In the late 1930s, a group of émigré European Modernists—Marcel Breuer, Serge Chermayeff, Walter Gropius, and Eero Saarinan—began to build summer homes on Outer Cape Cod, mostly in Wellfleet.

"Though humble in budget, materials, and environmental impact, the Outer Cape’s Modern houses manage to be manifestos of their designers' philosophy and way of living, close to nature, immersed in art, and seeking community," according to the Cape Cod Modern House Trust. Painter James Lechay (1907–2001) moved in the same circles; his house remains one of the best examples of modest Bauhaus architecture in town (it's also for rent seasonally; go to We Need a Vacation for information). For more photos, see Architect Visit: Midcentury Modern in Wellfleet by Hayden Walling; to read more about Hayden Walling, go to the CCMHT.

Create the low-key, modernist Outer Cape look with the following elements:

Above: For a similar lounge chair, Mies van der Rohe's classic Barcelona Chair, in ivory leather, is $5,271 from Design Within Reach. An alternative chair with a similar inspiration is Ikea's Pello Chair for $49.99.

Above: Crate & Barrel's Chasen 6-Foot Round Rug is $699.

Above: Modernica's Case Study Daybed has a frame available in classic, natural or walnut (shown) wood and with metal or bentwood legs; $1,895 from Mod Living.

Above: Ikea's Hektar Floor Lamp has an oversized shade and is made from steel, aluminum and an epoxy powder coating for $69.99.

Above: The Scissor Table is available from SF architect John Randolph and adjusts from 18 to 30 inches in height.

Above: Driftwood Birds by Osamu Harihara; contact Niagara House directly for information.

Above: The Regolit Pendant Lamp Shades are $5 from Ikea.

Above: e15's CP03 Kavir Carpet by Farah Ebrahimi features a single-toned surface with contrasting fringe detail at either end. The carpets are available in Antique Pink with Luminous Red (shown) and other color combinations. Visit e15 for dealer information and read more at CP03 Kavir Carpets from e15 in Germany.

Above: Saarinen's 42-Inch Round Dining Table from the famed Pedestal Collection is $2,005 from Knoll.

Above: An update on the classic Anglepoise lamp designed in 1932 by automotive engineer George Cardwardine, the Type 75 Desk Lamp in white is $165 from Horne. Read more from our previous post: 10 Easy Pieces: Best Architect's Lamps.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on August 17, 2010.

Davide Berruto of Envronment, the LA-based store that brings high design to sustainably made furniture, teamed up with Outofstock, a young design collective based in Singapore after meeting them at Salone in Milan. The result? An elegant table lamp inspired by nautical beacons and marine buoys. The Boya Lamp is $360 at Environment.

Photography by Brandon Friend Solis.

Above: The Boya lamp comes in two choices of turned solid wood: natural maple (shown here) or reclaimed American oak.

Above. The lamp shade is made from gray tinted blown glass.

For more nautical inspired lighting, see Fleet Objects' ceramic Fishing Float Marine Lamps.

Artists and architects have forever shared a passion for light, composition and space  Here are 10 favorite art studios designed by architects. 

Above: In his new vast studio/office on La Cinega Boulevard in Los Angeles, architect and designer Jamie Bush has set aside an area for an artist studio where he paints. Image via Veranda. 

Above: In this East Hampton, Long Island, art studio by BWArchitects, clerestory windows bring diffused northern light into the studio's large rectangular space. 

Above: Annabelle Selldorf designed a house and studio inspired by typical New England farm structures for artist David Salle.

Above: Norway-based architect Todd Saunders was commissioned by the Fogo Island Arts Corporation to design six artist studios for their residency program. The contemporary design of the studios was built with local woodworking traditions and take advantage of the views of the Newfoundland Coastline. 

Above: London based Threefold Architects designed an art studio that was based on the local rural farmhouse/barn vernacular of Norfolk, England, and inspired by modern architecture at the same time; a design that was simple enough for their clients to build themselves. See A Build-Your-Own Art Studio in Norfolk, UK for more. Image by Charles Hosea via Dezeen.

Above: Drawing on the vernacular of 19th century shingled farmhouse of the surrounding Berkshire Mountains, Deborah Berke Partners creates a modest artist's studio.

Above: In Seattle, Washington, Olson Kundig Architects created an artist studio from two bays of a warehouse. Photograph by Tim Bies via Olson Kundig Architects. 

Above: New Zealand-based Ashley Cox Architect designed this artist studio that follows the topography of the hill on which it is sited with three level changes. Diffused light comes in from above while windows on the side look out into the courtyard. Image by Paul Mccredie via Design Boom. 

Above: In Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, Moger Mehrhof Architects gracefully rotated this studio addition from the main house in order to capture the appropriate light for a painting studio. 

Above: Mell Lawrence Architects, based in Austin, Texas, used glazed garage doors to bring light into this artist studio. Photograph by Allison Cartwright via Mell Lawrence Architects. 

Interested in more? Bob Colacello's book Studios by the Sea profiles the studios and houses of the legendary artists of Long Island, from Pollock to Warhol to Schnabel and more ($121 at Amazon).

See what Remodelista Architect and Designer Directory members have to say about selecting, framing and hanging art in their clients' homes. 

"Everyone's idea of luxury is different," says Barbara Chambers of Chambers + Chambers Architects. "Some clients want a wine cellar, some want a large walk-in closet." For one Mill Valley couple, who live in an open-plan house set on a woodland site, luxury meant a spa-like master bath with a Japanese soaking tub.

Established in 1989, Chambers + Chambers is a boutique firm with a residential focus and a traditional bent. Chambers, who studied painting and interior design before receiving her masters in architecture from the University of Colorado in Boulder, "finds design inspiration from her love of antiques, sculpture, art, and travel," and has practiced in Marin County for more than two decades.

For this project, a remodel of a family house with an open floor plan set on a redwood-shaded lot not far from the town of Mill Valley, Chambers was tasked with creating a comfortable, livable, and welcoming environment. The clients, a couple with children, pets, and a penchant for entertaining, wanted their master bath to function as a serene sanctuary: "a calm and comfortable retreat." Mission accomplished.

Photography by John Merkl for Chambers + Chambers Architects.

Above: "The master bath features a custom Calacatta his-and-hers marble-topped vanity. The mirrors are recessed medicine cabinets and the modern light fixtures are by Y Lighting." The solid-paneled custom walls were created by the project contractors, Rasmussen Construction.

Above: The deck-mounted sinks are from Duravit and the plumbing fixtures and accessories are by Lefroy Brooks. 

Above: The floor tile is 3/8-by-3/8-inch Calacatta marble. The handmade wall tiles are from Point Reyes-based Blue Slide Art Tile.  

Above: The homeowner had admired Japanese soaking tubs on her travels. The fabric window shades are custom: "We wanted them to be soft and discreet," Chambers says.

Above: The soaking tub set in a bed of river stones.

See all 11 winners of the Remodelista Considered Design Awards here and look for each project profile to publish over the next few weeks.

Californian sculptor and artist Richard Carter restores a farmhouse with painstaking attention to detail, embracing its natural imperfections to create a simple home where humble materials take center stage.

The 1903 property sits on 85 rolling acres at the bottom of a ravine in Pope Valley, located to the east of Napa; unlike its more glamorous neighbor, the area is a curious mixture of extremes, where trailer homes and cattle sit side-by-side with landed gentry and well-tended horses. Carter purchased the house from the original family of owners, who raised 11 children on the premises; the original property included an array of sheds and barns that have since been converted into a studio and residences. (Carter is both mentor and tutor to several students who live on the ranch.) A former barn houses several wood-burning kilns built by Carter and his students and are used for frequent firings.

Carter’s own work includes large grid installations of tiles with distressed surfaces and rough stoneware clay balls embedded with quartz with fissured surfaces. His artistry extends to his domestic environs, which he has carefully restored in a way that makes the buildings look like they have been there forever. As a former student says, “This place is Carter’s canvas; every detail considered and attended to as part of his daily routine.”

Photography by Douglas Sterling for Remodelista.

Above: The flag pole was made by Carter from a fir sapling that had fallen on the property.

Above: A high performance semi-gloss enamel coating of Devoe paint was used on the deck. It is typically used for metals to prevent rust but works equally well on wood.

Above: Carter opened up the original flat, low ceilings in the dining and living rooms, revealing the pitch of the roof. He added insulation and then covered them in salvaged bead board. The glass Meridian Pendant Lamp above the table came from Sundance. The Adam and Eve piece on the wall above the cabinet is by Carter's former teacher and mentor Ken Ferguson, renowned in the field of ceramics.

Above: Carter restored the formerly bricked-up fireplace, creating a Rumford-style hearth (it's taller and shallower than a conventional fireplace and gives off an enormous amount of heat). He added a wooden mantelpiece, which serves as a display shelf for his collection of bottles and jars filled with objects ranging from marbles to arrowheads. The bear head above the mantlepiece is from Steed Fine Hoarding and Tack.

Above: A view from the porch into the dining room.

Above; Carter, who spent several years working at the original French Laundry (pre-Keller) is an avid cook and typically prepares meals and dines with his residents daily.

Above: Carter has an extensive collection of tableware including many pieces made by his students-in-residence over the years.

Above: The porch area houses a long dining table with wooden benches that came with the house. The large white shallow bowl on the table is one of Carter's pieces fired in his kiln (see Tabletop: Holiday Cocktail Party in Pope Valley). Carter collects antique flat milk glass shades, including the one shown here over the table.

Above: Carter found the dresser on the property and had it stripped and restored. Carter keeps three kerosene lamps, made in the US by Aladdin, on hand—a necessity as the power frequently goes out. The Amish rocker is from Pennsylvania; Carter picked up the Mexican bear rug from the 1920s at an antique store in Petaluma.

Above: Baskets and a wreath made from Napa Valley grape vines.

Above: Carter inherited the trunk from his great grandfather; a pile of ironstone plates sits atop, next to a work by Kenneth Ferguson.

Above: Carter sourced the cast iron hearth from Norwegian company Jøtul, which has been making them since 1853. (He also has one in the living room) The clay tile hanging on the wall is by Carter.

Above: Carter "has a thing for old chimneys," he salvaged the above chimney when a tree fell on neighbor's house (he plans to use it on the roof of his own house one of these days).

Above: One of the wooden houses for the artists-in-residence features an installation of old metal hub caps on the side, a relic from the former owners. The pile of chopped wood is from fallen trees on the land; wood is a constant necessity, both for heating the entire house and for firing the kilns.

Above: Much of the food eaten is sourced from the gardens above.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on January 26, 2012.

Daniera ter Haar and Christoph Brach of Eindhoven-based Raw Color studio have done it again—this time with an unexpected dye source: sawdust.

The "Paper Wood" project is a collaboration between Raw Color studio and paper craftsman Leo Hoegen of the Papierderij, who worked with Haar and Brach to preserve the woods' individual shades of color. Raw Color then selected five shades of wood (African Padauk and Wenge woods, Black Walnut, Chestnut and Spruce) and reduced them down into sawdust. The sawdust is then mixed with water to create a liquid dye and absorbed into the paper using a natural fixative. As with many of their projects (like their beet and cantalope colored scarves), we're thinking of trying this as a DIY project. For more information, visit Raw Color.

Above: The initial research phase of the project began with a look at a large sample of hardwoods and their color values.

Above: Pastel woods distilled down into dust particles reveal neutral shades on handmade paper.

Above: Leo Hoegen uses a production technique of last-cutting abstracted leafs on each tree type; shown above are European Spruce and African Padauk.

Above: The five final wood varieties.

Above: Woods shaved into dust, ready to become dye.

Above: The project was presented at Dutch Invertuals "A Matter of Time," while the pale paper project, called "Paper Shades," was shown at the duo exhibition at Otrascosas de Villarrosàs in Barcelona, Spain.

See our first post on Raw Color's studio in Creating the Ultimate Organic Dye. For more on natural dyes, visit our previous posts: Seasonal Vegetable Dyes, and at Easter: DIY All-Natural Easter Egg Dyes and Hibiscus-Dyed Easter Eggs (resulting in a surprisingly gothic color).

In his book Artists' Handmade Houses, writer Michael Gotkin takes us into the homes of thirteen artists and craftspeople in America (from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century), showing the private lives of people whose work we know well.

Above: Artists' Handmade Houses is $42.85 at Amazon.

Above: George Nakashima's simple Japanese styled kitchen.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on October 10, 2011.

San Francisco-based Shilpa Rathi returned to her native India to create her hand-blocked naturally dyed linens for her eco-friendly, eponymous line of bedding and pillows. Rathi, whose father owns a cotton mill in Central Maharashtra, tells us, "I grew up in India spending my entire childhood in a textile family listening to click-clacks of the looms, needles, and shuttles and playing amid the array of colored yarn and textiles." Tapping into her family heritage, Rathi works with artisan groups from all over India that specialize in traditional arts and age-old techniques (using cow-dung and natural bleaching from the sun) to create her line. Read on for her explanation of how the wood block patterns on the bedding are created.

Above: Euro Cushion Covers from the Wild Indigo Collection; $79.99 each.

Above: Raysha Sheet Set; $324.99.

Above: The woodblock prints are created with a hand carved wooden block of teak wood that is first cured, dried, and sanded before it is carved with a design. Color dyes for the hand blocking are taken from native flowers, leaves, and nuts sourced from all over India.

Above: Once the fabric is printed with different vegetable dyes to achieve a desired color and the pattern, it is washed by hand in a river, steamed, boiled, and sun dried. To minimize stains and smudges, the fabric needs to be laid out to dry on the just the right shade of sand.  Polka Dots Cushion Cover; $49.99.

Above: Belize Chauras Duvet Set; $499.99.

For more colorful Indian linens, check out John Robshaw.

When I was in my mid-twenties, I lived in a Bauhaus-style apartment with plaster walls that crumbled the minute I put a nail to one. The owners were nice enough and installed rods which allowed me to hang my art using invisible fishing line. Here are a few ideas for hanging art in an unconventional way.

Above: London-based artist Tracey Emin hangs her drawings from wooden slats attached to the ceiling. They were a gift from artist Gary Hume. Photograph by John Shand Kydd for the Wall Street Journal.

Above: James Huniford's hallway features art mounted on clipboards. Photograph by Pieter Estersohn for Elle Decor.

Above: Art hangs from a rod attached to the ceiling; via Canadian House and Home.

Above: Wooden clothes hangers display art prints and posters; photo via AT.

Above: An Ikea curtain wire (Dignitet) and office clips display a collection of children's art; photo via The Style Files.

Above: Skirt hangers hang from a wooden rack via Ikea Spotting.

N.B. This post is an update; the original ran on April 24, 2012.

Jamie Rosenthal, owner of Lost and Found in LA, first turned me on to Inn Paradiso in California's Central Valley (she's one of those people you listen to when she casually mentions something). So on a recent trip to LA, I took a detour via Paso Robles and headed straight to Inn Paradiso, family in tow. It did not disappoint.

The inn is a quirky combination of old-time-Big-Sur-meets-Gaudi-run-amok, but in a good way. Owners Steve Werndorf and Gisela Marin (the couple also owns Hotel Cielo Rojo in San Pancho, Mexico) bought the place a few years ago, after "trying not to buy it for a year and a half," as Steve told me. Lucky for us that he finally succumbed. Steve, who had his own graphic design firm in LA that specialized exclusively in designing movie posters, is an avid collector, and the inn is an effortless mix of vintage pieces, flea market finds, and original art and photography, resulting in an environment that is charmingly unexpected and uncontrived. Add a thick layer of laid-back bonhomie, and Inn Paradiso is one of those rare, eclectic places that reflect both the individuality and generosity of spirit of the owners. Well worth a detour. For more, visit Inn Paradiso.

Above: A board with rope knot pieces found at a local antique show sits above vintage metal seating from a store in Hollywood.

Above: Resident Italian greyhound Carlo Mollino at the entry to the great room of the Inn with a character reading machine on display for good measure.

Above: The great room with original stone fireplace and midcentury furnishings.

Above: A Murano lamp hangs on the wall above a tabletop telescope.

Above: A collection of black and white photographs in a reading corner with two chairs originally from a Japanese love hotel.

Above: An original 1959 Miles Davis concert poster.

Above: The wooden terrace outside the great room where breakfast, including housemade goat yogurt and granola, is served.

Above: The outdoor bar with metal luck letters on the wall was found at the local Remnants of the Pasts antique show in San Luis Obispo. Steve bought the old rope sack held together by twists of wire from designer John Dennis at the Rose Bowl.

Above: A Richard Avedon original poster from a Berkeley Art Museum exhibition in 1980.

Above: The bedroom in the Gaudi suite with a moody black bed spread. The adjoining shower is made from large rocks of Big Sur jade.

Above: A lamp assembled by Steve from a found sculptural wooden form and a vintage round-based lamp.

Above: Hammocks slung across the terrace overlooking the grounds.

Above: A pull out bar on the wall with help-yourself custom-made tequila from Mexico.

Above: A wrought iron balcony in one of the suites.

Above: The rooms feature Jon Robshaw bedding.

Above: Laundry drying in the gardens. The inn sits atop an oak knoll five minutes from downtown Paso Robles.

If you are heading to LA, see our posts on other places to stay.

Janet Bishop is the curator of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.  Her most recent exhibition—The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso, and the Parisian Avant-Garde—reunited the collections of Gertrude Stein and her family, who installed the art in their Paris apartments salon-style. We asked Janet to give us advice on how we should go about displaying art in our own homes. Here's what she has to say:

Above: Janet Bishop at SFMoMA, photo by Kat Wade for the San Francisco Chronicle.

• RM: Any advice on how to hang and display art? 

• JB: As a rule of thumb, hanging art on a center line of 58 to 60 inches works well.  When stacking or clustering works, take into account the total height, including the space you envision between the frames, and center that.  Of course there are adjustments to be made to accommodate furniture and whatever architectural detail the spaces might have. Hanging art in domestic spaces is trickier than working in the white box of the gallery.

Above: Photograph by Kristian Septimius via Arkpad.

• RM: Should we avoid sunlight?

• JB: You wouldn’t want to put works on paper or photographs in areas that are flooded with sunlight, especially watercolors or color photographs, which can easily fade. My flat is sunny and I gravitate to works on paper. Since I’m not as vigilant about rotating the art I live with as we are at SFMoMA, I pay a little more for UV Plexiglas when I get things framed.

Above: Paint color samples for the Steins Collect show. Read how Jennifer Sonderby, head of graphic design at SFMoMA, went about the process.

• RM: Gallery white? What color do you use and would you use it in a home?

• JB: At SFMoMA, our default color is a custom white by Dunn Edwards. Before our Third Street building opened, our exhibitions designer developed it with a paint specialist, taking into account the varied character of the art we show and the particular nature of our lighting.  Anyone can order it, but I prefer a little more tone on my walls at home.  My current favorite is Benjamin Moore’s Seapearl—a pale warm gray.  When my husband first painted a sample for me, he said, “Well, we’re certainly not going to shock the neighbors.”  I love the way art looks against it.   

• RM: Pet peeve?

• JB: It always makes me a little sad is when I visit a  lovely home that has no art at all—maybe some framed posters and family photographs, but not much more.

Above: Art displayed in Vanessa Bruno's Loft in Paris.

• RM: Art and scale—advice on how to live with large pieces of art?

• JB:  I like to see a mix of small and large works in a home—things that you need to get up close to in order to fully appreciate, and larger ones, that offer focal points in a room. For paintings or other works that are too tall to hang on a center line, it often works to place them around 15 inches off the floor.

Above: Sam Francis self-portraits framed by Peter Kirkeby.

• RM: Framing tips?

• JB: I generally prefer wooden frames with simple profiles that complement but don’t distract. Sterling Art Services has many options and does excellent work. I also really love Peter Kirkeby’s hardwood frames.  With works on paper, it is nice to float the whole sheet if you can rather than using an over-mat. And make sure there is a little space between the glazing and the surface of the artwork. Let the art breathe in its frame.

Mark Rothko's No. 14 at SFMoMA; photograph by Alex Fradkin.

• RM: Art on a budget?

• JB: Bay Area presses like Crown Point in San Francisco and Paulson Bott in Berkeley both work with terrific rosters of contemporary artists. Because the etchings are editioned, they tend to be reasonably priced compared to a drawing or painting by the same artist.  

Above: Oil, graphite on canvas by Kathryn VanDyke from an exhibition at Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco.

• RM: Your greatest art find?

• JB: The art that I have at home is mostly by friends or local artists I’ve worked with (or by my father-in-law, who made wooden birds and boat models). Some years back, I picked up three watercolors of spiderwebs by Kathryn VanDyke from a sale of postcard-sized art at Four Walls in San Francisco.  I'm pretty sure they were $2 each.  (Biggest gap between bill for art and bill for framing.)

Above: Tauba Auerbach “Tetrachromat” at Bergen Kunsthall via Mousse Magazine.

• RM: Whose work would you like to own now...(money no object).

• JB: I’d say one of Tauba Auerbach “Fold” paintings.  They are just stunningly beautiful.  Although I’d need a bigger house to go with it.

In Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, BWArchitects convert a former warehouse into an artist live/work studio on a large scale (think 6,000 square feet)..

With a retractable translucent wall that divides the living and working areas, BWArchitects navigate the separation between the two areas with skill and ease. While the two areas have a distinctly different look and feel, the two spaces are unified by the use of large-scale concrete slabs on the floor, harking back to the memory of the building’s previous industrial past. Our favorite part? The way the library stack storage in all the rooms takes advantage of the the tall ceiling heights. Unless otherwise noted, photographs via BWArchitects. 

Above: The use of wood cabinets and island in the kitchen add warmth to the living area.

Above: Stainless steel appliances and a white Corian countertop and backsplash complement the wood cabinets. 

Above: A stainless steel 'library' ladder facilitates access to upper storage cabinets. 

Above: Light from the skylights above the stairs pours into the studio through the retractable translucent walls.

Above: On the studio side, the HVAC ductwork is exposed. A ceiling height sliding wall is used for pinning up work.

Above: Full height Industrial shelving along one wall of the studio is also worktop space at desk height. Image via The Junk Haus. 

Above: In the office, the wood and painted black metal full height shelves take on a more traditional library aesthetic.

Above: Traditional carpets in hues of red and orange add warmth and texture to the concrete floor. 

Above: Light from above is brought down to the first floor through translucent stair treads. Large scale shades diffuse the direct light from the sun.

Above: A gap between the sink and cabinets in the vanity provides easy access to frequently used items stored in baskets.

Above: A free standing bathtub sits on a wooden platform in the bathroom. For more wood in the bathroom, see 10 Favorites: Exotic Woods in the Bath. 

Above: At night, the live/work studio is animated by light.

Interested in live/work in a smaller scale? See A Tiny Live/Work Loft Made Large. 

During Julie’s recent trip to London, we found ourselves sniffing (for design) in trendy Hoxton and despite the oppressive heat, we met with great success in Goodhood’s new Lifestore. 

Six years ago, Jo Sindle and Kyle Stewart started the “Goodhood” aesthetic in a small storefront in Hoxton with a carefully selected inventory brands from around the world, who shared their ideas of independence, exclusivity and quality for fine clothing and objects. They have now just expanded across the street into the Goodhood Lifestore with a campaign to “Improve your Life” through design. With brands like Hay, Present & Correct, Ferm Living and their own Goods by Goodhood, we were instant fans.

Above: With the newly opened Lifestore, the Goodhood brand is on its way to colonizing Coronet Street in Hoxton. Image via Trendland.

Above: The cool hues of a Scandinavian palette pervade the small store. Image via Trendland.

Above: Large sheets of white stained plywood line the walls behind the open shelves. Image via Trendland.

Above: A detail of the painted black and white floor. Photograph by Julie Carlson.

Above: Stationery goods we have our eyes on include the L'Atelier Exercices Wood Black Card Holder; £49 - a perfect way to keep the desktop detritus in one place.

Above: A Mechanical Drafting Pencil from Japanese company Craft Design Technology can be used for drafting and mechanical writing; £20.

Above: A dozen HB Carbon-Graphite Lead Pencils from Craft Design Technology; £17.

Above: A Homework Pencil Case from Present & Correct keeps writing tools in one place.

Planning a trip to London Design Week in September? Have a look at some of our favorite design haunts in London in our City Guides. 

See map below for location of Goodhood Lifestore in London. 

True confession: in second grade I wore a black beret to the first day of school (my classmates were not impressed). Nothing  much has changed; I still aspire to dress like an artist. But at least I'm not alone; lately I'm noticing "artist's smocks" and "painter's dresses" everywhere. Here are seven garments guaranteed to make you look like you wield a paintbrush as a profession. 

Above: From Momoko Suzuki's LA-based line Black Crane, the Painter Dress in 100 percent cotton features a frayed detail on the sleeve and bottom hem; $150 at Mohawk General Store.

Above: Made of Japanese cotton in NYC, the La Garconne Painter Smock is available in black or chalk; $350 at La Garconne.

Above: Pip-Squeak Chapeau's Sugar Coat, made in Brooklyn, is made of hand-dyed 100 percent cotton; $385 from Pip-Squeak Chapeau.

Above: We've discussed Le Bouton before (see French-Inspired Fashion from Freedom, Maine); Lisa Dorr's relaxed linen and cotton pieces have an artistic appeal.

Above: Handmade in San Francisco, the Japanese Cotton Twill Work Smock is $360 at Mill Mercantile.

Above: Christine and I both own UK designer Margaret Howell's Artist's Smock (quick, you can get one too if you act fast; it's on sale at La Garconne for $106.40; down from $152.)

What is it about the universal appeal of a wall collage or pin board? It's both a source of inspiration and instant art of sorts. Whether it be pages torn from magazines or memos jotted down, a pinboard is a peek into the mind of the creator. Here's a round up of several on our radar.

Above: A collection of  moody blue images provide a backdrop to this table. Photograph via The Poetry of Material Things.

Above: A collage of images serve as inspiration. French stylist Aurélie Lécuyer's wall of images via Le Dans La.

Above: A mix of objects hangs from the wall in this photograph by Russell Smith via Desire to Inspire.

Above: Textile designer Matt Dick's former studio with a wall of layered images.

Above: Vosges Paris blogger Desiree's Amsterdam apartment with images pasted on the wall above a clothes rack.

Above: 101 Cookbook's Heidi Swanson collects imagery for inspiration for her books.

Above: A wall of torn-out pages from magazines provides instant decor as a backdrop to this green sofa via Tina Hellberg.

Above: Fashion and interiors designer Tracy Wilkinson's desk. Photograph by Brian Ferry for Freunde von Freunden.

Above: Ceramicist Kirstie Van Noort's desk with found objects grouped on the wall above.

For more creative decor idea,s see our post on Graphic Lettering as Art.

It's been close to fifteen years since I walked the cobblestone streets of the medieval town of Visby, located on the Swedish island of Gotland. I'm plotting a return visit to the island soon—especially now that I've learned about the newly opened hotel and restaurant Hotel Magazin 1.

Located on the southern part of the island of Gotland, Hotel Magazin 1 is owned and operated by Fannia and Pelle, a couple who recently decided to buy and revive the barn-like building that once served as a grain storage depo for the Swedish army. The hotel features a restaurant serving locally grown organic food, five light-filled bedrooms, a large yard and play area, bicycles to ride to a nearby beach, and a summer art exhibit of the works of local artists. For more information, visit Hotel Magazin 1.

Photos by  Kristofer Johnsson for Fantastic Frank .

Above: Hotel Magazin 1 is located an hour's drive from Visby.

Above: A dining area in one of the rooms.

Above: A whitewashed hallway.

Above: A minimalist white bedroom with two twin beds.

Above: The walls and ceiling of this lofty bedroom are covered in white painted shiplap paneling. 

Above: The entire hotel can be leased for a larger party. 

Above L: A dining area. Above R: A white tiled bathroom.

Above: The red and white checkered table clothes add a warm note to the rustic restaurant area.

Above: The outdoor dining patio.

Above: Green fields surround the wooden red barn-like hotel.

The island of Gotland offers lots of visit-worthy places. A must-stop is Leva Kungslador in Visby, a shop, cafe, and art gallery. Also check out our Gotland City Guide for more irresistible spots.

The winner in our Considered Design Awards, Best Design Professional-Submitted Children's Space category is Wettling Architects, a Soho, New York City-based firm who designed a beach house on Shelter Island for a New York City financier, his British wife, and their two sons.

The Shelter Island getaway began on a pristine plot of beachfront property Coecles Bay that came with its own site-specific challenges; wetlands along the beach had to be considered and preserved, so Wettling needed to site the house back from the immediate waterfront. While the family was looking for a large estate to accommodate their active lifestyle and frequent guests, they were looking for one with a modest footprint so Wettling kept the residence itself relatively small with the main house being roughly 3,800 square feet and allowing for both the guest wing and master office, attached by a two-level bridge, to be completely shut down when not use for maximum enegry efficiency.

The house itself was designed to integrate into the surrounding landscape with, "golden gray shingles and a low profile to keep the exterior subtle and as an elusive structure," Wettling describes. With views across the water toward Mashomack Nature Preserve and onto the bluffs of East Hampton, the house includes panoramic views from each of its rooms. One of those rooms opening out onto the water is the children's bedroom, fit for the family's two boys.

Photography by David Gilbert and Jeff McNamara for Wettling Architects.

Above: Wettling settled on wide-planked, white painted wood floors throughout the house which served as a starting palette in the children's bedroom.

Above: Interior desiger Kevin Calica mixed unusual antiques with rustic classics; here Calica used outdoor wall sconces for reading lamps and as accent lighting.

Above: Built-in bunk beds give way to additional storage with bookshelves running up along the side.

Above: Rough strands of rope at the top of an additional crawl space play to the nautical air of the beachfront property.

Above: Under bed storage keeps a subtle profile with recessed brass drawer pulls.

Above: A row of Marston & Langinger wall mounted cage lights.

Above: A shutter-filled porthole window set into the horizontally slatted paneling made from cypress wood with a light wash of white paint.

Above: Overhead lighting comes from a pair of low profile downlights in a copper finish from BK Lighting.

N.B.: Jack Wettling of Wettling Architects worked with project manager Sarah Tombaugh on this project.

See all 11 winners of the Remodelista Considered Design Awards here and look for each project profile to publish over the next week.

London designer Charles Mellersh is obsessed with the way good design can improve the quality of life. This weekend he talks about his design decisions in a renovation of a late Victorian terraced house in Notting Hill, London.  He is available for the next 48 hours to answer your questions, so ask away!

In his former life as interiors editor at Wallpaper, Charles Mellersh, a member of the Remodelista Architect and Designer Directory, liked to tell stories while creating atmospheres to provoke emotional responses. His work as an interior designer is no different—but now his stories are tactile and three-dimensional.

With this 3,000-square-foot late Victorian terraced house, the designer was interested in creating a home that told the stories of the lives of the people who lived there. “My client was working in London’s financial markets at a time of great economic turbulence, and it felt more important that the interior be designed to stand the test of time, rather than a superficial showcase for a collection of statement pieces,” Mellersh says. “The client’s previous home was a dark and moody bachelor pad for one; now he was newly married, and we wanted this project to reflect that optimism.”

Photography by Chris Tubbs.

Above: In the sitting room, the textured Moroccan carpet anchors the seating plan and adds warmth to the marble floor. The designer uses a blind made out Penoleum to diffuse the light from above without blocking it completely. The blind is painted with a reflective material which keeps the room cool on sunny days and is operated on a wire track system. A custom-sized Leather Round Mirror from BDDW in New York hangs above a Habitat Sofa by Matthew Hilton.

Above: The designer used six white hues throughout the project. To offset this, he deliberately looked for rich textures throughout the material palette, including the gold melange weave fabric on the couch and the tactile charcoal and green velvet for the cushions sourced from Emery et Cie in Brussels. "The brief from the outset was for a clean yet warm aesthetic, but the danger is that in gutting the building you can also throw out the character and personality, so I was mindful that strong and robust textures were needed to evoke a feeling of depth and warmth," Mellersh says.

Above: The colors in the vintage print by British artist Kenneth George Chapman slot in perfectly with the designer's overall palette.

Above: Mellersh integrates the living, dining, and kitchen spaces, which are used throughout the day, into an open-plan basement layout. A vintage dining set by Danish designer Niels Möller and brass pendants by Finnish designer Alvar Aalto evoke a warm and casual feel. An Enzo Mari print from the 1960s completes the room.

Above: "The board and batten panelling came later in the project and was a spontaneous response to my anxiety about anonymous white boxes," Mellersh says. "I felt the basement-level living space needed some 'meat on its bones' so we added the paneling, and it instilled a much-needed layer of architectural interest."

Above: Some of the client's collectibles as well as newly sourced pieces sit on top of a walnut Lake Credenza from BDDW in New York. "The West German pottery vase adds an unexpected whimsical element to the conservatism of the vintage Scandinavian pieces elsewhere in the room," Mellersh says.

Above: "Materials are key to the central DNA of any project," Mellersh says. "Different materials contain different messages embedded in them, and in this project, we wanted to translate a robust sensibility. So we chose matte rather than gloss tiles, honed rather than polished marble for the worktops and windowsills, and brass that would gain a weathered patina with age. It all combines to ground the feel of the kitchen and to warm up a room that might otherwise have felt sterile." 

Above: A Three-Legged Oak Stool by Another Country and a vintage chair provide a subtle counterpoint to the pared-down aesthetic of the kitchen.

Above: Mellersh prefers to avoid kitchen-wall cabinets as a rule, and in this project his solution was to custom design a large cupboard where the clients can store all their glassware, appliances, and equipment, making it all easily accessible from a single point. 

Above: "To have a room, no matter how small, dedicated to books is one of life's simple luxuries," Mellersh says. "And any excuse to use Farrow & Ball Charleston Gray is always welcome."

Above: "I fell in love with this painting (a 1940s French diptych) for its abstract elegance," Mellersh says. "Luckily it felt just right for this particular bedroom." The designer selected the Kelly Wearstler fabric on the blinds as a graphic counterpoint to the period cornice and the George Nelson Bubble Lamp for its diffused glow at night.

Above: Inspired by the atmosphere of "old-school" continental hotel bathrooms of the 1920s and 30s, Mellersh stained the mirror frame ebony, which prompted him to add a stained picture rail around the room as well. 

Above: "Staining the mirror frame and picture rail was a simple and spontaneous move, which paid dividends," Mellersh says. "It had the very practical effect of energizing and somehow expanding the room—especially when you catch it reflected in the double mirror above the vanity."

Above: "The lesson I learned with the paneling in the basement living area and with the stained picture rail in the bathroom is that while you need to plan your work rigorously, you should also always be open to spontaneity and the opportunity it brings," Mellersh says. "Just like the vase, which was a last-minute finishing touch that I discovered at Portobello Market, just around the corner from the house."

As a member of the original editorial team at Wallpaper Mellersh worked with with Tyler Brûlé, now of Monocle, Alasdhair Willis and Paul de Zwart of Another Country, makers of contemporary craft furniture.  See Living Small in an Architectural Landmark, Brooklyn Edition to see how Brooklyn firm Workstead use Another Country furniture in their project. 

Last week, Gardenista editor Michelle Slatella returned from a week in Barcelona. We plied her for information and, inspired by her finds, are devoting next week to the Mediterranean's largest city. In the meantime here's what's piquing our interest. 

• Read how this Pacific Northwest couple made this DIY Cabin for 57K.
• A reader clued us in to Built on Narrow Land, Bauhaus Summers on Outer Cape Cod. A film by Malachi Connolly (that's Francesca's brother) that looks at the building of European Modern Architecture built on what is now the Cape Cod National Seashore.

• Public apology to Zahid Sardar from Sarah for not picking up his book sooner. It's good. Read Dwell's interview with the author discussing West Coast Modern.

• Izabella is "super excited" at the arrival of Provisions, Food52's new online store, in particular these Hand Dipped Beech Wood Bowls. If you want a behind-the-scenes look at the dynamic duo behind the site, see our interview with Amanda and Merrill.
• Sour Cherry Rickey anyone?

• Alexa recently came across blogger Jana Zumbaum, who lives in a tiny flat in Barcelona, Spain; see more inspiring images of her everyday life on her blog, Jana.

• Stacey clued us in to the launch of H&M's online Home Decor Shop via PopSugar Home.
• We just got word that our friend Erica Tanov—whose work has always been about slow design—has just opened shop at ABC Carpet & Home in New York.
• Concerned with throwaway fashion? Fashionista features 10 Slow Fashion Brands.

• Hot on the heels of our art-focused week, we found these trays at Marimekko.
• Entertaining but short on time? Try Real Simple's 15-Minute DIY Party Ideas.

Founded in 1999 by Elina Vila and Agnès Blanch, Minim is an interior design studio focused on "maximizing the potential of each space, keeping all those original elements that have historical or contextual value," according to the partners. "The contrast between new and old is the best way to enhance the values of each period." In this classically detailed Barcelona flat, the designers used midcentury modern pieces by Hans Wegner, Arnie Jacobsen, and Poul Henningsen as a foil for the original stained glass windows and patterned cement tile floors. Go to Minim to see more of the firm's work and to tour the Minim Furniture Showroom.

Above: The partners retained the original stained glass windows throughout the flat.

Above: In the living room, a pair of leather Arne Jacobsen Swan Chairs and a pair of Atello Table Lamps by Vico Magistretti for Oluce add a sense of symmetry.

Above: Wishbone Chairs by Hans Wegner, a Japan Table from e15, and a PH5 Pendant Lamp by Poul Henningsen add a modern note to the dining room.

Above: The designers added a sleek stainless and white lacquered kitchen.

Above: A black leather Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, paired with a Saarinen Side Table.

Above: An AJ Table Lamp by Arne Jacobsen provides bedside illumination.

Above: The solid oak Backenzahn Stools and the Emil Bedside Table are from German company e15.

Above: Architect Elina Vila and interior designer Agnès Blanch at their Barcelona studio.

N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on April 4, 2011.