Celebrity Home: Grey's Anatomy Girl at Home

Pin It

This weekend I bring you the laidback home of Grey’s Anatomy star Ellen Pompeo - a classic 1920’s Spanish-style home in the Hollywood Hills. For the decor, Ellen was inspired by all things Mediterranean, Morocco, Spain, Tuscany, and the South of France—not only for their design traditions but also for their lifestyles that celebrate casual entertaining, hearty food, and sun-kissed repose. As she puts it, “This house is perfect for our family, it’s all about swimming, eating, and hanging out with friends”.

In the dining room, lanterns are suspended above an antique Guatemalan farmhouse table from Dos Gallos; the mirror is by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard, and the subway sign is vintage

The living room chairs were left by the previous owners, and a petrified-wood block from DAO Home serves as a side table.

In the den, the sectional and the ottoman, which are covered in a linen by C&C Milano and an Edelman leather, respectively, and the upholstered screens are all by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard; the woven-sea-grass stools are by ABC Carpet & Home.

In the master bedroom, the antique Egyptian wall hanging and 1950s West African pillows are from Hollywood at Home; the bed is topped with a cashmere blanket by Matteo and an Indian silk-and-wool throw, and the vintage lacquer campaign cabinets and ’60s Moroccan-style brass lamps are from Orange Furniture

The master bath features a tub and étagère by Waterworks, an antique Chinese bamboo ladder, and a zinc garden stool; the floor tiles are from Exquisite Surfaces 

The custom designed sofa is by Martyn Lawrence-Bullard

All images via Elle Decor.

Period living in Wales: Victorian Mill House

Pin It

I am back from my wonderful holiday in Wales and find myself completely obsessed with the quaint Welsh cottage style. I promise this phase will pass quickly, like my other fleeting obsessions, but before it does let me share a beautiful renovated old mill house. This Victorian mill and stables were transformed by owner Linda Cobbett into a functional home and was judged the Best Period Renovation of 2010 by UK magazine Period Living.

Linda retained several original features, which are the remnants of the industrial use of the building, such as the large metal windows, natural textures like the stonewalls and the wooden floorboards. Other components such as the old drive wheel of the mill has been used as a unique chandelier in the living room. 

The U shaped kitchen island, formerly used as a counter in a sweet shop 

All images via Period Living

Welsh Cream Tea in the Brecon Beacons

Pin It

Here are some photographs from my recent trip to Wales. We stayed in the village of Penderyn near Aberdare and enjoyed two whole days of walks and rides in the Brecon Beacons National Park. On the last day, we decided to regain some of the lost calories and treat ourselves to a Welsh Cream Tea. 

It was an impulse stop; driving along the A4059, we saw a small sign for Ty Newydd Country Hotel, advertising cream teas. That was it, my sugar sensor perked up and I could see scones laden with cream and strawberries floating in front of my eyes. We just had to go in.

Apparently, we were not the only ones who had succumbed to temptation. There was a group of English gentlemen wearing tweed waistcoats and berets, enjoying their tea in the garden while puffing on their cigars. They were driving their vintage cars through the most picturesque roads in Wales. Cars that looked so magnificent, lined up in front of the Neo-Georgian building that I couldn’t help but steal a quick photograph. Can it possibly get any more English than this? 

On to the Cream tea, I believe I should spare you the words and just let you look at my photographs of tiered cake stands with homemade scones, welsh cakes, bara brith, clotted cream and jam (yes you get a cake stand all to yourself!). Just make sure you head over to Ty Newydd if you are ever in the area. It will be well worth it, I promise.

Innovative stairs

Pin It

I am always on the lookout for interesting stair design, and this staircase by architect Francesco Librizzi definitely grabs attention. It was designed for a 1900’s house in Milan. The client required extra space but did not want the original tiles, windows and doors to be tampered with.

Seems like an impossible task but Librizzi came up with a  simple and elegant solution – his idea was to insert a mezzanine into the double height space and connect it to the ground floor with a 2D frame staircase. Although I like the striking design, I cannot help but think that the stair treads look very uncomfortable. If I were the user, I would certainly prefer stepping on a flat and broad bar. Maybe it's just me, but  I believe that good design has to be comfortable and functional along with being visually appealing.   

Minimalistic white house in Sweden

Pin It

All images via Dwell

Traditional meets modern in a Spanish country home

Pin It

Dating back to early 1700’s, this house was built in Algaida, Mallorca as a warehouse and oil mill. But by the time architect Durval Dias Junior discovered it, it had lain abandoned for decades and fallen into disrepair. The architect was fascinated with the possibilities that this building offered, he says, "the building retained enough original architectural elements to give it a clear identity". 

He set about restoring these traditional elements using local sandstone to repair the walls, arches of the windows and the staircase. Wooden beams salvaged from the site were re-purposed to make the interior doors. Use of such earthy materials along with the elegant architectural austerity, few ornaments and open spaces pay a warm tribute to the sober Mallorcan village houses. 

The Spartan industrial backdrop compliments the minimalistic interior style perfectly. Durval has used modern furniture and a soothing palette of earthy colours and natural materials like wood, stone and iron. An unadorned concrete floor unifies the space and accents of red provide the final flourish to bring it all together.

All images via Nuevo Estilo

Having fun with Marimekko!

Pin It

I just love Marimekko. More so because the company is always looking for ways to encourage people to have fun with their products – be it through the craft book Surrur or the Marimekko tribe. These initiatives help bring people together in a positive way.

 

Such an initiative was planned for the Marimekko space at the International Design Festival Berlin held from 1st-5th of June 2011. There were interactive workshops on each day of the event under the theme of “Why Not Together”. These explored the different seasons, as they play a special role in Finnish society and affect how Marimekko creates products.

Each day was marked with a change in mood and atmosphere – with a long table laid out with seasonal fabrics. Different activities were planned for each day, inviting people to create using Marimekko fabric off-cuts. 

Etsy’s local Berlin office also participated with an activity of their own using the same fabric off-cuts. The Marimekko table was an intense area of concentration with people spending from 20 mins to a few hours creating bags, ornaments, jewellery and even voo-doo dolls.

All images courtesy Marimekko blog.