Inviting guest bedroom

Lots that is clever about this serene guest bedroom.  The shared central bedside table saves on space but what pulls the scheme all together is the size and layout of the six prints over the beds.  Plenty of reading material in the bottom of the bedside too.

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Image: Antonio Martins

I could do that . . .

Recently I actually made something with a sewing machine - not a big thing for most people but a first for me and I was very proud of myself. A friend kindly trusted me with her machine and with some practice runs and a lot of referring to the troubleshooting section of the handbook I made a blind for my kitchen door.

So, now I have new category in my folder of ideas - the 'I could do that' category, all of which so far are rectangular because of current level of sewing skills. I think I might be able to manage a cool cushion like this one - and so much more practical than pile of different sized pillows.

Image: Lucy Berridge via Desire to Inspire

Tip of the day

Reading one of those '500 designer tips you you should know . . ' type of articles, one suggestion was to paint the wall behind a collection of pictures or objects in a dark shade for added impact. Especially good if you have a collection of black and white photos to display.

Images: Heiberg Cummings, via Mrs Blandings, David Prince via Desire to Inspire

Family room inspiration

It's a slippery slope - I did the whole 'cough so no one will notice' and tore this image out of an old copy of Belle magazine in the doctors waiting room yesterday. I don't normally do that but this is exactly what I want to do with picture rails in my family room so I couldn't leave it behind. One page is better that stuffing the whole magazine in my bag I reckon.

I am about to ship out our big Expedit full of books and toys to the spare room which will become the boys play room. I am going to reclaim the living room and use the wall space currently behind all the toys and books to create a look like this. You can now buy picture shelves like these at IKEA starting at $8 for smaller lengths which I will paint to match my walls and work from there. I think this is a very inviting and practical living space which are exactly the two goals I am trying to meet.

Image: Belle

Perfect placement

While photo walls look like they are easy to copy or achieve - like most things there is a bit of a difference I feel between good and great. This is a stunning array of frames, mounts and photos. I also like the subtle squares in the wallpaper. Obviously not a house where anyone runs their hands along the walls though . . .

Image: Eric Cohler via Patricia Grey

Day Birger et Mikkelson

This image is from the very stylish Day magazine produced by Day Birger & Mikkelson Danish fashion and homewares designers. In the past I have been quite minimal around my home but increasingly am starting to think about displaying more of my photos and favourite pictures and copying some of these stylists' very effective layering. I would never have thought of placing a photo behind a glass vase for example.

Image: Day

Geometry

I am always on the look out for innovative photo layouts like this one as my house has lots of nooks and corners like in grave need of some time and effort to make something of them. I like the triangle layout and the way the two pictures on the other wall are lined up to its middle. The obsessive compulsive in me would have to line up the bottom of the pictures along its base though . .

Image: Wendy Blount via Desire to Inspire

Fitting in the photos

Ok, back to business. One of my projects for this year is to sort out our living room and one of the challenges about my living room is that there is pretty much no wall space. One wall has a huge window, one wall is nearly all sliding doors to outside and the other two have cupboards and shelves along them - so there is little space for pictures etc to personalise the space.

This beautiful home has been featured in a few magazines - its in St Barts and is owned (if I remember correctly) by a Scandinavian couple. I had never thought of displaying photos around a door like this and I think it works really well. I am not sure what the angle poise is doing top right though - maybe highlighting a few favourites . . .

Image: Living etc