Living Room update

Ok. I have been promising photos of the living room ever since I started this blog.

It only took about six months, but here it goes. This is what it looked like until yesterday 8.00 am anyway. Boy, did I wake up productive ! And tonight a lot has changed. And it will again once I pick up Friday night's ebay win...

But Ladies and Gentlemen, without further ado...

First impression, coming through the door.

The room is basically one big bland square. Now 'big' might be overstating it - with less than 25 m² it is rather on the tiny side. Especially since it holds a living area, dining room, "office" (that is if you count endless internet surfing as work), library and TV room all in one.

I have struggled for the longest time to arrange all these different functions into an harmonious ensemble. Needless to say I am still not done.

You can also see that the fourth wall is actually one giant window, making it very difficult for the inept photographer that I am to capture this room - one part is always totally overexposed, while the other is in total darkness.

My vintage bookcases - bought two years ago on ebay for EUR 485. And have not regretted this once !

My hi-fi is almost as old as I am. I am not a big fan of 'modern' gadgets (as you can probably tell by my Amy Winehouse vinyl :-), but this will have to be replaced sooner rather than later. It's not working properly anymore. I have started dreaming of Tivoli...

This you have seen before, but have included it for documentary thoroughness.

On the right side when entering.

The sitting area.

And a few detail shots.

Windowsill 'vignette'. I just love having plants too much to ever keep my windowsills fashionably empty or minimal. This is where most of the Kardemumma planters ended up.

June's silhouette and Hedda Blad curtains - how sweet is that ?

My Oma's 50's armchair - styled up in the fire engine red Ikea Indira blanket. And the coffee table in need of a serious restoration.

Eames chairs around my old tired dining table - still can't believe my luck. And the mess on the table ? Hehe, all the parcels from my internet shopping spree during my sick week earlier this month...

So far so good.

Now for the problem zones.

I don't know what it is about this corner, but it's my own personal Pacific trash vortex - a f*cking gyre attracting and collecting every possible crap that just happens to be lying around.

Plus, as lovely as this antique bookcase is, it just doesn't go with the rest of the space. That, and I am having huge buyer's remorse...

And then the sitting space itself. For one year the sofa has been in this location and still I have not committed to hanging anything on the wall above ? Clue enough that something is off.

Just a personal reminder of how far I have come - this is the same space just last summer.

Bye Bye Thonet, Hello Eames

My model Charlie and I would like to say bye bye in style to my trusted Thonet dining chairs.

They were picked up a few weeks ago by a very nice gentleman, who won them on ebay with a bid of EUR 200. Yes ! I love you ebay.

No need to look to sad, Charlie. Not only did we get a fantastic price for them, but look at the replacements...


Aaah, pure sexiness ! Eames side chairs with dowel base in walnut. These puppies have original Herman Miller fiberglass shells in sea foam green and sea foam green light.

They were EUR 285 a pop.

Now I can hear everybody in North America sreaming about this outrageous price. Over there, the original fiberglass chairs are still readily and cheaply available. But on this side of the world... whole different story ! These were the first I ever spotted on ebay in the 5 years I have roamed there. And I knew they would be mine.

Now what's this you're asking ? Yes, this is Charlie modeling yet another Eames.

Again, original Herman Miller fiberglass shell with - as luck would have it - walnut dowel base.

Apparently Belgians aren't very keen on red and I won these puppies for EUR 133 each. Yep, the guy was selling four of these. So for the price of the two green, I also got four red.

Now they come with some thrifty issues - the usual wear and tear and unfortunate screws used for the bases. But mainly an unscrupulous previous owner drilled right through the seats to mount the bases.

But for this price, I don't care. Call them mine !


Charlie agrees.

And anyway they came with these lovely Vitra cushions. So mess well hidden plus additional comfort - I could not be happier !

Watson watches The Mentalist...

Patrick Jane has got him totally hypnotised.

More vintage ceramics

Sunday's post might not have been ideal to kick off the new season.

Let's look at funnier things instead.

How about another dose of beautiful vintage ceramics ? Yep, that's right I recently went back to Germany to visit my Oma and decided I needed more planters. Compulsive and obsessive are my middle names.

This little fella is totally unmarked - what a shame ! I wonder who could take credit for this beauty ?

Ah, a Bay Keramik sticker.

Another anonymous beauty.

And this one is Italian - at least is says 'Italy' on his bottom.

Now you might be wondering why I did not include the price of each, like I normally do. Well guess what ? I paid a stunning EUR 5.50 for the whole bunch which even included a cute apple green punch holer (forgot to take a photo of that one). SCORE !

Wait, it gets even better. When I proudly showed my Oma my finds, she started laughing when she saw the last one : she got exactly the same one as a present for her silver wedding anniversary. And since it was only hiding away in a cupboard somewhere, she gave it to me ! Thank you sooooooooooo much Oma ! You're a star !!!

PS. The first two planters are now living at a dear friend's house...

Houston we still have a problem

I mentioned the leaky toilet pipe before. Brrrrrrr.

Now two months later, ta-da - all brand new piping.

Ehem, not so quick. No cause for celebration yet. New piping maybe, but also no more walls.

The whole room looks like one of those Anatomy dolls where you can peel back the layers and reveal an ever yuckier inside.

Only here the top pieces have gone missing.

Kitty cuteness to end this post : the cats doing some serious quality control.

Bedroom light

I mentioned before that I wasn't totally happy anymore with the ceiling lamp in my bedroom.

Five years ago it was one of my first big purchases when I moved in. At the time, I loved the whole oriental vibe and I was mighty proud of this piece. Spending almost EUR 100 on a lamp seemed like such a grown-up commitment.

And even if it did go slightly rusty in Belgium's terrific weather, I still dig the special effects come night time.

Now today my inclination when it comes to decorating is clearly towards the mid-century.

And from a practical point of view, this lamp has clearly shown some limitations. Try cleaning your bedroom on winter evenings with this sort of lightening...

So bye bye ethnic lamp, and hello little retro chandelier. You and my bedroom are a match made in heaven. White, black & brass - perfect !


Plus no more excuses for not vacuuming in here at night - fur bunnies, you can't hide in the shade anymore !

Que serais-je sans toi

Jean Ferrat (né Jean Tenenbaum, 26 December 1930 –
13 March 2010).

Or in the words of Louis Aragon

"Un jour pourtant un jour viendra couleur d'orange
Un jour de palme un jour de feuillages au front
Un jour d'épaule nue où les gens s'aimeront
Un jour comme un oiseau sur la plus haute branche"

Weekend thrift

The weekend proved very successful on the thrifting front.


First off, I found a little companion for my Danish teak candleholder. Despite being slightly less elegant and way more expensive (EUR 18), he came home with me.



Another West German ceramic find - Scheurich Europe Line vase with identifying sticker intact, EUR 6.50.

Fitting right in with my other vases.

And last - but certainly - not least, a cute 50's chandelier for EUR 36 and which I had immediatly rewired for an additional EUR 30.

Plus we have been blessed with some beautiful sunshine.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Ikea shopping

To cheer me up, my mum took me to Ikea.

I got :

• A bunch of Kardemumma plant pots in different shapes and sizes.

• Ritva curtains in white for the bedroom

• Hedda Blad curtains for the living room (the windows are so large, I needed a second pair). And some Riktig curtain rings - because never ever hang Ikea curtains directly from their tabs, they don't slide easily, and while trying to open or close them you might inadvertently pull on them and bring the whole rod down...
  

• A Signum cable organiser in the hopes of getting the computer cables disaster under control!

• I also had high hopes for the new Henny blanket, which I thought would be a lovely black & white, but turned out to be a not so lovely grey & beige. So I went for the Indira blanket instead - yes, in fire engine red ! I am planning to seriously pimp up my Oma's old armchair...

All in all about EUR 90 well spent. Except for the Ribba frame I sadly forgot at the self-scanning check-out... Oh well a good excuse to go back.

Charley Harper Poster

I did share a while back my delight in all things Charley Harper.

Now after much debating, I finally bought - drum roll - the "Space for all Species" poster. USD 30.00 + USD 30.00 for shipping (Gaaaaaaaa) = EUR 45 = I have done worse...

Sorry I couldn't steal a bigger picture off the internet, but let me tell you it's huge (adios all you big empty walls in the living room) and it has some of my favourite Harper animals - the raccoon, the owl, the fox and of course the cardinal. Since I was of course to undecided to commiting to any one of these, it's the perfect compromise.

Please Mr Postman, HURRY !