Looking for a little roomspiration today? I have some beautiful rooms that I’d love to share with you that have appeared in previous issues of Homes & Gardens (UK) magazine. Are you a regular reader? I usually find my copy at the train station here and really love many of the rooms that they feature. Let’s have a look together below at just a few of them. If you’d like, you can tell me which ones you favor and why. I’ll number them to make it easy for you to reference them in your comment. Ready?
(1) This space feels very warm and glamorous to me. I really like the trimmed pillows and that mix of lilac and yellow here. The painting marries everything below it. So, so welcoming.
(2) I think the person who owns this home clearly has the same obsession with chairs as I do. I laughed a little when I counted 7 in this living room, in 3 separate groupings (which is how, I imagine, the owner justified owning so many chairs). I like the scale of this space too, it’s very grand and palace-like. The crown molding, mirror and curtains are so insanely beautiful! Come into my parlor for tea, ladies…
(3) What’s not to love here? First, that green wall. Wow. And those petite chairs, like the ladies perched atop them must be size zero as they look almost like they’d break otherwise. Like dollhouse furniture… The lighting is extraordinary as well. And then, with so much perfection you have a very imperfect floor and a cover tossed over the table to appear almost like a casual break for tea and cookies… And aren’t the seat covers unexpected?
(4) This is so serene and I like how the fabric is acting as a headboard here. A very low-budget DIY way to make a bedroom beautiful with a striking focal point. And it’s smart, because if you tire of the fabric you can swap it out for something different. I also like that the lamps aren’t taking away the powerful print of that fabric – clear glass just seems so perfect for the lamp selection. And then you have all that mint and beige, and the bed that is slightly messy… I want to do a running jump onto it right now in fact.
(5) Here we go again, pastel hues that feel so feminine and welcoming… And what a sweet sofa, the bottom cushion looks like silk doesn’t it? Maybe raw silk (my favorite)? Whatever it is, I love this choice for the sofa as it could look too serious otherwise. The stripe adds personality.
(6) I think this room comes closest to my style, because it’s very calm and casual, almost beachy-in-the-city and since I was raised on the beach and spent my adult years in the city, I know why my style is a little of both. I love the chair and the curtains, and of course the blues and violets with shades of creamy white..
(7) This room is a bit more modern, less relaxed but more curated… I imagine the owner to be a very posh socialite or something. (not me). Doesn’t that rug look like heaven for the feet? Yellow and gray works so nicely in this space…
(8) Another well edited space. A little too perfect for me to actually live in, but if I add a few of my own touches here I can see myself enjoying this living room. The shelving is a nice choice for a small room like this, and I like the small white table near to the chair, the scale of it is perfect for placing a cocktail or some magazines.
(9) I’m going to cheat with this one because what I like most is the lighting and the view! Look at the balcony railing, it’s so ornate and reminds me of London for some reason…
(10) I love this sofa and the pillows on it. I imagine this room much differently if I were to occupy it, but I could see myself working in that sofa somehow. It would be fab in a bedroom that was large enough to have a sitting area, wouldn’t it?
Okay, your turn! :)
(images: homes & gardens uk)
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:25 pm
The gorgeous fabric in place of a headboard is brilliant… It works!
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:33 pm
I love every pic in this post, great job!
Petra- Designfragment´s last blog ..Blått är flott, sa Verner Panton
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I really LOVE that glass bottle green shade of paint in #3 – and the low chandelier is also so fun!
I also LOVE LOVE that fabric headboard in #4 – you’re so right, easy to swap a fabric in and out – such a practical and fun idea to bring some pattern into a room!
and can I just say the lamp in #5 is so cool, especially with that color of lampshade and then a lavender wall behind it.
i’m liking the pastels – like candied almonds =)
juliette´s last blog ..Vintage 1978 Sewing Guide and Projects
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
#2 and #3 are my faves.
I love the color of the curtains in #2 where the light is shining through. And the gold details are worn and wonderful. This is a stately room, but I see relaxed people milling about, having pleasant conversations in all the little groupings.
Everything about #3 is divine. I really enjoy how the room you are in appears all white, and off of it is a glass green jewel. It’s fresh, like right out the window there would be a garden. That wins with me every time. =) I really like the low hanging chandelier and the golden chairs are dainty and almost magical.
Thanks for these Holly! I feel inspired by them.
Shanon´s last blog ..I *heart* Gourmet
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:42 pm
(2) i think the variety of chairs really make up for having no sofa around!! Its really nice to look at a room with no sofa,I think its more elegant, not so soft and casual. (2+3) the crown molding in both pictures are so nicee! (6) and although, i do love the beachy calm feel of this really clean look of the room. Really relaxing. (7+8) couldn’t have said that any more perfect! (9) i love the variety of color in this picture. The balcony really hits off the whole room. THanks for sharing!! That was fun! haha. :-)
joanne´s last blog ..afghan raiders
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I love these images. What strikes me the most if that they’re all from the same magazine. I think it goes back to your point about the void in U.S. interior mags. You would never find such a diverse collection of styles in Elle Decor or even the U.S. Homes & Gardens. While I like H&G more now, I find the styling more traditional or perhaps contemporary. And I mayb be alone in my dislike of Elle Decor, but I find it so cold.
These homes are diverse, real, chic and liveable. Why can’t we have that in the U.S.?
B´s last blog ..Stopped in My Tracks by All the Pretty
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I’m not a fan of ornate styles like those seen in #1-3. I realize that I really do prefer the modern style since I find 7 & 8 inviting while all the detailing in 1-3 makes me feel cold. Interesting how we perceive things differently :)
I do also like the nature ruggedness of 10.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
Well, #2 just makes my heart skip a beat…the curtains, the fabrics, the chairs!!! and #7, the polar opposite…all white, the couch, dark floors, the rug!! I love the mid-century vibe and with #2, the European vibe just makes it work for me.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:17 pm
All of those pics are inspiring in their own way..but #2 is absolutely lovely! I remember it from browsing through a recent issue of Homes & Gardens – great to have found it again! I think it’s a combination of the room construction with the high ceilings and windows, the stucco things – and the colour choice (curtains especially) and the pouring light – the details – plus the wonderful chair arrangement that makes it! It’s so refreshing to see. I love the way the chairs are mixed, it’s perfect but still not perfect in a loosing-interest-kindaway.
Love the look of #3 kitchen aswell. Those seat covers definitely shapes it. The feeling is a bit too fragile for me to have it, but the hue on the walls is one I’d take.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Despite being in UK I don’t read Homes and Gardens – I think it feels a bit ‘grown up’ for me!
Having said that I do like the images here – they all feel quite eclectic which appeals. My favourite I think is no.9 because it’s not trying too hard, there is a sense of cohesion in the colours, but you feel stuff is there because its earnt its place for being lovely rather than just because it co-ordinates.
Some of the others are too feminine for me (1, 2 & 5) – I wonder if that comes just through sharing my home for 11 years with someone who suppresses my girly instincts!!
Anna´s last blog ..Our exploding television
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I *love*love*love* the last pic…..*adorable* :-)
September 22nd, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Ooh! Ooh! This is fun :) I love the colors and the light fixture in #3, but in reality I would use bigger, squashier chairs and a chunky dining table – though I do love the look of that doll’’s house-ish furniture!
Laura Gaskill´s last blog ..Kitchen Makeover Inspiration {& blog updates}
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:56 am
My fav is number three!! I love the mix of perfect, ‘posh’, imperfect for the floor, I lovvveeee the throw of the tablecloth over the table….I have a thing about tablecloths and that is exactly what I would have done.
I imagine the whole thing was rather impromtu… the chairs were inherited from her grandmother, hence why they are so beautifully delicate. And now the owner wants to use, use, use them and show them off like they deserve. She has felt that the whole setting is an excuse to use a tablecloth and to have a beautiful girlie ‘tea’ under a gorgeous chandelier too…
*perfect afternoon*
Lucy
xxxx
Lucy´s last blog ..Chintz
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:20 am
Love many of the rooms, but would love to do a pretty blind like the Roman blind in pic 9, very quant.
September 23rd, 2009 at 5:56 am
the fabric on that last sofa is insanely perfect. What a way to punch up a room and show off some personality. Love it!
September 24th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
Number 6 is my favorite. Every detail, the rug, pillows, sidetable, curtains are fabulous on their own. And combined these littel fab details make up a great room that has a lovely feel to it. I could live in that room :-)
Natascha´s last blog ..Wishlist – Five things to want right now!
September 26th, 2009 at 8:41 am
im doing a french inspired boutique hotel as my final semester project, and that second picture is definitely an inspiration and going up on my inspiration board! :)
sarathira´s last blog ..My Saturday In London
September 27th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Just love the fabric “headboard” on number four. Swanky!
Kristina @ My Heart Behaves´s last blog ..All swank.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Great round up of images. I love the chic and moody pastel palettes. Thanks for the posting these!
I talked about these images over on my blog too
http://arielgordonjewelry.blogspot.com/
October 12th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
I absolutely adore the modular sofa on #8! I’ve been looking for one just like that! Do you know where I could find one?