When building this holiday home in Bretagne, France, the owners had a couple of demands. The house should cost as less as possible and the boundaries between interior and exterior should be limited.

Only industrial materials have been used for constructing the house. I don’t know what the total amount spent is, but I think the owners have succeeded in keeping the costs low.

The industrial feel is softened by the splashes of turquoise throughout the house.

(images from Marie Claire Maison)

Last week I shared with you some images of a gorgeous Danish home. As many of you love this house, I would like to feature a similar Scandinavian home today.

This lovely home also has a white base and is decorated with colorful accessories.

(images from Pure Public)

The designers of Swedish label Front always come up with interesting and highly original designs. One of their latest projects is Shade. This room set contains white objects and furniture, which were decorated with black marks and hatching to enhance the sense of depth and shadow.

The designers of Front describe these objects as ‘materialized illustrations’. For the ones old enough to remember, perhaps these design remind you of the video clip of Take on Me by Aha…

Although my focus is mainly on kitchens at the moment, I am also searching for inspiration for the other rooms in our new home. Today I want to share with you some beautiful images of bedrooms.

Our bedroom should be serene and fresh with white walls, a wooden floor and lots of natural materials.

The image above is my favourite. This is how I envision our bedroom to be!

(first and second image from Marie Claire Maison, third images from Living Etc)

In my guest post on decor8 I share some of my favorite Dutch shops and labels. Some of the shops I mention here can be find in my Amsterdam guide but I’m also sharing some new ’secret’ addresses! The images above features the very cool design store The Frozen Fountain.

Elise Rijnberg is a designer and photographer based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. She was trained at the Design Academy in Eindhoven from which she graduated in 2006. Most of Elise’s products and photos are food related. Marti Guixe’s quote “You buy a chair once a life but you eat three times a day” is for her the perfect explanation why food interests her as a designer and as a photographer.

The tablecloth featured above shows you how to set the table. The graphical pattern is made with subtle embroidery on the tablecloth which tell us all about the Western food culture and manners. I also love Elise’s cutlery, the design forces you to eat slowly, taking small bites and enjoying your food. Visit Elise’s website to see more of her beautiful work.

No kitchens today’s (more kitchen to come tomorrow!), but in this post I have focussed on the dining area. By the way, a big THANK YOU for all of you that sent me links and addresses of kitchen designers in The Netherlands. This is very helpful!!

As you can see I love wood! I just collected some images that I liked when I was putting together this post I noticed that all the dining tables in these images are made from wood.

The image above is my favorite. The table, with it’s simple design, is just gorgeous!


(images from living etc)

We are looking for a kitchen for our new house and I am searching the net for inspiration. We have specific ideas about our dream kitchen: we love natural materials (wooden cabinets) and the kitchen should have rustic and modern feel. Does anybody has advice/tips about kitchen builders / designers in The Netherlands?

Here are some images of kitchens that I like and that I will use to create our kitchen.

More kitchen inspiration to come in the next days! By the way, I would love to hear how your dream kitchen would like. Images are very welcome!

(images from living etc)

This modern aquatic complex Les Bains des Docks, recently opened in Le Havre, France, is designed by Jean Nouvel. Les Bains des Docks is a revitalisation project lead by the city in order to create together with a new shopping centre a unique destination in the long term.

The 5,000-square-meter complex, inspired by the Roman thermal baths, offers a beautiful atmosphere of tranquility with the fantastic play of natural light soothing the eyes, the masterful acoustics pleasing the ears, and the pools and treatment areas taking care of the rest of the body. Although the main “color” of the complex is white, each section’s distinct atmosphere and hue is created by flowing water curtains, color walls, and various textures and surface treatments. Each pool is designed, shaped and lit to create a unique “private space” for its specific users. These seemingly enclosed areas help minimize echoing and sound carriage – an annoying aspect of most aquatic centers — as do the varying-height floors and ceilings, and the acoustic false ceilings. Saunas, a hammam, cold and hot baths, and a spa area with hydro-massage and aqua gym areas complete the atmosphere of pampering and care.

Today another wonderful London home! This pretty house has a large kitchen with daylight coming through the window in the roof.

I love the use of greys and browns that have been used through the entire house. Gorgeous bedroom!

(images from shootfactory.co.uk)