Monthly Archives: July 2008

room for improvement by lotte van laatum

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Danielle| 2 Comments

Former student of the Design Academy in The Netherlands Lotte van Laatum works as an independent designer within the designfield. She is specialized in the social-cultural and ecological aspects of design. At the moment Lotte works on the development of her own interior label. Her collection ‘Room for Improvement’ was introduced during this year’s Milan furniture fair.

My favorite item from this collection is the Treecabinet which is made of Dutch elm. The elm used for this cabinet was cut in 1999 as a result of the elm disease in Kloosterzande (The Netherlands). The shape of the cabinet relates to the shape of the tree, conical and with the same width as a big Dutch tree on chest height. The shape of the front of the drawer has been left untouched as a memory of the natural shape of the tree. Simply gorgeous! Visit Lotte’s website to see more from this talented lady.

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Posted in dutch design, furniture, home accessories

mood book for our new house

Posted on July 18, 2008 by Danielle| 8 Comments

We are currently working to create the overall look and feel for our new house. This is the fun part! Here are some pages from the mood & style book that I composed.

I use this book to come to an overall look and take it with me when I go shopping for new furniture, paint, accessories etc.

As you can see I go for neutral colors and natural materials. This is probably not a surprise for regular readers of my blog!

One of the items that will definitely move to our new house is my coffee table. I will keep you posted in the next couple of months on further development and my choice of furniture and other things for our home.

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Posted in inspiration, interiors

cruising the river nile in style

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Danielle| 8 Comments

With Nourelnil, a boat hotel, you can discover Egypt in a luxurious way. All rooms and spaces on the boat are beautifully decorated. While cruising the river Nile you will discover the many archaeological treasures, magnificent deserts and breathtaking vistas Egypt has to offer.

For more information you can visit Nourelnil’s website. Vincent Leroux is the photographer that shot these images for French magazine Marie Claire Masion.

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Posted in inspiration, interiors, travel

outdoor spaces

Posted on July 17, 2008 by Danielle| 1 Comment

It is supposed to be summer in this part of the world but it has been raining for days. I miss the sun…To make for the bad weather today some images of beautiful outdoor spaces.

These images are from French photographer Yannick Labrousse. I hope the sun will be back soon!

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Posted in inspiration, outdoor

hiroshige’s edo: ukiyo-e woodblock prints of tokyo

Posted on July 16, 2008 by Danielle| 3 Comments

‘Hiroshige’s Edo: Masterful ukiyo-e woodblock prints of Tokyo in the mid-19th century’ is a new book from Taschen which contains the most gorgeous images. Literally meaning “pictures of the floating world”, ukiyo-e refers to the famous Japanese woodblock print genre that originated in the 17th century and is practically synonymous with the Western world’s visual characterization of Japan. Because they could be mass produced, ukiyo-e works were often used as designs for fans, New Year’s greeting cards, single prints, and book illustrations, and traditionally they depicted city life, entertainment, beautiful women, kabuki actors, and landscapes. This reprint is made from one of the finest complete original sets of woodblock prints belonging to the Ota Memorial Museum of Art in Tokyo.

Hiroshige (1797-1858) was one of the last great artists in the ukiyo-e tradition. Though he captured a variety of subjects, his greatest talent was in creating landscapes of his native Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and his final masterpiece was a series known as “One Hundred Famous Views of Edo” (1856-1858). The stunning artwork in the book would be perfect from framing, that is if you don’t mind taking out pages out of this €150 book.

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Posted in art, books

photographer françois halard

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Danielle| 3 Comments

François Halard is a French photographer who studied at the Ecole des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. He moved to New York City and began to work for magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ and House & Garden. With these publication he established himself as a well known interior and architectural photographer.

Above you see some photos from his stunning portfolio. You can see more of his work here.

(images by François Halard)

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Posted in inspiration, interiors

mungo & maud: dog & cat outfitters

Posted on July 15, 2008 by Danielle| 1 Comment

Also our beloved pets deserve stylish things! Mungo & Maud opened its first store in the heart of London in May 2005. Husband and wife team Michael and Nicola Sacher founded the edgy new concept in dog and cat stores with the aim of sourcing and creating elegant, well-designed accessories to complement a contemporary home. Their design approach is stylish, considered and with a timeless quality.

Their products are minimalist yet tactile with a strong use of natural materials such as cotton, wool, leather and linen. They range from hand-stitched leather collars and leads to hand-thrown feeding bowls, canvas beds and organic treats made to Mungo & Maud’s own recipe. Their products are available from selected retailers both in the UK and overseas but also from their webstore. Click here to browse through their collection!

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Posted in other

house with beamed ceiling

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Danielle| 2 Comments

Our new house has a beautiful wood-beamed ceiling. Searching on the internet for some inspirational images of other houses with similar ceilings, I found these beautiful photos on skona hem.

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Posted in inspiration, interiors

photo wall

Posted on July 14, 2008 by Danielle| 7 Comments

I received some questions from readers about the photo wall in my hallway. As it is not always possible to get white frames and to avoid different shades of white, I bought simple, inexpensive frames (from for example IKEA) in different sizes which I painted white.

From every trip we make I select a couple photos that make it to our wall. There are a lot of great memories on this wall!

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Posted in diy projects, inspiration, interiors

international bloggers at domino

Posted on July 11, 2008 by Danielle| 8 Comments

Domino Magazine has a piece on their website featuring 16 international design bloggers. And quess what? The Style Files is mentioned in this list!! I am very honored to be part of it and to mentioned together with these great blogs. The article is written by the lovely Holly. You might know Holly from her blog decor8 but this busy lady recently started another blog called Haus Maus, which is a diary documenting her adventures in setting up a city apartment in Hannover (Germany) and navigating a new culture. Thank you Holly and Domino for including me in your list!