Contemporary Interior Behind A Victorian Facade

Lying behind the exterior of a typically English Victorian house, lies a contemporary surprise. An eclectic mix of modern and Mid Century furnishing with the odd homage to its Victorian era and a neutral grey palette which works wonderfully. The open plan kitchen/dining/family area is large at 16 metres long with glass doors that lead to a lovely garden. The surprising interior retains its period features such as the fireplaces and ceiling cornice, yet other areas of the house have been completely modernised. A house truly  full of surprises and I love them all.

This interior is available for film/magazine shoots, more images can be seen at JJ Locations.

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks interior as much as I've enjoyed sharing it. We seem to be in the middle of an "Indian summer" in New Zealand with our temperatures still high and no sign of rain on the horizon, so as you can imagine its hard to spend time sitting at the computer. 

Have a great weekend.

  

A Reflection of 2012 - & Most Popular Posts

Looking back at 2012 it's been one of the toughest of my life. Watching my mother lose her battle with cancer, my life has virtually been on hold. However, this blog "Lee Caroline - A World of Inspiration", has kept me going, it has been an inspiration not just for my readers but for myself too. LC has been an outlet for my semi starved, creative side, a place to share the wonderful interiors, recipes, art, crafts and DIY I discover in my daily trips around the Internet. More importantly, I've  discovered a world of wonderful and caring people, total strangers that drop by from afar taking time to comment on a postm and people giving encouragement, sharing a little of their lives with you. I just want to say, you have no idea how much this has meant to me. I have not met you personally, but I've felt encouraged and uplifted and at times consoled through the comments and sometimes personal emails I get from those who have been touched in some way by something they have read or seen on my blog.

2013 will be a new year for me, a new beginning and I have vowed to spend equal time on my blog and my painting. I'm finally purchasing that elusive DSLR in February. My new camera will enable me to share high quality images of homes and beautiful things that I see in New Zealand. I am quite excited about this and have lots of great posts planned.  Looking back over 2013 I've made a short list of some of my most viewed posts to share again. I want to thank everyone for their support throughout 2012 and I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

French Country Style Bedroom Makeover......Read more

Country Kitchen Makeover Ideas....Read More

Bathrooms, beautiful ideas to inspire you....... Read More 

Blue and White Interiors. Read more...... Read more

DIY French Wash Furniture......Read more 

Country Cottage Bedroom Ideas...... Read more

DIY Mini Vintage Cake Stand . Instructions......Read more

Thought for the Week......Read More

Simply gorgeous kitchens

 

Good morning my readers, I do hope you all have had a nice and relaxing weekend! Thank you so much for all your nice words about the Lefèvre Interiors project showed on my previous blogpost. I so appreciate all of your comments and thoughts!

Today I would love to talk about ‘simple’, however ‘simply beautiful’ kitchens!

 

The first kitchen is of Belgian antiques dealers Brigitte & Alain Garnier and has always been one of my favorite kitchens.

The combination of the beamed ceiling, the bluestone floor tiles and the simplicity of the chosen materials for the kitchen cabinets, sink and counters is wonderful. The structure in reinforced concrete creates a nice continuation of the neutral chosen colors of the room and the wooden cabinet doors.

Notice the steel window !

This kitchen has been published in a lot of renown interior design magazines.The next two photos of this kitchen are taken by my favorite Belgian photographer Claude Smekens. Claude always knows exactly how to capture the atmosphere of a room.

Kitchen of Brigitte & Alain Garnier www.garnier.be  (source here) Photo credit Claude Smekens

 

Kitchen of Brigitte & Alain Garnier www.garnier.be (source here) Photo credit Claude Smekens

 

Kitchen of Brigitte & Alain Garnier www.garnier.be

 

Kitchen of Brigitte & Alain Garnier www.garnier.be

 

BRIGITTE & ALAIN GARNIER ANTIQUES

WWW.GARNIER.BE

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The next kitchen I found on the website of the Belgian guesthouse ‘Heerlijkheid van Marrem’. This guesthouse is definitely a must for those who would love to spend some time at the Belgian country side and who love all things pure and natural.

Here again is chosen for purity and an uncluttered look without going bare or cold.

Kitchen Belgian guesthouse Heerlijkheid van Marrem http://www.heerlijkheidvanmarrem.be

 

Kitchen Belgian guesthouse Heerlijkheid van Marrem http://www.heerlijkheidvanmarrem.be

 

Kitchen Belgian guesthouse Heerlijkheid van Marrem http://www.heerlijkheidvanmarrem.be

Love these rough boarded cabinet doors.

 

GUESTHOUSE HEERLIJKHEID VAN MARREM

WWW.HEERLIJKHEIDVANMARREM.BE

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For those who follow my blog since a while do know that I love the kitchen of Susan, author of the blog Two Maisons and living in France. I already posted about Susan’s kitchen in one of my last year’s kitchen posts (here).

Susan used old cheese planks for the kitchen cabinet doors and drawers.

Kitchen of Susan, the author of the blog Two Maisons

 

Kitchen of Susan, the author of the blog Two Maisons

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Beautiful kitchen with oak boarded cabinet doors and shelving.

Source Haus Design blog

 

Don’t you love this Moroccan kitchen? I might think this kitchen is executed with tadelakt plaster. Gorgeous!

Source Remodelista blog

 

I couldn’t take my eyes off this beautiful and uncluttered kitchen the moment I discovered it on Joni’s blog Cote de Texas!

Source Cote de Texas blog

 

This kitchen I do love because of all the white tiles used here which creates a very peaceful atmosphere. And the tiles are very beautiful in combination with the dark floortiles.

 Source Remodelista blog

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One of my favorite US designers is the Houston based designer Pam Pierce, who you all might know. I love her design style, which is frequently based on the Belgian style.

I just love this kitchen of Pam Pierce. A very pure style kitchen with well chosen basic furniture and gorgeous decorative items as the table lamp and painting. I love the glimpse of the linen covered seat here!

Pam Pierce Designs http://www.ppiercedesigns.com Photo credit Stephen Karlisch

PIERCE DESIGNS & ASSOCIATES

WWW.PPIERCEDESIGNS.COM

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Some more examples of ‘simply gorgeous’ kitchens.

Source unknown

 

Source unknown

 

Notice the tiles used on the table top!

Source Côté Maison  Photo credit Henri del Olmo

 

What about you? Do you love these pure style kitchens?

xx

Greet

Simply gorgeous kitchens

  Good morning my readers, I do hope you all have had a nice and relaxing weekend! Thank you so much for all your nice words about the Lefèvre Interiors project showed on my previous blogpost. I so appreciate all of your comments and thoughts! Today I would love to talk about ‘simple’, however ‘simply beautiful’ kitchens!   The first kitchen is of Belgian antiques dealers Brigitte & Alain

White Kitchens

Everyone absolutely loved Becky's Farmhouse kitchen post last week and I was thrilled that this has been one of my most popular posts, it just goes to show how loved the "farmhouse/country" style is.  Becky has posted some more images, her before and after and work in progress which you can view "here". If you missed my earlier post on Beckys kitchen you will find a link at the end of this post.

Yesterday a friend came over and was mentioning that she is about to re-do her kitchen and how she found my blog great inspiration, of course I was thrilled to hear this and therefore decided to share some more fabulous kitchen ideas. I've chosen five all white kitchens, each one having it's own unique style. It's made me desperate to do a mini makeover on my tiny kitchen, starting with the most annoying light which hangs over the breakfast bar. This flashy designer light (already in the house), is down to 2 working bulbs out of 6 because no one, male or female, can work out how to get these darn bulbs out to change them!

                                                                             Source: hannesdagbok.blogspot.fr via Lee on Pinterest

                                                                          Source: hannesdagbok.blogspot.fr via Lee on Pinterest

                                                                                 Source: nicety.livejournal.com via Lee on Pinterest

                                                                         Source: mariannesimondesign.com via Lee on Pinterest

                                                 

           

                                                                           Source: abeachcottage.com via Lee on Pinterest

If your still thirsting for more inspiration visit :

My  "Pinterest kitchen board" 

Country kitchen makeover ideas

Becky's Farmhouse kitchen makeover

                                 

                                                               

Random musings and settling in.......

Good Thursday afternoon, well at 4pm almost evening.......This week has been really busy, a lot of "stuff" but not the fun kind of stuff we all love like decorating, and window treatments and beautiful textiles, gorgeous fixtures,  fluffy pillows and those kinds of things, more like plumbing and electrical issues, going through the whole house and putting the registers in, touching up on the paint in all the rooms....yea that kind of boring stuff. But in between all this boringness, I did manage to start thinking about fabrics for my kitchen and am here today to share with you a few stool contenders as well as some fabrics I am liking.  As usual you know I love your opinions!

Today is one of those "everythings getting on my nerves day", there is someone working in every corner of the house that is important to me, i.e. my bedroom, my bathroom, the kitchen and when I finally figured I could escape to the alcove near the guest room...bam! someone was there too.......not the most relaxing day today so concentrating on getting distracted in blogland!
Part of the fun of opening up boxes after being in storage for years is rediscovering some goodies. I was so excited to see a lantern that I had bought right before we sold our house (remember we sold it without it being on the market) so it happened unexpectedly. Anywho, loved these lanterns and never had the chance to hang it. SO it was put away for safe keeping. What I dont' remember though is having bought two! So I was very excited to discover a pair. And then it dawned on me....why not put them up in the kitchen at least for now until my permanent fixtures come out which are now back ordered until April? And you know what, they look pretty darn good. I absolutely love the fixture, the etching is spectacular and ironically reminiscent of my beautiful William Yeoward cake plate!! See, there are no mistakes!! So here's a bunch of random odds and ends.......

I am like a kid in a candy store with fabrics!

Palette for master, carpet is ivory strange colors here (still trying to figure out my Nikon and way too impatient to read the manual like normal people, sorry!

The big pieces is wallpaper, the front is carpet, the left is a velvet stripe (thinking for bench) and right could be pretty on a pair of chairs, still in the "playing stage" but fabric and carpet I love

Hallway uncovered, isn't the Windex bottle a nice touch? You know me, its either Charmin, Nyquil or Windex....I really should be getting something out of that, lol.

This is looking from once you walk in front door

Topiaries are not staying, just there hanging out till they find a home elsewhere

T

This is the type of window treatment I was referring to for my bathroom.....

I really like this hutch in a painted blue/gray finish with the matching desk for my small home office...thoughts? (Safavieh)

So heres the lanterns I told you about, first he hung them way too high, in a few pics you will see them at their proper height.....

Etching looks familiar, eh?

Another fabric I am really liking.....will show you stools in a bit

Lowered......much better

Meet my newest friends, "the twins"......need to find just the right spot

They even look good next to the fabric in the background

Please take note of fabric and imagine on upholstsered stools......

Found a spot for my other pair of antique blue and whites

The twins still there, waiting patiently for their turn!

See what you think about the fabric........

imagine that fabric on these stools (this is one of three stools I am considering) I would change the wood base to a dark dark wood or black to match island. It was funny because Bonnie Neiman sent these as an idea and I already had them in my file as one of three possible stools .as I told her, great minds think alike!  Thoughts? Is it a like? A love?

And to show my devotion to all things blue and white, check out the new iPhone cover I am ordering from Pink Pagoda......(Jennifer from Belclaire house featured it)

Think I am going with this one...though they are both quite pretty!!

Click here if you want one too!

So that's it for today, still doing lots of unpacking, and less organizing than I should,  but am managing to do a little every day. I apologize for pictures that felt repetitive, frankly it has more to do with my stubborness in getting the right lighting with my camera and settings, and some are accurate while others are not, hence the repetition!  I am wiped and am going to take a long coffee break and visit some of my favorite blogs now....important to pace yourself! Hope you are having a fantastic day.....until we meet again!