In the black

When I posted about the interior design in townhouse Mathilde, I promised to show my own black kitchen. It's taken a bit of time but I finally managed to photograph it when it's clean.



Don't think I never clean but it's a custom kitchen and the black finishing stains faster than you can clean it... A shame really, so a bit advice for you: if you make a DIY kitchen make sure you have a nice, practical,wipeable finishing.




Because the kitchen is quite dark, since its euhm, well black, I added red accessories to brighten things up. Red as a colour accent, I feel like such an architect now...

Going green

I consider myself as quite a 'green girl'. I go to my work by train and do most of my shopping on foot or by bike. Most, I confess we do go once a week to the supermarket by car. But we drive a Smart, so I'm guessing it's only half as polluting as a normal car since it's, well only half the size. That makes sense doesn't it?

Let's get back to the bike. Since it's used for shopping, I definitely need a bicycle basket. I have a boring black one for the moment but I'm very tempted to trade it in with this beauty by Design House.



It's even called Carrie! It really got my name written all over it...

One for the books

After I posted about creative ways to recycle your magazines, reader Yellowgoat asked for an innovative way to store her magazines in her small apartment.

And I think I might know the answer: storage beds.

Now, not the ugly bland storage beds you get at your local furniture store but the really stylish ones you make yourself.

Like the 'bed boot' from Jetteke and Alex


Photo by Paul Bellaart

Or the DIY platform bed from David


Apartment Therapy

As light as a feather (+ tutorial)

I already showed you the mural I did for my sister's bedroom. But that's not all she got: I also made her a feather lamp.



I had seen similar designs on the web and decided to try and make one myself.

I used a pink Japanese paper lamp as base.



I drew about a million - or so it felt - leaves from craft tissue paper, using a stencil and tracing pencils (used for sewing) and then cut them out with scissors.



Then I added glue at the top of the leave using a glue roller.



And started sticking. (I fixed the lamp to a microphone stand to keep the lamp sturdy while sticking)



Because I used different colours for the paper lamp and tissue paper, you get a great effect when it's lit.




I really liked how it turned out...


But it gets even better, my talented boyfriend made a matching painting!



P.S If you want to see more of his work you can find it over here and here

Pouf love

Seems like I really caught the pouf bug. Here's another great find by Dutch design studio Tweelink, the Bum-Pom. (First prize for most original name!)

Creative with magazines

I love magazines and generally buy about 5 a month. Some of them I keep for research reasons: Vogue, Delicious, Elle Decoration... But then there are others that I simply throw away, for instance Glamour.

Actually since I don't like throwing away stuff, my old Glamours generally move into the toilet for a few months – you would be surprised how much the boyfriend knows about fashion and pms by now – until I finally get over it and recycle them.

But maybe there's a way of recycling my magazines without actually getting rid of them...

I could get creative and turn them into a lamp like Australian Designer Andrew Aloisio.



Or into a magazine stool – (Dutch) tutorial on 101 woonideeen.



Or use them as a book case support...


Trough OWI

Do you have any other ideas how you can recycle magazines in style?

Inside or outside?

I have to admit, I can be a tad lazy. Especially during the winter days, it can be very hard to lure me out of my comfy apartment. Nature can be very beautiful but also very cold and wet. And since I live in the city, it can take some time to get there...

But when visiting Tobias' and Hanne's site, I discovered a solution to my logistical problem. Instead of going to nature, I'll let nature come to me! How, you ask? Well with a photo wallpaper mural!


What we do

Here are some other lovely examples:


Through Flickr


Decor8


Apartment Therapy

Flexi plexi

I adore plexiglas - especially the way the side 'lights up' - so it was love at first sight when I saw these lamps by Johanna Grawunder.

Link galore

Apartment Therapy, one of my favourite sites, has posted about my mural! How great is that!

Design that makes me smile: Jeeves & Wooster lamps

Sometimes I wish I was an English lady with a butler at my demand. Somebody to take care of my every fancy. Someone who doesn't mind getting out of bed to check if I locked the front door or not. The boyfriend grumbles a bit too much when he executes a request like this...

Unfortunately I was born in Belgium and probably a few decades to late to make this dream come true. But there's a way I can get a little bit of 'butler feeling' inside my house. Thanks to the Jeeves & Wooster lamps by Jack Phipps. They just scream English aristocracy!



Tea anyone?

Colour enough for ya?

It seems that designer Matthew Williamson has found the cure for winter blues.



Just add bright blue to your appartment, mix with some fluorescents and sprinkle with neon lightning. The recipe to never feel down again.




Photographs by Damian Russell

Birds of a feather

After spotting the previous trend, I noticed another one. This time it's not birds but feathers. Yes, new trends do seem to flock together...


• Porcelain feather ornaments – Noun



• Peacock dinnerware – Jonathan Adler



• Pluma lamp – Moss



• Feather wallpaper – ferm LIVING

To pouf or not to pouf

I'm not really a pouf person – there is something wrong with that sentence – but after seeing these beauties I'm about to change my opinion.

• Flower pouf – Modern Dose – $475



• Pouf – Flocks



• Moroccan Leather Pouffe – Le Souk – €169



•Pink pouf – Afra – $395



I'm still not quite sure if I will actually sit on them but they're gorgeous enough to be part of my interior...

Is it there yet...

I'm longing more and more for spring. I want sun and light instead of cold temperatures and grey clouds!

But since I unfortunately have no power over the weather – unless I find some magical lamp including a genie –I'll have to trick nature by making it look like spring inside my apartment.

A nice way of doing this is by hanging up a bright summer dress.


Twig Hutchinson


the Style Files


Nina in Vorm


Debi Treloar

Ah, I can almost feel the sunshine...

Poetry in motion

Type isn't just pretty big, look at the lovely treatment of these stairs.


Laurence Pasquier


Emmas blogg