House Beautiful: Punches of Color

I like the bold pops of color in this interior, and especially dig the pattern that's been added to the backs of the bookshelves.

Images from House Beautiful May 2012.  Interior design by Christina Murphy.  Photographs by Jonny Valiant.

Color Files: House Beautiful - Layer With a Global Mix

Great use of color and mixing of textiles in this project.  There's a lot going on in these photos, they're a bit of a departure from my usual preferences of simple palettes with an emphasis on natural materials and very sparing use of color.  Although there is more color here, the palette is still restrained to a range of purples and reds and neutrals.  GREAT rugs.  And I am dying for this bathroom.

Images from House Beautiful June 2012, Layer With a Global Mix.  Interior design by Betsy Burnham.  Photos by Amy Neunsinger.

More images of the project after the jump...

Instant Attraction: Barn Raising (New York Times)

This beautiful barn was featured on the New York Time blog on May 4, 2012. It's so beautiful, with those big windows, and the light, bright (yet not stark) interiors. With all of the Marimekko and that sophisticated Scandinavian look, it's no surprise that one of the owners, Tiina Laakkonen, is Finnish (and a stylist at that).  And she has a great philosophy on design. In the article she says that she likes "when you can still see the person’s hand in things. Anything that is made by hand will age better than something that has been manufactured."  Love it.

More pics of this Amagansett home below and on the NYT blog.  All photos from www.tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com.

Fish Scales!

Jarrod Lim - Koi Lounge Chair; Property

I've been seeing fish scale patterns popping up everywhere lately, and I'm loving it.  That chair above is amazing.  Here's another fun shot.  Check out those shadows!  More fish scale items below...

African Wave wall stencil from royaldesignstencils on Etsy.

Mansour Modern, Ben Soleimani Hyde Collection Zeus Black Rug

Mecox Gardens - Fishscale Chest of Drawers

Plantation - Lafayette Side Table

Kitchen with fish scale wall pattern - Sorry, I don't know the designer.  I know I have

seen this image before, though, so I will keep digging!

Emily Summers' powder room

I love the simple, clean luxury of this powder room (especially the wallpaper!) from the home of Emily Summers, as featured in Architectural Digest, April 2012.  Photo by Nikolas Koenig.

Wallcovering by Cannon/Bullock; pendant light by Gunther Leuchtmann, from Plug, vintage mirror, Kohler faucet.

Instant Attraction: Craftsman Bungalow by Nickey Kehoe

This beautiful overhaul of the interior of a Craftsman bungalow in Venice, CA by Nickey Kehoe was featured in the February 2012 issue of House Beautiful.  The designers began by brightening up the interiors with white paint, which neutralized the Craftsman architecture.  They highlighted ceiling beams and mouldings with black paint and grounded the rooms with deep brown black wood floors, then added a beautiful selection of furniture and textiles.  I love the the black, white, and muted neutral palette with pops of the right colors.  

House Beautiful has posted a video showing before an after shots of this project so you can see just how incredible the transformation was.

Photos by Amy Neunsinger, scanned from House Beautiful.  More photos of this project after the jump.

Stuff I Found While Looking for Florals

While I was trolling the web for acceptable florals I found a bunch of other cool wallpapers.  The one shown above is Mountain Majesty by Flavor Paper, designed by Boone Speed.  The rest after the jump.

Florals That Won't Make Your Eyes Bleed

Malvasia by Rubelli.  Stamped velvet.  Shown in Morandi.  Image from www.rubelli.com.

If you're like me, the thought of florals can give you hives.  Remedy that with this selection of highly likeable floral wallpapers and textiles.  I think the key with florals is to either keep them unrealistic in some way (for example by abstractly painting them or playing with scale, color, or repeat) or to portray them hyper-realistically, with almost scientific detail.

See more examples of successful florals after the jump.

Good Idea: Photo Explosion

I love this image, but I'm not sure whether it's something I could stick with for a long time.  It works though, because all of the photos and postcards are roughly the same size.  That keeps it from looking cluttered and messy.

Photo scanned from Living Etc January 2012.

CUSTHOM wall coverings and prints

CUSTHOM is a British design collective that creates a variety of products, including ceramics, textiles, and their standout wallpapers and art prints.  Their CMYK embroidered print is shown above, at left (detail at right). 

Some shots of their lovely wallpapers and another print after the jump...

De Gourney Fishes handpainted wallpaper.  Photo taken from elledecor.com.  Photo by William Waldron.

Day and Night

Stella wallpaper by Studio E Inc.  Available in other colorways.

Love this modern floral wallpaper.  Jangala Rose by Osborne & Little.

Interior design by Ann Wolf.  I love the perfect shade of gray in the bedroom and the patterned wallpaper backing the shelves in this study.

Benjamin Moore Gray Owl. 
Twigs' Pheasant wallpaper.

Textiles and wallcoverings: House Beautiful April 2011

Hand Made wallpaper.

Balloons wallpaper.

Rug, Doug and Gene Meyer for Niba

Élitis wallpaper and wallcoverings

hip prints, beautiful colors, textures, fabrics (leather, painted canvas, plant based materials)

Harlequin wallpaper

From the boutique collection.