All posts tagged: kitchens

Our Nivito brass kitchen tap and brass sink

Today, let me tell you all about our NIVITO brass kitchen and brass tap which I think, have added a touch of luxury to our new kitchen in CASA PYLA. As you may have seen from the various images of our kitchen posted on Instagram here, and here, this is the first time I do not design an all-white kitchen like the one we did in our home in London or our recent white kitchen makeover in our Airbnb home in France. Right from the beginning when I started thinking about how to transform this old, derelict house, I was drawn to natural tones. The house is located a 2-minute walk from a sandy beach, surrounded by pine trees. The connection to nature and its surroundings feels really strong. You can feel the ocean in the morning, the smell of the trees, and watch squirrels jumping daily from one tree to another while sipping a cup of tea. Phase 1 of the renovations As you may know, redesigning a kitchen is not a cheap process. You have …

A minimal home in West London

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

My heart skipped a beat when I saw the kitchen in this minimal home in West London. The layout and glass roof reminded me of our home in London (you can see some pictures from the renovations here). Before you ask, yes I miss it from time to time. Then I think where we live now… so close to the beach and realize that there is no way I will move back to London and leave the ocean behind. There is an energy there that I feel is extremely positive for our well-being. Plus we have CASA PYLA underway and soon, we will have a beautiful home to live in. Unlike this home, we laid down a concrete floor throughout the ground floor (kitchen and lounge) instead of this pale grey terrazzo flooring. Yet, there are many things I love about this minimal home. So let me show a few details I love about this extension designed by Al-Jawad Pike. There is a very soothing palette used throughout the house with soft tones of white, pale …

Kitchen makeover in CASA PYLA – phase 1

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Following our garden makeover, I’m very excited to share with you today our kitchen makeover in CASA PYLA. For those who haven’t followed this new adventure on Instagram, earlier this year, we bought a very old house in Pyla, 2 minutes walk from the beach on the French Atlantic coast and 5 minutes walk from Le Moulleau (for those who know the area). The house initially named “Bagatelle” (renamed CASA PYLA by yours truly) was in the same family for over 50 years and as we say in French “dans son jus” meaning not much had been done in those 50 years to improve it. The worst room was the kitchen. It had a large hood (the only time I had seen something similar was in my great-grandmother house), a very old, chipped ceramic sink, old tiles on the walls, some Ikea kitchen units from the 80s and was looking pretty awful. While I was planning to freshen up the bedrooms with new paint, we really had to fit in a new kitchen and bathroom to make the …

Le relooking de notre cuisine blanche, minimaliste

Our white kitchen makeover

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

I’m so excited to finally reveal our kitchen makeover which you may have spotted on Instagram. Having used it daily for the past three months, I’m delighted to say that this is now the perfect kitchen for us in terms of storage, usability and design. I absolutely love it! In fact, there isn’t a single thing I would change. At home, our living space (kitchen, dining, lounge) is open-plan. So this is really the heart of our home and the room we spend most of our times as a family. We eat, cook and entertain friends and family. It’s where we all gather and hang out together. I also work from there on a corner of our Norman Copenhagen dining table. SHOP OUR TABLE: The kitchen before The first time we did the kitchen up (and the whole house) was 12 years ago. At the time, I wasn’t cooking much and a lot of my decisions were based on look, design and budget. The kitchen had decent storage. Not so much after we relocated from London with …

A minimalist home in London built around a plywood kitchen 1

A minimalist home with a plywood kitchen

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Thank you so much for answering my little survey last night in my Instagram stories. Since 98% of you wanted to see more house tours, I thought I would kick in with this home in Islington (nice area in north London to visit if you’re planning a little trip). Featuring a minimalist plywood kitchen, it’s a home I find really inspiring for several reasons. First, it’s filled with natural light which in a city like London, is always a good thing. We added a lot of large windows when we renovated our home in London and I can’t stress enough the positive impact it had on our well-being and the overall vibe of our home. So if you’re planning a renovation, think about large windows (I’ve compiled some great examples of windows here). It has also a polished concrete floor, which is what I’m hoping to have in the next home we renovate. A brilliant space-saving design concept And then, there is this beautiful plywood module that hosts the kitchen, stairs but also includes a desk with …

7 minimalist kitchens with grey units

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Now that we’ve sold our first holiday home (available on airbnb here) in the Bay of Arcachon to my best friend, we are starting to plan some renovation work to modernise the holiday home we spent most time in France. One thing we are looking at revamping is our Ikea kitchen which I have to admit has not aged. Ten years on and the units are still looking very white and have not faded despite the huge amount of natural light filling the room. However, what has changed is our cooking habits (well mine mostly…) and requirements for space and storage. For starters, I cook now…which is something I wasn’t doing at all when I designed the kitchen over a decade ago and over the recent years, I came to realise that there was actually enough space to prepare the food when the two of us are in the kitchen. In addition, Steve finds it very antisocial to have his back turned to our guests when he is cooking. Added to the obvious lack of storage, there is quite a few …

Un bel appartement blanc aux touches naturelles

A white apartment with natural accents

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Hello everyone! If you’ve been a reader of my blog for a while, you know that white interiors are my first love so today, I’m taking inspiration from this beautiful white apartment with lovely natural accents. I love how lived-in and cosy it feels. It’s not a big place but it is a beautiful space don’t you think? One thing that I really want to tackle this year is our lounge in France. Steve was given a massive TV by his best friend who moved back to New-Zealand and although it was a nice thought, this very large screen is a real eye-sore in our lounge (at least to me!). I suggested we put it on the wall and get rid of the stand but somehow, Steve who is normally handy and good at DIY is not feeling brave enough to drill into the wall. Looking at the position of the sofa and chairs, I think the black picture frame on the wall is a print and not a TV but should you have one of these TV screens, it …

How to create a stunning kitchen with plywood

How to create a stunning plywood kitchen

Published by BODIE and FOU Style Blog

Besides its eco-friendly properties, plywood or wood from sustainable forests are a great alternative to re-design your kitchen on a budget. Personally, I’m a huge fan of this material which we used at home in Steve’s tree house. I love the warmth and the Scandinavian vibes, wood adds to the room and if you’re not convinced, let me show you 12 examples of modern kitchens re-designed with plywood. Plywood kitchen project #1 Starting with this beautiful, airy kitchen designed by Toby Scott in Australia, plywood is kept to a minimum and adds warm accents to this open-plan room.Plywood kitchen project #2 Designed by the Tribe Studio, an Australian architectural studio with an impressive amount of amazing interior design projects under their belt, this kitchen with plywood units provides plenty of storage. Be prepared to spend quite some time drooling on the Tribe studio website.Plywood kitchen project #3: Renovated by Made Architects, a Belgian architectural studio, this kitchen in a 1950’s house is small and compact but I love how they maximise the space up to the ceiling while increasing the …