For our new home, we’ve opted to forgo a traditional front living room. Instead, we’re going to have the dining room near the entrance, the kitchen in the middle of the house and a good-sized living room at the back of the house.
This is the space where everything will come together – our choice of windows, furniture, the rug (of course). We need to decide what type of bookshelves we want, how the fireplace and TV will sit together. You get the picture.
I’ve been clipping lots of shots for inspiration.
I see Bryan Adams in a whole new light after catching a glimpse of his Paris apartment. It was featured in Elle Décor a few years back. The space is refined and minimalist. The entire apartment is beautifully put together in a way that doesn’t feel too “put together”. Definitely worth checking out.
Ditto for Dixie Chic Emily Robison. I’ve posted this image before, but I thought I’d include it again since I think the room has a great vibe.
And, then there are some spaces that are just plain old spectacular without needing very much added at all. Check out these digs…
Above: Joseph Dirand; Poteet Architects; Richard Powers Photography
I’m a proud new Auntie! Twice over, in fact – and not even from twins. Both of my sisters had babies in the past week. Little Molly was born on the 20th and my nephew Charlie came a week later on the 27th. I am so excited. In honour of their arrival, I wanted to dedicate the next few posts to kids related stuff.
Here’s a start with some gorgeous looking nurseries and kids rooms. Above: Room featured in Cookie Magazine; Designed by Koko Architecture and Design
I’m drawn to grey walls for kids rooms. Here’s another example of how it can really work in a darker shade. Photo care of Bloesem Kids.
For slightly older kids, here are some inspiring designs
Above: Photos from Emmas DesignBlogg
I love the BDDW rug featured below. This room is a great example of how to add some sophistication to a space for kids. Beautiful. The photo is from book Brooklyn Modern and was taken by photographer Yoko Inoue
Now that we’ve narrowed down our fixture selection, we need to design a kitchen to house one of these lovely faucets.
I have more clippings for the kitchen than any other room, yet I still continue to search. We’re going to have a predominantly white space, but adding all the little details to make it unique will be the real challenge.
I’m sure I’ll post many more images along the way, but here are some initial shots to grab your attention:
Above: I think Bulthaup makes the most beautiful and carefully thought out contemporary spaces. They have a modern, clean aesthetic, but still feel warm. Their kitchens also seem very practical. A nice mix all around.
Here are a few more spaces that are far from expected
Browsing through one of the final issues of Metropolitan Home (November 2009), I came across the stunning San Antonio home of Dixie Chick, Emily Robison. It’s got beautiful steel windows, one of my favourite BDDW lights, Cherner stools, and an overall great aesthetic. Who knew?
If you haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy of Elle Décor’s April 2010 issue, here are some shots of Christine D’Ornano’s stunning London home.
This house is filled with character and fabulous lighting fixtures! I love the pink living room walls and of course, the Serge Mouille lighting. The floral wallpaper by Osborne & Little adds a whimsical touch to a home already filled with amazing details.
To all those concerned readers who politely told me I was insane for wanting white floors, fear not. We won’t be having white planks in our new home. But, I do love the aesthetic!
Here are some more photos to feed your appetite. Herringbone. We won’t be doing this either, but I think this style can look absolutely amazing. Think Parisian salon.
It’s official. We’ve started our new house build. The interior demolition began yesterday, the rest will come down shortly. There will be tons of decisions to be made along the way – lots of which I hope to share.
I thought picking floors was going to be one of the easy ones – wide plank, dark stain – but check out these stunning rooms with white floors.
The staircase featured in this Paris apartment by Ecole design group, is incredible. Personally, I’d be petrified to reach the second floor and this is definitely not a kid friendly place, but the aesthetic is amazing.
Something must be in the air, but I’ve received tons of inquiries lately about the toddler bed featured in the photograph with my buttons rug on my site. I figured this would be as good a time as any to share the details.
The bed is by Nume and I have to agree it’s quite lovely. And hey, if I can be so bold, I think it looks particularly nice with the buttons rug. What do you think?
I’m Katherine Yaphe, the founder and designer behind Oliver Yaphe, Inc. This business was an idea in my mind for a long time. I knew that I wanted to build something, I just didn’t know how. I worked in the corporate world dreaming of what to do next. Then one day I decided to just start. I launched with rugs. Branched off to artwork. Paper came next. We’ll see what’s to come. What I do know, is there will be more.
Oliver Yaphe Blog
I love being inspired to create. It doesn’t matter how big or small the undertaking, it’s more about this feeling that drives so much of what I do. This blog is my space to instill a bit of that energy to my readers. It’s a lofty goal. I might fail horribly. But every once in a while, something might click (or at least I hope so).
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Above: Ditte Isager Photography
