the kitchen. My husband spent many hours and much $$$ building me a 8 foot long dining table out of hemlock (with a steel base we had fabricated). As shown above. I love that dining table. But it took up the whole room. Having to walk around it to get to the bluetooth speaker/radio my husband converted, or getting to the buffet cabinet was annoying. And there’s 2 of us. And we never have anyone over for a meal. We both agreed a round or oval table would be ideal that seat 6, and I would use the 8ft table as a desk in the living room (more on that another day). I went hunting on MarketPlace and Kijiji. For months. Then the pandemic hit and I was working from home and figured this would be a great time to get this going. So I changed my strategy and stopped hunting for the perfect table and opted to just find something that was the right size. I found a round office table for $50 on Kijiji and figured what the hell, I could pimp it out and if I end up hating it, I’ll get rid of it and try again.

This was the table 5 minutes after bringing it home and disinfecting it. Stains all over the top, and boring all around. At this point all hardware stores were closed here and only offering online ordering which takes some time so I decided to try and work with what we had. I ended up spending nothing to fix up this table. First we cut strips of wood from some Ikea shelving we were no longer using and trimmed out the base with it. I then stained the slats black. I wasn’t sure what to do with the top but husband wanted to try sanding it down and seeing what the wood looked like (turned out it was solid wood). In the end the wood turned out to have such a gorgeous grain we just used some Livos on it and that was it.

As soon as we had everything in place we realized this table was in fact too small and we could have gone for something bigger (that fit 6 – this one only fits 5). But it is such an improvement for flow in the room and we absolutely love it so we’ll live with it until my dream table is found. Welcome to my $50 dining table!

Also, I think this might be the first time you’re seeing my new Lambert & Fils light fixture. I love the smaller scale of this one compared to what I had before.

I had to add in some pics of a special piece I got my hands on this past Friday. I spotted a quirky little side table for sale in the Instagram stories of Toronto-based Bettencourt Manor a while ago but could not justify the 4.5 or so hour drive to go pick it up. Turns out the guys of B.M. were headed to Ottawa and they delivered it for me. I put it in the dining room for a quick IG story but it turned out to be the perfect spot so I left it there. I love the angles on it.

Monday’s pets on furniture

Posted on Mon, 27 Apr 2020 by KiM

If you would like to participate in the Monday’s pets on furniture series please send photos, your name, location and a brief description to kim[at]desiretoinspire[dot]net, or hashtag your photos on Instagram with #dtipetsonfurniture. Thanks!



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Wishing you all a great weekend!

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Sofa Sunday. We actually managed to leave the house today and visited a few shops in Soho, but the weather is awful and we went straight back (after buying a couple of essentials, naturally😉). How was your weekend? And a Big Hello to my new followers! Can’t believe I woke up to 25k!! Thanks so much for being here! . . . . #howicolour #orangesofa #hagueblue #farrowandball #styleitdark #darkinteriors #deliciousdarkdecor #livingroominspo #livingroomgoals #edwardianhome #walltowallstyle #myhometrend #myeclectichome #eclecticdecor #interiorwarrior #howwedwell #stellarspaces #myhousebeautiful #myhouseandhome #styleithappy #cornersofmyhome #myinteriorstyletoday #crashbangcolour #apartmenttherapy #howihome #sodomino #actualhomesofinstagram #colourmyhome #colourfulhome #myhomevibe

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***RIP little buddy Jersey***




From me: Lucky and Phoebe hanging out on my dining table turned workspace table, and Frankie on the sofa.

As soon as I came across a feature on Russian designer Boris Dmitriev‘s office/apartment in Architectural Digest Russia I laughed because it is such a bold contrast to the office Jo featured yesterday. Located in a building built in 1905 in Moscow, this 84 m² space is so unique. Boris does not shy away from colour or pattern! I know this isn’t for everyone, but his attention to detail and the way he pulls it all together with such cohesion is extraordinary.

Photos: Mikhail Stepanov

Working on a Saturday

Posted on Sat, 25 Apr 2020 by midcenturyjo

Another week has passed. Another Saturday. Some of us can see that elusive light at the end of that clichéd tunnel. Others continue to be trapped in the nightmare that is the corona pandemic. It’s still a scary world out there with most of us in lockdown in our homes and weekend work (or any work) is somewhere in a hazy future. And in that hazy future if we have to drag ourselves into work on a Saturday it better be somewhere stylish like the DOK Office in Kortrijk by Belgian design firm Decancq-Otté Architecten.