~ discretely romantic

good afternoon everyone!

how has your Thursday been?

pretty nice one here...

 with mood much related to the mood board I'm bringing to you today...

as I'm training myself in styling, I'm also finding out each time little bits

about the different expressions my personal style can take...

it's no secret I tend to minimalism, clear lines, white canvases to work my ideas on,

natural materials & colours, a little bit of industrial at times, but overall I'd say rather an eclectic mix,

giving a sense of relaxed luxury, without necessarily meaning huge amounts of money to invest.

while {pinning} today, images like the ones put together in the collage above kept on capturing my attention...

it seems I love me lately a bit or romance, in my life..

actually in my interiors,

so long as it doesn't mean an explosion of flowers, patterns and things pink.

the pictures gathered here today carry exactly the dosis of romance that I like,

which comes to my mind as:

"discretely romantic"

mostly simple, white spaces, overall simple lines,

and a touch of feminism & sweetness brought by

relaxed shades of pink & peach,

and perhaps a gracefully handmade spread for the bed....

just enough I'd say....

{the bedroom} (sorry I cannot link you any better than that) below is a space I really like

and based on it, I made the mood board you saw first when coming here today...

I thought it's a nice way to welcome you here, or... what do you think?

as far as I' m concerned, I'd replace the paper lantern seen below...

(don't get me wrong, not that I don't like it,

but there's just something matching my taste far better,

still also like it quite as it is below)

with {this} fabulous pendant light,

as I particularly like the contrast between the romantic tone of the bed spread

and the super modern look of this showflake like lamp.

do you notice perhaps that they bind nice together cause of their common shapes?

then, I'd add {this couch} in a corner of the bedroom,

should the size allow for this...

I love again the pastel colours, especially the combination of mouse grey, calm peachy pink,

waken up by the touches of light green,

and last but lot least,

loving its elegant & classic form, yet so simple

of course, tea is to be served in such a bedroom on weekends of sleeping in...

and {this} tea pot, looking like it jumped straight out of a fairy tale seems like a lot of fun

with its chalky apricot & pink tones....

how about the laundry in case it needed to be hang there?

wouldn't something like {that}

add an extra everyday charm to it?

and should that bedroom needed to be left for any reason decent,

then it would be nice to be so in order to 

 find yourself at a {wedding reception}

where the decor is made from the simplest of materials,

like the garland made form scraps of paper and the little sucullents

taking the place of a cake...

wouldn't that be wonderful?

"discretely romantic perfetion" 

...I might as well say ~

to end this post a little bit of me...

as I kinda like lately adding my personal touch even when presenting styling work of others,

a blurry picture which Angelika made ,

during one of our meetings while visiting Greece recently...

this girl is an amazing photographer,

and I'm going to talk about her soon here, you'll see....

you'll love her just as much..

about the outfit, 

combining chakis that are almost olive green with anything dusty or peachy pink is something I like a lot,

at least the little bohem in me does so....

hope you have enjoyed this post, as the more I get involved, the more enamoured I become with everything,

in terms of styling, photographing, writing, posting, connecting, communicating...

what a bright world before my eyes...

just as bright as before yours I hope!

...what?

...you forgot to put on your pink glasses today?

now dears...that wouldn't be a smart choice, would it? ; )

more inspiration soon 

&

 some lovely news about the shop 

C U  sometime soon ~

Basics

...well, after all this super celebrating mood over at the FB page today {thank you to all 118 - so far -incredibly kind, encouraging and lovely people having joined}, I thought I bring myself to writing an actual post today. That would be nice, right ;)

To start with, as I came across this graciously elegant, modern, curvy and oh so stylish "Loungechair", 

made from coconut twigs and designed from Clayton Tugunon,

all I could think off was how much I adore its shape and then also how familiar it looks to me.

...searching through my brain's chambers I found another lounging chair that I not only love as much, but also am the owner off. It is the P.S collection VAGÖ from Ikea and mine is longing for my next visit in Greece, since it resides on the balkony of apart44, or else my parents house & my summer sanctuary {renovated/ designed / decorated & organised by me}

Wonderful....how do these facts bring me to the picture above?

Well, after putting this two chairs virtually next to one another,

I remembered how much I like to combine:

~ dark natural wood with white plastic

&

~ white with brown in general.

So, around I walked our little home and picked five objects to demostate to you this love of mine:

{starting from the bottom}

1 ~> a brown pillow from {Ikea}

2 ~> a white pillow with a rich texture  from {Bemz}

3 ~>a  patterned pillow {sewn from Habitat cotton teatowels}

4 ~> a plastic box {Fletcher design - purchased at Habitat}

5 ~> and a a wooden bangle or else my almost daily accessory all year long from {Pull & Bear}

In the background you can see this ceramic vase, standing on such a mini shelf.

Don't they look nice together?

The play of textures and patterns is my way of spicing up colour choices that otherwise are in danger of being considered dull. I do think the result is simmultaneously pleasing, stimulating but also calming to the eye.

What do you think?

Do you love naturals as much and if yes, what do you do to give them "life" and bring them forward?

Looking forward to your replies!

Have a great day and thank you once more for all your support.

my design love story

{left picture - right picture}

need I say more?

Today I came through this beautiful picture of Annaleena's 

stunning home.

And it made me think why is it that I feel so comfortable, so happy, 

so identified with her approach to home styling and decoration.

This wonderfully creative woman certainly lives in a place,

 where I would gladly be living into as well, should...the circumstances be appropriate

{don't you love the discrete way in which I avoid talking about financial issues? ;)}

To make the long story short,

despite the super obvious differences between such facts as:

~ owning a real house vs renting a tiny loft penthouse apartment

~ having fabulous furniture vs just using "what we had from our previous places

until we move to our own home"

~ mastering decorational details vs attempting to master them,

I can see clearly which quidelines we both follow, 

and what we love. Namely:

~ white

~ chalkboard black paint

~ natural wood

~ straight & clean lines

~ curves, particularly circles

~ details from organic materials like cotton, string e.t.c

~ and a love for handwritting!

If you visit this set of pictures here, you'll understand better what I mean.

Anneleena writes at her personal blog, annaleena's hem - 

and posts monthly at Emma's design blogg

under "Try this at home" series.

Fabulous!

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

P.S1: there's another blog I'm totally in love with: Maja's Adventurous Design Quest, who has been such an incredible darling into patiently waiting for my o.k to post our little Penthouse among her other awesome choices! 

P.S2: I'm NOT forgetting my promises about making a correct "about me" section here and sharing some of my thoughts, experiences & happenings, while I was away from publicly posting & blogging for the first three months of this year. 

At the moment, I'm really enjoying this effortless and unproblematic way of sharing. It really makes me smile and I'm loving my posts a lot. I hope it is all right for you, too! I also hope that you are still reading, as it is relatively quiet lately. 

BUT, if you are a new reader and want to find out a little bit more about me, you can read my etsy shop's announcement {here} and flickr profile{here}.

Have fun and thank you!

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

~ Christmas inspiration...more!

...Thursday night at home, tremendously cold outside, warm and cozy inside....

much like here...my diary seems like a nice alternative past time and as I see that these pages are visited more and more often by you, the more I wish to share.

Inspiration is naturally endless but there are always these images that make us stop a while and look.

I personally also start to analyse the reasons why a picture totally speaks to me.

Like the one below, how awesome is it to have such a tree?

Should we have had a wall for that, it would be keeping us company, too.

But we don't. So I simply admire it for it simplicity and its brilliance.

A two dimensional design (a drawing) decorated with a garland of balls (adding the 3rd dimension), which jumps out of the wall and rests on the warm carpet in front of it.

 via Vosges Paris

Desiree has gathered honestly the most inspiring and well put together Alternative Christmas tree guide I've seen. A perfect thing for me as I adore design.

You must go over and have a look.

Click on the highlightened link above and there you are!

And if you have not already been there (which I very much doubt), you must go over at Miss Dottie Angel's mossy shed, which is dressed in wonderful colours against crispy white.

What a lovely way to express the wish for Joy and Peace!

~ wishing... via flickr ~ 

As Miss Tiff has very capable hands, asides from a brilliant mind, warm heart and impeccable style and I suppose endless amounts of patience and creativity, she creates wonders with miss Ethel, her loyal sewing mashine and her knitting needles.

Just look at how she dressed these recycled jars in warm, all white coats!

You can make them yourself by following her wonderfully explicative steps right here at this post over at her blog.

~ a cluster of glee via flickr ~

And then, there's another lady from the fabulous stoff, who creates the most wonderful corners at her home with very simple decorations.

Nadine writes at Herz-Allerliebst and despite the fact that she is German, her blog can be read both in German and in English.

You'll be also finding her on flickr, where we met.

Take a look at the Advent calendar she created for her little boys...

Adventskalender via Flickr

Simply lovely, correct?

Her boys are among the luckiest in the world, I'm sure!

I just love how she incorporates their creations in her Holiday decor.

Much like those little trees cut out from their drawings and used as ornaments.

I do so love a children friendly decoration and environment!

Tannenbaüme via flickr

I also love how she uses white, with touches of colour here and there, how she brings nature inside and how effortlessly she creates mostly wonderful and inviting corners in her home.

Lanternenzeit via flickr

I was rather tempted in bringing here more of these ladies' fabulous finds and pictures they've made themselves, but I 'd feel like I'm trying to steal some of their glory.

As the purpose of posts like these is to simply share with you pictures that stay with me long after I see them, while at the same time introducing you to the work of some people I admire.

So do hop over Desire's, Miss Tiff's and Nadine's fabulous worlds!

You'll have a great time!

And I'll just hop over to the kitchen to make another hot tea before bed time.

See you here most possibly tomorrow my dears.

Stay warm...inside out ;)

Ivy ~ xx

Analyse me ~ style!

Are you loving beautiful images of gorgeous homes in decoration magazines both printed and online?

Are you perhaps amazed by the talent some people have in putting together 

stylish spaces, independently of their approach to decoration?

Whether modern, minimal, romantic, elegant, eclectic mix, industrial, country, colourful, luxurious, natural or different mixtures of them together, we often wonder how these spaces are put together and wish that we achieve a similar outcome. 

Let me see if I can give  a helping hand with that, other than directly cooperating with you into designing or redesigning your home spaces.

via

The first key is that to be able to compose, we must also be able to decompose.

In simpler words, to be able to put together (compose) beautiful spaces, we should also be able to analyse a space.

These two go hand in hand.

So, today I want to do a little Style analysis with you and for this purpose I chose some of my very favorite pictures from 

 Ikea family Live's flickr group.

{Have you by any chance read my recent post about how to create labels in six easy steps, while using the simplest of recycled and repurposed  materials? You can do so by hoping here @ the inspiring blog of Ikea Family Live}

To start our style & space analysis, above is Isis kitchen, in a fabulous combination of:

 black & white, modern simplicity and a little dosis of elegant romance added with the Ikea Bekvam stool, which she brilliantly painted pink and the vintage jug in milky white.

What is it that "makes" the whole image for me, apart from the blackboard and the pink, wooden stool? This little piece of detail which brings everything together and takes it high into the sky?

The gorgeous patterned reusable bag in white & black, (from Ikea of course, which I rushed to buy when I was in Greece) and the gigantic kitchen spatula, which adds just the right amount of warmth and detail, binding beautifully together, black, white & pink, modern, simple, minimal, practical & elegant together.

Except from having an extreme talent in putting together fabulous spaces,

Isis also owns a darling on line shop and keeps a gorgeous, stylish blog, which she writes together with her sister Nimue.  The whole project of their dancing tea or simply

The Dansant,  is a collaboration between those lovely sisters.

What a brilliant idea!

I love everything about this girl does! Perhaps I should arrange a more detailed presentation here in the future, as I aslo like her kind and quiet ways a lot. For the time being, just trust me and do hop over at her pages to simply delight your eyes and soul with all you'll see!

Now, what do we have here?

via

One of my ever favorite homes belonging to

Ana who lives in London's Notting Hill.

Her home is adorable to bits!

via

Adorable like this detail of heart made from little branches above her couch.

A wonderful example of how a white basis can bring out the best out of colours, like the books on the shelves. Superb, crispy white walls, wooden floors, and pastel, tones here and there, all creating a feeling of peacefullness, cozyness, while at the same time being pratical and elegant.

There are a lot more of gorgeous pictures of Ana's home, particularly her amazing dining table decorations and her daugther's super lovely room right  here.

And let's go on to another super pretty space, situated in Amsterdam, belonging to Desiree, the author of Vosges Paris, who is also a lovely customer of our gift shop. She usually places her custom orders directly to us, instead of via Etsy and made a lovely relative post this weekend if you 'd like to read.

To my opinion, Desire is a trend setter, she makes style herself and she does it so well and naturally.

She loves industrial design, yet she has this magical way of making it look so comforting, inviting and cozy. Grey concrete is her soft point and I so adore it, too!

Above in her home office space, I love how she is adding warmth by throwing a grey shipskin on her chair and using one of these multipurposed wooven baskets to organise the small things on the desk's office.

Can you notice that there are quite a few details, still the space looks very airy and light?

This is what happens when we use a white canvas and calm tones.

How about a look in her bedroom?

Simplicity and elegance in all their grandiocity, don't you find?

Using these low squared shelves is a great alternative to a nightstand. Perfect both for some organisation and display of some beautiful and unique objects.

 By leaving the walls "naked" above her headboard , she is free to be making endless mixing and matching with her bed linens, creating each time a very personal and intersting outcome.

I simply adore spaces which are fully decorated, without actually being much decorated.

Desire's home is such a perfect example.

Style analysis is over for today....let my ask, have you been following the points made?

Do you also "see" things that way?

Have you noticed something else in the spaces above?

Does the process of decomposing/ analysing a space help you gain insight into how beautiful, balanced spaces are put together?

Do let me know, would you? The comments section is always counting on your presence to get all warm and alive!

Thank you my dears :)

Ivy ~ xx