Displaying posts from December, 2009

J. E. N. knows that Kim and I can’t resist a good Swedish home. If it’s white with pops of colour, hard floor (preferably white or at least a light wood), sleek kitchen, the occasional piece of design classic Scandinavian furniture and a sheepskin somewhere then we’re in heaven. So thank you J. E. N. for sending in the link to this townhouse for sale in Saltsjöbad.

I admire the wonderful photography of Bilyana Dimitrova, whose photos of Karim Rashid’s home I featured quite some time ago.  Beautiful composition that takes advantage of sunlight and shadows.

  
  
  
  
  

It’s time for another edition of the great gift challenge (a special campaign with partners Martha Stewart and eBay), where Jo and I scour eBay looking for the perfect Christmas gifts for our loved ones. This week the budget for the gift was $150 (excluding shipping). I purchased something last week for my twin sister Julia, so this week I thought I’d look for something for my younger sister Jen. She’s in her late twenties and it was her wedding that I attended in Vegas last weekend. Her and her new husband Dave bought a house a couple of years ago and ended up running out to a couple of boring furniture stores and bought just about everything they needed to furnish their home. I was disappointed that they didn’t go out and shop vintage to try and find some unique and funky pieces. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to find them that funky something. I thought mid-century items would suit their style so I went searching eBay and found quite a few items I thought they’d love:

Lighting is often neglected in a new home and the sputnik chandelier would suit so many rooms in my sister’s home, and it’s such so versatile. Speaking of versatility, the trolley is a great piece that could be used in a bathroom to hold towels and toiletries, in a dining or living room as a bar, in the office to hold notebooks and other office supplies. The Eames era wall shelves would be perfect in her office or in their media room in the basement to hold books and knickknacks. And lastly, the teak stackable tables, useful when she has guests over and needs little tables for drinks and snacks. I was totally stuck on which one to bid on, until I came across this:

It’s a replica Kartell Componibili storage table that the seller picked up at auction and was told it was purchased in the 70s. I have always loved the Componibili but have never come across one here so when I found this one being sold by an eBay seller who is located here in Ottawa (they have an incredible mid-century shop near my home that I always have to stop at) I had to jump on it. It was listed as a Buy It Now for $199 with a “Make an Offer” option. So I went for it, and sent them an offer of $150 and it was accepted! The best part was I was able to drive the 10 minutes to their shop and pick it up, saving on shipping costs. Once I picked it up I realized this table would be SO ADORABLE in my niece’s bedroom as storage for her toys and would suit her very vintage bedroom that my sister has recently been redecorating. So now I’m torn. Perhaps I will solve this problem simply by keeping it for myself. 😉 This one will be tough to wrap due to it’s size, so I’m thinking about finding a big red velvet “Santa sack” and putting it in that with a huge white or black bow tied around the middle. Another gift done! Stay tuned next week for Jo’s $300 purchase. And don’t forget that part of this challenge involves you! If you are a resident of the U.S., head on over to this site and enter to win a $1000 eBay gift voucher. Now THAT would be a blast to spend.

Dreamy. Dark and moody and dreamy. These stunning images are by photographer Jan Luijk. The first few photos are featured in the December ELLE Decoration UK and are of artist and interior designer Monique Meij-Beekman‘s home. Home sweet home! Atmospheric and beautifully curated. I must say though I can’t get enough of each and every one of the spaces Jan has captured. Beautiful photographs like these bring these spaces to life for me. Imagine someone trying to explain a grey on grey, monotone of a room and you may not be inspired. One look at these images and your mind is racing. Love!

Hi folks! I am back from Vegas, unfortunately. 🙂 We had a blast and really should have planned to stay a bit longer. We did alot of shopping but not as much sight-seeing as I would have liked. My sister’s wedding was fantastic, and I am so grateful to her and her new husband for deciding to get married somewhere warm, well, at least warmer than here in Ottawa. So I am back, and I missed my cats, the blog and all of you. I did however come back with a very irritating sore throat which I hope I can get to disappear with lots of meds. In any event, I’d like to share some photos from one of my favourite photographers from the late Domino magaine, Melanie Acevedo. I believe we’ve featured many of these photos here before in random posts but Melanie’s photos are so fantastic she should have her own dedicated post.