Today is the 79th Tablescape Thursdays over at Between Naps on the Porch, so I thought I would share with a you a recent gathering I had where I used my antique Johnson Brothers green china.

You might remember that one of my goals of my Butlers Pantry renovation was to build some beautiful glass front cabinets to house these precious antiques. You can read all about the Butlers Pantry here.

But what good is China if you are only going to look at it behind glass? I decided to set it out for everyone to enjoy. You can see the antique soup tureen above.

I used Lemon Cypress trees as the centerpiece and pulled out my Apilco chocolate cups for individual arrangements at each place setting. I just put in a spring of greens and some berries.

You can see the bone dishes on the right - we used these as interesting bread plates.

And the covered dish held butter pats I made in pretty butter molds. I should have taken a photo of those!

Ill reveal the rest of the Dining Room on Monday but until then remember to enjoy your china and dont just keep it hidden behind glass.

Head on over to Tablescape Thursday to see more wonderful tables!!

Avant-Garde Home Furnishings, LLC présents

Bringing in the outdoors, a modern home, and a few other modern items..

Today I am sharing with all of you some really cool concepts, bringing in the outdoors and creating indoor outdoor spaces if that makes sense and also a really cool modern home and of course a few items I saw that were very interesting and I find should be shared..

Please enjoy the pics and post...

8 Amazing paces that “Bring the Outdoors In"

Part 1 of 2 - Tomorrow Spaces 4-8

Spaces 1 -4

Number 1

It’s a concept as old as time in interiors and architecture: “Bring the outdoors in.” With good reason. Us humans like cavorting with nature, and we like it even more when we can cavort from the comforts of our own home. Here are eight spaces that do a great job of either bringing the outside in, or at the very least bringing so close you can’t miss it:

Live Modern: S_Mahal

Wow. Just wow. Modern is…creating something that has never been seen before, and we can safely say we’ve never seen these sorts of elements mixed together to create a home. A house for a young couple and a set of parents, the home needed to be able to play with the idea of privacy, and it does so in new and interesting ways.

You’ll see lots of interior courtyards created from architecture, and of course there’s the stunning water-proof curtains that seems to make the whole space organic and almost living when they blow in the wind. Interesting use of colors, as well. Located in Yangseo-myeon in the Republic of Korea by architect Moon Hoon, the same brain behind the similarly tight-budgeted Lollipop House.

“The land purchased in Daesim-ri, Yangpyeong was a place where water, a rice paddy, a forest and livestock stables were intermingled. Despite a budget that was on the tight side, I was able to create seven inner courts including one for every room plus one in the center, while designing a circulatory balcony where there was sufficient space for the house owner and his cats and dogs to roam about freely. In order to create a boundary between the circulatory balcony with the outside, I initially considered hard and cold finishing materials. Due to the low budget, however, we had to improvise and finally opted for a finish with curtains made from waterproof cloth. The waving of the soft walls on a breezy day made it clear to me: the house is truly alive. When I walked around inside the house, the soft walls reacting to my body brought me exquisite feelings.”

What do you think about this house? How would you feel about curtains like that? Intense? Or awesome?

Number 2 -

MCK Architects’ Flipped House

MCK Architects’ Flipped House

This is great example of a “bring the outdoors in” sort of design. You really feel a connection between the interior spaces and the outdoor areas, yet the design of each is very distinct. You don’t necessarily feel like you’re inside when you’re out or vice versa, you just feel like you can rest easy because you know the other is right nearby.

“A 1960’s house has been replaced and reflected by a contemporary version of itself, with a focus that now engages as much on the surrounding garden as it does the panoramic CBD view.”

“The original plan and massing were adapted + literally ‘flipped’ with garden elements to create a more expansive connection from inside to out. Details, fixtures and fittings are sensitive to the original home.” More images on MCK Architects’ website. This home’s connection to the indoors and outdoors reminds us of another home we had recently posted about: Skirt + Rock House brings the outside in

Number 3

Buck O’Neill Builders Offices by

jones | haydu

Buck O’Neill Builders Offices by jones | haydu

Is there ever a situation where cubicles are more than just acceptable…but even preferable and dare we say, enjoyed? Well, when they look like the stunning natural wood in the Buck O’Neill Builders Offices by jones | haydu, they’re more than just passable.

In fact the entirety of the office is proof that you don’t have to do a ton of crazy modern designs to make an office space a zillion times better than many of the offices out there. There isn’t anything too crazy in this space…but it’s the balance of soft, calming white with natural wood-colored tones that makes the space seem so serene.

Of course an awesome and eye-catching addition to the space is the hanging vertical walls of greenery that flank the upstairs conference room. Indeed, you don’t need hardly anything else to color or add interest to the space, dramatically cutting down on distractions, we’d imagine.

What do you think about this office? Would you wanna work here? Would you want to incorporate any of these elements into your living space?

Number 4

Won Dharma Center by Hanrahan Meyers Architects

Won Dharma Center by Hanrahan Meyers Architects

Numbers 5-8 tomorrow in Part 2..

House in Senri by Shogo Iwata Architects

Clean lines and good materials: Casa oZs0

Blair House by Bruce Bolander Architect

Skirt + Rock House brings the outside in

Porcelain of Lladro

I have come to find out that is not the case. Lladro is known the world over as being the Spanish Porcelain company, which has been creating beautiful sculptures for the home for over 50 years. I do own a couple of Lladro pieces that were given to me. They have not really been my style with flowery, romantic figurines and now sad to say I have given them away only to find out that they are indeed collectors’ items.

What caused me to revisit their website is the above lamp from their Estatos Collection which I found while perusing the Dwell On Design website. Much to my surprise I found a new look for Lladro, one which is more modern if not mod even retro. Here are a few things that caught my eye and let’s face it just like music and art I cannot say I like an entire body of work from any one artist/design house or even, nothing at all. I can usually find one objet d’art that speaks to me, a personal treasure, in almost every body of work.

More at Lladro.com

I am definitely not a fan of porcelain but many are so I mentioned what in my opinion is one of the best and better known and also in my opinion has the best quality.. Lladro Porcelin

Happy modern treasure hunting!

Casa 8×8 by Marià Castelló, Arquitecte

Tiny tiny. That’s what we like when we’re searching for cool modern homes. Anyone can do something amazing with an unlimited amount of square footage to play around with, but we like seeing what hurdles a designer has to overcome when he or she is faces with a small space that has to perform a lot of functions.

Though the space by Marià Castelló is small, it doesn’t feel cluttered and fulfills all the requirements necessary for living just fine. We enjoy that although the interiors are kept simple so as not to be visually busy, they are still interesting and full of soft natural colors.

A fun space!

A great way of bringing in the outdoors and some cool modern stuff..

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Bringing in the outdoors a modern home and a few other modern items

8 Amazing paces that “Bring the Outdoors In"

Live Modern: S_Mahal

Porcelain of Lladro

Casa 8×8 by Marià Castelló, Arquitecte