You want to hear a little story? Maybe 6 years ago, I got a book for Christmas. I don’t remember the exact book now (I have a lot of books), but I remember a feature in said book. I was about the home of decorator/stylist Abigail Ahern. Instant love. And a love that’s been going strong ever since. I don’t know how she does it, but it’s like she has the magic touch and everything within her reach is rendered stylish and wonderfully odd. She has amazing taste, and I adore her whimsical, quirky, tongue-in-cheek, eclectic, a little bit modern, a little bit Victorian, super British, mega dramatic style. She has such a light-hearted way of pulling together traditional and modern pieces and creating the perfect mash-up of the two. And I always appreciate a space with a little humour. Her London home is no exception. Check it out!

Lotsa grey, funky light fixtures, a whole whack of dog-related miscellany, a two-storey wall covered in a trompe l’oeil bookshelf wallpaper, cooshy seating, exposed brick… I could go on and on. Case in point, miss Ahern is a genius decorator and I want her brain. (But in a non-creepy way.)

Images via The Selby

It’s been a crazy busy week folks, so I hope you’ll forgive me for being a little slack on my postings. I had this whole sob story prepared with much begging and pleading of forgiveness. But, I think I’ll spare you the patheticness, and instead distract you with the wondrousness of the following… Feast your peepers on this explosion of AWESOME.

Can I get a resounding: YES and PLEASE. Or perhaps that should be a YE$. ;) Either way, how supremely RAD is this hotel design? Wowzers! It’s called the Semiramis, and is located in beautiful Greece. As if I needed another excuse to want to pack my bags immediately and head off to the Mediterranean. Again, I say, wowzers! This is the sort of hospitality/commercial design that excites me head to toe, inside out, upside down, top to bottom, etc. etc.. Look at those bright, saturated colours! The clean lines! The 70′s space-age kick back! The ultra modern materials! Everything about it reads as pure delight, cheer and fun. I love it. I want to live there. Permanently. Who’s with me? I call dibs on the lounge chair closest to the pool. And maybe one or five of those puffy marshmallow lobby chairs…

Images via YES! Hotels

Can we briefly talk about how stinkin’ badly I want to live in this modern Scandinavian white and rainbow infused apartment? Because, um, hello lover. It’s a DREAM. All caps necessary. It’s like a bright and fluffy white ice cream cloud of perfection with dollops of artful rainbow sprinkles throughout. Delish.

Despite my all-consuming slightly-borderline-frightening obsession with white, it’s the vibrantly coloured abstract art that give this interior its unique jolt of personality. It’s spaces like these that make my constant inner battle of “all white” versus “rainbow bright” a real war of the design personalities. Seriously, I think I have like… design bipolarity or something. Scary stuff, you guys.

Jokes aside, I love this apartment to pieces – from the white-washed architecture, and sleek, modern materials, to the rustic, knotty wood floors, playful light fixtures, and Tollix dining chairs. When can I move in?

Images via Damask et Dentelle.

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P.S. Have you checked out my new blog, k., yet? My second post is up and involves a bit of serenading, a looot of doodling, and a hint of photography. Enticed?

So. Who wants to give me $3.75 million dollars? It’s for a good cause! The Krissy-needs-to-own-this-townhouse cause. This townhouse (belonging to the one and only Jenna Lyons, creative director and president of J.Crew) is up for sale. And I kind of want it x a lot because I’ve been on the envy train for aaaaages. It’s been in my folder called “Dream Houses… swoon!” for as long as I can remember. (No lies, I actually have a folder on my computer called that. It’s the best folder known to man-kind.)

It’s just such a gorgeous townhouse inside and out, it’s almost mind-bogglingly perfect. From that architecturally gorgeous (white, bonus!) exterior and the beautiful blossom filled backyard (with concrete paving stones which are my FAVOURITE thing in the entire world when it comes to outdoor spaces)…

… check out that stunning minimal industrial-feel kitchen (mmm, concrete counter tops)…

… the delicious black coated bedroom and enjoining master bath…

… the entire-room-is-a-closet room! (Do the shoes come with the purchase of the home? Pleasepretty?)…

… and, of course, my FAVOURITE room in the entire house, the living room! That chandelier! That couch! That rug! The moldings! The fireplace! Everything!!

Wistful sigh. Yeah, I just really love this place. It’s perfect. And I’m jealous of whoever gets to live in it post-Lyons.

Most of the images in this post via Fashionologie. Some are from my own archives from aaaaages ago back before I even started my blog, so unfortunately, no source. I want to say they’re from Domino though.

Barbie was my favourite toy growing up. I liked picking out her snappy outfits as much as the next person, but it was setting up elaborate houses for her from boxes and pillows and my nightstand drawers that tickled my fancy. Now that I think about it, I don’t recall ever really playing with my Barbies (aside from one or two or twenty Ninja Turtle invasions from my brother), but I do remember spending hours painstakingly setting up the perfect home for Barbie, Ken, Skipper and Kelly. That was my idea of fun. I hope that makes it acceptable for me to be madly in love with these darling dollhouses designed by Miniio. Not only are these houses aesthetically pleasing, decked out in their stylin’ mid-century modern furnishings, but they’re also eco-friendly using locally sourced materials and sustainable resources. Now that’s what I call a dream house. Barbie never had it so good!

The raw natural textures, liberal use of white, and modern architecture have me seriously envying Barbie’s new digs. She even has a Pantone chair! So jealous. Hey, Christmas (and my birthday) is around the corner… Santa, if you’re listening, my inner 8-year-old would be bouncing off the walls if I woke up to one of these in my stocking.

Images via The Huffington Post & Miniio.