The bay tree got there first—and other reasons to love Bernard Trainor's gardens, via Garden Design.
And now for something completely Eichler, via Jason Liske.
An edible garden for Citizen Kayne, via The Chalkboard.
No, we can never get enough cilantro pesto. Especially when it's Amy Palanjian's.
I'll have a historic mansion with that Big Mac, via Old House Web.
Stop posting photos of your garden, Ben Pentreath, or we will never get any work done.
Spotted at Tail of the Yak in Berkeley: exotic party decor in the form of paper flowers, garlands, and mobiles made with antique fabric stamps. Here's how to get the look:
The resident geniuses at Tail of the Yak (Lauren and Alice) fashion these magical garlands using India ink, colored paper, gold leaf, and string. See our inspiration and sources below. Photos of Tail of the Yak by Mimi Giboin for Remodelista.
Above: Antique stamps from India at Tail of the Yak.
Above: Patterns are printed onto white paper garlands.
Above: Source J. Herbin Fountain Pen Ink (we like Rose Tendresse for a bright fuchsia); $10 each at Tail of the Yak. Also consider a set of India ink such as Dr. Ph Martin's Bombay India Ink Set for $23.97 from Amazon.
Above: Chinese calligraphy brushes are used for painting ink freehand onto paper or onto antique stamps for printing. A Calligraphy Brush Set of 10 is $24.95 from Chinese Calligraphy Store.
Above: The finished garland can be strung across a room or used as trim on wall shelves.
Above: A mobile made of colored paper, pompoms, and a hoop wire frame. We like Wausau Copy Paper in Orchid; $6.87 for 500 sheets at Amazon.
Mohamed Elmarrouf had an in when he set out to sell Moroccan design in America. The son of a Marrakech rug merchant, he brought his contacts to New York’s Chelsea Market where he originally set up shop amid specialty bakeries and blue-chip produce vendors. Now teamed with stylist Stephanie Rudloe, he operates Imports From Marrakesh as a virtual souk.
In addition to selling leather poufs, Beni Ouarain carpets, and Moroccan wedding blankets, Imports from Marrakesh collaborates with architects and designers on custom tiles, embroidery, lattice woodwork, rugs, and filigreed lighting. Design luminaries like Michael Graves, Peter Marino, and Tom Sheerer are on the client list.
You can place orders online or arrange to see pieces firsthand in the duo's Jersey City warehouse (call ahead for an appointment and directions). Better yet, you can book a guided shopping tour of Marrakech with Elmarrouf, who also happens to own his own hotel, Ryad El Maarouf, in Zaouia, the city's ancient medina.
Above: Marrakesh palace ottomans, hand-embroidered in cotton or linen.
Above: Imports From Marrakesh offers a range of cement tiles made to order in both traditional and modern Moroccan patterns.
Above: Always in stock: wedding blankets, traditionally woven by a mother and daughter or two sisters and worn as capes at weddings and festivals. They're embellished with sequins as protection from the evil eye.
Above: A Zemmour tribe handwoven pillow.
Above: The shop sources both vintage and new Beni Ourain carpets made in the Atlas mountains. Originally woven on narrow looms to fit tight living quarters, they're now being produced by cooperatives of Berber women who have upped their scale and can produce custom sizes and patterns.
Above: Homebase for Imports From Marrakesh is Ryad El Maarouf, their own four-room, one-hammam guest house. Insider tours of the souk and local workshops with Elmarrouf available on request. Photograph by Monika Biegler Eyers
Guests in Moroccan homes are accustomed to leaving their shoes at the door and slipping on a pair of babouches, the traditional Moroccan leather slippers. We're fans of babouches—we just wish they were easier to come by. If you know of a source, let us know in the comments section, please!
Here's a roundup of some our finds:
Above: Babouches from Brooklyn's Sweet Bella; contact directly for pricing.
Above: Michi is a store in Marrakech run by a Japanese-Moroccan couple with a keen eye and the best curated selection of babouches we've seen to date. The slippers are available online (with the caveat that the site is in Japanese, as is the pricing). To order, visit Michi.
Above: Babouche Shop offers a similar pair of Fassi slippers in a brighter green for $32 (other styles and colors available). Image via I'm Revolting.
We love traditional Moroccan tile—but we're also liking the new wave of modern Moroccan-inspired versions. Here's a roundup of favorites.
Above: The Hex Dot from Marrakech-based Popham Design is available in any combination of hand-mixed colors.
Above: Dandelion in milk/lavender from Swedish architects Claesson Koivisto Rune.
Above: Hook in coral/milk from Swedish designer Mats Theselius.
Above: Goose Eye pattern in tagine/milk from Mats Theselius.
Above: The Starburst pattern from Popham Design is available in any color combination.
Above: Dandelion in lawn/milk from Claesson Koivisto Rune.
Above: Anemone from Mosaic House.
Above: Primula from Mosaic House.
Above: Woody in milk/hazelnut from Mats Theselius.
On a recent trip to Morocco, I spent several nights at the 15-room Kasbah Bab Ourika in Morocco. Perched on a hilltop at the edge of the Ourika Valley, just outside Marrakech, the hotel (opened in 2009 by owner Steven Skinner) was built in the traditional Berber style using Pise (rammed earth) and is one of the most eco-friendly buildings in Morocco.
Solar panels generate the power for underfloor heating, there's a water recycling system, and an innovative bio-digester provides electricity. Designer Romain Michel-Meniere sourced almost all the furnishings locally; among his finds: leather chairs hand-made by local craftsmen, sofas and pillows covered in Berber textiles; and pottery, lanterns, and rugs from local villages. As a drizzle arrived one morning, we spent a day lounging, first under the rustic canvas awning on the patio, and later by the fire in one of the many common rooms, mesmerized by the panoramic views of the Atlas Mountains (and plotting purchases before departure, as everything in the hotel is for sale). Go to Kasbah Bab Ourika for more information.
Above: Long communal outdoor tables and benches.
Above: Perched high on a cliff, the Kasbah overlooks the Atlas mountains.
Above: Vintage carpets line the breezeways.
Above: The dining room is illuminated with lanterns found locally.
Above: A fire roars in one of the common areas.
Above: Morning coffee service; note the carpet detail on the back of the armchair.
Above: Simple lean-to shading via a canvas awning.
Above: A view of the surrounding Atlas Mountains.
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on May 20, 2011.
The new Upwardly Mobile collection of lighting and furniture from Seattle-based design duo Jamie Iacoli and Brian McAllister offers their trademark fresh and simple designs infused with a dose of glamor.
N.B.: Iacoli & McAllister will be part of the Remodelista Market at Dwell on Design in Los Angeles, June 22nd through 24th.
Above: The Algedi Table with Brass Base and marble top is $1,195.
Above: Iacoli & McAllister's Cinque Brass Pendant Light is $795 (it's also available in copper).
Above: The Algedi Table with Copper Base is also $1,195.
Above: The Sage Pyramid in Brass is $165.
Spotted on the Diversion Project; a loft decorated in Moroccan style, with poufs and stacks of floor cushions as seating. The versatile pouf is an ancient piece of furniture that functions as extra seating, a side table, or even a foot rest.
N.B.: Poufs are also ideal in households with children; my son Julian uses ours as an exercise ball, balancing back and forth—mainly out of boredom, trying to steal attention away from his newborn sister.
Above: A room full of floor cushions. Need some glamor? Just add a golden pouf.
Above: A White Pouf in leather from Imports from Marrakesh is $225. They are hand stitched by artisans in Marrakesh and come in several colors.
Above: New from HomeMint: Linen Laguna Floor Pillows, from LA linens purveyor Matteo, are $99.99 for members ($129.99 for nonmembers).
Above: John Derian has a good selection of hand-dyed, hand-stitched Moroccan poufs in an array of colors; the Gold Moroccan Pouf and the Silver Moroccan Pouf are $345 each. Photo via Bromeliad Living.
Clothing designer Erica Tanov began her business in New York toting a suitcase with six pieces of lingerie inside made from handkerchief silk. "There was no business plan," she says, "it was very loose—I was just doing things I liked."
At the time, the recent Parsons School of Design grad had gone to work for designer Rebecca Moses, an outfit small enough that she found herself quickly becoming familiar with all aspects of the design business. "I appreciated the art of fashion, but I became disillusioned by the whole Seventh Avenue fashion scene," she says. She left to work on her own line of bras, chemises, and slip dresses: in short, the pieces that formed her collection in the suitcase. When a large order came in for her lingerie, she realized she was in business. The Northern Californian native returned west in 1994 because, as she notes, "I was so saturated with fashion and wasn't feeling inspired; it was more refreshing to come back here." She built her line to a full ready-to-wear collection, but the delicate silk slips from her initial line are still a mainstay. Like much of her work, they have a timeless quality; Tanov's skill lies in creating pieces which are less about fashion and more about the quality of the fabric. As she puts it, "It's not just designing clothing, it's creating the whole mode and feeling that completes the picture."
Photography by Mimi Giboin for Remodelista.
Above: Erica standing in front of the bronzed wall of her Marin store in an Edo top in pink railway tapestry ($345), one of her own designs. When she's not wearing her own pieces, she's a fan of Megan Park's clothing.
Above; On her wrist, gold bracelets by Argentinian jeweler Maria Scalise. The silver bracelets are from East Coast jewelry designer and silversmith Sarah McGuire. On the other wrist, what looks to be a bangle turns out to be an elastic hair tie.
Remodelista: What are you working on now?
Erica Tanov: I am on Spring 2013. For this current season I worked with local artist Emily Payne and created relief patterns of her work which I had printed on fabric. And I'm working with prints from artists at Creative Growth (the Oakland Art Center that serves adult artists with developmental, mental, and physical disabilities). It's so inspiring collaborating with people and so much more fun.
Above: A tassel necklace from Aleishall Girard Maxon (granddaughter of textile designer Alexander Girard). Aleishall began selling her pieces when she worked at the Erica Tanov New York store, and the two have collaborated ever since. The necklace is available at Erica Tanov for $200. To see more of Girard Maxon's work, go to Studio Deseo.
Above: in the bowl are leather sandals from Miel de Abeja for $88.
RM: On your feet?
ET: I love flip flops, especially the cheap $5 ones from the local store. I also like to wear Roberto del Carlo and Chie Mihara.
Above: White sheep fur throw; $1,850 at Erica Tanov.
RM: Currently coveting?
ET: I really like this white sheep fur throw. I would put it on a bed. I prefer luxurious things that don't scream expensive. It doesn't have to look like it cost a million dollars even if it did. It's about the mix of things; it's a balance and blend.
Above: Makeup bags by Shawn Burke, our go-to makeup artist. The bags are $120 to $205, depending on size.
RM: Makeup essentials?
ET: My lipstick is by Julie Hewett in my favorite color Amelie; unfortunately they don't make it anymore. Shawn gave me the last stick. (Serge Lutens makes a similar color available at Barneys called Mauve de Swann; $75). I use a Laura Mercier mascara (the Long Lash is $24 from Sephora) and a powder blush called Shadore Pure Powder Glow by Kevyn Aucoin; $37 from Amazon.
ET: I also use Rodin Face Oil; it's the best you can do for your skin. It's made by Linda Rodin, a model turned stylist. She uses 11 essential oils with a jasmine base; $150 from Rodin. Shawn also turned me on to the Japanese brand Komenuka Bijin I use their hand cream, face cream, and cleanser.
Above: Natural all-healing perfumes by Perfumera Curandera, created by Leanne Hirsh, who spent 18 years in the Amazon forests. Available at Erica Tanov.
RM: Scent of choice?
ET: "I am working with Lurk in New York, a company that make essential natural oils, to create a custom scent based on boronia. I discovered it in a nursery and loved the smell. Boronia is a shrub with a burgundy flower and a chartreuse inside; it only blooms for two months. It's intoxicating and fresh, not super floral. I though I could use boronia on its own, but it turns our that you can't just have one scent for a perfume, it needs to be a blend. It's really fun and exciting doing this; the key is to work with people you love, that's the point."
RM: What's next?
ET: I would love to work on a hotel project, to create an experience. I don't stay in a lot of hotels but I feel when people stay somewhere they should feel surrounded by beauty. They should fell pampered but not in an uptight glaringly expensive way—it should be sumptuous and feel good.
Ed. Note: We think Berkeley's Claremont Hotel would make an excellent first project. Also, Erica Tanov is holding a book signing on Saturday, June 30th, at her Marin store with Ngoc Minh Ngo, for her book Bringing Nature Home. (Erica's house appears in several of the photographs.)
I'm having a moment with hibiscus flowers—dried ones, that I first spotted in my local Mexican supermarket. They make an excellent lime and hibiscus summer drink, but they also create a lovely dusty pink color when used as a fabric dye.
Here at Remodelista we've been contemplating dying painter's drop cloths for a while now (see Dip-Dyed Canvas Tablecloths), so when my fellow editors heard me waxing lyrical about hibiscus flowers, they suggested I give the drop cloth dye a try. It took three days of soaking, but the result is a pleasantly pale pink summer table cloth. Here's what I did:
Photography by Sarah Lonsdale for Remodelista.
Above: My inspiration? A swath of canvas in an artist's studio; photo by Christopher Baker.
Above: Dried Hibiscus Flowers are $14.25 for a two-pound bag from Amazon.
Above: Fill a bucket or tub with enough water to cover the cloth.
Above: Add four handfuls of flowers to the water.
Above: Let the flowers and water sit in the sun for a while, then place the drop cloth in the tub and fully immerse in the water. Leave for at least one day. I left mine in for three days, and swirled it daily to get a little more pink color then line dry. Silks and thinner cottons absorb the color more easily than a drop cloth and won't take as much soaking time.
Above: My hibiscus-dyed tablecloth, after three days of soaking.
Luxurious simplicity in the desert: La Pause is an oasis set beside a riverbed in the Agafay valley, about 40 minutes outside of Marrakech.
The brainchild of French-born Frederic Alaime (he discovered the oasis on a horseback ride in the desert), the resort consists of a couple of simple mud-and-straw lodges, a small pool under a grove of olive trees, and three handsewn woolen Berber tents, where meals are served. For information, go to La Pause.
Above: Photo via Quintessence.
Above: Image via Gessato.
Above: Photo via From Me to You.
Above: Image via Morocco Retreats.
Above: Photo via From Me to You.
Above: Image via Gessato.
Above: Photo via The Wedding Decorator.
Above: Image via Gessato.
Above: Photo via Quintessence.
Admired in Julian King's Chelsea Townhouse project: the Moooi Random Light pendant, which adds an ethereal lightness to the high-ceiling Victorian spaces.
Above: The Random Light floats overhead in the kitchen.
Above: And again in the living room.
Above: The Moooi Random Light is $546 at YLighting.
This weekend, Julian King of Julian King Architect (a member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory) discusses his minimalist renovation of a duplex garden apartment in a Victorian townhouse in the New York neighborhood of Chelsea. He's available for the next 48 hours to answer any and all reader questions (post your queries in the comments section below). Ask away—and see our Pinterest Board based on King's answers.
Renovating a period town house requires a confrontation with the past: outmoded renovations with awkward floor plans from previous decades coupled with character-filled historical details from previous eras. After updating the floor plan (he moved the kitchen upstairs and the master bedroom downstairs), King pays homage to the proportions and details of the original Victorian spaces in this townhouse through carefully detailed minimalist interventions, hiding utilitarian elements such as plumbing at the same time. Rather than eschew the past, King makes it work for the 21st century in a quietly inventive way. “In all our projects,” he says,“we use an economy of means to raise the mundane rituals of the everyday—cooking, bathing, dining—into the sublime."
Above: The high ceilings and original fireplace imbue the living room with an old grandeur. King adds a modern touch by painting the walls white and suspending a Random Light from Moooi from the ornate ceilings.
Above: King quietly integrated a sleekly modern kitchen into the ornate interiors. The walls have been built out to meet the kitchen cabinets and the original crown molding was recast to conceal a new air vent for the newly installed heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. The refrigerator was recessed into an existing arched doorway.
Above: Cantilevering the kitchen cabinets over the period molding allows the molding to continue unimpeded underneath the cabinets.
Above: King reuses an etched-glass door uncovered during demolition in the entry to the new powder room.
Above: LED-lit niches create ambient lighting in the powder room.
Above: The back garden is comprised of reused brick from the demolished rear wall and stones found on site.
Above: The new ipe stairs from the kitchen down to the garden are cantilevered from an interior wall that extends into the garden. A teak bench slides from the outside into the master bathroom.
Above: Moving the master bedroom downstairs offers the owner direct access to the garden from his sleeping quarters. The custom full-width sliding doors are set into recessed tracks in the concrete floor, creating a level threshold from inside to outside.
Above: The entire rear elevation was replaced.
Above: In the master bathroom, a custom stone sink is cantilevered from the wall and the plumbing is concealed within the teak bench.
Above: The shower opens out to the garden on a warm day.
Above: The entry to the townhouse in the New York neighborhood of Chelsea.
Antiques dealer Sandra Mackintosh has the ability to see things in multiples, making art out of everyday objects.
Mackintosh specializes in the relics of quotidian living, such as whisk brooms, tin scoops, and hand-whittled clothespins. Individually none of these objects has a commanding presence. But grouped and displayed with variations of their own kind, as Mackintosh presents them, the humble is transformed into sculpture. Macintosh sells her collections at her Red Hook, New York, shop, East Market Street Antiques, and through the group website Vintage and Modern.
Above: A Calderesque array of wirework utensils and tools.
Above: Macintosh has us inspired to start creating our own artful groupings. Here she's gathered 21 old wooden printers' type question marks on metal bases.
Above: Macintosh's assemblages pinpoint the beauty in the mundane. One of her specialties is presenting childrens' painted metal sand shovels in tidy rows. She sells her wares as collections; this one is 48-inches wide and priced at $1,425.
Above: One large and two smaller collections of hand-wrought 19th century scissors mounted on old tobacco drying racks.
Above: Handmade 19th-century clothespins on a metal museum mount.
Above: Childrens' sand shovels and painted wooden fishing bobbers.
Tim Kelly never set out to run a gas station; but when he bought a Napa Valley property that included a defunct gas station, he decided to resurrect it.
Kelly's Fuel and Provisions is no ordinary gas station. Located in Yountville, home to the French Laundry (and the largest concentration of Michelin stars per capita in the world), the gas station's mission is "to create a hub for the local community and a place with unique merchandise for the practical traveler." Kelly (his day job is Director of Construction for the Hillstone Restaurant Group) offers a mix of high and low goods, gourmet chocolates sit alongside packs of M&M's, in the gas station's convenience shop. On any given day, you can find vineyard and construction workers shopping next to well-heeled tourists and winery owners. And for those of us who keep our tanks perilously low, having a place to fill up on gas mid-valley (albeit at boutique prices) is a welcome relief.
Photography by Mimi Giboin for Remodesita.
Above: Kelly stocks the gas station shop with a range of offerings, from boutique wine to soda.
Above: Aluminum and glass roll-up doors lead to a flexible space inside (the trestle tables are easily moved) and Kelly has plans to use the space for wine tastings in the evening.
Above: The sole gas pump; Kelly points out that the economics of one gas pump don't really make for good business; his enterprise is much more about the store as a whole.
Above: Kelly renovated the space with local Napa architect Paul Kelley; plywood tables and shelves, metal fixtures, and a concrete floor are in keeping with the look and feel of the original gas station.
Above: San Francisco's Sightglass Coffee is the brew of choice.
Above: Red metal stools add a cheerful note.
Above: An art wall displays a piece by Joel Ross entitled Measuring Texas. It's comprised of 880 photographs of every mile marker on Interstate 10.
Above: Kelly' offers "unique merchandise for the practical traveler."
Above: With plenty of Napa wine available nearby (often at rarefied prices), Kelly keeps the majority of his offerings at under $40 with handy half bottles for the casual picnicker.
With the Fourth of July looming, we've rounded up some ideas for the style-conscious patriots among us.
Above: Handmade in Philadelphia with food-safe milk paint, Lostine Baguette Boards are available in patriotic colors at Home Remedy; prices start at $88 for the Small Lostine Baguette Board.
Above: A set of five Candle Torches is $7.99 at West Elm (on sale from $25).
Above: Canvas Home Store has just introduced a new line of cheery tableware called Abbesses; prices start at $8.75.
Above: Air Mail Twine, made of 100 percent cotton bakers twine, is $15 for a 100-yard spool at Whisker Graphics.
Above: The Orcival Striped Jersey Ecru Admiral Hermes; the traditional French naval striped Breton top in ecru with navy and red stripes is £55 at Present in London.
Above L: The Red Bowl Basket from Doug Johnston is made from 100 percent cotton sash cord; $79. Above R: The 100.2 Basket is made from 100 feet of #6 100 cotton sash cord and sewing thread; $79 at Doug Johnston.
Above: Annin American Flag, made of 100 percent cotton in New Jersey; $30 from Best Made Company.
Above: Red Industrial String Lights; $39.99 (on sale from $49) at West Elm.
Above: Toronto-based Contact Voyaging offers a line of hand-painted oars; the blue and white November Semaphore Oar (L) is CA $240. The red, white, and blue striped Charlie Semaphore Oar (R) is CA $240. We should mention that Pottery Barn Kids has come out with a line of painted oars; a Red/White Oar is $59.
Above: A set of 50 Red Paper Straws is $7.79 at Etsy. A box of 144 Kikkerland Biodegradable Paper Straws is $6.50 at Amazon.
Who doesn't want to live in a barn? This week, architect Kimberly Peck takes us through her conversion of a 19th-century barn in the small town of Bovina, New York, in the heart of the Catskills. For the next 48 hours, she is available to answer your queries; leave your questions in the comments section below.
Peck's challenge was to turn a timber-framed 19th-century barn into an energy-efficient home, using economical and environmentally conscious materials. The structure, which the owner sourced from Heritage Barns, a company that disassembles and reassembles vintage barns, was restored and raised on its new site in Bovina, New York. Peck’s main concern was meeting the demands of the cold winter weather conditions in the Catskill mountains. Her solution? The New York-based architect (and member of the Remodelista Architect/Designer Directory) chose to wrap the timber frame in its entirety (walls and roof) with SIPs (Structural Insulated Panel), a composite building material, which acts as framing, insulation, and exterior sheathing, all in one.
For the insulation properties of a SIPs house to be effective, the house has to be airtight; placing enormous emphasis on the joints where the panels meet. For rapid on-site construction and accurate cuts, having the panels precut at the factory is the ideal; it also provided Peck with an opportunity to test her three-dimensional thinking skills. “Architecturally, the project was like a puzzle,” she says, “precise detailing around the existing timber frame and under the new cladding and roofing was required to make sure the panels all fit together perfectly on site.” Mission accomplished.
Photography by Torkil Stavdal.
N.B. See Barn Raising: Reassembled Barns as Modern Dwellings for other examples of barns that have been converted into homes.
Above: The exterior of the 19th-century barn is clad in black corrugated aluminum. The standing seam aluminum roof is typical of the vernacular architecture in this part of New York. There are no windows on the front facade to keep insulation factors at their highest.
Above: Peck's client was formerly an interior designer (and was one of Peck's first employers at the beginning of her architectural career) and they collaborated on the sophisticated rustic palette of the interiors.
Above: In conventional timber frame construction, wires and pipes would be run in the thickness of the walls and come out through the walls where required. Doing this with SIPPs can risk the airtight seal necessary for the insulation to work effectively, meaning that alternate solutions are required. The reclaimed wood wall here encloses the stairs and hides the plumbing that runs from the upstairs bathroom.
Above: Three large sliding at the rear of the house overlook a view of the Catskills mountains.
Above: The radiant-heated poured concrete slab floor has been polished and left exposed.
Above: Fiberglass windows with a high insulation value were installed throughout the house.
Above: The house uses an air exchanger, which brings fresh air in from the outside, without losing heat, and then circulates the warmer air from upstairs to downstairs.
Above: Peck lined the interior of the SIPPs wrapper with sheetrock walls and a reclaimed wood ceiling. The sheetrock walls have been built out 1.5 inches from the SIPPs to accommodate electrical wiring.
Above: The farmhouse sink in the bathroom sits on a wooden pedestal.
Above: The silhouette of the transformed barn recalls an agrarian idyll.
We reached into our archives to come up with our favorite Scandinavian summer house. The winner? A modest remodel by LASC Studio, with unexpected jolts of color.
Located in the southernmost region of Skåne, in Sweden, the project by LASC Studio (a Copenhagen-based office founded in 2007 by the Swedish/German architect Jonas Labbé and Dutch architect Johannes Schotanus) combines the past and the present in a subtly new way. The wood surfaces are bleached with lye and finished with oil to create a uniform lightness, offset by bolts of unexpected bright colors (marigold yellow, turquoise blue) in the stairwells and hallways.
Photography by Laura Stamer.
Above: Traditional forms made modern with standing metal seam roofs and new windows.
Above: The kitchen are features a poured concrete surface, which contrasts with the knotty pine surfaces.
Above: Polished concrete floors add a note of modernity.
Above: The interior features basic forms and unexpected colors.
Above: Turquoise stairs; an unexpected note.
Above: A hallway featuring a geometric play of forms.
Above: A view of the upper level.
Above: Old and new: scrubbed pine floors, bookshelves painted blue, and a sculptural lamp.
Above: The tub overlooks the fields beyond, and the enclosed shower features unexpected glossy turquoise tiles.
Above: An outdoor shower is tucked in a corner, just off the bricked patio.
For more Scandinavian Interiors, see our new Gallery of rooms and spaces.
N.B.: This post is update; the original story ran on December 29, 2009.
Hard to resist: the Alouette Collection of avian-inspired lighting from Atelier Areti, a team of far-flung European designers who work collaboratively. The pieces are handmade from powder-coated metal and fabric-covered cable with brass joints. For more information, go to Atelier Areti.
Above: The Alouette 1 Bird Wall Lamp is £204 from Wayfair.
Above L: The Alouette 1 bird wall lamp is available in black and white. Above R: The Alouette Slanted Desk Lamp is £297.50 from Wayfair.
Above: The Alouette Birds U Ceiling Lamp starts at £382.50 (price varies depending on the number of birds).
Above: The Cone 1 Wall Light in white and brass.
Above: The Cone 1 Wall Light in black is £127.50 from Wayfair.
Above: The Two Spheres Ceiling Light is £382.50 from Wayfair.
N.B.: See 43 images of Lighting in our Gallery of rooms and spaces.
To celebrate our Scandinavian Summerhouse week, we're inviting you to create a Scand summer Pinterest board, featuring your favorite Nordic inspirations. The winner will receive a Scandi-inspired wood bead necklace (a mix of black and neutral beads) made by Leyda Mount of the Swan Lake.
Founded in the summer of 2011, The Swan Lake features eclectic jewelry influenced by the "bright simplicity of Scandinavian design and colorful midcentury modern graphics." Mount designs and builds each piece by hand in her St. Louis home.
Here's how to win Mount's necklace:
The winner will be chosen by our guest judge, Scandi design maven, Annaleena Karlsson of Annaleena's HEM, and unveiled here on Monday, July 9. Until then, see some of our favorite pinned images, our Scandi Summer pinboard, and the wood bead necklace from The Swan Lake.
Above: A summerhouse bedroom by architect Maria Masgård from Scandinavian Retreat.
Above: A summerhouse in Lysekil, Sweden, by Arkitekt Mats Fahlander.
Above: The Splint Shopper Basket ($65) and Splint Potato Basket ($85) from Mjolk in Toronto.
Above: Scandi-inspired wooden bead necklace from the Swan Lake on Etsy; a $38 value.
N.B.: Looking for Scandi images to pin? See 36 images of our favorite Scandinavian Cottages & Cabins in our new Gallery of rooms and images.
