CALENDAR PICTURE JANUARY 2008

Last summer, I stopped doing my Match of the Month decorations. I wanted to decide for myself when I wanted to change my decoration! But I still want to blog my calendar pictures. This year, my calendar features old Harper's Bazaar covers. January's cover is designed by Erté, which I incidentally have blogged about before (you can read the post here). The calendar doesn't say which year this cover is from, but it's very Art Déco!

Yellow is coming back now! Everybody is talking about it, and I'm starting to see yellow accessories on the street.

INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHER ALISTAIR NICHOLLS

This photographer makes me want to buy:

1) Proper photography equipment
2) Lots of natural light
3) Photography talent

But since two of these three things are not for sale, we'll just have to enjoy Alistair Nicholls' lovely work!

These white bedrooms suddenly make me want to go all zen! Look how the white floorboards reflect the light...

A proper gentleman's room isn't complete without a bit of stylish mess!

More light: this time reflected through the wooden blinds.

The red contemporary art would go really well with the new look I'm planning for my living room...

Details like worn-out furniture and peeling paint seem strangely appealing in photos. Wonder why this seldom looks so good in real life?

Which of these very different rooms would you like to live in?

HAPPY RECOVERY!

Have you discovered the wonderful blog Pia Jane Bijkerk yet? Pia's a great stylist and ditto blogger! She went down with the flu on her birthday and could do with some cheering up, so why don't you pop over and say happy recovery and enjoy her lovely blog?

(photo by me)

Happy recovery Pia!

COLOUR INSPIRATION BOARD: LIVING ROOM DECORATION

As I said yesterday, I've started thinking about how I want my living room to look in the near future. I've got a craving for colour these days, and I also want a quite clean feel! So I think I'll start digging out some white and red as a base, and then I'll add one accent colour. The accent colour I'm going to start with is hot pink:

This picture shows the colour combo I'm looking for. As usual, this is a low-budget project, so I'm not running out to buy new furniture!

(Picture from Tricia Guild's "Pattern" which is one of my absolute favourite books in the world! The photos are by James Merrell)

UPDATE Jan 27:

Together, these lovely photos from House To Home capture the essence of the colour scheme I'm looking for. I notice now that there are flowers or floral patterns in all the pictures I've chosen, which I didn't think of when I did the browsing!








I see now that there also are some pale pink details in these photos. This colour is also really beautiful with red. Making inspiration boards is very interesting, it makes you notice stuff you didn't know you had in mind!

When I'm tired of the pink accents, I'll just keep the red and white and replace the pink with a new accent colour (I'm thinking about green, yellow, turquoise...)

MY JANUARY LIVING ROOM DECORATION

So far in 2009, I've only made a few small changes. Remember my 2D Christmas tree? I didn't want to put away the hearts straight away (making 32 double paper hearts is a lot of work!). So I just rearranged them:

This small furniture arrangement is just for fun. The Roberto chair from IKEA serves as an extra if I have lots of guests, so I figured I could dress it up a bit! The lamp is old - I've rewired it, painted it black and added a lampshade from IKEA.



The tiny chest of drawers is from IKEA also. The wrought iron legs and handles are designed by me.

My coffee table is dressed up in a curtain sample. I kept most of the not-too-Christmassy decoration and added...

...new napkins...

...and these brilliant hearts that I got from my childhood best friend for Christmas. She can make anything out of fabric!

Diva Divan with the pillow I designed and made out of old clothes.

This is how it all looks at the moment. The dress on the wall matches my pillow and the tablecloth.

But it's not staying like this for long. My brain has already started whirring. I'm really tired of muted colours, and for the first time in my life, I'm planning on introducing some really bold colours in my apartment!

JONATHAN ADLER INTERIOR DESIGN (a protest post)

No, I'm not protesting against Jonathan Adler! Actually, I'm protesting against myself a bit. I constantly feel that I ought to be original and inventive and blog about new and exciting things that nobody else has seen before. So part of my cure against the quest for novelty is to blog what I like, even if everybody has blogged about it already!

This is actually a shop interior, but as I'm longing for a real walk-in closet, I'm including these photos. I also love the colour combos.

Diggin' the petite Moroccan-style table!

I wonder whether the BF would be very much opposed to an all-pink room??

I never was the princess type when I was a kid. It was more about playing detective or cowboys and indians and investigating the woods and the brook around our house! But I suspect that I would have loved having a room like this anyway.

The wallpaper reminds me of a poster I had over my bed for years, before the horses and pop stars did a takeover!

No blog post of mine should be without a great wall display photo!

Inspiration for myself: I find that I'm leaning more and more towards all-white interiors with splashes of bold colours.

(btw, do you reckon those chairs are really comfy?)

I'm doing several Argentine tango classes this weekend, but I might return tomorrow if inspiration strikes.

Have a lovely, lazy weekend!

THIS MAKES ME SMILE -

Kim Hastreiter's apartment as shown on The Selby.

Click pictures for even larger versions!

I want to run out and buy lots of colourful kitchenware!

I think these are really lovely - my favourites are the one in the middle and especially the one on the wall.

The ultimate kitchen: lots of storage, lots of space, lots of light!

I'm almost tempted to start collecting perfumes just because of the bottles...

When I was little, everyone said that pink and red didn't go together. I think this eclectic bedroom proves the opposite!

Nearly weekend - hang in there...

VIA THE RED OTTER: MICHAEL GRIMM

Today's link day! I've discovered a lovely blog called Red Otter (such a cool name!), and Julia who writes the blog featured some great photos a while ago. The photos are by Michael Grimm and are filled with light - just the right thing for a rainy January day in Norway...

Even the chair is filled with light!

Have a lovely Wednesday everyone!

COLOUR COORDINATED DISPLAYS

Monday again... I don't understand where the weekends disappear to! Anyway, here's a little colourful inspiration if you want to make a little extra out of your small items displays. You know how I love colour coordinated stuff, and it's difficult to get more colour coordinated than this!

See the tiny globe in the green section? When I was little, I used to have a piggy bank like this to save my money in. Mine was blue!

This is a great way of displaying all the small items that tend to clutter up our drawers!

Photo credit: Thomas Klementsson

Hope you'll have a wonderful day!

MARTIN MARGIELA

Today, I'm entering the world of fashion for a change! I'm not featuring any clothes, but I found some photos of Maison Martin Margiela on AT Casa, and they're very inspiring if you're looking for an all-white design for your home.

Balloons are said to be the next great thing. I'm all for a party décor that incorporates balloons as stylish as these!

Mismatched furniture can be very stylish. If you don't want a totally bohemian look, choose one colour for everything. I think the assorted white lampshades in these two photos are a nice touch!

Is your furniture completely worn out? Are you tired of the colour? Why not wrap the whole shebang in fabric?

More mismatch: Screen made of old doors!

This is my favourite photo: Great inspiration for cool and practical storage!

Links to explore:

>AT Casa's article on Maison Martin Margiela
(with lots of photos)

>The Maison Martin Margiela website
(which doesn't look like a website, but do click enter! The web design is really cool, and so are the clothes)

>My post on mismatched design from Kråkvik/D'Orazio

Happy browsing!

HISTORIES FROM MY HOME

When I was home visiting my mom for Christmas, I put together a small collection of things that have been in our home for as long as I can remember. I wanted to share a few of the photos I took!

What you see here is a mix of things my parents have inherited; gifts from family and friends; and things mom and dad have bought together for their home. Some of the things are even made by family members.

Teapot with drawing of the teapot! The drawing is by my mom.

I've mentioned before that I love seahorses. This is probably the reason! I've always been fascinated by this seahorse - a gift from a family friend several decades ago - that is perched on the top shelf in my dad's library/studio.

All the things in the pictures show something about my parents: their background, their interests, their friends; their taste...

(Please note: These photos are extremely personal to me, so please do not not blog them or use them in any other way!)

MY FIRST APPLIQUE PILLOW

As some of you know, I buy almost all my clothes at Salvation Army shops. Sometimes, I buy stuff that I don't use much, and then I usually return it! But I loved the colours of this skirt and halterneck top so much that I didn't want to give it back...

...so I decided to use the materials to make this:

The design is my own - I've called it "Half Of A Heart". Maybe you can see why?

This is my first appliqué project ever! I've combined machine embroidery (around the edges of the flower and the leaf) with hand embroidery (the stem), and I've learnt a lot about fabric and what works and what doesn't.

The white fabric I used is from a piece of IKEA "Lenda" that I found in my fabrics' drawer. The little wooden pearls are from a Salvation Army scarf. So everything is reused material, except for Vliesofix and embroidery thread.

What do you think, guys? I'd be happy if you gave me some feedback on this test project - but be kind, I'm only new at this!

SIMONE SCHIERBEEK

These art prints by Simone Schierbeek would make any Monday a little better!

Weensboom (Wish Tree)

Verliefd (In Love)

Available in a limited edition from Dutch Wallflowers.

Simone's website is www.simoneschierbeek.com

(The address doesn't seem to work at the moment, but I'm including it for further reference anyway)

JUST A CHEERFUL COLOUR...

...And a couple of great links for you to explore on this hopefully fine Sunday. It's dark and rainy here in the North, so I needed to cheer myself up a bit:

This photo is from Skarp via WeHeartIt / CarrieCan.

Happy Sunday!

WALL DISPLAYS

I'm currently a bit obsessed with art displays. There have been lots of great ones around the blogosphere, and as I'm working on one myself, I would like to show a few of my favourites. I've found them on some of my favourite blogs, so this post will be a tiny reading list a well - even though you probably know these blogs already.

Classic:

Hanging art post - Belle Maison

Tori Mellot post: - Alkemie

Bohemian Rhapsody:

Quote of the week post - Belle Maison

Gaelle Le Boulicaut post - MadeByGirl

Modern:

Inspace post - MadeByGirl

Black, white & grey post - Alkemie



Desire to Inspire guest post - MadeByGirl

If you've got some floor space to spare, these displays might be an option:

Lara Robby post - A Mad Tea Party With Alis


If you want to read more blogs, visit Hooked on Houses' blog party!

Have a lovely Friday!

SEVEN THINGS ABOUT ME

Just before Christmas, I was tagged by Vanya over at

Vanya is an interior designer who's been a very kind commenter on my blog, and she even mentioned me in a post about her favourite blogs recently! I'm very honoured by all these things - thank you Vanya! The tag's assignment is to tell seven things about myself. As I've restricted myself to writing an "interior design only" blog, I'm going to share some interior design facts about myself - things I think I haven't mentioned before:

1) I've always loved decorating. When growing up, it was more about arranging my belongings in my room and covering my walls with posters of horses and pop stars, but I still consider it to be decorating - or at least preparing for adult decorating! My mom is very creative and artistic, as you can see an example of here, and I've always recieved feedback and encouragement when doing my projects.

2) My first room envy as a young teenager: A photo I saw in a teen magazine - the interior had white rattan furniture with rose-patterned upholstery and a white shag carpet on the floor! Yes, I know... It was the eighties, guys, what can I say?

3) I bought my first interior decoration magazine about fifteen years ago. It was



and after this I was hooked on interior decoration and -magazines. Over the years, I've been through them all, both the international and the Norwegian ones.



has been my absolute favourite from the moment I discovered it. When I get a craving for faded grandeur, I turn to


These days, I rarely buy mags, as I'm having problems throwing them away... But I've made a decent collection of online magazines after I started blogging - if you click here, you'll find my link list!

4) For many years, I preferred a simple, contemporary style based on whites and neutrals, but for the last year, I've become a lot more fond of the eclectic, and I'm starting to appreciate the possibilities that colour provides. I still prefer my old palette for walls and furniture though; it provides a neutral backdrop which gives me the opportunity to play with colours, textures and shapes!

5) I'm very organized when it comes to decorating, or at least when I'm making my ever-changing displays. I know exactly where I'd like everything to go, and we're talking very small margins between "naaahhh" and "yesss!!" Otherwise, I'm a bit, hmmm, random.

6) I consider myself a creative person with decision issues. I want to make stuff, but I often have too many ideas to settle for one at a time. I'm working on this, so hopefully I'll be able to show you some results of my ideas this year!

7) This is not an interior decoration fact, but it's very much related to blogging: I'm really, really bad at playing tag... This means that when I receive an award, I'm having problems because I know that not everybody has the time to play! This is the reason why I'm going to cheat here and not tag anyone. I hope this is okay, Vanya.

But: I'm very interested in getting to know more about the visitors of this blog, so everybody, please consider yourself tagged! Do you remember your first magazine or your first room envy? Which palette and style do you prefer at home? If you want to share something about yourself, put it in a comment!

VIA SIMPLYGROVE: NELLA VITRINA

One of my bookmark tags are called "via". This is where I collect cool stuff that I find on other blogs. I would like to blog one of these bookmarks today. I've blogged about Nella Vitrina before in this post, but as I suspect their furniture is a wee bit expensive I just mentioned one piece for a DIY project. But when I looked through my bookmarks today, I discovered SimplyGrove's post, which made me look at the Nella Vitrina furniture with new eyes. It may be expensive, but there's lots of inspiring stuff here if you're a DIY person.

Upholstery ideas:




Inspiring colour combos:

Cherry + beige


Green + violet


This may be too much for your man...


...but maybe he'll be comfortable with this?



Revamp your furniture (this is where I simply couldn't choose which one to blog):

NEW YEAR = NEW IDEAS

It isn't possible to not blog on the first day of a brand new year! I've got lots of ideas for January, and would like to kick off with some photos that might inspire you to spice up your walls! (I'll leave my "New Year resolutions" post until everybody has forgotten about it...)

These photos are by Rachael Smith for Tracy Kendall Wallpaper. Some of these wallpapers are really exquisite and probably way beyond what I can afford. But with some time and patience, I think it's possible to do a "home-made" version of some of the Tracy Kendall designs, as an accent on part of a wall.

Small pieces of paper:

Start at the floor and work your way upwards!

Printed version:

You could scan from a favourite book - it might look cool on coloured paper, or even with pictures!)

Sequins:

This is of course wildly time-consuming to do from scratch, but you could buy a piece of sequined fabric - I don't think it's that expensive (?)

Puzzle:

We've all got puzzles with missing pieces, don't we? This is where they finally become useful!