Dream Homes : Mykonos

This property is actually two villas names Orpheus & Eurydice.

British owned and South African architect designed, they are also available for rental during the summer.

With five bedrooms, simple but stylish furnishings....they look the epitome of tranquility.

Their brief to the architect was that nothing in the house should distract from the dramatic views of the Aegean and that it should be as comfortable as possible.

The owners were married in the chapel above the pool, overlooking the sea....how lovely!

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(all images via MarieClaireMaison.com)

So much to think about when buying a home, for information on surveyors, valuers & surveyors negligence look online.

Dream Home : A Stockholm Loft

This beautiful rooftop conversion is the home & workplace of artist Carouschka Streijiffert

Previously home only to pigeons, the conversion involved major work, creating windows, roof openings, adding steel beams and working with the existing industrial structure.

Wood & steel combine, curves & line combine make a fascinating & interesting home with views of old Stockholm and the Baltic Sea.

all images via Marie Claire Maison

House and Home : An Office in the Garden

Office "pods"....very cool 

(images via PodSpace)

(images via Pinterest) 

Ever dreamed of creating/building a home office in your garden? Converting a shed or summer house maybe....even a tree house. I watched a TV show the other day on "unusual spaces" where a man with a very large garden was having a beautiful shiny vintage Airstream lifted by crane into the end of his garden....the interior had been custom designed for him to entertain....it was both a dining area and a disco, quite fabulous!!

An artist friend of mine, having more than outgrown the boxroom where she attempts to work, is planning to convert her large garden shed into a home studio, she will replace most of one of the walls with glass and place a large work-table at one end....fairly simple changes really and at least it will give her a permanent space to work where she won't have to keep moving her work from the kitchen table every time her family needs to eat!!

Summerhouses and outside spaces have certainly become more popular, as more people work from home....and as building regulations state that planning permission is not needed if the building being constructed is less than 15 metres square & no one is sleeping in it, it's often a very feasible option.

home offices 

(images via Pinterest)

Even just leaving the house and heading to the end of the garden does give that feeling of "going off to work", just as some people work in a local cafe or library in order to focus more, even if it's just five minutes from home.

It creates that distance - from home, from housework and from phones and other distractions....

and with any luck, your whole family will forget you're in there & peace will ensue!

(images via PodSpace)

Summer Style : Eating Al Fresco

 
all images via Pinterest

It only takes a few consecutive hot & sunny days here in London and we've all managed to convince ourselves that summer is here to stay.

There's nothing better than eating al fresco....even the simplest of meals seems to taste better eaten in the open air, preferably in the sunshine. 

Plus possibly a view....of the sea or endless green fields.

A fabulously set table is wonderful but if you haven't the space - or the perfect table - simply take a summery tablecloth and put it on the lawn.

Some colourful/fun plates, some tealights in jam-jars if it's evening-time....

add some french bread, a bowl of salad, some cheeses or meats and a large jug of water flavoured with lemon or lime....

and you have yourself a pretty good picnic.

Above and below are some of my favourite "al fresco" images....

I think simple is the way to go....it doesn't have to be expensive whatsoever and I think the fact that you can throw it all together relatively quickly makes it even more appealing.

Great lighting also adds so much, there are so many options....
alternatively, a row of tea-lights dotted around the table always looks so pretty.

Add multi-coloured or mix & match chairs & tableware,

When we're in the south of France during August, dinner is often on the beach....

and very often consists of just 4 or 5 items....

a baguette, good cheese, tomatoes, salad, olives....

these are the meals & the times that my children remember....me too actually.

There's something special about being outside, the freedom, the space....

these the evenings you want to go on forever.

I cannot wait to be in Italy this summer!!

House & Home : Interior Design Courses

I wrote last week about how we are planning a house move and deciding if we want to take on a project....and also weighing up how big that project might be.

I've watched enough home renovation & "Grand Designs" type TV programmes to make me realise that pretty much everyone thinks they are an interior designer....

and that they could build a house too!

In a way I guess we all are interior designers....we all know our style & know what we like.

You walk into a home & instinctively know if you love it or hate....

if you could live with its style....or if you absolutely couldn't!

We pull out pictures from magazines & save hundreds of images on Pinterest of dream rooms and houses....homes that appeal to our current or our dream lifestyle.

Sometimes I pin an image which contains just one item - be it a window, a colour, an item of furniture - that I absolutely love and I can imagine building a room around that one piece, almost in the same way you put together an outfit based around a fabulous pair of shoes or a bag.

What might work in the Californian sunshine or a Manhattan loft might not work in a London townhouse or a French country farmhouse....

but, for me, the beauty of being able to search online & on Pinterest, is that you can get so many great ideas and so much inspiration and then adapt it for your own home.

Do we all have an inner interior designer...I'm not sure?

We all know what we could live with - or would like to live with - but some people's surroundings seem to matter less to them than others.

Some of us are very visual, some not so....

some like a minimalist look whereas for others their home means having items that they love and treasure around them.

I love the idea of living in a huge open plan loft space....

but that kind of home is fairly unusual in London and, also, I love rooms and the idea of creating different moods, having my own space, defining what each room is about. 

  

While I know I like a particular style, creating it is another thing.

Television programmes can be a great source of inspiration as can magazines....

seeing what has been created in someone else's home can provide a wealth of ideas.

I have friends who have a real talent for transforming a space, they have a signature style and a way of making a house a home, building it over time, adding the perfect item....

A friend of mine changed careers recently....having been a teacher for many years - and also being wonderfully creative - she took several interior design courses and is now a full time interior designer.

What I really admire is that while her own home is completely stylish & gorgeous & she clearly has her own taste....she is able to take the client's brief & interpret just what they want & like, without twisting it back to her own personal style at all.

It always makes me think of those TV programmes where a buyer has bought a home purely to sell, as opposed to living in it themselves....

their aim is to decorate in a neutral style to appeal to a maximum number of buyers but actually their own taste is visible everywhere!!

Hard not to do really.

I love taking courses, it's such a fun way of learning....but I've never done anything creative.

The idea of studying interior design really appeals to me....
lots of fun & also I imagine it would be enormously helpful, particularly if your project is huge & you don't really know where to start....like me!

Love My Course has some great courses....see here for interior design courses in London, interior design courses in the UK and online interior design courses.