Random Happy Home

Hello, friends! I want to welcome you with a snap shot from my kitchen counter. We've got a pot of rose-hip (plus a zucchini for dinner). The rose-hip grows in the wild, is full of thorns and makes great tea, full of vitamin C. 

A colorful view of my desk, in complementary shades of red and green. This Prague poster never ceases to amaze me. If I close my eyes half-way, I can picture myself lazing on the balcony with a cup of coffee. The poster has been sitting above my desk for the last four years, but it works every time!

I've still got the brown bottle centerpiece and the wonderful dried herbs in subdued colors. Actually, on the balcony there is a box full of these wild herbs left over from this project, so I'm thinking of using them for another project. Maybe a Christmas wreath?

Retro decor in the home office. A pale blue wooden stool, topped with a matching gingham hat box and a vintage mushroom lamp. The cracked herringbone floors, my DIY faux wallpaper and Anais the cat complete the picture.

Yet another night view of the origami Igloo Village (my Advent Calendar for 2013). I wonder if I could place little tea lights inside the igloos in a fire-proof way. Or maybe try with a string of Christmas lights?

Last but not least, a selfie from work. Once more, I am dressed like the Christmas elf! This has to stop :))

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 :)

Random Happy Home

First of all (and second! and third!) I have to thank you, friends, for the love and support! I was overwhelmed! I honestly didn't expect anyone to be aware of my post, after such a long absence! But it felt... heavenly! After reading all your comments, I made a promise to myself to post as much as I can from now on, in spite of the challenge of my second job. So let me start with my newest acquisition, pictured above: a granny lamp that all my friends hate and that I simply adore :)) 

Many of your comments mentioned the colors of my flat. As you know, I don't think at all about color, because to me, color has always been there, like... well, like the air! I just take it for granted. So this is a light and dark study of my small balcony, full of color, seen through the door from the living room. Complete with a checkered blanket under Madalina Andronic's lovely painting :)

I just took this photo this morning. Yesterday I had a terrible day at work and I was feeling miserable. My boyfriend knew that and he surprised me in the evening with the last pink peonies he could find in the market place. He was sad because the peonies looked kinda "plucked", so I shot them in the morning in order to show to the world their true beauty. The right bottom one was just a bud yesterday and it flourished over night! 

And since this is MY blog and I do whatever I want to, let me add my love Anais to the party. I'm afraid I am still terribly in love with her, after all these years! All you pet lovers have to understand me, right? Just as she was napping in the warm morning light, all curled up on the Moroccan leather pouf, completely ignoring the rest of the world... I felt my heart shrinking with tenderness.

Last but not least, a fuzzy pic from the bedroom. I took it on a rainy day, just before I removed the plants from their winter shelter. I am pleased to report that we've had hot weather for the last month, so all my "silent green pets" reside happily on the balcony. Except those who cannot stand too much sun, which are still on the window sill in the bedroom. So long, friends, I've missed you more than I was aware of and it's great to share this with you again!

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 :)

Random Happy Home

Many times, this post title gives me the shivers. Is it really a happy home? Am I just one of this authors who make pretend, when their life is not what they pictured it would be? Well, it's not an unhappy home (praise the Lord!) and beautiful surroundings DO make me happy - especially with the gloomy weather and all. But these days the house is really happy, because there were a lot of changes in the study. Out with the couch, in with the day bed. Move the desk around, move the bookcase. Hence the bare corner, with nothing but the bare herringbone floors and the DIY faux wallpaper, during the process of redecorating...

I may have forgotten to plant the tulip and the hyacinth bulbs at the right moment, but nature keeps moving on. The potted narcissus bulbs that I've already had for some years keep making new green leaves, year after year. Of course, this is not a sure guarantee that we'll have yellow flowers, but we'll surely have the long green leaves :))) On the right, just a sneak peek into my next photo shooting, so please be patient...

Touches of turquoise are all over my kitchen counter. On the left, you can spot one of my most recent thrift finds, a tall turquoise glass with an intriguing amphora shape. It matches the backdrop of the Ikea melamine tray, don't you think? On the right, some very last chrysanthemums from my little balcony make a contrasting bouquet for the blue pitcher than you can also find here.

Also, the handsome potted coconut deserves a closer look. It may not be the star of my Valentine bedroom, but its arched silhouette completes the look of the room and adds a touch of life for these dark sky days of late January. Speaking of which, let me remind you that tomorrow is the beginning of a new month. So don't forget to come back tomorrow if you need a free printable February calendar!

Valentine T-shirt Pillow

My Valentine bedroom is almost on fire. I usually save the red sheets for Christmas, but this year I went with lavender bedding for the winter holidays. So there they were, my red cotton sheets, perfect for a more passionate display. The pillow assortment was a little sad, so I said good bye to an old T-shirt and made the cutest throw pillow. In order to ease the red impact on the eye, I went for the complementary color - green. I just moved around the potted coconut and installed a green Russian doll from my generous collection.

This old T-shirt had got everything and more: a red background (just the rich, not too bright shade of red that I love the most), tiny white hearts all over the place, a high-heeled purple flamingo (and oh I love flamingos indeed, if you read one of my previous posts) and a daisy heart. Plus the "love" inscription - too much, but I'll live with that! The red and purple combo is number one on my list right now and I'm already planning a little decoration with these colors.

People compliment me on my love for color, so maybe this time you've got a question: Is red good for the bedroom? Color theory teaches us that red is too energizing for the rooms where we rest and sleep and that we should use red in the living areas and more soothing colors for the bedroom, like blue. If you want my advice, just go with the flow. See what happens. I had a red wall in my room for a year and I slept fine, probably because I couldn't see the color while I was asleep ;))

Goodbye, Eloise!

If you're wondering who the **** is Eloise, here she is: the blue pocket-size handmade journal on the right. She was our first order (first ever!) on our Etsy shop L'Ateliera and by the time you're reading this, she has probably already arrived in Alaska, to our first customer! This is a great occasion to post some pics of Eloise and her sisters, still available online: Miss Punk and Fiestalita.

We like to make things in a series, because this way you can see their common traits and their differences as well. All three journals are special, their covers express their personalities, as well as the colored inner cover and even the colored thread. And here it is Eloise, wrapped in brown paper and ready to fly to Alaska!

Red And White

Lets look at some more red and white pics from around the house, to get into the Christmas spirit. First, the reindeer coasters, a gift from my mom when she went to Sweden. You can also notice my slippers in retro colors :)

A paper lantern suspended in my study. The bicycles and the sakura are just wrong for the cold season, but the colors aren't.

Red and white stripes make a longing pillow for my cat Anais.

Red and white lamps in the bedroom, against the purple wall for a smashing effect.

Red and white fabrics waiting in vane to be sewn. And a bunch of yellow, just for fun.

And the red lamp again, next to a little pine cone on the Christmas credenza.

The Small White Christmas Tree

My Christmas tree is white and small, about 40 cm tall. I never decorate with big ornaments, because it would look too heavy for its delicate branches. Instead, I always choose little ornaments and I put the tree somewhere safe, so that the cats won't choke on the little toys. I love tiny Christmas toys, they are so much better than the usual shiny stuff you can buy in the supermarket!

This year I went with all natural ornaments. Some of them are simply made of straw and bound with a festive red thread. I got them in Germany ages ago, but I still love them. So there you have it: straw angels, snowflakes, little wreaths and even straw hearts for my humble tree. Last year I think I saw something similar on the Ikea website, but never got there to complete my collection.

The straw ornaments were not enough, so I also chose a collection of tiny figurines made of wood and painted red. This is a Spanish collection, entirely handmade! It's got everything, from angels playing the little drum or the clarinet, to Santa riding on ski, an angel riding on a red sledge, another one riding on the tiny toy horse and also a little guy hiding in a red wooden star!