Favorite blog

For a few years I am reading several blogs made by interesting womem. It would be a great idea, I think, to show you some of my favorite blogs, starting with Yvestown.

For a number of years, I have a subscription on a Dutch interior magazine called Ariadne at Home. This magazine is for people, mostly women, who like the 'brocante' look in a home, so a French/ English kind of feel and sometimes a little bit of comtemporary snugged in there. A few years ago Ariadne at Home featured the home of Yvonne Eijkenduijn, a Dutch woman who lived in the south part of the Netherlands. She has a website called Yvestown. I was so inspired by her home and interior that I started following her blog. Now a few years later, she has moved from the Netherlands to Belgium and we as readers get the change to follow her as she is renovating and decorating her home. I think it's wonderful. She uses colors that make me jealous just because S. would never go for it!

Here are some inspiring photo's:





As you can see, I am a big fan of her kitchen, it looks so lovely! And don't you justy love the quality of her photo's? I am not going to deny it, I am her huge fan of her and her website!

I think it is fun to show other people's work and I think I should do a blog feature every month. I already know which blog it is going to be but is will remain a secret till then ;-)

Have a great day everyone!

Oxford & High Wycombe

We just returned from a short holiday in the UK. We flew to London Luton and then took the bus to Oxford where we stayed for one night. We stayed at a bed and breakfast which was ok but not great. The sun was shining and we walked all over town and took one of those awful touristic bus trips. The good thing is that you can see everything and get to know about the history of Oxford but still... You could better all wear hats that says: "I am a tourist" because I think it looks horrible. I would like to think that I could blend in with the rest of the people that live there, ha ha. Unfortunately I left my camera at the B&B so no pictures were taken, except the one of this nice house, which I took on the last day of our stay there.



The remaining days we stayed with family in High Wycombe which was great. We try to see each other once a year in The Hague and once a year in High Wycombe. We went to a great outlet shopping centre in Bicester, called Bicester Village . You can buy clothes from all kinds of brands, like G-Star, Diesel, Jimmy Choo, Uggs, etc. S. bought a pair of jeans from G-star and a great shirt from Diesel. I couldn't something unfortunately.

We also went to a park nearby High Wycombe, can't remember the name but took some great photo's!





There was also a playground nearby where I found back my inner child, ha ha!


So to sum it up, a great get away and I can't wait to go back there again! What about you, do you have any plans for a (short) holiday? I would love to hear from you!

Dreamhouse

After walking along the shore, I went back home and saw this house. It is just behind the dunes in a quiet area. I am told that these houses were build after the second world war for the people from Indonesia who arrived in the Netherlands. Then they were very cheap but know these houses are worth a lot of money!



I would love to live in a house like that although they are not that big. There was one for sale but I don't know what the asking price is. There is another house for sale in that area but not as beautiful as this one and it had an asking price of EUR 850.000,00!

Well, there's nothing wrong with dreaming, is there. Meanwhile I am just as happy in our home!

Have a great weekend!

Autumn at the beach

What's so great about living in the Netherlands is that you get to experience every season. I personally love autumn because the trees and the leaves get a beautiful colour, it is getting dark earlier and you want to crawl under a blanket and watch a movie.

Today I went out to walk around and went to the beach. Walking distance, the beach is about 20 minutes from our house. It was a beautiful day and the sun really tried to shine but there were a lot of clouds trying to prevent it!







In the first picture you can see a sign of a lion. That's is a lion designed by Dick Bruna who is the creator of Miffy. These signs are along the shore so that on busy beachdays, the parents choose a spot nearby a cartoonsign so that the children don't get lost because they can recongize the sign. Cleverly done, right?

Now I am ready for a cup of tea, to crawl under a blanket and watch a movie. For today I have chosen Remember Me.

bouquet of flowers

Yesterday we had friends over for dinner and it was a great evening. the food and the wine were wonderful! One of my friends surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I put it in the living room by the painting and it lookes very colourful.

The sun was shining today and I am afraid it might be one of the last days to enjoy the sun because once the autumn starts, it will be the end of blue skies and sun. So if you don't mind, I'm going outside to enjoy it while I still can!

Magazines!

I love magazines! Maybe I haven't mentioned it much before on my blog, but it is true... I have a subscription on two dutch interior magazines, Ariadne at Home and VT wonen and then I buy the British interior magazine Living Etc every month. Sometimes I also buy 101 woonideeen but not that much. And ususally they arrive in the same week so that on the weekends I can flip through then and read the articles en look at the nice pictures!



This time, the VT wonen magazine was a week late and, no joke, I panicked! Fortunately it arrived today and I couldn't be more happy. So it is an easy day with a cup of tea, a bit of chocolate, the new album by Phil Collins (another love but let's talk about that another time...) and my magazines. Ah what a bliss...

Our home in VT wonen

You will not believe what happened to me! It was like a dream come true!!! In July I send some photo's of our home to the editors from the Dutch magazine VT wonen. VT wonen is the number one interior magazine in the Netherlands and I always wanted to be in that magazine.


They were looking for people that would like to send in photo's of their home and they would place it on the website. After hearing nothing for two months, they send a email last week to tell me that they would like to publish photo's of our home!!! Ofcourse I did and since last monday, I am proud to tell you that our home is on the VT wonen website!!! You can check it out here.
It is all written in the Dutch language so here is the translation:

Who lives there:
Maud (30) and Sybren (35)

Where
A 1930's double upperhouse in the fruit area of The Hague

Lifestyle
A mix of styles. But most of all inspiring.

Satisfied
Not yet but we are getting there. The bathroom, toilet and kitchen are done. Now what's left are the so called tedious jobs: new windows with double glazing, the ceilings on the first floor needs to be plastered, painting the staircase and tidiying the attic.

Future
We bought the house a year ago with the future in mind. After searching for a year and viewing over 30 houses, we are sure that this is a suitable house for us in which we will live for years to come.

Favorite shops
Loods 5, Ikea, Riviera Maison, Combitex, Hema and Sissy Boy Homeland.

I can't tell you how proud I am! I know it sounds strange but I always feld like I was on the wright way with decorating. But now a interior magazine want to publish photo's of our house on their website, it feels right. So my next ambition is to be in a actual magazine! Ohh if only that would happen, I would be in heaven...

Hi Everybody,

S. and I just got back from holiday. We went to Alicante, Spain for a week and did nothing more that relaxing in the sun and eating great food!

So now we have to get back to life as usual and I made a promise to myself... I promised to blog regurlary, at least once a week. It is better for me to have a goal, even in doing something I like doing. Maybe you can relate: a fulltime job, lot's of friends and family and the weekly shows you need to watch on tv, ha ha. I am not joking, from next week, the show Glee will be on the Dutch tv and I can't wait. I have read good reviews about it. I will let you know what I thought of it.

Well, enjoy the weekend and expect more about me and on this blog. And thanks for understanding the absence every once and a while...

Have a great week!

I just want to wish you all a great week, whether working or being on holiday. If you have to work, just a few more days and the weekend is there again ;-). And if you are on holiday, it can't last long enough, can't it? Unless you have children that's drive you mad, ha ha. Well, I'm working for three weeks and then S. and I are going on holiday, to Alicante, Spain and I can't wait. Let me know what are your plans this weeks, I'd love to know! Enjoy and talk to you later.

New Book Maak Het ( Make It)

Last week I bought a new book online. The book is called 'Maak het!' written by Machteld Stilting, it is in Dutch and is about 20 women between 27 - 45 years old who have an creative webshop. It is a shame that this book is not in English because it is so inspiring. It tells the story of the ups and downs of starting and owning a webshop and selling your our selfmade stuff online.

I especially liked the story of Ingrid of Wood & Wool Stool. She works in a hotel, like me, and makes stools of used wood and makes a cover for over the stool. I think that's such a great idea. And because I'm a stool fanatic, I have to have one. Ok, maybe I don't have space for it now but you never know! Here are some more pictures:




So you Dutch creative readers, you know what to do... Buy this book, it is worth it!

Weekend & lemonpie

So, how have you been spending your weekend? Mine was primarily in the kitchen. My sister came to dinner yesterday and I made lasagne, it was great. Today we had lunch with family from England. I made a lemon pie which didn't quite work...

This is the picture in the cookbook of how it supposed to look like but unfortunately mine wasn't exactly the same. I'm too embarrased to show you so just enjoy the pretty picture.

When I set the table for the lunch today, I noticed an unintentional Dutch theme with the red, white and blue colours. It looked great and the family loved it!


We had soup and sandwiches and the children loved the breadsticks. All in all a great afternoon. This evening is spend with watching tv, maybe watch a movie and blog a little bit.

Enjoy your evening, what are your plans? Let me know, I would love to hear from you!

The frozen fountain frame

Remembered I bought an frame at the Frozen Fountain, you can read the post here. Well, I finally found a great spot for it and not where I initially intended to hang it...



It now hangs with a other frame made of old wood I already had. Now they hang together next to the kithchen and it looks great, don't you think?

The new/old cabinet

Well, the cabinet is finished and I think it looks great! It's only painted with a primer to give it a plaster look. Maybe it doesn't show on the photo but when you look at it, you can defenitely see it!



We use it in the walk in room, not a closet, ha ha. We switched the bedroom and the room with the clothes a few weeks ago because we could hear our nextdoor neighbour at night and it is better not to know certain things about your neighbour, if you know what I mean... So now the room with the clothes is huge and it needed a cabinet. We use it for storage and toiletries.



The next project is an cabinet that used to belong to my grandmother and is supposed to stand in the hallway. I will let you know when the end result is ready!

De Bonte Kamer

Yesterday, I went to a store called de Bonte Kamer. This is a store that I found on the internet. They sell furniture from Eastern Europe for a reasonable price. I wasn't quite sure where it was because it said in the city centre of the Hague. So went I was there I was pleasantly surprised. It is located in a warehouse in a great neghbourhood in the city. The guy who works there helped me find the cabinet that I saw online. When I paid he helped me get it into the car and when I got home, I knew it was a great purchase.



It is suppose to go under the tv but I have to sell that first so now it is next to the tv. I actually think that it looks great now too!

Last week I also bought this cabinet online and picked it up last week. I want to paint it in a grey colour and put new knobs on it and then it's brand new again.



I'll show you the after when I'm finished. And check out the website of de Bonte Kamer, they also ship internationally!

Sunny breakfast

So, I don't know how you spend your sunday mornings but mine is very peaceful. Just having a glass of orange juice outside, enjoying the sun. It has been great weather all week and I'm trying to enjoy it when I'm off work.



Last friday was the very important worldcup match between the Netherlands and Brasil and it was the hottest day of the year so far. So after the Dutch won the match(Hup Holland Hup) all the people in the street went crazy, especially the children! Everybody were outside cheering and cars were driving and waving with Dutch flags. It was just so beautiful to see everybody so happy. I really hope that we win the worldcup! I think then there's going to be a great party in Amsterdam and I want to be there and enjoy the atmosphere. But now the focus is back on and we have to beat Uruguay first.
Yes maybe you're surprised but it's not only my home and furniture that I love, ha ha.

Well, I'm about to go out and visit family. I wish you all a great day, enjoy the sun and relax!

Above the couch

Last week we decided that something should be hung above the couch. The wall is pretty long so we had to come up with something big because otherwise it would look silly.



And we decided that it would be best to hang different kinds of things. I think it looks great. I printed some of my favourite photo's and the great thing is that it's possible to change it if I want to.




We bought the shelves and the white frames at Ikea, the pink one is a gift but I know it's bought at Zara home and the black ones are from Hema.


I'm waiting for S. to come home from work so that we can pick up an cabinet I bought online. I have already have paint waiting for it. I'll make an before and after to show you the result! And saturday I'm going to de Bonte Kamer, a store that sells secondhand furniture from eastern Europe. I saw a cabinet that we can use as a tv cabinet. All the details will follow!

Old/ new

Ok, I'm not going to start again explaining why I have been absent for a long time... Let's just keep it that I've been busy with work and painting old furniture. Yes, that's right! My new hobby is buying old furniture and give it new life!

We have been living in our new home for almost zeven months now and I see now what it needs. And it needs a mixture between comtemporary and brocante. And a small budget maybe has something to do with it, ha ha.

In my last post you can read that I bought an old stool and was planning to paint it. And that's exactly what I did. This is how it looked before:


You can see, a real old fashioned stool, I think from the 1950's / 1960's. And this is what is looks with a new coat of paint!


I put the stool, together with another 'new old' one in the livingroom.


Stools are multifunctional! You can use it for an extra seat or as a sidetable. This one I use in the livingroom as both. Last week I was at the secondhand store where I bought it and saw another one, exactly the same! And of course I had to buy it too and take it home with me. The fact that I was on my bike was no problem. It took a bit longer to get home, but I got there and the stool was still intact, stratch free! With this one I'm going to experiment and I'll show you when it's done!

And finally, I painted a cabinet I bought years ago. This time, not white but a beautiful grey colour.



It's now in my bedroom and the towels and bedding are put away in it. I think it just looks lovely!

Lazy sunday

The sun has finally started shining and I'm enjoying it fully!

What am I doing this weekd? Well not much... Bought an stool yesterday at a secondhand store and have sanded it and already gave it three coats of paint. I think it will be finished tomorrow and then I will show you.

Furthermore, nothing exciting, watched some episodes of the Dutch Antique Roadshow called Tussen Kunst en Kitch. I secretly love this show. Every time it's exciting to see if someone has an item in their possesion which is so expensive and they have no idea! Two weeks ago there was a man who had an old wooden statue of an African man and it turned out to have a value of 80.000 Euros!!! I wish I had something at home that is worth a lot of money. Sadly, our budget reduces a lot lately because of the renovation on the house and all kinds of plans we have which we need to save money for. Meanwhile, I'll just bought a stool that I love and is going to look great in the living room and then read a few interior magazines. My sister gave me a few old one of 2008. See if the interior taste has changed of the last two years.

I'll leave you with a few bright pictures and enjoy your sunday!

Another visit to Amsterdam

As a birthdaypresent, S and I went to see a concert of a famous Dutch band called Blof who played in Amsterdam last sunday. And just for the fun of it, we booked a hotel in the city Centre, called Carlton Bank Mansion, who I really recommend.

On monday we went shopping and I had a few shops on my list to go to. The most imprtant one is the Frozen Fountain on the Prinsegracht. They specialise in modern Dutch furniture which is very expensive. They sell furniture of Piet Hein Eek and Vitra so a lot of Eames furniture and Hella Jongerius. I bought a small frame made of old pieces of wood.



We're planning to hang a shelf in the living room full with art and pictures.

After that, we went to the Rituals shop which I think is a wonderful shop if you want to buy a special present for someone. We bought soap and a home fragrance bottle with wooden sticks for in the bathroom.

Ofcourse there was a lot more to see and buy but we were sensible this time, ha ha. I have a lot more on my wishlist now that we live in our home for a few months and I can see what the house needs. But I'm starting to become a patience woman (yeah right!) and I have all the time in the world. Besides It's fun to buy stuff and slowly see the result. So I'm streching out the time and enjoy myself when I go out on a mission (ha ha) for our home.

The Hummingbird Bakery

For our kitchen I wanted a nice painting or framed photo of somthing that looks nice in a kitchen but doesn't look like an item that you use in the kitchen. So no pictures of cultery, ingredients or something like that.

Then I remembered that I made a picture of the logo of the Hummingbird Bakery when we were in London in 2008. So I have the picture enlarged and hung it in the kitchen. And then I heard from a friend that there was a cookbook of the Hummingbird Bakery so I got that too and this is the result!





On the other side of the kitchen I made an inspirational board. So every time I see something nice or inspiring in a magazine, I hang it on the inspirational board. This is sort of my own painting, ha ha