Wednesday, 30 June 2010

Interior Designer Nathalie Vingot Mai

Today I would like to introduce you to talented interior designer Nathalie Vingot Mei.
Located near Aix en Provence, she takes on the whole creative process : conception, conversion and fitting out of interior spaces. She also owns a boutique in Bonnieux called Villa Médicis dedicated to antique furniture and objects. She works hard as she strips, sands down and patinates old furniture and objects. Nathalie also creates patinas and other wax coatings for wood and walls, which she enhances with ochres and off-whites, and whose uneven surface catches the light so beautifully.

This is her work.

















All images from her portfolio right here.

Lakefront House in Seattle

Architect Gregory J. Bader was in charge of renovating this shingle style house in Seattle. The interiors were decorated by Axel Vervoordt. Warm colours and elegant lines define this home with stunning views of Lake Washington. Let's take the tour.





Comfortable sofas and chairs are mixed with European antiques in the great room. An 18th-century French chest and a 1740s Italian settee flank the fireplace.


A banquette in the bay window with a stunning view of Lake Washington. An 18th-century beechwood-and-leather roundabout chair and a late-Victorian red leather barrel chair are grouped near a Regency center table.


Nineteenth-century equine paintings from the stables of a castle in Germany hang in the formal stair hall, which connects the entrance gallery with the library on the top floor. The 18th-century walnut chairs are French.


French doors open onto a terrace in the dining area on the main floor. An eclectic mix of antique seating surrounds the table. The chandelier, from the late 19th century, is Dutch.


A painting by Charles Joseph Watelet hangs above an 18th-century Venetian burl walnut desk in the library. The circa 1720 side chair is English.


A canopy bed made with circa 1780 English bedposts, a Louis XV chaise longue and a chest of drawers decorate the master bedroom on the top floor.


In the master bath, the floor and countertop are Carrara marble.


The rear elevation. The two angled wings are tied together by a terrace and broad staircases that lead down to the lawn.


Photography by Mary E. Nichols

All images and information from Architectural Digest.

Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Apartment in Sweden

Now let's visit bright apartment in Linnestaden. Much of the original turn of the century charm is preserved in the form of polished and treated wooden floors and parquet floors, moldings, and cast iron items. A small, sunny balcony facing the south, spacious, airy rooms and modern furniture make up this youthful apartment.


Välkommen till denna sekelskiftesdröm!

Högt & fritt läge med generöst ljusinsläpp


Vardagsrummet är runt med tre fönster i öster

Bakom vackra pardörrar ligger matsalen

Ena hörnet pryds av en vacker kakelugn

Med utgång till balkongen ligger matsalen

Här ryms många middagsgäster

Bevarad stuckatur & stavparkett i fiskbensläggning

Från detta rum nås även hallen


Från köket ser man in i matsalen & vardagsrummet

Rymlig balkong i öster med fri vy

Njut av det insynsskyddade lägetVita släta luckor & mosaik över arbetsbänken

I köket ryms ett rejält matbord

Två höga fönster & brädgolv

Lugnt beläget sovrum mot gården i väster

Här ryms gott & väl en dubbelsäng

Välkomnande hall med vacker stavparkett

Vacker fastighet mot hörnet av Kastellgatan

More images at real estate Alvhem site. Remember that once the property is sold the photographs are taken off their site.

Beachfront House in Southampton

Today dear readers I'm taking you to see this beachfront house in Southampton, New York. It was decorated by Mariette Himes Gomez, while architect John Mayfield redesigned the interiors although the main architecture of the house was not modified.



Splendid views with the Atlantic on one side and ponds on two others. The house is also sited so that you see the sun coming up and going down, and you don’t see any neighbors.


The pool faces a pond, instead of the ocean.


Five rocking chairs in this minimalist porch.


A Dutch door opens onto a landing, leading to stairs to the public spaces on the second floor and the private spaces on the first. “It’s an upside-down house,” Gomez remarks. Jasper Johns’s 1968 Black Numeral Series, lines the walls.


In the living room, as throughout, Gomez chose a palette of multiple whites. A 1960 Sam Francis lithograph is above a sculpture by Brine, an investment manager turned artist and owner of this house. A 1977 work by Frank Stella is at right.


The dining room chairs were designed by Gomez. Joseph Stella’s Hibiscus Flower, a 1944 watercolor, hangs above the mantel.


“It looks like something out of the Adirondacks and makes for another mood,” Gomez says of the family room. Mayfield sourced the structure from a barn company, built it backwards and then inserted it into the already constructed house.



Pains were taken not to obscure sight lines with draperies and instead many windows were left uncovered. The kitchen looks over the rear porch to the ocean.


Love this painted four-poster bed. Geometric-patterned wallcovering in the guest room.


A pine cabinet in the master bedroom giving the room height and balancing the windows.
Except for the dining room, every room has a crowded bookshelf and stacks of books on almost every table. The bedroom has no fewer than five different shades of white.

Photography by Durston Saylor

All images and information from Architectural Digest.


Monday, 28 June 2010

Modern Apartment in Spain

Good Monday morning to all my precious readers. Hope you had a sunny weekend. I like modern apartments when they are not extremely modern. Some classic lines mixed with modern furniture and lots of colourful accents in every room make this functional apartment in Spain both happy and inviting. Come and see if you like it.




casa













Nothig wrong about being a shoe lover but I think I'd fill those shelves with books instead!

Photography: Luis Visconti
All images from Casa Diez.