2000 Thanks!

Happy Sunday to all my friends and lovely readers! I just popped in to send a little "Thank You!" note to my Pinterest followers. Yup, I've reached 2000 followers and I've never been more addicted to pinning... It's (very) time consuming, but also fascinating - and a place to meet new people of incredible taste! 

So let's see what I've been pinning lately - and for anyone who is interested in discovering new ideas and spaces, you can FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST anytime :) Thank you once more <3

Still life

A simple grey bed

Spring colors

Serene styling

The Perfect Yellow Mum

Yellow! How you're doin'? I hope you all had a great weekend :)

Today's post is nothing more than a weather-dependent blogger's attempt to fight the cold November rain and drizzle. So here are a few pics of a sunny chrysanthemum to brighten up your day. And your entire week - since it's only Monday and we've got so much to do...

The yellow mum looks like total Fall to me. In spite of Christmas coming upon us with a vengeance in the supermarkets and just about every where else in Blogoland, my mood is far from Christmas-y. So let's enjoy a perfectly spherical yellow mum on a perfectly round Tam Tam stool in orange. Oh, and the gourd which would not stand up (click here to read more about how I've finally styled it).

How To Decorate With A Super Gourd

Difficulty: easy peasy;

Time to complete: 10 minutes;

Budget: 1 euro for the gourd;

What I love the most: the contemporary look (which is exactly what I was going for).

Autumn is the perfect time to decorate with elements of nature. There are so many round pumpkins, fiery colored leaves, delicate wild berries, perfect pine cones and crazy looking gourds, that it's practically impossible to resist them. You just have to bring the nature indoors! 

Speaking of crazy shapes, I got this plus-size gourd on a September trip to the South of Romania. It looks like a cross-bread between a bowling pin and a wine decanter, don't you think? I decided to make it the living room attraction, but decorating with a huge gourd is no easy challenge. In case you need to decorate with a single gourd, follow a few design rules:

So let's see what can be done to create a vignette for this outstanding gourd:

1. LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION!

Find the perfect spot for your display. Choose a common room if you want more visibility. Make sure that your vignette gets plenty of light and that it's not overshadowed by other decorations in the room. 

The first question was "Where to put the gourd?". My first option would have been the home office, but there already was another gourd arrangement on my desk. So I decided to put it in the living room, where all my friends could see it from the moment they entered the room.

2. CHOOSE YOUR STYLE. 

Should you make a traditional Fall-ish shrine to nature? Should you go streamlined and minimal? The simplest way is to assess your room decor style and to create an assorted vignette.

Even if the classical approach is to make a fall arrangement with many gourds and leaves, I wanted to use the giant gourd as a stand-alone attraction. It also works best with the eclectic style of my home.

3. CHOOSE COLOR, SHAPE AND TEXTURE.

Start with the color of your gourd and work your color scheme around it. You can use a monochromatic, a contrasting or a complementary color scheme, depending whether you want your vignette to look natural & soothing, striking or interesting, respectively.

You don't need to buy new stuff! Go through your cabinets and find items to fit your color scheme.

I decided to use a complementary color scheme, with maximized contrast, for a guaranteed WOW effect. The gourd is green and green's opposite color is red. Green and red would be my color scheme. From this point on, we were down to business. Once I had the plan, I chose the DIY pink/red side table as my base. In the cupboards I found a red pitcher and a red candle holder. They were both round in shape and made of glass, similar in shape to the gourd's "belly" and contrasting with the heavy texture of the gourd.

For an eye-pleasing effect, I added a few items in neutral colors (the lamb and the baby-breath flowers) and  some cute tiny accents (the washi tape and the felt balls).

4. THE TRIANGLE LAYOUT. 

As you may already know, when in doubt use an asymmetric "A" shape layout. This way you make sure that the eyes of the beholder travel throughout the entire vignette. Layer the elements, placing the taller ones in the back row and the smaller ones in the foreground.

The gourd has been a successful conversation-starter, namely because I've made it the focal point of the room. Also, my boyfriend is amused by its shape and size and calls it "his arch-enemy", so the super-gourd is a great addition to our home :)

The Gourd In The Glass Jar

Should I say "The gourd cloche"?

Or better yet "The gourd terrarium"?

No matter how hard I try, it seems impossible to come up with a good title for this post. Friends, this is the big reveal to yesterday's post and its burning question. How to decorate with a gourd that has pointy bumps on each end and doesn't want to stand upright?! It upsets my OCD... So my solution was to put it in a bowl full of gravel. Even better, I put the gravel in a big empty glass jar (recycled, of course - see it here full of paper-whites) and then I put the gourd on top of the gravel. It doesn't stand vertically, but it's enough for my design sensibility.

The gourd in the glass is now good enough to star in a pretty fall vignette. If you're not sure where to start in creating a vignette, click here to see my tutorial on how to make a balanced vignette following a few simple rules. As you can see in the first pic, I chose natural elements and neutral colors for the arrangement. We've got everything: wood (the desk, the blank Russian doll), glass (the jar), metal (the vintage can), wax (the candle), ceramics (the mushroom salt shaker). The whole thing forms an "A" shape, for instant eye attraction. The whole thing is sitting pretty on the desk. So I created a vignette inside a vignette!

Talking about personal history, almost every single item in this pic has a special meaning to me, so I love it even more:

- Let's start with the desk: my dad bought it for me when I was 9 and I've had it ever since.

- The round brown sign was written freehand by my sweet Ana from Uituka, who is a master of typography. Don't ask me what is says, because we wanted to say "Division of labor" but in the end she came up with this untranslatable joke in Romanian.

- The blank Russian dolls are a birthday gift from my friend July. I've wanted a blank set for ages and even found some good deals on Amazon, but now I can't to paint them!

- The succulent is a gift from Sigrid's mom, from the most beautiful autumn garden I have ever seen "live".

- I stole the vintage tin can from my grandma, it was a tobacco box from the 1930s.

- And I saved the best for last: in the last pic you can see my cat Anais hidden inside the desk box. She does that to protect my cards and illustration from fading, right?

What To Do?

What am I to do, dear ladies, when I've got this adorable little gourd and can't decorate with it?!

I love its organic shape, with the long neck and the teardrop bottom. I'm crazy about the white and green colors and its bumpy texture. In fact, I got this gourd from 300 km away from here (that's like 190 US miles), cruising through four villages until I saw the object of my desire for sale - at a farmer's house. But it's the irregular shape that's causing me all these problems, because this gourd will not sit upright. 

So what do you think I should do with this gourd which only sits on one side, horizontally? Perhaps you need a little hint? Well, look carefully in the arrangement, because the answer is already there. I can't reveal if it's the nail polish, the felt balls or the gravel... I've already thought of a solution to my decor problem, so come back tomorrow to see how I've "convinced" the gourd to stand up! 

My Fun Nightstand

Hi, Janel, this post is from me to you, girl! You know how much I like sharing colorful spaces and vignettes with people who get the same vibe :) So here's a simple Hello! from my nightstand. I was never a big fan of elegant spaces in ethereal earth tones... I say give me some color and energize my morning! So now that I'm struggling with two jobs, I need to start the day with fresh flowers and a smile by the bedside.

The nightstand is actually one of my old DIYs: the pink Lucite coffee tables have moved by the bedside. They make the prettiest nightstands - in acid colors, never the less! There are usually stacks of books by the bed... but now that I'm crawling to bed much too late every night, I just keep some light reading - a lovely book from a short film festival.

My secret to a morning smile is... not that, you naughty girl!... it's the textile mix! Traditional rug versus urban stripes, whimsical patterns versus a posh retro curtain, plus the touch of natural fibers. The more pillows, the better! And to get back to everybody's question: yes, I could repair the poor one-eyed doll. I just don't have the heart to, because I've had it since 5th grade and her current state is a reminder of how old I am now small I once was...

Light Blue Something

I remember a sweet band from the 90's, called Deep Blue Something. So I'm posting about... light blue something. I'm in the mood for summer and this pale blue is a great reminder of the joys ahead of us. In the first pic, there's one of my beachy photo frames from last year, and below some origami paper boats, also made last year.

Then, there's a little Russian doll and her best friend, the little pouch I got as a present from Lisa...

Also I could think of these beautiful cardboard eggs made from blue pattern paper

My simple blue vases from the dollar store, so pretty with their textured glass

And most of all, I'm glad that I don't have to see this icicle against the blue sky, for a while!

Decorate With A Song: Jungle Boogie!

So many friends ask me where I get the inspiration for my colorful decor. I'll tell you my secret: I DECORATE WITH A SONG!

Please press play and read the rest of the entry while listening to this song :)

I was listening to this retro classic one morning, when my legs started dancing to the music. It was so cool, that I immediately asked myself: would it be possible for me to actually go to the jungle and feel the energy? Well, yes... but it's not gonna happen very soon! And with this long wait for the trees to come to life once again, I suddenly had an inspiration: I'm gonna make the jungle come to me!

Easier said than done? Don't think so! All it took was a trip to the balcony. I got my tropical plants together and put them on the floor: the coconut, the Sago palm and the umbrella tree. That's enough of a jungle corner in my little apartment, I guess! All that was needed was a funky chair, a comfy pillow, a favorite book on decorating by their side and it was done!

I love the way the colorful pillow stands out among the neutrals (and yes, I count green as a lovely neutral). I wasn't sure what kind of stool to add into the composition, maybe a retro Tam-tam stool to go with the retro song? But I finally went with the classic approach, bringing in the wooden stool, for a more organic feeling. Also, the natural color blends in with the plants. So there you have it, a jungle corner inspired by a song - enjoy the weekend!

  PS: You may want to read about my first decor inspired by a song here: The Mad Hatter home office was inspired by yet another silly song... it works like a charm ;)

Space Saving Tip: Double Duty Laptop Table

Good Monday, everybody! Today I wanna share a little tip for those of you who live in a small space, just like me. Use a simple laptop table as a coffee table, a side table or even a night stand, if it suits you. A small living area doesn't have to be ugly and it doesn't have to be cramped. That's why we need to edit a lot and to keep visible stuff to a minimum. Out with a zillion knick-knacks, in with a small display on a tray, a cabinet or a side table.

I guess you are all familiar with the Ikea laptop table. It comes in many colors (mine is black, but you can have it on red, white or blue) and it's very handy whether you surf the net from your couch or directly from your bed. I really like it, but every now and then, for a week or two, I don't use it that much. That means that the laptop table occupies some space in my little apartment without serving a purpose. So I just use it as a minimalist side table.

When you live in a small home, every square foot matters. Think outside the box and don't hesitate to assign new functions to your pieces of furniture. This item, for example, can serve as a laptop table in the weekend and as a side table during the week, if you just need a place to display pretty flowers for as long as they last. Which reminds me to add another pic of the pink azalea :)

Update: I want to send a big Thanks! to Abbie from Five Days, 5 Ways, to Lauren from If It's Not Baroque and to Sarah from Sarah Dawn Designs for featuring this post :)

How To Introduce A New Old Lamp Into Your Decor

There it is, my precious new old lamp! I found it in a thrift shop: wooden base, camel skin and golden tassels. It has the most beautiful curvy shape and it lights up my days (and evenings, of course). You all know that my decor style is eclectic, but my furniture is mostly contemporary. So I set for myself a design challenge - how to gracefully incorporate this granny lamp into my current home.

Step one: Choose your colors well. My motto is that "The best things in life are free" and my design corollary is that "Color is one of them". Color unifies objects from different eras or styles and envelops everything in an eye-pleasing cocoon. So I let the warm camel tones of my new old lamp guide me. You can see here similar shades, some lighter (honey, yellow), some darker (burnt orange), some stronger (vivid orange).Complete the rest of your decor with neutrals (white, off-white, tan, brown).

Step two: Choose a function and a space. Every object, no matter how pretty, must serve its purpose. Decide where to use your new item depending on the way you want to use it. If you get a new pillow, is it for the bedroom or for the couch? If you get a new chair, is it for the hallway, the kitchen or the dining room? My granny lamp is quite small, I wanted to put it on my desk but finally I made an impromptu reading spot in the home office, directly on the floor. Just because I feel a little boho today and this wonderful graffiti album  needs to be fully explored :)

Step three: Add lots of texture. Who said that beautiful can't be cozy? Remember that you're not updating your decor for a museum. You're doing it for YOUR home, the best place on Earth. So you've got your color scheme right and you've chosen a designated space. Now you need to add some texture, which will make it all feel great. Notice the solid wood in the herringbone floors, the crochet yarn  in the couch throw, the fluffy sheep skin pillow and the smooth leather pouf. Instant pampering for your senses :)

Step four: Add a twist to your decor. All things matchy-matchy make a boring sight. Remember to always have an element of surprise, in order to save your space from anonymity. Put a quirky picture on the wall. Display some toys in a very grown-up surrounding. Use a striking accent that you wouldn't normally expect to see. In my case, I just added this shiny fantastic plastic Tam Tam stool. It looks like it was stolen from a Karim Rashid hotel, but it completes my otherwise traditional, classical decor.

So there it is, my simple reading spot on the floor created around this new old lamp. Follow these simple rules to welcome any new item into your already existing decor. Don't be afraid to experiment - the more you try, the more you'll get the taste of it. And the results may even surprise you!