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

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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

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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.

W O R D U P

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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

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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

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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! 

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...

N O T E S O N A S C A N D O

Since my return from Gothenburg, I have become a little obsessed with Nordic style. Bright white interiors, exposed concrete and distressed, faded wood have all got me swooning. This ties in very nicely with the prospect of moving house (and when I say house I mean flat...) in the coming few months, and, for once, it’s a flat I can decorate, paint, and adorn to my heart’s content! I still don’t really have any fixed ideas yet, but it’s been fun to buy Elle Decoration and Living etc, and weep drool over all the lovely but ridiculously expensive sofas, rugs, kitchen utensils and candle holders (10 000 bucks for those btw! #crazytimes).

Luckily, the new abode has been done up to sell, so it has a brand spanking new bathroom and kitchen and doesn’t need any work whatsoever, which I am very grateful for :). Here are a few snapshots from my imaginatively named Inspiration folder, all found via my new favourite Swedish blogger, Emma. (Her blog is fantastic, and visually stunning - I had to stop myself from reading every single post!) I love the greys, the petrol blues and the charcoals coupled with the shabby chic palettes, and I’ve loved that woodland wallpaper since clocking it on Grand Designs a few years ago. Make sure you don’t miss the kitty – he’s hiding! (Pictures: Emma's Blog)

A - L I S T E D

Since its heyday as the stomping ground of Glasgow’s aristocracy, this art deco building suffered an untimely fall from grace. Fortunately, Surface ID were on hand to restore it to its former glory.

When it opened its doors in 1913, the Hillhead Picture Salon was one of the first suburban cinemas in the city. Showcasing a full orchestra, handsome furnishings and 'the best pictures the world can supply', it was an extremely popular venue amongst the West End elite. The exposed concrete structure offset with belle èpoque plasterwork was a marvel, and an early example of the ‘Hennebique Ferroconcrete System’ – a method of strengthening concrete with iron and the predecessor of reinforced concrete construction commonplace today. Sadly, the glory days couldn’t last forever and dwindling numbers finally forced the cinema to close its doors for good in 1992.

Fast forward eighteen years, and after several disastrous refurbishments in the noughties that saw the balcony walled up and the ornate ceiling hidden from view, the former cinema building is back to its glorious best. Redesigned by Glasgow based Surface-ID as a restaurant and bar, the renamed Hillhead Book Club reads like a rule book for smart restoration. Entering through the glitzy canopy scattered with tiny fairy lights, and passing by the patio with its assortment of furniture, the Book Club is already looking pretty special. Inside, the magnificent architecture once again takes centre stage, but the crisp, formal whites of years gone past are replaced with softer mushrooms and taupes that echo the faded elegance of the old building. Grungy, pseudo vintage wallpaper is used to soften the elaborate plasterwork, while dark mahogany pews and gently glowing light fittings bring unexpected warmth.

In classic Surface ID style, a few bold choices help to launch the interior into the contemporary. The most obvious is the double height, wood panel partition that splits the room in half, creating quiet, intimate nooks behind it and a focal point for those at the bar in front. Adorning it, in the centre of the hall is the pièce de résistance - an illuminated moose head that pretty much embodies the quirky, off the wall nature of the Book Club. Leaping between eras, medieval banquet tables are clashed with steam punk light fittings, and a gramophone sits proudly at the bar amongst an old-school projector and shabby suitcases. The result is a haphazard jigsaw puzzle of eras and ages, that collectively form a pretty picture, an apt tribute if ever there was one. (Pictures: Surface ID)

T H E W H I T E S T U F F

Image Credit

I came across this little gem earlier. After perusing all the wonderful white bits and bobs on Helen’s blog the other day, this stark white interior jumped out at me! I also heart Nendo very much. They are a clever bunch, doing everything from furniture and interiors to perfume bottles, as well as the wonderful, but just-a-little-bit-mental, mental health institution without any doors. Yes, really. I just can’t figure out how they got the clients to go for it! I guess it’s a testament to how awesome they are, if nothing else. 

The interior for this cafe for children and parents still has Nendo’s trademark peculiarities, and is designed to reflect the hugely different perspectives of its little and large inhabitants. Distorted scales are used to engage with both adults and babies, and the result is an Alice in Wonderland style room, where the floorboards change scale across the room and a huge sofa is a massive play area for one user and a tiny changing area for another. It's very minimalist and clean looking for a child friendly cafe you may think, but Nendo have thought of everything. From the ground, babies and children can delight in images of animals and birds in that place forgotten by adults: the underside of the table. 

B L U R R E D B O U N D A R I E S

It could be straight out of the Black Swan set...

With its blurred walls and atmospheric fog, you would be forgiven for thinking this image of ANZAS Dance Studio had been digitally enhanced. It is, however, a striking optical illusion devised by the architects - Beijing based Tsutsumi and Associates - who have created the impression of mist simply by painting thousands of tiny graduated dots onto the mirrored walls. The design challenges our perception of space, and uses curves in the apex of each corner to further blur the distinction between floor and wall. Disorientating and intoxicating, the effect is nothing short of dreamlike.