Corner fixes...wall storage

I have pretty much photographed my entire house. It’s almost 100% good to go but therein lies the dreaded word..almost. Each room has a spot that is not quite finished. These spots take longest because they are basically low and I mean low, low, low on the priority list. So low down they often get forgotten. To ensure that doesn’t happen I decided to try and tackle just such a spot every month. 

Starting with a corner of my living room which was always destined to provide extra storage. Storage I am desperately in need of from kitchen to living. And while several ideas have crossed my mind including an antique ladder turned shelf,  the standing Hay Woody shelf and the beautiful shelving from Souda, I settled on my first idea; the Botkyrka shelves from Ikea. Because they are stunning, relatively inexpensive and floating. Leaving me funds for fun, new things to fill them with, floor space for greenery, optical space and the ability to keep pretty things in my space; a rambunctious and slightly uncoordinated twosome does not compute with breakable.. first-hand experience.

On the shelves are the books that didn’t fit into the leaning ply bookcases and styled with things I already owned including my beloved wooden navels and the addition of these super cute little porcelain cacti from Madam Stoltz that I have been eyeing for months.

P.S. Did this without a level..and the slight offness totally offends my neurotic tic about being Mary Poppins (practically perfect) and so I will be fixing that next weekend as well as shifting cupboards around to better utilise the freed-up space.

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Like a bump on a log

The title of this post says it all and so no long story needed. This post is literally about a pair of logs. A steel and oak log bench to be more exact. I saw this bench and swooned over it’s simple and striking lines.

Sadly you don’t stumble across logs like this while walking through the woods, not that I do that either. But you can purchase it from Pacha, whose pure and green sensibility produces a whole range of stunning simplistic pieces. This is no lightweight (mass nor price) but all the more quality for it.

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Bookwormed

A bookworm remains a bookworm, even when they grow up. I remember learning to read and the excitement I felt when this world of new and exciting adventures opened up right before my eyes. I feel that way still, even with my ongoing love affair with Internet. Yes, my smartphone never leaves my side and has her own spot on my pillow for middle of the night surf attacks. And yes, she has a name. And yes I am  a bit of a nerd and loving it. But back to books.

 I recently purged my book collection and so now there’s the desire to start again. And while I have long since moved on from the Babysitters club books of my tween years, remain a huge Alex Cross/James Patterson fan, plan on finishing up Anna Karenina and moving on to ‘In search of time’ when I can find the time for that bad boy, a large part of that space is reserved for.. design books. What else? On that list are these:

Ok - Omin Käsin is a decoration book from a pair of Finnish bloggers that seems chock full of beautiful DIY projects and ditto styling. A good case for Google translate?

Belgium Family Style continues the books in languages I can't read theme, really Japanese reading skills can't be faked by the English-speaking. But hey, style has boundaries and plus this is more for the inspiration and believe me Belgium style inspires me. Effortless cool I think every time I go to Antwerp.

Design objecten / 2, finally one I can read, being Dutch, Dutch baby. This book brings design home by utilising things you can get a home supply store and simple techniques. Perfect because will I will wield a tool, I can't say that there lies my best skill set.

Wohnideen aus dem wahren Leben brings me right back to languages I can't read. While German is standard in Dutch schools, I went to a Dutch school in the Caribbean so German was axed for Spanish (not that goes much better as my Spanish faded faster than a cut flower). But I still think this book is amazing, being aptly titled interior living ideas from real life with input coming from bloggers. A book after my own heart.

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Mad hatter

I had another post planned for today but I’ll have to move that to later as I had no opportunity to take photographs. So instead I happily moved this post up a week.

I’m not a great hat wearer despite there being so many great alternatives out there to fit every budget. Asos and Zara have some nice ones in the lower end of the market and Rag & Bone and hat kingpin Maison Michel make some super ones that gravitate more to the other end of the price spectrum.

However when I do wear a hat I always feel diva and quirky at the same time. A right mad hatter. In hats, I have the same as bags..the bigger, the better. The bigger the brim, the more angled the tilt and the more obscure my face or what’s left visible after sunglasses, the more chic and savvy I feel. Great on a sunny day, yet totally unpractical whilst driving but like I said that’s part of the appeal of being a mad hatter. And of the hats I do have, almost all are woollen felt because that is hands down my favourite material. 

So the woolly hats from My Red Lippy are smack dab exactly what I’m looking for. By Sarah Curtis; a girl who knows that red lipstick is statement-making. It’s her but also my own signature lip colour. Aah, a kindred hat spirit. I love her hats. Fab hats, check. Now all I need is sunshine on a beautiful Autumn day showered with falling red leaves.

Pictured are my three favourites; textured/marbled charcoal, black with a floppy satin bow and cosy grey with a subtle ribbon and smaller brim.

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Daddy mack

OK, OK, I have been on a bit of a bag kick lately. How I love a handbag. Let me count the ways..

Three made it home, see here and here and all from my favourite designer. But now I want to show you one from the want list. Top of the list. Solely on the list. From a designer previously unknown to me, despite existing since 1999. Though to be honest, the handbag line is quite new, having been launched in 2013. 

I’m talking Canadian brand Mackage and specifically the Novaki crossbody bag. The silhouette is classic but the arrow clasp is such an unexpected and sexy detail. I am totally smitten. And not unimportant quite reasonably priced for a quality leather handbag. And if you need a little more space, there is the Cody which is a size up. I however vote tiny in this instance. I just love this little fellow. What do you think, is it fab or is it fab? 

P.S. If they shipped internationally the Raffie would already be mine. I love a sale score.

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Rabbit ears

We all remember using our index and middle fingers to create rabbit ears behind someones head in photo's, especially poignant in the days before digital camera's, previews and print selection. This mirror reminds me of that innocent mischief and at the same time of the imaginativeness of Alice in Wonderland.

This mirror is both playful and beautifully grown-up and decidedly French. No cheap plastic but handmade in plaster and weighing a whopping 2,7 kg for it's size. It comes in grey as well but I like it best in white. I can see this hanging above my daughter's first princess primping corner or just adding some whimsy to my hall. What's life without a little whimsy?

Available via Maisonnée own shop or a favourite of mine Serendipity.

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