Getting inspired

In Scandinavia you see a lot of houses with continuous rooms, where you walk from one directly into the other. In the Netherlands we have the "room en-suite" with a living room in the front and a back room with a glass sliding door between the two. Most of the times this is seen in older houses, probably built somewhere between 1900-1930. To get to any part of the house, you need to go through the hallway. Thus, all rooms are separated.

But I like the Scandinavian variation very much. It gives you the feeling all the rooms are connected to each other. The house or apartment might be small, but it feels spacious because of that connection.

This is partly the reason I like the house below. And because of the colors ( a lot of white of course), and those typical stoves, and the way it is decorated, and..., and... In short, I totally like it!

                                                                                                                                          Source: Alvhem, through: Freshome

Old mixed with new

As I told you earlier, we live in a century old house so you will not be surprised that I like to look at old houses. Specially when the old elements are respectfully mixed with a contemporary style. 
This house in Grünerløkka, Norway, has that mix.

                                                                                                                                         Source: Rom 123
                                                                                                                               Photopgraphs: Sveinung Bråthen

Here she is

My very first Waldorf doll. I haven't found a name yet, she doesn't have any clothes to wear, but still, the job is done...

Modern doll making: all the useful tutorials on my iPad :-)

Sorry, this looks like a different kind of doll,
but the pins helped me with the positioning of the eyes.

As sort of a red head she's got green eyes.

Tadaaaaaaaaa!

I can tell you all the mistakes, flaws, etc. But I won't. Overall, I am very happy with the result!


Some tutorials were really crucial:
Zonnepopkinderen.nl; I used their pattern and their description throughout. (It is in Dutch.)
Toureasy47201's photo tutorial on Flickr; this tutorial helped me when I didn't fully understand the written instructions.
Crunchy Catholic Momma; this photo tutorial helped me with the nose and the eyes.
Crafty Sheep; helped me with the hair. I came across a lot of tutorials on the hair, but I liked this one best and I think it is one of the easiest as well.
And last, but not least, these pages on Flickr with all the different dolls and all the different hairdo's.

So thanks to all!

Someone spotted this and pinned it on Pinterest. I totally love it!

                                                                                                                                                    Designer: Blow, Hong Kong

For sale

Talking about human size: 59 m2. But I could totally live here!

                                                                                                                                                       Source: Bolaget

Human size

After only writing my blog for a few weeks, I have found out something about myself: I think houses can be too big. 


I have been devouring interior design magazines as long as I can remember, including the ones about huge houses, designed by famous architects and furnished by great interior designers. But while I look at the pictures of those beautiful houses, I can't imagine living in them. When I look at a living room of a 100 square meters (the size of my whole house!) I already feel lost just looking at it.
The interior may be balanced, the floor plan may be logical, but somehow to me it still feels like a showroom.


I have found out I really like the "human size" in an interior. Like this loft for instance where ceramics designer Anne Black lives with her family.

                                                                                                                                         Source: Bo Bedre Norway
                                                                                                                                   Fotographs: Torben Petersen

Storage taken to the next level

I love the way they created storage. In fact, love the house!

                                                                                                                                                        Source: Home-Designing
                                                                                                                                                     Architect: i29

Tropical surprise

Although I don't speak French all that well, I can look at the pictures... This jungle project by Philippe Starck has some quirky details.

Look at the ceiling!

                                                                                                                                            Source: Marie Claire Maison

The view from my couch

We use an old office cabinet as a television cabinet.
I gave it a new look with a painted stripe of white paint.

                                                                               

This is yet another Bambi in our house!

Spring is coming

I like to make green decorations once in a while. Especially early in the year because in the Netherlands you can buy all kinds of flower bulbs.

I started with a layer of moss in a glass bowl.

On top of that I put some small pieces of wood.

The white hyacinths (with the roots torn off) are put against and between the wood and everything is topped off with some fake snow.
(You don't have to water the moss or the bulbs as they will last 4-6 weeks like this.)

Now you have your own slice of spring in the house!

Covet Garden

I am finding more and more online magazines to read. You already might have guessed interior design is one of my favorite topics. This is a magazine I really like:

It isn't a large magazine, each issue is about 20 pages, but is full of nice pictures, about interesting people and fun ideas.
And you can subscribe for free! (I will be Dutch, always.)

Living in Manhattan

It is always a challenge to fit all functions into a, not so big, one room studio apartment without getting crowded. Paul did it.

                                                                                            Source: apartment therapy