Tag: Interior Design

 Scandinavian decor
Scandinavian decor is heavily influenced by nature.  Usually the architecture is clean and modern with simple lines without details such as moldings and frames.  The modern style of the spaces is mostly warmed up by tones of wood, soft fabrics and shaggy rugs which give an overall feeling of coziness and brightness.  Whiteness is key for Scandinavian countries where sun is usually out of sight or goes down too early and comes out too late.  Although it’s not particularly my style I appreciate the relaxation it offers.  Other strong element of Scandinavian style is the absence of pattered fabrics.
Scandinavian decor via belle vivir

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It’s easy to recognize a warm and cozy home.  Is that feeling of familiarity and honesty that invites you to stay longer, put up your feet while asking for more hot coco and praying you don’t have to leave ever again.  That’s the feeling we all want in our homes notably because our homes are the best reflections of our real selves.  Hence it would be practically impossible to have a  warm heart and not have a warm home or vice-versa as it’s equally impossible to create fake characters of our home.  The great news is that the process to make a house feel cozy and inviting may be even easier to tackle than we all think.  Here are five elements to make a cozy home and to create the most inviting of spaces.

five elements to make a cozy home via belle vivir

ADD COLORS

While all-white interiors can be very relaxing, color makes homes cozy.  By colorful interiors I mean spaces with either warm tones or full colorful ones.  Colors have a special magic to bring out the soul in the room and it’s also the easiest way to change things around.  Usually warm and dark colors provide a better result at accomplishing coziness.  Painting a wall, upholstering a sofa or adding a colorful rug are only a few of the ways to bring color inside a home.

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Have you guys seen the beautiful Chicago home designed by Steven Gambrel in the latest issue of House Beautiful? The interior design of he home is full of layers of color and texture. My favorite room is the library which is painted in a custom high lacquered blue. I love this home because it has that sense of glam and comfort in a very livable way.  Also the touches of brass throughout makes me want it even more.  As a trained Architect, Gambrel’s interiors always have exceptional craftsmanship. One of his design staples is the use of contrasting color application on moldings and walls.  A technique that in his hands, always yields a great result.

Steven Gambrel interior design blue library belle vivir blog

An elegant degradation of the color blue in this beautiful home library.  Below, the entrance of the house has a beautiful black and white octagon stone floor.

Steven Gambrel interior design entry way via belle vivir blog

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It’s interesting how searching for something can lead you to something completely irrelevant.  I came across this London townhouse and thought that a living room this beautiful where neoclassical details intermingle with more classic modern furniture deserves a sharing post.  This home belongs to Angela Dunn and her husband.  If you didn’t know, then you should know how much I love sculptural furniture and this pair by Ico Parisi club chairs paired with the marble coffee table by Angelo Mangiarotti is pretty perfect to me.  Yes, because classicism is beautiful but it is way more beautiful when combined with classic modern pieces that can give a room a fully personalized look.  Enjoy!

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Now and then when it comes to decoration one can get to the point where enough is enough.  Anything too pretty, too perfect, too new, well, you get the point, can become dull and lifeless or make you feel you are in a cocktail bar.  On the other hand, so is the opposite because no one wants to live out of a tent on an empty lot like a nomad.  As in everything else in life, balance is one thing to keep in mind when decorating a home.  This Marbella home designed by Eduardo Dorissa which I’m sure some of you may have seen before, strikes that balance between elegance and restraint.  It’s the sort of house that everything inside and outside share a similar peace and importance.  The perfect home to get away for a few days.  Enjoy!

Marbella home designed by Eduardo Dorissa
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Jib doors have nothing to do with mystery anymore.  They no longer are meant for secret passages, high power secret operations and/or certainly not for hiding the ugly side of a freakish double life.  So, if you were planing to partake in one of the above activities then you’ll have to find another way of keeping it to yourself.  Now a days Jib doors are too popular to disguise what’s behind.  It is more for aesthetic purposes than anything else and that’s ok, you should not panic!  Jib doors have just decided to catch up with the 21st century and it’s doing the right thing now.  Mostly used in European estates for centuries, it has slowly come to take part in American design.  Actually the oval office has a jib/hidden door.  Jib door is a concealed door that is meant to blend with it’s surrounding wall.  It’s usually frame-less and it carries on the design of the walls around it.  It grants everybody the freedom to camouflage a kitchen that happens to be in the wrong place.  It also gives homeowners and designers the flexibility of keeping their wallpaper intact without any door frame disturbing the view.  So as you can see Jib doors, also known as hidden doors and mystery doors are the coolest thing now a days and it provides a seamless design.   Enjoy!

jib doors, with shiplap via belle vivir blog