Let the sunshine in!

Sun seekers rejoice! Not only is the warm weather upon us (apart from the last couple of days -but then the Sun has been very busy lately so he probably does need a rest), but our enthusiasm for life and 'doing stuff' is returning! And to top it off, the colour trend making it's way back into our hearts and homes: bright mouth-watering yellows and beachy keen turquoise and aqua blues. It's enough to make one feel positively re-born!

And while I can't quite bring myself to go back to that stunning 90s colour combination of bright yellow and colbalt blue (such kitchens make my eyes bleed); soften them a bit, bring in some mustard tones and add bit of edge to the hue of your blues, and I am IN LOVE.

via Desire To Inspire

Surprisingly though (only to some who know me well) - bright yellow on it's own? That's another story. OBSESSED.

Abstract feature walls, wall art, accessories, and furnishings overhauled from muted browns to crisp, perky aquas and every colour of sorbet imaginable! Who says you can't bring the sunshine inside?

via Emma's Design Blog

via Brightbizarre.blogspot.com

Chair and lampshade - Anthropologie.

Bamileke Feather Ju-Ju hat used as wall decoaration from Table Tonic.

via Apartment Therapy

Table from Jonathan Alder's Lacquer collection. Room also by Jonathan Alder, for Liz Lange.

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Olio-what?

I've been completely engrossed in this new online application 'Olioboard', in which you can create mood boards by dragging and dropping your favourite homewares (available for purchase, mostly in the States unfortunately), to make up your perfect room scenario. It's AWESOME. The best fun you can have without spending a dime! It sucked me in for a good few hours yesterday.. but I emerged with a 'guestimate' of how I imagine my finished dining room to look (in 20 years time when I have money again... aaahhh dreams are free!).

It's a bit of a work in progress.. I keep tutuing with it and adding things. Also, I've used the Feathers wallpaper in the background, which is the only Ferm Living wallpaper I could find in their catalogue, so I put that in as the colour palette is very similar. Hopefully they beef up their selection soon!

Here it is anyway:

In real life, I have a few of these things.. or a plan to have them, at least. And I promise you, I don't plan on spending a fortune on getting the rest either!

On saturday I bought this dining suite off Trade Me for an absolute steal:

It's not a classic Jon Jansen or Fler, but it's rather cute. I immediately loved the chairs, but they do need a little TLC. I spent an hour the other day scrubbing about a quarter of a century's worth of nicotine and grime off them. Yeah, doesn't really show up in the photo, huh ;)

They also need a nice rub down with some white vinegar to get the smoke stench off them - but once that's done they'll be sweet! They're covered in vinyl... and though I know how i'd recover the seats (they come off really easily), i'm not quite sure how to do the backs.. I'm not really adept in taking chairs apart, you see! Might have to pay a visit to someone 'in the know' for that one.

As for the table? Well it's formica, so i've been googling how to deal with that, and most people say either replace it altogether or get a piece of glass cut for it and put some paper/fabric underneath to freshen it up. That's probably the easiest and cheapest option, to be honest. But I'll have a think about it. Anyone out there - if you have any tips for me, feel free to let me know! Apparently formica does NOT like paint very much, no matter how well you prep the bugger.. hmph.

I have (well, not in my possession, but in my mind) the wallpaper, as you may recall I had a few options and settled on this one:

This will be a feature wall and the adjoining walls will all be white.

The rugs you can see there are inspiration for me. I bought a large cream natural cotton rug from the Warehouse last week - $100 down from $170 (thanks Republic Revolution!), and I plan to paint it! I'm tossing up between a black and white pattern or a mustardy yellow one. I LOVE the muted yellow and blue tones together, as per an earlier post.

Once I get around to doing it (note to self: must ship daughter off to Grandparents so I can get things done!), i'll let you all know.

Here are some more rugs i'm using as inspiration:

Ikea Gislev Ikea Stockholm Rand

Anthropologie

Room and Board - Fuller Felted Rug

Fingers crossed my painting attempt doesn't go belly up!! You better send me some positive vibes, peeps.

I'm genuinely gutted I'll never have the tripod lamp - which I LOVE. I think more people should ship to little old NZ!!! I'll have to try and find a similar one somewhere.... hmm. And the new Ferm Living wall art calendar is absolutely going on my wish list! You can write on it! It's practical AND a work of art. I am smitten! It also comes with coloured post-its to further customise it. You can get yours locally from paperroom.co.nz, along with lots of other adorable Ferm Living must-haves.

The armchair I found is lovely, don't you think? Wonder if I'll ever find that here?

The wee side table though, I'm pretty sure I saw one just like it at the Salvation Army store up the road the other day! Must pop up and double check tomorrow.

Lighting is the other big feature of the room. Has to be pendant lighting and has to make a statement. I found some amazing ones by Seppo Koho. Aren't they fantastic!

But there are many more TO DIE FOR here.

Unfortunately, this is another who do not currently ship to NZ. Booooo!!! BUT, there are always ways around that, aren't there.. friends :)

Anyway, so I urge you all to go and login to Olioboard and have a go at being a real life Interior Designer yourselves! It's so much fun and it won't cost you a cent. Yet. :D

Making the most of my time..

..some of the time..!

A new dress AND muffins.. busy Mama!

Crafternoon Tea tomorrow, people! Tres excited!

Old T-shirt = New dress!

I also made this:



Cute! It's an old t-shirt that I really loved but the cut was never as flattering on me as I would've liked.. but no point in throwing it out! I have a few recyclables stashed away in my sewing box, so you might see more new toddler creations on here from time to time.. I seem to be getting my sewing groove back. Although, I have a sick little girl on my hands so I'm sure any spare time is about to be swallowed up with sicky snuggles the next few days. Poor mite!

It's nothing to do with my house..

But I made this today:

Lila will probably wear it around the house this summer.. does that count?

This is my first ever attempt at making her something, so I'm pretty pleased with myself. Hence the need to share! :)

Happy Weekend!

Need Inspiration - look closer!

Picking the perfect colour scheme for your little cave can be overwhelming, and inevitably leads to people (me) over thinking things completely. There is so much choice; and what mood am I in today? Am I light and airy or dark and dramatic? Could I live with my garden palette over my walls or do I need something completely different as a means to escape? Whatever you're envisioning - here's a tip from Apartment Therapy: Look to the things you already love, and go from there.

Makes sense! And it's not the first plan of attack you think of when you first start out.. well, it wasn't for me.. What about you?

Apparently there are many colour match generators on the internet (I've never heard of such a thing.. but then I've never looked..). Their preferred one is Colour Hunter.

All you need to do is find the thing that inspires you most; something you LOVE, take a picture of it and upload it to this site. Sounds pretty magical actually - once you've uploaded your photo, the program then generates a colour scheme based on those in your picture. Imagine the possible combinations you could end up with! If unique is what you're aiming for - then this could certainly be for you. Some of the programs include the hex value (i guess this is the tint code/number?) so you can identify the colour exactly. Awesome!

Do you have a dress/ city/ animal that inspires you? How would you go about choosing between the myriad of paint colours on offer? Would you take a risk or go for neutrals to be safe? How daring would your colour choice be?

My Dream Home

I think i've found it.. In the pages of another gorgeous new online magazine Rue.

Featured is blogger Victoria Smith's amazing, amaaaaaaaaaazing pad. And I think i'm in love!

The 'hopeful' photographer, photo stylist, design junkie and flea market queen has taken a raft of styles and flung them together to create the most inviting, invigorating, eye catching and just plain delightful home I have seen in a long time. It's a mix of all the photos I keep as inspiration on my hard drive, organised into the perfect clip art montage. In Rue they've labelled it 'Mid-Century meets Modern Boho'. I'm gonna go ahead and adopt that sensibility for myself, because I have found it rather tricky to isolate my design asthetic to one label - and I think that sounds pretty good!

My love of old nana plates and ikea tv trundles; statement 60s Fler armchairs and striking modern graphic prints framed up on the wall.. with this handle, it all makes sense. And so does the way Victoria has thoughtfully styled her own haven. If only my 20month old would allow me to have such delicate ceramic arrangements within hands reach.. they are unfortunately banished to the very top shelves for now.. but one day!

Take in every delicious morsel of her San Fransisco Bay home and just tell me you're not full of love for this light, airy and creative space that has that perfect mix of quaintness and quirk. I especially love the duvet cover on her bed.. mmmm... looks like one of the many I have been eyeing up at Urban Outfitters (did you know they ship here now! LOOK OUT!!!!). The only thing she's missing, I reckon, is a fabulous wallpaper feature wall! hehehe.

In other news - I made something like this today for my nieces room:

via DecorPad

The cluster of lanterns on the ceiling... mine isn't quite finished yet. I need to make some tissue pom poms, and there aren't as many lanterns, but it still looks cute! When it's all done i'll upload a photo of mine. In the meantime, just imagine my one looks JUST AS AWESOME as this one ;)

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