Plantation House on Mustique

<span class="c"><span>Interior designer </span>Emma Burns </span>renovated a client’s house that had originally been designed by the island’s leading architect, Arne Hasselqvist, of Sweden<span class="c">. This plantation house is on Mustique which is a </span><span style="visibility: visible;" id="main"><span style="visibility: visible;" id="search"><em></em> small private island in the West Indies</span></span><span class="c">. Almost</span> everything for the house was made in England, then brought in by sea. The owner wanted the house to be a completely relaxing place to be in, a total escape from London.<br /><br /> <div class="byline"> <div class="contributors"> <span class="c"><span></span></span><br /><span class="c"><span></span></span> </div> </div><div color="transparent" style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl01_burns.jpg" style="width: 531px; height: 691px;" /><br />The formality of its front elevation, anchored by a central pediment, echoes Swedish classicism<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/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl02_burns.jpg" style="width: 531px; height: 691px;" /><br />In the expansive living room, furnishings such as the buffet, console table, mirror and stool have elaborate carvings and the Swedish style’s calming foggy-gray finish.<br /><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/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl03_burns.jpg" style="width: 531px; height: 691px;" /><br />Also in the living room, below a pickled-wood ceiling, are custom-made oversize sofas and chairs, each with an off-white cotton slipcover. All the furniture is low so that you can look out. Nothing clutters the view of the ocean.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl04_burns.jpg" style="width: 531px; height: 691px;" /><br />The living room’s veranda, an area made for entertaining amid the site’s cooling Atlantic breezes, has sconces by Hasselqvist and an ensemble of wicker sofas and chairs.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl05_burns.jpg" style="width: 532px; height: 442px;" /><br />Beautiful table setting in blues.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl06_burns.jpg" style="width: 532px; height: 693px;" /><br />The master suite’s carved and turned canopy bed, stool and bedside tables, all with a foggy-gray finish and placed atop a handmade off-white cotton rug, occupy one corner of a high-ceilinged space that interconnects with an anteroom, two dressing rooms and a bath.<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/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl07_burns.jpg" style="width: 532px; height: 693px;" /><br />From the anteroom, with its custom-made demilune table, lamp and carved mirror, another corner of the master bedroom—where the secretary is situated—can be seen.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl08_burns.jpg" style="width: 533px; height: 694px;" /><br />The children’s bedroom. The peach fabric on the lampshade and on the beds is from Manuel Canovas.<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/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl09_burns.jpg" style="width: 533px; height: 443px;" /><br />A short walk downhill from the main house is a balustraded terrace, an ideal setting from which to take in the beauty of the lagoon below. Because storms are not uncommon, its furnishings are portable—wicker armchairs and a table with a wicker base and a glass top.<br /><br /><img alt="" src="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/images/homes/2006/08/burns/hosl10_burns.jpg" style="width: 534px; height: 695px;" /><br />From the living room’s veranda, there are uninterrupted views of the property’s infinity-edge swimming pool—sited and designed to blend into the seascape—and its unfilled-coral-stone terrace. As throughout, the plantings are by landscape architect Guy Walker.<br /><br />Hope you enjoyed this tour. Come back tomorrow!<br /><div style="overflow: hidden; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; border: medium none;"><br /><span class="c"><span>Photography by </span>Luke White.<br /><br />All images from <a href="http://www.architecturaldigest.com/">Architectural Digest</a>.<br /></span></div><br /></div><br /></div>

Plantation House on Mustique

Interior designer Emma Burns renovated a client’s house that had originally been designed by the island’s leading architect, Arne Hasselqv...

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Renovated Farmhouse in Girona

Good morning dears. This renovated farmhouse is in Girona, a city <span style="visibility: visible;" id="main"><span style="visibility: visible;" id="search">northeast of Catalonia, in Spain. On a white background, details of tribal art, Chinese antiques or African rugs adorn every room.</span></span><br /><span style="visibility: visible;" id="main"><span style="visibility: visible;" id="search"><em></em> </span></span><br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_1g.jpg" /><br />Walls are made of stone. A rustic table, long wooden bench and wicker chairs make up a dining space in the porch.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_2g.jpg" /><br />Teak loungers by the pool.<br /><br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_3g.jpg" /><br />White cotton upholstered sofas, antique Majorcan chairs, a Portuguese coffee table, an Indonesian chest, antique Chinese vases and a zebra skin rug make up the eclectic living room.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_4g.jpg" /><br />Concrete and pebble flooring in the library and kitchen for a rustic look. The table is antique French.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_5g.jpg" /><br />Austere dining room with simple lines. Metal chairs were slipcovered to add warmth.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_7g.jpg" /><br />Concrete and pebble flooring and a long stone countertop in the kitchen. Those simple light bulbs hanging above the table look nice but I wonder whether you have to shade your eyes while eating here.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_8g.jpg" /><br />Ethnic style in the master bedroom where the beams have been painted white. The rug is from Morocco.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_9g.jpg" /><br />Sitting area upstairs.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_10g.jpg" /><br />One end of the master bathroom<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_11g.jpg" /><br />Claw foot bathtub and separate shower at the side.<br /><br /><img name="foto" src="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/espacios/389/389_3_6g.jpg" /><br />On the terrace an antique iron table with simple folding chairs by an olive tree.<br /><br />All images from <a href="http://www.nuevo-estilo.es/">Nuevo Estilo</a>.

Renovated Farmhouse in Girona

Good morning dears. This renovated farmhouse is in Girona, a city northeast of Catalonia, in Spain. On a white background, details of triba...

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House in Toronto

How was your weekend? Hope it was happy. Monday takes us to Canada where homeowners Laurent Papaix and David Toto spent four months renovating and almost a year decorating their new home on the beach area of Toronto. French and rustic touches in this bright and airy three-storey home.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-bistro-table.jpg" border="0" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-bistro-table.jpg" style="width: 550px; height: 637px;" vspace="0" /><br /><strong></strong>Sunny spot between the kitchen and the living room with an authentic marble-top bistro table purchased at Les Puces de St-Ouen flea market near Paris for under $150.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-kitchen.jpg" border="0" height="635" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-kitchen.jpg" vspace="0" width="550" /><br /><strong></strong>Other than the original birch floors, everything in the kitchen is new. "We didn't have space for an island, so the trolley is a compromise," says Laurent. "Our carpenter used salvaged wood topped with acid-washed marble." The farm-style sink has rustic edge that's tempered by the modern pendant light.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-dining.jpg" border="0" height="702" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-dining.jpg" vspace="0" width="550" /><br />China cabinet with slatted sides and glass-front doorsa Basque table runner and dramatic dark silk-and-cotton drapes from Paris. The lustrous crystal chandelier was purchased on a trip to Savannah, Georgia.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-fireplace.jpg" border="0" height="648" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-fireplace.jpg" vspace="0" width="550" /><br /><strong></strong> In the living room the antique mirror over the mantel rang in at over $500, but is perfectly at home with the vintage trunk scooped up for under $100. The antique ivory elephant figurines belonged to Laurent's grandmother, who lived on Africa's Ivory Coast.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-bedroom.jpg" border="0" height="671" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-bedroom.jpg" vspace="0" width="550" /><br /><strong></strong> Dark-colour shams punctuate the spot where a headboard should be. The bedside table was a HomeSense bargain; the DIY lamp was made from an at-home lighting kit - the base is a Spanish bottle.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-sitting-area.jpg" border="0" height="667" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-sitting-area.jpg" vspace="0" width="550" /><br /><strong></strong>Next to the master bedroom, the third-floor sitting area is a welcoming retreat for reading and late-afternoon naps. The <a href="http://www.styleathome.com/shopping/buying-guides/buying-guide-sofas/a/690" target="_blank"></a>sofa was covered in antique French colonial cotton that belonged to Laurent's grandmother.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-bathroom.jpg" border="0" height="652" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-bathroom.jpg" vspace="0" width="550" /><br /><strong></strong>In the second-floor main bathroom a claw-foot tubwas pos itioned on an angle for a dramatic effect.<br /><br /><img align="middle" alt="parisian-home-powder-room.jpg" border="0" height="736" hspace="0" src="http://www.styleathome.com/img/photos/biz/Style%20at%20Home/parisian-home-powder-room.jpg" vspace="0" width="550" /><br /><strong></strong>Crisp striped wallpaper and a new porthole-style window infuse the third-floor ensuite with a nautical feel. The ladder was an inexpensive antique store find.<br /><br /><dl class="authors photographe"><dt class="child_1">Photography byChristy Wright<span class="vcard"><a class="url" href="http://www.styleathome.com/homes/interiors/interior-french-charm/a/31329/9#" title="#"><span class="fn"></span></a></span></dt></dl>All images and information from <a href="http://www.styleathome.com/">Styleathome</a>.<br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span>

House in Toronto

How was your weekend? Hope it was happy. Monday takes us to Canada where homeowners Laurent Papaix and David Toto spent four months renovati...

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Alex Bates Beach Cottage

Happy Sunday to you my dear readers! Today I have a small beach cottage to show you. It belongs to Alex Bates, the creative director of West Elm and is located on Fire Island, New York.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/Mo/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Farm-Table-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 506px; height: 646px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">In the kitchen contemporary chairs were paired with a weathered farm table that belonged to the home's previous owners. The oyster plates were a gift from Bates's mother-in-law.<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/UB/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Breadbox-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 434px; height: 553px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">A vintage breadbox, earthy vessels by Heath Ceramics, and blue Martha Stewart bowls stitch together the room's beach-inspired color scheme.<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/w2/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Sofa-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 507px; height: 396px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">Alex covered her vintage sofa in easy-to-wash white canvas, and opted for a fuss-­free and affordable jute rug. An antique sea coral print hangs between the windows. High-gloss white paint on the ceiling reflects natural light.<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/AG/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Porch-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 502px; height: 385px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">The enclosed front porch doubles as a guest room, thanks to a built-in daybed decorated with pillows. The turtle shells were found at an antiques store.<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/sI/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Chess-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 500px; height: 638px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">Chinese wisteria and a hydrangea shrub give the cedar deck a sense of enclosure.<br /><strong></strong> A few chalked lines turn the family's deck into a game board for oversize chess pieces.<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/zX/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Bathroom-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 500px; height: 638px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">A collection of old group photos — from summer-camp kids to sports teams — hangs in the house's only bathroom<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/Am/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Guest-Room-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 501px; height: 640px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">For the guest room, Bates added cotton slipcovers to twin headboards from her own childhood.<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/s2/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Master-Bedroom-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 503px; height: 642px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">Bates furnished the master bedroom with a headboard and linens from West Elm, plus a couple of vintage paintings.<br /><br /></span><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.countryliving.com/cm/countryliving/images/bE/West-Elm-Beach-Decor-Front-Porch-0610-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 503px; height: 642px;" /><br /><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">Extra sun hats and beach totes await guests on the front porch, which also features a sisal-covered boat bumper.<br /><br /></span><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox">All images and information from <a href="http://www.countryliving.com/">Country Living</a>.<br /></span><span style="display: inline;" id="fb_captionbox"><br /></span>

Alex Bates Beach Cottage

Happy Sunday to you my dear readers! Today I have a small beach cottage to show you. It belongs to Alex Bates, the creative director of West...

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Italian Rustic House

Hello dears, hope you are having a nice weekend. To make it even nicer let's tour this rustic Italian house. You may find it hard to believe but this house is not located in Tuscany but in Houston, Texas! The house -decorated by Eleanor Cummings- is brand new but all the materials used are old. There was no need to import them from Italy, the stone and wood were acquired at Chateau Domingue, a huge warehouse and gardens full of reclaimed architectural materials.<br /><br /> <img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/V6/cummings01-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 499px; height: 636px;" /><br />Designer Eleanor Cummings used reclaimed wood, stone, and brick from Houston antiquities dealer Chateau Domingue to give the interiors an authentic old-farmhouse look. The front doors are 1850s Italian oak.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/ls/cummings02-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 502px; height: 641px;" /><br />In the study, Cummings had 10-foot-tall French shutters retro­fitted to the windows and put on a metal track so they would slide open and close, like curtains.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Km/cummings03-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 628px; height: 490px;" /><br />Cummings started with the Oushak rug in the living room: "All the colors in the room came out of that rug. I didn't want to perfectly match all of them, so I threw in one or two off-kilter colors, like the caramel on the settee. That makes a room look less contrived and controlled."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/VR/cummings04-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 503px; height: 642px;" /><br />The hallway between the entry and the living room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/o3/cummings05-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 502px; height: 641px;" /><br />An antique French chair is framed by curtains in Rogers & Goffigon's Pirouette silk.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/bi/cummings06-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 501px; height: 640px;" /><br />The dining room wall color was inspired by a terra-cotta hotel room in Provence. A graceful rusted-iron chandelier is a perfect match for the very narrow 18th-century Italian table. The settee is one of the few painted-wood pieces in the house — "and it's the prettiest painted wood you've ever seen," Cummings says.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/OB/cummings07-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 500px; height: 638px;" /><br />The only new wood in the house is the cedar planking on the porch ceiling, which resists damage from Houston's high humidity.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/jD/cummings08-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 498px; height: 636px;" /><br />She turned an Italian window grille into a hanging pot rack. "But when we put the pots on it, it seemed gimmicky. So we've kept it as kind of an art installation."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/FN/cummings09-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 497px; height: 635px;" /><br />A bar is part of the family room.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/RE/cummings10-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -5px; left: -6px; width: 500px; height: 392px;" /><br />The warm tones of reclaimed wood and stone give the kitchen a cozy, inviting feeling. "The poplar cabinets have the most lustrous chamois color, and great grain," Cummings says. To make the Viking refrigerators look more in sync with the rustic elements, Cummings had them covered with zinc.<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Bw/cummings11-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 499px; height: 637px;" /><br />The powder room mirror is behind an antique Italian window grille: "Not what you'd expect, but everybody loves it. And I love all those dings and splotches on the old stone sink. Makes it even more beautiful."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/FN/cummings12-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 498px; height: 636px;" /><br />"The blue shutters in the master bath are one of the few painted surfaces in this entire house," Cummings says. "But it's the original paint."<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Kz/cummings14-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 495px; height: 632px;" /><br />The stairway railing is hand-forged iron<br /><br /><img id="fb_image" src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/Sf/cummings13-0410-de.jpg" style="top: -55px; left: 44px; width: 590px; height: 753px;" /><br />Wood beams and antique Parefeuille tile are juxtaposed on the ceiling in the master bedroom. "This ceiling is so powerful, I had to scale everything back and keep it simple," says designer Eleanor Cummings. "We tried a painting over the bed, but it felt like an intruder."<br /><br />All images and information from <a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/">here</a>.

Italian Rustic House

Hello dears, hope you are having a nice weekend. To make it even nicer let's tour this rustic Italian house. You may find it hard to bel...

Read more »