BEST HOME DESIGNS

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Custom Floor Design Photo Ideas

Saturday, July 4, 2009

David sent me this find -- some wonderful, industrial, lamps by kozo lamp. (And we love lighting, don't we? Sometimes I worry that I post *too* many lighting options, but then decide, "nah, stylish electricity is the easiest way to steampunk a house.")

The Kozo 3.

Here's what the makers have to say about the lamps: “With a bit of humor and a certain audacity, KOZO lamps stand as alien lighting figures, telling a new story”

The Kozo 2.

KOZO lamps are made out of galvanized iron plumbing tubes, hand picked and collected from different manufacturers. each bares the trademarks of its origin.

Kozo 1

The materials are left as authentic as possible with a little rust at the joints and some marks from hand tools that were used in the assembly process.

Kozina

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Simple Home Decor Ideas

Practical Magic's Victorian Apothecary

Did the phrase "Victorian Apothecary" get your attention? (Or maybe just the fact that I'm posting after so long a hiatus while working on the renovations to my house?)

This is the kitchen from the 1998 witchy-fun movie, designed by the duo of Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, who went on to create wonderful real houses under the umbrella of their design firm Roman and Williams.

From the Practical Magic website: The New England-style home also features a roomy kitchen -- the heart of the house -- which centers around a British aga-gas stove.

"The aga is almost like a shrine," elaborates Standefer. "This is the place where they do their work; it's where they place the caldron."

The pantry features shelves of home-canned foods -- the kind of thing past generations of women used to spend their days filling which now fell to members of the prop department, who had to fill hundreds of jars.

Standefer sees the house as being a very real character in the story. "The house itself has a certain magic to it. There is a whole world in this house and garden. These women are outcasts and this place is their sanctuary; it almost feels as though all the emotion of the generations is caught up in its walls."

Although the wonderful transom windows above the doors would be challenging, approximating this look wouldn't be hard. Stick to a palette of whites and woods, use a mixture of dark and white glass fronted cabinets (Ikea's LIDINGÖ and LILJESTAD would work) and accessorize with glass cloches and apothecary jars.