Therapeutic

Boyfriend returned from a trip to NY yesterday. He had bought two things for me.

This...



...and this...

Isn't he the greatest?

Tea Party

These shapes look familiar, don't they? British designer, Christine Misiak gives new life to old metal tea sets that have been gathering dust around the country. I wonder what Granny would make of them.

Discovering something I haven't seen before always makes me happy! - especially when designers reuse old neglected stuff to make something exciting.

There's lots more to see at

Christine's homepage

(All photos are property of Christine Misiak. Christine has kindly allowed me to use them on The Deco Detective)

Tagged

Yesterday, I got tagged by my friend Michelle over at My Crazy Lekker Life! I got this award:


(hm, at least I think I did?)

and I think the general idea is to pass it on to five other blogs!

It's the first time I've done this, so I guess I'll just have to copy Michelle's post and fill in my answers!

"The rules as I understand them are... I answer the questions below and tag 5/6 folk by visiting their blogs and inviting them to visit my blog so they can see what needs to be done."

Here are my answers:

Ten years ago: Working with music as I do today.

Five things in today's "To Do" list: I'm on holiday at my mom's, so I'm not sure I'll be doing five things =D Let's see... 1) Doing the dishes 2) Working on my additional blog about my home (soon to open!) 3) Cooking dinner with my mom 4) Eating ice cream 5) Doing this blog post!

Snacks I enjoy: See above

Things I would do if I were a millionaire: Travel/live other places... Starting with one year in Buenos Aires with Boyfriend, to finally get the hang of our incredibly difficult yet super-addictive hobby: Argentine tango dancing!

Places I have lived: Scandinavia


I've chosen five of the many people that have been nice to me as a newcomer in the blogging community: Mélanie, Shawn, Ericka, Constance, and Ez. I hope you haven't already done this one - and that you're all okay with being tagged!!

Smiling in the rain

It's been quite sunny today! But the weather forecast's not promising... I've mentioned that I collect umbrellas - not excessively, but I've got a few that are great. The umbrella isn't your average decoration object (exception: click here). But they're decidedly un-decorative when they float around in my hallway or fill up the bathroom while they dry.

Maybe I need one of these?



Maybe even his'n hers?


From site: top3 by design

The umbrella is by Japanese designer, Hironao and it's so simple and so clever that it would put a big smile on my face, even on rainy days.

That's what great design is all about, isn't it?

Just one more...

Can you take one more blue and green blog entry? I found this sweet little DIY project on iVillage and I wanted to share it with you!

How to make a shell shadow box



The article suggests using an old utensil box or buying a small shelf. IKEA used to carry similar.

The vase is filled with beach glass.
(If you're far away from the coast, use coloured decor glass beads that you can find at the florist or home accessory shops.)

The whole article and slideshow with more ideas for making stuff with shells can be found here: iVillage - Shell Crafts



The tiny shelf is an easy-to-make project that can be used for other kinds of displays as well. Paint it cream or very pale pink if you like the shabby chic look, shiny dark red if you've got small Chinese items, matte black to display an all-white ceramic collection, rusty orange for African or Middle Eastern displays, mossy green for retro stuff...

Framed

It's raining... So I've been doing some browsing in order to find something a bit summery to cheer myself up! I was actually looking for an outdoor space when I stumbled upon this lovely room:


Photo Thomas J. Story

Like I always say: Blue and green should definitely be seen! This interior is from

Sunset.com

I especially fell for the frame collection. You can get similar frames at Anika Easter's Etsy shop

Second Line Frames

I've blogged about Anika before in this post: Got the Blues. But as a percentage of the sale goes to rebuilding neighbourhoods that were destroyed by hurricane Katrina, I think she's worth another mention!


Anika also makes lovely art. I've chosen a couple of her pictures to match, as I'm into blue and green today!




Reeds



Patina Bird on Hemp Tree

Blue Sky


The first two pictures are from AnikaEaster.Etsy.com;

The last one is from Anika's other Etsy shop Ellapeace


If you're not into blue and green at the moment, go visit anyway - there are lots of other colours to choose from!

Decked out

What are you doing this weekend? I hope you've got time for some outdoors-y activities - or rather: non-activities - like enjoying the sun in one of these deck chairs!

The old stripes are gone, yet the new designs still seem familiar:

Penguin paperbacks equal holidays for me. Several classics are available on different items: decks chairs, mugs, bags... And don't worry, the beloved, original orange is there, alongside some other funky colours.


If you're more of the accidental tourist: bring your own multi-functional map!

The British design company that makes the Penguin Classic range is

Art Meets Matter

Contrasting

My landlord is going to get some painting done in the apartment while I'm away at my mom's. I'm looking forward to having the windows done - but it means that I have to move my furniture around before leaving this afternoon. Oh, well... I'll be happy when it's all finished!

Here's a summery beach house interior that is all done!

Photo: Gridley & Graves

A bit different from yesterday, isn't it? It takes all sorts of interiors to make the world go around! But the painted floorboards are here as well.

I found the beach house at Country Living

Black and white

It's the part of the year when the sun is shining and every home is benefiting from this. This interior is from Weekend.be. I really admire the brave choice of colours!

It seems to work quite well because there's a lot of light coming in.
Wonder how it's like in the winter though... What do you think? Would you take the chance?

What I particularly like are the painted floorboards. I get the same feeling from this interior as I do from really old houses!

You can view the rest of the house here:

Weekend.be

Photos: Jan Verlinde

Three wishes

Today, I would like to introduce you to Ez, whom I met on Flickr. It turns out that in addition to posting her lovely pictures, Photoshop projects and similar to her Flickr photostream, she's also got an Etsy shop AND a blog! So here you are: three wishes in one blog post!

The Etsy shop is a joint venture: Ez and her nine-year-old daughter!

Sweet-but-cool "reversed" paper doll:
Her dress is cut out, so instead of putting on different clothes, you change her background.

There is also some lovely photo art at the Etsy shop, in addition to other handmade stuff plus the occasional vintage finding.


At the Creature Comforts blog, Ez shows us her most inspirational findings. They're often beautifully presented in exquisite collages like the one below:

You can visit Ez here:

wrenandchickadee (Etsy shop)
Creature Comforts on Flickr
Creature Comforts (blog)

(Ez has kindly agreed to letting me show her art on The Deco Detective)

Summer collages

I'm back in town for a few days. Thanks for the nice comments you posted while I was away! It was really nice to return to my blog=)

Here are my impressions from my little vacation at the cabin! I've tried to collect little things, beautiful details that you notice when you don't have to run to work...

Inside

1. Sunshine through cotton curtains
2. Old handmade pillowcase
3. Red wicker chair and pillow
4. Red and white chequered cotton doily
5. Monogram on old linen towel
6. Wooden table

Outside

1. Tiny abandoned wasp's nest with room for three children!
2. Door to the shed
3. Tea rose
4. Sunbleached wood
5. The garden seen through handmade windowpanes

It's a lovely place for doing as little as possible... I hope you are doing the exact same thing this weekend!

It's playtime!

I'm going away for a couple of days to my sister's cabin, but I have to share the link to this really fun website! It's for French design company Tsé & Tsé - they make cool stuff like this alarm clock:

The website is fun in two ways, actually -first and foremost because Tsé & Tsé's designs are so playful. But the website in itself is also full of surprises. You're invited to explore the site actively, and to enter a little world for grown-ups who haven't abandoned their inner child!

A bit of inside information: for instance, try chasing the swinging goldfish=)

I'll be back in a couple of days. In the meantime, I won't be able to publish your comments or answer to them, but do comment anyway - I'll catch up a soon as I'm back!

Have fun at Tsé & Tsé!