Brag factor on the mantle: Vintage Greek bust, Anglepoise 1227 lamp, Seletti skull.

“Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there’s shadow – no, not just shadow, but fullness. You’ve got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that’s real.” – Amy Grant

The gorgeous appartment of Australian designer Chelsea Hing & partner Nik Epifanidis, an architecture photographer, is a showcase of beautiful vintage finds set on a magic black baskdrop.

Brag factor: Panthella table lamp by Verner Panton, Chef portrait on wall – ‘Le Chef De L’Hotel Chatham’ by William Orpen.

Brag factor: Vanity by Frank Cadogan Cowper, Altered antique plates sourced from Beat Up Creations via Etsy & Third Drawer Down, Ventana mirror in by Jonathan Adler, Joker bowl in gold by B&B Italia, Bespoke console custom designed by CHDC, Rosy Angelis floor lamp by Flos.

Brag factor: Vintage Gaetano Sciolari 1970′s chandelier, Fat Fat ottoman by Patricia Urquiola for B&B Italia, Strata sofa by King Furniture, Navy chevron throw by Jonathan Adler, Vitsoe shelving by Dieter Rams, Untitled photographs on wall by Nik Epifanidis.

source: The Design Files

Hi, Gabrielle from Savvy Home here again!  Personally, I have always found dining rooms to be tricky. First, because the way furniture is displayed in a dining room often feels a bit weird: everything grouped around in the center, all the pieces around the same height, often empty walls. Second, well who  has enough space and entertains often enough to justify a dining room?

This is why I love the idea of a library dining room: elegant enough to host lively dinner parties, but multifunctional enough to be used for other purposes: children’s homework, meetings at home or even an occasional home office if you have a lap top you can easily put away. I feel as though Nate Berkus really achieved this dual-purpose room beautifully in his Manhattan duplex, don’t you?

1. Bookcases are not only useful if you own a lot of books, they also add some height to the room.

2. Whoever says bookcases also says art lamps. They just add so much flair and sophistication.

3. Choose a bookcase that has doors on the lower part and drawers to store away cutlery and fine china.

4. A table with drawers is also extremely efficient: each guest’s place setting in its place, ready to be pulled out.

5.Display books, fresh flowers and other artifacts when the table is not used for entertaining but make sure they all have a place to be put away quickly.

6. The chairs don’t need to be neatly stowed underneath the table. Display them around the room as needed.

7. Art, especially when oversized or stacked one above the other is great to balance the room’s high bookcases.

8. Doors can be useful to block out noise coming from the rest of the house when you need to concentrate on work.

9. Try a textured wallpaper, such as grasscloth, to further soundproof the room and make it feel more intimate.

10. With all the books and the grasscloth, you don’t even need a rug. The room is busy enough as it is!

Have you tried this double-purpose room at home? Do you like it?

See you next week!

Gabrielle | Savvy Home

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I often find that monochrome decors lack warmth and personnality, that is until I saw this home. The white background is the ideal canvas to bring forth the wood elements ant the architecture of the chosen furniture. Me like it a lot!

This home actually inspires me all sorts of ideas for the next season of my tv show Sauvez les Meubles…. hummmm, but that’s all I am going to say for now. You’ll just have to watch it, as of August 14th, to see.

Have a great week lovelies,

xoxo

v.

source: Per Jansson

Hi, Gabrielle from Savvy Home here again! John Robshaw is a man after my own heart (not literally, I’ll leave that to his future girlfriend). But he is one of my favorite textile designer from bedding to pillows and headboard; basically anything that can (and should) be upholstered.

Robshaw has an art background and is incredibly well-travelled. You can see it right away from his textiles and his home. I just adore that layered look of Indian and South-East Asian influences combined with a more traditional lines. I wanted to get a better understanding of how to get that worldly-layered look, so I put a few tips together below for y’all. And if you’re looking for more inspiration, check out his home in Matchbook.

1. I dare you to upholster a classic sofa in a printed fabric. And then send me a photo. I have a small loveseat with similar lines that I’m now dying to re-upholster in a JR fabric.

2. Choose an oversized flatweave rug that’s in the same tones as the rest of the room, and has a pattern solid enough to anchor the room.

3. Throw out your coffee table (not literally – give it to charity maybe) and try an ottoman instead.

4. Keep things tidy on your new ottoman with trays made out of textured materials like bone inlay and rattan.

5. Use large decorative bowls as planters.

6. Mix and match more patterns on top of your patterned sofa. Balance them out by playing with scale but keep them in the same color scheme.

7. Speaking of color schemes, stick to one. This one is mainly muddy pink and taupe. I just LOVE that paint color. I bet it’s fancy paint like Farrow & Ball or Fine Paints of Europe. Sometimes it’s worth splurging on paint.

8. Make a gallery wall using mismatched art, masks, baskets or other items you’ve gathered in your travels.

9. Use furniture pieces that have worldly shapes and intricate details like an octogonal bone-inlaid Moroccan side table (one word: eBay).

10. Guess what: more pattern! Patterned curtains won’t make the room look overcrowded if you stick to the general color scheme.

I’m curious to know what worldly items have you added to your décor?

See you next week!

Gabrielle | Savvy Home

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