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20110126

building blocks of dreams

Recently I've been struck by several photographs, blog entries, and websites, all relating to interior design to some degree.  I'd thought I'd share them and muse about some dreams for potential interior spaces.

First, a selection of interior photographs by Don Freeman:







I love the use of wood and color, the mixed levels of simplicity and complexity, and the liveable feel of these spaces.  They are real spaces explored through photography, rather than picture-perfect poses.

Next, I stumbled on the work of Jennifer Post, who designs high-end minimalist spaces.  She's quoted in the NYSD as saying, "I always tell my clients this is a Bentley car – it’s not a f***ing BMW. It’s got to be a Bentley." I like the look of her work, but it's accomplishable without the Bentley price.  Keeping it clean, however, might require an army of perfectionists.



In the spirit of white and brown, I liked looking at this kitchen:


And finally, there were a few specific pieces that I particularly enjoyed: Flora Grubb's wall garden and hanging terrariums, and the Gary Weeks Rocking Chair.




In general, I think I like dark woods and very light or dark/rich walls--high contrast spaces are compelling.  One thing that I saw in a home once was a wall with very fine stenciling in shades of white; I'd like to try that someday.  Our bedroom is currently high-contrast like many of the above photos: light blue, light brown, dark brown, and near black.  Our living room is very middling, as is our kitchen, but the latter is harder to control in a rented apartment.  I'd love to have wood floors wherever we live next, but we'll probably stay in grad housing, which means linoleum doom...unless I break down and buy the faux wood flooring from Ikea, but I'm not sure if it'd be worth it.
Interior spaces are difficult to fine-tune, especially on a budget.  In this case, evolving towards a goal can lead to some pretty hideous consequences if one is not careful; everything needs to match with both the present and the eventual goal, which isn't always possible if one is revamping the entire look of a space.  Most likely we'll make the biggest changes when we move, since we'll have to tailor our decor to the new location anyway.  These changes are far off, but it's a semi-constructive day dream for now.

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