Door (Archway) of the Day

I LOVE this archway, in interior designer Robert Kristiansen's summer home outside of Oslo.  There's something about it that simultaneously welcoming and dramatic.

Bonus from the same home: this little alcove bed is in a hallway.  What a clever use of space!  Apparently beds like this are fairly common in Norwegian homes.  Ten points to Norway.

door of the day

I was scrolling through the latest post on Young House Love, when that incredible door caught my eye.  I sent a quick prayer to the Internet gods that John and Sherry would take a close-up of it, and they quickly provided.  In fact, not only did we get a close-up, we got an explanation.

Of course, the most popular conversation piece in their new home is this custom cabinet. Most of the houses in the development have a little builder-basic white closet here, but the previous owners went all out and had a piece designed using reclaimed wood and ironwork from Caravati’s (a local architectural salvage place).

That's my kind of cabinet, man.  And a really great attitude to have about a new house.  Not married to the plain white everywhere you look?  Throw up an old, funky blue alternative.

room love

Would you check out this room?  There is absolutely nothing I don't love about this room.

I think it's somewhere between those blue chairs and the big star pillow on the couch.

In Abigail Ahern's home in London, courtesy of The Selby.  The whole house is lovely, but oh! that room.

deco hearth

How lovely is the original Art Deco hearth in Claire Morris' home?  I can't get enough of it.

rather cozy

"I have always liked decorating my small apartments as though they are just a few of the rooms in a much larger house, so you have the feeling that you could, should you want to, wander off to the drawing room, library, dining room, but for the moment are just choosing to be in this rather cozy study." - Rita Konig

This is maybe the best decorating advice I've ever read.

from NY Mag, via Katie

days of heaven

A couple years back I dated a guy who was a total cinemaphile, and when the Criterion edition of Days of Heaven came out, let me tell you, we were at the nearest Best Buy to pick it up, hoo-boy.  We headed straight back to my house to watch it, and when it was over, he asked me what I thought of it.  My reply was, "The interiors were incredible!" which probably wasn't the response he was going for, but I think he was just glad I wasn't traumatized, like I was after we watched Punch-Drunk Love.

I kind of thought I was the only one to have noticed the interiors (keep in mind that I was the only person of my acquaintance who'd even seen the film), but apparently I am not.  It's no secret that I love Amy Merrick's Living In series for Design*Sponge, and, as usual, she is spot-on.

I really wanted to move into that house, and her picks totally reinforce that desire.

porthole

This is fantastic. The books, the chairs, the floor, THE DOOR. I am calling this a Porthole Door because I cannot find anything with a real name (although I now know that all pressure vessels have round or oval doors. wooooo thank you internet). I don't know what would possess someone to put a door like this in their library, but I want a shot of it because it is awesome.

from photographer David Tsay via sfgirlbybay

stuff and stuff

I kind of love how Thomas Dozol and Michael Stipe don't have just one of anything in their home. And it's all stacks and piles and mess and it shouldn't be attractive but it is.
Featured on The Selby.

airspace

I love the little decorative elements in these Airspace properties, which are beautifully styled and available for use in photo shoots.

This is the Castlebar Cabin, a lovely little one-room structure on the property of Castlebar in West London. I love the single green wall against the white of the floors and other walls, the colored glass in the windows (not to mention the ironwork and those shutters!), the perfectly placed single empty frame, and the pretty paisley bedspreads. The hanging watering cans and baskets round out the whole space.

It's probably no surprise that the other space that caught my eye is heavy on industrial brick, wood, and metal. Plus: spiral staircase. I'm less eloquent on the parts of this I like because it's more the overall feeling that draws me. Warm and worn. This is located in North London, and is quite large. The webpage gives a more comprehensive look at its 3 stories.

Airspace found via Katy Elliot.

the colors, Duke, the colors!

So I've had mad colors on the brain since deciding that the mustard-yellow walls of my bedroom had to go. Fortunately, the internet is accommodating my mindset.

both from the style files, images from Danielle's recent trip to Istanbul

also from the style files, photo by Vincent Leroux

hula seventy: green monday

hula seventy: yellow tuesday

hula seventy: orange wednesday

hula seventy: pink/red thursday

hula seventy: blue friday

Then there's always Chris Cobb's bookstore organisation project, which I read about in Neil's journal ages ago. Now that was colorful.

there is nothing wrong in the whole wide world flickr set

And the home-grown version:

from chotda's photostream

Ah, internet. As always, you provide me with far more inspiration than I know what to do with.

ps: did you get the reference? Yeah, I'm a child of the 90s.

Chill Out

A family I used to babysit for had an old retro Chevy Bel Aire fridge in their garage, and I loved it. I was always finding excuses to retrieve things from the garage in order to play with the fridge. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see an ad for one of these in a magazine I was reading at work:
This is a Big Chill Fridge, specifically modeled after the 1957 Chevy Bel Aire Fridge by two guys who love their appliances retro. And so do I! I want one! I want 10!

But first I need a house.