Exterior Design of Twin Minimalist House Design
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
So who wants to rent a beach house....
12:44 PM
Unknown
A beach view from our front windowLife changes.
After many sleepless nights, it has come time to acknowledge that we have to do something about my parent's beloved beachfront 'shack' (shack sounds soooooo much more romantic than house) so we have decided to rent it out for the first time ever. As you will see from just a few photos I dared to put on my blog for now that nothing has changed since it was built in the 60's. It will not be a holiday rental but a permanent rental for somebody who wants to live on the beachfront...no roads, just walk to the beach outside the front door.
What would I love to do....
via...house of turquoiseThis is what I would love to do haha! Just imagine sitting in this room, surrounded by all these beautiful colours right on the beach front. Sadly, not for this little house as it is purely a rental property that needs to bring in income and be rented asap. We met with the agents a few days ago and they told us what needed to be done on the inside and out. Their advise was not to do any thing that wasn't urgent as it will not bring us any more rent. I find this concept really difficult as I want to 'pretty the interior' and put in new things that will make the renters happy. This is not how to approach a rental property apparently. Oh well....at least I am allowed to paint it in a colour I like.
Our little beach shackOpen living...most houses along the beach don't have front fences. The original concept was for all the kids to play together. We do however need to put up a side fence just to have some privacy from the neighbour. I wonder how they are going to react when they get the fencing notice as the do love to 'spread out' when they come up.
Oh! see those 2 trees in the background...they are in our property and have to come down. The root systems have not only got into the sewage but has made our driveway almost impossible to drive on. Problems, problems, problems. Thank goodness Mr B has taken over as property supervisor and meeting with all the tree cutters, plumbers, painters etc etc All too much for me and to think I watch all the reno shows. I will stay home and watch the kids I think. My idea of renovating is picking pretty colours and going on shopping expeditions LOL
One scary picture coming up.......
The 1964 interior!This is a before shot....of course you knew that. the agents said not to change a thing, just a good scrub and to change the stove to a new one. A bit of paint, new appliance , nice roman blind and a floating shelf on the left hand wall (we already have one...bonus!) and hopefully this kitchen will look sweet for a beach shack. By the way...have a look at what Michelle has done with her kitchen on a shoestring budget.
Before Shot...image via De Novo Concepts
After Shot...via De Novo Concepts This is what I am going to do!....A bit of paint can transform a Kitchen immediately.
Hope you enjoyed my rambling beach shack post...updates in the next few weeks as this project needs to be completed immediately.
Mrs B
Loft Room Divider
12:14 PM
Unknown
We're in the process of downsizing from a 4000 sq ft home to a 1200-sq ft loft. Do you know, loft living sounds more romantic than it actually is? We find that we really miss the traditional division of space. We miss having rooms. We miss the privacy!
We've been looking into options of dividing the space. Drapery is one, but do you have any idea how expensive a piece of fabric with four stitching is? It's quite a mystery actually, how much drapery can cost. The other option is to go with a company like the Sliding Door, but they are really pricey too.
We found this company, Loft Wall, today and we thought it might be a good option. They make portable dividers that you can customize the sizing and the panels. They are not cheap but they are not too expensive either. You can visit the web site to download the price list. Keep in mind that the published prices are retail, and no one pays retail!
Here are some samples:
To see more product specifications and pricing info, visit the Loft Wall web site.
We've been looking into options of dividing the space. Drapery is one, but do you have any idea how expensive a piece of fabric with four stitching is? It's quite a mystery actually, how much drapery can cost. The other option is to go with a company like the Sliding Door, but they are really pricey too.
We found this company, Loft Wall, today and we thought it might be a good option. They make portable dividers that you can customize the sizing and the panels. They are not cheap but they are not too expensive either. You can visit the web site to download the price list. Keep in mind that the published prices are retail, and no one pays retail!
Here are some samples:
Modern Planters
12:02 PM
Unknown
When we go to a really cool restaurant in Miami or Los Angeles we are always envious of the huge, modern planters that they have. It's really hard to find them. Most of the pottery places that we have in our local area sell the traditional planters. If you have a modern home you are kinda out luck.
Anyway, we just found a great source today for huge, commercial modern planters that we thought we'd share with you. They are so cool! We have no idea how much they cost, sorry. But if you are interested drop us a line and we'll get pricing info for you.
Here are some samples:
These are made by Green Form. To see more see their web site.
Anyway, we just found a great source today for huge, commercial modern planters that we thought we'd share with you. They are so cool! We have no idea how much they cost, sorry. But if you are interested drop us a line and we'll get pricing info for you.
Here are some samples:
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Color Story: Red
11:37 PM
Unknown
A pop of red home accessories to brighten up your day...
Red coral statues from Made Goods, Red Silk Flowers from New Growth Design, Shikaro Red Fabric from Fschumacher, Red Garden Stool from Urban Trend, Red Carpet from Chandra, Red Pillow from Caroline Cole, Red Chair from Jessica Charles, Red Artwork from Art Frame Source, Red Mirror from Made Goods.
All can be found under our home decor section.
Red coral statues from Made Goods, Red Silk Flowers from New Growth Design, Shikaro Red Fabric from Fschumacher, Red Garden Stool from Urban Trend, Red Carpet from Chandra, Red Pillow from Caroline Cole, Red Chair from Jessica Charles, Red Artwork from Art Frame Source, Red Mirror from Made Goods.
All can be found under our home decor section.
Black and White Artwork
4:21 PM
Unknown
We usually have a really hard time finding artwork. Mainly because we know nothing about art and when you know nothing about something you tend to be really insecure. We suppose art is like wine, you can pretend to be a connoiseur or you can just decide you like what you like and that's that.
It's easier that way, no?
So here are some artworks that we just picked up for our own personal loft lately. It's a modern loft with very dark floors and white paint, so we thought we keep it simple by sticking to black and white theme. We really like them in person. They are made professionally for commercial projects so they look really nice and expensive, even though they are quite reasonable.
For more information on pricing and sizes, you can check out our artwork section. They are on the first few pages of the category.
It's easier that way, no?
So here are some artworks that we just picked up for our own personal loft lately. It's a modern loft with very dark floors and white paint, so we thought we keep it simple by sticking to black and white theme. We really like them in person. They are made professionally for commercial projects so they look really nice and expensive, even though they are quite reasonable.
For more information on pricing and sizes, you can check out our artwork section. They are on the first few pages of the category.
Barbara Barry Home Accessories for Global Views
4:10 PM
Unknown
We haven't seen much from Barbara Barry for a while. She was huge a few years back, with furniture for Baker, fabrics for Kravet and so on. Her stuff was always so expensive though, so it was a nice surprise to see her home accessories collection for Global Views. They are actually reasonable!
The accessories has her signatured subdued colors & clean-lined styles. Here are some examples:
These items run between $100-$250 each. They will be posted in our home decor section shortly.
The accessories has her signatured subdued colors & clean-lined styles. Here are some examples:
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wallpaper and Drapes
6:06 PM
Unknown
Colour examples for Theatre, Bedroom and StudyFinally my wallpaper and drapes are almost done! What an exhausting process it has been for the last 2 years. I wont go into details about my search for wallpaper but finally I have settled on 3 designs I love. Also, The drape fabric that Vanessa, the Laura Ashley consultant suggested is more perfect than what I could imagine. So, here are the pics and a big thank you to Vanessa who took the time to help me decide and cut out samples for me so I could see how they looked in my own home.
My bedroomMy bedroom at the moment is a blank canvas. I also wanted a 'blue' theme just like I see in many awe inspiring blogs but it has taken me a while to realise that blue does not really work with colours I already have. So 'blue' may have to be in accent colours...will have to work it out. The wallpaper I have selected is Isodore bronze/silver. When we held up a large sample in my room, it was one of those light bulbs moments....perfect! Compliments everything when standing back in the lounge with my green couch as the two rooms join each other. Pattern is quite large and the background is almost the same colours as my walls.
Isodore in silver/bronze The next task was to find a fabric that didn't compete again the pattern in the wallpaper. I hate matchy, matchy stuff and really wanted a beautiful 'silk like' drape for the room that goes from the ceiling to the floor, wall to wall. Now this is going to be very expensive so whatever I was going to pick, I had to LOVE not just think it matches!!!!
This is what Vanessa found back in the cutting room....
Curtain Fabric selected for the bedroom Pictures do not do this fabric justice at all. It has the appearance of silk but much more studier and if I can say absolutely beautiful to feel and hold. If I am paying a fortune for curtains in my bedroom then it has to be something very special. This is it! Together with the wallpaper is looks perfect, different patterns but one doesn't overwhelm the other. If you are reading this and thinking OMG what is Mrs B doing LOL...what I am doing is adding my personality into a modern home...if there is one room in the house I want to be luxurious and romantic, it is my bedroom. Just wait till you see all the room come together.
Theatre RoomNow onto the theatre room. This room I had always imagined blue/teal/turquoise but the wallpaper I picked had to be a darker tone as we have a projector in the room so therefore darker colours are more appropriate. The wallpaper is charcoal based colour that 'should not' fight against the brown in the couches. It has a touch of gold and silver to the pattern as well.
Wallpaper 'Erin' in charcoal for the studyThis will go against the wall where the pictures are. I just hope the pattern is not too busy. The pictures are going back up but if they don't look right with the wallpaper, they will go else where.
Now, the drape fabric was the hardest selection to pick as it has to be fairly heavy to block out all light as well as not fight against the wallpaper pattern like the room upstairs.
Theatre wallpaper with sample of curtain fabricI picked a neutral fabric as you can see in the picture above. Oh hum I say. OK, it fits and the fabric is lovely to feel but if I am spending a big $$$$'s on just one window then I think I should once again LOVE the fabric that I have picked. This one just looks safe and matches. So, I am ringing Vanessa up to pick my a fabric like the one she did for my bedroom.
If anybody has a comment about this, I am happy to listen...as always!
Theatre wallpaper with bedroom fabricThis is better but I don't want to use the same fabric (secretly I wish a blue colour fabric would work in this colour scheme)
Study and wall leading upstairsFinally, the easiest room to select for but the most difficult to wallpaper. We are having a striped wallpaper hung horizontal not vertical. It was suggested to wrap it right around the wall and up the stairs as well. I think this will be a WOW effect but I don't know how the wallpaper guy is going to do this. Great idea though...so watch this space for what we do!
Wallpaper for study wall and staircaseSo, long post today but I wanted to show you the direction I was heading. have a great weekend!
Mrs B
