Jamie Drake is a genius with colour. His portfolio is brilliant, and this Fifth Avenue loft really stood out. “Surprise and movement – that’s what I like. Colors both ground and animate this space, whether washing in yellow or popping with pink. High gloss lacquer, antique mirror and rich silk velvets and shantungs polish up the eclectic mix of furnishings.”

Andrika, a Torontonian, emailed asking for some ideas for her kitchen redo. She has white cabinets and can’t decide on a wall colour. So I sifted through my photo collection and oddly enough, most of the kitchens I found with white cabinets had white walls. Here are some that I found with some fun colours. The one above is my favourite. LOVE the blue and green colour combination. The icy blue wall is incredible (!!!). If anyone has ideas for Andrika or has a favourite among these photos, leave us your thoughts in a comment. We’d also welcome photos if you think you have a great kitchen wall colour you’d like to share.

Fox-Nahem Design	L’Internaute
Living at Home	Vogue Interiors
Poliform	Zownir Locations
Poliform	Civility Design
Comma	Obumex
Home & Design	Máxima Interiores

Architect Luis Pons’ firm, Aponwao Design, is responsible for a wide range of projects that use materials from one end of the spectrum to another. Travertine marble for the East Hampton beach house of Latin singer Chayanne, and bakery carts covered in latex for dividers in a client’s apartment. His own apartment is covered almost floor to ceiling in air mattresses and inflatable furniture. The first group of photos below are of Luis’ live/work space, the next set are examples of the firm’s interior design projects, and the last are objects designed by the firm, including side tables made of metal ball-chains, and 1950s furniture applied with picture frame moldings.

“John Stefanidis Design Limited is one of the world’s leading interior design practices. In 1967, John Stefanidis Design established his practice from a studio in Chelsea, London and has for over three decades kept the highest standard of traditional and innovative design, producing unique concepts for a discerning international client portfolio.” He has the uncanny ability to design spaces in a wide variety of styles, from classical English, to traditional, to modern. John’s portfolio is filled with gorgeous photos of homes he has designed all around the world. He also has a line of bespoke furniture and accessories for both home and garden, as well as a line of luxurious fabrics, many of which are featured below. (Thanks again Caroline of JS Fabrics for the email!)

As many of you know I am a HUGE lover of animals. So huge, that today, I think my boyfriend and I are going to PetSmart to pick up cat #5 (to clarify, the cats at big stores like PetSmart come from the local animal shelter). We saw Mimin, a black cat, a week ago when we were in there buying cat food. She looks just like a cat we had that passed away a little over a year ago. The animal shelter here has what looks to be about 70 or 80 cats – that’s ALOT. I feel so horrible for these poor little guys and as much as we don’t need a fifth cat, I know that here at rancho relaxo, they have a GREAT life. So if anyone out there is thinking about getting a pet, go to your local animal shelter and do one of these guys a favour. I guarantee they’ll love ya forever for it.

UPDATE: It’s several hours later and I’m holed up in my bedroom with the new member of our family, Mimin. We let her right out as soon as we got home and the cats were sniffing her butt etc. I was so proud of her because she pretty much ignored them. And then she attacked my chicken sh*t Himalayan. Fur flew everywhere. So, integration may take time (and all my energy). Here is a photo of her finally sitting still. She crawled into the carrier and lay down for the first time in 2 hours.