Ilse Crawford's former home via The Modern House
Most of last week was spent reading Ilse Crawford's book A Frame for Life which showcases some of her work from her flat in London, pictured above and which she sold recently, to her design for Soho House New York and the Ett Hem hotel in Stockholm, shown below.
ett hem stockholm designed by Ilse Crawford
Crawford is one of my design heroes, not least because I love her mix of Danish modernism with a cool modern rustic vibe, but also because she began in journalism, as the launch editor of Elle Decoration UK, before moving across to design consultancy. You can see where I'm going with this.
ett hem by ilse crawford
Her other, key, point is that your home, your space, your office, wherever you are, should be designed for you. It is for the people who inhabit it and should not be about conforming to trends or looks just because they are fashionable. It is something I try, in my own way, to stress to clients when I am asked to help out with their decoration. Who is this room for? When will they use it? What will they do in it?
brass cabinet by ilse crawford
That way you can prevent the person who hates cooking from creating a kitchen with a big oven at the centre of it. Stick the oven at one end and make a big island for everyone to sit around and chat. Create the space for the people you are not for the people you aspire to be.
From the images above of her flat and her work, it was a short step to these gorgeous Swedish rooms which all look so easy to live in. From the splashes of black to create definition to the vintage wood and large plants to add greenery and life, the Scandinavians make it look effortless and yet so inviting.
They have long winters so it makes sense to keep the bones (walls and floors pale) but dark furniture helps divide the open spaces and create zones. Soft colours such as pink and green provide warmth and there are lots of textiles to break up the monochrome palette.
Of course high ceilings and parquet floors help and we can't all have those at our disposal but we can do what we can with good lighting, pictures and rugs.
This room above is a case in point; it's basically a fairly rustic table and chairs with a couple of pendant lights but it works perfectly and looks so inviting.
kitchen by devol
Above is a kitchen by Devol which I often find on my clients' pinterest boards. A dark floor of reclaimed boards and a grey palette with exposed white bricks. I might take out the painted table and chairs and replace with something more like the table above with some black chairs to stop it all blending into one.
Finally below it's a bar in an old fire station and, in many ways, it's a look we've seen several times but what appealed to me was the use of blue velvet on the stools. That elevates the whole space to something a little more luxe and a little more unusual than the normal distressed metal stools. Don't be afraid of bringing in a little luxury and glamour – we just can't be practical all the time. Life's too short.
chiswick fire station by reddeer.co.uk
I hope you enjoyed today's selection of 10 Beautiful Rooms.
The post 10 Beautiful Rooms appeared first on Mad About The House.
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