Wallpaper – finally made its comeback in the recent years. We see it in all kinds of places; traditional houses, modern flats, as kitchen splashbacks and all over bathrooms. We decorate cupboards with them, frame them, use for collages…
…and put them on ceilings, it seems. What do you think about this idea?
Source: Elle DecorLisa Bengtsson's custom made ceiling decorationSource: ektalab.comGreen power!Source: Elle DecorSource: Rhoney DesignYellow ceiling
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Tapeta – w koncu powrocila do wnetrz. Widzimy ja w przeroznych miejscach; tradycyjne domy, nowoczesne mieszkania, jako ozdoba nad blatem kuchennym i w lazienkach. Dekorujemy nimi drzwi szaf, wkladamy w ramki, uzywamy do kolazy…
…i kladziemy na suficie, na to wyglada. Co o tym myslicie?
Having seen a photo of a room with a hand-painted silk covered wall in World Of Interiors a few months ago, I have not since stopped thinking about the supremacy of hand-made designs over 53cm-wide wallpapers, which – no matter how creative – usually are restricted by the roll size.
OK, photo wallpapers are an alternative, yet the quality, exclusivity and uniqueness is uncomparable.
What I found today (courtesy of Mochi Home) is this amazing company fromental. A few words about them:
Founded in 2005, with offices and design studios in London and a team of talented artists in China, Fromental’s mission is to create the world’s most beautiful wallpapers.
Having worked in fashion and interiors, directors Tim Butcher and Lizzie Deshayes have twenty years experience in designing, producing and restoring hand-made wallpapers.
Here are some of their designs:
fromental's bedroomfromental
I would literally die for this kitchen:
fromental
Now some of you probably think – nice, but not for me. I’m all modern. Well, heres’s the response to that:
Now, how long do I need to save for one of these 🙂
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Kilka miesiecy w World of Interiors zobaczylam zdjecie pokoju ze sciana oblozona recznie malowanym jedwabiem, i od tej pory nie moge przestac myslec o przewadze recznie wykonanych projektow nad 53-centymetrowymi tapetami, ktore – jakkolwiek kreatywne – zawsze sa jednak swoim rozmiarem ograniczone. Tu – konkretna sciana jest wyznacznikiem pracy. Ma 3 metry dlugosci? Taki bedzie wzor. Ma 15 metrow? Tym wieksze wrazenie taki wzor moze zrobic.
Fakt, fototapety wracaja do lask i pozwalaja zaaranzowac wieksza przestrzen, jednak jakosc, ekskluzywnosc i wyjatkowosc sa nieprownywalne…
Dzis znalazlam (dzieki Mochi Home) wspaniala firme fromental. Prowadzona przez pare z duzym doswiadczeniem w swiecie designu i mody, ich ambitnym celem jest stworzenie najpiekniejszych tapet i tkanin na swiecie.
Czy im sie udalo? Powyzej mozna zobaczyc czesc z ich pierwszych trzech kolekcji, zarowno dla tych co lubia klasyczne jak i nowoczesne wnetrza.
Taak… ciekawe jak dlugo musze oszczedzac na takie cudo 🙂
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.
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.
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!
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?
…So I am about to design and decorate a bedroom for a 20-year old Alex as her birthday present! It’s an attic room with one slanted wall, one big window, and pink walls with the slanted one in violet. Pink is a tricky color though, and Alex wants to avoid the room becoming too sweet and teenagey – after all, a young woman is to live there!
I have started the design process by finding some inspirations, which I will later present to Alex to find out her preferences. There are two styles I want to suggest: romantic and modern, and an extra twist with statement wallpaper.
First – the more romantic look with a wrought iron bed. A natural choice with pink, it enhances its feminine style and is very relaxing. Conducive to dreaming and planning, should create a good atmosphere for the whole day!
Feminine pink bedroomPink blush bedroom by A Gift-Wrapped LifeShades of pink bedroom by Country Living
Now to more modern look. Stylish and simple, if slightly darker due to complementing with black rather than only white.
Modern pink and black bedroom from KiaC StylebookPink flower bedroom from PhotobucketBlack n Pink bedroom from Elisabeth85
Finally, here are some ideas for enlivening the look with a statement wallpaper on one wall:
Hot Pink Damask from Direct WallpaperMilly Black Pink Silver by Direct WallpaperLydia Floral Feature Pink White 13948 by Direct Wallpaper
I will let you know what Alex prefers when she lets me know 🙂
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…No wiec wlasnie zabieram sie za zaprojektowanie i udekorowanie sypialni 20-letniej Oli – jako prezent urodzinowy! Jest to pokoj na poddaszu z duzym oknem, a sciany sa koloru rozowego z kontrastowa fioletowa sciana kolankowa pod skosem. Intrygujace to zadanie – stworzyc ‘rozowy’ pokoj dla mlodej kobiety, starajac sie by byl jak najmniej dziecinny i nie przeslodzony.
Postanowilam rozpoczac od zrozumienia preferencji Oli, wiec zamierzam pokazac jej kilka propozycji by zrozumiec jej styl. W poscie pokazuje moje propozycje, czyli dwa style: romantyczny z kutym lozkiem – jasniejszy, oraz nowoczesny – z ciemniejszymi dodatkami. Jako urozmaicenie proponuje rowniez oblozyc jedna sciane zdobna tapeta w rozu, ale jeszcze chetniej – w ciemnym dopelniajacym kolorze, typu grafit.
Dam Wam znac od razu gdy dowiem sie co Ola preferuje 🙂
“I’ve noticed that you prefer white recently” wrote my Mum through IM a few days ago. Do I? I guess I do. Although I’m ashamed to admit it, it took me some time to acknowledge white as a color. I’ve always loved bold colors (even though my red bedroom was giving me headaches during my uni years). With time, however, perhaps the more interiors I’ve seen, the more I’ve learned how colors dramatically influence how we perceive everything around us.
White is a great background to both statement pieces of art, and bold color accents. If you want to display a treasured painting, a gorgeous chair or any other item – what better background than white?? (unless the item is white 🙂 )
White works for everyone. It makes interiors seem timeless, elegant, fresh. It’s exactly why we call it the blank canvas – everyone can imagine themselves in the space, even if to decide what other colors to use. It’s easy on our imagination, bluntly speaking.
White works with every style. Normally we’d think – minimalist. But think also – modern; think shabby chic; French country, Scandinavian, etc, etc. Even think retro! (as a background to graphic designs)
But most importantly,white = space. They are almost synonyms. It will always create this feeling of spaciuosness, so desired in small places.
And yet, surprisingly, white seems to be used more in big spaces rather than small flats. I’ve realized it when looking through my inspirations collections to choose images for today’s post. All the post-industrial, ex-school buldings, lofts, barn conversions and quite a number of old big mansions boast the white interiors. So why not small flats? (And yes I know I admit my kitchen is green and my bathroom orange! I’m not saying everything needs to be white 🙂 )
Anyway here are some not-so-big-or-expensive places that I hope will inspire everyone to the gorgeous white…
…workspaces at home
Desire to Inspire - White workspaceDesign Sponge - customized workspace
…calm and relaxing bedrooms
Kikette's white bedroomDecor pad's glamour bedroom with mirrored end tablesMelanie Acevedo's simple and light bedroomCharlie's design diary's simple white bedroom
…and chic and spacious living rooms
Styleroom's white living roomI like design's living roomSteven Shadley's gallery-style living room from KatiedidFreshhome's minimalist living room with fireplace
So? I’m sure you have at least one white room. Will you look at it differently now?
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“Widze, ze ostatnio preferujesz biel“, Mama napisala do mnie na GG kilka dni temu. Coz, chyba ma racje. To prawda, dlugo mi zajelo zanim uznalam bialy za kolor. Zawsze uwielbialam mocne kolory, mimo ze ze moja czerwona sypialnia z czasow studenckich przyprawiala mnie kiedys o bol glowy. Ale z czasem, ogladajac coraz wiecej wnetrz, nauczylam sie jak wielki wplyw maja na nas kolory wszystkiego co nas otacza.
Bialy to doskonale tlo zarowno dla wyrazistych dziel sztuki, jak i mocnych akcentow kolorystycznych. Jezeli chcesz wyeksponowac ulubiony obraz czy wyjatkowy fotel – nie ma lepszego tla (no chyba ze obiekt tez jest bialy 🙂 )
Bialy pasuje wszystkim i do wszystkiego. Sprawia ze wnetrza staja sie ponadczasowe, eleganckie i swieze. Wlasnie dlatego mowimy – biala karta, czyste tlo, poczatek; kazdy moze sie w takim wnetrzu ‘zobaczyc’, nawet po to by zdecydowac na jakie kolory ten bialy wymienic. Jest to kolor przyjazny wyobrazji, ze tak powiem.
Bialy pasuje do kazdego stylu. Pierwsze skojarzenie – minimalizm. Ale takze nowoczesny, shabby chic, francuski, skandynawski, itd, itp.. nawet retro, jako kontrastowa podstawa do mocnych wzorow.
Co najwazniejsze, biel = przestrzen. To prawieze synonimy. Biel zawsze doda poczucia przestronnosci, tak potrzebnej w malych wnetrzach.
A jednak, co zadziwiajace, wydaje sie ze biel jest duzo czesniej uzywana w wielkich przestrzeniach niz malych. Zwrocilam na to uwage przegladajac moje kolekcje inspiracji, gdy wybieralam zdjecia na dzis. Wszystkie te post-industrialne, po-szkolne obiekty, lofty, i inne wielkie budynki wrecz chlubia sie biela i przestrzenia. Czemu wiec nie male mieszkania? (Tak, wiem, moja kuchnia jest zielona a mini-lazienka pomaranczowa, nigdzie nie powiedzialam ze wszystko musi byc biale ale jednak…)
Tak czy inaczej, powyzej przedstawiam kilka wnetrz ktore mam nadzieje ze Was zainspiruja – domowe biura, sypialnie i salony. Prawie kazdy z nas ma choc jeden bialy pokoj – czy spojrzysz teraz na niego inaczej?
OK – so I’m finally back from my day of window-shopping (well, not exactly – I actually bought some side plates, two books on design and color, and hand cream!). First, let me share with you the furniture side of my IKEA findings.
– a space-saving solution for small kitchens. Also, table top is bought separately so one can get a bigger one if space permits:
Ikea Billsta table and Sebastian bar stools
– one of the more stylish double desks I have seen on the high street (and it is not easy to find a desk for two…)
Ikea BESTA BURS double desk
– an interesting dining table ‘for surfers’ as my husband called it :). Not sure what the name is though…
Ikea oval dining table
– …and that’s how the Bernhard chair looks in reality – was very comfy as well!
Ikea Bernhard leather chair
– nice idea for kitchen fronts – in wide-and-glossy units-dominated kitchens, this vertical beech set provides a welcome change:
Ikea Solar kitchen units
– Now the tricky part – what the hell is this wallpaper / material on the wall? I thought I’ll find it in the online catalogue but there are no matches to ‘wallpaper’ and I am pretty sure it is one, as it reflected light when photographed with flash. Really pretty French country style, with roses and birds… anyone knows?? I attach a magnified view of the design as well. HELP! I see it in my mother’s bedroom and I need it desperately and why oh why have I not asked anyone of the staff?!
A Polish furniture company Vox has just released its new collection called simply Classic.
Classic it may be (inspired by classical style), but in a very sleek and stylish way. A few highlights are:
– a very functional headboard – not only looks lovely when lit up, but also provides much needed storage for all those books around your bed!
Vox Classic bedroom
– one of my favourites – a sleek and airy looking dressing table with stool. It could also work as a spare laptop table if you are only working at home occasionally. Check out the table lamps, too!
Vox Classic dressing table
– and some detailed finish..
Vox Classic detail
Unfortunately one cannot choose the finish – dark oak veneer is beautiful, but a creamy option would look great as well for a more romantic and ‘homely’ feel – a little DIY perhaps?
.jpg "Hot Pink Damask from Direct Wallpaper")
.jpg "Milly Black Pink Silver by Direct Wallpaper")
.jpg "Lydia Floral Feature Pink White 13948 by Direct Wallpaper")
Interior Design inspirations by Indywiduum Design 