Hi everyone! I’m back in business after a short break for my wedding (which was fabulous), and I cannot be happier to be Jeff’s wifey (he’s been calling me that since Sunday) and I am grateful to no longer have list after list of things I need to do for the big day. I had no idea planning a wedding could be so freaking exhausting. Anyway, onto today’s post…

Sometime over the past week or 2 I came across a website from the UK that for the life of me I can’t remember how I stumbled upon it. It’s called Period Living – Britain’s best-selling period homes magazine. Inside are some very inspiring homes that have required ALOT of work to make them the beauties they are today. For instance, the three bedroom cottage of Phil and Philippa Heath that they purchased in 1992, which would have been two homes when it was built around 200 years ago. They did all the work themselves, and it took almost 2 decades. They were very resourceful – existing floorboards were stripped wherever possible, and when the floors weren’t in good enough condition to polish, Philippa painted the stairs; and in the reception rooms, they laid flooring salvaged from a local school that was closing down, where they also picked up some useful furnishings such as the large cupboard in the dining room. It is now a beautiful home for this family of 6. (Photos by Brent Darby)

Quite some time ago I was approached by the folks of the website ucinteriors.com (their German counterpart is solebich.de) if I wanted to be a part of a book they were having published on some of the homes whose photos were submitted to their community. The main idea of the book is to show real homes of real people. They kindly sent me a copy and it arrived just now. I was so excited to see my kitchen on the cover, my living room on one of the cover pages, and then SEVEN whole pages of my home! I am so honoured to be included among so many other quirky and lovely homes and I cannot wait to devour the rest of the book (which I unfortunately cannot read a word but I’m all about photos anyhow 🙂 ). A huge thanks to Claire and Luise!

Before I begin the main topic of this post, I just wanted to thank everyone who has left kind comments on the main blog and on my page regarding my upcoming wedding. The big day is Saturday, and due to the fact that this event is happening on the gorgeous property that is my parent’s backyard, there is ALOT of setting up and that sort of thing that needs to happen in the next couple of days. Because of this I will be taking a bit of a break from the blog starting tomorrow but I’ll be back on Tuesday (Jeff and I aren’t really having a honeymoon on account of the huge addition {=expense} we want to put on our house in the near future but we’ll be going to Prince Edward Island next month to visit Jeff’s family and friends). Jo is AS ALWAYS insisting she publish posts on my behalf because she is a hardass and doesn’t believe in breaks so you all won’t be missing anything. On that note have a great rest of the week and weekend and I’ll see you back here Tuesday!

The other day Rodgrido Martins, an interior designer from São Paulo Brazil, emailed with photos of his pooch for the latest pet post. At the end of his email there was mention of a website called Quarto & Sala. The site is a bit confusing as to what exactly the point is, but it seems like the Brazilian version of The Selby (a popular subject here as a couple weeks ago I blogged about the German version). It features wonderful photography of the homes of seemingly ordinary people who don’t really follow the “rules” of interior design. Which is why I love this site so much. The spaces are quirky and completely lived in, and many are filled with vintage finds. Some photos randomly chosen from the site are below. (Photographed by Gabriel Valdivieso and Maira Acayaba).

We received an email from Susanne Lindgren the other day who wanted to share with us the Stockholm home her and her family had built which happens to be for sale (see listing here). It is ideally Swedish and perfection in every way. It is staged so beautifully I can’t imagine it not being snatched up immediately. The kitchen is incredible – I LOVE the black wall with black uppers. I love the concrete floors on the lower level and the whitewashed timber floors upstairs. I love all the carpets, love the bench in the hallway, and love the overall sparseness. I reeeeeeally wish I could live like that, without so much STUFF everywhere but it seems impossible. (Thank you Susanne!)

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 me closeups of your pet!)

P.S. There will be no pet post next week as I’m getting married this weekend and taking a few days off, but keep the photos coming as the pet posts will continue the following week. Thx!

“Here are 2 of my 3 big boys. The orange one is Fuzzy and the black and white is New Guy. All are rescue kitties. As you can see they enjoy spending time on our wrap around porch or veranda and are occasionally seen on my blog. In these photos Fuzzy can been seen on my rocking chaise lounge that I scored at a thrift store in San Diego about 5 years age and on in my daughter’s room on her pink vanity chair. He truly has no shame. New guy is also on the veranda on a white retro bench that I picked up at the Alameda Antique Fair a few months ago.”
– Leah
  

“Here is my little ginger kitty Daisy. She sleeps all day and stays out all night! Such a party animal.”
– Eva

“We have three store dogs at our clothing boutique, V.O.D. In this photo, only our baby Daphne sticks to her own furniture – Diego takes a cozy nook in the bookcase while Rudy lounges on a Mies van der Rohe Brno chair!”
– Jackie & Liz

“Pup name: Mrs. X”
– Jeff Nash (Albuquerque, NM)

“My 1 year old English Bulldog, loves to sit on any couch and pillow possible.  If it’s soft and cushy, he’s all about it.  Here he is laying on my living room sofa in front of my favorite striped wall!”
– Kelsey

“These floor cushions are Daisy’s favorite napping spot. We think it’s very ‘The Princess and the Pea’.”
– Lora (Cary, NC)

“THIS IS RUXO, A 10 MONTHS YORKSHIRE, IN YOUR SAARINEN TABLE, WITH THE SWAN  ARMCHAIR PRINTINGS IN BACKGROUND. RUXO LOVES THIS TABLE, MAINLY IN THE BRAZILIAN SUMMER , WHEN HE REFRESH IN THE MARBLE.”
– Rodrigo (São Paulo, Brazil)

“Fiona on a slate West Elm club chair. CB2 napkin as an arm cover (to cover up some scratch marks of course).”
– Joshua

“My two Bichons, Cotton (on the left) and Wilson, on my white slip-covered Fradusco sofa (hence the Argentine poncho throw-over…).  Wilson is fine, but he insists on helping Cotton cure her injured leg by licking it, so for the time being they both have cones and run around the house crashing into furniture.”
– Deb (an Australian living in Mendoza, Argentina)

“Our Black & White Mini Dachshund Lulu & Sadie visiting CT for the weekend. We have their full attention when we eat.”
– Joomi (New York City)