After the lovely Sharon from Layers and Layers posted about the One Picture Challenge III here, I decided I’d go ahead and contribute to the list of beautiful and meaningful interiors. I adore the whole concept behind truly finding a room that says it all and this one does for me. It comes from the October 2007 edition of Dwell Magazine, and I wrote about the entire home here.

In case you don’t know already, we have two young children with a home dedicated, for now, to a maintenance-free life. We’ve begun renovating our master bathroom in hopes that it would kick off a series of “decor renewals” to recoup a part of ourselves in our home since they came along.

We have been on the hunt to pin and determine our style. So many interiors have inspired us. From Scandinavian white-floored rooms with pops of colour everywhere, to mid-century modern decor with Eames chairs abound to LA homes right out of the pages of Dwell magazine with the hippest couples, children in tow, hanging out on their designer sofas. We’ve explored the spectrum and have loved every minute of it.

A few have definitely stood out for me and am slowly beginning to find a common bond. It all started with Nyla Free’s home tours blog series from last year’s Dwell on Design and following that, a perusal of Bloesem Blog’s “Let’s get personal” post featuring Emma’s home of The Marion House book. These modern interiors own a more “here and now” feel with such a deep-rooted casualness that lift my spirit and make me yearn to replicate that effect in my own home.

When a room has a lived-in feeling but still maintains its strong and polished composure, I get hooked. I can almost feel what it would be like to be there, taking in its every detail and the feelings that it evokes. Inspiration of this kind satiates my soul. It also allows me to better visualize the final product which in turn makes me dream of the possibilities for our own home.

Images from, saltspoon, the nyla blog, bloesem blog, lori andrews, the marion house book, simply grove