Vogue Living Australia: Diane Bergeron's home

From Vogue Living Australia's September/October issue: Melbourne interior designer Diane Bergeron's home. Notice the use of black and white and bold patterns in each room? Love her use of luxurious fabric on the walls- something I've always wanted to try but didn't know how to carry out. The last photo is of her inspiration board.

By the way, the same issue features the home of another talented Australian, Anna Spiro, of the fabulous blog which most of you probably know, Absolutely Beautiful Things. I'm sure her home photos will be posted far & near, so I won't post them again here, but do take a look- gorgeous!

A collection of country bedrooms

I was perusing bedrooms on Country Living's website, and I found some that caught my eye. Altogether they aren't too "Victorian B&B," but rather more like bedrooms you'd find in a country house- relaxed style, linen, vintage touches and handed down furniture and decorative objects. Nothing is too matching or too styled. I like the light use of florals- I'm always afraid of floral prints, but they manage not to convey a matronly or outdated style here, so I'm looking at how and where they should be used. (top photo and tenth photo down: House to Home magazine; last photo from an unknown source; all other photos from Country Living)

Mediterranean villa in Ponza: Silvia Fendi's home

I ran across these pages I've saved forever from an old Vogue. I absolutely love this sunny, elegant living room and the outdoor space. With light like that, this place could only be in the Mediterranean. Located on Ponza, a tiny island off the coast of Italy, this is the home of Silvia Fendi (one of many, probably). (photos: Francois Halard, Vogue 2002)

Beautiful windows: a visual treat

After a move, followed by couple of weeks of no internet service, I'm so happy to be up and running again. Wow, who knew that it would take so long to get internet service at our new flat? (Just one of the differences in the way things work in London...)

Today, just a little visual delight. I love looking at gorgeous windows and the way sunlight coming into a room transforms everything! (from top: James Tse photography; Ina Garten's NYC home via Things that Inspire; skona hem; Elle Decor June 2009, via Rosenow floral design; unknown; unknown)

It's interesting that (in my opinion) one thing that gives away an American interior as opposed to a European interior is the windows. As soon as I see photos of certain types of windows, I immediately can tell that it's European (or even old-world South American). For some reason, American homes don't seem to ever use the same window sizes and shapes, which just gives a different look.
These look quintessentially American to me (as well as the windows in the very top photograph of this post), with their three-across rectangle pane design (I'm sure there's an official name for it but I don't know what it is.) photo from Southern Accents

While these look unmistakeably French:

Marie Claire Maison

Les cuisines noires et blanches

A few of my favorite black & white kitchens. I wouldn't have thought to use so much black, for example, on cabinets, but I think it works so well. Some of them look so elegant, while others look industrial. It's actually versatile depending on how you use it. (photos: top two from Marie Claire Maison; from the old House & Garden magazine; Skona Hem; from John Jacob Zwiegelaar via Porchlight Interiors; via Desire to Inspire)

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves

Lately I've been admiring floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Here are some I've found particularly pretty. I have found, though, that bookshelves can look so disheveled without serious attention. Why is it in interior shots, bookshelves never seem to look as hodge-podge as mine? (photos: Gianni Botsford architects; Elle Decor; Mary Ruffle)


These aren't floor to ceiling, but I love the clean, white background they provide, and in the first photo of this set, I really like the way the shelves are used as display. Maybe they could be a room divider used in this way? (photos: black white yellow)