11.2.12

Solid values ~ visions & silent destinations ~













well, happy Saturday there!
    today, after a week since the last post here,
 some pictures of our new reading corner part of our living room
 are coming to say hello to you...

 photographed in different weather conditions through out the week that passed,
like grey skies, blue skies, sunshine & snow falling...

 we've been actually having snow since some days now 
 & I do love it so with all my heart. 
 how about you?
 should you be living in Europe, the chances are high that low temperatures & snow
have come your ways, too... right?
 for me, a Greek girl grown up by the sea,  winters in Germany are all about the snow, 
 which makes then Spring's arrival so much welcome & worthy...

now here's a little thought in between all talking:

as this has turned out quite a long post, 
rather than at the end,
 I thought you might like to be listening to something 
while you are going through pictures & hopefully (ha!) reading.

so here's my suggestion:
a digital album, consisting of a collection of beautiful, ambient, acoustic music,
composed by some brilliantly talented people,
originating from all around the world,
dear friends from mother country Greece,
for whom a fully dedicated post is the least their
music deserves.

By purchasing the album for $5,
you are entitled to a full download,
while 100% of the earnings is contributed to the Red Cross Society in favor of Thailand.

here's a paragraph extract quotated from the full informative text found {here}:

"While the worst of the Thai floods has passed now, there are still thousands of flood victims that are facing numerous problems, including destroyed homes, health issues, polluted water, and many more. In response to this, Malaysia-based indie label, mu-nest, has teamed up with Bangkok-based design house/music label, Mink’s, to curate this fund-rising charity compilation album, to express what we feel for Thailand people in the depths of our hearts, and to help with what we do best: the most honest, simple, and subtle music."


One has to be  überhappy*

*personally built word combining German & English,
standing for happiness felt from the very deep inside

when coming along such efforts
finding place on the Internet.

{Mink}, partly responsible for making this happen
is a label whose products you want to get to know,
ones you cannot but simply love....
I might show you my favorite ones in another post...

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

this is my way of wishing you to have one
wonderful weekend
while
thanking you once more for your meaningful & truly heart touching comments 
on the latest post... {Marianna}... what a lady you are...
thank you so much my dear ~

... also wishing to let you know that I'm doing fine,
having spent a week alongside photographing corners of our new  home
& other jobs,
making teas, coffees, snacks & occasionally lunches & dinners
for three lovely men,
who would be:
 ~> my life partner (even though we have both totally destroyed each other' s nerves)
~> his best & childhood friend from Prague who has been a guest of ours 
&
~> our German technician who has made little wonders during the past two weeks
in what used to be a very problematic winter garden
&
 who all three btw share one more little thing in common:
they are all travelling to the East this month

My partner & his friend other than relaxing from their stressy & high responsibility jobs,
will be visiting quite a few different countries and cities,
them together, two friends since decades,
enjoying their silent bond,
while sightseeing...
and returning a little bit closer to the wonderful men that they are,
which perhaps they yet need to discover...
we'll see...

In between, I'll have all the time needed to set up home here,
while I'll be enjoying my mother's company soon to be arriving from Greece...
smiles :*) 

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ummm, right... after all this rambling, 
how about some words about the pictures shared above?


yes?
Yes! here we go:

the room's direction is South Eastern,
(much like the main bedroom's, located exactly above it on the 2nd floor)
at the moment, 11th of February, during the last official month of winter,
the sun rises 45° to the left just behind the woods.

the light & actual sun shining inside - to my pleasant surprise - surpasses my expectations.
It can be really bright and warm in here reminding a lot of
the positive aspects of life in {the Penthouse}
this corner, much as the whole room and house, 
are a continuation of the space set up in our previous home.

being owners this time,
making investments is a logical decision
one which will pay back when the time of resell comes.
In the meantime,
we'll be enjoying & loving our home day by day...

It's quite nice that there is no need for temporary solutions,
like the {wallpaper samples}, used to dress up our previous reading corner's wall.

Instead, three different favorite designs have... jumped out of their frames,
got... magically (mmm, money helped too in fact) transformed into rolls of them
and will be anytime soon getting adjusted 
on the walls of three different rooms.
(Details & planning in a post to come)

In the last of the pictures above, you can see 
                                     the one we chose for the living room wall on the left as we enter,

resting on the {Besta cabinets} 
(which have now multiplied by 3),
 catching some sun rays next to {Ikea P.S Jonsberg vase}

Abstractly formed barks of birches
in shades of white, off white & silver grey,
colors, tones & hues that will be answered in varied ways & textures all around this space.

oh heaven....

From the fact that this sample was chosen three times - notice below -  to be part of 
our previous set up, it was clear that this is a favorite.





Also love the fact that actually now living by the woods,
it totally fits as a concept.

why?
 letting personal experience & studies speak, I seem to find that establishing contact & relations with a living space's external environment is a key factor to a sense of smoothness, balance & making most of one's reality.

I might adore turquoise,
but I'll wait for it to be used
the day we own a house by the sea...
other than my parents' {Apart 44} 

wishful thinking or a silent master plan?
well, one can never know ; )

till then, little touches of this color & shades of aqua are here and there, bringing a nice color addition,
which I' ll show you quite soon

take care & enjoy your weekends dears ~ xoxo

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

All pictures by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos from my personal portfolio portraying our two living residences in Germany

3.2.12

this weekend, be your beautiful self


a {handwritten note} since about a year and a half, {one of the first shots made with my then new camera
 in the house} is still very dear to me,
 so very dear that I'm bringing it here {again} in order to wish you a nice weekend
  &
  together with it share lots of what has been
 firing my inspiration's brain cells since about last night I guess...

 {leather bags} by {Yvone Kone} as photographed by {Line klein}
in dark basic and earthy colours,
 found through {Lotta Agaton},
 one lady whose styling abilites are marking me lately...

 {Jill Sander's villa} in Germany's Hamburg...
&
probably my ever favorite tree,
as seen through a promising point of view
that lets me dream while awake...

and then
happiness can strike so easily when seeing
{these} three identical pendant lights in 3 colours,
hanging above a wooden table
surrounded by chairs in Danish design that 
make my heart skip...



mainly these images & {this reminder}
and it was enough for a collage / mood board... marathon to begin...
inspiration bringing inspiration...

isn't it in fact so magical when it happens?

here is what happened more or less, 
starting from the top left corner
and moving down ...





can you perhaps follow the steps?

the essence that I wish to bring to this weekend - that has almost arrived  btw - is to :

be my beautiful self,

after managing to be the worst person that I could just a week ago,
giving in to frustration, failing to see the positive sides
&
being temporarily stuck in
a very unproductive cirle...

I thought perhaps it would encourage you too
to do the same

this is why the final moodboard made today,
features the messages to be kept close to hearts & minds,
and be put into action:



have a happy weekend & be your beautiful self...
everyone has such sides,
it's totally up to us to bring them out
& insist on emphasising them when situations are difficult

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

risking to make this one of this usual long posts 
I'm often concerned require too much of your effort and attention,
there are few on line places & a very special thank you I'd like to share and point out
before "the end" is written for today...

So:

{this gorgeous online inspiring website} found via amasing {Desire and her blog}cannot but be adored by all interior & make over lovers

then, how super inspiring to watch all the pictures & videos over at  {Freunde von Freunden},
and find out about another {brilliant couple}...

and then last but certainly not least, {this} breathtaking life diary, whose posts as so real like the air that you breathe...  inspiring, enchanting, thought & feeling provoking...

{this is my most favorite post} from the ones I' ve read so far. Oh please to take some time to read it, you won't waste any of your time, I promise and while you do so listen...

For finding this blog, it's my dear friend Holy from {HvH Interiors}, that I have and want to thank... together with sending her a big hug, for having left a comment in the {previous post} which totally touched me.

You cannot imagine how comforting it is to hear & read positive things about yourself & your abilites from someone who knows both your good & bad sides in real life, when you actually need it the most, but don't dare to admit to yourself...

well my dears, one long day, one long post & hopefully what we'll experience as one long & happy weekend.

love being here with you & for you ! Till next time  ~ xox

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

All collages & the "happy weekend" note picture in this post are made and curated by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy. Thank you for linking back properly.

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

P.S: picture credit for the female figure in the snow used in the last collage {here}
via {this} so interestingly & well put together photo collection blog,
where I arrived thanks to Lyssan's from {Pure living Interiors} gorgeous sense of stlyle.

P.S 2: making the links to this post has so taken forever, still it is worth it. Hope you enjoy & cherish them

1.2.12

curves + triangles (aujourd' hui j' aime)


well, I'm currently really not supposed to be anywhere else other than corners of {our Cave}, or else our new  medium sized maisonette apartment, performing works of every possible kind all around,

  but
 life happens & online existence & happenings are part of it,
 at least so is the case here...
 there are nice things to share today.

 moreover, it is the first of February & coming to make a 
 "have a nice month!" post here,
 positively energizes my day, rest of the week
 and hopefully yours!

 before elaborating a little on the collage curated above,

 I'd like to ask you - unless you've already done so  ; ) -
 to pass by a few on line places I'm very happy & honored to be part of.

 Natalie - with whom we once held a {lovely give away}
 seems to have a very discrete & low profile on line existence,
 nevertheless her sense of aesthetics,
 color appreciation
 &
her own creations
are very compatible with mine
and I'm very fond of them.

I'm loving lots of her latest creations - which you can find {here} & {there}
&
I'm absolutely loving {the collage}- a tribute to Grey -
she recently created,
incorporating our {new kitchen corner}

Thank you Natalie!
........

and then...
{Nina Holst} is one lovely lady & talented stylist from Norway, founder of {Stylizimo},
one whose kind & soft manners
are her equipment for a strong on line existence

Since she "walked" into our shop some months ago,
I cannot help but feeling extremely honored & happy,
that fragments of myself are incorporated in her beautiful house's many rooms,
through pictures & little "sur measure" creations.

Maybe you remember {this post}?
... it's never late to check it out ; )

Today, I get to be guested at her blog
as {this print} of our shop is part of her freshly styled
with a dark cabinet I pretty much adore.

Thank you Nina!

......

now let me say a few words on the collage above...

curves & triangles

it is rather {evident} that I love geometry in all its expression in interior design,
but mostly of all,
I'm interested in creating spaces that while leaving a strong impact,
they do so gently,
almost magically,
secretly inviting you to return to them again,
even when you don't exactly know why.

there is a certain amount of mystery
created by a play between lines & curves...

believing that happiness lies in finding balance,

the existence of basic shapes in our living environments,
creates a sense of being grounded,
while also being free to take a walk in the clouds.

 happily pointy triangles of a banner much as this blog's logo
or the wallpaper banners {which I so joyfully create}
&
smooth, gentle & feminine curves found both in furniture and in objects
are features I love.

the collage I curated from recent images found via {pinterest},
represents well all the above.

~>  {this} delightful chair, so fabulously photographed here, 
with weathered leather adding so much to its charm,
is an odd to curves.

~> the {Eiffel tower} is a magnificent example of plasticity in architecture,
combining a powerful three dimensional triangular shape,
while every line is curved & beautifully emphasized by all the circular & semi circular iron details.
I can't get over its beautiful figure as seen through this fairy lightened {blurry image}

~> {that} hand crocheted A shaped dress is consisting of probably countless circles
(btw I spent some memorable teenage summers wearing a very similar dress, 
handmade by my crafty grandmother from my mother's side...
and I might as well try to find it when visiting my parental home in Greece this Spring)

~> last but not least
combines so nicely
wooden blocks,
a fabric banner & a wooden rocking... sheep!

that's also a lovely note to gentleness..
a harmless sheep...
  I might as well be closing this post with that.

enjoy your days 
have a great start to the new month ~
&
see you here again quite soon ~

thank you for stopping by & sharing love

much love to you, too ~ xoxo

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

P.S: an important note here: I'm sorry to not be able to properly credit some pictures so wonderful like the Paris one & many others. Pinterest is one amazing platform to create "reachable" dreams but through the 
enormous amount of repining, some original sources seem rather hard to be found.
U p d a t e: just  - 03.02.2012, 22:51 - came across this picture {here}...
so so happy to have found it in this very favorite blog of mine :*)
................................

collage curation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos 
picture credit given through the post - please read carefully & click on the {...} 

31.1.12

{have been} looking for charm...






 hello.
     smile :*)

 passing by to share random pictures from our winter garden & kitchen *
 it seems that I' ve been preoccupied with 
  looking for charm in our new home...

 ... am almost certain I've been doing neither the space nor myself a favor
 these past few days.

I simply need time.
to get used to the changes
rediscover myself through designing our new home
&
what needs to be a new life in it, with new basis.

am also passing by to personally thank you for the 
sweetest and most heartwarming comments on my {recent post},
as much as everyone for silently reading 

Thank you so much Claudia, Fiona & Katrin.

kisses to you all ~

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

* if you can absolutely not understand at all the layout of the space, I do not blame you at all.
when more works are done, I'll stop being so mysterious & start sharing plans & wide angle pictures.
promise.

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

Pictures, styling & collages of this post are done by Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy

30.1.12

dancers, sweets & demons



Welcome Monday... 
  welcome new week...
 welcome you here...

 how have your weekends been?

 nice ones in all possible ways I hope.

 if you are inquiring about mine,
 let me make what resembles a list with weekend events,
 instead of the usual communicative paragraphs:

 ~>  personal demons came out of the "closet"
 despite all efforts to soothe them & "make them go away"

 ~>  once more, facing & accepting them
 turned out the most liberating part

 ~>  in between preparing our winter garden / dining area
 to be dressed in its new floors
 &
 actually doing so with my partner,
 we managed to hate each other as much our new house

~>  worst parts of our personalities came out
only to feel better next Sunday morning,
while facing the results of our work

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

this is not an "easy" house to love
but so long as we are put down by all the difficulties arising,
we will never come to actually enjoying it.

do you believe in time?

I do. I think it's one of the most magnificent aspects of life
& have enormous respect for it,
 especially as years pass by.

on the one hand, one shouldn't waste it,
on the other hand, it seems rather pointless,
to be pressuring & rushing things.

Time means opportunity to evolve,
to grow,

and speaking of growth,
I feel that life in our new house,
is intensively pointing out the need 
for me to grow as a person

btw, what are collages combining ballet dancers & delicious sweets doing around here?

they are representing the sweet parts of this weekend....
what do I mean?
you'll see in the next lines ; )



Sunday afternoon & early evening brought a nice closure to the WE...
that's what happened...

some hours of exercising / dancing
marked the return to what is appearing to be a new routine
here
I find incredible joy in body moving
and for the first time after a few decades
when I attended dance classes
the expression that comes through movement
is more therapeutic & balancing than anything else.

yoga & meditation seem to be incorporated in the dance movements,
and the outcome is more "whole" than ever before

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

and what are pretty parcels doing in the collage?
well, they are reminding of what I' m currently incredibly missing:

crafting & photographing,
but patience, we'll get to that again.

there needs to be a somehow finished studio corner
(yes, this will be out dining area, cause of the plenty natural light,
where the large table will have a double use)
&
 a new camera, as the current one could sadly not be repaired.
I'm amazed that some good pictures are still made despite the malfunctions.
It's definitely not a pleasure working with it though.

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

and sweets, what are sweets doing here?
well, there is almost no bad mood that a hot cup of tea
and some chocolate cookies can not beat,
even when they are not homemade
and looking as gorgeous 
as the cupcakes and cakes in the pictures above & below

... speaking of cupcakes,

there is more work to be done in the next weeks that will have as models
these fabulously charming ladies:




looking so much forward to working with them!

wishing you all to spend one lovely week.
will be quite busy around here, as we are getting help in the house.

there are just some things that unless one is an experienced hand worker,
 cannot be pulled off.

and before time & energy is wasted,
we are so happy to be investing in getting some professional help.

hello isolated winter garden.
hello finished floors.
yes. these are the hellos I wish to say soon.

you' ll notice when I do ; )

till then, take care & keep warm my dears...
&
thank you for steadily growing our wonderful group of readers here!
merci!


collage curation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy

picture credit: diptych ~> left & right
collage ~> clockwise from top left: 1.2.3.




27.1.12

silence & movement ~ oui, je vous aime aujourd' hui...



Good morning my dears,

well, appropriate would be a happy Friday, right?

bounded as this blog and its author are to be monitoring the truth,
this is everything but a happy day here.

oh well. 

while everything appears to be going wrong,
there's one thing that still feels quite right...
and this is posting here.

Today my thoughts are on silence & movement
 Silence, which is often all that is needed for peace to thrive again...

 silence, in which {there is so much beauty}*
 still most people are afraid of it...

*I was so surprised to read that post shared more than a year ago
and so incredibly energized for the fact that many things have indeed changed.

Not only I'm no longer undecided,
but very positively & strongly supporting 
my work shared here
& incredibly happy for the fact that this blog has come to life.

I'm sure its a direction to lots of creative & successful moments ahead


now coming back to silence...
some more thoughts:
 "everyone" seems to be rushing to make the next post, the next update, the next movement,
so that "something" is happening in this fast paced world
...
the next plan, the next dream, the next challenge,
the next goal, the next accomplishment, the next....
the next... the next...

and there can be so much meaningless "noise" produced,
that life is lost among all plannings for the "next"

it certainly characterizes our era
but does it really lead to any truly & deeply felt happiness?

there are some serious doubts about it in my head

and you?
what do you think?
I know that most of us are "trapped" in this kind of behavior
& thinking more or less often 

and don't get me wrong,
I do adore having things accomplished,
&
yes, new desires come along the way...
there just seems to be less of an "obsession" about it...

and then...
  there is the {beauty of the moment}...

I still cherish it even in difficult emotional & practical moments
and no... not being lost in memories of happiness that has passed
or dreaming of the ones that are to come.

simply embracing the moment as it is.
Purely.
Silently.

and when there is need to break the silence,

no force, or masked abuse of any kind will be used to achieve it.

rather surrendering to the beauty of the movement.


have you ever surrendered yourselves to your favourite tunes,
your eyes closed, 
while dancing, 
feeling light & airy...
almost as if your body is out of control...
but in fact just it being totally released of its tension
and tuned to the music as if they were one?

magical ~

Our bodies need movement as much as rest
&
it seems that the "modern" way of life of doing everything in front of a tiny or a mighty big screen
calls to our attention...

have you moved today my dears?

the woods are there waiting after days of having had a cold...

it has snowed a bit, which reminded me of the beauty of the frozen lake
across {our home} last year...


I'm patient but longing for changes, too...

wishing you all a lovely Friday,
as yes indeed, posting once more has served in soothing intense emotions
& my wishes to you can now be true

happy, happy Friday my dears!

leaving you with a diptych that speaks to me of positivism, freshness
& beautiful innocence


----------------------------

Collage picture credit clockwise from top left: 1.2.3.4.
Diptych picture credit: left - right

collage & diptych curation: Iro - Ivy Nassopoulos for Domestic Stories with Ivy