In an effort to get ready for the upcoming holidays and numerous family members congregating at my place, I've been on an epic cleaning spree since yesterday... In a normal household that would usually involve getting rid of fur bunnies, cat hair on chairs and sofas, dusting every last corner and cranny... and West German pottery... etc etc.
As these things usually go around here, after a while, I tend to get rather bored with these mundane undertakings.
Enter the little "rearranging demon" whispering tempting suggestions into my ear, like "uuuhh I bet the vases would look a million times better on the other end of the sideboard", or " Hhmm, remember that amazing photo Anna from Door16 posted the other day, with the awesome artwork styled in an even awesomer way ? I bet you could vastly improve your art assemblage"...
So that's what I did. Although I'm obviously nowhere near of attaining the level of stylishness in Anna's photo !
As everything else in the room is already so colourful, I decided to group my more monochrome artwork together : Eduardo Chillida print, Bold & Noble London type map and The Small Stakes bike & cats print. Plus some African masks and my Habitat string wall decoration.
Also I'm quite tempted of purchasing and framing some MCM record covers to add to the whole... Or maybe that would be too much. I don't know.
Hanging art is hard !
So anyway. The Morris Louis print (formerly above the sideboard) now lives in the hall, where the Charley Harper print used to be.
And speaking of Charley Harper... that print is now amongst the Cadovius shelves.
Musical art...
Ok. These got nothing to do with art or cleaning... Just wanted to show off the massive macramé plant holder I managed to get my hands on... Yay ! More fibers ! More plants !
And Wally enjoying a bit of sunshine amidst the succulents.
Now tell me. How are your Christmas plans progressing ?
Let me pick up where I left last post. Still no guesses ? Woody is perplexed too.
Let me give you a tip.
It's NOT a cat bed, contrary to what Watson seems to think.
BOOM ! Oh yeah ! After months of bitching and moaning about NEEDING some fiber art in my life (and in that corner in particular), about fiber wall hangings being non-existent in Belgium, about fiber art being waaaaayyy to expensive to ship over from the US...
Well. Here it is.
How did I come across it ? Pure, dumb luck. I was checking out an ebay listing for a lamp for a friend and - as I sometimes do - checked out the seller's other items. And there is was. Listed under some obscure category, described in uncertain terms. I would never have found it otherwise.
Long story short. I emailed the seller about size. Ginormous.
I emailed the seller back, inquiring about a "buy it now" price. I should make her an offer ?
Oh yes. 20 eur. Offer accepted.
Here we are ! I love ebay. I love a good deal. Life is beautiful. Order has been restored to the universe.
Let's zoom in, shall we ?
I want to stroke it. I want to pet it.
I think I might be developing a strange fetish.
I can't stop taking pictures...
And of course, I've already changed the display on top of the Tomado shelves. And the cushions. And now that the living room is pretty much cleaned up, I'll actually be able to shoot this beauty at a much wider angle.
Be prepared.
A few recent flea market expeditions have proven very fruitful. I was able to add to my Scandinavian and German (and anonymous) ceramic collections. More about that in a future post.
Let's start with my most eyecatching find.
In situ smartphone picture.
And hard to miss. This astonishing 1950s tapestry. That thing is HUGE ! I circled the booth a couple of times, shot a few photos and was consequently utterly unable to hide my excitement when I tried to haggle with the vendor... who is probably still laughing that somebody was willing to pay 30 eur for a "dusty and musty eyesore". I'm quoting my Mum here.
Well, you know what they say. One person's trash is is another's treasure.
See what I mean ? Isn't it perfect for over my bed ?
Based on the signature and authenticity certificate, I did some googling and discovered a series of French tapestry studios who attempted to update and bring tapestry back in style after World War II.
As you can see, they did limited editions of their designs. Which btw go for a lot more than 30 eur on ebay and various auctions sites.
Ok. I'm not quite sure about the mix going on on that side. Hhmm, coral lamp shade and KMK (Kupfermühle Keramik) ceramic wall plate. Maybe it's all a bit too much ?
But I'm definitely in love with that tapestry !
... Jason Munn posters can one decently own and still lust for more ? Want, want, want, want !
Are you ready ?Here we go...
Way back in January. No comment...
The hall decor consisted mostly of clutter. How embarrassing.
And the inside of the small walk-in closet was even worse.
The last of the dreaded yellow - and some paint samples.
Mr Messy would feel right at home...
And then February brought : ebay success (coat rack is now sold), 
... some much needed decluttering,
... also some harassing paint work,
... and finally, some rewards, aka new furniture and accessories.
A Kewlox wall cabinet is now holding all of my shoes.
A Charley Harper poster from 1977 is cheering up the entry. And of course, a little West German pottery never hurts.
The whole closet is now a sparkling white.
In the future, I'll probably be buying some Ikea boxes to make better use of those built-in shelves, but for now I just randomly dumped most of the closet stuff back in there.
Even the inside of the door frame got a fresh coat of paint. Although you have to dangerously twist around to actually see it. But what can I say, perfection is my middle name.
So to sum up, I used the Little Greene "Shirting" (left over from painting the hall last year) for the walls and trim, and Farrow and Ball "Pavillion Gray" (left over from repainting the kitchen) for the accent wall.I confess, the Kewlox cupboard at 210 eur blew a bit of a hole in my budget, but turned out to be the only option given that this space is exceedingly narrow. So anything with drawers and doors other than sliding ones was out of the question. I did consider the Ikea Aspvik wall unit for a while, but it would have been less partical for storing shoes, as it does not come with a middle shelf. And for once, I did not want to wait for anything vintage to turn up on ebay. So Kewlox it is ! And I'm very happy with my choice. I very much like how the checkerboard doors add some extra punch to the space. And in any case, being greeted by anything other than a complete mess when you enter my place, is a very nice change :-)
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