Inspiration Home Design

Last Home Tour of the Year!

To all my dear readers, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Mine was splendid, we celebrated at home and invited all our relatives over. It was a double celebration as only a few days before Christmas my eldest son sat for his last exam at university and is now an engineer! Tomorrow we'll be going to a summer place called Chapadmalal where we will have no access to the Internet so I won't be posting again until we come back on January 16th. So, as I won't be seeing you before, I'd like to wish you all now a very Happy New Year, and thank you for this wonderful inspired year together giving me support through your comments and cheering along which makes all my time spent on blogging definitely worth while! Thanks to each and every one of you, Happy New Year once again and I'll be seeing you soon! And, of course, before I leave, I give you this stunning house. Nestled in the old village of Champagne Sézanne, this seventeenth century house belonged to the Marquise de Beauharnais, Marie-Francoise (whose brother married Josephine, the future empress), Pascale and her husband Oliver, bargain hunters and passionate decorators, created a family home that opens its doors to the public twice a year to display their items on sale. Every room has been lovingly staged creating a unique holiday atmoshphere. A real feast for the eyes. Let's step in. <img id="lightbox-image" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/salon/473348-1-fre-FR/salon.jpg" style="display: inline;" /> <img id="lightbox-image" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/la-salle-a-manger/473316-1-fre-FR/La-salle-a-manger.jpg" style="display: inline;" /> <img alt="Le coin évier" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/le-coin-evier/473328-1-fre-FR/Le-coin-evier_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Le coin évier" width="669" /> <img alt="Buffet" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/buffet/473352-1-fre-FR/Buffet_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Buffet" width="669" /> <img alt="Lanternes" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/lanternes/473324-1-fre-FR/Lanternes_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Lanternes" width="669" /> <img alt="Canapé" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/canape/473336-1-fre-FR/Canape_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Canapé" width="669" /> <img alt="Bougies" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/bougies/473332-1-fre-FR/Bougies_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Bougies" width="669" /> <img alt="Petit Salon" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/petit-salon/473312-1-fre-FR/Petit-Salon_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Petit Salon" width="669" /> <img alt="Chambre" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/chambre/473320-1-fre-FR/Chambre_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Chambre" width="669" /> <img alt="La salle de bains" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/la-salle-de-bains/473340-1-fre-FR/La-salle-de-bains_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="La salle de bains" width="669" /> <img alt="Miroir" height="499" src="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/var/deco/storage/images/campagne_decoration/reportages/village/dans-le-petit-trianon-tres-raffine-de-pascale/miroir/473344-1-fre-FR/Miroir_carrousel_gallery_xl.jpg" style="border: 0px none ;" title="Miroir" width="669" /> Hope you enjoyed our last house tour of the year. See you soon dears!!! All images from <a href="http://campagne-decoration.dekio.fr/">here</a>.

Last Home Tour of the Year!

To all my dear readers, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! Mine was splendid, we celebrated at home and invited all our relatives over. ...

10:17 AM

Ready for Christmas in Stockholm

How nice it is to be home to spend my holiday with my family. I still have lots of things to do before Christmas but I'd like to show you this apartment in Stockholm before I start my busy day. Located in Östermalm, a large district in central Stockholm, Sweden, it is all ready for Christmas. Gustavian furniture, gilded mirrors and a soft palette of greys and whites define this lovely home. <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/qrq4weawwilqwbmy3z2zf4xtzj0s2ee/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 655px; height: 499px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/rkdvy1cgnu10fh80rvmq57lsgacrrtv/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 505px; height: 676px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/ruz7v2zmc2vo7ybzxrjvcchmr5urzhm/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 506px; height: 696px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/ihqs6ydp1xxpgp3up0w6byv7908m3no/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 506px; height: 758px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/5jj7v00xchgjr7w9w1wjxzl1zutymj/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 506px; height: 758px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/g1pstltqr7yl32p44udd4kqkgh4ovpz/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 507px; height: 683px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/knoav0ivb6o4j03h9qa18sx236sgqyv/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 506px; height: 758px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/rktqsvbkgdp2enb3vwaoi886dvqetwp/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 500px; height: 749px;" /> <img src="http://www.skonahem.com/_internal/cimg%210/ng5tyals85dvdc9pkudqsm1izrhyxdx/Diskret%20jul" style="width: 501px; height: 667px;" /> I'm sure I'll be able to make another post before Christmas. See you then! Photographs: Joakim Bergström All images from <a href="http://www.skonahem.com/">Skona hem</a>.

Ready for Christmas in Stockholm

How nice it is to be home to spend my holiday with my family. I still have lots of things to do before Christmas but I'd like to show yo...

2:17 AM

Farewell and a Lovely House in Spain

I'm starting my holidays tomorrow so I will not be posting every day as usual. Maybe once or twice a week. However, remember there are more than 500 previous posts to look at while I'm gone, so you can catch up if you've missed any. So, before I start packing I'm giving you a second post today. A lovely house located in the Barrio de las Letras, in Madrid, Spain. Decorated by Estefanía Carrero with a mixture of styles, from modern to classic with rustic touches and full of interesting details and textures. <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_6g.jpg" style="width: 652px; height: 521px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_1g.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 520px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_2g.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 520px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_3g.jpg" style="width: 649px; height: 811px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_4g.jpg" style="width: 649px; height: 811px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_5g.jpg" style="width: 649px; height: 811px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_7g.jpg" style="width: 651px; height: 521px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_8g.jpg" style="width: 654px; height: 817px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_9g.jpg" style="width: 655px; height: 818px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_10g.jpg" style="width: 651px; height: 521px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_11g.jpg" style="width: 653px; height: 523px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_12g.jpg" style="width: 651px; height: 521px;" /> <img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/392/392_3_13g.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 812px;" /> Hope you enjoyed this second tour. Now, I must rush and start packing! See you soon, dears, hopefully some time next week. All images from <a href="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/">here</a>.

Farewell and a Lovely House in Spain

I'm starting my holidays tomorrow so I will not be posting every day as usual. Maybe once or twice a week. However, remember there are m...

4:13 AM

Interior Designer Sara Lavoine

Good morning dear readers. Today we are going to visit interior designer Sara Lavoine's summer house in Gers countryside often called French Tuscany in the Southwest of France. She had this seventeenth century house restored keeping most of its original materials and then decorated it in a rustic country style but also adding some modern items. Tour time, sweets. Have a blast! <img alt="Sarah Lavoine maison de vacances" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158970_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 556px; height: 371px;" /> <img alt="L'entrée traversante épouse la déclivité du terrain." id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158968_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 561px; height: 374px;" /> <img alt="Sarah Lavoine en vidéo" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/159198_sans-titre.jpg" style="width: 578px; height: 385px;" /> <img alt="Le salon blanc" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158966_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 582px; height: 388px;" /> <img alt="Ambiance campagne dans la salle à manger" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158972_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 585px; height: 390px;" /> <img alt="La cuisine Boffi en chêne et pierre noire regarde la vue." id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158964_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 668px; height: 445px;" /> <img alt="Montée d'escaliers tapissée de photos et garde-corps bibliothèque." id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158976_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 670px; height: 446px;" /> <img alt="Baignoire ancienne et échelles porte-serviettes en bambou." id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158986_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 659px; height: 439px;" /> <img alt="Rouge, blanc et noir pour une chambre élégante" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158992_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 671px; height: 447px;" /> <img alt="Le charme des poutres apparentes" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158988_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 609px; height: 406px;" /> <img alt="Photo de Joseph Szabo." id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158980_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 655px; height: 436px;" /> <img alt="Une annexe pour accueillir les amis" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158962_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 675px; height: 450px;" /> <img alt="Face à la terrasse de la chambre rouge." id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158978_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 676px; height: 450px;" /> <img alt="Le toit de la maison" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158984_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 669px; height: 446px;" /> <img alt="Invitation à la détente" id="diaporama_pict" src="http://www.cotemaison.fr/medias/310/158982_sarah-lavoine-maison-de-vacances.jpg" style="width: 624px; height: 416px;" /> Photography Christine Soler and Henri del Olmo All images from <a href="http://www.cotemaison.fr/">here</a>.

Interior Designer Sara Lavoine

Good morning dear readers. Today we are going to visit interior designer Sara Lavoine's summer house in Gers countryside often called Fr...

2:52 AM

CHRISTMAS DECOR: Natural Sparkle

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: center;"> WHEW!  </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Done, at last</div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> Bit by bit the Christmas decorations have been going up at my house.  In between working on client's homes and other seasonal projects - at long last I'm done..... or, mostly done.  I still plan to put a little holiday cheer into my son's room who will be home from college in a few days, and there's that little tree I wanted to decorate in the family room, and I need to come up with something for place settings for the family get-together.  Seems once I get started, I can't stop.. Someone help me! <div style="text-align: center;"> Please!</div> </div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> </div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> I have to admit I rearranged furniture a little this year to make room for the tree and accommodate my holiday decorations. Sometimes the 'stuff' in our house gets in the way of our Christmas decorating, but most of it looks better with a little Christmas touch or two and that very 'stuff' can become part of a beautiful holiday focal point.</div> <div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECICOS9bZXtgFrGi3W4pOWiliE2sKqE-6louHQnF671YPSpiE58DsSjxvxvo113Ja-uH504E09DtQXuU0dxgjV4ClZHXMWJwqVlC9r6frviD8NwLXq2jR_IaRrsyD64CbY-fj7Gnw4SM/s1600/IMG_1031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiECICOS9bZXtgFrGi3W4pOWiliE2sKqE-6louHQnF671YPSpiE58DsSjxvxvo113Ja-uH504E09DtQXuU0dxgjV4ClZHXMWJwqVlC9r6frviD8NwLXq2jR_IaRrsyD64CbY-fj7Gnw4SM/s640/IMG_1031.JPG" width="444px"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">vintage trophy with holiday greens and berries</td></tr> </tbody></table> </div></div><a href="http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-decorating-natural-sparkle.html#more">Read more »</a>

CHRISTMAS DECOR: Natural Sparkle

WHEW! Done, at last Bit by bit the Christmas decorations have been going up at my house. In between working on client's homes and ot...

9:05 PM

Interior Designer Charles Spada

Sited at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Essex, Connecticut, and with a wide view of Long Island Sound, this house was purchased and restored in the 1980s. Back then, interior designer Charles Spada took the historic Greek Revival house down to its roots and then built upon them stately columns, moldings and trim. Window casings were outfitted with broad-shouldered frames, leaving the views exposed. So, 20 years later the house only needed a refresher, like changing fabrics and wall colours and adding a back porch. Once again Charles Spada was called and brought the house into the twenty-first century. <img src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-02.jpg" style="width: 650px; height: 433px;" /> <img height="778" id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-05.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer;" width="588" />A checkerboard-painted floor and sisal runner mix with a rococo demilune. <img id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-03.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 650px; height: 433px;" />Elegant simplicity reigns in the living room under a George Bruestle painting and a host of green-hued fabrics. <img id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-04.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 653px; height: 435px;" />On the opposite end of the room, framed intaglios float on wires hanging from picture molding rods behind a grand piano. Two flame-stitch-covered chairs from the Netherlands flank an eighteenth-century Italian commode with a mirror of the same era above it. <img id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-01.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 586px; height: 773px;" />Charles Spada designed the intricate fireplace and window moldings during his first encounter with this house. <img height="778" id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-06.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer;" width="585" />The library in its original colour from twenty years ago. <img id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-07.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 651px; height: 434px;" />The breakfast room sits just off the kitchen and, like the living room, forgoes window treatments. <div style="display: block;" class="" id="cboxTitle"><img height="778" id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-08.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer;" width="598" />The stone floor on the porch was added during the recent updates to the rest of the house. <img height="778" id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-09.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer;" width="590" />The dining table extends in front of the faux-finished console to seat more than a dozen people. </div><img height="778" id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-10.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer;" width="584" />During the home’s original renovation, Spada gutted the warren of upstairs rooms to create an under-the-eaves master bath. <img id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-11.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer; width: 650px; height: 434px;" />In the guest room, twin beds wear new layers of quilts and linen-covered headboards, sheer curtains hang at the windows, and a grasscloth rug for the floor. Mmilking stools were placed at the end of each bed. A range of pinks brings a rosy glow to a guest room <img height="778" id="cboxPhoto" src="http://www.nehomemag.com/sites/default/files/images/7/gallery_images/JA10-Spada-12.jpg" style="margin: auto; border: medium none; display: block; float: none; cursor: pointer;" width="591" />Custom bedding is key to the master suite’s comfort. Photos: Bruce Buck All images from <a href="http://www.nehomemag.com/">here</a>.

Interior Designer Charles Spada

Sited at the mouth of the Connecticut River in Essex, Connecticut, and with a wide view of Long Island Sound, this house was purchased and...

1:14 AM