black and white

from skona hem

brita sweden

{pretties from brita sweden}

lanky

loving extra tall flora and fauna indoors

{from formations}

canvas

back to home improvements... having recently succeeded in a sewing project, i could beat my chest and go on to scale greater molehills... a little less-than-two-year-old tot in my household has turned a little playcorner to a mish-mash of books, easels, puzzles, toy-cars garages. i have my eye on this, my experience with this ikea series has been wonderful and i firmly believe in getting solid wood furniture because it lasts and is therefore an eco-friendlier choice than plastics (in my opinion anyways). so my molehill is to create a tufted seat for the toy box so that its destiny as a dual-function piece of furnture could be fulfilled. choice of fabric, silk velvet. color, undecided, but i'm leaning toward dove-grey-hint-of-mauve. i'm hoping to get the technique of piping right from the get-go. did i mention i'm extraordinarily capable of creating molehills out of mountains?

these pictures from canvas are giving rush of inspiration on color choices...

earthy blush with robin's egg

warm neutrals, blush and teal
{pictures from lonny mag jan.feb.2011}

rustic earthy orange

orange, slate gray, dark brown, taupe and de Gournay... how i love thee!
{pictures from Massucco Warner Miller via coco+kelly}

shimmer

we were giddy with excitement. imagine, celebrating your wedding anniversary sans the crowd, with exceedingly good food, with people you love: my mom, my son and my mom's friend who's known me since i was a munchkin. my mom treated us to a buffet spread at Rise. thanks mom! bubbly as i was, i took in the poshness of the hotel/mall/casino. amidst muted palettes of taupes, deep greys and camel were shimmery crystals and abundant natural light (we went for lunch). shimmer, time to introduce that to the home, which reminds me of this - the owner used mirrors as picture mats and the effect was --- sparkly! {from freunde von freunden}.

the do-list

number one: always have dark doors and have fun with them



number two: always have chinoiserie in a neutral backgroud framed with raw, grained wood



number three: have special candlesticks so that your home has a reason to glow

{pictures from marie claire maison, hall instanbul, ted muehling}

Christmas Tree, Fairy Lights

This post is dedicated to Exp and E.

They are (probably?) still debating the good and bad points about a Christmas tree (to put things in perspective, the debate in the Huda household will be something like this:-

Me : Shall we get a christmas tree?

M : Not now. When everything is done.

Me : But . . . but . . . it'll look soo pretty. Please.

M : No. Later.

Me : (exasperated look on). Now. Please.

M : WTH! Why do you still ask me if you want it now anyway with my opinion given? Go get it then.

Me : :-( (But secretly happy and pulling or lugging M to the store)

(Image courtesy of A Merry Mishap)

So, this gem of a christmas tree from A Merry Mishap could be the merry, happy compromise between Exp and E. It's so do-able within an hour..(?) and budget friendly and packs easily into a storage box at the end of the festivities. :-)

Kooky Love

It's the last weekend of November.

I've been in a nesting mode.

Dreaming. Plotting of homely stuff to do and get myself into.

I'm done with the Christmas shopping(!) Crazy I know since it's not even the end of the November but hey, I am planning to avoid the crazy crowd in the city nearing Christmas. I rather spend the days I have chilling at home, wrapping the gifts (oh, how I love having brown kraft paper, red and white wrapping papers, ribbons, baker's twin, tags etc all strewn on the floor of our study room as I dream up ways to package the little gifts I purchased for my friends).

Today, M indulged my crazy nesting mode and hoover-ed (or vacuumed, in local language) the entire apartment (upstairs and downstairs, thank you very much). Then I mopped the floors, and washed the kitchen washroom.

And I baked. Cookies. Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies.

30 pieces. 30 minutes.

Mmmm . . . . 

LEG-O-M-G!

OMG!

For those who know me - they know I hyperventilate at the mere sight of LEGO.

And storage boxes under licence from LEGO that look and work (read: stack) like the actual LEGO we play when we were kids - I was gobsmacked to say the least. This is way better than porn.

I wonder if my brother in law is going to think I just lost my mind if I ordered a whole load and deliver them to his pad.

 

 

(Images courtesy of Store)

scout holiday

i've always admired cheri's style... and scout holiday has always ALWAYS left me breathless. it's so liberating to have taste and style that's not trickling to the mainstream - so, instead of posting the usual photograph, i'll nudge you to head over to a sneak peek here, and here, and here, and here...and their wedding here

Iacoli & McAllister

Colourful and quirky - just how I like 'em!

(Image courtesy of Iacoli & McAllister)

Get them here or here.

Knock Knock!

I've been thinking lots about doors.

Old 10-year old doors in our new home (apart from the bathrooms') are going to be reused.

Even that pseudo make-shift wooden panel for a sliding door in the study room will be re-used at some point. For something.

Finding inspira:

(All images via flickr courtesy of {top to bottom} : lclc2u; Frank Peters; nocturne gr; lifebegreen; ampulets; ampulets)

Look Ma-rimekko

Oh my.

My mummy told me when I was younger (yes, that's like XX years ago, if you must insist), if I was good enough, someone will grant me a wish.

I've been good.

I wish I wish for this . . .

. . . and this . . .

. . . heaven help me, and this . . .

(All images of Marimekko products are courtesy of and available at Crate & Barrel)

Oh dear.

Someone help me to s.t.o.p.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I find myself trawling here and there on a lookout for 2 old ornate standing mirrors for our new home.

These from Graham & Green are beautiful but I am not willing to lug them from London.

Someone send a bucket over cos' I'm drooling already. *swoon*

color inspiration

{from studioilse stockholm grand hotel}

screens

screens that meld

{from metropolitan home}

amber chandelier

grey, taupe and amber chandeliers

{from Bottega Veneta Living Collection}

Wishing

For Exp:

(Images courtesy of (top to bottom) : midcenturyjo; ooh food; xjavierx; xjavierx)