Small Space Solutions Courtesy of a Chic French Flat

I love wasting the afternoon going through the small space galleries on the Marie Claire Mason site because (a) Europeans really know how to do functional, stylish, and we organized small homes and (b) in French they're called petits espaces which makes them sound so fabulous.

I wanted to share this charming 26 square meter (about 280 square feet) apartment because it has so many great space saving tricks anyone can emulate.  First up is the stylish coffee table that is adjustable in height so it can also be used as a small dining table.

At first glance I though the fridge an microwave was so fabulous combo appliance that they don't sell in the United States, well okay they only exist in dorm rooms and look like this.  With my wonderful translating skills (ahem, google translate) I discovered it is actually a custom cabinet built to house both of the appliances.  The cabinet provides a nice separation between the living space and the kitchen and helps them to look less like appliances and more like a piece of furniture.

I think the most genius idea in this apartment is the extra storage space that is built on to the inside of the closet door.  What a great way to build a ton more storage into a pretty small closet.  Definitely mark this as a "Steal This Idea".


Related Posts:

Small Space, Big Style

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Pantone Color Combos: Purple Heart, Nomad & Rapture Rose

More reader participation this morning joining in on all of this Pantone Color Combo fun. This mood board comes from Anita, a stylist and author of the blog 1richtungsblog. Anita's mood board incorporates two colors that I avoided, Purple Heart and Rapture Rose, and she does a great job with it. I especially love the addition of that beautiful wallpaper.

You can follow this link for a description of Anita's color combination choice and links to all of the shops she visited to pull this look together but since her blog is written in German I will do my best to translate here:  

1. Bring nature into the house with a wallpaper from the wallpaper Agency
2. Romantic candle with geometric engraving - almost too good to be lit (Zara Home)
   
3. Rustic pillows in washed linen provides structure and color to the sofa (H & M Home)
4. These pillows will provide contrast, cotton sateen (H & M Home)
5. I love the shape of this sofa - clear lines but somewhat rounded and cuddly thanks to down filling (Bolia)
6. Genuine mohair throw - Autumn is coming! (Zara Home)
7. My favorite colors in a pillow! :) (H & M Home)
   
8. Slim structured lighting (the red packet)
9. Rose-colored silk pillows (Zara Home)
10. For tea lights, perhaps? (Ikea)
11. Royal wool carpet - oh so glamorous! (Impresssionen)

I really enjoyed going through all of Anita's links because it brought me to so many shops that were unfamiliar to me here in the U.S. I'd love to get my hands on that die cut wool rug, for instance, and when the heck is Zara Home going to start shipping to the United States. 

The particulars: If anyone you would like to contribute a color combination collection please send along the links to your color combo mood board. You can either leave a link in the comments section (if you upload them to flickr or somewhere similar) or you can email the image directly to me at verdugo.designevolution AT gmail DOT com. I'll include your creation in an upcoming post on Design Evolution.

Related Posts:

Pantone Color Combos: Honey Yellow, Iron, &Nomad

Pantone Color Combos: Rapture Rose, Warm Olive, & Majolica Blue

Color Combination: Inspired by Pantone

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Variety is the Spice Of Life

I apologize for the totally lame title but I couldn't come up with anything better.  This however is not the least be lame.  Actually, it might be the most fantastic way to store spices that I've ever seen.

These honeycomb shaped jars are from Gneiss Spice an etsy shop based out of Brooklyn, NY.   The lids have strong neodymium magnets and are die stamped with spice names.  You can purchase the jars with our without spices and in the quantity you need.  I'm in love with how the spices are arranged by color in the product shot.  It makes me want to snatch it up immediately.


Join me Monday for more Pantone color combination mood boards created by readers of Design Evolution.


Related Posts: 
be still.
Kat Wright Printable Stationary


Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Pantone Color Combos: Honey Yellow, Iron, & Nomad

Alright, keep them coming ladies (and gentlemen, I know there are a few of you out there) these mood boards are so great.  This next collection comes to us from Diana Brennan.  It's no surprise that Diana has a great eye, she has a stunning art photography shop that I suggest you pay a visit.  This color combination is probably the closest to what I would have in my own home.

mirror - print - chair - sofa - lamp - pillow - table - curtain

The bird print in the layout is from Diana's collection and he is such a perfect fit.  The print made me realize that I did not include any art pieces in my collections.  I will have to make sure I do next time.


One a totally unrelated note, Diana has the prettiest calender for sale in her shop.  I've been going back an forth about doing a calendar round up here on Design Evolution because I know many other bigger and better bloggers are preparing them now.  What I might do is pull together a round up of all of the round ups :)  Whatever I decide to do,  you need to at least see Diana's calendar.

I know what you're thinking and yes it does come with the clip board.  How great is that?


I should repeat the details in case anyone else would like to participate: If you would like to play please send the links to your color combo mood board (based on the colors provided here). You can either leave a link in the comments section (if you upload them to flickr or somewhere similar) or you can email the image directly to me at verdugo.designevolution AT gmail DOT com.  I'll include your creation in an upcoming post on Design Evolution.

Related Posts:

Pantone Color Combos: Reader Participation

Color Combination: Inspired by Pantone

Color Combination: Orange & Aqua

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Pantone Color Combos: Rapture Rose, Warm Olive & Majolica Blue

I threw a little request in at the end of Monday's post for some reader participation.  I asked anyone who wanted to play along to put together a mood board based on their favorite color combos from the colors found in the Pantone Fall Fashion Color Report.  I'm super excited that someone actually did participate.  These mood boards are from fellow interior design blogger and web friend, Tiffany Melanson (The Other Tiffany).  

I love what Tiffany pulled together especially since she incorporated the rose color in both, a color I hadn't included in any of my collections.  I'm dieing over that Ikat chair in the second grouping.  Tiffany, care you share your sources with everyone?

If anyone else would like to play please send along the links to your color combo mood board. You can either leave a link in the comments section (if you upload them to flickr or somewhere similar) or you can email the image directly to me at verdugo.designevolution AT gmail DOT com.  I'll include your creation in an upcoming post on Design Evolution.

Update: Tiffany included a post on her blog with links to the stores that carry all of the items in her mood boards.  You can find it here.  Thanks Tiffany!

Related Posts:

Color Combination: Inspired by Pantone

Color Combination: Orange & Aqua

Color COmbination: Navy & Teal

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Need Some Advice on Window Treatments

I'm having a tough time figuring out how to hang window treatments in my living room so I was hoping to get some advice from my very helpful readers.

There are only two windows in the living room/dining room (we only have four windows in the entire condo) and right smack in the middle of them is our heating/cooling unit. Normally I'm a "hang 'em high and wide" type of person but that heating unit is providing some challenges.

I can't hang them wide at all. As a matter of fact the curtains would have to be hung pretty close to the window frame so that I don't obstruct the heating unit. The windows are pretty large so I'm not too concerned that I will crowd the windows and make them look smaller, I'm more concerned that I'll be blocking too much light. The drawing above demonstrates two panels on each window and I think it looks okay but light is a precious resources in this condo so I'm trying to come up with other options.

One idea I came up with is to hang the Dignitet curtain wire system from Ikea and have it span both windows. Basically I would be treating the entire area as one set of windows and would hang one panel at each end. This way I don't have to worry about heating unit and I can hang the curtain panels as wide set as I'd like. Do you think the wire spanning the wall between the two windows looks odd?

If it does seem a little odd, the other option would be to deal with each window separately and hang rods over each. I would still only hang one panel on each window so I can allow light in but now the question is does a rod with only one curtain panel on it look odd? Have any of you had to deal with a similar situation? If so, what did you decide was the best option? If you have any pictures I would love to see them.

Thanks a bunch!

-Michelle

Color Combination: Inspired by Pantone Fall Fashion Report

I spent the morning flipping through Pantone's Fall 2009 Fashion Color Forecast and I'm in love with all of the rich colors and warm neutrals they are paired with. Just one quick glance at the lineup of color swatches and so many gorgeous color combinations jumped out at me. If you are having trouble deciding on a color scheme for your home or are not sure which colors will coordinate with which Pantone is a great place to start, the site is full of excellent tools. Don't limit your self to the articles on interiors; fashion trends often translate well in the home. But of course - if they project still seems too daunting you could always ask me for help.

With the fall fashion forecast as my guide, I did some online shopping and found a ton of great furniture pieces and accessories to pull many of these color combinations together.

sofa - chair - rug - pillow - clock - lamp - side table - curtain

In some cases I don't actually intend for every one of these pieces to be used together, I just want to give you an idea of what's out there. By checking out just a few of my favorite online retailers I was able to find furniture pieces and accessories available in every color from the report.

sofa - rug - curtain - lamp - pillow - vase - pillow - duvet

As always, the easiest way to incorporate some of the more bold and rich toned pieces is to layer them with a coordinating neutral. For me I find it easiest to have the wall color provide a neutral back drop this way those pieces really shine. If you're decorating on a budget you may also consider keeping all of the larger investment pieces of furniture neutral and utilize accessories like pillows, wall treatments, and rugs to add color to the space. If you are anything like me and your tastes change as often as the tides, having a neutral background allows you to change the look of the space without having to spend too much money.

rug - chair - pillow - chair - lamp - curtain

For a fun exercise that you can all participate in - Pick out your favorite color combination for those found in the color report and put together your own layout options. I'd love to see what you come up with!

Related Posts:

Color Combination: Orange & Aqua

Color COmbination: Navy & Teal

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Laura Ashley Wallpaper

Flipping through a magazine this morning I come across wallpaper in what I like to call "modern floral" prints in interesting color ways. I was surprised to read the footnote and see that the patterns were from Laura Ashley Wallpapers. I must admit I was still holding on to the idea that Laura Ashley was somewhat old lady and was probably the last place I would think to shop for wall coverings. I'm happy to say that I learned a little lesson about looking in unexpected places when pulling together a room design.

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Victoria & Albert Pattern Book Series

London's Victoria and Albert Museum hosts one of the largest archives of prints, textiles, and wallpaper patterns. In an effort to make their collection available to a much wider audience, V&A is publishing some of these patterns in a collection of books. Currently the collection contains for titles, "The Fifties", "William Morris", "Indian Florals", and "Digital Pioneers". Each book also includes a CD of all images featured. The intent of the books and CDs is to serve as inspiration, the digital images can be reworked or redrawn with the possibility of licensing the prints for new projects.

The books are available through the museum's V&A shop at £7.99 each or only £30 for a limited addition boxed set of all four titles.

I know some of you may think this is crazy, but the first thought that popped into my head when I saw this set was how I would love to dismantle the pages and frame the prints as artwork. Each book is 80 pages so at roughly 50 USD for the set that's only 15 cents a print. Now that's what I call affordable art. I can see 6, 8, or 12 of the prints framed and making a big statement. I almost forgot that each book comes with a CD of the prints. If the resolution of the prints is high enough I suppose you could print them out and frame them, then you wouldn't even have to take apart the books. Score!

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Tasteworthy Tuesday: Amy Atlas Events

Hello everyone, after a several week hiatus, Tasteworthy Tuesday is back and today’s post is a great one. I spent the morning going through the eye candy section of dessert maven Amy Atlas’s website and eye candy is certainly the perfect name. Some of you may be familiar with Amy Atlas’s work, photos of the drop dead gorgeous dessert table she recently created for Sunday Suppers quickly made the blog rounds (this blog included).

Amy Atlas Events is a highly sought after party planning company that creates truly unique dessert tables. Mostly recently Amy created a Fashion Week - Missoni inspired table for InStyle Weddings.

Here's some more deliciousness for you to devour:

Here's a really fabulous and fun dessert table that could provide some inspiration or an upcoming Halloween event:

Check out the website to see more of her designs and Amy's Sweet Designs blog for tons of inspiration.

Photo credits: Amy Atlas Events, Sunday Suppers

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

be still. Design For Mankind Giveaway

Since so many of you enjoyed the shop be still. that I wrote about earlier this week I wanted to direct your attention to this giveaway at Design for Mankind:

Be still. is offering this beautiful pillow cover so head on over and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing.

Steal This Idea...

...Create a contemporary doll house from wooden storage boxes, shadowbox frames, or display shelves and leftover scrapes of fabric or wallpaper. I stumbled across this idea in the September issue of Elle Decoration UK (my new favorite magazine by the way).




The wooden boxes pictured are from Heal's. You can find similar display boxes at Michael's, Ikea or Target.

Releated Posts:

Weekend Project

Weekend Accomplishments - Round Two

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Toast - Fall '09 House & Home

Whenever I flip through (well actually click through) a Toast catalogue I have the same thought. I could dive right into the pages and live happily amongst them. I had that same feeling while going through the new fall House & Home catalogue.

Every image is warm and comfortable and not the tiniest bit stuffy. I like to linger in that deep copper tub and then slip into the crisp, striped sheets.

P.S. After spending yesterday afternoon pulling together my favorite photos from the catalogue I can across at least three other blogs that posted about the fall '09 Toast House & Home catalogue. I usually make an effort to have this blog not feel too repetitive but since I spent the time putting this together I decided to post it anyway. Hope I'm not boring you with things you've already seen. Feel free to tell me if and when I am.

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

A Little Interview

Diana Brennan was sweet enough to interview me for her blog head on over and check it out.

be still.

I'm sure I've said before and will say it a thousand more times in the future, I love twitter. The other evening I was just futzing around checking out the folks who are following me and came across the owner of this beautiful etsy shop. Be still. sells handmade pillow covers and napkins made from designer fabrics. Sorry if I have you on pillow overload, I promise a break after today but this shop is so great I just had to share. In addition to having lovely products, the shop photography is also fab.

A little shopping bonus: Anyone who orders from the be still. shop within the month of September will be entered in to drawing to win a copy of "Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens" by Lena Corwin.

Related Posts:

Svenskt Tenn Stockholm

Fabricadabra - A Story, A Person, A Culture, Behind Every Fiber

Amy Butler Handcrafted Rugs for Chandra

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Run Out And Buy...

...this colorful BÄRBAR serving tray from Ikea designed by Susan Pryke, only $5.99.

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.

Monday's Beautiul Space

Seeing all of the flags whipping in the sea breeze today (not really sure why so many put out there flags for Labor Day), I thought this room could be appropriate for the Labor Day post. The hint of blue on the walls, the bright red chair and the white washed floors are my subtle nod to the symbol of our nation.

emmas designblogg

Related Posts:

Tumbling Over White Floors

What Word Would You Use to Describe Your Decorating Style?

Sign up to receive Design Evolution updates via RSS feed or email.