Dreamy Bedrooms

White is often considered to be very cold when used in large amounts and I've always been a bit scared to paint a whole room white. White bedrooms make a bold statement but can look stunning when done in the right way.

Using different textures on the bed linen or floor help to bring in delicate detail to the room, breaking it up and making it more interesting. Also I think its really important to use a variety of tones of whites and creams as well as soft lighting that together will help to balance the white and make it look less clinical. I love the idea of bringing in a splash of colour with a statement rug, throw, photo or even a plant to really make an impact.

Here are a few of my favourite bedrooms that make me want to repaint.

1. Flickr 2. Sparklelot 3. Gray Livin 4. Dreamy Whites 5. Char-La-La 6. Fabric Of My Life 7. Desire to Inspire 8. From Scandinavia With Love 9. Day Dream Lily 10. Ltkltk 11. Scandinavian Inspiration

Fabulous Floors

Whether its a solid block colour, stripes, diamond or patterned, these rooms show that its ok to take out the carpets and be bold!  

1. Sparrows and Arrows 2. Sparrows and Arrows 3. A Ladys Findings 4. Lktlltk 5. Elements of Style 6. House of Turquoise 7. Pinterest

Window Sill Herb Garden

Inspired by Shrimp Salad Circus' homemade spoon herb markers, I decided to make my own, they look really fun and my boyfriend could not tell you which was basil and which was thyme if his life depended on it, so they are also really handy too! Also I replanted our rosemary plant in an empty olive oil tin to make a little window sill herb garden...

To make the spoon markers: I just bought some old spoons from the flea market and hammered them until they were flat, scored in the letters then went over with a black permanent marker just so the word showed up better. 

No Ordinary Sofa

Hit up that cream sofa with a miss match of colours, patterns, size, shapes and textured cushions. Whether its bold yellows and reds, calming neutrals or detailed patterns making a statement with loads of different pillows collected over time from different places (and possibly even getting the sewing machine out) is just what a living room needs sometimes.

1. Heltenkelthosmig.blogspot.com 2. Style Files 3. MadeByGirl.blogspot.com 4. DesignFiles.net 5. TheDesignFiles.net 6. DaisyPinkCupcake.blogspot.com 7. Living Etc 8. Pinterest 9. DailyImprint.blogspot.com 10. Cherry-Blossom-World.blogspot.com

Table for Two

1. When I grow up I want to have a beautiful dining room like this. The strong royal blue patterned wallpaper is cleverly toned down with the bare wood floors and table and that HUGE mirror makes the room look double the size.

2. This room has somehow managed to seamlessly fuse old manor house style (landscape paintings and dark wood table) with retro pastels (moulded chairs and shell disk lamp shade). No easily done but is such a unique style.

3. You would need to be a clean freak in this stunning but very white dining room. Its great the way texture has been added using natural materials like the wooden chairs, rush matt and wicker basket.

4. Cute country dining room with worn painted table and chairs and grandma's table cloth. Also those vintage signs are great.

5. I would kill for that Moroccan inspired tiled floor! And love the built in bench with lots of comfy earthy toned cushions. And of course the retro hanging lights... just loving everything about this room really!

6. This is such a fresh, modern room but the cow hide rug and detailed parquet floor make it more friendly and quirky than other white walled dining rooms.

Our Before & After Fireplace

As mentioned in my previous post, we recently gave our fire place a face lift, with a mirror to open up the  whole room and candles that look really pretty lit in the evening. Sorry about the terrible photos but hope it gives an idea of what anyone can do to make an empty fireplace  look a little bit better.

Funky Fireplaces

What do you do when you have a fire place that can't be used and you don't want it to look like a big whole in the wall? Fill it with logs, finish it with white paint, stack it full of books, tile it or put interesting things in it (like antlers), and of course add some candles to light.

Last week we had a fire place that had no surround, was bare sandstone and brick and was black and dirty with soot. Ideally we would get the inside plastered and a beautiful fireplace reinstalled but as we have no money for such luxuries, instead I painted the bare bricks inside white as well as the sandstone around, put a big mirror at the back and a plant and candles in front. It didn't take long and has made such a difference to the room. I'll get photos up in the next few days.

Photos: Curbly, Design Sponge, Red Online, The Decorista, Red Online

Yellow in the Window

I thought these yellow roses in our bathroom window looked so pretty I had to take a photo to show. 

Just in case you were wondering: Those little ceramic pots are really old and unique medicine and food containers for things like tooth paste, potted meats  and anchovy paste that my dad actually rescued from the river in town and now they sit proudly on the sill.

4 Spaces I'm Lusting After Today

I think these inspirational rooms speak for themselves so I won't explain why I love these so much, just enjoy!

1. Flickr 2. Design To Inspire 3. One Claire Day 4. Pinterest

Put it in a Frame

Back from holiday and itching to get back to the house to start working on those not-quite-there bits that have been annoying me (most notably our lack of a kitchen floor, which after a visit from the builder yesterday will hopefully be in very soon). Another area that I want to focus on this month is our huge bare wall in the dining room, which currently only has a blue-tacked-on New York City map. So to inspire and help me I have searched out some interesting ways to arrange frames.....

1. Grid and order a collection of frames, changing the colours and sizes of the frames. Design Sponge

2. To jazz up shelves or for if you're renting and can't knock in nails where ever you want, stack frames instead, adding in trinkets and odd items to personalise. SF Girl by Bay

3. Don't be afraid to hang photos frames all the way down to the floor. Note: lusting after the zig-zag wallpaper! Apartment Therapy

4. Scrap the photographs. Replace with colourful, weird and whacky illustrations, drawings, posters and paintings. Red

5. Mix in mirrors with photo frames like these circular ones to add shape and break the angles. Kate Spade NY

6. Or keep in simple with standard black frames (best place for these is Ikea where they are cheap as chips) using minimal colour in the photos to make a modern statement. The Design Files

7. Different sizes, all with a thin black frame brings everything together and focuses the eye on whats in the frame rather than the frame itself. Plush Palate

8. Tightly pack together a variety of different coloured, textured and sized frames in a diamond-turing-oval shape for an amazing, statement wall. Pinterest

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Here is the offending wall, only perked up with my new circus lights from 'Lights4Fun' that I have hung very roughly for now but will eventually arrange around all the frames I'm going to put up.