Happy Tuesday!

Hope you don’t mind another inspiration post.  I know in the past Tuesdays have been themed “Tackle It Tuesday” but there hasn’t been much decorating or household management tackling going on with me lately.  Instead, I’ve been working on a new super secret business project… I can’t tell you what it is YET… but I can tell you that it’s very WONDERFUL and MARVELOUS!  LOL!

Anyway, to semi-encourage YOU to keep up with Tackle It Tuesday, I thought I’d share a little DIY inspiration.  I’ve told you many times that I believe in keeping my eyes open to find inspiration EVERYWHERE.  Lately, I’ve found a slew of inspiration in viewing artist portfolios, especially the portfolios of set stylists and interior photographers.  In fact, I started keeping a bookmark folder dedicated to photos which inspired potential DIY projects and today I decided to share some of those photos with you along with my thoughts on how you’d achieve the DIY version.

Fun Floating  Shelves

Floating Shelf - from the portfolio of Scott Horne (scotthorne.com)

Isn’t this floating shelf from prop stylist Scott Horne’s portfolio so very cute?  I have a feeling it is anchored to the wall with hidden brackets, but you could get a similar look with an Ikea shelving and some chain you can purchase at Home Depot or Lowe’s (this link is just an example of what I mean, if you go in to one of the stores, they have different styles of chain on big rolls that they can cut to length for you – I used to use them to make purse handles back in my crafty sewing days!).  Add a can or two of spray paint and you could personalize this look to match any part of your home’s decor.

Thrifty Extra Storage

Drawer Table (via BHG.com)

I saw this a few months ago while flipping through a gallery on the Better Homes and Gardens website and thought it would be an easy and clever storage solution.  I’m betting you could find some old drawers to use for free, just by haunting craigslist or freecycle for a give away old chest of drawers.  You might find old furniture feet at a salvage yard or you can, once again, visit your local Lowe’s or Home Depot (or Ikea, if you want something more modern and have one nearby).  Pick up some paint and new drawer handles if you want and then it’s as simple as adding the feet to the drawer you plan on using for the base and painting to your taste.  Depending on what you pick and how thrifty you are, this could easily fall into the “$20 or less” project category!

Fill the walls with art for less

Wall of Frames from the portfolio of Jen Everett (jeneverett.com)

When I first saw this page from stylist Jen Everett’s portfolio, I immediately fell in love with the wall of frames.  A visit to your local Salvation Army or Goodwill could easily net you a variety of inexpensive frames (or framed art… just pop out the art and tuck away for future craft projects).  Spray paint the frames white to get the look in this picture or be adventurous and play with color (I’m envisioning a wall of bright turquoise frames against a silver-grey background for my home).

When I pulled this photo up to prepare for today’s post, I saw the scrabble board and was inspired with another thrifty art idea… how about collecting old scrabble boards from the thrift store and creating a 3-dimensional piece of wall art?  You could glue a funny phrase or create a poem or just make random words and hang the whole thing on the wall.  You could even hang an “in session” scrabble game by adding velcro or tacky repositionable tape to the back of the letters.   Or you could make a triptych by hanging 3 boards side by side and including a message or phrase that only makes sense if the boards are viewed as a whole. Could be a cute look for a family or play room.

Interesting Side Tables

Interesting Side Tables from Scott Horne's portfolia (scotthorne.com)

I’ll end with another two for one picture.  Originally, I saw the ottoman/coffee table made from square cushions and thought, gosh, that’s EXACTLY what I need for our house!  There’s a couple of options available for execution.  If you’re a handy seamstress (hmmm… why isn’t there a male version of that word?!?!), you can grab some fabric and foam from your local fabric store and create your own cushions.  The base would be a piece of plywood (cut to spec by Home Depot if you aren’t THAT handy– I’m not, so don’t feel bad!) with rolling feet attached (also available at Home Depot or Lowes).  If you aren’t big on sewing, you could probably score some discounted cushions at your local T.J.Maxx or Marshalls (or Ross, if you have one.  Go there first, they have a smaller selection but the best prices!).

Once again, when I pulled the photo up to edit for the post, I had a little lightbulb moment.  See that modern glass side table in the other photo?  Ah, well I’m sure it’s probably a pricey piece from a little known boutique store… but I think you could easily replicate it by getting a large, flat bottom glass vase from your local discount home accessories store.  I’ve seen them at my local Home Goods for around $30.  If you can’t find one large enough in diameter, you could purchase 2 or 3 in varying heights and then cluster them together for a modern take on nesting tables.

Hope you enjoyed my little DIY suggestions.  It’s noon our time and I’m starving, so I’m off to heat up my lunch.

’til next time!

xoxo- Shauntelle

P.S.   Oops, almost forgot that I wanted to tell you to make sure you pop over to see  Melissa @ The Inspired Room today.  She’s having giveaways all day long AND she ’s added a DIY section to her blog that’s chock full of projects to help you add a little budget beauty to your home.  Good luck and happy decorating! 

And finally, here they are – photos of what we’ve managed to do in our bathroom back home a month ago.

As you know / don’t know, we live in London in a rented flat, but our hearts – and our own flat – are still in Poland. We have never managed to finish it to the standard we wanted because we moved to the UK having just bought it and being able to do only the basics. Now every time we come back to visit our family, we try to add to it.

The next visit over Christmas will be even more important as we’re thinking about renting it out, and for that we need to finish at least the projects we’ve started, if not the whole place!

Our orange-cream-brown bathroom is actually the only room in the flat that more or less started coming together and is almost finished – it really is missing a few minor details (though my husband wouldn’t call it details…)

Below is what we’ve managed to complete last time – some embellishment around the mirror, and a tall cupboard for the much needed storage. I’m not going to show the whole bathroom yet – I’ll do that when we finally finish it off, but I can proudly say that the bathroom design and most of manual work have been done by my husband with a tiny bit of help from me.

Mosaic mirror frame

Actually, this decor has never been planned. We thought we’re going to have just an extension shelf over the mirror, on the same level as the top of the cupboard next to it. But then it turned out that we have some remnants of the panelling which we could use for the shelf. The only problem was that it was some milimeters shorter than the cupboard, which would result in the front of the shelf being a bit recessed in comparison to the cupboard, so the idea of having it at the same level for a sleek look would be lost. So we thought and thought… and then I came up with an idea of adding something decorative to the front of the shelf to disguise the difference in level, and we settled for some mosaic.

Obviously, there are many types of mosaic, and originally I thought we’d get the traditional glass mosaic. We also needed to make sure that the size of single tile (or two / three etc) is more or less the same height as the front of the shelf.

But after some strolling around the decorating shops, I saw this decor and I loved it! The original version was vertical (the size of the usual tile decor) so I broke it up into pieces, got rid of the supporting (and irritatingly difficult to remove) plastic frame beneath which normally holds the mosaics together for easy mounting on the wall, and used each separate tile as I wanted, making sure I don’t repeat the pattern much.

I mounted it onto the shelf using a standard all-purpose strong glue, and it worked very fast and was much easier to work with than the tile glue. Of course, be careful with this – you don’t want your fingers stuck together forever

…and after a moment of drying up, we were able to hang the shelf up!

DIY in bathroom - mosaic mirror frame

DIY in bathroom - mosaic mirror frame close-up

Tall cupboard

This is another example of recycling what was already in the house. My parents have bought a set of furniture to my teenage bedroom ages ago; one cupboard had glass door. We thought we saw some stain on it, so we asked for replacement. The manufacturer duly resent the door, but never took the faulty one. In the meantime we decided the fault is almost unnoticeable, so haven’t even replaced the door. And so it lay for ages in the basement, which my husband noticed some time ago and had his plans for it

Even though I know how good a DIY-er he is, I was still surprised by what he managed to do in half a day (with some finishing touches the next day) – he has actually measured up, had the panels cut, finished the edges, and built a proper cupboard for our cupboard, nicely employing all colours from our bathroom’s scheme.

Even so, I can hardly survive having something so big in my house without me adding the teeniest bit to it… so I’ve decided to  use the spare mosaic tiles to finish the door handles

DIY in bathroom - my hubby's cupboard

DIY in bathroom - cupboard door handles

So, that’s it for now. Going back now to choosing textiles for Christmas… hmmm maybe that’s a topic for my next post

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…and another two assignments behind me Pretty tricky they were, and they left me covered in spattered paint! Why oh why can’t we use CAD on this course…

Anyway, below are a few rugs that I fell in love with when I discovered another interesting online shop: Kaleidoscope. They look absolutely gorgeous, very tactile and I am sure any guest at your house will want to touch them and they are very affordable!

Spiro rug

Layered circle rug

Lace rug

Heine Leaf Shape rug

Blossom Rug

Feathers Rug

Palm Rug

All rugs courtesy of Kaleidoscope.

I think I also promised you my DIY project some time ago… let me find the photos…

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…no i skonczylam kolejne dwa zadania do akademii, ktore byly dosc podchwytliwe i pozostawily mnie pokryta plamami po farbach! Ach, czemuz nie mozna uzywac zadnego CADa na tym kursie…

Tak poza tym, powyzej przedstawiam kilka strukturalnych dywanow w ktorych sie zakochalam, a znalazlam je przegladajac kolejny sklep internetowy Kaleidoscope. Sa nie tylko piekne, ale rowniez malo bolesne dla portfela, a do zaloze sie ze kazdy gosc w waszym domku bedzie je chcial poglaskac

Hmmm, czy ja kiedys nie obiecalam pokazac jaki projekt ostatnio poczynilismy z mezem w PL?… lece znalezc zdjecia…

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The door before- Missing a Speakeasy, conveniently illustrated by our inspector.

Oh, what were we thinking when we bought this house? What a mess! It is still a mess but it is easy to forget what a mess it used to be! We have encountered so many weird things that I know other renovators haven’t dealt with. Our front door had a huge hole in it from a missing speakeasy. The other side was covered with black faux fur over 5 inch foam, under that a layer of faux wood contact paper, under that tons and tons of paint.

We thought we were going to have to find a new door. It is not OK to have a huge hole in your door and it is not OK to have a custom van inspired front door. After going door shopping, I was not impressed. I really don’t like new doors. They are ugly and lack character. I found a few cool Medieval looking doors with menacing grates for $1200. This is cool and all but doesn’t fit the house and I can think of better things to do with $1200. I also love wood. I’m so over this “energy efficient” man-made doors. I mean how much energy can I save from a door when my house is 70 years old, has lead windows, and no insulation? And I know these doors can’t be made of biodegradable substances. Our messed up door is made of solid wood.  Luckily, we have found the original speakeasy hidden under a mound of hoarder junk. But, like everything else in this massive project, it isn’t that easy. The speakeasy is nice but we are missing the back. We’ve been searching for the back either original or reproduction. I love it’s deco details and it matches the original hardware throughout the house. We found a cast iron speakeasy at a bargain building store. It’s lovely but very Norwegian and doesn’t fit the style of the house or the hole in our door. We are still searching. Some of our neighbors have the same speakeasy as us. I’m about to have an artisan cast the backside…

The door was water damaged, so we thought. David sanded that right out. It is amazing that it was in the shape that it was considering the moisture level of the PNW. David painted the door with a wonderful mistint we found at Home Depot ($5 gallon). It was the exact color that we had wanted. It also had the primer mixed in and went on rich and evenly with just 2 coats. (FIY, it was Behr, much better than my Lowe’s mistints). David cleaned up the original hardware. It wasn’t green! It actually appears to be a stainless steel finish, very modern. We purchased a kickplate to match and to cover up the less than perfect bottom part of the door. David took off the terrible glass door which was never installed properly the 1st time around. The door looks very different from the outside. I think it will look very nice once the exterior is finished.

Now to the interior portion of this front door, not perfect. The wood did not stain up nicely so we painted it the same exterior red shade. It’s classy. The back of the speakeasy is covered with aluminum foil. It does not keep that cool Pacific wind out and it looks awful. Oh, well. I’m still hunting.

I’m happy that we were able to salvage the door. We are all about working with what you have. Why create more landfill waste or spend too much money? So far we have spent about $35 on the door. And here it is (before the exterior paint job)…

-Victoria

Surprise!  It’s a craigslist FRIDAY post!

I was visiting Design*Sponge on my lunch break and there’s this whole section of Before and Afters that truly always inspire me.  The last few have been creatively reupholstered chairs that started off looking like something you’d find on the side of the street.  With some elbow grease and gorgeous fabric, the “after” looked like high end boutique!

As usual, it left me promising myself that somehow, some way, I AM GOING TO LEARN REUPHOLSTERING.  It also inspired me to head over to craigslist to hunt for pieces that would be awesome with just a little elbow grease.   My goal was to find items that cost $50 or less simply because if I pay over $50 for something, probably I want it to be as close to usable condition as possible!

The first piece I found was FREE!

Free metal storage cabinet (http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/zip/1434450417.html)

According to the ad, this is something the homeowners found in their garage when they bought their home.  They don’t know what to do with it, so they’re giving it away FREE (my favorite word)!  In the picture, it’s laying on its side, and it’s hard to tell exactly how deep it might be… But I see all kinds of potential for it anyway.  I mean, if you like the shabby chic look, you could probably use it as is for some type of interesting display.  In fact, it just occurred to me that it could be a charming change of pace for a foyer piece or a mudroom piece.  If you take out that wood in the center and add coat hooks, it would be a one of a kind coat hanger; the extra drawers could store keys and mail and all the little random things that you come inside carrying.

Another thought I had was that you could take the existing paint off, prime it with a glossy bright color like apple green and then use it as an attractive TV stand.  I bet you guys could think of a bunch of other uses for it too… and the price is definitely right!  http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/zip/1434450417.html

$50 Wingback Loveseat (http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/fuo/1434317811.html)

Ok, I can just hear some of you wondering if I’ve lost my mind with this one!  I know it’s really frumpy looking… but I’m asking you to use your imagination, ok?  First I want you to look at the shape.  Wingback style, but on a loveseat, not a chair.  This is awesome!  No, REALLY, this is awesome.  You could completely rock this loveseat in a retro modern environment.  Get rid of the slipcovers and reupholster it in a great fabric, maybe something like this Amy Butler Modern Martini:

Amy Butler's Modern Martini

or maybe this Tunisia Chartreuse print:

Premier Prints Tunisia Chartruese

And you end up with a funky little piece that you might find in Anthropologie or Urban Outfitters, like this Cleo Chair (but without the $1000 price tag):

Anthropologie's Cleo Chair, Polly

The last thing I have to share is this set of 4 “modern” chairs for $35 (http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/fuo/1434278609.html):

Set of 4 "modern" chairs - $35 (http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/fuo/1434278609.html)

Again, I can feel some of you shaking your head, thinking “what happened to her, she used to have such good taste!”  Once again, I’m asking you to trust me and use your imagination.  A coat of paint for the frames and recovering those grubby cushions with a great fabric and I can see you ending up with chairs that rival these $400 a piece Aldo chairs from Room and Board:

Room & Board's Aldo Chair

Inspiration, creativity, and elbow grease… these are the tools that budget decorators employ to their homes from blah to beautiful.  Hope this gives you a little more incentive to keep your eyes open to the possibilities that exist every where around you!

‘Til next time,

xoxo – Shauntelle

Can you imagine, this unbelievable damask medallion teal rug (8×10) was only $399 at Home Goods in Berkeley Heights, NJ. Pair w/Citron walls and this indochine side table (reminds me of Shine Home’s furniture) for less than $300. What a steal! If you are hooked on HomeGoods too report your findings here.

Imagine – Citron Walls

Every year in Rochester we have the Ronald McDonald Sale for charity. Inside of an old Dick’s sporting goods, my mother, aunt and I shoved, kicked and bruised various people/tables (just kidding) in order to find some true treasures. I hunted. I’m not kidding. I got yelled at for ‘not buying the matching tea cup’ to a saucer and weeded my way through thousands of items, to find all of these fabuloso ones for just $34. My budget was $40, and not only did I come in UNDER my budget, but I found the coolest items. Here’s the breakdown.

6 prints, including 3 Van Gogh’s: $14
2 Scarves: $2
1 Fake Peony arrangement: $1
1 Fabulous Record holding end table: $4
Assorted Milk glass, chinoserie & jade dishes: $13

AMAZZZZZZZZZZing. I’m practically drooling. In fact, I am. Every time I walk into my bedroom I want to hug it with decor love. Please don’t think I’m a loony. I’m just in love.

Here’s the goods!!!

Hope you enjoyed it! To see all the pictures, click on my facebook album: HERE

Photos: Heather Bourgeois for CreateH

Budget yellow bedroom - IKEA, Leroy Merlin and Allegro.pl

Another design for the yellow bedroom - all in all (together will wallpaper not shown) I managed to keep cost down to minimum, not compromising on looks or comfort. We’ll see what the clients will say (after getting a cleaner version). I used the ‘Meduza’ lamp I wrote about after my trip to Poland.
Since I’m dead and really need some sleep, that’s it for now

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Kolejna wersja zoltej sypialni – z uzyciem lampy Meduza o ktorej juz pisalam. Poniewaz padam ze zmeczenia, na dzis tyle, chetnie uslysze komentarze

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I’ve spent yesterday strolling around Regent Street and Oxford Street here in London – not really to buy anything but to have a look around, see new collections etc. I found a few nice wallpapers and fabrics in House of Fraser and ordered free samples (I might use it with my next assignment, part of which is to create a sample board). In Zara Home, nothing show-stopping this time.

…and then I went into Habitat and remembered why I love this shop so much Seriously, I could live in one of their displays and would happily get anything from that place so if you are looking for a present for me, don’t hesitate anymore! )

Ok, so here are some of the finds from this trip – and all of them under £100 – most of them well under!

First some lamps.

• First – two lamps presenting the super-hot industrial design; both will add sharpness to the home office, living room or minimalist bedroom:

Tommy - Desk lamp from Habitat

Photographic - Tripod floor legs & shade from Habitat

• How fresh is that! Simple yet delivers the style. Look out for tealight holder of the same design. The lamp below boasts similar take on the shape.

Ribbon - Desk lamp from Habitat

Juno - Desk lamp from Habitat

• Did I say the lamps above were simple? Well… simple that! Perfect for complementing geometric wallpapers.

Jazmine - Desk lamp from Habitat

• So that no one thinks Habitat is too serious, this cute flower lamp will be great for a funky take on romanticism:

Helena - Flower table-wall lamp from Habitat

• (no description required for Boontje’s design, is there?)

Garland - Pendant shade by Tord Boontje from Habitat

• Do candleholders count as lamps? Well, they definitely count as light sources, which works for me. Check out this stylized object which is 1m high!

Bailey - Large nickel plated candleholder from Habitat

…And you won’t believe what they’ve done at the shop – they used around 20 of those candleholders in transparent glass, put LED lightbulbs in them and hung them upside-down from the ceiling at various heights, forming a very dramatic take on the bubble lamps we just discussed. What a view – shame I didn’t have my camera!

• Finally, Klara was just fun to move its arms around in various angles

Klara - Dinner candleholder from Habitat

And now to coffee and side tables.

• I love love love, for the obvious reasons of lightness, versatility and adaptability to small spaces – and price! £69.

Tablo - Nest of 3 tables from Habitat

• More expensive but very original – the Shuffle:

Shuffle - Low occasional table from Habitat

• How pretty is that! The intricate ornaments will work perfectly with next year’s trends for artisanry:

Palonia - Decorative cube from Habitat

• I do love multifunctional items This cube is not only a table, it is also a lightbox

Mr Woo - Light box-table from Habitat

How can one not love Habitat?

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Chodzilam sobie wczoraj po Regent Street i Oxford Street, zbierajac probki tapet i materialow do mojego kolejnego zadania i rozgladajac sie za nowymi kolekcjami. Weszlam do Habitat… i od razu przypomnialam sobie dlaczego kocham ten sklep! Normalnie moglabym w nim zamieszkac, a jezeli ktos szuka dla mnie prezentu, to dylemat rozwiazany

Powyzej przedstawiam wczorajsze znaleziska w dwoch kategoriach – oswietlenie i stoliki. Zgodnie z moja idea ‘organiczonego budzetu’, wszystko, co pokazuje powyzej kosztuje do 100 funtow, a wiele z nich nawet sporo mniej.

Kilka typow? Industrialne klimaty zaprezentowane przez pierwsze lampy i stoliki; minimalistyczny ale bardzo kreatywny design w postaci kolejnych ’skreconych’ lampek; wariacje na temat romantyzmu w kwiatowych swiatlach i drewnianym azurowym stoliku; niebanalny pomysl w szescianie Mr Woo bedacym i stolikiem, i swiatlem (swieci od wewnatrz), no i moj niesmiertelny Namber Lan – czyli zestaw trzech stolikow, za ich elastycznosc i lekkosc.

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I have always loved bubble lamps. They look so light, airy and magical – an absolute stunner in any space. The bubbles can be perfectly round, and the arrangement geometrically perfect, as here:

Round glass bubble chandelier

Next - bubble glass flush wall light

…or it can have slightly uneven bubbles and be more messy in arrangements, which makes them all the more natural-looking:

Glass bubble long chandelier

Bubble - metal table lamp (Tischleuchte) from Impressionen

Glass bubble lamp

So imagine my excitement when I went to this Homebase-style shop in Poland and found this gorgeous chandelier:

My bubble ceiling light

My bubble ceiling light

I loved it, I checked the price, I could not believe it, I confirmed it with a shop assistant (as surprised as I was), and I bought it! Look how stunning it looks in this arrangement from a designer house:

Boston Concept Home 2009 from Apartment Therapy

Boston Concept Home 2009 from Apartment Therapy

Since it’s pretty long (80cm) and will probably end up over our bed.

Or the coffee table in the living room.

Or the dining table.

…

…

… no, I’m definitely not one of those who never change plans for their interiors.

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Od dawna uwielbialam ‘babelkowe’ lampy. Te regularne, jak z dwoch pierwszych zdjec – ale jeszcze bardziej te z ‘niedoskonalymi’ kulkami wzmacniajacymi efekt recznego wykonania, do tego nierownomiernie rozlozone na plafonie z halogenami.
I, o niebiosa, znalazlam taka lampe w sklepie budowlanym – i to w takiej cenie ze musialam oczy przecierac, po czym szybciutko zlapalam za fraki pania sklepikarke ktora musiala sie wspiac na wieeeeelka drabine po moja lampe – no i jest Zobaczcie jak pieknie wyglada w Domu Koncepcyjnym 2009 przedstawionym na Apartment Therapy!

Z powodu rozmiarow (az 80cm dlugosci) zawisnie pewnie nad lozkiem.
Albo nad stolikiem kawowym w salonie.
Lub tez nad stolem jadalnym.
…
…
…nie, zdecydowanie nie jestem jedna z tych osob ktore nigdy nie zmieniaja planow wystroju swojego wnetrza.

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Further to my post about vintage, second-hand finds a few days ago, let me share with you what I found in shops on my Polish trip. You know I love a budget find - and all that’s featured below comes from high-street retailers.

One of the super-hot designs of this season – cross-legged side table. I’ve seen it on cover of the new John Lewis catalogue, of the Dream Bathrooms (from Homes & Gardens) too, and inside many recent magazines! I find it so light and delicate – it can visually lift up any sofa it stands next to, and add elegance and subtleness to the bedroom when used instead of heavy bedside tables:

Cross-legged round black glass side / coffee table

Funky retro lamps - white & black – absolutely spot-on for now and for such a good price!  Found in the local equivalent to Homebase and consting from £30 for a table lamp, through to £60 for the floor lamp.

Retro eye-ball desk / table lamp

Retro eye-ball arch floor lamp

The huge wall light from the series is the truly fabulous – it has this designer feel to it which makes it a great statement piece, and it’s so versatile due to the long arched arm - one moment it can be used over a table, another – give you the reading light over the sofa…

Retro eye-ball wall lamp with long swing arm

Another (bargain!) table lamp replicating the eye-ball shape, working well with minimalist, retro and modern interiors:

Eye-ball glass table lamp

Is it only me or does this lamp look like it was made from a jar?

Funky jar ceiling light

And now – inspired by nature and thus timeless, but fun at the same time, the ‘twigs’ lamp:

Night / table lamp made from twigs

Loads of such ‘wavy plastic‘ designs around, both on high street and at designers, and yet few of them cost £10…

White retro plastic floor lamp

This gorgeous glamour, delicate ceiling lamp with crystals-and-sheer-white-glittery shade will most probably find its place in the yellow bedroom. Under £30.

Glamour white ceiling lamp with crystals

Now to some coffee tables.

This one intrigued me with its lovely visible wood design (check out both the general pattern and the 3 tiles in the middle of the top), its practicality (huge drawers) and its lightness achieved thanks to slim metal legs (this photo does not show off the lifting effect too well). Price: ca. £200.

Wooden chunky coffee table with drawers

This one I love for its functionality and versatility - not only in size and shape but also colour and finish. I adore such items for their aplicability to small spaces, when you need something smaller for everyday, but need space when entertaining guests.

Adjustable coffee table - 3 elements

Adjustable coffee table - 3 elements

This one is pretty simple, not from best materials either, but interesting enough to have cought my eye… and I had to give it a second look when I saw the price – for £80 you can buy it for a few years or for your rented flat without guilt!

3-tier coffee table

Sleek, linear design makes this chair a great addition to a sharp, elegant home office:

Sleek elegant wood, metal and leather office chair

And finally – what lovely fabric! Believe, when I cast my eye on the same sofa in cream alcantara, I haven’t blinked twice. But this is an example of how the choice of fabric can dramatically influence the look, instantly making it a fashionable statement for the bachelor’s pad.

Silver shimmery L-shaped sofa for a bachelor pad

…believe it or not but this is not all I want to share with you from my trip – there will still be one more buy, and a DIY project we’ve completed in our flat back home.

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Tak jak obiecalam, po znaleziskach ‘z drugiej reki’ - czas na to co znalazlam w polskich sklepach podczas mojej ostatniej wizyty. A bylo tego sporo i naprawde pozytywnie mnie to zaskoczylo – a zgodnie z moim motto, szukalam jedynie produktow w dobrych cenach!

Znalazlam wiele pieknych dizajnerskich lamp - niektore retro; najciekawsza z nich to ‘kinkiet’ z biala kula na bardzo dlugim ramieniu dzieki czemu moze oswietlac dwie strefy – no ale zyrandol ze sloika nie odbiega oryginalnoscia!. Inne inspirowane natura i dzieki temu ponadczasowe (bardzo ciekawa lampka nocna z galazek drzewa), a takze lampa podlogowa z falujacych kawalkow plastiku, bardzo modna w tej chwili – a jeszcze za taka cene?! No i piekny delikatny glamour w postaci krysztalkowego zyrandola z przeswitujacym abazurem, ktory, cos tak czuje, znajdzie swoje miejsce w zoltej sypialni.

Dalej – stoliki kawowe. Piekny wzor slojow przyciagnal moj wzrok do pierwszego mebla, ale tak samo interesujace sa w nim dwie niezwykle pojemne szuflady i metalowe nozki dodajace stolowi lekkosci. Potem trafilam na kilka stolikow ‘warstwowych’, interesujacych tym bardziej im wiecej mozliwosci ustawienia daja (idealne do malych pomieszczen!). No i moje ulubione ostatnio – stoliki ze skrzyzowanymi nozkami, ktore nadaja niezwyklej lekkosci kazdej sofie przy ktorej stoja, oraz elegancji i delikatnosci sypialniom, gdzie zastepuja ciezkie stoliki nocne.

No i jeszcze dwa ciekawe meble do siedzenia – przepiekny, elegancki i prosty w formie fotel laczacy drewno, metal i skore doda szyku kazdemu gabinetowi, a kanapa z niezwyklym lekko blyszczacym szarym obiciem bedzie wygladac pieknie w kawalerskim mieszkaniu modnego mezczyzny – idealny przyklad jak duzo zmienia material, gdyz ten sam model widzialam moment wczesniej w bezowym obiciu z alcantary… wystarczy powiedziec ze nie spojrzalam na niego drugi raz, a ta wersja az wyprosila zdjecie.

…ale ale, to nie koniec relacji z tej podrozy – podziele sie jeszcze z Wami kolejnym zakupem i projektem zrob-to-sam ktory popelnilismy z mezem w naszym polskim mieszkaniu!

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I can’t believe how many great products and designs I’ve seen on my last trip to Poland. The interior design market is changing there rapidly, and there aren’t that many new trends that you can’t find there now; even better – most of them are available at high street retailers, making great design available for many!

But before we go into the New, first let us talk about the Old. First, a find stil bought in the UK, but which I envisage to place in the yellow bedroom I was describing some time ago. For now to keep you in suspense – still in packaging, you will see the final effect when all is ready! This vintage glamour / shabby chic mirror frame cost peanuts and is absolutely amazing; I found it on iBootSale and picked up the next day. As it turned out, it was too big even for my mutant-huge suitcase, so had to ship with DHL. But it was worth it, the new owners are thrilled to have it!

Vintage glamour / shabby chic ornamental mirror frame

As we’re with vintage, when we visited my in-laws, I was in heaven. Here are some more finds. First, the sideboards, etc that my husband’s grandfather hand made some years ago (he was even taking carpenter order for those for local people, and funnily enough I saw a very similar one in some other garage when cycling through the village):

I’m planning to sand it, paint in a delicate pastel colour, add a few embellishments and generally keep it shabby chic / country. Whether for me or someone else – I don’t know yet!

Handmade vintage sideboard by my husband's grandfather

This is another beauty, with more bite to it and gorgeous handles… there is also a sideboard top in another shed but in much worse condition – still there is a chance

Handmade vintage sideboard by my husband's grandfather

Loads of those around as well… I’ve seen some very nice decors of country kitchens with stove door as a decoration on the wall:

Vintage stove door

…and finally our finds from a nearby house that is being refurbished – a vintage double shelf and an old radio which I am thinking about converting into a night stand. They were just being thrown away so hopefully they will get a second chance

Vintage find - old double shelf

Vintage find - old radio frame

And now last truly vintage items. Not obviously planning to do that, and with ideas ranging from ghost chairs to mismatched vintage, we bought 8 chairs When we first got into this antique shop, we just came in to browse, and then we came across the two beauties:

…the raspberry-peach louis-style chairs,  eight

Raspberry Louis style glamour chair

…and the black and golden stylized chairs (19th c. Art Noveau style),  six

Black and golden 19th century Art Noveau style chairs

I couldn’t decide which ones are better. The raspberry ones worked well with my idea, and I even considered such chairs (with different upholstery); they are also much easier to fit with many styles; glamour, eclectic, shabby chic, etc. The black ones, though, were absolutely original and different to what you normally find, but would not suit our space as they would really require it to be much more upscale than we planned for.

But we couldn’t decide, as both sets were gorgeous. We also had to think through whether they really will work well, how much they will influence other design elements in the house, even what are we going to do with this number of chairs At some point we wanted to get both sets, as the black ones were dirt cheap. Having slept over the night dreaming about them, we took a decision – we go again and we buy one set that will work best.

Raspberry Louis style glamour chair

At closer inspection, it turned out that the black chairs were very uncomfortable – what looked as well-formed foam was in fact a nicely shaped plank, or some other piece of wood, and the seats were darn hard. Also, the paint was peeling off at the teeniest touch, and someone actually painted (probably with  spray) over part of the fabric at the back. There were a few other elements we didn’t like either.

Generally unhappy about the quality, we turned to the raspberry set. Gosh, that was comfortable Very soft, stable, and sturdy in construction; after being told the shop can pressure-clean them, and having got a super-discount, decision was taken and they are OURS! Of course they need re-upholstering and a new coat of finish (and maybe crystal buttons?), but after cleaning they can even serve as they are for the time-being (meaning: when they are in the shed waiting until we move back to Poland, but no one knows when!).

Raspberry Louis style glamour chair

Their versatility will allow me also to use one for a work desk, and another two can work very well with some retro or modern couch.

My mother-in-law even suggested some fabrics for upholstery from her own collection:

Golden and cream upholstery for the chairs

OK! Enough of vintage, I will show you what I found in shops next time

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Az mi trudno uwierzyc ile przepieknych i oryginalnych produktow i projektow znalazlam w czasie mojego ostatniego pobytu w polsce. Rynek wnetrzarski i projektowania wnetrz naprawde jest teraz ciekawy, i niewiele zostalo jeszcze designow ktorych w Polsce nie mozna teraz znalezc. Co lepsze  – dostepne sa w zwyklych sklepach,  nie u drogich importerow, dzieki czemu dostep do nich ma w koncu wiele osob.

Ale zanim o nowosciach, troche o starociach.  Najpierw przepiekna stara rama, na skrzyzowaniu glamour i shabby chic, ktora planuje powiesic w zoltej sypialni o ktorej kiedys pisalam. Znalazlam ja za grosze na iBootSale i odebralam nastepnego dnia. Niestety okazala sie za duza nawet na moja gigantycznie zmutowana walize, wiec poleciala do Polski DHLem. Ale bylo warto – rama bardzo spodobala sie nowym wlascicielom!

Juz w Polsce najpierw odwiedzilismy tesciow. Moja radocha nie miala konca gdy zajrzalam do stodoly, obory, i innych skrytek. Znalazlam na przyklad dwa przepiekne kredensy / komody zrobione wlasnorecznie przez dziadka mojego meza (robil je tak dobrze ze nawet przyjmowal zamowienia od okolicznych mieszkancow, i faktycznie – rowerujac sobie przez wioske znalazlam w innym garazu bardzo podobny kredens!).

Z kremowa lub pastelowa farba i krysztalowymi galkami beda przepiekne (choc ta mniejsza komoda sama z siebie ma piekne raczki wiec moze zostana). Jeszcze nie wiem czy znajda miejsce u mnie (w koncu 59m2 ma swoj limit!) czy jednak u kogos innego…

Mnostwo jest takze drzwiczek od starych piecow kaflowych, ktore pieknie moznaby wkomponowac w kuchnie wiejska.

…a na spacerze kilka domow dalej trwal remont, gdzie wsrod wyrzuconych smieci znalazlam piekna podwojna polke i rame starego radia (ktora byc moze stanie sie stolikiem nocnym). Cuda nad cudami

No i w koncu – ‘niechcacy’ kupilismy krzesla no nie moglismy sie oprzec. Zastanawialismy sie nad dwoma zestawami – malinowo- brzoskwiniowymi Ludwikami, oraz czarno-zlotymi z przelomu XIX/XX wieku, w stylu secesyjnym. Przyznaje ze bardziej za serce w pierwszym momencie chwycily secesyjne, choc od razu wywietrzylam problem. Te krzesla mocno narzucaja swoj styl, ktory jest duzo bardziej elegancki niz planowalismy. Z kolei ludwiki jak to ludwiki – pasuja do wielu wnetrz (eklektyczne, glamour, shabby chic, i inne), wygladaja dobrze nawet z nowoczesnymi (szklo, plastik itd)…

…przespalismy sie z problemem, w pewnym momencie nawet uznajac ze moze kupimy oba zestawy. No ale przy drugim obejrzeniu okazalo sie ze jakosciowo te czarne nie sa najlepsze… i mocno niewygodne. Oczywiscie byloby to do zmiany ale juz nas tak nie zachwycaly jak dzien wczesniej. Malinowe (choc siedzenia bardziej w brzoskwinke wpadaja) ludwiczki za to jak najbardziej wygodne, i nawet sprzedawca dorzucil profesjonalne pranie zeby troche ich jeszcze pouzywac tak jak sa. No i je wzielismy

I tak przyda im sie nowa tapicerka z pelniejszym wypelnieniem, krysztalowe guziczki (moze) i nowy lakier, ale poniewaz na razie i tak stoja w schowku czekajac na lepsze czasy czyli nasz powrot do PL (kiedy? kiedy??…) to moga byc Planuje jednego uzyc do biurka, i sa odpowiednio ozdobne by pasowac tez przy retro czy nowoczesnej kanapie. Kochana tesciowka odlozyla juz nawet material ktorego moglabym uzyc na obicie i inne dodatki, ale to juz zalezne bedzie od ostatecznej koncepcji. Juz sie nie moge doczekac!

No! To tyle tego vintage. W nastepnym poscie przechodzimy do nowosci jakie znalazlam

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NY Maxime's living room from Apartment Therapy

Absolutely stunning, this place is the perfect compromise between budget IKEA buys and a bit of splashing out on accessories or a few designer classics. There is no reason whatsoever why any one of us (well almost anyone – see below) could not have a place like this with some ingenuity and patience; the classics can be bought on auctions (or perhaps you can get a knock-off for a fraction of original’s price?), IKEA is – well, IKEA, no need to explain The rest is thrift shops.

Importantly, though, there is a feeling of controlled nonchalance about this place – and it is achieved by rigorous approach to putting things to their place as soon as you’ve used them, and generally uncluttering it. Yes, it might look random, but it is in fact a well calculated space with place for everything. Too easy to make such place feel untidy – so only for the disciplined!

See the rest of the place here.

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Coz za salon! Jest on przykladem doskonalego kompromisu miedzy oszczednymi zakupami w IKEA i szalenstwem designerskich dodatkow, ktorych jest tylko kilka i czesc z nich jest z drugiej reki. Kazdy (prawie, o czym ponizej) z nas moze miec takie wnetrze, o ile ma troche fantazji i cierpliwosci. Nawet te klasyki mozna znalezc na aukcjach, albo trafic na podrobki za maly procent oryginalnej ceny.

Jednakze, jest to miejsce dla bardzo zorganizowanych osob. Moze wyglada na przypadkowo urzadzone, ale w rzeczywistosci jest efektem precyzyjnej kalkulacji. Nie ma tam nic zbednego, ani tez nic czego wlasnie wlasciciel uzywal – wszystko natychmiast wraca na miejsce. W tak eklektycznej przestrzeni jest to bardzo istotne – inaczej pokoj moze wydac sie zagracony i nieuporzadkowany. Czyli – tylko dla zdyscyplinowanych!

Obejrzyj cale wnetrze tutaj.

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Ish and Chi's super-sweet studio

How pretty is that! Viv has completely remodeled her studio by converting an unused space in her house into this gorgeous haven of creativity! I live the DIY aspect of it which not only saved the budget, but also immensely personalized the space. Check out the gorgeous butterfly mobile, Eames style chair, painted wardrobe and this antique sideboard on the right! Not to mention the pretty designs over the desk (Viv’s own, and you can buy them in her Etsy shop here).

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Co za piekne studio! Viv przemienila niewykorzystane miejsce w jej domu w przepiekne, kobiece studio w ktorym tworzy swoje male dziela. ‘Zrob to sama’ to jej motto i dzieki temu przestrzen zostala upiekszona nie tylko tanie, ale i bardzo wyjatkowo. Zwroccie uwage na piekna ozdobe z motyli, krzeslo stylizowane na Eames, pomalowana szafe i zabytkowy bufet. No i oczywiscie obrazki nad biurkiem, ktore sa dzielem Viv i ktore mozna kupic tu.

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“I’ve noticed that you prefer white recently” wrote my Mum through IM a few days ago. Do I? I guess I do. Although I’m ashamed to admit it, it took me some time to acknowledge white as a color. I’ve always loved bold colors (even though my red bedroom was giving me headaches during my uni years). With time, however, perhaps the more interiors I’ve seen, the more I’ve learned how colors dramatically influence how we perceive everything around us.

1. White is a great background to both statement pieces of art, and bold color accents. If you want to display a treasured painting, a gorgeous chair or any other item – what better background than white?? (unless the item is white )
2. White works for everyone. It makes interiors seem timeless, elegant, fresh. It’s exactly why we call it the blank canvas – everyone can imagine themselves in the space, even if to decide what other colors to use. It’s easy on our imagination, bluntly speaking.
3. White works with every style. Normally we’d think – minimalist. But think also – modern; think shabby chic; French country, Scandinavian, etc, etc. Even think retro! (as a background to graphic designs)
4. But most importantly, white = space. They are almost synonyms.  It will always create this feeling of spaciuosness, so desired in small places.

And yet, surprisingly, white seems to be used more in big spaces rather than small flats. I’ve realized it when looking through my inspirations collections to choose images for today’s post. All the post-industrial, ex-school buldings, lofts, barn conversions and quite a number of old big mansions boast the white interiors. So why not small flats? (And yes I know I admit my kitchen is green and my bathroom orange! I’m not saying everything needs to be white )

Anyway here are some not-so-big-or-expensive places that I hope will inspire everyone to the gorgeous white…

• …workspaces at home

Desire to Inspire - White workspace

Design Sponge - customized workspace

• …calm and relaxing bedrooms

Kikette's white bedroom

Decor pad's glamour bedroom with mirrored end tables

Melanie Acevedo's simple and light bedroom

Charlie's design diary's simple white bedroom

• …and chic and spacious living rooms

Styleroom's white living room

I like design's living room

Steven Shadley's gallery-style living room from Katiedid

Out in Home's nest of tables

Freshhome's minimalist living room with fireplace

So? I’m sure you have at least one white room. Will you look at it differently now?

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“Widze, ze ostatnio preferujesz biel“, Mama napisala do mnie na GG kilka dni temu. Coz, chyba ma racje. To prawda, dlugo mi zajelo zanim uznalam bialy za kolor. Zawsze uwielbialam mocne kolory, mimo ze ze moja czerwona sypialnia z czasow studenckich przyprawiala mnie kiedys o bol glowy. Ale z czasem, ogladajac coraz wiecej wnetrz, nauczylam sie jak wielki wplyw maja na nas kolory wszystkiego co nas otacza.

1. Bialy to doskonale tlo zarowno dla wyrazistych dziel sztuki, jak i mocnych akcentow kolorystycznych. Jezeli chcesz wyeksponowac ulubiony obraz czy wyjatkowy fotel – nie ma lepszego tla (no chyba ze obiekt tez jest bialy )
2. Bialy pasuje wszystkim i do wszystkiego. Sprawia ze wnetrza staja sie ponadczasowe, eleganckie i swieze. Wlasnie dlatego mowimy – biala karta, czyste tlo, poczatek; kazdy moze sie w takim wnetrzu ‘zobaczyc’, nawet po to by zdecydowac na jakie kolory ten bialy wymienic. Jest to kolor przyjazny wyobrazji, ze tak powiem.
3. Bialy pasuje do kazdego stylu. Pierwsze skojarzenie – minimalizm. Ale takze nowoczesny, shabby chic, francuski, skandynawski, itd, itp.. nawet retro, jako kontrastowa podstawa do mocnych wzorow.
4. Co najwazniejsze,  biel = przestrzen. To prawieze synonimy. Biel zawsze doda poczucia przestronnosci, tak potrzebnej w malych wnetrzach.

A jednak, co zadziwiajace, wydaje sie ze biel jest duzo czesniej uzywana w wielkich przestrzeniach niz malych. Zwrocilam na to uwage przegladajac moje kolekcje inspiracji, gdy wybieralam zdjecia na dzis. Wszystkie te post-industrialne, po-szkolne obiekty, lofty, i inne wielkie budynki wrecz chlubia sie biela i przestrzenia. Czemu wiec nie male mieszkania? (Tak, wiem, moja kuchnia jest zielona a mini-lazienka pomaranczowa, nigdzie nie powiedzialam ze wszystko musi byc biale ale jednak…)

Tak czy inaczej, powyzej przedstawiam kilka wnetrz ktore mam nadzieje ze Was zainspiruja – domowe biura, sypialnie i salony. Prawie kazdy z nas ma choc jeden bialy pokoj – czy spojrzysz teraz na niego inaczej?

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Hi there,

Last night I found another very inspiring blog – Young House Love, which is run by an amazing couple of interior designers. You can’t help but simply like them, which is greatly enhanced by the fact that their designs, decorations and makeovers are really stunning – and they can work with any budget! See examples here:

Before:

Living room - before

After:

Young House Love living room - after

And my favorite – total makeover for $200!!! Before:

Bedroom - before

After:

Young House Love bedroom - after

And this blog should also catch your eye – Like Merchant Ships gives nice tips on bringing beauty to your house on your budget, whatever it is. Nice good living ideas too!

For instance, you get tips on how to find such nice pendants for $0.99… click on the image to go to their ‘budget decorating’ section:

$0.99 pendant from Like Merchant Ships

It’s funny that I found them now, when my last post (apart from the news) was about budget decorating!

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Wczoraj wieczorem znalazlam swietnego bloga – Young House Love, gdzie młode małżeństwo prezentuje swój dom, z którego narodziła się ich pasja projektowania wnętrz. W tej chwili profesjonalni styliści, pisza os sobie jak o kolegach z sasiedztwa i nie da się ich nie lubić – a do tego ich projekty są naprawde swietne: pełne ciepła i światła, takie w których każdy może czuć się komfortowo, a przy tym bardzo dyskretnie stylowe. Podalam dwa przyklady przerobek zrobionych z ich udzialem, ze zdjeciami ‘przed’ i ‘po’; salon, ktory niesamowicie zyskal na urodzie, i sypialnia ktora zostala przemieniona przy budzecie tylko $200!

Drugi blog ktory prezentuje to Like Merchant Ships. Tym razem nie sa to profesjonalni projektanci, ale pani domu probujaca zyc pieknie ale i ‘okazyjnie’ – przykladem jest ten zyrandol, nabyty za 99 centow . Duzo ciekawych porad, takze takich ‘zyciowych’. Polecam!

Zabawne, ze te blogi znalazlam akurat po napisaniu posta o tanim projektowaniu Blogi oczywiscie natychmiast znajduja sie na mojej liscie odwiedzanych.

(ps. Ojej… jakos dziwnie wychodzi mi to pisanie po polsku nastepnym razem sprobuje zaczac po polsku, to moze wyjdzie mi lepiej )

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Today we are finishing removing every piece of carpet and every staple and tack strip from the stairs. Sand down the stairs, paint them black, paint all the doors in hallway/foyer and add trim around a hallway door. We are attempting to completely finish the foyer and stairway this Sunday. The exterior is being painted this upcoming week if the weather permits it. We’ve decide to really put on “the ritz” and finish up the foyer to make a nice 1st impression. The rest of our house may be total chaos but we are trying to trick. Plus, Halloween is coming up and I don’t want to actually look like a decrepit, dangerous, scary house or a local PNW heroin den.

I was wasting valuable time yesterday and was trying to find lobster mushroom recipes before we went out to forage. One thing led to another and I was looking at before and afters on Sunset magazine’s website. I found a beautiful Victorian home “transformation”. In my opinion, the home was a work of art to begin with. When you have a 155 year old Victorian in Napa Valley, don’t complain, please. It’s just rude. They painted the stairway black. This is what we plan on doing. I like the drama. The house needs that at the entryway. I was going to paint the steps black and the backs white but that is too much work. I think I’ll be happy with the solid black look. Our foyer is a neutral, boring taupe, the trim is white, there needs to be some drama there. I went with Behr floor paint in Stealth Jet (how warlike of me and yes I actually got a paint mixed, no mistint for me this time). I went with this because it appears to be a softer black, something that will distress well on a high traffic area. It will still be dark and dramatic but not “new”, not overly crisp and modern. I sure hope I like it. The ultimate plan is to get an Oriental runner in a deep red and add the brass rods down the stairway. Considering the budget and all the work to do, that is not a priority. I just work with what I have and usually that makes me happy.

I guess I should wrap up my cup of coffee and get to work.

-Victoria

Painted upstairs bedroom

OK, I apologize for all of the slacking. We’ve been working hard on the house and at our jobs so we can have money to spend on the house. I know we aren’t taking pictures as much as we want and I know we aren’t sharing them enough. This is the upstairs bedroom, the bedroom that we are using, painted up.

It’s a Ralph Lauren $5 mistint. I ended up using this color all over the place because Home Depot had 5 gallons of the same shade. I used it in this bedroom, the “media” room (bedroom downstairs), and on the trim in the boudoir. I still have 3 gallons left.

At first I did not love this color. It was too sage. It was too “contemporary”. It would look taupe during the daytime and green at night. Now I love this color. It is a great neutral. It is a taupe with a bit of olive drab green. Once I got my stuff into this room, I love it. I’m still “decorating”. We just got our light fixture in this week. When this room is finished it will be very nice. Have I mentioned that I love mistints?

Before bedroom

In case you have forgotten, here is the room before. And in case you have forgotten, this was a hoarder house, not our mess but this is what we had to work with. I like the “original” mint walls but you wouldn’t believe the filth on them! Just black mess, layers and layers. The trim was also painted the same shade as the wall. I wasn’t wild about that. It took 2 coats of primer and 3 coats of trim paint to make that trim not look minty fresh.

More to come…

-Victoria