Cool & unpretentious is a hard combo

Great images portraying an unpolished life with natural and minimally processed materials (or ingredients!)
Notice the lighting, the counter, and the rough wall in the bathroom. Everything about the patio shot with the hammock is great, the ingredients, the bread, and the cutting board are cool in the 3rd shot, and the flooring, the brick wall, and those double doors are really nice in the bottom shot. Enjoy!

Images from BrownDressWithWhiteDots.tumblr.com

Rustic bathroom

I don't usually like spaces/rooms where every detail is on the same theme. It makes the place feel less homey and more like a Disney-esque theme ride. This bathroom below is an example of that feel - other than the towels the place seems more like the bathroom of a restaurant rather than a home but still, there is some good inspiration here.

Image from beaudelish.tumblr.com

Rustic country kitchen

Masculine with so much inspiration... cool kitchen.

From handcraftedinvirginia.tumblr.com

Jar pendant light

I saw these at a southwestern restaurant first.  I had assumed that they made them themselves but apparently you can buy these.  You can also make one of these yourself pretty easily.  (Go to blog.MegRuth.com for video instructions.)  It's a resourceful thing to do and you get a cool, unique and memorable pendant.

Top image from BarnLightElectric.com, bottom image from houzz.com

Let's get over ourselves

Isn't this house great? The grass may not be perfectly manicured, and the furniture might not be by famous designers but it's actually more liveable and cozy for it. It's unfortunate when we can't efficiently and inexpensively create comfortable, cozy, easy-to-manage, and beautiful spaces because we're too interested in impressing others or ourselves.

Images of Casa Paola from JordiCanosa.com

Beautiful lamp

Cool and simple lamp, no? You could put one together yourself, and enjoy it that much more for it.

Image from JCovingtonHome.com

The good life

Clean, simple, rustic, and easygoing place by the interior designer Sarah Lavoine. Notice the lack of status symbols in or around this place. The exterior shots are great, I just wish there were more of them.

Images from CoteMaison.fr

Warm stone therapy

Easy going, warm and cozy interiors with lots of character. A unique character comes easy when the rooms are carved into solid rock like some of these pictured below. That sitting area in the top image is called a divan. I love those things.

All images from www.argosincappadocia.com

Character

Great bathroom with lots of character. Easy going and low maintenance features like stone walls, exposed AC pipes, concrete floors sound industrial but come together quite nicely to create a cozy bathroom.

Images from the photographer Ryann Ford's portfolio, but I saw them first on DesireToInspire.net.

Anna Kern

Photographer Anna Kern has some pictures of cool and casual interiors in her portfolio. Notice: the paint in that kitchen in the first image, the unpainted stairs in the second image, and the bare light bulbs in the third (cfl bulbs look better bare!)

Images from AnnaKern.com

Flexible & eclectic -and I don't mean your aunt!

A casual and comfortable living room. The barn light above, that Adirondack style chair indoors, that red stool used as a side table, and that big pillow that can be used as a foot-rest are nice and comfortable touches. It's nice that you can move most of those things around as you see fit.

Image from HouseBeautiful.com

Let the sunshine in!

The flooring would be hard to clean I imagine, so it's probably not the best choice for a bathroom -even though it looks great. That industrial light fixture above the mirror looks like it would last a while but what I like most about this bathroom is  the door letting in lots of natural light, and the simple and casual cabinetry!

Image from the flickr stream of The Estate of Things

Simple, Easy-going, Relaxation!

The UXUA casa hotel in Brazil created simple easy-going environments that are dramatically beautiful using inexpensive and natural materials. The log vanity with a plant wall is a bit over the top, I know, but everything else offers great and realistic inspiration. Well done UXUA!






All images from the UXUA hotel website.

"Quiet illumination"

The "quiet illumination" phrase is quoted from the Natural Calm website where they have these beautiful lamps. Every material used has natural grace and the lamps are very easy on the eyes. I'm sure they'd create warm and soft light for relaxing environments.
Image from NaturalCalm.com

Blue Nature

The French company Blue Nature (great name) makes great pieces, mostly out of beautifully aged salvaged wood and driftwood. The wood is not treated much and the preserved raw appearance adds to the charm and character of the pieces. Way to go Blue Nature!


All images from BlueNature.com

Vintage industrial pieces from Cleveland Art

Cleveland Art re-purposes/recycles salvaged industrial surplus as functional furniture/art/lighting. I like renewing/reusing furniture instead of dumping them, I like the functional and no-nonsense aesthetic of industrial objects, I like things that last, and I like things with age and character, so there is quite a bit for me to enjoy at Cleveland Art's inventory.





All images from ClevelandArt.com