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.

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