My brother-in-law Dave is always sending me links to homes that he has spotted on various websites, in the hopes that one day I’d find one worthy of blogging about. Well, I’m finally blogging one. He found the home here, but it was originally featured in New York Magazine. It’s the 2100 sq ft Brooklyn bachelor pad of “Blue’s Clues” star Steve Burns, designed by Mesh Architectures. I love the industrial feel, the exterior is totally rad, the catwalk on the second floor (inside and out) and the private courtyard. A home worthy of the pages of Dwell mag, if it hasn’t already been featured there.

Nelly (who works in finances and is an aspiring stylist), her boyfriend Samuel (handyman, bike mechanic and graphic designer) and their cats Lex and Sox live in what Nelly calls a beach “shack” and I have to say that it looks nothing to me like a shack! I’ll let Nelly tell you about their beautiful home in Watermans Bay (northern beaches of Perth, Western Australia)…

We were desperately looking for a cute beach house to rent at an affordable price. So when we stumbled upon a very neglected shack that was screaming potential, we jumped onto it!

When we first stepped in, the house was dark and gloomy and looked as if it was abandoned or – worse – as if it has been squatted by aspiring surfers, more attracted by the waves next door than by basic general home maintenance. Every wall of every room was painted a different color. In the bathroom, we had mint green, bright pink and lavender on the walls while the bathtub was that old fashioned baby blue enamel. In the living area, we had a mix of dusty pink, bright purple, olive green (all in glossy finish) and suede-textured mauve. The ceiling was painted a faded mustardy yellow. The window sills, door frames, ceiling cornices and skirting were a glossy maroon. And the list goes on.

Being our usual bright, optimistic souls, we decided to focus on the house’s potential: location was a big call, but so were the painted floorboards (a medium grey that has started to flake, which gives more rusticity), the brand new kitchen cabinets, the mismatch of salvaged windows used throughout the house (Art Deco, French, louvres, etc), the fireplace, the high ceilings, the cornices, and the very unusual layout. We had almost no money but I had vision and my boyfriend had building skills (and a good artistic flair too) so how could we go wrong?

A few (many!!!) pots of paint later and lots of elbow grease and the house turned into what we wanted: a relaxing retreat with lots of character and light. The feel is contemporary with a hint of vintage. It is summery and fresh and inviting at the same time. It has a couple of feature items and lots of ‘bits and pieces’ picked up during overseas trips or at the side of the road. It is our sanctuary and it keeps on evolving with us, our moods, our needs. There are still a million things that need to be fixed, changed, replaced, moved, installed. It might be perfect one day but it is more likely that it will never be. And this is most probably the precise reason why we love it. We hope that you will too.

Photos: Heather Robbins of Red Images Fine Photography

If you’d like to send us photos to include in next week’s “pets on furniture” post, please ensure your photos follow our 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, the photo must be of decent quality. If it’s dark or fuzzy (from a camera phone) then it may not make the cut. Thanks! (Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to desiretoinspirekim[@]hotmail[.]com and PLEASE don’t send closeups of your pet!)

This picture is made 2 months ago, on a Bandhini photo-shoot. Clouseau (the dog) felt clearly on his place in this picture. Now we’re using him as a front cover for our company-profile! We are from Australia, the photo shoot was on location in India.
– Annelies

That’s Opie relaxing on the weekend.
– Laura (Chicago, IL)

note painted breeze block walls and terra-cotta floor tiles
– Gary (Southampton UK)

1.Benson (my 7 year old Russian Blue Cat) and Chloe (my 7 year old Lowchen dog) together on the Lutyens Bench in our back yard.
2.Chloe trying to pretend she hasn’t wrecked my cushion display on the bed
3.Chloe relaxing on our lounge suite.
– Lisa (Auckland, New Zealand)

We live in an antique house, built in 1920, complete with furnishings to match.  Whether it’s inside or out, the pets really own the place and thankfully allow us to live here, too.
1. Our Russian Blue, Sootsie, lounging on a Queen Anne wingback (with the arms just “cat height”), recovered in a pewter colored twill.
2. Jack, a beagle mix, on the manliest chair in the house…a leather pub chair with big rolled arms.
3. Our cat, Sootsie, um…relaxes, you might say…on the antique porch swing that is original to our house.  LBJ is purported to have swung here, too…having dated the daughter of the original owner of the house.  I can only imagine that he was this cool.
4. Our yellow lab, Scout, on the antique wicker that lives on our porch.  These chairs have lived through many years of use…I just hope they can withstand this baby girl.
– Mary (San Marcos, Texas)

This toile chair is where our French Bulldog Hugo sits most mornings while we get ready to go to work. Frenchie + Toile = Perfection!
– Jessica (Brookline, MA)

1. I adore vintage furniture, and it is what I purchase to mix in with our newer pieces. Here is our dog, taking advantage of my chair.
2. Our 110Lb dog, Gretal on her couch.
– Lisa (Pardeevillle, WI)

Here you have Rodolfo pretending to be a Notre Dame gargoyle on our kitchen extractor.

– Nimenos (Sevilla, Spain)

This is Tiki, bellied up to the dining room table. She likes to sit with me while I’m eating because she thinks she’s people.
– Laura (Minneapolis)

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Los Angeles-based visual merchandiser Chele Mckee shared with us an inspiring cottage she designed and I had to then share with you guys because many of you, like me, are dying for spring to arrive and these photos really help with the end-of-winter gloom. The colours are so beautiful and energizing. Lovely!! Thanks Chele!