Take a stark white shell and have some fun. Exclamation marks of colour restrained by dark floors and blindingly white walls. Push it even further with purple psychedelia in the bedroom then blow the whole thing apart with a bathroom that is definitely a knockout. Interior designer Craig Spencer is known for his broodingly dark portfolio. His latest project in Pott’s Point takes his dark luxury and turns it inside out. Serious fun for the seriously brave. (You can see more of Craig’s work on Desire to Inspire here, here and here.)

Deeply dark and masculine. Elegantly neutral. Inside and out, light and shade. Always luxurious but equally liveable. It’s linen and marble, wicker and wood, found objects and vignettes, wool, cashmere or silk, as well as hammered iron, textured wallpaper and glass. Tactile and tailored, down filled stylishness , global influences and Australian living. It’s interior designer Marco Meneguzzi. I’m in love with the dark tailored room above. Throw in a tribal rug and I’d be in heaven.

Once upon a time in a far away land (everywhere is far away if you live in Australia) lived a stressed out princess who really, really wanted to swap places with Sleeping Beauty if sleeping meant napping in these beds. The French seem so good at it. Rustic wonderlands with super comfy down filled, linen clad beds, sunny outsides and cave like insides. History, laidback luxury, warm winds blowing, great wine, fabulous food, warm pools for between nap dips and too cute pets. Move over Sleeping Beauty I’m taking over your bed! Le Logis de Puygaty, a fairytale of a getaway.

Got a problem? Need some help? Just standing there shaking your head? Don’t know what to do? You’re not alone. Send us a link to photos of your design quandary and let the Desire to Inspire design crew help you …. that’s you lot… the readers! This week it’s Cris who, after years of making do, has a flat with great bones and loads of potential. I know you’ll have lots of ideas for her.

Let me tell you a few words about me. I am an assistant professor in organic chemistry and in 2007 I  joined the faculty of the University of Zürich. So far I lived in couple of “just for sleeping” flats cause I was far toooo busy with the science. But  three months ago I was able to find (and rent) a fantastic apartment. It´s just a dream, my dream come true. And this is also why I write you, cause ever since I cannot make up my mind on how to decorate the dining room as well as the connected living room. I desperately need the Crew´s help!!! For reasons too long to explain I had to buy some furniture to the previous tenant. Those are all the dark-brown wooden pieces you see in the first two pictures (table, 6 chairs, 2 high + 1 medium shelves), which I decided to put together in the (smaller) dinning room. The other pieces you see in the third and fourth pictures (big linen sofa + caravane cushions, old walnut chair and table, sewing machine, etc…) are my beloved pieces, those that I really feel MINE. They were either found in vintage stores, bought during my trips or rescued before my grandma decided to get rid of some of them. By the way, a 100 year old Chinese cabinet (4.5 x 1.3 x 5.6 ft in natural walnut tree wood) is on its way and I hope to fit the TV in there, exactly where it is now.

Here are some of my questions for the crew:

– should I keep the “independent” decoration in the two rooms although they are connected or should I mix the pieces? (if mixing is the option I am lost…I just don´t see those two “styles”  coming along well together).

– In the living room, now it´s all going to be “walnut wood”…too homogeneous, isn´t it? How can I break it a bit? (wall paper or painting in other colour than white is not allowed here!).

– Last but not least…what do I do with the big space I still have free in front of the huge window (I also send you a picture of the beautiful view we get from there)? Since the other half of the living room, the one closer to the chimney, is already quite busy (sofa, armchair, sewing machine, table, incoming TV-cabinet, carpet) I thought of buying just two big leather armchairs + a seventies big-arch lamp and decorate the walls with some small paintings or pictures to use it as a “reading area” but maybe I should just re-think everything from scratch…not sure!!

Any comments or suggestions beyond my questions will be also highly welcome. I really appreciate your readers taste 🙂

The view from the big window

It’s all about layering. Starting with a neutral base and adding texture, objets d’art, personal pieces, gallery walls, books, even colour as yet another layer. It’s definitely not minimalism but it is also stepping back from the edge of maximalism, of knowing when to stop. It’s about luxury with the everyday, comfort with contrast. It’s all about adding one more, carefully, just so. Sigh… yes just enough. It’s layers of meaning, of how the client lives. It’s all about interior designer Ashli Mizell.