INTERIORS CRUSH | KAREL BALAS HOLIDAY HOME

18 August 2014

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This is the holiday home of Karel Balas, sublime photographer, art director and editor of French Milk magazine, founded with his wife over 10 years ago.

Their summer home on the Ile De Ré is a rustic residence where nothing is too polished or precious. The relaxed atmosphere comes across in the photos and I like their laid-back mix of flea market finds and mix of materials all kept within a neutral colour palette of greys, browns, black and off-white.

Painted stone walls and plenty of wood from floor to ceiling including some drift wood give warmth and texture and pose as a backdrop for vintage pieces like ornate mirrors, antlers, workbench and freestanding bathtub. I like their carefully selected lighting which is mostly modern and stand out amongst the pared back boho style.

Holiday homes are for relaxation and I can’t help but imagine Karel and his wife would throw some cool parties in their back yard with plenty of local wine and fresh fish. Their cool kids flopping in one of the deep sofas and somebody playing guitar. Ok, maybe my imagination is running a bit wild but it is only credit to Karel’s evocative photography. A true Interiors Crush.

Like this summer house on the Ile De Ré? Pop back soon for another stunning property later this week.
A plus tard.
 

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ile de re, france, karel balas, milk magazine, summer house, holiday home, relaxed, boho, rustic, black and white, shabby chic, flea market finds, vintage, material mix, wood, stone, textures, fabrics, interior design, style, trend

 

 
VIA | The Socialite Family
PHOTOGRAPHY | Karel Balas
 
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MOOD BOARD | WEEKEND VIBES #02

16 August 2014

heart, love, sun, light, bed, relax, enjoy, chill, weekend, calm, walk, beach, bake, bread, read, wood, feet up, style, feeling, sensual, mood board, create, design

I hope you can take it easy this weekend and enjoy this last stretch of summer.

It’s still another 3 long weeks before school starts here in the UK and we’re looking forward to grandma and grandpa visiting from the US. So much to explore in and around London and with babysitters on hand hopefully some date nights for me and the cowboy.

If you’re still wondering what to do this weekend take some inspiration from the mood board. Wishing you happy weekend vibes.

 
CREATE //
SLEEP //
BAKE //
WALK //
READ //
 
 

CREDITS | All images via my Pinterest boards. Some originators can’t be identified but please email me if you know who took the shot and I’ll add the credit. ‘Read’ by Elisabeth Heier
 
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A SUMMER STORY BY RAFA KIDS

13 August 2014

dutch, rafa kids, simple, modern, functional, architects, rafa, furniture, sustainable, european birch, plywood, engineered, zero waste, F&R bed, teen bed, K desk, material efficiency, design, function, bedding, femke veltkamp, windstilte

I’ve been a fan of Dutch furniture RaFa Kids for a while and love reading what they get up to on their blog.

Agata and Arek are both architects who started designing high quality functional children’s furniture when their two sons Frank and Robert arrived. They received so many compliments and requests for their son’s first bed that they decided to start a small company combining the letters of their family members – RaFa.

Today’s shots are form a recent little summer story Agata created in her studio with fish pillows by Dutch illustrator and textile designer Femke Veltkamp from Windstilte and the RaFa teen bed and stripy bedlinen. The shots are such fun and I love the colour palette and styling.

Reading Agata’s blog their business seems to have really taken off and their beds sell out like hot cakes. I’d love to put an order in for the highly adaptable F&R bed and the gorgeous K desk but will need to wait till our boys are older and we move to a bigger place.

As parents of small boys their design is highly engineered with much thought gone into production, packaging and assembly. Their furniture is made of quality European Birch plywood a flexible material with high strength and is sustainably sourced. It is produced by an established Polish company and using the latest computer numerically controlled technology they produce with great material efficiency trying to reduce waste to virtual zero.

Impressive values for a small company and I just hope they’ll still have some beds left when I get to put my order in.

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dutch, rafa kids, simple, modern, functional, architects, rafa, furniture, sustainable, european birch, plywood, engineered, zero waste, F&R bed, teen bed, K desk, material efficiency, design, function, bedding, femke veltkamp, windstilte

dutch, rafa kids, simple, modern, functional, architects, rafa, furniture, sustainable, european birch, plywood, engineered, zero waste, F&R bed, teen bed, K desk, material efficiency, design, function, bedding, femke veltkamp, windstilte
ABOVE | K desk

dutch, rafa kids, simple, modern, functional, architects, rafa, furniture, sustainable, european birch, plywood, engineered, zero waste, F&R bed, teen bed, K desk, material efficiency, design, function, bedding, femke veltkamp, windstilte
ABOVE | F&R bed
 

 
MORE INFORMATION & PHOTOGRAPHY | RaFa Kids
FISH PILLOWS | Femke Veltkamp, Windstilte
 
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PLACES TO GO | VILLA KALOS, ITHACA

8 August 2014

villa kalos, greece, travel, island, ithaca, photographer, gerda genis, robbert koene, ruin, restoration, villa, agean sea, luxury, boutique, interior design, understated, pool, polished concrete, design, style, trend, guest house

From Mykonos to Villa Kalos, Ithaca – it’s Greek island hopping with Stylejuicer this week. 😉

This stunning villa was an abandoned ruin just over four years ago when South African photographers Gerda Genis and Robbert Koene fell in love with it. The breathtaking views of the Aegan Sea and the peaceful surrounding countryside with almond trees and olive groves make this a prime spot to relax and recharge with a deliberate choice of no technology (scary, but necessary every once in a while).

The couple restored the property with much love and care and lots of help from the locals converting it into an understated boutique villa with 4 bedrooms and 4 en-suite bathrooms, a salt-water pool, terraced gardens and 6,000 sqm of land to get lost in.

I have to say that I’ve fallen in love with the interior which is a competent mix of old and new and I like that they kept some of the old stone walls and juxtaposed them with polished concrete floors and exquisite furnishings and fabrics. Everything is kept in a luxurious neutral colour palette of whites, greys and browns which puts even more emphasis on the external beauty of the turquoise sea, bright blue sky and green rolling countryside.

What a perfect place to spend some quality time with friends and family and simply: just be.

Wishing you all a happy weekend!
 

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villa kalos, greece, travel, island, ithaca, photographer, gerda genis, robbert koene, ruin, restoration, villa, agean sea, luxury, boutique, interior design, understated, pool, polished concrete, design, style, trend, guest house

villa kalos, greece, travel, island, ithaca, photographer, gerda genis, robbert koene, ruin, restoration, villa, agean sea, luxury, boutique, interior design, understated, pool, polished concrete, design, style, trend, guest house

 
MORE INFORMATION | Villa Kalos
PHOTOGRAPHY | Robbert Koene & Gerda Genis
 
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PLACES TO GO | SAN GIORGIO MYKONOS

5 August 2014

san giorgio mykonos, greece, design hotels, travel and places, interior design, styling, annabell kutucu, michael schickinger, boho, bohemian, gypsy, feel, vibe, ease, leisure, enjoyment, holiday, craftsmanship, textures, fabrics, organic

If you’re a big pinner and/or blog follower chances are you will have already drooled over these gorgeous images of the San Giorgio Mykonos as quite a few famous bloggers seemed to have checked it out on a PR jolly. I’m speaking with envy and purely speculating here of course as my invitation seemed to have got ‘lost in the post’ – not that I’m bitter, I was busy that week anyway.

So… I’m not going to tell you about the perfect location, the picturesque small Greek island or the luxury boutique service the San Giorgio is offering as I haven’t actually been. What I can tell you about is the fabulous interior design and styling by Annabell Kutucu and Michael Schickinger who kindly let me use these images.

They describe the look and feel of the San Giorgio Mykonos “like visiting your coolest friend, who whips up a feast for eyes and palate with as much ease and grace as he throws the islands most talked about fête.”

Wow! What a great description and I sure would like an invite to that fête.

I love how the couple kept the interior design and style simple with a sense of history and heritage. Enormous skill and subtlety clearly went into the choice of textures, fabrics and furnishings that tell of an exotic place or a local story and mostly stay within a neutral colour palette. There is a deliberate emphasis on origin and craftsmanship and each carefully selected piece is organic in form or source creating a harmonious whole.

The place feels quite bohemian though contemporary, light and airy at the same time. A space where you can feel at ease and start enjoying your holiday before you’ve even unpacked your suitcase and a future holiday destination for yours truly.

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san giorgio mykonos, greece, design hotels, travel and places, interior design, styling, annabell kutucu, michael schickinger, boho, bohemian, gypsy, feel, vibe, ease, leisure, enjoyment, holiday, craftsmanship, textures, fabrics, organic

 

 
MORE INFORMATION | San Giorgio Mykonos
INTERIOR DESIGN | Annabell Kutucu & Michael Schickinger with kind permission
 
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