Displaying posts from February, 2022

Palais Royal

Posted on Tue, 22 Feb 2022 by midcenturyjo

What could possibly be better than living in an apartment in the Palais Royal, the vast palace created by the Cardinal Richelieu in 1633 in the 1st arrondissement of Paris? The historic building. The gardens. Quite possibly living in an apartment in the Palais Royal designed by Isabelle Stanislas.

A green oasis in the city

Posted on Tue, 22 Feb 2022 by midcenturyjo

“This light-filled Woollahra courtyard, which previously included a swimming pool, was converted into a sophisticated outdoor entertaining area. Dangar Barin Smith designed a contemporary water rill in off-form concrete and surrounded the space with verdant, exotic planting for texture and contrast.”

Swimming pools are so overrated. I think I’ll take this green oasis in Sydney’s inner east, both a place of calm and reflection and the perfect spot for al fresco entertaining.

Photography by Prue Ruscoe

The Ennisbrook Adobe

Posted on Mon, 21 Feb 2022 by KiM

This home speaks to me on sooooo many levels. Having a history and rustic vibe yet simple, modern architecture on the inside. That dichotomy as well as white vs black makes this home have so much energy and evokes emotion. I am completely smitten. Designed by Hallworth.

Nestled on ten acres in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, is the quintessential Adobe of Montecito, named by an early owner, Ennisbrook, an Irish word meaning land by a river. Dating back in parts to the mid-1800s, it is an early architectural darling of the town it inhabits. The Adobe was left gutted with dust floors, essentially derelict as a result of an abandoned renovation when my clients acquired the property. The property had a heavy, mature, gravitas in juxtaposition to the young newlywed owners. The seriousness of the building required subtle strong detailing. However, the primary design inspiration came from Notre Dame du Ronschamp.  Corbusier’s masterpiece has an air of brutal honesty. The space is monastic and meditative, heavy-lidded and softly lit.   Architecturally we had similar conditions. Ennisbrook has limited fenestration and dark timber, hewn trussed ceiling original to the building.  Ronschamp’s walls are stark white, yet ethereal.  We similarly employed white reflective plaster and floors cast in integral white concrete, which speckled and crazed like a bird’s eggshell. Our light is restricted, but serene.  The kitchen blackened as a hearth itself is the heart of the home. Three years later the client moved into a home that was entirely realized, furnished with brutal simplicity, comfortable and negligently sexy, redolent of the past but infinitely modern, a perfect hillside retreat.

Francesca Grace

Posted on Mon, 21 Feb 2022 by KiM

Los Angeles based interior designer and home stager Francesca Grace is elevating interiors with some curves, a dose of colour, a dash of bold artwork, a touch of chic and a lot of style. Love!

My new one-of-a-kind vintage rug from Revival

Posted on Sun, 20 Feb 2022 by KiM

I have always loved rugs around my home, to add a graphic element and another dose of colour to liven up my floors. Also, cats love ’em 🙂 This winter I became particularly obsessed with hunting down vintage rugs and using them anywhere and everywhere to add coziness to my house since I’m spending 99% of my time at home working. When the folks at Revival Rugs reached out and offered to gift me one of their insanely gorgeous, vintage one-of-a-kind rugs, I nearly fell out of my chair and was so stoked to agree to a partnership. It was particularly easy when I learned their goal is to offer affordable vintage rugs directly from talented artisans and partners across Turkey. Their rugs are premium quality, handmade and the selection is epic. I spent HOURS scouring their vintage collection trying to decide on a rug for my living room. It was an agonizing process let me tell you.

After much deliberation between bold and graphic vs classic and timeless I ended up letting the folks at Revival choose for me and they went with Jelisava, a 6.6′ x 10.7′ vintage wool kilim rug, flatwoven in Konya, Turkey. Also agonizing was my worry it would not match with my mustard-ish yellow sofa but AMEN it works! Their photos were pretty dead-on in showing the colours as they appear IRL so luckily the peach tones work with the yellow. And it arrived in about a week or so which was AMAZING since it came from Turkey. Phoebe was obsessed the moment I took the rug out of the box and with each section unfolded she kept climbing right back on. Luckily the novelty soon wore off.

I could not love my new rug more. It is so meticulously made and the details are exquisite. Revival is now at the top of my list for go-to rug sources, and if you’re in the market for a new rug I highly suggest heading over to their shop and having a looksie. I because I have no doubt you will find your perfect rug, use code 10OFF-KIMDTI to receive 10% off your purchase (valid until March 17) or click through this link and the discount will be applied at checkout. Happy rug shopping!