Bedroom Ideas {Part 1}

My bestie and her hubby will be moving into their new home very soon (too!), and last night she asked me for ideas on what to do with the wall above her bed. For the rest of the night, I ended up with only one eye on the TV, and the other on the screen of my iPhone, flipping through pictures after pictures, hoping to come up with the right suggestion most suited for her.

This morning, looking at the collection I browsed through, I realised I've accumulated quite a compilation! And what better way to kick off this come back with a series of bedroom ideas!? Thanks bestie! *winkz*

It's most common to hang pictures over the head of the bed, but make sure they aren't too heavy and that you use to right fixtures, for you don't want the frame(s) to come crashing down when you're asleep (believe me, I've heard of such stories before)! Canvas prints would be a lighter option, and you can have them bigger, without worrying too much about the weight.

Oversized photo canvases make great headboards and wall feature! 

{Anemi Hotels, via Apartment Therapy}

More oversized canvases

{Style Files | Colour by Home Beautiful, pg 65 | Style Files}

Colours wise, it's entirely up to you! Some would choose a tone to blend with the scheme of the room, while others prefer something loud and with character. Whatever it is, just keep in mind that the pictures will create a focus point, often the first thing the eyes would be drawn to upon entering the room, so it has to be something you'll be happy to look at!

{Houzz | Colour by Home Beautiful, pg 93 | Home Beautiful, April 2011, pg 107 | Apartment Therapy}

For a more quirky and personal approach, try a collage of your favourite pictures - these are simple enough to change, and you'll have an updated look for your room every few months or as often as you like!

{1&2 - Home Sweet Home}

More bedroom ideas to come!

Corners Of Our New Home

Hey there, dearest friends! I'm back, finally!!

I've missed all of you - so much! We only just got our internet and phone line connected yesterday afternoon, and I couldn't wait to get back onto my daily updates and postings! There's so much catching up to do; hope you'll be patient with me!

We are settling in well at our new place (we, or I, nicknamed it "Our Nest 6/27", just for the fun of it!); most things are up and at where they should be. There is still quite a pile of cardboards in our living room as the recycling bin's been piled to the limit, and we're waiting on a storage/shelving unit which we should be getting soon - apart from that, we have been quite happy and comfortable, serving up warm meals on the dining table and snuggling up in our two seater Ektorp with the new 32" flat screen. Bliss!

Some of you have been asking for pictures of the new place. I've managed to snap some with my iPhone the other day - just some sneak peeks at a few corners around the house for now... I'll show more when I'm really done putting away the odd box of stuffs still lying around, and the final touches (like art works and pictures) are up. Then again, I think a home is never done, ours anyway, as we will always find more things we like and want to add to the place!

Anyway... let me know what you think of our new little home, and stay tune for more updates! It's definitely good to be back!

{I have always loved the enormous BRAVUR clock, and was so happy we got it cheap off the As-Is rack!}

{Ally did most of the selection for our living room, and I completed it with the softer touch!}

{The infamous "R ♥ S" found their home on the window ledge!}

(A peek at what's on top of our dresser - the canvas print is from Typo}

+ loving: Papercup's Alphaville Lookbook

Papercup's Alphaville winter collection is making me think of owning tights in every color! That would definitely chase away any wintry blues! (Not that we are having them, just yet! But nothing wrong with being prepared!!)

Papercup is a small independent label from New Zealand, who make small runs of handmade, high quality wearable pieces, as well as jewellery and accessories. See more over at their online shop, Swonderful.

I'm loving the grey, yellow and white combination, but you might have guessed that already?

Images via Papercup, found thanks to Much Love.

Help Japan

In moments like these, words are simply not enough to express how we feel, as the mind has yet to process the scale of the devastation in relation to each and every affected individual. The word "devastation" in itself, when used and heard too many times, begins to blur around the edges.

Help Japan by James White | Help Japan by Robi Dobi (found thanks to Bloesem)

Tonic: How Can You Help? | Paul Frank Hugs to Japan

Proceeds from artworks by James White and Robi Dobi will be donated to the rescue and rebuild efforts in Japan.

Home Sweet Home

Dear friends, I hope you have all been well! In case you're wondering about my "missing-in-action" status of late, I have a very good reason for that: We have found our own home, and are in midst of preparing for the move!

Yes, Ally and I are both pretty excited about finally getting a space of our own and making it into a home, our own little haven. Today we went scouting for furnitures (fun!), checked out appliances (relatively dry...) and brainstormed about how we will be decorating the place over lunch (double fun!).

And as if getting our own place wasn't exciting enough, we got ourselves a set of wheels too! Yup, a nice little Toyota Corolla hatch, which we have nicknamed "Happy", to mark the special occasion. The fact that I spotted it on Thursday, and literally "vroom-ed" off from the dealer's on Friday was, in itself, an overwhelming experience - but in a good way!

Everything is finally falling into place for us here, beginning from the visa approval, to the home and car... And we are really really thankful and appreciative of our good fortunes, blessings from the environment, and especially the support we have received from our family.

We are calling Adelaide "home" - officially!

There is an eclectic feel to these pictures, which reminds me very much of our styles. Hopefully I'll be sharing some pictures of our home soon!

p.s. I'll try to blog as often as I can this next couple of weeks, and hopefully we'll settle into the new place fairly quickly and have the internet connection sorted out soon!

Images from here, and here.

+ loving: Creative Hooks and Clever Hanger

Hanging up that jacket or bag is no longer a boring chore. Not when you have these fun hooks/racks and hanger to hang them off from!

This Pipework Series coat rack by Nick Fraser is playful industrial piece which will be an attention grabber in any hallway or bedroom. Following Nick's distinctive style of celebrating everyday objects by transforming their archetypal qualities into new products, the coat rack is made from parts typically used for plumbing works, can hold up to 8 garments and is available in 3 colours. (Via Brighton Pod, found thanks to Furniture Fashion.)

What about a coat hook which offers a little extra motivation to help start your day? According to the designers at Blend Design, "our quote hook is designed to motivate you for the day ahead with a little oomph in your step and of course it does a good job holding your stuff too." There are three quotes to choose from, "live your life", "you make it happen" and "keep moving forward", and they are available in three different colours. (Via Blend Design, found thanks to Design Milk.)

And lastly, a hanger inspired by the Helvetica font, designed by Alegre Industrial. Now you can hang your coat and pants off this widely used font, known for its neutral typeface and great clarity. Fun! (Via Design Milk.)

+ inspired by: Munich's Valencia Store

Munich's Valencia Store, by Barcelona based design firm Dear Design, is a slick stadium of futuristic scaffolding with Munich's "X" trademark weaved cleverly into the entire concept. 

I love the all white interior, and how the shoes look like they are floating in between the "X"s.

Images via Dear Design, found thanks to Design Milk.

Colored: 01.03.11

Love & Lipstick

+ loving: Nakemeguro House by Level Architects

Dear friends, I hope you have all been well, and that the week is treating you nicely! Gosh, is it March already! How crazy is that? Season wise, the weather is definitely taking a cooler change... But I still cherish the every other warmer days that as autumn creeps into play.

It's been a little drier in the inspiration section for me this past week, and I've been more focused on looking for new sparks to keep the light going. If you have anything you would like to share, please do not hesitate to let me know! I think some days I see too many of the same thing, and need a bit of freshness! And I would rather spend more time churning out quality posts which would in turn inspire you, than to fill your reader with heaps of posts which you might just breeze through without much thought.

Having said that, there's this one thing which put an immediate smile on my face this morning, so I thought I'd share it with you. Hope you'll enjoy it too!

The Nakemeguro House, by Level Architects of Japan, is one of those fun home you would enjoy being in. The main feature is obviously the slide, which goes along one side of the house, spanning 3 levels. A flight of stairs hugs the other side of the house, joining to the top of the slide. There is also a pocket opening along the side of the slide on the 2nd floor, allowing you to pop in and out mid way.

The flow of movement and interaction with the space is what I love most about the design. That, and the images of the children having fun moving around the house with the slide.

Images of other areas in the house are also included; the void space in the middle of the house seem like a fun/ playful to be too!

All images from Level Architects, found thanks to Home Sweet Home.