Still In Love With The White Christmas Tree

Wait for it...

Wait for it...

Here it is! I'm still happy to have the little white Christmas tree in the living room!

Now that the little Christmas tree is out of its box once again and the felines are busy killing it, let's go back to the Holiday preparations! My newest acquisition are the two metal Christmas stars hanging on the gallery wall. Made in Germany :) I usually stay away from brown, but I love the way these brown stars echo the trim of the granny lamp.  

There's lots of pink going on here, topped with one of the Sleepy pumpkins I've made for Halloween. Many of you suggested it would be perfect for a Christmas decor, so here it is! I've added a vintage bell - a bronze buddy for the stars on the wall. Plus, I've split the white-washed wooden bird houses on both pink coffee tables (one of which serves as a side table, actually, it's more functional this way).

My cat Junior is not impressed with the way the sun rays play with the branches of the white tree. Oh well, what does he know about the trials and tribulations of a decorating addict!

Looking at these pics, I'm so far from a Christmas-y decor, but I really like it this way. Now I need to figure out what ornaments to put in the tree, so that the cats won't eat them :))

A Little Celebration

Dear friends, today we're celebrating 200 followers on Facebook! It may seem like a microscopic community to you, but for me it's a big deal :) A third of them are in fact personal friends of mine, whose walls I invade on a daily basis and who support my interior design rambling like heroes. But the other followers are dear blogging friends and random people which I know nothing about. They come from all the corners of the world, from Alaska to Indonesia. Thank you all for giving me the courage to put my photos out there!

More good news: lovely Angela from Number Fifty-Three is publishing my guest post on How to decorate with a single gourd - 3 ways! So pop over there to see my little tips for a stylish fall-to-winter decor!

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).

Brown Bottle Fall Centerpiece

It's the middle of November and we've been incredible lucky to have 3 weeks of Indian Summer here in beautiful Romania. The weekends were warm and sunny and we had a picnic every Sunday. I got home with a lot of fall clippings and wild herbs. Their colors are amazing: silver grey, soft honey brown and subtle lavender - so I decided to use them in a Fall centerpiece.

Let's take a normal look at the dining room table. That's better... The light colors of my clipped herbs needed some contrast, so I put them in brown bottles. The earth tones arrangement goes so well with the glowing Autumn light! I reached into my cupboards for the perfect companions: small brandy glasses in tinted hues, traditional pottery from my country and a tiny brown apothecary jar filled with spices.

Of course, an all-neutral-decor is too much for me to handle. I just can't do it. It may be classic, timeless, effortless and perfectly elegant, but it just isn't my style. So I added a little twist to my brown bottle centerpiece: a kiss made of pink and orange felt letters. Now we're talking!

This little DIY can be made and re-made in so many ways! For my friends in the USA, the letters could say "THANKS" - it would make a great centerpiece for Thanksgiving! For my European friends, you could spell "AUTUNNO" or something similar. Spot the differences in the 2 images from above! You can leave the bottles standing solo, as well as decorate with additional items - either way, the centerpiece still looks great.

Styling tip: play a little with the height of the bottles. Make the arrangement more interesting and invite the eye to travel across the table by assorting slightly different items. As you can see, I used 3 different sizes. Also, play with the height and dimensions of the flowers / fall clippings. You can create the WOW! effect if you vary the bouquets (some larger, some taller, some smaller) instead of repeating the same bunch of flowers in every bottle. 

Brown bottle centerpiece tutorial:

1. Choose your felt in one o more colors. Trace the outline of your letters, using a marker. The thicker the marker the better (felt is not easy to draw on!).

2. Cut the felt letters with a sharp tool. Make sure that the marker outline is not visible on the final letters. 

3. Use a needle & thread to make a chain around each bottle, each one holding a letter. You can also glue the felt letters directly on the bottles, but I like the thread better, because it looks more loose (and I can simply re-use the brown bottles later).

4. Stick the fall clippings in the bottles and enjoy your Fall centerpiece!

Almost Ready For Halloween

If I am not mistaken, there's only one week left until the haunted night of 2013 :) My busy schedule didn't allow me to properly prepare like I did last year, but I still managed to prepare a little vignette. You know me, I don't make or buy something new unless I absolutely have to. Recycling and reusing are right up my alley, so I dug up the DIY pictures from last year's Halloween gallery wall. Of course, I chose the spooky black cat (completely understandable since I live with two crazy felines).

As always, color gives the main feeling of Halloween: the blacks, the yellows and the oranges. This is one of the rare occasions when I get to pair the camel leather Moroccan pouf with the shiny Tam Tam stool. The yellow mums were a present from my boyfriend. And if you're wondering about the rug... it's been in my family for generations. It actually belonged to my great-grandmother. I remember this beautiful rug in my grandma's kitchen, where nothing bad could have ever happened. My mom washed it for me and I'll surely post a lot more pictures of it in the months to come.

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! 

A Clockwork Orange

Orange cat (Junior), orange stool (Tam Tam), Ikea pillow, rag rug from grandma, DIY faux wallpaper. Just as I was ready to say goodbye to the wonderful Autumn colors and enter a more Christmas-y mood, I remembered to take a picture of another plant with beautiful purple leaves. The lovely "false shamrock" (Oxalis Triangularis) graces us with its colored leaves from February until late November or even December, then requires a little resting period. So I prepared a little shooting session, before it looses its purple leaves for two months. Just as I pressed the camera button, guess who sneaked into my picture?!

Lo SWAP delle ZUCC-ONE

The best part of being a blogger (I am still in my first year, so I'm a fresh one): the bonding! Can you imagine that my friend Anna from Tulimami has painted this awesome little fellow for me? And sent it to me, over seven seas and seven kingdoms, like in a modern fairy tale? I feel .......................... still speechless!  Thank you, Anna, I loved you from your happy yellow dots in the entryway (I wonder why:))))) and your gift is sitting pretty by my bedside. My room mate would try and steal it from me, 'cause she loves it, too! I've started the pics with the way I received my precious little zuccone, simply wrapped in a happy patterned cloth, so that you can feel what I felt by unwrapping my beautiful gift. Mille baci, Anna!

Random Happy Home And Three Cats

Some days are sunny, some are grey. Some in between. I love the sunny ones because I can take pics around the home. I enjoy the grey one, hidden under blankets and snuggling with my favorite felines. 

On the kitchen counter, the little toy horse runs for freedom while the monkey hides behind the palm tree.

A bunch of Fall flowers straight from the garden explode in a million shades of bright yellow and orange.

The witch lamp is like a dark angel looking over my precious Anais, as she fades into sleep and dreams of tons of food. She couldn't care about anything else in the world :))

On the kitchen shelf, a lost squash tries to escape from a meeting of colorful kitchenware, but the ginger jar keeps blocking its way out.

And on the small balcony, purple leaves and purple flowers make a fashionable vignette.

Cuddle In November

With this first photo I wanted to participate in the November Challenge from NIB. But I was too late :))) For me, cuddling means tons of big, soft pillows. In here, you can spot the second beanbag, identical to the one in the bedroom and a sheep skin pillow, keeping warm on chilly nights. I was just about to settle in and study a beautiful album on cinematic composition, when my orange cat Junior occupied the beanbag like it was his rightful place! Well, who can complain - a beating heart, a fluffy coat to pet and a roaring mustache is perfect for cuddling :)

I just can't resist this impromptu photo session and more pics are in order. The orange autumn are sitting pretty next to a soft pink rose. All these flowers were a gift, hand-picked from a real indoor garden and I arranged them in the chalk-paint vases that I made earlier this year. This combination of pinks and orange and lavender makes my heart sing with joy.

On the wall, there is a striped tapestry keeping warm for the cool months of the year. I am still debating weather I should apply it with starch and make some sort of wall-covering. I love the mix of natural textures, with the delicate petals, the wooden herringbone floors, the sheep skin and the wool. Speaking of which, here is a pic with a view of the floor :) As for me, I am going to put the kettle on and make some jasmine tea.