Daring Green...

After two years of living in our wonderful apartment I've recently decided that I'm finally ready to move on to phase two of the renovation, or rather interior redecoration to be more precise, as we won't be knocking any walls down. Phase one comprised of the necessary tasks one must undertake when buying an already lived in home, a fresh coat of clean wall paint, a retile of what was a once flooded laundry yet never well cleaned, and the replacement of a couple of decayed floor boards. So nothing overtly exciting. 

Now, I'm hoping this next phase will be more exciting, it 's less a 'fix it' phase and more of a design phase. But I'm at a cross roads. It being your own home, and you being the person who can implement any visual idea that you want, it actually makes it hard to know where to begin. Do I put colour on the wall or wallpaper, or what about a mirror to reflect the amazing view? And do I gather beautifully aged recycled wooden furniture or do I invest in ruggedly grungy copper accessories? All these things appeal to me, and maybe all can even work together if well mixed. But I want to be sure to avoid making our humble ninety square metre apartment look like Willy Wonka's chocolate factory...

So here I am, I guess more in a planning phase rather than designing for now. This week I've been exploring the idea of adding some green into the interior. It'd be a colour I've never thought to use before, but I think it could work well if done right and in the right measure. I definitely feel a little out of my comfort zone with green, but these images show just how incredibly well it can be incorporated if one can exercise self control...

Images - all via my pinterest

Depth of Character in the 7th Arrondissement, Paris

A couple of weeks ago I came back from 3 weeks in Europe, where we had spent most of that time in Paris. It was crazy to be back yet again in the city where I lived for almost six years. I no longer had any consideration for the hardships that created the daily grind, like the metro, the grumpy people, the queues, the dirty streets... Instead all I could see and feel were all the magnificent things that I initially fell in love with Paris for, and what had made me move my life there. It's a crazy thing the brain, how it remembers the wonderful things above all.

And just as well that it did. I absolutely loved being a tourist in Paris! I was filled with so much motivation and inspiration for the blog almost immediately, and I had so many ideas that I ran out of places to note them, my phone, napkins, pieces of paper, my husband's memory.... I think you get it! I was motivated.   

So, naturally, during this time I kind of migrated to material that centred around Paris and France, and so found myself quite often on a blog that I actually really quite like, that of French blogger Garance Doré. And her blog is where I came across this gem of an apartment.

The home belongs to friends of Garance's, is an apartment situated in the 7th arrondissement in Paris,  and is just very simply, exquisite!! It embodies everything I imagine the perfect Parisian apartment to be, cozy yet sheik, full of depth and character, lots of sophisticated use of colour, and, of course, a view of the ever so elegant Tour Eiffel.

Source - garancedore.fr

Images - garancedore.fr

Related Nest of Pearls post - Paris apartment dreaming, with Paola Navone

Spectacular Styling in Seville's D-Espacio Estudio

Ok, so this post has taken me days to put together! And the reason being, is that I came across this spectacular space on a Spanish design site, which of course I understood very little to none of. My French did not come in handy at all here. I then searched for links and clues within that original article, which finally led me to the D-Espacio Estudio website.

Founded by Jesús Regueira, D-Espacio Estudio offers the creative community in Seville two large studios, one 'white' one 'black'. The studios are perfect for filming, styling and photo shoots, running events, and holding presentations. The two interiors are styled to perfection, down to the subtle fold in the rug, the scratch in the parquet, and, I dare say, the creak in the stair. The interior is comprised of very carefully selected classics of the twentieth century, and offers a wide variety of vintage props. The photos in this post come from the D-Espacio Estudio website, and are styled by D-Espacio Estudio's dedicated team, comprising of a creative director and talented designers.

Of the two studios, the one I'm sharing with you here is the Espacio Blanco (white space). The 'black' space will have to wait for another day's blog post. There are just so many amazing photos of both spaces available on the D-Espacio Estudio website, that culling back and choosing was beyond the capabilities of my self-control.

So, here we are, in Espacio Blanco. What a space! What richness, what a depth of colour, texture, ruggedness and candid character. Every corner, surface and nook is so lovingly designed, and the detail in styling is just breathtaking. I think not much more needs to be said, because the photos themselves will transport you to another world.

Sources - despacioestudio.com, asesoramientosunicos.com

Images - despacioestudio.com

Related Nest of Pearls post - The Establishment Studios - Where Dreams Come True

The pop-up store dream, by The Playing Circle

I've been seeing pictures of this amazing interior on Pinterest, and I have finally delved a little further to find out what it is. It is called 'The Loft', an annual pop-up store in Amsterdam, brought to you by The Playing Circle. The Playing Circle, a design company from Amsterdam, each year base the curation of the pop-up interior on the character of a fictive and eccentric persona that they create.

The pop-up store houses an unbelievable selection of hand-picked furniture, books, art pieces, and lighting accessories to name a few... all immaculately styled to absolute design perfection. The mix of textures and colours is exquisite to look at in these photos, I can only imagine how inspiring it would be to engage with this interior in real-life. Through this incredibly created world, I can also imagine how much fun it would be to try and guess what the character that inspired this interior would be like...

The Playing Circle's idea behind such a concept is to let people see and feel how the different elements of an interior come together. In the words of the design team behind 'The Loft'; "If you’ve ever been to a lamp store, you know it sells lamps. But if you’re looking to add some serious character to your interior, say, by hanging a seven foot plane from your ceiling, it might be a good idea to first see if things fit together.".

Being a pop-up store, naturally everything is for sale... everything!!... from the carpets on the floor, the furniture pieces, to each and every book that lines the shelves. Just by going by these photos I can imagine that it would be near impossible to leave empty handed.

Source - amsterdamnext.com

Images - amsterdamnext.com, fardau.nl & thedenimdaily.com