F R I D A Y F E E L I N G

Source

I just adore this ombre wall that I found whilst rummaging in the portfolio of Swedish photographer Magnus Anesund, especially as it's in my favourite colour. How to achieve it is quite another matter! Happy Friday :)

S T U F F + T H I N G S

01 - Homemade lamb stew with doughballs - slow cooker you are my new best friend!
02 - Little Eamonn hijacking any available nook or cranny to keep himself warm... luckily those ain't my jeans :)
03 - What is it with cats and boxes??
04 - Black square tips as seen on door sixteen (can you tell I just rediscovered my Model's Own pen after a liftetime 9 months?)
05 - Spicy chorizo and sweet potato soup, or at least it will be in an hour or two!
06 - Lovely new cushions and blanket from Ikea, modelled by Little A

# M O N D A Y W I S H L I S T 0 3

1,2,3,4,5

This week has gone by so quick! In that time I've managed to... purchase some paint for my chair socks DIY project / visit an antiques and vintage fair / acquire a marvellous vintage trunk at said fair / choose the wall  to blackboard paint (the options was narrowed down considerably when I accidentally threw red wine over the wall in question!) and celebrate little Eamonn's birthday - hence the cat tribute!!

# M O N D A Y W I S H L I S T 0 2

1,2,3,4

This week I've been in love with purple and turquoise, and wishing I could be as cool as Susannah Vento, who styled the shot. I love all the clashing geometries and prints and frankly I can't say no to a bit of turquoise at the best of times. Incidentally, the chair with the blue socks is from Susannah's own home, which is all black, white and blue and just what you would expect from a Interior Stylist! I've been trying to think of a way to customize my (slightly boring) blue Ikea chairs, and this could be it. It looks pretty easy to do, so right up my street then! I've also rediscovered Fine Little Day, a Swedish company who make both the cushion and the pot stand which you can see for yourself here.

P A W S O F F

Black, white and animal themed you say? Don't you just love it when you find all your favourite things combined together? These don't really look like the most practical items ever, but actually who cares when they're that pretty. You can find them (and lots of other cuteasabutton products) here.

W O R D U P

1,2,3,4

I have to admit I'm a sucker for a bit of text, and here are some cute ideas I've found of how to incorporate text with interiors. Isn't the embroidered door just amazing?!? The artist Sarah Greves doesn't stop with furniture either, and even embroiders bananas and chocolate - it's pretty impressive! The second picture is taken from Panta Rhei School in Amstelveen, which incidentally is super close to my old home in Amsterdam. The interior was done by the Dutch practice i29, who modelled the words into "carpets of text" giving them a graphic quality when viewed from a distance. You can check out other pictures from the school here.

# M O N D A Y W I S H L I S T

1,2,3,4,5,6

So I'm finally back in Edinburgh! Amsterdam has been fantastic, stressful and fun and I miss it immensely but it was definately time to come home and take my chances in bonnie Scotland. Between job applications and crafting my new and improved CV, I have been gathering a stack of images to help me along with the interior of the flat. Although the basics are there, there is still loads to do and I'm getting the fear that it's going to end up a little characterless #Ikea overdose unless I find some alternatives sharpish! Here's what's on my wishlist this week...

B U L L E T F O R M Y

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

I'm not really into Valentines Day anymore, mostly because of the years I spent working my socks off in a restaurant, and if anything makes you cynical about the date then it's that! So instead of hearfelt gushings, here are my design crushes that I've been storing for a while :)

T H I S B R I G H T F L A S H

I thought I would share these pictures showcased on Dezeen the other day, of an apartment in the Singel in Amsterdam, by Laura Alverez Architects. I laugh because just last week I went to the Piet Hien Eek factory and showroom in Eindhoven, who is a Dutch furniture designer best know for his work with reclaimed wood and industrial materials... and whaddayaknow that's one of his tables in this apartment! The style is just so recognisable, and I love it as it has just the right balance of shabby to modern, and can look right at home in even the most minimal of spaces, case in point right here. The stairs look a bit lethal, but they are very typical of the Old Town style here and are probably pretty normal for a Dutch person! 

E X C U R S I E : I N S E L H O M B R I O C H

 Just some snaps from the Insel Hombrioch Museum near Dusseldorf which I visited in the name of 'research' last week.  The former NATO base was redeveloped as a sythesis of art and nature in 1994, allowing this so-called 'neglected corner of the earth' to become something quite beautiful. It's a totally different sort of art experience; there are no guards (and hardly any other people at all!) or signs to explain the artwork, and some of the buildings don't house anything at all. Paths, sculptures and gardens weave effortlessly together and there's no way of knowing where the art ends and nature begins. But I guess that's probably the point. Enjoy :)

T H E S E A T H E S E A

I  thought I would share some pictures of my trip back home to the Kingdom over Christmas.

After around 4 days of sofa surfing, and with cabin fever brewing, me and my sis decided to get out of the house for a few hours and take a wee donder to the Harbour and Ravenscraig Castle, where there are also some really brilliant pieces of land art on display. Designed to integrate with rather than oppose the landscape, each piece is site specific and reflects the coastal environment in a subtle, elegant fashion. Donald Urquhart's Sea Beams play homage to the vast colour spectrum of the sea (and seem to work whatever the weather), whilst the Portal and Sailor's Walk Window capture and frame specific views over to the Bass Rock and Edinburgh. The steps between park and Harbour are adorned with two stone inscriptions by the wonderful Thomas A. Clark, and allude to the changing light conditions as you travel between. Other works include Alec Finlay's bird boxes with crossword puzzles written on them (they're pretty tough though... and where are the blimmin' answers?) and the shaded wall also by Donald Urquhuart. The artwork, both individually and collectively, really make such a difference to the area and I'm so happy that Kirkcaldy (...ok, Dysart) is home to them. You can read more about the project here. 

NB - I've added in some other pictures of the artwork taken in Summertime which are a bit better quality. Nope it wasn't as sunny as that in December!     

L I K E C L O C K W O R K

Here I am, back again! I told you I was going to be a better blogger :) As a new resident of Amsterdam (!) I should hopefully have some interesting things to share over the next few months. Today I stumbled upon the most AMAZING design shop in the centre, called Droog. Choc a block with an inspired selection of lights, furniture, fabrics and loads of other knick knacks, ranging from fairly priced to the available-upon-request ridiculous, this is the Ikea of the designer. Naturally, I came away with a few ideas for my own home including the stick on the wall light and the invisible shelf. I also love those smooshed (I can't think of a better word , too much J-shore I think!) faux plastic ceramic cups, but I doubt they would survive the flight home. I hope you enjoy :) 

W H E R E I ' M A N Y M O R E

Source

So who's been crap at blogging lately? Ahem.

It seems like the longer you're away the harder is it to come back. Moral of the story, don't go AWOL in the first place!

In light of this, I've decided - in typical start of the year fashion - to dedicate more time and effort to my blog. I know I'm never going to be a one-post-a-day sorta girl, but I reckon I could aim for one a week at the very least. I'm the stupid thing is, I'm always looking at stuff, its the actual writing the entry and posting it part that I seem to fail at. Here are my lastest internet finds and inspirations. Unfortunately I'm still swooning over Elle Interiors and not thinking about budgets and the like, but oh well that's half the fun :)

 More to follow soon...