Belgian Country Home

Inspire Notes: A truly idyllic scene with chickens running freely, stone tiling, antique furniture, heavy old school oak doors, lots of hand made rugged raw furniture, fresh air and a peaceful country vibe. Even the ivy on the side of the home has grown in a dressy manner! If we put the dead animal carcase skins and hideous decapitated deer head well and truly aside this is a gorgeous space. All the elements are there to capture this kind of environment. Flowers, plants and fruit bowls abound, unbuffed wooden flooring, rattan baskets and chairs, handmade throws, roaring fireplace and rolltop …

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Dutch Mountain Home

This Dutch mountain home is what sustainable living can look like. The underground building has a large glass facade which allows the sun to heat the concrete slabs for heat in the winter. The thermal mass also keeps the home cool in the summer. The wooden cantilever is the piece of the house that is visible above landscape and is used to regulate sunlight. The rooms underneath have an open format to allow the home to grow and change with it’s family. The furnishing is resolutely Scandinavian and imaginative. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Our great thanks to: Architect: denieuwegeneratie Photography: John …

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Rural Holland Home

Inspire Notes: This the home of Ms Paula Leen and Mr Kees Middendorp. They live on a harbour in Northern Holland. Ms Leen is a Dutch felt artist and has created many of the items seen in this space. See the lamp in the bedroom below. Their creative influence is all over the home. Fond of recycling and upcycling, Mr Middendorp built the kitchen pantry from the home’s wood flooring. Ms Leen commissioned a local ironsmith to build the 11 foot long kitchen island. Sheeps wool plays a major role with other natural materials in creating the rural vibe of …

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Rustic Charm

  Inspire Notes: Ms Michaela Scherrer is somewhat a high priestess of simple rustic charm. Her interior design ideas are steeped in creating alluring, tranquil spaces and if this is what you desire, careful note should be taken not just of her eye for placement and colour palettes but of her choice of artful accessories.   This beautiful floor standing wrought iron lamp above is one such example. It is a great find which sits perfectly with the artists colour scheme and spatial awareness. The crumpled linen on the bed…   The glass blown vases above are another example. She …

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Simple Rustic Home

  Inspire Notes: Serene and peaceful with plenty of nature and natural elements. This is the picture perfect Formentera based home of Consuelo Castiglioni, creator of luxury fashion house Marni. It is an evocative build, parts of the house are almost biblical in feel and I don’t know about you, but it is in these kind of hushed, simple, low-tech environments that one feels able to ‘catch up’ with one’s true self again and throw out all the built up walls and pretense. I can almost hear the impatient morning call from the neighbouring farms cock crowing through my speaker …

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Bohemian Home

  Inspire Notes: Fresh, natural and vibrant. The homeowners have kept this space relaxed and terrifically inviting with plenty of soft furnishings, North African style leanings and large open windows to let in the sun.   The chairs in this space carry quite a bit of the overall style. There is the 1970’s African wicker chair just hiding out of shot above and the rather delicious hanging chair below. Can you see yourself dozing off there in the heat of the afternoon sun?     The curtained doors are very bohemian, very African.     ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   This home style …

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A Stable Home

  Inspire Notes: David Kohn has built a one level airy space from a 19th century stable block. The setting is open plan with windowed walls giving a generous view of the garden. Simple. Open plan. Whitewashed walls. Open hearth. Lovely.               ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   This home style is pure minimalist, rustic living. There is no statement furniture, just solid, well made, reliable, old fashioned craftsmanship in the form of the dining table and the sideboard, for example. This is about bringing nature in via large windowed walls and enjoying the vast green play area …

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Simple Rustic

  Inspire Notes: This beautiful, single storey home in Sweden overlooks a wide expanse of lake waters. The house is built in a H-shape which protects the exposed courtyard and creates a warm intimacy. The simple rustic feel is created by the use of natural materials, iron, untreated pine wood and concrete. Simple. Rustic. Raw. Beautiful.   Wood decking, rattan chairs and a lovely exterior fire creates a cosy place to sit and watch the gorgeous natural views.   A rugged, honest architectural structure…And is it me or is this building flipping the world off saying, ‘yeah, I’m individual, isolated, …

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