BUNNIES!!!!!

I don't know whether you all noticed in my last post...THE BUNNIES in the dining room!  The hopping bunny wallpaper.  Well, it HAD to go!  This wallpaper was inherited by my clients when they bought the home....so there were no tears shed when it was removed!  Not only was it a little creepy...large hopping bunnies surrounding you as you eat a family meal, but it was dark, and dreary, and did NOTHING for the room.  I do have to wonder what was on the previous homeowners mind when they exclaimed "oh, my gosh that is the PERFECT paper for my dining room, I must have it!'  You certainly have to have that kind of love and conviction to put something like this up.

I DO have to admit the first time I saw it, I was a little intrigued, the graphic quality of it was kind of interesting, but the more I thought about it, the more I found it.... just odd.  And not knowing that my client's weren't the ones with a a bunny obsession, I said "oh, look at the bunnies..that is so cool!"  You never know who you are going to offend, and if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!  But once it was clear that it wasn't their decision, the bunny bashing began!

Here are the befores of the dining room.

This was right before they started the move.

looking into the kitchen...you can see the little eating area we removed.

First things first.... We decided on a beautiful blue.  It is Benjamin Moore Blue Haze 1667.  It really is a pretty, in a North facing room with lots of light,  it translates into such a nice clean blue...and doesn't turn green.

TADA!  Doesn't it look huge???

I added the cornices, A.) because the husband did not like the feeling of being draped in.  And B.) the beautiful buffet goes from window frame to frame and if there were drapes, there would be a just a sliver of light coming thru.  And then on the opposite window...the one you see when you enter from the  living room, we added beautiful drapes in a Robert Allen Print. A successful compromise, I like to make everyone happy!  The banding on the cornice and on the chairs is a really pretty yellow hounds tooth.  Doesn't this room have an elegant comfortable feel with lots of Southern Charm??

Still deciding on a rug....seagrass?

New Chandelier and inserts on the chairs.  Everything else was there before...even the candlesticks!

Can you believe this artwork was there before...it sings in the room now!

Isn't it amazing that the same furniture and artwork looks brand new paired with a new paint and fabric.  Many times people think the furniture is the problem....and in some cases it is, but in this case they just needed a new beautiful blue back drop.

So..... there you have it folks, all we had to do was banish a few bunnies to make this room one that will stand the test of time.

Happy Hump Day!

Good morning my friends! I will be taking a short holiday today and I'll be back on Wednesday next week. I might post once or twice but, you know, as I'll be in Rio de Janeiro I'll have to go to the beach (poor me!).

It took Noël et Rozenn Bernasconi four years to renovate this seventeenth century mill, located in the south of France. It was quite a challenge as it had been vacant for several years and was in a sorry state. Let's enjoy the tour together!














To preserve the history of the mill, Noël has retained and enhanced the original features, such as the grinding wheel, which is the starting point for the new staircase. A glass pane covers the mechanism, preserved below.









Photography by Christophe Rouffio.
All images from here.

There was a competition last month for the best porch or terrace renovation sponsored by Maison & Travaux. These are the photographs submitted by some of the 20 winners. If you'd like to see the rest of the photographs the link is at the end of this post.



















All images from here.

Good Monday morning, dear readers, hope you all had a great weekend!

When I saw an e-mail in my inbox sent by James Salomon I knew I was about to see something special. And I wasn't wrong. The photographs of his latest work are lovely.

I featured some of Jamie's work in yesterday's post and last year here.

So, this is the latest project captured by Jamie's lens. It took two years for Barnes Vance Architects from Georgetown, DC to transform it from an inn into a single family house. It is located in Bar Harbor, in a small town known as Down East Maine. The owner decorated the interiors with the help of the architect.

A magnificent house and beautiful photographs. Thank you Jamie for allowing me to show them here!



































Be sure to visit James R. Salomon's website where you can enjoy more of his great work! Just go to his portfolio right here.

Henriette Staib and husband Claus have just completed a large scale renovation of an almost century old red brick house villa north of Copenhagen. Mostly white but with punches of colour in every room and an interesting mix of antique and modern furniture. Let's take a peek!


































All images from here.