Halloween Gallery Wall

Friends, this is the reason why I took all the art down this week. I was in the mood for a dramatic change: a gallery wall with a Halloween theme. Now it is finally done and I get the feeling that I live in a completely different house. Every time I walk into the living room, the bold art strikes me in the face. It's like living on a film set (and what's to complain about that?)

To tell you the truth, I just wanted to have a black pear on my wall. You know me, why pay for something when you can do it (almost) for free? So I payed a visit to my favorite supply store, where I found a sturdy black cardboard that stole my heart with its matte finish and soft texture. I came home and I traced the outline of the pear, cut it with the Exacto and framed it the next morning. So far so good, only that my beautiful pear didn't go with any of the thin-lined art from the Fall transition living room.

"Well, I'll just have to change the rest of the art" was the first thought that came to my mind. As the spooky Halloween approaches, the theme came to my mind naturally. Good thing that the pear was already black: it's quite appropriate for Halloween! I just went out and bought some more of the same textured black cardboard, just enough to replace all the other pictures in the room. This way, I only payed like 4 bucks :)

Summer To Fall Transition

October is here and the warm weather is still caressing us with summer temperatures. The city is full of miniskirts and my balcony flowers are blooming incessantly. Still, when the night comes around (pretty early - it's pitching dark at 8 PM!) the Fall takes out its little claws and scratches at the window with chills and winds. So I am slowly making the shift towards a less summery decor in the living room.

It's a great time to work my way around the light blue inspiration from the Beachy living room, a few months ago. The star of the season is undoubtedly this traditional rug in Fall colors. I've just bought it a month ago and it already feels like it's been here for a looong time (in a good way!). It works great with the golden tones of the camel leather Marrakesh pouf.

Mad Hatter Home Office

So many friends ask me where I get the inspiration for my colorful decor.

I'll tell you my secret: DECORATE WITH A SONG!

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

I was listening to this "Who The Fuck Is Alice" parody and the child in me instantly thought of the one Alice I love. It's Alice In Wonderland, my second favorite story book when I was just a little girl.

I felt inspired to make a little cheery home office in an unused corner of my home, using the Mad Hatter poster that I already owned.

The Mad Hatter's ginger hair was the same color as in the song's video - so I naturally went with a black and orange color theme in order to spice things up. Needless to say, I just used items around the house and didn't buy anything new for the home office corner.

The Moroccan leather pouf was in the bedroom, the orange Tam-Tam stool and the crazy golden hat were in the happy entryway. I've had the sad little ceramic mask since I was 18 and it follows me everywhere I live. The cute little white lampshade is thrifted and it just sat around the house.

One little thing: I like to place a mirror next to my notebook - so that I can have a magical window while I'm endlessly surfing the web.

That's it, folks! I think the song is over by now, and so am I.

Before and after: Small Balcony

I love to sit on my Moroccan poufs and see nothing of the busy world outside, just the mini-garden. When I bought the apartment, my tiny balcony was already enclosed with glass and had a built-in that provides much needed storage. It was perfect for the Romanian winter blizzards, not so perfect for my intentions. I found the real-estate listing pic, it's just horrible!

Dark gloomy atmosphere and horrible clashing colors. The tiles were a dirty grayish blue and the storage was brown shelves and green cupboard doors. Also my ever growing plant collection needed a proper place to stay.

Step one: Paint every wall white. This single step made the whole difference, already. You can see that I've saved the cabinet for last. I'm sorry but these are the only pic I've got, I hope you get the idea.

 

Step two:  Prepare the floor. I wanted to create a zen garden, so I chose wooden slabs and marbles. The wooden slabs were raw wood, so I stained them in 3 coats of "nut tree" finish.

  

Step three: Make a large shelf under the windows. Making holes in the concrete walls took a whole day and was very painful, so I had no time for pics. The shelf ensures the right amount of sun for the plants and provides lots of storage space beneath it.

I ended up with a vegetation jungle, because: A. I love the look of savage English gardens. B.I can't stop trying various things. There are scented herbs (basil, savory), some flowers and some decorative green plants. C. There have to be many, many pots jammed on the shelf, so that my cats won’t be able to climb up and destroy the pots.

 

Yuuupeeee! I'm so happy to tell you that I've been featured at Polish The Stars, Tatertots And Jello, A Diamond In The Stuff, Blissful and Domestic, Too Much Time On My Hands, Destination: Craft, Me And My Boysand Addicted2decorating! All my gratitude goes to you, lovely ladies :)

         
        

Thrifted lamps

So I discovered a new thrift shop in town! Yay! It's got everything: clothes (a very bad assortment), pins, furniture (a lot), old frames (overpriced), old paintings (too dull for my taste), vintage photos (priceless), toys  (I've got my eye on a Nutcracker...), china, brass, decorative umbrellas and fans (delicately beautiful) and... lamps! 

I snapped the little Moroccan lamp for 3 bucks. It's made from camel skin -  a real beauty! I was in Marrakesh two years ago and these gorgeous luminaries were selling on every street corner, usually in crazy neon colors. I wanted one so bad! But the thought of passing one through the ordeal of the severe Morocco customs and the fear of braking the camel skin refrained me from buying one. And I've been regretting it ever since!

I guess Santa thought I've been a good girl and guided me to this thrift shop:) Of course, there's the dark side of the Marrakesh lamp: 2 horrible cuts that can no longer be mended. Look:

As for the lace suspension lamp, I'm not even sure what it is! Is it a macrame lantern? Is it some sort of dream catcher? A garden accessory, maybe? If you're reading this and know what this thing is, please let me know! As to the ugly side of it, the warp is quite damaged, as you can see below:

Well, nevermind. These beauties have got "DIY updating project" written all over them! I can't wait to find a solution and to fix them:)