:: NEW TEMPLATE ::

Today, I've gone ahead and done what I've been thinking about for a while! I've changed my template back to a good, old-fashioned Minima from Blogger. I want to be able to post larger photos, like this!

I also want to be able to control the sizes of the columns. I haven't got time to fix all the small layout details today, but all my content's still here. I'm looking forward to decorating my blog!

Test photo from Shotspaces

Have a lovely Sunday y'all =)

:: MIKI DUISTERHOF'S INTERIOR PHOTOS ::

At the moment, I seem to alternate between Christmas stuff and stylists/photographers. Today's photos are by a female photographer, yay! Her name is Miki Duisterhof, and these photos are from her beautiful "Pied-a-terre" portfolio. As usual, I've tried to pick photos that are inspiring for us budget decorators!

I totally want to paint my walls white now. This photo is actually quite Christmas-ish!

The last photo is just to say:

Have a wonderful, colourful weekend!

A good way of starting is by visiting Miki Duisterhof's website!

:: ADVENT CALENDARS ::

December is just around the corner, so I thought I would show a few of the many pretty advent calendars I've found on Etsy!

Countdown calendar from penelope piper



These minimalistic pouches have a Scandinavian country feel for me, but they're actually made in London. From nuvonova



Sweet yet stylish from Tiny Nest Creations



This is the type I used to have as a child - with pictures behind the doors! This one is inspired by the small shops in Amsterdam. From nouveau designs



More pouches - this Matryoshka (Russian doll) advent calendar has just the right amount of sweetness combined with bold colours and clean lines! From thymbyl designs


I read in the newspaper that we spend more money than ever on the gifts for the advent calendar. But not all of us can afford expensive stuff. I've been pondering a bit how to make the calendar's content nice for the children if you're on a budget, and I've got a couple of thoughts.


*If you've got time and energy, why not make notes, stating something nice to do together that day?

*If you like to start decorating early, the calendar could contain ornaments for the children to help decorating the house with - or, even better, their rooms?

*The calendar could be a small project, for instance a necklace for a girl. December 1st could contain the string and a few pearls, and then some pearls each day so the necklace will be finished to wear on the 24th.

Have you got ideas and suggestions, for instance for boys and teenagers?

:: INTERESTING INTERIORS ::

Today, I'm borrowing material... Normally I don't, but Anne over at The City Sage has found a Dutch photography site with some really interesting photos! We're not entirely sure that these photos are from real homes - they seem a bit conceptual - but I still find them very appealing. They're also super inspiring for us who decorate on a budget and love hunting for second-hand objects for our homes!

Yellows and reds are so cheerful together!




Purple and pale blue is an interesting combination that I think you either love or hate.


The next two photos might perhaps inspire to a DIY project?






Romantic second-hand. Who said that the garden gnome should stay outside when it's cold?


This could work very well as a Christmas decoration!

Links to explore:

Dutch photography site IJM

Anne's excellent blog The City Sage

If you liked the two last photos, have at look at my post Beauty on a Budget!

:: NADIA SPARHAM ::

Eco friendly shopping sites are obviously great for finding eco friendly stuff. But they're also great for discovering artists! I stumbled upon Nadia Sparham on One Eco Home's website today - she makes murals, wall hangings and cushions of recycled materials in a style feels like a naivistic and humorous take on retro!

Bird Tree wall hanging



Mural


Cloud Tree cushion

(I'm in danger of becoming The Cushion Queen instead of The Deco Detective, but I have to include one, as Nadia Sparham has a large collection!)

Nadia's ceramics plates, bowls and cups are made in England instead of mass produced in China. They're decorated in the same whimsical style as the textiles:

Curl Tree on the Hill plate


Nadia Sparham is found on several sites, for instance:

One Eco Home
Not On The High Street. com
dotmaison.com

-plus visit her website, where you can find lots of designs - she can also do custom made stuff:

www.nadiasparham.co.uk

PROP STYLISTS KRISTI BLUNT - AMY CHIN

What are you doing this weekend?


Having guests for tea?


Doing the laundry?


Writing letters?


Dressing up and going out?

I'm going home to my mom's to relax and admire her phalaenopsises (which always are in blossom) - and talk!


Links to explore:

Photos 1, 2, and 3: prop stylist Kristi Blunt
Photos 4, 5: prop stylist Amy Chin

Have an absloutley lovely weekend!

:: CHRISTMAS FAIR - ECO FRIENDLY & AND FAIRTRADE HOLIDAY DECORATION ::

Yes, it's early days yet, but my experience is that time flies before Christmas. I've started looking for eco friendly and fairly traded Christmas ornaments, and I've found some lovelies! Christmas is a time for giving, so why not take care of both the Earth and the people who live here while shopping?

Not everything is cheap, but these are handmade ornaments which hopefully will stand the test of time so they can be handed down and give pleasure to the next generation. And there are lots of low-budget items as well!

From Arcadia Home:








Links to explore:

Arcadia Home ornaments
Arcadia Home garlands
About Arcadia Home


:::::


From biome:



The angels are handcrafted from recycled aluminum cans in Zululand. The cool stars are made in Brisbane by a local ceramist.

Links to explore:

biome/ Eco Christmas
About biome


:::::


From eco-artware:



Scrabble ornament by Virginia native Susan "Sass" Brown. If you would like your ornament to say "HUMBUG" instead, you can have this, too!



Painted tea bag ornaments made by South African women

Links to explore:

eco-artware holiday ornaments
About eco-artware


:::::

From Eco-friendly Shop:



Links to explore:

Eco-Friendly Shop Christmas decorations
About Eco-Friendly Shop


:::::

From Ethical Superstore:




Links to explore:

Ethical Superstore Christmas decorations
About Ethical Superstore


:::::

From Novica:


By Syed Izaz Hussein


By Lulli Luca


Links to explore:

Novica Christmas ornaments
About Novica
Artist details Lulli Luca
Artist details Syed Izaz Hussein


There should be something for everybody at these pages - I'm really impressed with the variety in colours and styles - so have fun browsing! And while you're there, have a look at the other categories, - you might find some great gifts as well!

I found some links here and here, but most of the websites are found through Google searches for eco friendly and fairtrade Christmas decorations.

Update 22. 11. 2008

Melissa over at The Inspired Room has made another Mr. Linky post where bloggers can submit their holiday blog posts! It's really popular, so you can find lots and lots of inspiring holiday posts and lovely blogs there. This is the link:

Gobble, gobble & Christmas linky love

:: LOVELY ART PRINTS - VINK ::

Have you noticed that, with one exception, I've only featured female Etsy artists? Their art has mostly been about girls and women also. Now, there's a perfectly natural explanation to this. If I may be a bit flippant: I'm very fond of my BF. But I think that we girls look better in art than the guys do (sorry guys...). And art history shows that lots of people have felt the same!

Today's Etsy artist is also a woman who makes art about women. She's from East Java, but I feel that her art has some global qualities. Her artist name is VinK, and here are three beautiful examples of prints you'll find in her Etsy shop:

(click pictures for larger versions)


Dilemma (original version)


She Miss Morin


Rona

I think the last one is completely gorgeous - and look, the details in her hair accessory match the details on her gloves...

To be a bit more serios: I think I like art by women about women because it expresses something I can relate to or understand intuitively.

Visit VinK's Etsy shop here:

Millionminds

She's also got a lovely blog:

as mind goes by

(VinK has kindly allowed me to show her art on The Deco Detective)

:: I CANNOT KEEP TRACK ::

...of The Union Jack!

Now this is really bad stunt poetry, but I couldn't help myself (you'll forgive me when you've read the rest of the post). Remember these photos? I blogged the first interior a while ago. It's by Hilary White Interiors on Decorati:



The next interior is from a post about Shootspaces. When I did the post, I didn't notice that the two photos had a similarity: the LOVE art picture.



I noticed, though, that there were quite a lot of Union Jacks in the Shootspaces interiors, so I included them just for fun:

In the same post, I also blogged this apartment:

Now I've found the same room on jj locations, only now it looks like this...



Do we see a pattern evolving?

jj locations have more photos from this apartment, for instance:



...and another apartment that is decorated like this:





(Let's take this outside!)

Links to explore:

Photos 1 - 5 are found in my posts

:: Get inspired by ::
:. More from Shootspaces ::
:: PS ::

Direct links to all sources (from top):

1: Hilary White Interiors on Decorati
2: Oakehampton Road on Shootspaces
3: Chatsworth Road on Shootspaces
4: Crediton Road on Shootspaces
5: Mile End on Shootspaces
6, 7: Mile End on jj locations
8, 9, and 10 on jj locations

Conclusions:

1) I have to do some serious updates to some of my posts!
2) The Union Jack is still of great importance...

A question for my readers from all over the world: Do you use your flag like this? In Norway, we treat our flag with great reverence.

(this post was just to make some order out of chaos. I'll be back later today with the serious stuff: lovely art prints from Vink!)

:: SHABBY CHIC ::

This weekend, I've worked quite a bit on my new directory. There's a lot of text, so I suddenly felt a mad urge to blog some photos again! It seemed quite appropriate: In a mention I got on the excellent blog ecosalon on Friday, I was referred to as having a "photo-heavy blog"... I'll take it as a huge compliment - and thank you for the mention!

So. Today's photos are the result of some intensive Google searches for location agencies. I found one that's new to me; jj locations, and fell completely in love with the first photo:

It inspired me to do a shabby chic - or rather, faded grandeur - post!

More photos from these apartments (from top):

Photos 1,2, and 4
Photo 3
Photo 5


I couldn't afford apartments like these. But there are still details that are doable on a budget - like old sconces, mirrors and frames from second-hand stores; pearl necklaces; black lace... I've got an antique velvet tablecloth that's quite similar to the purple chair's upholstery. I got it as a gift years and years ago, and now I'm really looking forward to using it during Christmas.

:::::::

Strange things happen. I commented on the below photo on Julie's blog belle maison yesterday.



She had found it on another location agency, while I found it here on jj locations - the day after I did the commenting! I mean, what are the odds?


Additional links to explore:

green links on ecosalon (including me!)
ecosalon main page
belle maison
my post "Beauty on a budget"

:: OPENING DAY ::

I've done a bit of work on my links' directory. Since the weekend is coming up, I thought it would be nice to start off with a list of online interior magazines!

If you click the logo below, you'll arrive on my links' page:

Enjoy, and have a lovely Friday!

:: CALLING ALL BLOGGERS - LINKS DIRECTORY PROJECT ::

Being a Deco Detective, I discover new interior decoration blogs and websites every day. In the future, I will have found so many that I can't put them all on my main page. So I've been thinking of doing a links directory/links exchange project by setting up a page that will consist of interior decoration links!

First and foremost, I want to include blogs to help other interior bloggers to get more visitors. If you've got an Etsy shop or similar where you sell art or other handmade things for the home, this will be considered too. There will also be links to interior magazines' websites, discussion forums, eco friendly/fairtrade shopping sites and similar.

Do you want to be included in my directory? This is what to do:

Send me an email with a link to your blog/website. You'll find my email address on my profile page. Do not put your request in a comment, because then I might miss it!

Please submit only sites that are mainly about interior decoration.

If you're already on my blog roll, you can lean back and do nothing =D

I have absolutely no idea how many responses I'll get to this, so just in case I get lots: please allow some time before I get to look at your site.

If I include your site, you'll make me an extra happy blogger by linking back to me!

:: HAVE FUN ::

Have you noticed that my selection of photos are a bit, umm, discreet? I love pale and dusty colours, so I tend to pick pictures of interiors that are based on these. But not today. I found a link via a blogging friend, started browsing, and decided to do a post that contains some pretty smashing colours! There's still one particular colour that can be found in all today's photos.

I guess you've found the special colour!




It's quite funny - the first photo is pink with one turquoise detail, the last one is turquoise with one pink detail...

Links to explore:

Viver Bem
Blog Da Ro

:: PHOTOSHOP STYLING ::

Photoshop is a great invention! I need to practice, though... So I borrowed this photo and messed around with the colours. Lots of fun!




The original photo is from New York Social Diary's article about interior designer, Philip Gorrivan.

Photo credit: Jeffrey Hirsch

:: BRIDGET DAVIES ::

The Internet is overflowing with material for interior decoration blogging, but I still rediscover things I've seen before sometimes - like my last post also shows!

When I found Bridget Davies' hand embroidered cushions on DaWanda, I was delighted. I became even more happy when I realized that I had featured one of her cushions before in my post Discreetly Baroque!


The Powder Room


The Hall


Chocolate Patisserie


Boudoir


Aren't the detalis just exquisite?

You can visit Bridget's DaWanda shop here:

Bridget Davies

Other links to explore:

Discreetly Baroque
My last blog post

Have a lovely Sunday!

:: PS ::

Hmmm. I just noticed something. I posted this picture from Shootspaces in my last post...

...and this picture in a blog post in October:



I wonder whether I should file this under the "Copycat" label, since I clearly am copying myself?


Nov 17, 2008

UPDATE

If you're not sufficiently confused yet, click here!

:: MORE FROM SHOOTSPACES ::

Oh dear. This is going to be one of those "can't contain myself, have to show lots of pictures" posts! Here are the photos I collected at Shootspaces yesterday. If you browse this site, you'll notice that the locations are clearly styled by someone who 1) loves colourful accents in red and cerise and 2) loves the English flag, but the pictures are lovely.

Mile End

Holmdene Avenue

Chatsworth Road

(here's a little something for Jennifer at MadeByGirl!)

Oakehampton Road

Crediton Road

Kingswood Avenue

Mount Pleasant Road

New House

I'm having a concert with my piano students this afternoon. The room where we're playing isn't as lavishly decorated as this, but we've got a lovely grand piano! Wish us luck!


Nov 17, 2008

UPDATE

I found the Mile End apartment at another location agency. Slightly confused post with links to be found here.

:: NOT QUITE YET, YOU GUYS ::

Halloween is over, and I've noticed the first tendencies to some Christmas-y blogging! I'm actually looking forward to this - I absolutely love Christmas, and this will be my first one in the blogosphere. I'm sure it will be delightful! But it's still too early. So I'm going to show something completely different:

I found this house on Shootspaces. The site doesn't say much about this location other than that it's situated in Che Shale, Kenya, and that it's eco friendly.



I love the freckled wall!



It looks like some of the furniture is made of reclaimed wood.



Is that actually a boat instead of a headboard?



Don't you just love the door? Sci-fi goes safari...

I have to go to bed soon, but I'll show some more interiors from my Shootspaces photo collection tomorrow!

:: RUGMARK - EMMA GARDNER DESIGN ::

Since I wrote about Rugmark's work against child labour in the Asian rug industry for the BlogCatalog campaign "Bloggers Unite - Blogging for Hope" in May, I've become much more aware of the fact that we need to become more conscious in our choices when shopping.

I know that I've promised to feature low-budget stuff on my blog, and today's post isn't in this category. But I consider this issue so important that I also want to feature some of the high-end rug designers connected to Rugmark from time to time. Today: Emma Gardner.

From top:
Flowers on Water
Bamboo Blossoms
Chinese River


Whole Baby Fish


Origami


Koi Pond


There's also a range of throws and pillows. The pillows are made of 50% recycled polyester!




You can visit Emma Gardner's website here;

Rugmark's designers and importers here;

and read my article here.

:: MORE FROM NORWAY - KATRINE K ::

It's been a long time since I wrote about art, but today I'm featuring my last Etsy find: Katrine K! She's a Norwegian artist, so I've seen her work before, and I was delighted to discover her Etsy shop where she sells open and limited edition prints and postcards.

Katrine K's art has got some key elements that for me have an "ordinary everyday objects" feeling, but that still seem slightly surreal. Click pictures to view larger versions - there are lots of lovely details!

The Meeting in the Woods

Look at me

While we were sleeping

The Secret Meeting

Chair and flowers


Since I'm mad about interior design and tango shoes, this has got to be my favorite at the moment:

The Shoes

Katrine also has an excellent blog where she keeps us updated on her work:

You can visit her blog here,

and

Etsy shop here.

Katrine K has kindly allowed me to show her art on The Deco Detective.

:: RED ON MONDAY ::

Have a seat for this week's entries on The Deco Detective!

Chair from Collection Versatile by Aïtali

I'm having a great time blogging at the moment, so I hope I'll find time to show you lots of lovely interior stuff this week!

Have a great Monday!

:: AMY LAU DESIGN ::

Are you ready for some fresh inspiration after Halloween? I love the way Amy Lau plays with colours, textures and shapes in the interiors she designs. If one looks closely, there are intricate details to discover in almost every picture!

I love playing with elements like this - and I think I've got a lot to learn from Amy.