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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! Kristin needs your help this week. She’s a woman with strong ideas on a mission. I know you’ll love giving your 2 cents worth 🙂

I just moved from a small one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan to a 3 bedroom house in Denver.  Luckily, my mom is selling her house and I was also to take some furniture with me.  My design dilemma comes to us in the shape of an awkward living room.  The living room is long and narrow.  The entry from the front door is smack in the middle and located on the walls on either side of the entrance are long radiators (i.e. no furniture along one of the two longest walls in the room.)  The other long wall is closed with the exception of the entryway into the dining room (about 12 ft wide).  The two shorter walls have a fireplace and staircases (one upstairs and one to basement), respectively.  What a challenge! 

To tie it all together, I eventually want to buy two matching area rugs and to use throw pillows, throw blankets, curtains etc to help spread the color palette throughout the room.  Does anyone have any navy/lilac inspiration for me?  Also, can anyone recommend an affordable lilac fabric for the chairs?  I’ve been told that lilac is not a popular color by every single fabric store in Denver (including the Design Center!)

And here is what she has to work with.

Maggie (of the blog Maggie Rose) wrote us wanting to share her home with our readers. What makes her submission extra special is that she just did what I really wish I had the balls to do. She is leaving her day job in order to pursue what she is really passionate about – interior design. Here’s the scoop from Maggie:
My boyfriend, kitty and I live in a 1907 house turned into apartments and live in the upstairs two-bedroom unit. We’ve been renting this place for about a year and a half. It’s located in the beautiful Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, just north of downtown. Many of the pieces in our home are hand-me-downs and budget finds, but I’ve brought natural elements into each of the spaces along with pretty textiles and some old-fashioned DIY to make it feel like our home. So if you live in the Seattle area and need some decorating help, give talented Maggie a shout!

This inspiring bedroom makeover comes from French blogger Vincent Layerle…
One of my friends asked me if I could do something with his really old-fashioned bedroom… and of course, I have said YES ! It was a real pleasure for me to try to make this room something special for him. A place where he could sleep peacefully, enjoy watching his favorites movies or just work easier than he did when his Mac was on a tea table (yes, it was exactly like that before I came)… He also wanted more storage units… Yes this friend was very hard to please!

So I have pulled my socks up and I have first built a complete bed… It looks like a platform covered by a parquet floor bleached in a scandinavian way… and he has now a huge drawer to put in all his stuffs… (around 6*6 ft)… To make it cozier I have installed two wool curtains,… He has told me when he closes them, he feels exactly like he was in a boat cabin… and he really likes boats… so a good point for me !
For the bedhead, I have just used 3 Lack tabletops from Ikea. The wallpaper has been found on the french website Elitis. There is an amazing Ikea floor lamp too, just beside the bench storage that I have built like a big boy. ‘How’ you will ask me (or not… but I will still tell you…) : 6 wood planks covered with an old piece of fabric (found on a deck chair)… Yes it’s really easy and yes I am the king of recycling…
The small console-desk has been created using an Ikea Expedit bookshelf…
Finally, the fabulous checked cushions have been created by my dear friend ‘Mademoiselle Dimanche’, a french fabric designer that I love so much ! (here is her website… sure you will love too !)

Fashion designer, artist, furniture and homewares designer, Australian icon Stuart Membery. Welcome to his piece of paradise in Bali. Stuart’s home is elegant and relaxed, catering to all the senses. A tropical paradise as it should be. A little OTT, a lot of fun Stuart’s compound consists of a main house with extensive outdoor living areas and a guest house all wrapped in the lush greenery of the tropical gardens. And of course it is the perfect showcase for Stuart’s latest range of furniture and homewares. Gorgeous rattan and wicker, carved timbers with an asian plantation touch, lashings of blue and white. I’m booking my ticket for an extended stay or at least dreaming of where to place a rattan chair or two in my place. You’ll find it all on his website.

Photography by Tim Street-Porter.

Isabel wanted to share her home with our readers. All I know about her is that she is Spanish, is a mom to a little boy and girl, she has a really fantastic apartment and she seems to really loves her kids because they have the coolest rooms! (I’ve got a couple more reader submissions to share but I think I’ll save them for tomorrow so stay tuned!)