Euro Style Home

Image from Louisa Grey

Stylish floor lamps are one of the best sources of light in my opinion, I prefer them to overhead lighting for creating warm pools of directed light and a cozy atmosphere in almost every room. In fact, the only room without one in my home is the kitchen!

Designer floor lamps with modern style not only illuminate a space, they also bring tons of personality with them as statement pieces.

Row 1: Lights Up! Weegee Nickel White Linen Floor Lamp / Modern Porter Nickel Metal Abbey Floor Lamp / Basque Brushed Nickel Marble Base Modern Arc Floor Lamp 

Row 2: Arteriors Hadley Modern Brass Black Floor Lamp / Off White Linden Tripod Wood Arteriors Home Floor Lamp / Contemporary Satin Nickel Tenda Sonneman Floor Lamp

Some of my favorite shapes are tripods and arcs which are especially architectural in shape and can nearly double as works of art.

The material is just as important as its shape in creating a great fit for the style you're aiming for in your home. You can choose from stylish floor lamps in polished chrome, glass, and more.

Image: Louisa Grey

There's another fun color announcement going on.... Sherwin Williams has selected plum as their color of the year and we love it! It's dramatic, sophisticated and versatile.

Plum pairs so well with unexpected colors, such as yellow as seen below.

Image from First Home

Whether you're designing a masculine or feminine space, plum can work for you. The weight of the furniture and the type of accessories you use will determine how pretty or handsome you want the space to look

Image from Que Bueno es Vivir

Check out some of these fun products to help you get the look...

Ovo Drum Shade with Glass 13-Inch-W Floor Lamp, Fancy Fern Rich Plum Plug-In Swag Chandelier, Dark Plum Purple Line 17 3/4-Inch-H Bottle Vase, Dark Plum Purple Line 21-Inch-H Decorative Bottle Vase, Color Plus Plum Dandy Bold Stripe Pattern Table Lamp, Center Pleated Plum Purple Square 18-Inch Surya Throw Pillow, Surya Plum Purple Square 18-Inch Throw Pillow

Images: First Home, Que Bueno es Vivir

Images from Domestikated Life / My Home Ideas

We've all been there...you wake up in the morning, walk sleepily to the bathroom sink and, toothbrush-in-hand, check yourself out in the mirror--- "yikes!" somehow you look a little green in the face and the bags under your eyes seem to have turned into luggage overnight--so strange too because you feel totally fine, right?  Well, nine out of ten times, it's not you, it's the bathroom lighting.

When the lighting is not right, it makes you look off, which can even make you feel off, which can throw your whole day off. I know what you're thinking--you never knew bathroom lighting could be so important, right? Well it is! So, save some face it the morning at select modern bathroom lights with designer styling, yes?

Here are some tips!

Images from Paloma 81

1.) Consider including nontraditional bathroom pendants, like a lantern or a star lamp as a statement.

Currey and Company Grayson French Black Ceiling Lantern, Tetra Tiffany Style 7-Inch-W Pendant Chandelier, Corbett Bangle Gold Tone 12-Inch-W Pendant (Pictured below)

2.) Reflect light with ultramodern bathroom mirrors! Often times bathrooms have small windows, or even no windows at all--so use the mirrors to reflect and bounce the light around the room and make the lights work double time.

Magdalene Antique Silver with Beveled Glass Wall Mirror, Champagne Silver Marrakesh Decorative Mirror (Pictured below)

3.) Create shadow-free lighting on your face by mounting a pair of fixtures on either side of the mirror. This provides shadow-free lighting for easy makeup application and grooming.

Hinkley Congress Brushed Caramel 9 3/4-Inch-H Wall Sconce, Jonathan Adler Havana Polished Nickel Adjustable Wall Lamp (Pictured below)

Image from Style Files

4.)  Avoid bulbs that cast a light that is either too white or too yellow--often times, they're the culprit for making you like the Wicked Witch of the West.

5.) Mix it up! Don't just have one source of light in your bathroom. Include a fun mix of elegant, modern bathroom lights--use ambient lighting for mood, decorative lighting for atmosphere and task lighting, for, well tasks.

Images: Domestikated Life, My Home Ideas, Paloma 81, Style Files

Image from A Merry Mishap

I often find that when decorating a modern space, one decision that can feel overwhelming is what to do for the wall decor. Do you hang a large piece of original art?

What about displaying a mirror or a grouping of wall mirrors? Though those are great options, sometimes our budget doesn't allow for it. Well lucky for us, there are some fresh options that can add fun character to your space.

Image from Re designing Sarah

Displaying a collection of your favorite cards, postcards, pictures and other paper items can create a modern gallery wall that has your personality written all over it. The top image features black and white pictures displayed randomly above a sideboard. Most of them are attached with tape, which makes for less holes. There's lots of fun patterned tape out there to choose from...

If you have a large selection of pictures that you want to show off, try this approach above by randomly displaying them a cork board, bulletin board or anything form of a frame. For a more dramatic look, display as many pictures as you can.

Image from Hanna’s Room

Thrift stores are full quirky art pieces. You can find profile art at almost any flea market/thrift store. Hang a collection of profile art in different sizes, colors and frames.

Image from Chris Court

Have any chicken wire hanging around? Use a wired piece to place cards and picture cards in. Once you’ve gotten tired of one card, it’s easy to switch it out. And you don’t have to worry about tacks and nails.

Images: A Merry Mishap, Re designing Sarah, Hanna’s Room, Chris Court

Image from Federico Babina's Archicine Series

Barcelona-based architect and designer Federico Babina has been steadily making headlines over the last year by creating playful architecture and design themed illustrations. The latest is a series of posters illustrating iconic works of architecture that have played prominent roles on the silver screen. As you might guess, many of them are breathtaking modern homes. 

Below is a sampling of the film posters and the real buildings that inspired them. 

Single Man (2009) - dir. Tom Ford / John Lautner, architect

Photo by Joe Fletcher; Image from Desire to Inspire

Pictured a the top of this post is the house from the film Single Man, as illustrated by Babina. A John Lautner house in Glendale? What else would you expect from a film directed by a fashion magnate? It looks equally beautiful in the photo above by Joe Fletcher. 

The Big Lebowski (1998) dir. Joel and Ehtan Coen / John Lautner, architect

Image from Federico Babina's Archicine Series

Image from Curbed LA

Yet another Lautner, the Sheats-Goldstein house featured fabulously in the Coen brothers' cult hit. We love how the usage of recessed lighting keeps the space clutter-free. With tons of built-in seating, the space is house party-ready at a moment's notice.

L.A. Confidential (1997) dir. Curtis Hanson / Richard Neutra, architect

Image from Federico Babina's Archicine Series

Image from the Times UK

SoCal modernism features so heavily in cinema, one has to wonder if Hollywood influences design trends, or if it's the other way around. The Lovell house by Neutra is textbook International Modern, set in the Hollywood hills. We particularly like the fixtures that delineate walking paths. For a similar look in your home, you could consider using one or more rectangle chandelier designs.

North by Northwest (1959) dir. Alfred Hitchcock / Robert Boyle, William A. Horning, Merrill Pye, Henry Grace, and Frank McKelvey, set designers

Image from Federico Babina's Archicine Series

Photo from North by Northwest, Image from Open Buildings

Last but not least, this is not a home by Frank Lloyd Wright. The iconic Vandamm house from North by Northwest is actually a fake, designed and constructed by the film's set design team on a vacant lot in Culver City, California. As Lloyd Wright was cost-prohibitive even by Hollywood standards, the production's low budget work-around resulted in a home as memorable as any to grace the silver screen. 

For a look at the entire series of posters (including an illustration of Lautner's Chemosphere from the movie Body Double), check out the artist's website.

Images: Federico Babina, Desire to Inspire, Curbed LA, The Times, Open Buildings