inspire*inspire

Shop envelop!

Hello lovelies! The weather has been so kind to us lately and I couldn't be happier right now. Ah! glorious spring! Every year I am amazed at the transformation of London and its people around this time of year. The trees are bursting with brilliant blossom and all of a sudden heads are raise high, eyes brighten up and smiles are spread all around. The bars are full of chatty crowds spilling onto the pavements and even the cab drivers seem to be more relaxed (and dare I say even courteous on the road). I truly LOVE London in springtime!

Spring is also the time to brighten and freshen up your home and I just love these unique illustrated cushions from online shop envelop for a quick, easy and affordable way to instantly spruce up any space.

1. Carnival 2. Strawberry Swirl 3. Fly Away Peter 4. Three Boats 5. Abstract Owl 

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1. Little Blue Day 2. City View 3. Woolly Bear 4. Hatch 5. Bear Hugs

Visit envelope.eu for dozens more cushion designs, as well as tote bags, place mats, aprons and more.

Enjoy!

Wallpaper Love

Can wallpaper get any sweeter than this?

If you've ever wanted to add a vintage touch to your living space but don't exactly have the time to go hunting for real finds, look no further than this fantastic instant-vintage-charm wallpaper by Brian Yates.

'Pip' is packed full of interest like old style botanical images, postcards, music sheets and family photos that resembles a lifetime's collection. All is left for you to do is find the right place to hang it, for full vintage impact!

Wishlist: redecorating

We are in the process of redecorating our house and it is proving to be an interesting challenge. First and foremost, because redecorating always is a bit of a challenge, but also because we have our hearts set on buying a new house in a year or two so we are saving our money, time and energy to invest in that, when the time comes. As a result, we decided to avoid any major projects and only give the place a bit of a 'face lift'.

Having decide to keep the existing Navy Blue fitted carpets, we were faced with the challenge of working a scheme around this feature. We were pretty lost to begin with, but bit by bit started finding more and more inspiration and options that seem to work with that dominant element.

The scheme I have put together was inspired by the lovely rug I found at Laure Ashley, which will go in the lounge, on top of the existing carpet. I then saw this gorgeous 'Love' chair in Elle decoration, and fell head over heals in love with it right there and then! (Hmm... Perhaps that is why they called it the 'Love' chair...!) All the other items, I have had my eye on for some time and I love the fact that they fit so well into the overall scheme!

1. Karin Eriksson's ceramics (Flickr photo) 2. Dorit candle holders (Jean Pelle's Etsy shop) 3. Vase (Habitat) 4. Lamp (Heal's) 5. Rug (Laure Ashley) 6. 'Love' chair by Deadgood 7. Frames - Wall stickers (IKEA) 8. Aqua bamboo bowls

Be*inspired!

Home office decor

Over the past few weeks I've been busy transforming one of the bedrooms in our house into my home office. I had a general idea of the essential things I need; like a big L-shape desk, a massive beehive-bookcase, for all my design books and magazines and a chest of drawers for my art and craft materials. I also knew that it would have to be predominantly white, since I would use this space for small photography projects.

But while the basics have been put in place, I still haven't tied up the overall look together. So in my search for shelving, display and other decor ideas, I've come across a lot of great interior images that I thought would be nice to share here:

Spring infused home office that will brighten up your day any day of the year.

 

Rustic style office for the vintage lovers.



Effective and attractive- shelving idea.



Cool little work station that doubles as a vanity table.



Subtle setting that can fit in a corner of any living room or bedroom.

Images via housetohome.com

Designers Guild

The Designers Guild have launched their new spring collections of fabrics and wallcoverings. The designs are diffused with traditional floral patterns, set against vibrant graphic elements. The colour palette is soft with strong, clean highlights. These images, of the more contemporary ‘Manhattan’ collection, are via the Desingers Guild.

Pattern Tales

Limited edition wallpaper by Spanish designer Ana Montiel, at Alan The Gallant Studio, for Pattern Tales® brand. This handmade pattern was created with 'freedom of lines' as a concept and is "reminiscent of the beauty that exists in the chaos and the randomness".

Printed on premium non-woven Finnish paper and only available in small quantities, since they are not mass produced. These wallpapers are like a breath of fresh air!

Needless to say, I am smitten!

Above: TOPO AZUL

Below: TOPO CHOCO


More pattern from allan the gallant studio:

Be*inspired!

Colour Me Happy: Orange and Turquoise

This vibrant colour palette has been on my mind for the past few weeks.  Almost every night, just before I fall asleep, I see images of colours, designs and ideas in my mind.  Some are quickly forgotten, some I make a mental note to try remember in the morning, some I love so much that I make an effort to get up and sketch or write them down and some just keep coming back over and over again, until I find a way to utilise them.

The orange,Turquoise and white combination has been one of those that keeps coming back. At first I didn't know what to make of it, but as the days went by, I kept stumbling upon these colours everywhere and knew that I had to put them all together to get the full impact of this colour crush!

1. Flock by Jennifer Davis, 2. Berlin by Robert Hanson,
3. Rings by Kenneth Jay Lane, 4. Fantastic plans for prayers
- illustration by Meri?, 5. Boy on rocking horse by sweetbeets,
 6. Scooter card by cassiemedemadesign.




Orange and Turquoise interior scheme from Homes & Gardens



And a brilliant piece of illustration, with a strong graphic quality,
by Stuart Kolakovic

Be*inspired!

inspired* photography: Polly Wreford

Don't you just love it when you stumble upon something beautiful by complete fluke?! I was searching for images containing blue and white interior,to help me put together ideas for a little decor-face-lift I'm planning for our home. (We have blue carpets all over the place and I'm trying to work around that 'feature').
So while googling for ideas, I came across an image by this talented photographer, Polly Wreford.

Needless to say, I abandoned the search for interiors in favour of gazing at these amazing pictures.

Images by Polly Wreford

inspired*by: Union Jack

Is it just my imagination, or has the creative world gone on a Union Jack frenzy? Everywhere I look these days, I see Union Jack arts, crafts and designs!

From luxurious items like Vivienne Westwood's limited addition rug and Alexander Mcqueen's fashion, to high street shops like Monsoon-Accessorize's brooches and bags, and a variety of vintage shops, almost completely dedicated to the trend. Even Etsy is full of Union Jack inspired, handmade finds!

So whether you're a true patriot, or just keen to hop on the British pride trend ride; You can almost certainly  find something to suit your needs (tea cosy anyone?!), taste and budget.

These are only a few of the lovely designs I've come across and there are many many more wonderful items out there, that I would have loved to show here, but just couldn't fit into one display. So if you really want to wear, hang, cover, drink, decorate or snuggle up with the British flag, Why not just Google it up and see what funky finds you discover?!!!

Clockwise, from the top left: 1.Interior decor by house-to-home, 2. Brooch by Accessorize, 3. White cushion by The London Cushion Company, 4. Blue cushion and lavender Heart by Jan Constantine, 5. Wooden bunting by Creative Flourish at not-on-the-high-street.com, 6.Sequin clutch bag by Accessorize, 7. Keyring by Harrods, 8. Bag by Jan Constantine, 9. Hand embroidered Tea cosy by Jan Constantine, 10. Patchwork make-up bag by Accessorize, 11. Mug by Jamie Oliver at Debenhams.