Today I am back with an update of our living room redo.

Many of you emailed me to ask about the treatment of the floor and how to achieve that finish. I really hope that you all will understand that this is a delicate matter, since this is a trade secret of our craftsmen. Over the years our employees invested so much time and worked so hard on the perfection of wood treatments. It shouldn’t be fair of me to send this, just like that, into the world.

I do hope you will understand!

In my latest update post (HERE), I told you that the montage of the paneling was almost finished and that our employees only had to add the skirting boards, chair rails and corniches.

So this was all done last week.

Davy was adding all skirting boards.

Ines was adding the chair rails…

…and was adding corniches, even with closed eyes! Haha!!

This is how the room looks like today.

The trumeau is awaiting antique mirrored glass. I still haven’t found the perfect antique glass!

The double door towards the dining room will be given the patina of the paneling.

Jan and me are very pleased with the integrated secret doors.

Secret door towards the library.

Secret door towards the entry hall.

Standing in the entry hall, you won’t notice any change at the existing double door.Opening the door from the entry hall into the living room.

Secret door in the living room.

Next week the artist-painter will start to bring on the patina! I am sure this will change the room completely!

Meanwhile, I am trying to find the perfect combination of window treatment fabrics and the different possibilities of the wood patinas.

To be continued…

xx

Greet

If you would like us to help designing and manufacturing your paneling, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be

As I am preparing a client’s project, I was browsing my files to find beautiful painted cupboards as inspiration to start the design of a kitchen. I wanted to share with you some of my favorites.

Vlassak-Verhulst via Magazine Wonen Landelijke Stijl juni-juli 2012 - Photo credit Martin Steenhaut-Martimax Imaging

Antiek Amber

Lefèvre Interiors– Photo credit Jo Pauwels

Garnier Antiques

Axel Vervoordt via Wilson Kelsey Design Blog

Kevin Harris– Photo credit Chipper Hatter

Helen Norman Photographer

Talk to you soon .

Enjoy the weekend !

xx

Greet

I hope you all have enjoyed the weekend!

I realized that there are only 2 weeks left till Easter and was thinking about some Easter decoration. Actually I have to admit that I am not a big fan of decorating the house with overdone Easter decoration. Only a few decorative touches will do.

This is a new Easter decoration idea I tried out this weekend. Simple and easy.

Easter decoration at my coffee table. Picture by me

You only need a tree branch slice, an eggshell and one of your favorite flowers.

Picture by me

You glue the eggshell onto the branch slice, put some water into the eggshell and add the flower.

Picture by me

That’s it !

The pictures here below show you some Easter decorations that spoke to me.

Enjoy!

Source unknown

Source here

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Source here

How have you decorated your home for Easter ?

xx

Greet

Dear friends and readers, the previous days the artist-painter added the undercoat to the paneling of our living room.

Oak paneling before the primer was added.

Start of adding the first coat.

Even though this is only a primer, it has given the room a completely different look. Don’t you think so ?

Actually you can’t see that much of the timber anymore, but in one of the next steps, the painter will gently reveal the oak wood.

The panel moulding is much more accentuated than before, which I really love.

This is how our living room looks like today.

I can’t wait to see the painter adding the next layers !

Me, explaining how I would love to see the patina which has to be added next week.

We asked the painter to make a lot of patina samples but untill now, we haven’t made our choice ! This really is the hardest part !

To be continued…

If you are interested in previous posts about our living room redo, please click here, here, here and here.

xx

Greet

If you would like us to help designing and manufacturing your paneling, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be

Oak cabinetry used as display cabinets or library bookcases.

Designed by Belgian designers.

Design by Interior Designer Natalie Haegeman– realisation Lefèvre Interiors  Photo credit Natalie Haegeman

Design by Home World of Interiors 

Design by Interior Architect Catherine De Vil   Photo credit Jan Verlinde

I would love to hear your thoughts about the cabinet design !

xx

Greet

I am pleased to update you about our living room redo because yesterday the painter started to bring on the final layer of paint over the wood.

We were very thrilled to watch the painter adding so many layers of paint to create that French 18th century look of our paneling.

Even though only a part of the paneling is yet painted, we do feel the spirit of the 18th century already. Don’t you ?

A picture never can show the exact color of the patina. We have chosen for a shade of gray-green.

I show you here some pictures of our painter at work, the previous days.

Many layers of paint were added on the oak wood of the paneling.

We really had to be very patient to finally see the result. But it’s worth it !

I just love the detail of this moulding.

Natural oak

Patina finish

What a change this patina created !

I do hope you all enjoyed this update post ?!

To be continued…

If you are interested in my previous posts about our living room redo, please click here, here, here, here and here.

I wish you all a wonderful Easter Weekend !

xx

Greet

If you would like us to help designing and manufacturing your paneling, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be

Wishing you all a Happy Easter !

Source Magazine Wohnen-Träume 1-2013

xx

Greet

I hope you all have enjoyed the Easter weekend! Here in Belgium it is still very cold for the time of the year. On Easter day it was even colder than it was on Christmas day! So we enjoyed the warmth of the fire place, browsing magazines and books.

I do know that you all love pictures of kitchens, especially Belgian designed kitchens. Let’s take a look at some new and some seen-before kitchen images.

This first picture definitely is one of my favorite Belgian kitchens. I love the combination of the white painted cabinetry, the ‘Witjes’ wall tiles, the Belgian ‘rouge belge’ marble of the counter tops and the Belgian blue stone floor. Notice also the steel door towards the living room.

Source here

This is a kitchen made in the workshop of our company and decorated by me. Again, a Belgian ‘rouge belge’ kitchen island counter top. For the floor is chosen for carrara marble. Above the Aga stove, you will notice the moroccan zelliges.The oak kitchen island stools are designed and made by Lefèvre Interiors.

Source Lefèvre Interiors

This is a kitchen designed by Walda Pairon, one of my favorite Belgian designers. The kitchen walls are entirely covered with the ‘Witjes’ tiles.

Source Walda Pairon

Oak cabinetry and terracotta floor tiles, always a succesful combination.

Source here

This is a light stained oak kitchen we designed for a client’s chalet in Switzerland. Counter tops and floor in Belgian blue stone.

Source Lefèvre Interiors

In this kitchen I especially love the design of the kitchen hood and the painted beamed ceiling.

Source here  Photo credit Marc Wouters

This is a more contemporary kitchen which I really love. The white colour scheme of the cabinetry, the walls and floor tiles are the perfect backdrop for adding this oak ceiling beam and doors.

Source here

This kitchen is designed by the upcoming and talented Belgian architect Frederique Glorieux. In this kitchen Frederique has chosen for light stained oak cabinetry, kitchen island and table. Notice the modern lighting fixtures Frederique used here!

Source Frederique Glorieux

All in white kitchen. Did you notice the painted windows and shutters? And again a remarkable kitchen hood.

Source Belgian Magazine Stijlvol Wonen Maart-April 2013

Black and white kitchen.

Source here

This is a sneek peak into a kitchen we are working on. The kitchen is not completely finished yet. I will post about it later!    Picture by me for Lefèvre Interiors

Here are the titles of some of my favorite inspirational kitchen design books.

Beta-Plus Publishing The New Living Kitchen

Beta-Plus Publishing The 100 Best Kitchens & Dining Rooms

Beta-Plus Publishing Kitchens

Beta-Plus Publishing Classic Kitchens

Beta-Plus Publishing Compendium Kitchens

I do hope I have given you today fresh inspiration to design or redesign your kitchen !

If you would like us to help (re-)designing and manufacturing your dream kitchen, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be

xx

Greet

Are you in the mood to decorate your home for Spring? And do you need some simple decoration ideas? Today I would love to share with you a few gorgeous and original decorations I‘ve spotted recently.

Get inspired!

Colorful flower bouquets and candles.

Source Pinterest

Flowers and pottery.

Source Lefèvre Interiors– Photo credit Claude Smekens

Source Mäster Henriks

Source La Peinturette

Source The Vintaquarian

Source The World of Interiors blog

Group your pottery !

Source The Vintaquarian

Fruit and pottery.

Source Trove

Source The Vintaquarian

Group your candles.

Source Magazine Landelijk Wonen n°14 2012 – Photo credit Claude Smekens

Source Pinterest

Or group your flowers.

Source unknown

And group your vases.

Source Southern Life Beautiful via FB

Gorgeous idea : put your candles into antique bird cages.

Source unknown

Or place your candles here! Love this!

Source Pinterest

Original and simple idea!

Source Pinterest

Group your greenery.

Source The Vintaquarian

Decorate your bird cages with ivy.

Source Pinterest

Use wine boxes as spice plants storage.

Source Homebunch

Having guests for a summer dinner ?

Original way to cool drinks !

Source unknown

And gorgeous summer tablescape ideas !

Source unknown

Source Mark D.Sikes

I do hope you are inspired ?!

Talk to you soon !

xx

Greet

Today another post about inspirational decoration.

How to decorate with wicker baskets ?

Fill the wicker baskets with plants, hang them on the ceiling of your kitchen, use them to store your bread boards, decorate your bedroom wall with wicker baskets, turn the baskets into a piece of art,…

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White Rooms in Bruges    Photo credit Natalie Haegeman

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Source here

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White Rooms in Bruges    Photo credit Claude Smekens

White Rooms in Bruges   Photo credit Claude Smekens

Source here

Source here

Source here

Are you inspired ?

xx

Greet

To start this new week I am pleased to share with you some Belgian outdoor and indoor furniture pieces as other interior design accessories I came across lately.

Garden tool storage cabinet, traditonally made by Dirk Mortier.

Mortier Vlaamse Stijl – Bijgebouwen

For more information, please visit http://www.mortier.eu

Gorgeous bench, outdoor collection of the Belgian company St-Paul-Home.

Source St-Paul-Home

For more information, please visit http://www.home-st-paul.com

Dining table and chairs, collection of our Belgian furniture company Viktor & Sander.

Source Viktor & Sander

For more information, please visit http://www.viktor-sander.com

Wicker chairs spotted on the website of the Belgian company Sempre.

Source Sempre

For more information, please visit http://www.sempre.be

The Adante Bed Box Basic with dress found at the Belgian company Styldecor.

Source Styldecor

For more information, please visit http://www.styldecor.be

Summerly Belgian bed linen from Scapa Home.

Source Scapa Home

For more information, please visithttp://www.scapahome.eu

Table linen from the Belgian company Verilin

Source Verilin

For more information, please visithttp://www.verilin.be

Penny Lane carpet collection of the Belgian linen company Libeco.

Source Libeco Home

For more information, please visit http://www.libeco.com

I wish you all a wonderful new week!

xx

Greet

Hello my friends, we are back home from a 3-days trip to the Cotswolds, the most beautiful and most famous part of the UK! This area really stole my heart!

Since a long time, the Cotswolds were on my ‘to visit’- list and thanks to one of our clients who lives in the area, Jan and me were able to explore a part of the region after we had a meeting at our client’s home.

The Cotswolds are often called ‘the heart’ of England.

Today I share with you a few pictures I took during the trip! No much words needed!

I will post more about the Cotswolds in a later post!

Cirencester, Barnsley

Cirencester, town center

Cirencester, Barnsley

Cirencester, Barnsley House

Antiques shopping in Stow

Cirencester, The Village Pub  (photo source The Village Pub website)

To know more about The Cotswolds, please click here, here and here.

Jan and me are in love with this beautiful and inspiring area and we definitely will go back to see more!

I wish you all a wonderul Sunday!

xx

Greet

Good morning my readers, I do know that a lot of you like to be updated about our living room redo.

About a week ago, the artist painter finished the paneling patina.

Before bringing on the final coat, we added the mirrored glass into the paneling above the fire place.

A close up from the double door towards the dining room.

A detail of the paneling.

It is always diffficult to see the exact color of the patina in a picture. We have chosen for a faded green, a verdigris.

This week, the painters started to paint the window frames and will going on to paint the ceiling.

Everything wrapped in!

In the meantime I am thinking about the type of wall lights we need to have in the room.

I already ordered a pair of French LXV appliques in an unlacquered polished brass from Vaughan which will be added on both sides of the mirror.

 Vaughan

And this pair of 18th century Italian wall lights, which I found a couple of months ago at Brigitte & Alain Garnier Antiques, will be hung on the paneling.

Brigitte & Alain Garnier Antiques

A few days ago we received the rim lock and handles for the secret doors from van Cronenburg Architectural Hardware.

In one of the next days I will have to make a decision about the window treatment fabrics! There are so many beautiful fabrics ! So hard to make a decision!

Fabrics Colefax & Fowler and Chelsea Textiles

To be continued…

If you missed my earlier posts about our living room redo, please click HERE.

Enjoy the weekend!

xx

Greet

If you would like us to help designing and manufacturing your paneling, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be

Today I am pleased to show you some pictures of a bathroom we recently installed in a client’s home.

Except we still have to hang the light fixtures above the sink cabinet, the bathroom is finished.

For the redo of this bathroom, we chose to work together with the Belgian architect and designer Philippe Timmerman.

Realisation Lefèvre Interiors - Design Philippe Timmerman

The bathroom cabinets, paneling and inner doors are executed in light stained oak. For the floor is chosen for a combination of carrara marble and a belgian gris des ardennes limestone.

Realisation Lefèvre Interiors - Design Philippe Timmerman

The wall with the small round windows is completely new constructed and the hidden doors give access to a walk-in closet while the oak inner doors give access to the powder room and lavatory.

Realisation Lefèvre Interiors - Design Philippe Timmerman

Also for the countertops is chosen for the gris des ardennes limestone.

Realisation Lefèvre Interiors - Design Philippe Timmerman

For more information, please contact

info@lefevre.be

WWW.LEFEVRE.BE

home@philippetimmerman.com

WWW.PHILIPPETIMMERMAN.BE

Talk to you soon!

Greet

If you would like us to help designing and manufacturing your bathroom, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be

For your inspiration !

Source unknown

Source The Vintaquarian

Source Inspiring Interiors

Source The Vintaquarian

Source The Vintaquarian

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Source The Vintaquarian

Source The Vintaquarian

Source Alexandra Siebelink

Source Roses & Rust

Source Alexandra Siebelink

Source Magazine Juliette & Victor n°31 2012  - Photo credit Louis-Philippe Breydel

Source unknown

I wish you all a nice and sunny weekend!

xx

Greet

About a year ago I posted about a custom made library (HERE) that was designed by Natalie Haegeman of Natalie Haegeman Interiors and realized by our company Lefèvre Interiors.

Although the library is installed since more than half a year, we hadn’t yet found the time to take some photographs of this project.

The library is recently photographed to appear in a Belgian interior design magazine. Although these pictures here today aren’t the ones of the magazine’s professional photographer, they already give you a sneak peek into the library room.

Library in French non-treated oak

One of the built in bureau-desks

Detail and view towards the living room

All pictures by Natalie Haegeman

I am pleased and honored to tell you that this library project will be seen in one of the next issues of the leading Belgian interior design magazine ‘TIJDLOOS’.

I definitely will let you know when the issue is out !

Cover of the current issue of TIJDLOOS (N° 27 - april 2013)

For more information, please contact

info@lefevre.be

WWW.LEFEVRE.BE

info@nataliehaegeman-interiors.be

WWW. NATALIEHAEGEMAN-INTERIORS.BE

Talk to you soon !

Greet

If you would like us to help designing and manufacturing your library, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be

This week I filed some images of dining tables and chairs to propose to a client. In the meantime I was looking for addresses in Belgium where to find the tables and chairs I wanted to suggest. I thought that maybe you could be interested in these adresses.

Image 1Source Richard Keith Langham via Veranda September-October 2012

Where to find table and chairs ? - Look-alike dining table at Viktor & Sander

                                                          - Look-alike chairs at Natalie Haegeman Interiors

Image 2Source Satinwood Ltd, Interior design

Where to find table and chairs ? - Look-alike dining table at Malvini Furniture Factory

                                                                       - Look-alike chairs at Flamant

Image 3Source Carol Glasser Interiors

Where to find table and chairs ? - Look-alike dining table at Viktor & Sander

                                                                              - Folding chair at Axel Vervoordt

Image 4Source House to Home

Where to find table and chairs ? - Look-alike dining table at Antiek Amber

                        - Chairs at ‘t Casteelken

Image 5Source Daskal – Laperre Photo credit Jan Verlinde

Where to find table and chairs ?  - Look-alike dining table at Mastermeubel

                                             - Look-alike chairs at Viktor & Sander

Image 6Source unknown

Where to find table and chairs ? - Antique tables at Antiek Amber

                                                                       - Look-alike French Louis XVI chair at Massant

Image 7Source Joli

The chic and timeless Elyps dining table and Monet armchairs of the Belgian company JOLI caught my eye!

    Joli collection Elyps dining table with table top in Matilux glass or Xeramica. To discover more about this table, click here.

                          Joli collection Monet armchair upholstered in leather. To discover more of these chairs, click here.

What are your favorite dining table and chairs? I would love to hear !

xx

Greet

I wish all moms a Happy Mother’s Day !

xx

Greet

Since ancient times wealthy people are collecting the most diverse objects in cabinets of curiosities.

The term ‘cabinet’ originally described a room rather than a piece of furniture, a room filled with books, art and objects of study. Curiosity rooms emerged in the 16th century although we do know that more rudimentary collections existed yet earlier.

Cabinets of curiosities or Cabinets of Wonder, Kunstkammern, Wunderkammern (German) or Cabinets de curiosités (French),  originated in European Renaissance and their collections consisted of types of objects whose categorial boundaries were yet to be defined. They displayed a wide assortment of rare and unusual objects.

Today all these objects would be categorized as belonging to natural history, geology, religion, works of arts and antiquities.

Obviously, cabinets of curiosities were limited to those who could afford to create them. They are regarded as the precedents of the public museums and galleries.

Painting by Frans Francken (II) - Antwerp, A Collector’s Cabinet,1625  Source

Since the 17th century case furniture started to function as cabinets of curiosities.

Andrea Domenico Remps - Italy, A Cabinet of Curiosity, c.1690 Source

The cabinet became very popular in 18th century. As this Cabinet Bonnier de la Mosson created by Joseph Bonnier de la Mosson (1702 - 1744). He was a French aristocrat who loved science and began collecting weird stuff, like exotic insects, snakes, shells and birds. His collection can be found in the library of the Natural History Museum in Paris.

Cabinet Bonnier de La Mosson - Bibliothèque centrale du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris. Source

Cabinet Bonnier de La Mosson  Source

Cabinet Bonnier de La Mosson  Source

Cabinet Bonnier de La Mosson  Source

Cabinet Bonnier de La Mosson  Source

The Cabinet Lafaille at the Museum of La Rochelle, France is a very rococo styled,19th century curiosity cabinet stuffed with coral, reptiles and birds.

 Cabinet de curiosités Clément Lafaille, après 1766. Style néoclassique. Muséum d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle.  Source

 An early 18th-century German Schrank with a traditional display of corals (Naturkundenmuseum Berlin).  Source

The cabinet of curiosities of today does not have to be traditonal, or contain valuable items. Just stuff it with your personal favorite objects or those you brought along from several journeys.

Make it your private collection!

Decorator and antiques dealer Franck Delmarcelle

Interior designerNatalie Haegeman

Source

Source

Source

Antiques dealer Herwig Simons

Source

Tell me! Do you feel tempted to create your own private cabinet of curiosities ?

xx

Greet

I would love to share with you today some pictures (they are not professional taken!) of a kitchen we recently installed in a Belgian castle.

Peculiar to castles are the tall ceilings. This room has a ceiling height of about 4 meters (13 feet).

This kitchen is completely custom made, according to time-honored techniques and traditions.

The kitchen is executed in light stained oak. For the countertops, kitchen cooker wall and floor is chosen for a carrara marble.

All kitchen appliances are built in.

Cooking area with concealed extract hood and the gorgeous La Cornue Château cooker.

Detail of the the technical plan of the kitchen.

A few pictures of the kitchen progress in the workshop of LEFEVRE INTERIORS.

Oak panel to conceal the kitchen extractor fan

Console brackets

My husband and one of our employees, inspecting the glazed cupboard doors

The famous La Cornue Château cooker

Making of the kitchen cabinet doors

Kitchen isle installed

Kitchen isle in progress

Kitchen isle corner supports

Kitchen faucets by Volevatch

Montage of the kitchen in the workshop of LEFEVRE INTERIORS

Ready to leave our workshop

Montage of the kitchen in our client’s home

Finished kitchen

A special thank you goes to our clients Mr and Mrs D. for their confidence in our company and their appreciation for the Belgian craftsmanship.

I wish you all a great start of this new week!

xx

Greet

If you would like us to help designing and manufacturing your kitchen, feel free to contact us at info@lefevre.be

For more Lefèvre Interiors realisations visit our website atwww.lefevre.be