TEST Blue & White: London based creative Ann Shore has put together a striking kitchen with her fresh, arresting palette of white and blue. She has used small pieces of masking tape to cover the fridge in a montage of blue and white images, including old magazine spreads, postcards and printed photos from around the world. Carrying on this theme, Ann has papered her breakfast bar stools – made from tall cardboard storage boxes – in recommissioned pages from books and magazines, to create a patchwork of memory and nostaglia. Her granite worktop on the cooking island carries on the theme, juxtaposed with crisp white cupboards. Wooden bowls and chopping boards bring in a sense of nature, like pieces of driftwood on a seashore, and contrast with the modern, polished-aluminium extractor hood.

Blue & White: London based creative Ann Shore has put together a striking kitchen with her fresh, arresting palette of white and blue. She has used small pieces of masking tape to cover the fridge in a montage of blue and white images, including old magazine spreads, postcards and printed photos from around the world. Carrying on this theme, Ann has papered her breakfast bar stools – made from tall cardboard storage boxes – in recommissioned pages from books and magazines, to create a patchwork of memory and nostaglia. Her granite worktop on the cooking island carries on the theme, juxtaposed with crisp white cupboards. Wooden bowls and chopping boards bring in a sense of nature, like pieces of driftwood on a seashore, and contrast with the modern, polished-aluminium extractor hood.

TEST Smart Spaces: In the Parisian home of artist Cécile Daladier and architect/designer Nicolas Soulier (above), the kitchen sink is integrated into the dining table, doubling up as a cook’s work surface when not an eating area. Quirky finds, like a silver Aladdin’s teapot on top of the cabinets and the handmade bowls, create areas of visual interest. Overall, they’ve kept the colour scheme white, giving this bijou space a sense of airiness.

Smart Spaces: In the Parisian home of artist Cécile Daladier and architect/designer Nicolas Soulier (above), the kitchen sink is integrated into the dining table, doubling up as a cook’s work surface when not an eating area. Quirky finds, like a silver Aladdin’s teapot on top of the cabinets and the handmade bowls, create areas of visual interest. Overall, they’ve kept the colour scheme white, giving this bijou space a sense of airiness.

TEST Top Tables: Invest in the right table. Or make your own. Old wooden beams have been crafted together to make a rustic-style table in Parisian restaurant Derrière, accessorised with contrasting chairs, like these rather elegant, fabric-covered dining chairs with glamorous brass studs

Top Tables: Invest in the right table. Or make your own. Old wooden beams have been crafted together to make a rustic-style table in Parisian restaurant Derrière, accessorised with contrasting chairs, like these rather elegant, fabric-covered dining chairs with glamorous brass studs.

TEST Country Kitchen: In the home of artist Claire Basler, flowers are in abundance. Above the old vintage butler’s sink, blooms line up in re-employed grocery bottles. In brown enamel containers, she’s stacked her vintage silverware, found at market places, while a lemon yellow teapot resides on the hob. Claire shows off twists of must-have modernity, like the coffee machine and an industrial-style light to assist with food preparation.

Country Kitchen: In the home of artist Claire Basler, flowers are in abundance. Above the old vintage butler’s sink, blooms line up in re-employed grocery bottles. In brown enamel containers, she’s stacked her vintage silverware, found at market places, while a lemon yellow teapot resides on the hob. Claire shows off twists of must-have modernity, like the coffee machine and an industrial-style light to assist with food preparation.

TEST Old World Comforts: In Claire Basler’s bathroom, she has a generously sized vintage claw foot bathtub. Her trademark giant floral paintings, in this case irises on a silver canvas, provide a beautiful backdrop to bathe by. Linen towels hang from an old towel rail, heated by a shapely antique radiator.

Old World Comforts: In Claire Basler’s bathroom, she has a generously sized vintage claw foot bathtub. Her trademark giant floral paintings, in this case irises on a silver canvas, provide a beautiful backdrop to bathe by. Linen towels hang from an old towel rail, heated by a shapely antique radiator.

TEST Reincarnate Key Pieces: An elegant, modern, square-legged side table becomes a practical bathing aid in Tim Rundle’s bathroom. On top, a vintage silver jug and soap dish reside, adding glinting, pretty accessories. Here, tiles play with proportion: large square floor tiles juxtapose with the tiny taupe and white mosaic tiles on the walls. The bath, painted in taupe, continues the natural, neutral feel. The large floor-to-ceiling window brings in the natural world, making this the perfect urban space in which to relax and reflect.

Reincarnate Key Pieces: An elegant, modern, square-legged side table becomes a practical bathing aid in Tim Rundle’s bathroom. On top, a vintage silver jug and soap dish reside, adding glinting, pretty accessories. Here, tiles play with proportion: large square floor tiles juxtapose with the tiny taupe and white mosaic tiles on the walls. The bath, painted in taupe, continues the natural, neutral feel. The large floor-to-ceiling window brings in the natural world, making this the perfect urban space in which to relax and reflect.

  • words:
  • pictures: Debi Treloar

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