dining in style

I'm in the mood for beautiful dining rooms today.

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 Nate Berkus

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Kellie Grosso

 Kevin Harris

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This afternoon, G and I went looking at dining sets. Since our family is expanding, and we enjoy having friends and family over for meals, we would like to get a larger table and chairs, to accommodate everyone. We'd like a set which seats 8-10 people, ideally. A clean-lined, dark wooden table, like in a chocolatey colour, along with some elegant, comfortable upholstered chairs, in white or grey, is the look we're looking for. After browsing at some lower and higher end places, we're hoping to find shops that offer a good range of furniture with decent prices. This will be quite an investment, so we want to choose well, naturally.

There are so many interesting and gorgeous images of dining rooms out there to look at. It's almost overwhelming to think of the ideal look for our own. Of course, we don't have unlimited funds or heaps of places to find furniture, so we will--like most people, no doubt, make the best of our options. Anyway, it's always fun to look!

Mix it up!

I'm all for mixing things up in a room. 

I love seeing art collages on walls, and lovely arrangements on mantles, tables, windowsills, everywhere. 

If you don't have a fireplace, why not make one, like Rita Konig did? 

If you love it, you can find a place for it, that's what I say. Anything goes!

Life is too short to live in boring rooms. A room can be your own beautiful world.

Have a wondrously inspiring week, everyone!

{Image sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}

Room Love: Designer Gabriel Hendifar

Seriously gorgeous rooms...! That is all I can say. 

I've been seeing the work of multi-talented designer Gabriel Hendifar all over the blogosphere lately. The man gets it right every time. Lucite, burlwood, fabulous patterns, symmetry, mirrors, unique antiques, pops of intense colour, dramatic dark tones, rich textures... Every element in his rooms draws your eye around the space, making you want to see more and more. Delicious details make the spaces seem so personal and fascinating.

Not only does Hendifar design amazing rooms, he also designs absolutely stunning clothing, seen here, as well as beautiful light fixtures, which you can find here, at Apparatus. 

I cannot wait to see what else this man will come up with next!

{images found here, here, here, and here}

bright & lovely loft

Bright white surfaces and pops of brilliant colour, along with a few eye-catching pieces of artwork, bring life to this Soho loft in New York City. This fabulous space is the home of tech entrepreneur Kathy Leake, who founded Media6Degrees. 

My favourite elements of the home are the flocked Yves Klein blue chandelier in the lounge and the big pastel bunny sculptures on the dining table. The minimal kitchen is gorgeous. (I'll be adding that image to my Dream House files!) I also love the lucite desk against the white-painted brick wall, and the huge world map in the office.

On the wall in the dining room is a copy of Francis Bacon's painting Study of A Nude With Figure In A Mirror, created by Fabulous Masterpieces. The work is so large, it had to be hoisted into the space through a window.

(Photography by Matthew Williams for living etc via A White Carousel)

Lucite Coffee Table Lust

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 Moderne Chinoise lucite table

 family room of Deborah Needleman, former editor in chief of domino magazine

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 Craig Van Den Brulle lucite mirror top coffee table

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 DuBarry lucite table

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I've got furniture lust. I have decided that the lounge of The Dream House must surely contain a lucite coffee table.

I love the way a lucite coffee table adds a useful item of furniture to a room, yet does not appear to weigh the space down, like a darker or more solid-looking table often seems to do. 

An added bonus: you can still see a rug through a clear table. Think of choosing the perfect rug for your living room, finding the most exquisite colors and pattern, only to have half of the rug hidden by furniture. With a lucite table, that issue is avoided entirely. 

Brilliant!