Post-it note... sort of.

I have never taken grey walls into serious consideration. In fact, I have expressed vehement opposition to this colour on more than one occasion. Comparing it to the dullest of Belgian weather. Boring. Sad. Deplorable. In one word: grey.

That is until I spotted this...

Found via Desire to Inspire.

Wow, this photo just blows my mind. I don't know what's more amazing, the green light, the red chairs, the painting over the stove... It's retro, it's eclectic, it's everything I like. And the grey walls make it look so classy !!!

Kids, hold on to your panties. My kitchen is in for one hell of an overhaul.

PS. Since I still haven't announced a winner, I guess my giveaway is still ongoing ;-) Check it out here.

Hall improvement

Dear readers (if there are any left).

Fear not. A blogging comeback is imminent. I can feel it.

But yes, during the last months I have mostly been idle. Just a few small project here and there. Few and far appart. Like this.

This is what my front door used to look like. Before I started working on the hall, more than six months ago...
And this is the Ikea Spontan magnetic board. Purchased about six months ago as well...

Now with the help of my good friend Laura I finally managed to bring the two together.

Normally the Spontan board is supposed to be drilled into the wall with srews. But since I wanted the board to go up on the door - which is a hollow-core construct from the 50's by the way - I could hardly see myself drilling into it. So my friend suggested gluing the whole thing up.

Now we did not use super-glue for this, but rather something called "colle de montage" (construction glue) that Laura had left over from her house reno. This type of glue is used by professionals to stick together almost any construction materials. In fact, most of our houses here in Belgium are probably only holding up because of this concoction.

Anyway, Laura really applied herself and skillfully spread the glue.

And voilà ! After only a few minutes of pressing the board against the door, everything is securely in place.

Of course I also got some Spontan magnets in red and white to go with the board.

And there you have it. Improved front door and new board ready to hold all sorts of loose papers.

PS. Don't forget the giveaway right here. If you would like to win a set of vintage BFK bowls, all you need to do is leave a comment. I prolonged the deadline and I am going to announce the winner somewhere in early January, instead of mid-December as initially planned. Sorry folks, I just can't face the queues at the post office right now. Yeah I know I totally suck...

100th!

When I started this blog over a year ago, I'd never have thought I'd make it to the 100th post. I usually have zero persistence when it comes to any activity...

But oh surprise, here we are. The 100th post.

To celebrate this major interweb event, I'm staging a little giveaway. Yeah, Christmas is coming early this year.
So if you want to have a chance at winning this set of lovely vintage Belgian bowls, just leave me a comment. I'm curious to read who you are and where you're from. I'll announce the winner in two weeks.

And from what I've seen on other blogs, nothing brings out the commentators as free loot... So bring it on guys.

Edit - Since I have been totally neglecting this little blog for the last few weeks and months, I think I will prolong the giveaway for a couple more weeks. Sort of a belated Christmas gift then... And hopefully by January I will have gotten my priorities right and will start blogging more regularly again :-)

Tomado loot

I am unstoppable. Look what I scored on ebay last week.

That's right. More Tomado shelves ! 'Cos a girl can never have too many Tomados...

Ok now, what am I going to do with all these ?

1. Replace the orange and green metal shelves on the "bedside table" with two lovely wooden ones. Done.



Btw, I also swapped some art around. This is Sandro Juto's 'bookgirl' print, and it's definitely appropriate bedroom decor for somebody who could spend days in bed just reading.

A wider view. I still need to find some big-ass art to hang over the bed.

And of course :

2. Hang up the twin bedside Tomado on the left side.

And just for kicks the same space 'after' and 'before'. Almost one year apart.

Further on the Tomado to-do list:

3. Use the wider shelve for the kitchen Tomado. Done, but not yet documented.
Sorry I slept through most of the afternoon and now it's already too dark to take a decent photo. Just this much, I have now even more space for even more "onion men"...

4. Resell the leftovers. Half-way done. A friend came by to pick up the larger elements. I am now left with one big vertical piece, one small one and the two metal planks, all of which are going to be sold on ebay as spare parts. Someday.

Feeding my West German Pottery addiction

Allow me introduce my latest WGP acquisition: an orange and green Bay vase, 30 cm tall, bought on ebay this week for 6 eur. Add to that about the same amount for shipping.

It's still a deal.

All Saints' Day

No, I did not spend the day in Lothlorien...

I did however go through some good old traditional 'Toussaint' activities.

Drive to Luxembourg to visit family. Check. Spend about three minutes at the cemetery to honour the dead. Check. Instead spend three hours at lunch to honour the living. Check. Mandatory tax-free booze and cigarette shopping. Check.

What about you ? Did you have a long weekend ? Did you accomplish anything productive ?

Tomado Love

Tomado love - always & everywhere !

In the bedroom, instead of bedside tables...


In the bathroom, to hold all my pretty products and potions (the ugly ones are hidden in a Componibili)...


And in the kitchen, collapsing under yet another manic collection of English and West German ceramics...

Yeah, amongst many other things, I am also obsessed by vintage English anthropomorphic vegetable pots. And "Onion men" in particular... But more about them another time.

And yes, I know. I need to do something about that wall colour in the kitchen. SOON !

Uh oh, I almost forgot. Thanks to yours truly, you can now stalk more photos of Tomado shelves in a Flickr group. Here is the link.

Public service announcement

Ok guys. I need your help.

For my own very personal and very selfish sanity, please let's keep the sexiest guy on TV... on TV.

I'm talking about Michael Imperioli currently starring in the show Detroit 1-8-7. Which ABC is apparently already thinking of cancelling... Motherf*ckers.
Sopranos fans will of course remember him as Christopher Moltisanti, Carmela's junkie, up to no good cousin and occasional fiancé murderer... Ah good memories !

Anyway, I confess. I'm a huge sucker when it comes to good old-fashioned cop 'procedurals'. Think "Cold Case" or "The Wire", even CSI (but only Las Vegas !) to some extent. In our sad, tough times, there's something to be said about over-worked, emotionally stunted, yet devoted civil servants fighting crime and (almost) always setting the world right at the end of 45 min. Just with some good old police leg work and of course a ton of charm and sexiness.

Also ever since I discovered the awesome Sweet Juniper blog, I am totally obsessed with Detroit. Morbid curiosity probably, but Jeez what a fascinating place. To think that one of the richest cities in the US is literally falling back into total decay and oblivion...

So please, pretty pleeeeeease, if you're in the US, tune in Tuesday nights on ABC at 10.00 pm. And if you're outside the US, may I suggest you download this show via The Pirate Bay or Monova...

Yes, let's keep Detroit 1-8-7 alive ! The world needs it ! I need it !

Question : is there a TV series you are really crazy about ? To the point of total addiction ?
I'll let you in on another embarassing secret. I am hoarding all 15 seasons of ER on dvd, and could have totally gone on watching Dr. Carter break in new interns for at least another 15 seasons.

Living room update

And yes, I am still improving my living room. Which is a bit weird, because now that I moved the desk to the bedroom, I hardly spent any time in here anymore. But it's still the room that inspires me the most.

It all started like this.

During one of my numerous stints to Ikea this summer, I was very pleased to discover they had drastically reduced the price of the Koldby cowhide rug - down from 199 eur to 129 eur. Such a substantial discount could of course not be resisted and a gorgeous grey cowhide came home with me.

It was huge and dark and shiny, in one word: fabulous. I was totally under its spell... in the shop... because once in my living room, the rug turned out to be waaaayyy disappointing. I never really got accustomed to it, too dark, too big, too grey.

Weeks later, the whole thing was returned (thank god for Ikea's 90 days return policy!) and the freed up cash was directly invested towards a new Ikea purchase...

Yes, that really is an Ikea rug. They are obviously & totally milking the current trend for oriental rugs. But - as I think I have mentioned before - one of the rare things I prefer to buy new, is actually rugs. I hate to think of what filth and bodily fluids might be hiding in a vintage one. And having a vintage rug professionally cleaned... you might as well buy a new one!

Ikea has them listed under the improbable name of Persisk Kelim Gashgai. Incredibly enough they are handmade in Iran, making them real Persian rugs. And a friendly and helpful Ikea employee even informed that each rug is unique. Not bad at all for Ikea.

Now this time around I know I found a long time companion. The rug is colourful but wonderfully muted at the same time. Definitely not too garrish, which might be a problem with all the lively pottery I have standing around. In fact, the red exactly matches the chairs and is a really nice reminder to all my vintage ceramics.

Bonus photo: the same space at night. Think of it as compensation for the missing 'before' shot with huge dark cowhide...

Always room for more ceramics

Ok, lately I haven't been posting as much as I'd like (more about the reasons for this another time). But one area where I am never idle is - you guessed it - the thrifting front.

First off, a couple of finds from a recent trip to Germany.


Little vintage planter bought for 3 eur. A little more subdued than my usual West German pottery buys, but nevertheless looking good on the Cadovius shelves.


Now this is more like it. Large Übelacker vase for only 5 eur. Yes!


"Zyklon" vase designed by Cari Zalloni and manufactured by Steuler.

Not a thrift find, but a present from my Mum. It used to decorate her bedroom back in the 60's and it's one of the very rare trinkets she's kept from that time. I have been uuh-ing and aah-ing over it each time I came to visit, hinting heavily that it would make a perfect addition to my WGP collection.

I am now happy to report that a few weeks ago I finally managed to wear her down...


A close relative to my West German ceramics. A Dutch owl money box found at the Brussels flea market for 5 eur.

The ever growing collection.

Good thing the Nathan sideboard is so big. There's still plenty of room for more thrift finds. Yay!

New night table

The one side of the bedroom I am still unhappy with, is where the bed is now standing.

Big empty wall, crying for some colour and/or some art...

Night table on the left - boring...

Night stand on the right - boring AND messy...

I have of course big dreams of matching floating MCM night tables. Something of this order would be good.

But alas, in the meantime I have tried out all the wall shelves at my disposal (i.e. those pining away in the cellar). All of the above where considered and rejected.

Until...

Enter my Mum's birthday present, i.e. an ebay buy where I did all the bidding and she did all the financing ;-) Thanks very much Mum !

A cute little Tomado shelf that made it all the way from Sheffield, UK, thanks to the friendly ebay seller.

This Tomado is the smaller version at about 40 x 40 cm - and pretty hard to find in this size. But a damn perfect fit for a night table!

Btw - the needlepoint cat? That's one of my UK holiday souvenirs. Bought at the Marsh Barton car boot sale - for a pound.
I think that cat is too cute for words, as is the rug it's sitting on. Plus I was very touched to see that somebody (probably the maker) took the pains of having it professionally framed. Makes you wonder who that considerate person was.

So now I all I need to do is find me a matching Tomado for the other side. The thrifting never ends. Does it?

More thrift finds

Moving on with the presentation of my latest thrift finds...

A few weeks ago, I had a very rewarding visit to the Brussels flea market. Very rewarding in the West German pottery sense, of course.

I had been coveting the Scheurich Amsterdam (aka sliced onion) pattern vases for a while now. Needless to say that I was very happy when I spotted this cute little red number and when the seller only wanted 5 eur for it. Sold !


Another 5 eur find - a rad floor vase. Fitting right in with my UK holiday souvenir.

See.

Technically not a flea market find, since it came from an antique shop and I paid top euro for it - 25 to be precise. But nevertheless found in the flea markt vincity and purchased during the same thrifting expedition. Love love love the stunning shape.

The ever growing red collection.

And starting to hang up some art over the sideboard. Chillida print, found on ebay (where else?), one of Ashley G's ceramic medallions and a Habitat clock (on sale!), until I can locate a vintage sunburst clock...