There is something about Scandinavian interior designers because most of the homes I’ve seen use white in excess, but not this Danish home. With a very good mix of modern and classic, and a lot of white furnishings it still managed to amazed me when I saw how they used colorful accents to suppress all that white. Some of the things I really love about it, includes the kitchen flooring, the simple living room, those pillows and the working space with the red chairs.
Even though they are visual details, if I were to change something, it would be the pictures on the walls. Great for all those looking for inspiration for their kitchen or on how to use as much white as possible.

Would you live in a home that’s so white? - via Style-Files

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Adding Colorful Accents into a White Danish Home

In Albert Park, Australia, architect Matt Gibson came up with a great design for George Residential, with a a classic Victorian workers cottage look on the front and a contemporary terrace at the back end. Combined as a metaphorical bridge of history between the front and the rear, the house has a minimalist design with a huge livingroom with an LCD to spend some quality time, a beautiful wooden kitchen with well defined shapes and all the needed utensils and a concealed fold away door that makes the connection with the back terrace. Both the colors and the materials seem to bond really well to creating a warm modern home. I’d really wish to know how much they spent to have George Residential like that! - via Momoy

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George Residential by Matt Gibson

If you’ve ever wanted a really nice pool for your house what you’re gonna see today might be a design that you’ll love. This is a creation of Taiwanese sculptor/artist Ju Ming and is called the “Zipper Pond“. This creative lotus pond is now one of the feature attractions of the Juming Museum, located in Taiwan, and I’m pretty sure that a lot of pictures were made in this place. Finally if you were looking for a really cool pool design and you couldn’t found one to impress you, then I hope that this one at least inspired you.

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One Really Cool Idea for an Original Swimming Pool

You must all know of the most wonderful blog, Mrs. Blandings by now. It is the creation of the beautiful and talented Patricia Shackelford. So, when I was having my breakfast of Shredded Wheat and Orange Juice, reading the Sacramento Bee on Saturday morning, I was instantly captured by the article by Paula Lloyd titled: "Cary Grant and Myrna Loy lived in the Fresno Home - sort of".

It seems that there are houses that have been modeled after the Mr. Blandings Dream House all over the country! Did you all know this, and I have just been out of the loop?! Apparently David O. Selznick and RKO Pictures P.R. Department cooked up a little publicity stunt. They produced copies of the original house plans created by set designer, Carroll Clark and sent them all over the country to contractors hoping to have Dream Houses built all over the place. 73 were actually built....one being in Fresno California (pictured above). The original owners allowed home tours for 25 cents back in the day. One of the funniest things was that the plans did not include closets or windows. Contractors were left to their own devices on these.

To read all about it, click here.

A fun way to start my sunny Saturday.

She had been writing, you see.  Travel writing.  She had been scribbling:  oh, this and that, yes, this and that.  She had just finished working on the Marrakech chapter and the Adventures chapter of the new Fodor's Guide to Morocco.  But there was more.  You see she did a bi-monthly city guide to Marrakech for a Spanish magazine.  And she wrote Moroccan feature stories and some not-so-feature-stories-but-nice-anyway stories.  And the editors put up with her quirky writing style.  And then they sent her the magazines with her articles, all fresh and new, and smelling like clean in big manila envelopes in the mail. 

Her kids thought it was pretty cool:-) 

A six-page cover story on henna......

A four-page story on Yves Saint Laurent's Majorelle Garden in Marrakech

A last page story on the Marrakech spice market, le souk des epices

Elle Decor, September 2008, Photo by Grey Crawford

What struck me about this space was not just the beautiful tub (Waterworks Candide tub), but the very beautiful and witty tub filler dreamed up by the home owners/designers Fisher Weisman. A stream of water flows down from a shell encrusted "chandelier" reminiscent of the unique creations of Tony Duquette. Question....just where does one turn it on? No matter...this is my idea of luxury.

Another of my favorite bath spaces was created by Vicente Wolf. I think that combining different styles and periods will always make a space more interesting, and Mr. Wolf accomplishes this with great style. His Baccarat sconces and English eighteenth century mirror are the perfect foil for the blue glass walls and contemporary concrete tub.

Another designer who never disappoints is Michael Smith. This example of his authentic style takes me to another time.... one where things were slower. And isn't that what one would want when trying to unwind in the tub? Look at the details: the basket of magazines, reading glasses on the stool, the fresh towels, slippers at the side of the tub. And of course Rover waiting patiently. Perfection. (All bath fittings and fixtures designed by Smith for Kohler).

House and Garden, December 2000, Photo by Melanie Acevedo

Veranda, January-February 2005, Photo by Hickey-Robertson

This bathroom has all of the elements necessary for a long relaxing soak. Designers, art dealers and home owners Cynthia Cage McClain and Robert McClain thought of everything: candles, reading material, a little wine, flowers. Mix these with such personal, beautiful art and photography, and one feels like this is really home.

House and Garden, October 2005, Photo by Francois Halard

Milan based designer Roberto Peregalli created this amazing Master Bath for Claudio and Maria Luti of the famous family firm Kartell, most well known today for the production of the Philippe Starck Ghost Chair. I love the Robust-patterned marble flooring with the striped Venetian stucco walls. The dramatic Carrara marble tub surround contrasts so wonderfully with the Kartell Eros chair here.

Veranda, September-October 2006, Photo by Alec Hemmer

This bathroom just says "California" to me. Designed by Napa Valley designer Barbara Colvin this space is beautifully done. I love the French Doors off the garden and the stone floors. The simple elegance and connection to the outdoors creates such a wonderful spa-like atmosphere.

House Beautiful, July 2006, Photo by Karyn R. Millet

One of designers I am following lately is Ken Fulk. This California designer created such a pleasing space here using the Vintage Bath form Kohler, the owner's leaded glass pendant, and the Greek Key trimmed Roman Shade. Victorian side chair from Swallowtail. Very pretty!

Southern Accents, September October 2008, Photo by Pieter Estersohn

I love this bath with it's Loius XIV mirror and antique Swedish chandelier. Designed by Amelia Handegan for a couple in Charleston, it has a very European flavor. The pale gray-blue and white palette with the pewter and gold metal colors seems to be something I am drawn to time and again.

Southern Accents, July-August 2008, Photo by Roger Davies

Phoebe Howard decorated this beautiful bathroom for a vacation house in Ponte Verde Beach, Florida. A custom mosaic floor and hand-painted mural are what make this bathroom unique. So very pretty. The tub in this room seems to show up quite often in bathrooms that catch my eye. It's classic style works in so many places. Like in this all white bathroom:

House Beautiful, November 2006. Photo by Pieter Estersohn

Sally Markham created this vision in white for a couple in Connecticut. White glass mosaic tile line the walls and the floor creating quite an ethereal effect. One could float away to dreamland here. The heart shaped chair becomes an exclamation point against this white palette. Lovely.

House and Garden, July 2005, Photo by William Abranowicz

In contrast to the more traditional western aesthetic, this bathroom incorporates a decidedly Eastern influence. The architect William McDonough creates a sanctuary in the style of a Japanese country house. One could sit forever in this custom tub from Concrete Works looking out at the meadow of native grasses on South Carolina coastal island.

House and Garden, July 2005, Photo by Jonn Coolidge

The Master Bath in this Spanish Colonial Revival home takes on the California Craftsman flavor through the artful use of custom tile by Ann Sacks. Designer Jarrett Hedborg created a wonderful, cozy bathtub alcove here. I love the arched window echoed on the interior with the tiled arch. Beautifully done!

Elle Decor, July-August 2005, Photo by William Waldron

This is such a fun loving design for a bathroom by designer Robert Couturier. He combines glass tile and mosaic pebble floors with fresh and vibrant colors. This tub is is the Paris tub by Water Monopoly.

Elle Decor, July 2003, Photo by Dominique Vorillon

Then we have the classic claw foot tub. There is a nostalgia about it that cannot be put aside. This beach house bathroom in Malibu designed by Kerry Joyce is brightened by the sunny yellow-painted tub. I love the mosaic floor with the label identifying it as the "boys" bathroom. The surfboard is a fun touch.

Elle Decor, August-September 2003, Photo by Simon Upton

Another example of the classic claw foot provides quite a contrast to the way it is used above. This elegant New Orleans bathroom was designed by Ann Holden of the two Ann's of New Orleans: Holden and Dupuy. I love the New Orleans feeling here of the rustic painted wood plank floors paired with the silk drapery panels. The claw foot here was found at a salvage shop. The sink and fittings were original to the house. I love the photo reflecting the room through the antique mirror.

This is a round-up of some of my favorite tubs and the spaces they occupy. To get going with your own private sanctuary, you can start by looking at the Waterworks website. Many of the tubs can be found there. And for those on a budget, salvage shops are a great way to go. I hope this room, one of the most often used, can become a place for more than just the everyday chore of getting "ready". I hope it can become a place to relax and spend some down time.

Oh yes, of course, she loved Marrakech.  After all, this blog wasn't called My Essaouira was it?  But there really was something about this coastal town that made her want to sell everything and become a gypsy.  And Essaouira's multitude charms seemed to be thrown into high relief when staying at the beauteous Dar Beida.

Now she had given you a glimpse of Dar Beida's loveliness before.  But that was by no means all........There was more, you see.  Much more. 

Now that's really quite a fantastical chair -- very Ethnic Nautical, don't you think? (ahem, what do you mean that's not a genre?).  oooh, and with that curtain!

And somehow the chair paired with this preppy striped blanket (Habitat) and leather and raffia Tuareg carpet was just right.  And look at that beamed roof!

Dar Beida was a house for readers or perusers or simply flippers of pages.  The bookshelves were well stocked and the design magazines were abundant (including all those delicious, expensive mags from the UK) ..........Why ever leave? 

One of the bedrooms had a mezzanine all its own.  How very fun.  Did she mention that the owners had designed the fab felt rugs themselves? Sigh, these over-industrious creative types.....

A darling little salon with white leather poufs, African art, and one of the house's grotto like fireplaces........

Eeek, she could barely stand the fabulousness of this room, which was really an inner courtyard.   The swing (!),  the amazing signage, the fanciful candelabra, and that mod coffee table.  Really, living in a place like this could take ten years off of you, don't you think?

oh, all the quirky little details...........like these vintage toys displayed over a generous CD collection.

Real Saarinen, real Jacobsen, real Panton..........thrown together in the very most casual manner.  And don't even get her started on the oversized Tunisian birdcage found in the souk somehow (?!) .

And to the other side.........the cuisine, where one could cook, or in the blogging girl's case, pretend to cook..........

The blogging girl loved this.....oh, don't get all fidgety -- no animals were harmed for this montage:  they were all found in the Sahara desert.

Well.......she was off to sit on the terrace, under the ahem, Ethnic Nautical gazebo (that the owners had built themselves in a fit of over-achievement:))

Dar Beida, Essaouira, rented in its entirety

emma@castlesinthesand.com

mobile:  +212/67965386

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PS  Check out this (at the very bottom of the post) to see a vintage Moroccan wedding blanket displayed in situ in Allegra's home of  Beading Stars.

It was hot in Marrakech.  Oh, very hot.  So she escaped to that town on the Moroccan coast, Essaouira, her favorite Summertime (and anytime) haunt. 

Now she was no longer a Spring chicken (sadly, so sadly).  And so she had stayed in quite a few guest houses and hotels in her time.  Some luxurious with down pillows and beautiful bath products and some......well, not much better than sleeping on the floor of the bus station (oh dear). 

But had she ever stayed anywhere - anywhere at all -  like Dar Beida?  No never.  It was organic and Moroccan and African and modern and high/lo all at the same time.  This was the sort of place that you could imagine yourself staying in, well, forever.  This little house on four floors was so lovely, that she promptly began thinking up all her best arguments to get the British owners to sell it to her.  (My, weren't they tired of Morocco yet?  What did they mean, No?)

It was all in the details, you see.  Now she couldn't possibly share them all in one batch.  But here's a few to start..........

A charming place to hang the house keys........Each key with a treasure from nature attached.

Two chairs in the entry where you could sit and gaze at.......

This darling little rustic steer display....The blogging girl was quite fond of cows, and this suited her to a tee.

There was an interior courtyard in the center of Dar Beida and African art placed here and there. (The girl had her very own body masks like the one in this image that she had collected in Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya.)

Oh yes, please do perch on this little  stool and read from the enormous trove of interior design magazines...........Heaven!

This vintage African chair was covered entirely with tiny beads.  How very amazing. 

The chair was in this charming little bedroom.  The bed was covered with a fine wool vintage haik, worn by Moroccan women once upon a time.  (The girl had several of these horded for her shop.)

Oh the view from the roof terrace......She could smell the sea.  (And the girl had these very same mod chairs for the roof of Peacock Pavilions.  Could it be that Dar Beida had everything she liked?)

The girl sat and talked on the phone while checking her Blackberry.  She told everyone she might be staying in Essaouira for a good, long time...........Could she be a stowaway at Dar Beida?

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Dar Beida, Essaouira, rented only in its entirety (which is a good thing because you'll want it all for yourself...)

emma@castlesinthesand.com

mobile:  +212/67965386

In spite of their torturous heel placement and the fact that they run ridiculously narrow, I love Christian Louboutin’s shoes. The man owns homes in Egypt, Paris, Portugal and the French countryside, so like the shoes he designs, he is ridiculously extravagant, but the resultant beauty seems worth the high-maintenance issues. I’ve seen his Egyptian sailboat featured here, but I had not seen his 13th century French chateau until I finally cracked open the October issue of In Style. It’s dreamy, and he accomplished his mission of making the place look like it “belongs to a family that has been traveling and accumulating for decades.”

Louboutin has such a wise attitude concerning what makes a house a home, and the value of the signs of age and life. I recommend picking up the issue just to read what he has to say about decorating.

all photos shot by Francois Halard for In Style Magazine.

Not everything that makes a room appealing costs a great deal of money. Some things cost a lot of money, some very little, some none at all. These are the details that make the difference between a perfectly nice room and one that is full of life and charm.

For instance: I’ve always believed that architecture is more important than decoration. Scale and proportion give everlasting satisfaction that cannot be achieved by only icing the cake.

-Billy Baldwin in BILLY BALDWIN decorates*

Isn’t it amazing to see how many of the elements Baldwin used are still popular today? The man sure knew how to arrange a tablescape as well! Details, details, details!

*hmmm, by the way, I cannot quite tell from the amazon.com link above if the book is being re-released soon. The listing I found implies that it is, but I could not find out anymore information about it.

quote and  photos from BILLY BALDWIN decorates

From Julie:

Fernlund + Logan—a New York City firm that counts design god Ted Muehling among its clients—creates a thoroughly mod interior within a classic Manhattan townhouse, mixing classics (a Le Corbusier LC4 chaise) with future classics (Jasper Morrison Glo-Ball lights and a Marcel Wanders New Antiques table). Candelabras and a ghoulish crucifix over the mantle add an edgy note. Photos by Herman Verne.

Below: Recreate the look with the Le Corbusier LC4 Chaise Longue in natural canvas with black leather headrest and matte black enamel steel base; $2,585 at Design Within Reach.

Below L: Felted Wool Stones, $298 for small, $495 for medium, and $595 for large at Viva Terra. Below R: Gray Ludde Sheepskin, similar to the one draped on the Le Corbusier chaise; $39.99 at Ikea.

Below: Marcel Wanders New Antiques table for Cappellini; $2,529 at Unica Home.

Below: The Moroccan Zig-Zag Rug, handknotted in ivory and chocolate wool, starts at $1,825 for the 9-by-12-foot size at Williams-Sonoma Home.

Below L: Designed in 1962 by brothers Achille Castiglione and Pier Giacomo Castiglione, the Toio Floor Lamp was inspired by a car headlamp; $1,212 at Design Within Reach. Below R: Jasper Morrison’s large Glo-Ball Basic 2 Table Lamp by Flos is $872 at Lumens; Glo-Ball Basic 1 Table Lamp, a smaller version, is $596 at Lumens.

Below: The formidable (and formidably priced) Dorian Table by Dominique Matthieu features curvy lacquered legs and a heavy glass top; $10,500 at Conran USA; available in black or red.

Below: Beech Black Enamel Bentwood Chairs; $79 each at Kurt Peterson.

From Julie:

To be filed under: Every house needs a piece by Thonet. This licensed reproduction S 6653/18 Cane Seat Bentwood Settee is both modern and traditional. It’s $1,494 at Bauhaus 2 Your House.

From Sarah:

We’ve had our eye on the Ikea PS Ellan Rocker for a while now; we especially love the way it looks as a suite of outdoor dining chairs at Brooklyn designer David Weeks’ upstate New York farmhouse. Made of wood plastic composite, the rocker costs $39.99. Via Cookie Magazine.

From Sarah:

We approach the coffee table category with trepidation: passions run high when it comes to the “drinks table.” We’ve narrowed this post to simple wood coffee tables, midcentury classics mixed with a few contemporary interpretations.

Below: Ligna Coffee Table from Belgium with solid oak top and stainless-steel frame; $2,150 from Lekker Home.

Below: The classic and unassailable Eames Molded Plywood Coffee Table. $799 from DWR; available in ash, ebony, natural cherry, or walnut.

Below: We love the Terence Conran–designed Roller Coffee Table with solid oak top and rubber wheels; $2,250 at Conran.

Below: Solid maple Nelson Bench from Room & Board; available in three lengths, starting at $699 for the 48-inch size.

Below: The Cubic Coffee Table Rectangle of oak veneer with a steel base is $750 at Design Within Reach.

Below: Hans Wegner ch008 Low Table available in ash, oak, or walnut and in several sizes; prices start at $1,640 at Hive Modern.

Below: The Stockholm Coffee Table features a sleek mid-century profile; $199 at Ikea.

Below: The Tiago Coffee Table from Crate and Barrel. Bamboo top with black steel frame for $299.

Below: The soigné Atlantico 010 Coffee table by De La Espada is $1,095 at Bluehouse.

Below: Perfection does exist in this life: in the form of the CT01 Basso coffee table from German-based e15, one of our favorite furniture purveyors. Cut through the red tape and contact our friends at 14Feet for ordering and shipping information.

  

I really enjoyed checking out this house by Greico Designers/Builders. I get a lot of submissions with magazine-ready photos, but these non-professional photos are endearing because they are much more realistic. I like the “what you see is what you get” or “celebrities without makeup” approach.

http://www.greicohomes.com

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