Fall in Love with Mediterranean Style - Part Two

Last week I posted part one of a beautiful Mediterranean style home located in California, this week I am bringing you further wonderful images of this home. If you missed last week I have included a link below.

Fall in Love with Mediterranean Style - Part One

If you love Mediterranean style, antiques and decorative paintwork, you are bound to fall in love with this beautiful home but what may surprise you is that it lies oceans away from the Mediterranean in the state of California.

An English Coastal Cottage in Beaulieu

 symmetry is perfect for an entrance, it creates a sense of balance and is the perfect introduction 

Most coastal homes featured on my blog are usually Hamptons style and located in the USA, however, today I wanted to share an English coastal home. British interior designers tend to be more traditional than US designers and in this particular case, as this home's location to seaside and countryside go hand in hand, the designer has blended country and coastal and a smidgen of France for a more traditional look.

French Country Style Lakeside USA

This weeks house tour is a French country style home that is truly beautiful...

Nantucket Style Exterior, Eclectic Interior in a Washington, Beachside Home

After a weekend of bitterly cold weather and small tornadoes, including one at nearby St Heliers beach, I am pretty sure this is why I am looking at beach side homes in warmer locations, not to mention travel brochures which are currently sitting in a neat pile beside me and which I plan to peruse when I finish this post. However, If I lived in this beautiful home, I doubt I would ever need to take a holiday.

Designer, Paolo Moschino's Sussex Farmhouse

When approaching the interior design of a period building, taking into account the architecture and history that surrounds it, it takes a highly skilled and sympathetic designer to create elegant, comfortable, yet up-to-date spaces, befitting of their surroundings. As soon as Paolo Moschino and Philip Vergeylen spotted their Sussex farmhouse they decided to purchase it without even seeing inside. Half-Tudor, half nineteenth-century, the farmhouse had everything they required including its location which is only an hour from London by train. 

An Exclusive Tour of Auckland Interior Designer, Irene Crean's French Provencal Style Home - Part One of Four

Recently I featured a post on Auckland interior designer, Irene Crean's French Provencal style, Epsom house. So unique is her home, it has featured in several publications and was previously part of the 2014 NZ House & Garden tours. In my prior post I could only publish a few images, however, I am excited to say I was recently invited to spend a morning photographing Irene's home for the blog.

A Stunning, European Inspired Home In Epsom

Last year I attended the Auckland NZ House & Garden tour, an annual event that allows us to view some of the more unique homes in our area. There were many beautiful houses on the tour, however, only one left me in a mesmerised state and a sudden desire for all things French.

French Flair in a Sydney Cottage

Spotted at Home Beautiful, located in the centre of Sydney lies this renovated and extended cottage with a little French flair, I fell in love with its charm and I am sure you will too.

View Five of The Top Most Popular Home Tours From 2014

Some of the most popular blog posts on Lee Caroline are the home tours, character houses with tastefully decorated interiors. Many of these interiors may have been designed by professional designers, however when I choose interiors to share with you, I strive to find homes that are beautifully designed, without being overly contrived, lived in and loved spaces I know my readers will enjoy.

A New French Style Home With Grand Appeal

I am sorry for my absence on Monday, we were among the 80,000 homes that have had no power since the early hours of Sunday morning due to a fire at a sub station in Auckland. Unfortunately we were also among the 18,000 that were the last to receive power again, yesterday. No power = no hot water = no cooking = no heating and of course no Internet, which was for me was worryingly the most devastating part. It is scary how dependant we become on an everyday necessity that is suddenly taken away from us. I felt so very sorry for the elderly with no family nearby, I just hope that their neighbours helped them out. We have no elderly neighbours so I pretty well sat and wallowed in my own sorrows, surrounded by House and Home magazines and sudoku puzzles and wrapped in a duvet. So, Monday's post was not to be, although I did share a home tour on my facebook page yesterday and wanted to share more images with my blog readers today.

My Living Room - Making Seasonal Changes

Spring is here and that means a few changes to my home, I have abandoned the warm shades of winter, done a little shopping, introduced some spring foliage, swapped a few things around and given my living area a fresh, new look...Gasp!

My French Style Home Office - "The Reveal"

After a week of overcast, wet weather and gradually coming to grips with my camera, I have managed to get take the shots for my home office reveal. You will have to excuse the overexposed shots, my excuse for compensating for lack of light in this south facing room.

Home Office Update, A New Chair - Full Reveal Next Week

If you follow my blog you will remember I created my office moodboard some time ago, first it was coastal, which then changed to a French theme, and although I have adhered to this style, not everything has gone to plan, especially when the chair for my desk was delivered the other week. When I went in search of a suitable desk chair, I was so busy trying them for comfort, that I completely forgot to compare the width of the chair in relation to the length of my small desk. When the chair arrived, I felt that it was just too large for the desk. However, it is such a gorgeous chair, I have decided to place it in the corner of my office.

Home Office Update 2 - New Photos

A few updated shots of my office progress, all that remains is two chairs, wall art and a few accessories. I have decided to keep the French Louis chair for my bedroom project.  I am now looking for a comfortable, high back chair for my desk and a cosy reading chair. I still haven't found my elusive olive jar, so meanwhile I have created a temporary vignette to fill the gap.

Adding Creative Touches to a Traditional Styled Bathroom

Above, the gentle curves of this free-standing bath help create a serene atmosphere in this French style bathroom. The owner has shown their love of French style by creatively adding furniture and injecting their personality into this space. When designing or re-decorating a bathroom, think out of the box, by introducing some creative touches, you can easily add personality, as well as function to this important area of your home.

A Coastal Cottage Renovation

At first glance the old stone buildings in the image above could easily be situated in France, when in fact they are located in coastal Britain. The real connection lies with French architect, Alain Le Masson, DPLG. Alain's vast experience of converting old French buildings into fabulous homes has left his mark on this wonderful conversion. Alain's design blends the original cottage and outbuildings to create one spacious dwelling. His renovations have been sympathetic to the original building, yet taken advantage of modern materials and the amazing coastal view. With the ocean just a few feet away and set in peaceful surroundings, what more could you want!

Images copyright Sophie Lloyd images Maison-Deco

I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of this home, I am sorry I couldn't source more images of the interior. Next week I hope to bring you part two of the Mediterranean inspired interior I recently featured.

 Lee oxo

Images copyright: Sophie Lloyd source via

A Mediterranean Style Interior In An Auckland Home & Garden

It was after midnight on New Years eve, dare I say nearly 2am, when I began drafting this post. So obsessed with my new camera and editing today's shoot, I had absolutely no idea time had escaped me! New Years Eve has been and gone, however I can definitely say I am still buzzing from the excitement of the results of my first interior shoot. All of images below, bar one, were taken on auto, my lack of knowledge of manual is currently holding me back, so I am keen to attend a course in the near future.

My first interior of 2014 belongs to Kaye, who owns a soft furnishing business, Curtainalia, based in the pretty suburb of Epsom, in Auckland. It was a glorious sunny day when Kaye invited me over for afternoon tea at her home overlooking Orakei Basin, little did she know I had an ulterior motive when I turned up armed with camera and tripod. We had a wonderful afternoon chatting, eating and drinking and at one point, looking at the laden olive tree above and feeling the warmth of the summer sun, I was completely lost and convinced I was in Italy.

A typical 1940's NZ bungalow, Kaye has honoured her homes architecture by retaining the original design of its exterior, however with Kaye's clever design skills and antique French furniture, the interior of this warm and inviting home, has very much a European feel. Blending antique, French and Italian furnishing Kaye has created a relaxed interior with moments of opulence. 

Kaye's love of Europe extends to the garden beyond, where she has planted olive, fig and espaliered fruit trees. A converted garage adjoins the house, its cleverly renovated interior has exposed beams and the feel of an old stone house. With a small kitchen at one end and French doors to a courtyard, it is the perfect place for entertaining. The concrete floor in this area has been cleverly 'faux' painted to appear as old stone tiles and the ceiling beams and walls have been lime washed. My favourite part of this area is the wonderful beamed ceilings where two gorgeous 5 arm chandeliers have been hung in the rafters. I don't have a great deal of photos to share as I thought it a little rude to spend the whole afternoon taking photographs when the invitation was for afternoon tea. However, Kaye has said I am welcome to go back and shoot some more images next week and when I do I will make sure I have some shots of the detail I have described above, meanwhile I hope you enjoy these few below...

Of course I couldn't miss out Dolph, the German Short Haired Pointer

The pretty floral linen and beautifully trimmed velvet cushions are the work of Kaye's company Curtainalia and Bel Cuscino. Kaye's lovely little shop, Bel Cuscino stocks gifts and unique pieces of furniture. These images are just a snippet of Kaye's house, however as mentioned I will be returning next week to photograph more rooms and capture more of the detail I mentioned above.

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If you love French style, you may also enjoy the following posts;

A pretty villa in Antibes
A Gracious Villa in St Marys Bay - Part one
A Gracious Villa in St Marys Bay - Part Two
If Your Minimalist, Look Away - Tour a French Style Home

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A French Style Dream Home

If you are a regular reader, you will know by my constant repetition, my dream is to build a French style house and as I am inching closer to this dream, I have been collecting images to inspire me. I thought the easiest way I could portray my ideas was to create some idea books to share with you. Please use the small arrows at the lower right hand side to move through the slide show.

This first home 'Villanova', designed by Peter Zimmerman Architects, reflects a French colonial country house with many ideas to draw inspiration from.

Use arrows to move through slide show

My second slideshow is a collation of architecture and design ideas conjuring up some French style.

Lots of inspiration for my French Style dream home
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Master Bedroom Inspiration - French, soft blues/greys, luxury bed linen...

Right now, my mind is all over the place, I am trying to complete so many tasks around the home that I am constantly flitting from one job to another. My kitchen, master bedroom and exterior are all to be re-decorated or renovated and some of these jobs I would like to complete by Christmas. My master bedroom has a French cottage look and after 3 years I am in need of a change. I want to update my bedroom with, fresh new colour, replace my existing roman blinds with wooden shutters and add some additional furniture. Unfortunately I don't have a large space to work with so detailed planning is vital. 

Good design starts with great inspiration and the best way to plan a room is to create a mood board, a place to collate and visualise your ideas, see what works and what doesn't. The board will help you plan your budget and become a starting point to source your products. My theme remains French but a little more luxurious, my colours will be soft tones of grey/blue and white. Luxurious bedlinen is one item I won't skimp on, crisp white, 100% Egyptian cotton in a high thread count is a must. I wouldn't sleep on anything else and the thought of lying between even a smidgen of polyester, honestly, makes me shudder! My 'wish list' consists of the furniture I feel would work and the colours I will be using. Possibly, once I go shopping, cost may intervene and I may end up with some alternative pieces, however I will try to get as near to my look as possible, just as I did in my recent guest bedroom makeover.

The now (minus the floral bedspread)...

Inspiration, subtle blue/grey tones, crisp white cotton, shutters, French furniture and a tad of opulence...

Oh, and did I mention I want to replace my roman blinds with shutters!

Image sources: 1|2|3|4|5|6

My mood board...

I hope you enjoyed this post, maybe you have been thinking of re-decorating a bedroom, to help you on your way, I have lots of ideas on my Pinterest boards which are listed alphabetically for ease of search. I will be starting work on my bedroom in a couple of weeks and will keep you up to date.

Update: November 2014....A girl often changes her mind and my bedroom is in the process of re-decoration however, my theme changed somewhat and it is now a coastal/Hamptons style. You can view my new design board.....here. 

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