Thursday, September 27, 2007

Home Inspiration

Tyson suggested I post a few pics of the sort things I was thinking about for my house, to give you guys an idea. Here's a few things to whet your appetites. Some I own, a couple I'd like to buy, and a few others are just to give you an idea of the sort of things I like.

1. Eileen Gray height adjustable side table.
(I'm the lucky owner of one of these. Gray was a member of the Bauhaus movement and this table designed in 1927 is one of her most famous pieces.)



2. Art Deco smoker's table.
(I found this pic on eBay, and it is exactly the same design as the table top of my table. Someone has removed this top off of its pedestal base at some point and converted it into just a mirror. Mine is still in the original condition, including the swing arm ashtray on one side.)



3. Scandi sofa from Freedom Furniture
(Sorry about the tiny, crappy pic but I had to cut this from their online catalogue. The 2.5 seater has a solid 5 button back, and two seat cushions. I've seen it in the store and it has a nice subtle retro look, without being twee or too bulky. Plus at around $900 it's a pretty good price. I'm not sure what colour I'd go for, maybe a sort of neutral natural linen colour that I can put more colourful throw pillows on.)



4. Isamu Noguchi coffee table
(I love this table, however, I have a bit of a hang up/phobia about glass coffee tables - I always picture myself falling through them for some reason. Irrational I know. Having said that, I'd probably deal with it just to have something this lovely in my house.)



5. Colour!
I quite like neutral tones with accents of strong colour; fresh leaf greens, darker reds, warm orange. My living room is painted a neutral colour called 'Leek', which is basically an off-white with a light tint of green, and one end wall is a deep venetian red called 'Seductress' (don't you love it?). I'm thinking of repainting my currently yellowy cream coloured bedroom (yucky) a similiar colour to the 'Leek'. I have an open fireplace in my bedroom that has a beautiful warm timber coloured mantle above it, and I think this smaller wall is just screaming out to be painted a lovely fresh green. The alternative would be a warmer neutral main colour, and maybe a sort of kumquat orange above the fireplace.

6. Bedroom desk chair
(I quite like this new Jakob chair from IKEA, and at $180 it's very reasonable. I know it looks like I like a lot of chrome furntiure so far, but I'd mix it up with warm timbers to make it all look less clinical.)



7. Inspirational homes.
There are lots of these!

I don't want to copy it, but I like the general style of Nicole & Brandon's house from Apartment Therapy Chicago. Clean lines, warm timbers, colour, a mix of modern and traditional, cool artwork. They even have the same IKEA 'Jakob' chair in their home office. Here's a whole bunch of thumbnails and Nicole has blogged about their home renovation on her blog Making It Lovely.

I hope this gives you a general idea Tyson!

9 comments:

Thombeau said...

So, streamlined, clean lines are the thing. Fabulous! (No wonder you were appalled by those lamps!) How big a space do you have to work with? Are there shelves or a fireplace to deal with? What about windows? Wood floors or carpet? Does the carpet match the drapes? Just curious...

The Other Andrew said...

My house is small, it's a renovated Victorian era worker's cottage. It was orginally two rooms (a parlour and a bedroom, both with fireplaces and both now bedrooms) off of a left side hallway. Then you step down a step into a built on kitchen. Decades later a living room and bathroom/laundry were added, which you access by walking through the kitchen. Originally the loo would have been at the bottom of the garden (that's why all the streets around my place have rear lanes, so the 'night soil' collectors could take away the 'pans', there was no piped sewerage orgignally).

The entire thing is long and narrow. I should measure up and work out a proper floorplan some time!

So it's small. The bedrooms are both carpeted (neutral pale greige), but the rest of the house is polished floorboards. The old part of the house has ornate cornices and ceiling roses and high ceilings, but the add ons are plain with lower ceilings. It's nice. I would like 1 more room though, for an office/storage.

Thombeau said...

Small, but it sounds like you have plenty to work with. It'll be fun! (Well, as much fun as something that isn't really fun can be. Perhaps satisfying is a better word!)

You would have loved my last apartment; all of my friends called it "The Hobbit Hole", as it was covered in vines, and the ceilings and doorways were very low (it was a "garden apartment"). Woe to the person over 6 feet tall who entered therein!

I have a lot of mid-century items, and a lot of buddhist and hindu paraphernalia, so my motif was that of an artist from the 1950s who spent a lot of time in Asia. It was fabulous!

As for the next place, who knows?

The Other Andrew said...

Sounds great! Sounds perfect in fact. :)

Thombeau said...

What you need is for Andrew Dan-Jumbo and Nate Berkus to come over and "lend a hand"!

The Other Andrew said...

I need Nate. I really, really need Nate!

Unknown said...

Lovely!

Just let me know when you kick out your flatmate and need me to come and join you in Newtown.

mrpeenee said...

It sounds totally charming. A fireplace in your bedroom is such a luxury, even if you never use it. Just the decorative power of it.

Room and Board http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/ is very nice for the kind of pieces you're talking about.

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