Hello & weekend project

Hello. It's been a while... How you're doing?!

I'm fine. The cats are fine. The chickens (yes, chickens!) are fine. The apartment too. And the garden... well, it's a process.

Bam. First picture I'm sharing over here of my new home that is not renovation or garden related (or taken from Instagram). And it's pretty bla, don't you think?!

Except of course for handsome Graham.

Anyway. This side of the bedroom and the entry to the bathroom never felt quite right. So this weekend I finally decided to do something about it. After one and a half years living here, it's about time.

But first let's take a quick tour.

Maybe it could be worse?! But I'm not entirely convinced either. The one thing I do love though is the tallboy. It's the TARVA dresser from Ikea, in case you're wondering.

Now what I really would like to do is rip out that bathroom and start over... But in the meantime a little pimping with some Farrow&Ball paint will have to do.

Enter my new favourite colour: India Yellow.

It's really hard to take a good photo, but - believe me - that colour is gorgeous: very safrony, very yummy. It brightens up that whole gloomy corner.

I'm also happy to have found a spot for that lovely macramé hanger I had squirreled away from last year's Ikea ANVÄNDBAR collection.

And while I was at it, I also switched things around on the other side of the dresser. Plant wise at least.

It's funny how my philodendron xanadu has gone full circle: from my old bedroom (look how tiny he was!), to various spots in my new home and now back to prime position in my new bedroom. 

Do you know what else is funny? The dresser isn't the only thing from Ikea here... The philodendron came from there, so does the curtain and the curtain rod (can't find it on their site anymore. Already discontinued?). And the macramé of course. Oh and the FLADIS basket... For a self-professed vintage queen I'm turning into quite the Ikea groupie...

Hhmmm now I only need to sort out the top of the dresser. I wonder what other people keep up there? I mean besides a sleeping cat and mismatched collections of boxes and ceramics. Suggestions anyone?!

Finally happy about the living room

If anybody is still reading this blog, I apologize beforehand for yet another "living room" post. Seems like most of my blogging over the last two years has focused on that particular room. Not that there isn't anything changing in the other areas - on the contrary ! But once I get something in my head, it's apparently very tough to let go off.
And basically that meant that I wouldn't rest - or stop spending (!) - until I wasn't feeling happier about that room. Early this year, I had gotten to the point that I really didn't like anything in here anymore. I stopped spending time in here and, for several months, the living room became the dumping room of my flat. Everything that I didn't want in another room got discarded in here, making matters of course much worse ! For a while, I felt like selling everything off and starting over. But luckily I came to my senses. I mean, imagine if I had actually sold my bookcabinets or my Cadovius shelves or my Nathan sideboard... Ugh, I would soooo regret it now !
But anyway, the basic problem still remainded : there was way too much stuff in here (and not just all the crap that got randomly dumped in here); everything was too retro (never thought I'd say this, but there you have it); all the wood was just too much ... and overall is was all too dark and stuffy ! I think this post from last November gives you a pretty good idea.

Maybe I'm just exagerating and it wasn't all that bad. But I think, in any case, I had outgrown the full-on retro look and was looking for something a bit more adult, fresh, modern and personal. So back in April, I started tuning things down in here. I also spent a long weekend in May painting over the black wall with Farrow and Ball's amazing Stiffkey Blue. Still in May I also brought home an Ikea classic in an attempt to mix things up. And then during my summer holidays things really started to get serious : new sofa, new furniture, new layout... And now the icing on the cake...

Ta-da you guys ! I also bought a new dining table !

I went down the (kind of) contemporary route again in choosing the Hay C44 table. It's a recent production, yes! But it's also a relaunch of a Danish furniture classic designed by Jørgen Baekmark and originally made for FDB, the Danish Consumers’ Co-operative Society. FDB’s furniture production started in the 1940s and their main idea was functionalist and democratic design for the people. Well, I can only thank Hay for this truly wonderful table. It's beautiful, it's sturdy, it's very well made and - in true modernist fashion - it's fairly affordable.

Best of all, it comes with a melamine tabletop that is very easy to clean, generally cat resistant and even reversible. It's black on the other side ! I haven't tried out the black look yet - for the moment I'm craving as much light as I can get - but I'm looking forward to experimenting with it in the coming months.

Ok, ok. I admit. That wasn't my only recent purchase for the living room... Yes, the wicker chair is also new. But I have an excuse. Or at least an explanation for this spending frenzy. Ikea recently relaunched - in a (very) limited edition - some of their incredibly awesome designs from the fifties. I mean, look at them ! Don't you want to buy them all ? I certainly wanted to. So all things considered, I think I stayed incerdibly level-headed in only buying one tiny little chair...

Also, Ikea here in Brussels only had a grand total of 12 of these chairs. So I was told by one of their managers when I was trying to figure out if I could reasonably postpone my purchase (I couldn't, these chairs were selling fast !). A lovely chat it was. Indeed the lady thought I should come work for them, since I'm such a big fan... Ha ! Anyways.

Look at it ! It's soooo cute !

It's the cats favourite chair. And mine !

Sorry can't help myself. Just one more.

With all this gushing, I almost forgot to mention that the new-ish sofa is - albeit in serious danger of being scratched to death by the kitties - holding up very well. As you can see, I switched the sitting area around. I had to make room for the new table format (I went from round to rectangular) - and my new Ikea Gagnet chair ! And the old layout just wasn't appropriate anymore.

I really like this. The room looks much more open now that the sofa isn't sitting in front of the window anymore. And has you can see from a few photos back there's also space enough now to indulgence in a cool little 1970s inspired plant jungle.

So to sum up this already very long post. I guess you've guessed it : I'm finally happy with my living room ! So happy that I love chilling in here in the evenings or having a snooze on the sofa during the weekends. And I'm also really looking forward to hosting some lovely dinner parties with friends and family in here.

One thing's missing though. Don't know if you've noticed, but I don't have a light source (yet) next to the sofa and in the evenings it can get hard to read in here, with the closest light being next to those white vases.

I'm thinking : wall lamp ! Any suggestions ?

Summer switch-a-round

Bloody hell, you guys! Do you know what happened to 2014 ? Spring came and went. Summer came and went. Three weeks of summer holidays came and went.

Pooof. All just gone...Scrolling down on this blog just four posts (four !), I was getting ready for Christmas... 2013.

Man. I've been a truly terrible blogger this year. And it hasn't even been for lack of changes around here. Back in April I repainted the bathroom. Then I changed the bedroom layout. Then I also painted my black walls in Stiffkey Blue. And finally during my last week of summer vacation, I moved a "few" things around in the living room... And maybe added some stuff...

Case in point. A new sofa.

It's a "classic" Ikea Karlstad 2 seater with the grey Isunda cover. After the cats basically scrated my orange vintage sofa to death, I decided I didn't want to take any further risks or spend vast amounts on a designer/vintage sofa that would eventually end up in the skip... So Ikea it is !

Gettting a new sofa had the rather unfortunate side effect of triggering a series of other changes.

The Ikea sofa being way bulkier than the previous vintage one (which was more a bench really than a couch), there wasn't enough space to fit the Ikea PS metal sideboard between the Caodvius shelves and the window (under the Charley Harper 'ladybird' print).

So off it went to the other side of the room.

And since a single one of these sideboards on such a long wall looked a bit lost, I decided to get a second one ! Over here in Belgium, Ikea recently dropped the price on these cabinets (from 80 to 60 eur). So it was an easy decision to make. 

That massive cactus is from Ikea too, btw. 

I must be one of their best customers again...

And before you gasp at the the 'Eames' chair...It's a knock-off. But I found it at the Brussels flea market and I love it.

My sister-in-law helped me sand down the seat. The previous owner had started but not finished (very weird). Plus there was some water damage from being exposed to the elements at the Brussels flea for a while... But after sanding and oiling that chair is looking glorious.

For those of you still paying attention after all these months, you might have wondered what happend to my Nathan teak sideboard. 

Well, here it is. Looking fanatastic under the Cadovius shelves. And while I was at it, I changed the shelves themselves and everything on them around. I mean at this point, what's one more change ?!

Flo ! Showing off some of the details. And a randomly placed cactus.

Other big news on the homefront. After 3 years of neglect, I finally - albeit partially - replanted the front balcony. The kitties are at least as excited as I am.

I got echinaceas, a rudbeckia, a new clematis, a limonium and a "monk's pepper" bush. And I can't wait to plant more next spring !

So there you have it. The results of most of my last week of summer holidays.

How did you spent yours ? Did you get anything done ? Have you had some exciting thrift finds ?

Going modern

Let me start by apologizing for this dreadfully lit picture. After a few days of sunny and warm weather, Brussels is back to its natural gloomy self and any interior photos might as well have been taken in November. Sigh.

Last month I blogged about craving more minimalism. Ok, this isn't it. Yet. Rather this is a first attempt to mix things up in the living room - material and style wise. To be honest, I'm a bit tired of the "all wood, all retro" look.

So bye bye Tomado shelves, hello Ikea sideboard ! It's sturdy, it holds a ton of stuff (so far mostly stuff I have to sell on ebay), it's beautiful, it's fairly cheap and it's amazingly easy to put together. And most importantly, it's made out of metal, it's white and it's a first step towards a brighter more minimal future...

My most faithful readers might remember that last summer I aquired an awesome fiber art piece for this corner. However in the long run it turned out to be just too brown for the living room. With all the wooden furniture, brown seemed to be the dominant colour in here... Anyway the fiber weawing thing has now moved to a happier spot in the bedroom. And here we are: room for new art !

Gosh, do you remember this fabulous sneak peek from Sweden back in 2009 ? I certainly do ! Please don't get me started on that fabulous bedroom or the awesome hall... Want, need, greed, drove me a bit crazy and I totally forked over an insane amount of money to this etsy seller to finally get my hands on an Olle Eksell eyes poster. Ok, it's not an original from the 1999 exhibition, but it's huge and it fits into a standard Ikea Ribba frame. Still the best kind of art, if you ask me.

Next step ? Find a new dining table. I'm dreaming of a sexy 70s smoked glass table. Or maybe a classic retro formica table ?

Decisions decisions...

My home in IKEA FAMILY LIVE magazine

Probably the most exciting news around here for a long time. 'Cos let's face it, I'm kinda in a slump on the whole interior decor/thrifting front. And let's be honest, how excited can you get about finding yet another sunburst mirror ?

Over the past twelve months, I have been contacted by various Ikea editors to see if I was interested in having some photos of my home published in their magazine. Hell, yeah ! 

But talk about things moving slowly. Case in point. The whole thing took over a year to come through...

Anyhow, it's now official. Drum roll please ! I got a two page spread in their Autumn 2011 edition and if you disregard the most horible photo ever taken of me (thank god, they only used a tiny black & white insert!), I'm very happy with how it all turned out. They used both my photos and my actual text. And yes, I really do think that Ikea does amazing textiles. But despite my hint about needing a new sofa, I didn't get any material rewards for my troubles. Not even a gift voucher for some cushions.Cheap bastards...

Ikea ! I still love you though, even if you're an ungrateful mistress.

Spring ! I'm ready

And so is June !


Spring is finally in the air. And this time around, I'm in the starting blocks to make the most of it. I've been a busy bee; cleaning, rearranging and planting up my little rear balcony.

The herb 'garden'. My trusted parsley, rosemary and oregano (at the end) made it through winter once again. They're in good company with some lovely daffodils. And soon (I hope), they will be joined by chives and garlic chives, which I've sown just today (in that empty-looking container).



I used to have a honeysuckle in this corner, but it never did very well. It's now living in a friend's garden where I'm sure it will be much happier. Instead of the crippled honeysuckle, I decided to give a climbing hydrangea a chance. I chose a variety that is not too invasive, so it should normally thrive in a container. So far, it seems to be doing very well !

Last year, I went for only plants out here and got rid of my table and chairs. This season, I'm definitely planning to spend much more time out here. Thus the reappearance of some seating.

I'm attempting a little Ikea upcycling, as this bench is part of the famous Molger bathroom range. I'll let you know how it holds up to outside weather conditions. This is basically a free experiment - I already had one in my possession, but ever since it got banned from my living room (once upon a time, this bench used to hold my old hi-fi), it was just collecting dust in the cellar. It's the perfect size for my tiny terrace, so I thought it would give it a try.

Throw some Ikea seat cushions on it, and - pouf! - instant outdoor seating.


Like I said, June is already having a good time :-)

What about you guys ? Did you get to enjoy some sunshine yet ? What are you doing with your outdoor spaces ?

A few explanations

Ikea Jorun rug - 149 eur.

Ebay wardrobe - 25 eur. I love the attention to detail of this 1950's design - curved sides and slightly concave body.

Thank you Meubles Collard for this beautiful addition to my bedroom. Modern and stylish ! I could not agree more.

Some changes have already happened since the last photo shoot ten days ago...

Italian art vase - 10 gbp. A souvenir from Fountain Antiques in Honiton. Works perfectly as a pencil holder and together with the Scheurich planter.

More high street buys. Habitat Tommy desk lamp (19 eur) and Ikea Cilla seat cushion (3.99 eur). Obviously the cushion is supposed to be for the cats, so they stop begging to climb on my lap when I'm sitting at the desk. June thinks it's the perfect tail rest...

50s bedroom chair - 8 gbp at the Marsh Barton car boot. I was so surpised by the low asking price that I didn't even try to haggle...


And with an old crochet cushion I had stowed away.

The thrift gods where definitely conspiring to further style up my bedroom.