Simple kitchen

White kitchens look as clean, organized and let the cooking part shine. In this case we see some IKEA cabinets with old wood furniture which works pretty well . There's a feeling of modernism but with comfort and practicability.

Photos from anne naumann

Cute top

I'm not a fashion addict but sometimes I just can't resist and I definitely can't resist this H&M top. So feminine and light and beautiful.

From le blog de la mechante

Parisienne small studio

Small can be pretty and organized. This is a 26 square meter apartment in Paris. You can see how Elodie, the house owner made possible to have different areas in such a tiny space.
The whole apartment has IKEA items with some vintage ones.

Apartment present in Apartment Therapy.

This is the house of Elodie (click and go to her blog)

Autumn palette

Simple, earthy, warm and comfortable. This is my autumn palette.
What's yours?

Image via decor8

Photo idea

Using photography as a decorative focus can work pretty well in a room. Use images taken by you or friends, images you like and with visually interesting. details.
You can have one only theme or different ones in one wall. You can do the same on top of a table with glass on it, in frames and you can even print photos on fabric like pillows, duvet covers or curtains (not that found of the last one).
I have also seen a fabric headboard with a little girl sleeping ans this was in a girl's bed.

The limit is your imagination.
Any suggestions?

Images via domino (click to go to original flickr links)

The Eames lounge chair

Some objects are just icons of design and you can see them in lots of houses. Probably not in a middle class home, because design can be really expensive and if we are talking of an icon multiply that for ten, but "design homes" usually use great furniture from different times in history.That's the case of the Eames lounge chair by Ray and Charles Eames, an icon of modern design. This chair was built in the early 50's and if you're wondering about the idea behind the creation, there you have:

“the motivation behind most of the things we’ve done was either that we wanted them ourselves, or we wanted to give them to someone else, and the way to make that practical is to have that gift manufactured… the lounge chair for example, was really done as a present for a friend, Billy Wilder, and has since been reproduced." said Charles Eames.This particular chair is about status, masculinity and it is a object that gets better with age.
You can find lots of information in the book released this year, "The Eames Lounge Chair, An Icon Of Modern Design". This book has many photographs, explanations of the design, documents that show the evolution of the chair and its social context among many interviews that help to understand why this is such an important icon of the 20th century.
You can find the book here at amazon and here at the book depository
Images via BIS Publishers and Daily Icon

What does your bookcase say about you?

Are you messy or organized? What type of books do you own? Do you hyde more personal books or are you ashamed of having popular ones?
How you display them around the house can say a lot about your personality and your lifestyle.

Find different opinions in a BBC video, here

Image via colour lovers

Billy's birthday

Who? No, not your friend or someone you know. It's "what". If I say IKEA do you get it? No? Oh man, The BILLY IKEA bookcases! Yes! Everybody has one of those or have seen one in someone's house. It's a classic and it turned 30 years old this year. It's seems 42 million BILLY bookshelves were sold until today.Now you can have your BILLY book with the story of this bookcase trough the years and in it you can also see not only what have changed but how people have customised it in their own houses.Gillis Lundgren was the designer that created BILLY in 1979 and at back then he couldn't imagine that his creation would be the bestselling single piece of MDF furniture in the world. Impressive!This particular bookcase is not the most resistant one, I know, but it's a basic, a classic and if you're not sure of what to get or you're not ready to compromise with a boocase system I believe BILLY system is a good way to start.

Images via if it's hip it's here

Saturday at IKEA...

This is a funny video with a song called Billy and the theme is a Saturday at IKEA. I guess everybody who's been inside an IKEA store felt something like what's described:)

Bathroom details

Interior stylists (this is not design it's decoration) know how to create moods and they do it mainly through good eye on details. You can see a bouquet of flowers, a blanket thrown on the bed, some magazines on the floor and then you feel that someone really lives there. One object in the right place can make the difference between interesting or boring.

This pink acrylic bench gives a fresh and cool vibe to this white, pastel shower room.In this image the yellow creates a relaxed and stimulant environment, quite young and teenage like.
Here we have a more romantic, feminine vibe with the hearts and the glass with its reflections.
Finally an example of small details and how you can keep interesting objects kept from dust and still exhibit them in a beautiful way.

All images from livingetc

Wishbone Chair

Some of you may know this chair or seen it somewhere. It was created by Hans Wegner, a famous Danish furniture designer most known for his chairs.
There's now a new colour of the wishbone chair and I love it! This petroleum blue is really "it" right now. And as good design should be, it's really comfortable, I tested it:P

You can buy it upon request or just look through other scandinavian designs here.

White and wood

I bet this real state agency has a stage designer to make all their portfolio houses look so stunning.

Images from alvhem makleri

Attic bathroom

Wood in bathrooms when treated to be resistant to water and humidities give a natural and comfortable feeling to such a cold room. Normally you have mosaics everywhere and while they are practical and durable, they can be tacky, cold and unpleasant to the the touch and to the eyes.
Natural light is a bonus not available to every bathroom, but if you're thinking of buying or renting a house don't understimate the power of natural light because everything looks and feels better when you have the sun coming in and it is also better to control humidity in the bathroom.

The mirror and the floating sink really take advantage of the space limitations adding an airy and open feeling to the bathroom. On the otrher hand dust can find it's way under the sink cabinet:/

Do you like your bathroom? what would you change if you could?

Images from Bobedre

Ice cream

When I was younger I used to go to a little shop where my mom used to go too when a kid to buy home made ice cream. It's part of our childhood in different times. The shop still exists today and it's called "caravela".Nowadays there's so many places where you can eat ice creams but it kind of feels like they're not special anymore. We have big stores, big brands and the small, family owned ones disappear. What are we doing to the shops made out of love for a product or a service? Oh nostalgia...

Lemon, strawberry and in lack of strawberry, orange. These are my flavours.

Do you have a favourite ice cream shop? And what's your favourite mix?

Photo via silver secents

Get out of the bed! NOW! :)

I have a problem: I can't get up in the morning, I mean, I know I can, but it's really complicated when you're a night owl to find the motivation to change the habit of going to bed really late at night (or should I say morning...).

I love the dawn, it's so quiet and peaceful but... then I need to sleep and while my favourite hour of the day it's about 10 am, I'm sleeping at that time and then I feel lazy, unproductive and a really bad person and it seems I won't do nothing of the rest of the day. So... I've tried before to change my bedtime routine and it worked when I really needed to get up early like when I was working around 9am or when my yoga classes were at 8am and in those days I had to get up around 6:30/7:30am. Of course I had to go to bed earlier, never before midnight (uhh midnight friday:P) but still it was early on my standards.The problem arises when you know you don't HAVE to get up early, when there's nothing waiting for you. But then I read an article about it and suddenly I felt an urge to try to change my bedtime routines again. Here's an excerpt:

"Now, let me first say that if you are a night owl, and that works for you, I think that’s great. There’s no reason to change, especially if you’re happy with it. But for me, switching from being a night owl to an early riser (and yes, it is possible) has been a godsend. It has helped me in so many ways that I’d never go back. Here are just a few:

1. Greet the day. I love being able to get up, and greet a wonderful new day. I suggest creating a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. I’m inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, ” Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings, I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’ “
2. Amazing start. I used to start my day by jumping out of bed, late as usual, and rushing to get myself and the kids ready, and rushing to drop them to school and come in to work late. I would walk into work, looking rumpled and barely awake, grumpy and behind everyone else. Not a great start to your day. Now, I have a renewing morning ritual, I’ve gotten so much done before 8 a.m., my kids are early and so am I, and by the time everyone else gets in to work, I’ve already gotten a head start. There is no better way to start off your day than to wake early, in my experience."

Read the rest of the article at Zen Habits
Image via weheartit

Ace Hotel New York

This New York hotel caught my attention because it is not totally impersonal or neutral. An so I bring to you The Ace Hotel.I LOVE this blue! An the detail of the box/tray with the coffee stuff is just brilliant:) Well not brilliant, but interesting and practical.

Would come to this Hotel?

Photos via Flickr