16.5.12

expressive neutrals & muted tones


today, as many other days in fact,
 my love for neutral and muted tones finds a way to be expressed through this post by sharing some favorite  corners shot recently in our home.

 above, my beloved grass woven slippers brought from my trip to Greece,
 are just an excuse so that I can share with you our finally finished
 step in the area between the kitchen and the winter garden.
 (look here for reference)

 sometimes it's worth to patiently - or perhaps quietly impatiently - wait for the final touches to be made.
 being no professional hand workers, the need to hire someone in order to have work done in a correct way  is often crucial.

 the edges of steps being areas where extreme care needs to be taken in order for safety and endurance
 to take place, we had ours finished with a mat L shaped "bar" of inox;

 specially made & placed by our hand worker,
 who also did a remarkable job in covering the pre-existing marble step
 in both its horizontal & vertical surface, as if the wooden waves of the floor naturally pass from one
  area to the other.


then, it's the rocking chair in the bedroom with the curves of which I have been totally falling in love,
as much as its fabric's texture and the details.
the leather straps on the head pillow being one of them.
 it feels as if a fine piece of Scandinavian design lives with us, when it is in fact a rather affordable 
Ikea product (Scandinavian still... )


I'm also enjoying much the sliding ceiling of the roof, and feel quite cosy under it, rocking with a warm cup of tea in hand in the evenings, looking out the big windows.
speaking of windows, they are calling for some kind of curtain treatment,
now that the summer period is here.

The sun currently rises at about 05:30 a.m and sets around 21:30 p.m

needless to say these six months pay off for the short and often dark winter days.
needless to say that I have come to love this northern light in ways I could have never imagined should we turned the clock back some let's say 5 years ago.



in the bedroom wall, where the bed's headboard is, there has still been not 
much of a progress. in fact, there has been no progress at all.

the five cupboards planned to be vertically placed the one under the other in the corner where now the plant camouflages things, are still stacked there.

the wall is still undone and waits to be sanded before the longingly wished wallpaper with black and silver grey circles finds its way on it.

Till all these are done, I simply brought home a pair of 80 x 80 cm inner cushions from my last trip to Ikea, so that finally one of the four pairs of pillow cases found at h&m home some years ago - patiently waiting the day they come out of the cupboards -
freshen things up a bit.

Typography has always moved my interest.
and despite dark blue not being in the color palette of the bedroom,
their presence has been both visually and practically welcoming.



and how could I avoid making a garland?
I borrowed it from our shop, on the virtual shelves of which it  is heading these days, until it comes to live in one of your beautiful homes.


the glass lantern in a huge pine corn form, is a spontaneous present from a friend with whom I spent heartwarming times when in Greece...
it's a typically Greek lantern, often found on islands and I seem to have forever been meaning to bring one here, at home in Germany.

"oh come on now... as if there is not enough stuff to pack with after spending time
in my parents' Apart 44"
I kept on thinking... and never actually bought one.

the appreciation of the situation totally changes when someone you cherish from the depths of your heart
offers you something, simply just like that:

" oh how do I love this lantern!" said I when visiting his uniquely styled home*
 "take it" he said...

after a few refusals insisting that should I have thought that this would lead to that,
I would have never said that,
I left that night with a wonderful souvenir to cherish...

something made in the country of light where I proudly originate from, currently going through such incredibly dark times,
something given from a person I deeply cherish and feel connected to...

it is lit almost every night, its flame reflected in the round mirror...
the room is different... a little bit of magic takes place...
with all walls undone and other things unfinished,
this room feels like a warm place to be at.


{* how could it not, he has been the art director of my beloved Maison et Decoration magazine}




kind regards & wishes for a wonderful rest of the week to everyone.
please be visiting our shop often, as garlands and other updates are to be taking place these days.

                                                 ..............................................................

Picture styling & creation: Iro Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy 2012.

14 comments:

  1. love every single detail!!! And I have the same cover in my bedroom but it doesn't look as beautiful as yours, you have such a light in your photos and the whites just enhance that. love it

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    1. Hello Lilliana,

      thank you for all things so nicely said :)
      I'm glad you like the photos.
      As for the bed cover, it is indeed such a nice one in all its simplicity. I'm sure yours looks equally pretty, just perhaps you need to change the way you see it ;)

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    2. These tones are incredibly calming!

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    3. thanks Tamara :) achieving calmness in our domestic environment is of great importance to me

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  2. My dear Iro, your bedroom looks perfect! The white tones and the simplicity gives you bedroom a sense of luxury and comfort. I love it!
    By the way, I love your hair style too!! I usually wear by bangs like yours and a simple pony tail, but that hairstyle looks so much more sophisticated! How did you do it? xoxo

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    1. Hi my dear Rita : )

      so good to see you here! Thank you for your lovely comments.
      I can't describe much how the hair do is, but went through pictures and found one which shows the back of my head. I'll have it mailed to you tonight.

      It's a simple "home worn" version, which gives the illusion of a very styled do but just from the front ;)

      xx

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  3. Great post! I love your recent pleasures you brought back from Greece! The slippers and the lantern, how very special they both are. It is important to surround ourselves with meaningful things, eh? I love how you describe the magic of the lantern, the mirror and the flickering light - I could almost see it as if I was there :)

    Always so wonderful to read your posts and get lost in your images.

    Xx.

    ps. the light in your photos is really amazing :)

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    1. My dear Holly,

      it's so great to have your energizing spirit here again! You always seem to be absorbing the deepest of my posts, while indeed your imagination brings you so close to my reality. I like that a lot :)

      Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing some love in the form of good words said.

      Enjoy your evening, xoxo

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  4. Dear Iro,

    I love your fotos.

    And ... the beautyful bag is more than beautyful. I need it every day!! ;-)

    Lovely greetings
    Claudia

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    1. Perfect Claudia!

      I mean for you enjoying the indeed fabulous Fabric & Handle bag you won in the spring give away here. Very glad to hear that :)
      Thank you for stopping by and the nice comments. Appreciate it a lot.

      Liebste Grüsse to you, too

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  5. Hey hey! I/I - I am going to send you an email - sometime soon?! Busy busy (me - but you too). Turning out so lovely... love - Lgrl

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    1. oh hello there! anticipating the mail pigeon to arrive :) xo

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