Great spaces…

I was literally blown away by these houses on Architectural’s Digest 100 Great Spaces feature. Minimalistic, yet still warm and homely, they are just stunning. Having grown up in Greece, I am a sucker for blue skies and the sea, so I can just imagine myself living happily ever after in the Norman Foster house! Click here for even more inspiration…

Designed by Jennifer Post, New York

Designed by Kelly Hoppen, London

Designed by Pip Cheshire & Terry Hunziker, Auckland

Designed by Richard Landry, California

Designed by Norman Foster

Designed by Donna Livingston, Indian Wells – California.

Our favourite black & white shots from Domino mag

It seems everyone and everything has been hit by the credit crunch and the latest victim is one of the US’s best interiors magazine and website Dominomag. It’s a shame as they brought interior design mainstream and they were used by many for inspiration… Thankfully, we still have Architectural Digest! Anyway, I managed to salvage some of my favourite room photos before their website closes down for good, so I’ll be sharing them with you over the next few days… black & white palette for today – enjoy…

Now this is what I call an entrance hall to remember! Of course this wallpaper would only work in a room such as the hallway where one doesn’t spend too much time, otherwise you’d go crazy… This photo made me laugh because it reminded me of when we moved house when I was about 12 and I begged and begged my mum to paint my walls in red and black stripes! Well, let’s just say, thank god she didn’t listen to me…

Animal prints are all the rage at the moment and this zebra- patterned rug makes an otherwise simple room (the tables and sofa are quite Ikea – like) look fantastic, whilst the different- patterned cushions add a bit of much- needed excitement!

I don’t think I’ll ever quite understand how people manage to keep their white houses, white walls and especially white sofas clean (guess they’re just not as messy as me…), but boy, white houses do look great if accessorized correctly! The key is to add items that are warm and rich in texture, like throws and cushions. Although this room isn’t exactly brimming with home furnishings, the dark floor, exposed brickwork in the fireplace and fresh flowers are enough to do the trick.

Strictly speaking, the colour palette of this dining room is black and cream, not white, but who’s checking?? Anyway, the dining chairs serve to bring the dark wooden floor and cream coloured walls together in this dining room, whilst the small touches of gold (chandelier, fireplace, vase) give the room an air of sophisticated opulence. For similar french country furniture, try Sweet Pea and Willow.

Aaahh, what a bedroom! I wish I had the space for a four-poster bed… It just screams of grandeur and serenity. I absolutely adore the black and white stools at the end of the bed (even though they’re not my style!) and I love the near perfect symmetry of the room…

I’ve included this living room in my favourites as I’m a huge fan of screens… I much prefer to use them as room dividers instead of bookcases, or even walls, as they are less obtrusive and they bring a certain je ne sais quoi to a place! My favourite is our very own Shoji screen of course, but if you’re on a tight budget and have some artistic skills (and even if you don’t, you can use stencils), why not try and make one yourself?

Inspiring mood boards from mydeco

I’ve become totally addicted to mydeco‘s moodboard designing tool! It’s amazing – you can create mood boards online simply by dragging and dropping images… I’ve literally spent the past few days playing around with it – it’s so much fun and so much quicker than cutting and gluing!!!

And it’s also a great place to get inspiration from… Here are some of my favourite moodboards created by fellow mydeco users (special thanks to Anda Dragoi, Lorna and Chimp le Singe for using products from Coco Målé in their mood boards!):

Black is Back by creo-forma.

Tea Time by Anda Dragoi, featuring our bestselling Cherry Blossom teacup set.

Golden Glow by Lorna, featuring two of our items, our gold polka dot vase and Rattan wastepaper basket!

Aqua Baroque Diva by paiviL. None of our products have been used here, although the turquoise cushions look so much like our own Carrera cushions so I’ll live with that!

Monochrome Flower Power by Farzy. This is probably my favourite – it looks so classy and rich and the clock is so beautiful . I would have preferred if the image of the sofa was a little bigger though, you can hardly see it!

Caribbean New Year by Carolek. Doesn’t this just capture the Caribbean spirit?

My cosy french cottage by Mcintyrela. This mood board definitely encapsulates the French Provence.

Royal Colours by kyechaos. Personally not a big fan of purple in interiors but this mood board brings it all together quite successfully. I like the purple vase and gold patterned cushion, but am not so into the purple sofa!

Full of Eastern Spice by cositsme.

Spring has Sprung by Paulaj100. I love the colour combination of bright colours here… fuchsia pink and aqua blue just look great together.

Love Shack by creo-forma. What a great sofa the red hand shaped sofa is – had never come across it before!

Garden Dreaming by Chimp le Singe, featuring our Fiesta garden cushion

Lovely Moments by Rooooo. Unrelated to interiors, but great nevertheless!