Haberfield house

There's something about mid-century style architecture that really interests me - the casual vibe, excellent quality of light, interesting window placement, almost excessive use of wood...and this house is an absolute gem. Lahznimmo Architects resurrected this Federation era home in Sydney in 2010: The new works are concentrated at the rear of the house, where a dark glazed brick clad living cube creates a grand room with generous openings to the garden. The cube creates a secondary, contemporary form that is clearly distinct from the front of the house. A timber batten clad outdoor room provides a protected space for open-air dining. The space between the outdoor room, the living cube and a detached masonry garage is stitched together with a timber deck set level with the internal spaces. A home that provides serious indoor-outdoor living has been a dream of mine, and this one nails it right on the head. 

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Monday's pets on furniture

If you'd like to send me photos to include in next week's "pets on furniture" post, please ensure your photos follow my basic rules: First, the pet must be on a piece of furniture. And said piece of furniture must be clearly visible in the photo, so it takes center stage rather than your pet. Think of it more of a photo of a great piece of furniture that you want to show off...and your pet happens to be sitting on it. And second, if the photo is too dark or unfocused then it may not make the cut. Photos, your name, location and a brief description can be sent to desiretoinspirekim@hotmail.com and PLEASE don't send closeups of your pet! Thanks!

I live in Oakland, pictured is Morgan.  And I'm lucky to have a husband who loves me enough to allow pink upholstery in the house.
- Clara

This is Trapper on a 60's Knoll chair. He is 65 pounds but likes to curl up in small places!
- Qi (San Francisco, CA)

Here are reluctant brothers Ricky and Archie. Ricky loves the vantage point the Queen Anne secretary gives him over the living room while Archie takes the opportunity to "customize" the sock drawer in my Mitchell Gold Ming dresser. He always makes sure to leave it messier than he found it.
- Bethann (Falls Church, Virginia)

I rescued this sweet little kitty over 5 years ago and she the loving and playful kitty I've ever met! We are so lucky to have her as our pet :) Here is Anabelle looking like a little present under the tree and sitting pretty and posing for the camera!
- Lauren  

I snapped this quick photo yesterday. My cats always look so damn comfy. I would have much prefered curling up on the sofa with Lucky rather than sitting at my desk working.

Hello I love you

You know when you see a photograph that stops you in your tracks? You know when you just want to crawl through the computer screen to be in that photograph? You know when you just love what you see? Then you know how I feel about these beautiful shots. By photographer Siren Lauvdal for Elle Decoration.

Sliding door

A small area, a big idea. Multi use space in a bijou apartment by Sydney based architect Nicholas Gurney. Stylish, clever and just a little bit fun. Now you see it. Now you don't.

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Holiday chaos

As usual, I waited until the last minute to get myself organized for the holidays. I blame it on having 2 jobs and too many cats. :) And OMG this is the worst time of year when you've got nosy cats and no place to store wrapped presents out of reach. I spent about 4 hours yesterday wrapping presents and then we created a mountain of them by the front door so I can take the lot to my parents' house tomorrow to stash until the big day. I caught 2 cats on the pile within 5 minutes. AAAGGGHHHH!!!!! Needless to say I am so freaking busy so I whipped up this post really quick. I love this home. It is located in Piacenza, Italy, and is a fabulously modern without being too cold. There is some bold colour here and there to keep it from being too stark, some REALLY amazing tiles in the kitchen for a serious jolt of pattern, some walls clad in the same hardwood as the floor to warm the space, and some to-die-for lighting (I have always wanted one of those Flos Parentesi suspension lamps!). I'm not a fan of the bedroom or grey bathroom though but the rest makes up for these. Via Le case di Elixìr. 

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