From autumn to winter...

It happened before I knew what was going on. Three weeks ago, there were people who stood with their feet in the sea... And now everybody have to put on hats and gloves when they go outside!

I love the autumn and winter. For me it means that I can go inside, create a little nest and enjoy the cold evenings with a blanket, warm clothes and a cup of herb tea. I try to find a photo that represend my feeling about this subject. It took a while and then I found this photo on the Decor8 blog.



Soon it will be christmas and all the beautiful homes in blogland will looks amazing. I can't wait to see photo's of them all! Off course I will try to create an inspiring and beautiful surrounding for us at home. But first we are celebrating Sinterklaas in the Netherlands on December 5. After that then I will start decorating our home and I will show you the result by then.

And what about you, what are your decorating plans? Anything special in mind? Will it be comtemporary, traditional or something in between? I would love to hear and see your plans!

Another colour on the wall

During our holiday in the beginning of October, I painted an old church bench and the back wall. I posted about it and said that I wasn't completely happy with the result of the wall.


Iris gave me some great advise that I partially listened to and painted the wall again but now in a dark blue. It's better but hasn't got the 'Wow factor'. If it was up to me, I would love to paint it in a bright pink/ fuchsia colour but S. would go mad, ha ha!

So what to do... Are there any colours between blue and pink which will be a perfect compromise? Please help me because I don't know...

Old chair make over!

A while ago, I bought this great piece of fabric with cupcakes on it. It posted something about the fabric earlier. There was still some fabric left and decided to do something with it and upholster a chair or something. Now the coincidence was that we sold all of our dining rooms chairs because we bought the church bench. I used one of the dining room chairs in my study so now I really did need a new chair!

So I started to look on the internet and try to find the perfect chair to upholster. But unfortunately, for me there's no such thing as the perfect chair but I did find something that was good for me to practise on.


So I bought an old chair for EUR 1,50, bought paint that was inspired by Yvonne on the Yvestown blog and used the cupcake fabric. The end result is this:


Now, I love it offcourse and it stands proudly in my study! S. said that it will never go in our diningroom and that's just fine. This it a chair, specially for me. Although it would look great in a children's room too. But for now, I'm going to keep it for myself and enjoy it every time that I'm there, studying!


It's really a shame that S. doesn't like pink, otherwise there would be so much more in my favourite colour! Oh well...

Wood & wool x mas tree Maud

It has been very busy here. racing to work, then to the hospital and racing back home. So there hasn't been a lot of time to write something, I'm afraid. But luckily I have a day off and love to post something again to tell you what's been going on in our household!

Last week, I felt that I deserved something nice for myself and looked around on the internet. For some time now, I have been a fan of the work of Ingrid Jansen and her Wood & Wool stools. she also sells these christmas trees that are made from wood and I also wanted one but never bought one, until now... I saw this amazing tree that just had to mine! So I bought it and two days later it arrived and I am sooooooo happy with it!!


I haven't hung it yet but for now it stands proudly in the diningroom nearby our 'newly' old woodburner.


For christmas, I'm going to hang little ornaments in them and I think I'll leave it in the room and not only for the holiday season.


I'm really happy with it and recommend it to everyone because it's just something different but still recognizable.

The shops are starting to sell all kinds of christmas things. I talked to the woman who runs a flowershop nearby from where I live and she said that they are starting the preparations this weekend. Can't wait to see the end result! And what about you, have you already bought something for the holiday season?

Tas-Ka

Should you ever go to The Hague, for business, family visit or just a fun day of shopping, you must go to Taska!

Taska is a small shop, run by two Dutch girls Jantien and Hester. They sell their own line of interior design but also Japanese books of Paumes, childrens toys and books, cards, posters and so much more!


I go to the shop regurlary and so far have bought a house pillow:



And a wooden cutting board in the shape of a house!



Both of these items are not being used but more for display. I think that they are far too beautiful for anyone to use! The shop is not directly in the city centre but just outside. But try to go and see it because it is really worth the visit!

The joy of a gift

So sorry you guys for not posting something on my blog. It has been a hectic week because a dear family member is in hospital and I'm trying to be at her side every free minute I have. So it is going to be a bit more quiet overhere but I'll try to make as much time to write something nice because life isn't only about the bad stuff...

So here's something nice! About two weeks ago I won the fantastic give away from Iris on the Enigheid blog .


Now I never win anything but now I did! Iris made a fantastic pillow herself and I'm just in love with it! I also love the wallpaper where she wrapped the pillow in!


There was a very nice card from her as well which I saved and is standing on my fire place mantle.




Thank you very much Iris! it is nice to know that there are also good things in life!

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Cupcake display

Today, I would like to inspire you by showing photo's of cupcake displays! No, I'm not doing this to tempt you to start walking to the shops right away and stuff your mouth full with delicious cake! This is more to inspire you and think outside the box when it comes to interior or fashion.






Some people go to the big furniture stores and buy the first thing that they see. But other people like to be inspired by the funniest things and start creating something out of nothing. So be insired by these photo's see something that you can create in your own home. Think outside of the box and create your own world!

Have a nice day everybody!

Rearranging the front room

Now that the autumn is definitely is here, I feel the need to do things around the house and rearranging the furniture.

I just sold eight(!) diningroom chairs and haven't decided what to place back. We did buy the old church bench and placed a few stools but I need something more. When I have made a decision and have bought them, I will let you know!

S. and I live in an old 1930 house and we have a front and backroom with two fireplaces. My brother-in-law just removed a tree from his garden and he had an big piece of wood left and gave it to us. I placed it in the fireplace and put some candles on them. It really looks good in the evening and you have the feeling that there's an actual fireplace burning, only without the warmth...



To see the candles better, I put the sidetable to the other side of the room, next to the Riviera Maison chair and the painting of Erik Zwezerijnen.

It looks better this way, altough the colour of the table is a bit dark and would look better when it's painted in a lighter colour. But this table is so old and not mine (my sister borrowed it temporarily to me and that was six years ago...) so I can't just paint it. Maybe I will rearrange it all again, we will see. It fun anyway to change the furniture every once in a while, let's just hope that S. agrees with me...

Inspirational photo's from Heart Home magazine

I was just reading the new interior magazine Heart Home mag online and saw these photos...







They look so great that I just wanted to share them with you on a dreary monday...

Back to work cupcakes

Today, I'm going back to work after a two week holiday. To welcome myself back, I made vanilla cupcakes with creamcheese frosting, a recipe from the cookbook of the Hummingbird Bakery. Of cous,e I have already tasted them and they are delicious!




Have a great workweek everybody!

Church bench & photo's and colour...

About two weeks ago, I bought an old church bench through Marktplaats, which you can compare to Ebay but it's only used in the Netherlands.

We bought it from people that got it from an old cathedral but decided that they couldn't use it in their home. And because S. and I were looking for a bench for the dining table, this was perfect. Friday, I started to sand and paint it. S. and I agreed over the colour that the bench was going to be and I went to the hardware store to buy paint. At the last minute I decided that is had to be another colour and choose a soft grey colour. And this is the result!

The before...


And the after!


The cusions are essential if you want to sit there because the bench itself isn't very comfortable. These are random cushions that we have at home but I want to buy or make ones that will fit the sitting area.



And while I was painting the bench, we talked about doing something with the back wall and the photos because it looked a bit empty and dull. At the moment, I am going through a purple and grey phase and bought purple paint, so it was supposed to be...

But when I painted the wall, it wasn't the colour that I had in mind. I did continue with the paintwork and S. hang the photos up and we will leave it for about a week. If we still don't like the colour, I repaint it with another colour.



The only problem is which colour? I like a bright fuchsia but S. wants a blue colour. So we need help in choosing a colour. And that's where we need you! Please help us by giving tips that we can do with the wall and the photos. You can do this by leaving a message on my blog! Please help us from making another bad colour decision!

Piet Hein Eek

During our little get away, we visited the workplace and shop of Piet Hein Eek.

Piet Hein Eek is a furniture maker who makes furniture of scrap wood and, since recently, tubes. He makes tables, chairs, children's furniture, cabinets, you name it! He started a small business in 1993 and turned it into a big business and sells his furniture all over the world. His furniture has been featured in several (interior) magazines, both national and international.

My dream is to buy the dining room table and chairs one day. In the meantime, it is still a dream but one to come true! Maybe not this year or next year, but one day!

I'll leave you with the prictures I took at the shop and let you judge for yourself if you like his style. Let me know what you think of it!