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Post by Not a real doctor on Aug 5, 2017 11:58:24 GMT -5
Alright, this was brought up the other day and let's have a place to share design ideas that we love/hate. So, post your pics, links, critiques, asks for input, fuming diatribes about every damn thing HGTV puts out, etc.! I'll start things off with this bathroom that I absolutely love:  Full slideshow/article-ish thing from This Old House can be found here. (NB: this does also really encapsulate everything I hate about what TOH has more or less become). |
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Aug 5, 2017 17:21:51 GMT -5
This is also going to be our bitch about HGTV shows, right?
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Post by Not a real doctor on Aug 5, 2017 17:37:37 GMT -5
This is also going to be our bitch about HGTV shows, right? Absolutely! |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Aug 7, 2017 10:34:49 GMT -5
I recently started following a bunch of the house-design magazines on Instagram, and House Beautiful posted this kitchen the other day: https://www.instagram.com/p/BXboBJqgKzZ First of all, why is my kitchen not this amazing color green? And second of all, WHY ARE NONE OF MY CEILINGS GINGHAM? |
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Post by Incense on Aug 7, 2017 11:06:15 GMT -5
That's what I'm talkin' about! Love that shade of green. Love the hydrangeas on the counter and the small hits of turquoise in the plates on the wall. Turquoise looks great with that shade of green, who knew.
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Aug 7, 2017 11:34:19 GMT -5
That's what I'm talkin' about! Love that shade of green. Love the hydrangeas on the counter and the small hits of turquoise in the plates on the wall. Turquoise looks great with that shade of green, who knew. Since the leaves returned to the trees this past spring, I've been wondering why grass green/sky blue is not a more frequent color pairing. Nothing makes me happier than a glorious blue sky and bright green grass... so why not decorate a room in those colors? This kitchen is proof! |
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Post by Not a real doctor on Aug 8, 2017 13:17:00 GMT -5
That's what I'm talkin' about! Love that shade of green. Love the hydrangeas on the counter and the small hits of turquoise in the plates on the wall. Turquoise looks great with that shade of green, who knew. Since the leaves returned to the trees this past spring, I've been wondering why grass green/sky blue is not a more frequent color pairing. Nothing makes me happier than a glorious blue sky and bright green grass... so why not decorate a room in those colors? This kitchen is proof! I think it was in the last issue of TOH magazine but they featured a sunroom that was painted a nice grassy-green and it was fabulous for that small, bright space (I don't remember offhand who the paintmaker was but I know the color name was "Dill"). I'll track down the article when I have a better interweb connection. |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Aug 9, 2017 9:56:46 GMT -5
Here's another one that came across my Instagram last night. I can't decide if I love it or hate it, but I can't stop thinking about it... My imaginary dream kitchen is getting weird, with its gingham ceiling and rock backsplash... https://www.instagram.com/p/BXjbVRTA05v |
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Post by Incense on Aug 9, 2017 10:14:29 GMT -5
Here's another one that came across my Instagram last night. I can't decide if I love it or hate it, but I can't stop thinking about it... My imaginary dream kitchen is getting weird, with its gingham ceiling and rock backsplash... https://www.instagram.com/p/BXjbVRTA05v Aw YEAH. Rocks, soil, plants, water features. Put anything of these into a home (and all around the outside), and I am thrilled. That backsplash isn't even the usual style of interior rock wall, it's totally original. I really like that! |
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Aug 9, 2017 11:09:58 GMT -5
All I can think of with that backsplash is how the heck do you clean it?!
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Post by Incense on Aug 9, 2017 11:26:29 GMT -5
All I can think of with that backsplash is how the heck do you clean it?! Good question. Hm. Well, if your faucet has a sprayer attachment, you could sort of hose it off. Or maybe just wipe off the rocks with a damp towel. Though God knows, that would get tiresome. |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Aug 9, 2017 12:31:31 GMT -5
All I can think of with that backsplash is how the heck do you clean it?! Well, yeah. Clearly it's decorative. If you can afford that backsplash you can afford a second kitchen where you do your actual cooking. |
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Crash Test Dumbass
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Post by Crash Test Dumbass on Aug 9, 2017 13:16:44 GMT -5
All I can think of with that backsplash is how the heck do you clean it?! Well, yeah. Clearly it's decorative. If you can afford that backsplash you can afford a second kitchen where you do your actual cooking. I grew up in an apartment that was made from two smaller apartments combined, so I had two kitchens growing up. One was at the far front of the house and was used for baking so as not to heat up the rest of the place, and the other was more centrally located and was used for stovetop use only. It's a shame that sort of thing is reserved for rich people now, because it was really awesome. |
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Aug 9, 2017 13:20:51 GMT -5
 Not quite an interior design idea, but saw this today on an Atlas Obscura post about the Ecopods of Argyll & BUTE, Scotland and it really brought me back to my high school dreams of living in some kind of advanced, dome or dome-like dwelling with awesome modernist furniture. |
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Post by Incense on Aug 9, 2017 13:26:07 GMT -5
And the view ain't bad, either.
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Post by songstarliner on Aug 9, 2017 18:02:27 GMT -5
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Aug 9, 2017 19:29:42 GMT -5
If you have to take down all interior walls and all the plumbing and electrical and all the exterior siding and repour the foundation when you're remodeling a house, wouldn't it just be easier to tear the whole thing down?
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Post by Dr. Rumak on Aug 9, 2017 19:57:49 GMT -5
If you have to take down all interior walls and all the plumbing and electrical and all the exterior siding and repour the foundation when you're remodeling a house, wouldn't it just be easier to tear the whole thing down? Well, if your neighborhood association rules have changed about how close you can get to the edge of your lot, but you are grandfathered in as long as you don't do a complete tear down, then maybe not. Not that I have an recent experience with such a thing. |
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Aug 9, 2017 20:01:03 GMT -5
Good point - I have heard of that restriction. And these women (on Good Bones) bought the house for $4000 which is basically less than a lot would cost anyway.
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moimoi
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Post by moimoi on Aug 9, 2017 23:47:06 GMT -5
okay okay okay: liz n dick - I pinned that very kitchen when looking for inspiration to redo the kitchen in my basement. I am torn as to whether the checked ceiling would enhance or detract from a low basement ceiling, though. not a real doctor - I want to redo my main bathroom in a similar style: white subway tile and penny tile on the floor with black accents (my inspiration is b&w art deco-cecil beaton). But I denounce pedestal sinks - totally impractical outside of a powder room. Here's the inspiration: www.antiquehomestyle.com/inside/bathrooms/1920s/gallery/page08.htmAnd here are some ideas I'm kicking around:   |
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Post by moimoi on Aug 9, 2017 23:56:30 GMT -5
That's what I'm talkin' about! Love that shade of green. Love the hydrangeas on the counter and the small hits of turquoise in the plates on the wall. Turquoise looks great with that shade of green, who knew. Since the leaves returned to the trees this past spring, I've been wondering why grass green/sky blue is not a more frequent color pairing. Nothing makes me happier than a glorious blue sky and bright green grass... so why not decorate a room in those colors? This kitchen is proof!  |
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Post by moimoi on Aug 10, 2017 0:00:33 GMT -5
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Aug 10, 2017 8:35:42 GMT -5
okay okay okay: liz n dick - I pinned that very kitchen when looking for inspiration to redo the kitchen in my basement. I am torn as to whether the checked ceiling would enhance or detract from a low basement ceiling, though. not a real doctor - I want to redo my main bathroom in a similar style: white subway tile and penny tile on the floor with black accents (my inspiration is b&w art deco-cecil beaton). But I denounce pedestal sinks - totally impractical outside of a powder room. Here's the inspiration: www.antiquehomestyle.com/inside/bathrooms/1920s/gallery/page08.htmAnd here are some ideas I'm kicking around: I love that shower sooooooooooo much. I'm a fan of Art Deco as well. |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Aug 10, 2017 8:40:32 GMT -5
Ooooh, moimoi, Art Deco is SO the way to go! Those inspiration bathrooms are amazing. The tiles in that shower! OMG THAT WALLPAPER! ::looks at sad bathroom at home:: ::sighs:: And I fully agree about pedestal sinks. They look great, but are so mostly-useless. |
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Post by Jean-Luc Lemur on Aug 10, 2017 10:30:08 GMT -5
moimoi Oh, that is useful, given that I’m 1. Still haven’t hung anything in my bedroom, which has a lot of bare wall space 2. Trying to start painting/drawing again, so may well have a lot—maybe too much—to potentially fill it I have to admit the whole topic of “decorating with art” immediately brings to mind Max von Sydow’s painter character in Hannah & Her Sisters, who refuses to sell his work to a yuppie after he starts talking about how good it would look over the couch or something like that. There’s an interesting pdf floating around called “Architecture in Playboy Research,” which is a series of scans of the interior design/architecture features in Playboys from 1953 through 1979 (it was research for a book that, unfortunately, got a terrible review in the London Review of Books last I heard of it). Anyway the scans are fascinating (though they’re not super-high quality, you can still see what’s going on), and this cycles back to art because of this:  That looks to me like a Morris Louis, a prominent color field painter, partly hidden behind a hi-fi cabinet, which I assume also doubles as a bar because it’s the sixties (with a Calder knock-off and some other objet d’art on top of the hi-fi and in front of it, no less). Not cool, guys, especially since Louis paintings get all their power when you stand in front of them and kind of let yourself fall into them! Now, I don’t actually think that’s a Morris Louis—when they remove the hi-fi for some kind of…foreplay, I think…there’s a big red blotch, which looks to me very un-Louisian red blotch. Still, don’t hide your art behind giant hi-fi/drinks cabinets, especially if you’re just going to end up moving that cabinet later in the evening! 
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moimoi
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Post by moimoi on Aug 10, 2017 22:23:30 GMT -5
moimoi Oh, that is useful, given that I’m 1. Still haven’t hung anything in my bedroom, which has a lot of bare wall space 2. Trying to start painting/drawing again, so may well have a lot—maybe too much—to potentially fill it I'd be interested to hear about/see people's art collections - both purchased and created. I don't have the funds for original artwork, but my diy efforts have been pretty successful: I did a kind of sculptural paper flower canvas in my foyer with stuff from the Dollar Store that gets lots of compliments and I re-purposed one of those confessional booth grates over a colored canvas to cover a big empty spot on the living room wall, which compliments the vintage church bench I refurbished in the dining room. The living room also has a triptych arrangement of 1. a vintage lithograph of a pensive lady I found at a flea market 2. a small woodblock print I got off Ebay (I have two more woodblock prints from my travels custom framed in my 'office') 3. a print sketch by Klimt that kind of looks like me. I want to get a picture light over the middle print to complete the vignette. Oh, and I got a little custom stained glass inset in my front door to replace the weird shutters the previous owners put up.   In the dining room, I have a really fabulous framed print of I Saw the Figure #5 in Gold by Charles Demuth as the focal point on one wall, a print of my favorite Chicago skyline view by a local printmaker (OK, I guess that's original artwork) across from it, and a mini gallery of 1. a vintage bollywood poster print 2. a diy printout of Georgia O'Keefe's Red Poppy and 3. a limited edition Miró print taken from Parler Suel, his book of illustrated poems with Tristan Tzara. I'm really proud of how my diy framing for the latter turned out. And I'll cop to selecting artwork by color here - I wanted reds, oranges, and yellows to stimulate the appetite (so they say) in my deep blue dining room. The hallway has two antique maps of Asia and India that I got at the flea market in Bethesda, MD - framed in Cairo - as well as a photo of an illuminated page of the Quran from Cairo's museum of islamic art, which is covering up a spot the previous owners forget to paint overhead. The kitchen has some framed vintage postcards from Kew Garden, as I've mentioned, and so far, the guest room just has a print of a Whistler seascape.  That leaves my 'office' and bedroom: I painted one wall of my 'office' black to act as a gallery for stuff I didn't want to frame, including gig posters made by friends, postcards from my travels, loteria cards (I collect them), and other cool-looking stuff. In addition to the woodblock prints, (one picked up at the Kyoto National Museum and one from Liberty department store in London), I have four Erte prints cut out from an old coffee table book in matching frames. My room kind of looks like crap because I refuse to paint it until after I renovate, but I've managed to cover the hideously colored walls with a mini gallery that so far includes 1. a small print postcard, signed by the artist from the Peacock Room's Filthy Lucre exhibit 2. a print of Van Gogh's Almond Blossom and 3. a print of a vintage peacock illustration from Scribner's (my bedroom decor is inspired by Whistler's Peacock Room).  please ignore the mess - now you know from whence I post! Until I renovate, the only empty spot in the house is over the guest bed. As of late, I've been putting most of my effort into landscape and garden design. But it is interesting to consider how my tastes have evolved with age. My first apartment was decorated with LP sleeves and club flyers - very retro/futuristic. When I moved to DC, I wanted everything calm and spa-like, so I had prints of nature from the Smithsonian and a lot of handicrafts brought back from Asia. Now I finally have enough space to display all my eclectic interests and influences - hopefully while maintaining the architectural integrity of my vintage bungalow. I don't like the idea of living in some sort of prairie-style arts & crafts museum, especially because back in 1920 that's not how my ancestors lived (...in colonial India). However, I think one's design approach should consider the history of the house as well as your own personal history. I use historically accurate paint colors as much as possible and try to stick with prewar styles like late-Victorian (living room), Art Nouveau/Arts & Crafts (guest room), Art Deco (bathroom someday), etc. It helps that I have all the original decorative brass doorknobs and some decent hardwood floors. And certainly, a lot of my design decisions were based on budget - I'm always going to look at what I have or what I could make before buying some crap just to put on the wall. Truly, everything in my house has a story, and that's the way I like it! |
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Post by Liz n Dicksgiving on Aug 11, 2017 7:50:29 GMT -5
moimoi, you have a great eye! And I love your philosophy of decor -- it's the perfect balance of thoughtful and emotionally meaningful.
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Post by Mrs David Tennant on Aug 11, 2017 8:16:05 GMT -5
moimoi, I wish you would come decorate my place! I have all kinds of quilts and wall hangings (courtesy of my mom) and some art that I like, and yet nothing is on the walls! I've been here 2.5 years.
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moimoi
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Post by moimoi on Aug 11, 2017 8:33:14 GMT -5
moimoi, I wish you would come decorate my place! I have all kinds of quilts and wall hangings (courtesy of my mom) and some art that I like, and yet nothing is on the walls! I've been here 2.5 years. Aw man, you gotta do something with the quilts. There is so much technique that goes into those, plus they have a story. I like my textiles folded over the ends of beds and the arms of chairs and sofas. If you have space to frame and mount a small one, that would be cool too, but just pick one so it doesn't start to look like you live in a blanket fort :-) |
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Post by Incense on Aug 11, 2017 8:41:50 GMT -5
moimoi, your place sounds absolutely beautiful, and so well put together. It sounds eclectic in the best way - disparate elements with common threads put together in exciting and harmonious ways. I wish I could see it*. Also, I Saw the Figure #5 in Gold is one of my favorite works. I'll admit I know little about it, but every time I see it, I fall in love with it. And your deep blue dining room sounds gorgeous. *BTW, while I understand totally why we might not want pictures of our homes anywhere on the board, I'm totally down with the idea of posting pics here and there of my home to illustrate things. Like, how I promise my avocado green/harvest gold living room is actually not as bad as you're thinking. 
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