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! 

Winter Creatures

The winter creatures came from the cold forest to live on my kitchen wall. In here it is warm and cozy, they might even find food, salt and water to survive the winter. Some of these creatures might miss the winter birds from the forest, but there is a nest of pigeons right next to the kitchen window, so they are in good company. 

The brown bear has an old sweater with geometrical patterns - perfect for the cold weather. We kept expecting him to fall asleep, because the bears hibernate in winter time, don't they? Only this one is too busy, guarding the sleep of a tiny girl in its paws. I found the prints at a fair then googled them: kissing foxes - Belly Rubs & Fox Cubs by Inaluxe; Pink circles by Elisabeth Hellman; Mister Fox by Native Vermont; Alphabet E by Paul Thurlby; Mr. Bear by Christine Pym. 

A little word about that rugged wall you keep seeing in my kitchen photos: it isn't a wallpaper! Nor a backsplash! Nor tiles! It is pure archaeology, so here is the story. When I first moved into the apartment, this is where the heating system used to be. It broke at some point and I had to buy another one (and moved the new one on another wall, for a better layout of the counters). When I removed the old heating system, this is what we found behind it: the original paint job of the house from 1983. Yes, ladies, that is paint and the dotted pattern was made with a brush and white paint :))

This is the larger picture, where you can see the kitchen counter, the archaeological spot on the wall, the burner, the new heating system on the right and the spice jars above. Also my cat Anais, whom you already know a little too well, would not move from the window and I didn't have the time to take other photos (we have very little sunshine, because it's been snowing every day for the past two weeks).

Happy Weekend!

Happy weekend, dear friends! I hope you enjoy warm weather and plenty of sunshine! One more pic with the little neon butter squash - the new star at my home.I made plans to go to a flower show. I'm not 80 years old yet, but not many things can beat the splendor of a flower show, right? And someday I will have my own little garden :)

Thrifted Lamp

A new trip to my favorite second hand store made me realize I'm a lamp hoarder. But how could I resist this plump beauty? She has such a round head and a happy yellow base! I brought her home and she immediately became the new star of the craft room. Until I update this little beauty, her colors are perfect for these warm September days.

I hope that the lamp will sit on my desk and light my way while I play with crayons and watercolors. Painting and drawing are so soothing - I really think it's great to be able to put on paper whatever goes on your mind. What better way to spend those upcoming loooong winter nights, than guiding your hand and creating little wonders?

To tell the whole truth, there is a small crack in the lamp base. I'm planning to repair that and perhaps to paint the whole thing in a different color. Speaking of color, please note the rusty shades from the Oxalis leaves. Purple, blue and yellow - a beautiful Autumn symphony :)

Peekaboo!

Who's that hiding under the yellow tulips? A Russian doll?

Peekaboo! I see you!

Friday at work. I've got the weekend on my mind. Cannot concentrate on anything. I'm looking around the office in search of a downer. Something to bring me back to earth, you know... It is Friday, it's so true. But that doesn't mean I'm free to procrastinate. Not yet! I've got a long To Do list before this Friday is over.

Concentrate, Meeha! Do your job! Look around you, everything is in it's place. All the objects surrounding you are serious and really commited do their jobs. And so should you. I look around and I see funny stuff everywhere. Play is in the air.

So the Russian doll is playing hide and seek. Peekaboo - I see you!

No, wait! What's that?! A mustache?!

Oh Lord, my Russian doll is so old, it grew a mustache.

I must solve this mystery and rescue the poor doll!

Oh wait, that's not a lady. It's a man with a mustache, trapped into a Russian doll frame. Hey there old guy, where are you from? I think he is from Kazakhstan, the land of never-ending longing steppe songs.

He is very sad, because he is lonesome. I discovered him in a thrift shop, last March. He had a wooden wife is an equally enchanting national costume. But I only took him and left his wife there, on the shelf. Someone else took her and played with her. Now the Kazakhstan man and her wife are separated forever. They will never see each other again. Please forgive me, little man! I had no soul. I'm sorry :(

Love at first sight

Her name is Bombitza (= Little bomb). I saw her a couple of years ago in my friend's living room and fell in love, instantly! And now, I got her as a present, when my friend redecorated his living room. Thank you, Cristi!

She is perfect in every way! I wrapped up a mini photo-shooting, because she goes well with everything in the house. Please admire her blue curves on the side table, near the couch:

She is perfect for my plum accent wall in the bedroom:

And might I add she looks stunning on the kitchen counter, by the sink:

Naturally, her splendor speaks to me from my desk in the study:

And even on the piano, why not:

Bookmark

This winter I wrapped a Christmas present for a friend. I made a Christmas tree out of punched paper as a decoration. My friend likes it a lot and wanted to keep it as a sweet memory. I offered to turn the wrapping paper into a bookmark. So here it is! A little bulky and sturdy, but not bad for my first bookmark ever...

Vintage cabinet love

Remember my vintage cabinet post a little earlier? I'm sure not the only one to cherish such a heirloom. Even if your grandfather was an admirer of modern design and didn't leave you any old furniture, visit a garage sale and adopt an old dresser or something.

Look, mom:

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Vintage cabinet

This cabinet used to be in my grandfather's office. It had glass doors and little lace curtains on the inside, so nobody could see its contents. Needless to say, I was never allowed to reach inside that cabinet!

It now sits in my bedroom, a daily delight for my eyes and probably my favorite item in the entire house. My mom recently told me than when she was a little girl, the cabinet used to belong to her grandfather and she never reached inside it, either...

I took out the glass from the doors and I think it looks much better like this. It is home to my favorite vinyl albums and to my ever-growing poetry collection.