Ah, and so we are – mid December, a few days to Christmas. So how does this time look for me every year?

- overworked (company targets need to be met!)
- cold (though London is surprisingly mild this year)
- sad (missing my family, the more the closer it’s till Christmas as I know I’ll see them soon and want this to happen ASAP!)
- and this year, additionally, stressed out and tired as hell since as always I’m over-ambitious and have decided that I need to be responsible for whole of the Christmas look and feel. The occasion is perfect as it will be the first Christmas at my parents’ new house, so a blank canvas almost. So I’m sewing: tablecloths, table runners (both in 2 sizes!), napkins for 15 people, choosing decorations for the whole room and presents for both my and my husband’s families…

Anyway, I’m hoping all this hard work is going to pay off and deliver the ‘wow’ factor – the color scheme  / theme chosen for this year’s Christmas is Gold, White and Glitter: timeless, elegant and very celebratory.

Let me share with you a few beautiful photos that inspired me and maybe can inspire you too, if you’re planning your Christmas last minute.

Golden wreath

Name tag attached to the glass

Modern white and golden wreath with a pinecone and snowflake

Golden table setting with ribbon-tied cutlery

Glamour Christmas hanging ornaments

Glass, candle and roses centerpiece

Stylish golden table setting

Twigs and candle decoration

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I’m also planning to bake and decorate cupcakes, and – another last-minute idea – bake gingerbread in the shape of letters, for a different take on gift tags.
I hope this is going to work out as I never baked gingerbread before!

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No i jestesmy w polowie grudnia. Jak ten okres w roku wyglada dla mnie? Jestem zwykle
- przepracowana (bo przeciez firma musi wyrobic plan)
- zmarznieta (choc pogoda w Londynie jest w tym roku dosc laskawa)
- smutna (bo tesknie za rodzinka, tym bardziej im blizej do naszego spotkania!)
- a w tym roku dodatkowo absolutnie zestresowana i zmeczona jak diabli bo jak zwykle ambicja wziela nade mna gore i postanowilam zaprojektowac cala wizualke swiateczna. Okazja ku temu jest niebanalna gdyz beda to pierwsze Swieta w nowym domu moich Rodzicow i jest duze pole do popisu . W zwiazku z tym szyje obrusy i biezniki w dwoch rozmiarach, serwetki na 15 osob, wybieram dekoracje no i naturalnie prezenty dla calej mojej i meza rodziny…

Tak czy inaczej mam nadzieje ze wszystko dobrze sie uda i swieta zrobia wrazenie na gosciach – schemat kolorystyczny na te Swieta to Zloto, Biel i Blysk, czyli kombinacja elegancka, ponadczasowa i bardzo uroczysta.

Powyzej dziele sie kilkoma pieknymi zdjeciami ktore zainspirowaly mnie w tym roku – jesli szukacie swiatecznych pomyslow na ostatnia chwile, mam nadzieje ze te pomoga.
Ostatnim pomyslem ktory moze sie przydac to pieczenie piernikow w ksztalcie inicjalow – zamiast bilecikow prezentowych. Sprobuje to zrobic, jak sie uda – pokaze efekty

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Oops it’s been some time since my last post and unfortunately I won’t be too elaborate today either And that is because I have to still finish a lot of things at work, and then I have to run home to pack for my secret birthday getaway!

Yes my husband is taking me somewhere and I don’t know where We’re going away tomorrow and are back on Monday night.

But I can already promise that I will tell you all about last night’s design event at Victoria & Albert Museum in London with Alice Rawsthorn and Konstantin Grcic about the Design Real exhibition he curates at the Serpentine Gallery right now and man, was it good! So stay tuned and you’ll hear more after I’m back!

ps. UPDATE: 5 min ago I found a letter in my office inbox, and guess what that was – a ticket to PARIS!!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!

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Tak wiem juz duzo czasu minelo od mojego ostatniego wpisu i niestety dzis za duzo tez nie napisze A to dlatego ze musze skonczyc jeszcze sporo rzeczy w pracy a potem lece do domku pakowac sie na sekretna podroz urodzinowa!

Tak, moj maz zabiera mnie gdzies ale caly czas nie wiem gdzie, i wracamy w nocy w poniedzialek.

Ale juz teraz moge zapowiedziec ze po powrocie opowiem Wam wszystko o ‘pogadance’ (no naprawde czasem czuje sie jak analfabetka – jak odpowiednio po polsku powiedziec ‘talk’, ale taki mniej formalny niz wyklad?) miedzy Alice Rawsthorn i Konstantinem Grcic o wystawie Design Real w Serpentine Gallery ktorej jest kuratorem, a byla to bardzo ciekawa… pogadanka… (naprawde czasem mam ochote zostac tylko przy angielskim )

ps. UWAGA: 5 minut temu znalazlam list w skrzynce biurowej, i zgadniijcie co bylo w srodku – bilet do PARYZA!!! Super co nie

And finally, here they are – photos of what we’ve managed to do in our bathroom back home a month ago.

As you know / don’t know, we live in London in a rented flat, but our hearts – and our own flat – are still in Poland. We have never managed to finish it to the standard we wanted because we moved to the UK having just bought it and being able to do only the basics. Now every time we come back to visit our family, we try to add to it.

The next visit over Christmas will be even more important as we’re thinking about renting it out, and for that we need to finish at least the projects we’ve started, if not the whole place!

Our orange-cream-brown bathroom is actually the only room in the flat that more or less started coming together and is almost finished – it really is missing a few minor details (though my husband wouldn’t call it details…)

Below is what we’ve managed to complete last time – some embellishment around the mirror, and a tall cupboard for the much needed storage. I’m not going to show the whole bathroom yet – I’ll do that when we finally finish it off, but I can proudly say that the bathroom design and most of manual work have been done by my husband with a tiny bit of help from me.

Mosaic mirror frame

Actually, this decor has never been planned. We thought we’re going to have just an extension shelf over the mirror, on the same level as the top of the cupboard next to it. But then it turned out that we have some remnants of the panelling which we could use for the shelf. The only problem was that it was some milimeters shorter than the cupboard, which would result in the front of the shelf being a bit recessed in comparison to the cupboard, so the idea of having it at the same level for a sleek look would be lost. So we thought and thought… and then I came up with an idea of adding something decorative to the front of the shelf to disguise the difference in level, and we settled for some mosaic.

Obviously, there are many types of mosaic, and originally I thought we’d get the traditional glass mosaic. We also needed to make sure that the size of single tile (or two / three etc) is more or less the same height as the front of the shelf.

But after some strolling around the decorating shops, I saw this decor and I loved it! The original version was vertical (the size of the usual tile decor) so I broke it up into pieces, got rid of the supporting (and irritatingly difficult to remove) plastic frame beneath which normally holds the mosaics together for easy mounting on the wall, and used each separate tile as I wanted, making sure I don’t repeat the pattern much.

I mounted it onto the shelf using a standard all-purpose strong glue, and it worked very fast and was much easier to work with than the tile glue. Of course, be careful with this – you don’t want your fingers stuck together forever

…and after a moment of drying up, we were able to hang the shelf up!

DIY in bathroom - mosaic mirror frame

DIY in bathroom - mosaic mirror frame close-up

Tall cupboard

This is another example of recycling what was already in the house. My parents have bought a set of furniture to my teenage bedroom ages ago; one cupboard had glass door. We thought we saw some stain on it, so we asked for replacement. The manufacturer duly resent the door, but never took the faulty one. In the meantime we decided the fault is almost unnoticeable, so haven’t even replaced the door. And so it lay for ages in the basement, which my husband noticed some time ago and had his plans for it

Even though I know how good a DIY-er he is, I was still surprised by what he managed to do in half a day (with some finishing touches the next day) – he has actually measured up, had the panels cut, finished the edges, and built a proper cupboard for our cupboard, nicely employing all colours from our bathroom’s scheme.

Even so, I can hardly survive having something so big in my house without me adding the teeniest bit to it… so I’ve decided to  use the spare mosaic tiles to finish the door handles

DIY in bathroom - my hubby's cupboard

DIY in bathroom - cupboard door handles

So, that’s it for now. Going back now to choosing textiles for Christmas… hmmm maybe that’s a topic for my next post

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And so it happened. Here is the last episode of Design for life with Philippe Starck. Did you guess who’s going to win?

And what do I think about it… controversial? Yes. Interesting? Indeed. Showing design thinking out of the box? Definitely so.

I do hope you liked the series as much as me.

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No i koniec. Ponizej ostatni odcinek Design for life z Philippem Starckiem. Zgadliscie kto wygral?

A co ja mysle o programie… Kontrowersyjny? Tak. Ciekawy? A jakze. Pokazujacy zupelnie inny wymiar dezajnu? Jak najbardziej.
Mam nadzieje ze ta seria podobala Wam sie tak samo jak mi.

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…and another two assignments behind me Pretty tricky they were, and they left me covered in spattered paint! Why oh why can’t we use CAD on this course…

Anyway, below are a few rugs that I fell in love with when I discovered another interesting online shop: Kaleidoscope. They look absolutely gorgeous, very tactile and I am sure any guest at your house will want to touch them and they are very affordable!

Spiro rug

Layered circle rug

Lace rug

Heine Leaf Shape rug

Blossom Rug

Feathers Rug

Palm Rug

All rugs courtesy of Kaleidoscope.

I think I also promised you my DIY project some time ago… let me find the photos…

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…no i skonczylam kolejne dwa zadania do akademii, ktore byly dosc podchwytliwe i pozostawily mnie pokryta plamami po farbach! Ach, czemuz nie mozna uzywac zadnego CADa na tym kursie…

Tak poza tym, powyzej przedstawiam kilka strukturalnych dywanow w ktorych sie zakochalam, a znalazlam je przegladajac kolejny sklep internetowy Kaleidoscope. Sa nie tylko piekne, ale rowniez malo bolesne dla portfela, a do zaloze sie ze kazdy gosc w waszym domku bedzie je chcial poglaskac

Hmmm, czy ja kiedys nie obiecalam pokazac jaki projekt ostatnio poczynilismy z mezem w PL?… lece znalezc zdjecia…

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Right. Now normally I am all about affordable, doable and accessible design. What I am showing below does not fall into any of these categories, but since seeing this post at Apartment Theory I am still choking with laughter and amazement.

OK, so first – find the difference between this…

14th st NY by Bill Peterson (from Apartment Therapy) - from the outside (closed)

…and this:

14th st NY by Bill Peterson (from Apartment Therapy) - from the outside (closed)

Still can’t get it?

Well, how about from the inside?

14th st NY by Bill Peterson (from Apartment Therapy) - from the inside (closed)

and…

14th st NY by Bill Peterson (from Apartment Therapy) - from the inside (open)

How does it work??

A pair of buffers keeps the outside and inside environments separate. The first, a 42-inch-high railing of ultraclear glass, acts as a safety barrier. The second, an “air curtain wall system” that shoots air from the ceiling at high velocity, creates a thermal barrier and bug screen.

Courtesy of Apartment Therapy.

For a gripping article and for the ‘Before and After’ slideshow, see the original source: New Your Magazine’s Home Design – edition Fall 2009.

As always, I’d love to see what you think about this design

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Fakt. Zwykle przedstawiam tu przystepne cenowo, ‘rozsadne’ i wykonalne projekty. To co pokazuje ponizej nie nalezy do zadnej z tych kategorii, ale po prostu nie moglam sie powstrzymac bo od kiedy zobaczylam tego posta na Apartment Therapy, dalej dusze sie ze smiechu i zachwytu.

Powyzej konkurs – znajdz roznice na obrazkach Najpierw z zewnatrz, potem z wewnatrz… czyz to nie jest absolutnie niesamowite??
Kazdy pewnie zada sobie pytanie – ale jak to dziala, przynajmniej pod wzgledem bezpieczenstwa? Otoz do pewnej wysokosci znajduje sie super przezroczysta szyba ktora ma zapobiegac wypadnieciu, natomiast z sufitu wydostaje sie bardzo mocny strumien powietrza ktory zatrzymuje cieplo i… muchy

Na podstawie postu z Apartment Therapy.

Aby zobaczyc oryginalny artykul przedstawiajacy ten nowojorski dom i obejrzec pokaz slajdow ‘Przed i po’, zapraszam do New Your Magazine’s Home Design – wydanie Jesien 2009.

No i jak zwykle – chetnie zobacze co myslicie o tym dezajnie

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…and the next episode

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…i kolejny odcinek

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I missed Kelly Hoppen. Yup. It happened. And it seems I’ll miss Lulu Guinness tomorrow and even Cath Kidston in November! Aaaarghh!

What am I talking about? I’m talking about the Friday Evening Talks at Victoria & Albert Museum, about which you can read here. The Talks feature artists, writers and designers talking about their work and inspiration. When I visited the Telling Tales exhibition recently (yes, I will finally get round to writing about it as it was A-MA-ZING) I took the leaflet with events, but to my perish I only flicked through it two days ago..

…and it turned out there was a talk by my guru Kelly Hoppen just 2 weeks ago… and even though Miss Lulu is only to appear tomorrow, and Miss Cath in two weeks, there is no chance to see either of them, as all tickets are obviously sold out and though I’m on the waiting list, I was not given much hope…

But I managed to get a ticket for a talk by Konstantin Grcic, an industrial designer behind these objects:

Stackable Chair_One by Konstantin Grcic for Magis

Osorom seating for Moroso

Orcus secretary desk by Konstantin Grcic - closed

Orcus secretary desk by Konstantin Grcic - open

Click on Konstantin’s picture below to go to his website and see more designs:

Konstantin Grcic

Konstantin Grcic is an award-winning industrial designer whose work includes objects for Capellini, Iitalia, Krup and Muji. He is also the curator of the Serpentine Gallery’s forthcoming show, Design Rea. His own work is pared-down and combines formal strictness with mental acuity and humour. He discuss the ideas behind the exhibition and his career with Alice Rawsthorn, design critic for the International Herald Tribune.

So, hopefully this will be as inspiring as all that I’ve missed and will miss…

…who am I kidding, I’m still in despair!

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As promised, here goes the the second episode of Design for life with Philippe Starck, and it starts to get pretty nasty!:

ps. Not that I’m boasting BUT I found out last night that I got maximum points from both assignments at my design academy

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Tak jak obiecalam, oto drugi odcinek programu dezajnerskiego z Philippem Starckiem – Design for life.

ps. Nie tam żebym się chwaliła, ale dowiedziałam się wczoraj wieczorem że dostałam maksimum punktów z obu zadań które dostarczyłam niedawno do mojej akademii dezajnu

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You remember when I said Design for Life starring the genious Philippe Starck has started on BBC a few weeks ago?

Well it turned out that BBC iPlayer is only available in the UK so for those who asked to see it.. here you go

First episode here:

Further episodes will follow shortly

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Pamietacie jak mowilam ze nowy program Design for Life ktorego prowadzacym jest wspanialy projektant Philippe Starck zaczal sie niedawno na BBC?

Daliscie mi znac ze BBB iPlayer do ktorego podalam wczesniej link nie dziala w PL, dlatego powyzej wklejam pierwszy odcinek.

Kolejne niedlugo

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Don’t you find it fascinating how trends you were sure were so tragic you won’t see them again come back – and in such a victorious fashion?
So, will you let the deer into your living rooms?

Gold deer head sculpture from miaderoca

Old deer by Eskimo

Lucite Deer Head from Patrick Baglino

SNOW WHITE - Hand Knit Scandinavian Buck Deer Stag from Attiladesign

Faux trophies from Thisnext

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Czyz to nie fascynujace jak trendy ktore uznalismy za tak tragiczne ze bylismy pewni iz nie wroca – robia zwycieski come back?
Czy poroza wroca na Wasze salony?

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Budget yellow bedroom - IKEA, Leroy Merlin and Allegro.pl

Another design for the yellow bedroom - all in all (together will wallpaper not shown) I managed to keep cost down to minimum, not compromising on looks or comfort. We’ll see what the clients will say (after getting a cleaner version). I used the ‘Meduza’ lamp I wrote about after my trip to Poland.
Since I’m dead and really need some sleep, that’s it for now

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Kolejna wersja zoltej sypialni – z uzyciem lampy Meduza o ktorej juz pisalam. Poniewaz padam ze zmeczenia, na dzis tyle, chetnie uslysze komentarze

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I’ve spent yesterday strolling around Regent Street and Oxford Street here in London – not really to buy anything but to have a look around, see new collections etc. I found a few nice wallpapers and fabrics in House of Fraser and ordered free samples (I might use it with my next assignment, part of which is to create a sample board). In Zara Home, nothing show-stopping this time.

…and then I went into Habitat and remembered why I love this shop so much Seriously, I could live in one of their displays and would happily get anything from that place so if you are looking for a present for me, don’t hesitate anymore! )

Ok, so here are some of the finds from this trip – and all of them under £100 – most of them well under!

First some lamps.

• First – two lamps presenting the super-hot industrial design; both will add sharpness to the home office, living room or minimalist bedroom:

Tommy - Desk lamp from Habitat

Photographic - Tripod floor legs & shade from Habitat

• How fresh is that! Simple yet delivers the style. Look out for tealight holder of the same design. The lamp below boasts similar take on the shape.

Ribbon - Desk lamp from Habitat

Juno - Desk lamp from Habitat

• Did I say the lamps above were simple? Well… simple that! Perfect for complementing geometric wallpapers.

Jazmine - Desk lamp from Habitat

• So that no one thinks Habitat is too serious, this cute flower lamp will be great for a funky take on romanticism:

Helena - Flower table-wall lamp from Habitat

• (no description required for Boontje’s design, is there?)

Garland - Pendant shade by Tord Boontje from Habitat

• Do candleholders count as lamps? Well, they definitely count as light sources, which works for me. Check out this stylized object which is 1m high!

Bailey - Large nickel plated candleholder from Habitat

…And you won’t believe what they’ve done at the shop – they used around 20 of those candleholders in transparent glass, put LED lightbulbs in them and hung them upside-down from the ceiling at various heights, forming a very dramatic take on the bubble lamps we just discussed. What a view – shame I didn’t have my camera!

• Finally, Klara was just fun to move its arms around in various angles

Klara - Dinner candleholder from Habitat

And now to coffee and side tables.

• I love love love, for the obvious reasons of lightness, versatility and adaptability to small spaces – and price! £69.

Tablo - Nest of 3 tables from Habitat

• More expensive but very original – the Shuffle:

Shuffle - Low occasional table from Habitat

• How pretty is that! The intricate ornaments will work perfectly with next year’s trends for artisanry:

Palonia - Decorative cube from Habitat

• I do love multifunctional items This cube is not only a table, it is also a lightbox

Mr Woo - Light box-table from Habitat

How can one not love Habitat?

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Chodzilam sobie wczoraj po Regent Street i Oxford Street, zbierajac probki tapet i materialow do mojego kolejnego zadania i rozgladajac sie za nowymi kolekcjami. Weszlam do Habitat… i od razu przypomnialam sobie dlaczego kocham ten sklep! Normalnie moglabym w nim zamieszkac, a jezeli ktos szuka dla mnie prezentu, to dylemat rozwiazany

Powyzej przedstawiam wczorajsze znaleziska w dwoch kategoriach – oswietlenie i stoliki. Zgodnie z moja idea ‘organiczonego budzetu’, wszystko, co pokazuje powyzej kosztuje do 100 funtow, a wiele z nich nawet sporo mniej.

Kilka typow? Industrialne klimaty zaprezentowane przez pierwsze lampy i stoliki; minimalistyczny ale bardzo kreatywny design w postaci kolejnych ’skreconych’ lampek; wariacje na temat romantyzmu w kwiatowych swiatlach i drewnianym azurowym stoliku; niebanalny pomysl w szescianie Mr Woo bedacym i stolikiem, i swiatlem (swieci od wewnatrz), no i moj niesmiertelny Namber Lan – czyli zestaw trzech stolikow, za ich elastycznosc i lekkosc.

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I have always loved bubble lamps. They look so light, airy and magical – an absolute stunner in any space. The bubbles can be perfectly round, and the arrangement geometrically perfect, as here:

Round glass bubble chandelier

Next - bubble glass flush wall light

…or it can have slightly uneven bubbles and be more messy in arrangements, which makes them all the more natural-looking:

Glass bubble long chandelier

Bubble - metal table lamp (Tischleuchte) from Impressionen

Glass bubble lamp

So imagine my excitement when I went to this Homebase-style shop in Poland and found this gorgeous chandelier:

My bubble ceiling light

My bubble ceiling light

I loved it, I checked the price, I could not believe it, I confirmed it with a shop assistant (as surprised as I was), and I bought it! Look how stunning it looks in this arrangement from a designer house:

Boston Concept Home 2009 from Apartment Therapy

Boston Concept Home 2009 from Apartment Therapy

Since it’s pretty long (80cm) and will probably end up over our bed.

Or the coffee table in the living room.

Or the dining table.

…

…

… no, I’m definitely not one of those who never change plans for their interiors.

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Od dawna uwielbialam ‘babelkowe’ lampy. Te regularne, jak z dwoch pierwszych zdjec – ale jeszcze bardziej te z ‘niedoskonalymi’ kulkami wzmacniajacymi efekt recznego wykonania, do tego nierownomiernie rozlozone na plafonie z halogenami.
I, o niebiosa, znalazlam taka lampe w sklepie budowlanym – i to w takiej cenie ze musialam oczy przecierac, po czym szybciutko zlapalam za fraki pania sklepikarke ktora musiala sie wspiac na wieeeeelka drabine po moja lampe – no i jest Zobaczcie jak pieknie wyglada w Domu Koncepcyjnym 2009 przedstawionym na Apartment Therapy!

Z powodu rozmiarow (az 80cm dlugosci) zawisnie pewnie nad lozkiem.
Albo nad stolikiem kawowym w salonie.
Lub tez nad stolem jadalnym.
…
…
…nie, zdecydowanie nie jestem jedna z tych osob ktore nigdy nie zmieniaja planow wystroju swojego wnetrza.

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Further to my post about vintage, second-hand finds a few days ago, let me share with you what I found in shops on my Polish trip. You know I love a budget find - and all that’s featured below comes from high-street retailers.

One of the super-hot designs of this season – cross-legged side table. I’ve seen it on cover of the new John Lewis catalogue, of the Dream Bathrooms (from Homes & Gardens) too, and inside many recent magazines! I find it so light and delicate – it can visually lift up any sofa it stands next to, and add elegance and subtleness to the bedroom when used instead of heavy bedside tables:

Cross-legged round black glass side / coffee table

Funky retro lamps - white & black – absolutely spot-on for now and for such a good price!  Found in the local equivalent to Homebase and consting from £30 for a table lamp, through to £60 for the floor lamp.

Retro eye-ball desk / table lamp

Retro eye-ball arch floor lamp

The huge wall light from the series is the truly fabulous – it has this designer feel to it which makes it a great statement piece, and it’s so versatile due to the long arched arm - one moment it can be used over a table, another – give you the reading light over the sofa…

Retro eye-ball wall lamp with long swing arm

Another (bargain!) table lamp replicating the eye-ball shape, working well with minimalist, retro and modern interiors:

Eye-ball glass table lamp

Is it only me or does this lamp look like it was made from a jar?

Funky jar ceiling light

And now – inspired by nature and thus timeless, but fun at the same time, the ‘twigs’ lamp:

Night / table lamp made from twigs

Loads of such ‘wavy plastic‘ designs around, both on high street and at designers, and yet few of them cost £10…

White retro plastic floor lamp

This gorgeous glamour, delicate ceiling lamp with crystals-and-sheer-white-glittery shade will most probably find its place in the yellow bedroom. Under £30.

Glamour white ceiling lamp with crystals

Now to some coffee tables.

This one intrigued me with its lovely visible wood design (check out both the general pattern and the 3 tiles in the middle of the top), its practicality (huge drawers) and its lightness achieved thanks to slim metal legs (this photo does not show off the lifting effect too well). Price: ca. £200.

Wooden chunky coffee table with drawers

This one I love for its functionality and versatility - not only in size and shape but also colour and finish. I adore such items for their aplicability to small spaces, when you need something smaller for everyday, but need space when entertaining guests.

Adjustable coffee table - 3 elements

Adjustable coffee table - 3 elements

This one is pretty simple, not from best materials either, but interesting enough to have cought my eye… and I had to give it a second look when I saw the price – for £80 you can buy it for a few years or for your rented flat without guilt!

3-tier coffee table

Sleek, linear design makes this chair a great addition to a sharp, elegant home office:

Sleek elegant wood, metal and leather office chair

And finally – what lovely fabric! Believe, when I cast my eye on the same sofa in cream alcantara, I haven’t blinked twice. But this is an example of how the choice of fabric can dramatically influence the look, instantly making it a fashionable statement for the bachelor’s pad.

Silver shimmery L-shaped sofa for a bachelor pad

…believe it or not but this is not all I want to share with you from my trip – there will still be one more buy, and a DIY project we’ve completed in our flat back home.

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Tak jak obiecalam, po znaleziskach ‘z drugiej reki’ - czas na to co znalazlam w polskich sklepach podczas mojej ostatniej wizyty. A bylo tego sporo i naprawde pozytywnie mnie to zaskoczylo – a zgodnie z moim motto, szukalam jedynie produktow w dobrych cenach!

Znalazlam wiele pieknych dizajnerskich lamp - niektore retro; najciekawsza z nich to ‘kinkiet’ z biala kula na bardzo dlugim ramieniu dzieki czemu moze oswietlac dwie strefy – no ale zyrandol ze sloika nie odbiega oryginalnoscia!. Inne inspirowane natura i dzieki temu ponadczasowe (bardzo ciekawa lampka nocna z galazek drzewa), a takze lampa podlogowa z falujacych kawalkow plastiku, bardzo modna w tej chwili – a jeszcze za taka cene?! No i piekny delikatny glamour w postaci krysztalkowego zyrandola z przeswitujacym abazurem, ktory, cos tak czuje, znajdzie swoje miejsce w zoltej sypialni.

Dalej – stoliki kawowe. Piekny wzor slojow przyciagnal moj wzrok do pierwszego mebla, ale tak samo interesujace sa w nim dwie niezwykle pojemne szuflady i metalowe nozki dodajace stolowi lekkosci. Potem trafilam na kilka stolikow ‘warstwowych’, interesujacych tym bardziej im wiecej mozliwosci ustawienia daja (idealne do malych pomieszczen!). No i moje ulubione ostatnio – stoliki ze skrzyzowanymi nozkami, ktore nadaja niezwyklej lekkosci kazdej sofie przy ktorej stoja, oraz elegancji i delikatnosci sypialniom, gdzie zastepuja ciezkie stoliki nocne.

No i jeszcze dwa ciekawe meble do siedzenia – przepiekny, elegancki i prosty w formie fotel laczacy drewno, metal i skore doda szyku kazdemu gabinetowi, a kanapa z niezwyklym lekko blyszczacym szarym obiciem bedzie wygladac pieknie w kawalerskim mieszkaniu modnego mezczyzny – idealny przyklad jak duzo zmienia material, gdyz ten sam model widzialam moment wczesniej w bezowym obiciu z alcantary… wystarczy powiedziec ze nie spojrzalam na niego drugi raz, a ta wersja az wyprosila zdjecie.

…ale ale, to nie koniec relacji z tej podrozy – podziele sie jeszcze z Wami kolejnym zakupem i projektem zrob-to-sam ktory popelnilismy z mezem w naszym polskim mieszkaniu!

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Springy woody room from skona hem

For this gorgeous natural feeling of being outdoor – indoor.

Courtesy of Desire to Inspire.

Apartment Therapy's house tour at Harmony & Vance's

…and another view to show the whole space:

Apartment Therapy's house tour at Harmony & Vance's

Why? Because of its very natural approach to eclectic spaces. It’s no nonsense, relaxed, with a splash of colour here and funky design there, and somehow it all comes together. Even though every item has its own history and comes from somewhere else, it’s all so.. simple. Feels young and refreshing!

Oh my goodness… you cannot imagine how busy I was over the recent weeks – both at work and at home; then I was away; but most importantly, with my new school – the assignments are so extensive, I am basically spending every single free minute on them; at some point a few days ago I just could not look at my inspiration boards anymore, I saw them and edited them and reworked them so many times! I finally have submitted them though…

Anyway, one part of the assignment was to prepare color schemes and find inspirational images that work with the schemes. I was to prepare one board for each of the classic sets: monochromatic, harmonious and complementary, bearing in mind that one of them was to use a historical color palette.

So here are the results, and a bit of color theory you can use with your interiors:

• Monochromatic color scheme - blues:

Monochromatic color scheme - blues

This monochromatic scheme was created using the family of blue tints, tones and shades; my foremost inspiration came from nurseries which I think look lovely in blue (generally bedrooms look pretty in monochromatic schemes too). Contrary to popular belief, monochromatic does not mean black&white, but simply of one (any) colour. In interior decorating and design, this is extended to mean all the tones, not just the pure hue.
Such a scheme is very safe, and can be pretty boring or even overwhelming (e.g. all-red room). To ensure the space is still interesting, one should use contrasting tones - if big surfaces are soft or pastel (even tinted white), it is worthwhile making the accents (cushions, throws, rugs, accessories) darker. Also, remember that color reception varies with texture - therefore use different materials, tactile fluffy or porous fabrics and employ luminosity of paint or objects, by contrasting matte and shine, transparent and opaque, and finally with design…

• Harmonious color scheme, using a 19th period color palette:

Harmonious color scheme - 19th color palette

Harmonious color schemes are probably the most popular. Easy to achieve with fool-proof rules, they provide more interest than the monochromatic scheme. However, because of its popularity, the scheme can now seem bland if applied without thought, and actually some neighboring colors get on better together than others (e.g. reds and violets is a pretty tricky combination…) and if you’re going as far as mixing colours from both sides of one main hue (like red purples and red oranges), you really should include that main hue (red) to make them work together!

This particular scheme was even trickier than the others as it required using a historical color palette. It’s good to know that there are companies which still manufacture paint, fabrics and wallpaper employing authentic historical techniques, materials and designs. It’s important not only to give the room an authentic feel; rather such materials work best when restoring old houses as they blend better and work properly with older surfaces (crucial for paint). They also often have visibly different finishes (you can order free samples to see for yourself) which add to the quality and authenticity of the restoration project. Just remember – such materials are never cheap, nevertheless worth their price.

The scheme on the board concentrates around a beautifully ornamental Lotus BP 2048 wallpaper from Farrow & Ball (a great company for authentic materials), drawn from 19th century French archives and influenced by the Arts & Crafts Movement . I complemented it with muted tones and shades of paint such as Ball green 75, Green smoke 47 and Parma gray 27 in traditional finishes: limewash, dead flat oil, and eggshell (depending on location – interior or exterior, and surface – walls, woodwork, metal).

Put together, this scheme is very sophisticated and elegant, and adaptable to rooms of any function, as you can see on the inspiration photos (halls, living rooms, bathrooms). Interestingly, the scheme not only works well in period interiors, but also in modern ones, especially minimalist (see the bottom-right bathroom).

• Complementary color scheme using purples and yellows:

Complementary color scheme - yellow and purple

The most dramatic choice, the complementary scheme marries colours lying opposite each other on the colour wheel. While a risky choice and demanding a lot of careful analysis and design, this scheme can be very rewarding through creation of outstanding statement interiors.

Yellow and purple, as used on this board, have actually made their way into many interiors nowadays (I love this match!), but the general rule is to carefully balance colours and tones, choosing one as a basis and the other solely in accessories. Also, for a more subtle and glamorous version, you could replace yellow with gold and shimmers. The strongest version (i.e. with both colours on big surfaces) will work well in halls, waiting rooms and guest bathrooms – but if you like it, use it anywhere you want – after all, rules are there to be broken .

I will show you the inspiration boards later on…but in the meantime welcome comments both on these particular schemes, and also on your opinion on schemes and rules in color – do you follow them? How?

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Powyzej prezentuje jedno z zadan ktore w koncu ukonczylam i dostarczylam w piatek… zajmowaly mi doslownie kazda wolna minute w ciagu ostatnich paru tygodni! Celem zadania bylo stworzenie trzech tablic przedstawiajacych podstawowe schematy kolorystyczne – monochromatyczny (oparty na jednej rodzinie odcieni, np. fiolety), harmonizujacy (laczacy kolory lezace obok siebie na kole barw, np. zolcie, pomarancze i czerwienie) i dopelniajacy / kontrastujacy (wykorzystujacy kolory przeciwlegle, np. zielony i czerwony), a do jednego z nich miala zostac uzyta historyczna paleta kolorystyczna z wybranej epoki. Wyniki zobaczyc mozna zobaczyc powyzej, a paleta historyczna ktora ‘wystapila’ na tablicy to XIX-wieczna Francja z wplywami Arts & Crafts movement (ruch ktory glosil sztuke uzytkowa bedaca jednak absolutnie piekna, czescia tego ruchu byli prerafaelici).

Pierwsza tablica pokazuje niebieskosci ktore tak bardzo pasuja do sypialni dzieci, ale takze doroslych – takie schematy sa delikatne, ale pojawia sie ryzyko nudy ktoremu nalezy przeciwdzialac poprzec uzycie roznorakich odcieni, materialow, powierzchni, wzorow oraz matu i polysku. Kolory harmonizujace przestawione sa jako matowe zielenie i zolcie, mocno przytlumione dodatkiem szarego (podstawa do tego schematu byla przepiekna tapeta Farrow & Ball ) – te historyczne kolory dodadza kazdemu pomieszczeniu ponadczasowej elegancji, a pasuja nawet do nowoczesniejszych, zwlaszcza minimalistycznych wnetrz (patrz lazienka w prawym dolnym rogu). Ostatnia tablica pokazuje najbardziej dramatyczne i ryzykowne, ale jak wspaniale kontrastowe polaczenie zolci z fioletami, ktore polecam zwlaszcza do mniej uczeszczanych pomieszczen typu hol, poczekalnia, moze goscinna lazienka (acz to oczywiscie zalezne od preferencji).

Niedlugo pokaze rowniez tablice inspiracyjne ktore stworzylam do innego zadania, a w miedzyczasie zapraszam do komentowania moich schematow, ale tez schematow ogolnie – czy dalej je stosujecie? Ktore lubicie? Jak wykorzystujecie tradycyjna teorie koloru?

http://www.farrow-ball.com/productdetails.aspx?pid=WFBP2048&cid=WPP&language=en-GB

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