Summer House in Cantabria

Good morning sweet readers, it's Friday and I'm taking you to Spain today. This house is in Cantabria, which is located between the Cantabrian sea and Cantabrian mountains in northern Spain. An airy and bright summer house with huge windows to bring the outside in, exposed beams in all the rooms and a mix of antique, rustic and modern furniture. Decorated by interior designer Ana de Castro. Let's take the tour.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/con-el-encanto-del-campo/porche/fachada-y-porche/318777-1-esl-ES/Fachada-y-porche_large.jpg" style="width: 551px; height: 427px;" /><br />Everything set to enjoy the good weather. A wicker living room set in the porch and weathered table and chairs on the lawn.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-recibidor-rustico-diafano/recibidor/recibidor/318789-1-esl-ES/Recibidor_large.jpg" style="width: 462px; height: 544px;" /><br />An antique front door opens to the foyer. All the oak beams and pillars have been lightly painted in white. Stone was used in all the ground floor rooms.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon/318801-1-esl-ES/Salon_large.jpg" style="width: 536px; height: 416px;" /><br />The large sitting room was divided into two areas with chaise lounges on one side and the living area on the other.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon-2/318809-1-esl-ES/Salon-2_large.jpg" style="width: 536px; height: 416px;" /><br />View of the sitting room from the foyer. A vintage window frame hangs over the fireplace. Notice the unusual mirrors on the cupboard door.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon-3/318813-1-esl-ES/Salon-3_large.jpg" style="width: 537px; height: 416px;" /><br />No need to go outdoors to enjoy the view.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/vida-al-calor-de-la-chimenea/salon/salon-4/318817-1-esl-ES/Salon-4_large.jpg" style="width: 467px; height: 550px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/simulando-un-porche-cubierto/comedor/comedor/318858-1-esl-ES/Comedor_large.jpg" style="width: 467px; height: 550px;" /><br />Rustic table and Regent style dining chairs.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/simulando-un-porche-cubierto/comedor/comedor-2/318862-1-esl-ES/Comedor-2_large.jpg" style="width: 467px; height: 550px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/con-dos-camitas-y-un-cabecero-de-obra/dormitorio-infantil/dormitorio-infantil/318874-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-infantil_large.jpg" style="width: 466px; height: 548px;" /><br />Soft lavender tones in the children's bedroom.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/con-dos-camitas-y-un-cabecero-de-obra/dormitorio-infantil/dormitorio-infantil-2/318878-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-infantil-2_large.jpg" style="width: 466px; height: 548px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-suelo-de-madera-de-castano/distribuidor/distribuidor/318897-1-esl-ES/Distribuidor_large.jpg" style="width: 466px; height: 548px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-imponente-espacio-para-relajarse/dormitorio-principal/dormitorio-principal/318915-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-principal_large.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 551px;" /><br />Two matching headboards of single beds were used for the king sized bed in the master bedroom. Twin ottomans at the foot of the bed and a large mirror leaning on the wall complete the look.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-imponente-espacio-para-relajarse/dormitorio-principal/dormitorio-principal-2/318929-1-esl-ES/Dormitorio-principal-2_large.jpg" style="width: 468px; height: 551px;" /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.elmueble.com/var/elmueble/storage/images/casas/de-campo/tributo-al-pasado/un-imponente-espacio-para-relajarse/dormitorio-principal/zona-de-lectura/318933-1-esl-ES/Zona-de-lectura_large.jpg" style="width: 551px; height: 428px;" /><br />A pair of modern chaise lounges at the other end of the master bedroom. A basket holds extra blankets and pillows.<br /><br />I have linked this post over at Melissa's <a href="http://theinspiredroom.net/">The Inspired Room</a>. As always, thanks for hosting Melissa!<br /><br />All images from <a href="http://www.elmueble.com/">here</a>.

Summer House in Cantabria

Good morning sweet readers, it's Friday and I'm taking you to Spain today. This house is in Cantabria, which is located between the ...

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Renovated House in the Hamptons

Built in the early 1980s, this 10 room house was so badly designed that it lacked even a proper front entrance. But it had one attribute that erased all of its defects: It was perfectly placed on one of the choicest spots in East Hampton. On one side was the Atlantic Ocean. On the other was an elegant wooden windmill, built in 1801. The owners appointed architect Andrew Pollock to renovate it and Cullman & Kravis for the interiors. This is how it turned out.<br /><br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/01_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />How about having a 19th-century windmill in your front garden?<br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/03_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />The dining pergola offers unobstructed water views.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/02_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />In the living room a large steel-and-ormolu Italian mirror from the 1930s was set just inches above an early-19th-century New England mantel.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/04_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />Dark gray pietra serena Italian countertop, white cabinets and white subway tiles behind the range.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/05_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 498px;" /><br />A new stair landing created space for a reading nook. The elmwood comb-back Windsor chair dates to the 1780s, and the candlestick table is from the late 19th century. Sisal carpet.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/06_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />The residents collect contemporary photography, and the master suite includes works by Malick Sidibé, Lou Bernstein and Robert Frank. The sitting room’s five-foot-square double chaise provides an inviting place for two people to relax.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/08_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />Neil Winokur portraits of the owners’ past and present dogs hang above the fireplace in the sitting area adjacent to the kitchen.<br /><br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/07_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />The guesthouse entrance is accessed through a manicured garden.<div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /></div></div><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/10_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 497px;" /><br />A bridge at the rear of the house leads to a “sunset deck” atop the poolhouse. <div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/architects/2009/05/cullman/09_elissa_cullman.jpg" style="width: 599px; height: 497px;" /><br />Landscape designer Jane E. Lappin surrounded a deck with salt-tolerant plants.<br /><br />Architecture by Andrew Pollock/Interior Design by Cullman & Kravis<br /><br />Photography by Durston Saylor<br /><br /></div>All images and information from <a href="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/">here</a>.<br /></div>

Renovated House in the Hamptons

Built in the early 1980s, this 10 room house was so badly designed that it lacked even a proper front entrance. But it had one attribute t...

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Swedish and French Furniture

An English Tudor house with a country feel was transformed into a Swedish style home by interior designers Carol Glasser and Katrin Cargill. Enfilades [room-to-room views] are a hallmark of Swedish style, and a number of doors on the ground floor were taken out to create one. Interior shutters that tuck in to the window reveals were added, and wide Canadian pine-plank flooring with a chalky limed finish.<br />Let's step in.<br /><br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white_bedroom-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 451px; height: 576px;" /><br />The designers had an artist hand-color and glaze 18th-century black-and-white Dutch engravings for the sunroom; eleven are originals, the balance photocopies that are all but indistinguishable from the real thing. Both chairs and table are Swedish antiques.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/blue-bedroom-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />Various vantage points in the family room, where an alderwood pedestal table separates dressed-up and dressed-down seating areas, one with a delicate Swedish painted sofa, the other (where the children watch TV) with a sprawling Charles sectional. Painted rustic planks on the walls.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/green-living-room-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 460px; height: 587px;" /><br />Antiques with their original paint — a French Directoire mantel and overmantel and Swedish tea table and armchair.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/green-clock-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 459px; height: 586px;" /><br />No Swedish house is complete without a longcase clock.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-dining-room-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />These dining chairs are a reproduction of Swedish furniture.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-nook-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 461px; height: 589px;" /><br />Gustavian armchair and Swedish dropleaf table in the breakfast room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-kitchen-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />Rather than hanging heavy cabinets on the kitchen's window wall, Cargill and Glasser designed plate racks to display part of a collection of French faience. Deployed throughout the house, the roller shade is a traditional Swedish design. Charles Edwards tole pendant lamp with a nickel lining.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/white-kitchen-2-0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 462px; height: 590px;" /><br />The Viking range has a graphite finish.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/11-swedish-fantasy-bedroom-dec0407-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px;" /><br />Nordic Style is one of Cargill and Glasser's favorite resources for Swedish lighting (the glass urn lamps), furniture (the painted chests, pressed into service as night tables), and fabrics (the Raspberry Small Check on the bench, and 19th-century bed in the Louis XVI taste). Scrubbed with liming paste, extra-wide Canadian pine floor planks are partially covered with flat-weave wool rugs.<br /><br /><br />All images and information from <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/">House Beautiful</a>.

Swedish and French Furniture

An English Tudor house with a country feel was transformed into a Swedish style home by interior designers Carol Glasser and Katrin Cargill....

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Outdoor Spaces

A second post today. Most of you, dear readers, are enjoying lovely sunny weather right now so I thought it would be a good idea to show you a collection of outdoor spaces put together by Architectural Digest. Lots of styles to choose from. Have your pick!<br /><br />1.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/08_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />2.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/01_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />3.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/02_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />4.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/03_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />5.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/05_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br /> 6.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/06_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />7.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/07_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />8.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/09_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />9.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/04_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />10.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/11_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />11.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/10_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />12.<br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2010/08/outdoor_spaces/12_outdoor_spaces.jpg" /><br /><br />All images from <a href="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/">Architectural Digest</a>.

Outdoor Spaces

A second post today. Most of you, dear readers, are enjoying lovely sunny weather right now so I thought it would be a good idea to show you...

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Designer Karyl Pierce Paxton's Home

After Hurricane Katrina, former interior designer (she is a lighting and product designer now) Karyl Pierce Paxton renovated her Queen Anne cottage in New Orleans completely. French and eclectic, she used a soft palette throughout the house and decorated it with African and New Guinean pieces and her collection of Catholic works of art and religious icons.<p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/o5/4-frenchlasts-exterior-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 470px; height: 600px;" /></p><p>The Queen Anne cottage has cut-out wooden trim, turned columns, a quirky horizontal balustrade, and fish-scale shingles on the second floor.</p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Vh/7-frenchlasts-patio-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 469px; height: 599px;" /></p><p>Paxton transformed a diminutive backyard into a brick courtyard.</p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Il/1-frenchlasts-diningroom-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 470px; height: 600px;" /></p><p>In her dining room, a French neoclassical-style dining table, circa 1800, wears its original paint. Louis XVI-style chairs and orange embroidered Indian silk curtains complete the look.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/TQ/2-frenchlasts-diningroom-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 469px; height: 599px;" /></p><p>An Italian console holds a silver tea set from Paxton's grandmother, sculptures from New Guinea and Africa and lamps she designed herself. Behind them is a dramatic painting by David Harouni. an artist who fled from Iran and moved to New Orleans.</p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/xc/3-frenchlasts-livingroom-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 469px; height: 599px;" /></p><p>In the front parlor, a circa 1800 French mirror reflects a Rococo-style chandelier.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/eN/6-frenchlasts-livingroom-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 468px; height: 366px;" /></p><p>In the second parlor, a pair of Louis XVI fauteuils with their faded needlepoint seats and backs made from antique Aubusson tapestries.</p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/hA/12-frenchlasts-parlor-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 470px; height: 600px;" /><p>French parlor suite. The twig and leaves floor lamp was made by Paul Gruer. He hand-sculpted each individual part in clay, fired it, and painted it.</p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/dY/8-frenchlasts-table-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 472px; height: 603px;" /></p><p>A crusty Empire mirror from a flea market leans on a demi-lune table.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/5A/9-frenchlasts-hall-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 498px; height: 636px;" /></p><p>The side hall distinguishes this type of New Orleans house.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/yt/10-frenchlasts-desk-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 497px; height: 635px;" /></p><p>An Italian painted desk makes the side hall into a usable room rather than a pass-through space.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Pf/11-frenchlasts-kitchen-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 498px; height: 636px;" /></p><p>A 19th-century Louisiana wood table takes center stage in a kitchen painted Benjamin Moore's Cloud White. Even in the kitchen there is a touch of drama with full length draperies.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/a4/13-frenchlasts-guestroom-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 497px; height: 635px;" /></p><p>Paxton decorated her ultra-feminine guest room to feel like a bed-and-breakfast in the south of France. To keep a rustic feeling, Paxton used salvaged cypress floorboards from a barn and left quarter-inch gaps between boards.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/9S/14-frenchlasts-bath-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 498px; height: 636px;" /></p><p>Double French doors in the master bathroom open to the courtyard, screened by a ten-foot cedar fence. The sink base is an 18th-century French buffet.</p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/NR/5-frenchlasts-patio-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 499px; height: 637px;" /></p><p>The master bathroom's French doors open onto a tiny courtyard. Paxton added the wraparound back porch in typical Victorian style.<br /></p><p><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/hC/15-frenchlasts-masterbedroom-0108-xlg.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 500px; height: 639px;" /></p><p>The master bedroom's walls are Benjamin Moore's Pittsfield Buff. A drawing by Mario Villa hangs between sconces made especially for that spot by Paul Gruer.</p><p>Photography by Kerri McCaffetty.</p><p>All images and information from <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/">here</a>.<br /></p>

Designer Karyl Pierce Paxton's Home

After Hurricane Katrina, former interior designer (she is a lighting and product designer now) Karyl Pierce Paxton renovated her Queen Anne...

Read more »