House Envy

It’s been a while between home + decorating posts, hasn’t it?

I must admit, with less time on my hands for Net trawling, I’ve been mostly hanging out in the personal development and self-actualisation corners of the web of late and have been seriously neglecting my big list of happy homeware-focused blogs.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve still been pinning a handful of images of inspiring rooms to my ‘home is where the heart is’ Pinterest board, but my attention and interests have definitely been elsewhere. I have this theory that, for sanity reasons, my brain won’t allow me to be “totally into” too many things at once, and at the moment, it’s blatantly obvious weddings, wellness and words are winning out!

Anyway, to get back into the swing of things on the interiors front, I spent yesterday catching up with my favourite home design blogs and thought I’d share a few of the images that really leapt out at me.

If I had a blank canvas to decorate at the moment (or the room to do it in my current abode – we’re pretty much at maximum capacity as far as decor goes!) I’d be following the lead of the creatives behind some of the beautiful homes below and introducing:

+ Big stacks of books in random corners
+ A gorgeous rug or throw in an ethnic print
+ Subtle, stylish elements in the kitchen (which can often be the hardest space in the home to decorate as you wage the battle between practical appliances and impractical “pretty things”)
+ Terrariums and bell jars aplenty
+ And, finally, a huge gold vintage mirror like the one shown below – swoon-o-rama!

+ What decor elements/ trends are you loving at the moment? Have you recently made any little (or big) updates to your home?

Images: Lonngren/ Widdell | Lonngren/ Widdel | A Beautiful Living | Desire to Inspire Design Attractor | Solid Frog | Decor 8Design Attractor | Emma’s Design Blogg | The Crowd Goes Wild | This is Glamorous | The Coveteur |


Wedding Inspiration: The Ceremony

 

Sometimes us brides-to-be get so caught up in the table decorations (and the dress, and the invitations, and the carefully hung lanterns) that we fail to give serious thought to the decorations required for the most important part of the Big Day – the ceremony.

The styling of the ceremony really sets the tone for the overall look of your wedding day and the ideas are getting more and more creative, with theatre-style seating, vintage church pews, and strips of fabric in rainbow hues being just a few of the unique elements I’ve come across on my hunt for ceremony decor inspiration.

+ What are your top picks? If you’re married already, how did you decorate your ceremony? Was it held outside or in a church?

Images: KT Merry | Gal Meets Glam | Style Me Pretty | Style Me Pretty | Green Wedding Shoes | Ruffled | Style Me Pretty | Archive Vintage Rentals | RuffledStyle Me Pretty/ Forget Me Knot Weddings | The Found Blog | Pinterest | Our Blog of Love/ Style Me Pretty | Green Wedding Shoes | Event Lucky | The Brides Cafe/Style Me Pretty


Decorating Inspiration: Getting in the Holiday Spirit

It’s a weird old summer here in Australia.

Cold and rainy and not at all representative of the usual hot, sticky, summery lead up to Christmas, I must admit I’ve been finding it a little hard to get my brain to click over into “Xmas Decorating Mode.”

Until now.

As you know, I’m a huge pinner (and I love that I can say that without raising too many eyebrows!) so I decided to go on hunt for some decorating inspiration this week and was thrilled to find a truckload of creative, easy-to-pull together ideas that would seamlessly fit into any living space.

I’m all about natural elements (our tree last year was a salt-bleached stick, shoved in a silver tin bucket and adorned with handmade ornaments) but I’m also really loving the small pine trees in jars, shown below, as an alternative.

I hope this round up inspires you if the holiday spirit hasn’t yet kicked in! Oh, and one more thing: I just realised I’m singing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christ-massssss”….. so I’ll leave you on that note. Try getting that out of your head!

Dark and Moody

 

1. Emmas Blogg 2. 79 Ideas 3. Simple Blueprint 4. Helt Enkelt 5. Cathrine’s Hjerterom

Bright Winter Whites

 

1. Dreamy Whites 2. Love Nordic 3. Fine Little Day 4. Annaleena’s Hem 

 Naturals and Neutrals

 

1. My Lovely Things 2. Lotta Agaton 3. Simple Blueprint 4. The Yvestown Blog 5. Decor 8 6. French By Design 7. Frolic

White and Wood

 


1. Basic Label Sweden 2. Sf Girl By Bay 3. Bp 4. A White Carousel 5. Flex Inredning

For a tonne more inspiration for everything from gorgeous gift wrapping and DIY decorations to tasty Xmas treats, check out the holiday editions of these pretty online magazines:

1. Ruche: A Homemade Holiday 

2. Sweet Paul


+ So, tell me: what’s your Xmas decorating style? Have you put your tree up yet?


Pallet Love!

On my lunch break yesterday I went on a mini op shopping adventure and was delighted to stumble across this:

 

I didn’t have enough room in my car to grab more than one, but it did get me thinking about ways we could use pallets around the house and for our wedding.

Below is some of inspiration I’ve discovered online for DIY’ing pallets. Versatile little buggers aren’t they? Particulary loving the bookshelf and the planter, which would be perfect on our balcony!

1. Coffee table 2. Bookshelf 3. Sofa

1. Daybed 2. Shelves 3. Bed + Table 4. Couch

1. Bench 2. Coffee table 3. Planter 4. Wine Rack


Inspired By: Black + White



There’s no denying bright colours are huge right now, and I’m as big a fan as any, but there’s still something about the simplicity of a sleek black and white palette that gets me every time.

What about you?

Images: 1. Embrace the Pretty 2. Love Aesthetics 3. Graphic Exchange 4. Camera Obscura 5. 5 inch and up  6. Annaleenas Hem 7.Behance 8. Wikifashion 9. 5 inch and up 10. Pretty Stuff 11. Desire to Inspire 12. Dwell 13. Annaleenas Hem 14. via Pinterest 15. Ultralinx 16. Concept 2012 17. Mirta on Etsy


Currently Coveting: Bar Carts + Chic Cocktails

There’s something so welcoming and glamourous about a thoughtfully curated bar cart, don’t you think?

I love that they strike the perfect balance between style and practicality. On one hand, a cart stocked with a variety of beautiful bottles serves as an elegant interior decor piece, and on the other, a stylish cart promotes the fact that you’re always ready to entertain should friends drop by. Love that!

It’s been a month of birthdays, weddings and celebrations for us and in my old age (ha!) I’m all about quality over quantity when it comes to alcoholic beverages, so you could say I’m having a bit of a ‘moment’ with cocktails.  Granted it’s a long moment, as I’ve been into cocktails for years now and can’t see my love waning any time soon, but there’s something  about the preparation and the bringing together of ingredients that I love. Not to mention the fact that cocktails are much prettier to look at than your standard drink.

Spring is upon us now in Australia and given the party season is about to kick off it’s glittery heels, I’m dreaming of joyous afternoons in the sun and chic evening soirees with a cocktail in hand. I’m all about Mojito’s, Caprioskas, Moscow Mule’s, Lychee Martini’s, or anything with elderflower, passionfruit and pineapple. Fresh and fruity!

+ What about you? What’s your cocktail of choice?

Images: 1. Dustjacket Attic 2. Design Sponge 3. A Cup of Mai 4. Domestikated Life 5. Spoon Fork Bacon 6. Feed the Dinosaur 7. Zangari Studio 8. Pink Preppy Lilly Lover 9. Interiors Porn 10. Rue 11. That Kind of Woman 12. Babble 13. Pinterest 14. Tyler Florence 15. The Glitter Guide


Inspired By: Neon Hues

I spent a bit of time looking through my fashion and interior decorating magazine stash this weekend and found a whole bunch of spreads (and covers) featuring bright tangerines and fuchsia, with pops of neon yellow throughout.

These hot hues just scream summer, don’t you think? BRING. IT. ON!

Images:
Row 1: Home Beautiful Sept 2011 cover; 2. Oracle Fox; 3. Vogue Turkey cover
Row 2: 1. A Glamorous Little Side Project 2. Scalloped 3. Sterling Style
Row 3:
1. Shop til You Drop magazine 2. Jak & Jil3. Fashion Gone Rogue 4. Harpers Bazaar Sept 2011.