ideas and to-dos

christmas has come and gone but i'm still romanticizing it. this is the best time to gather ideas for what to do the next year, since the whole town has quietened down in anticipation of the countdown.

i realize i like my tree simple. we used the ikea kallt spruce lights (they were heavily discounted) and they are so cute. i wish i could find these snowflakes to adorn the rest of the home ...

on to next project, cinnamon desperately needs a living room pillow to chill out ... these rug pillows seem to nail it. this calls for making a trip to ikea to get the signe rugs - we need to bring our tree back to ikea for recycling anyway...

{pictures from kjerstis lykke via remodelista, lena corwin and martha stewart }

ikea ps sinka

on the prowl for a neat little cabinet to store knick-knacks and accessories, i told my husband i would go the budget route. one day, i chanced upon an ikea cabinet that i thought would go for a song. wrong (!) the PS Sinka costs a pretty penny (of SGD599). very pretty but i don't have the budget for it. i'm sobbing and prowling (again) ...

{image from Lo Bjurulf/Agent Bauer}

sand under my feet

saving up for this rug

alexander girard at UO

i really really want this. i'm willing to trade my magazine budget for it. alas, i'm no longer living in the US. :(

recycled glass

these are nothing new, just some things i've been loving

manos

delicates from manos

orla kiely at heal's

not only can you wear it, you can now furnish your home with it.
oh, how can i resist the cult of orla kiely? the orla kiely range, now available at UK Heal's.

john derian for target

my husband is going back to the states to defend his dissertation.

i want to go too...

to shop at target for john derian!

rustica

when i saw these recycled vases from pottery barn featured in apartment therapy, it immediately reminded me of these rustic flowers featured in modern brides some years ago...



a rustic wedding brings to mind earthy aromas, tactile fun, wind in your hair...



good food that's warm and mellow, with soft flickering candlelight



and flowers bursting with sunrise-colored blooms .

~exp~

Dream a little dream

I woke up at 5.45am today. Like a tonne of bricks hitting my head, I woke up with something brewing in my head. My golly - I think I h.a.v.e to do it. If only to see whether I can actually do it.

Oh Exp, I'm so glad we did spend that little time we had at Spotlight. Yes, yes, your soft whisper of an open suggestion to make our bedsheets have finally hit home.

I think I will embark on this rather ambitious project. I'm no sewing genius but I can do hems rather well (if I do say so myself...*ahem*). A plain simple flat sheet to test. And envelope-styled pillow cases to boot.

Now . . . if only the perfect material will stop eluding me. ~ Inspira

Modern Hive of a Home

I'm inspired by Exp's enthusiasm towards designing and decorating the apartment she is currenly renting.

These from Hive Modern are not new in the market but each time I lay eyes on them in the stores, I am in awe.

(All images from Hive Modern)

I have always been partial towards practical and structural furniture and homeware. ~ Inspira

i see double: ikea alvine triangel

okay, i don't mean to suggest that you should wear your rug when the leaves turn red, but i do find that home furnishings and fashioin are now closely aligned than they ever were before...

for a peek at the Alvine Triangel rug in a real home, scoot over to here (via More Ways to Waste Time <--so cute (but dangerously addictive!)

left: Emporio Armani fall 2008 show, right: Ikea Alvine Triangel

xo,
exp

Elly Nelly

It's Friday and I'm feeling blue. Ill. The throat feels like it's on fire . . . bleah bleah bleah . . . . .

Meanwhile, I am in the office. Actually working my arse off . . . . well, if you count periodically "sneaking off" to Elly Nelly Design for much needed respite (and visual stimulation) as work. :-P

Check out the mother-daughter etsy store for more visual stimuli.

(All images courtesy of Elly Nelly)

Counting the hours to 6.00pm . . . . ~ Inspira

Not Neutral

Saturday nights at home are always best to ogle (via the silicon highway) at things/works/designs I've come across the past week.

These from notNeutral are the creation of Rios Clementi Hale Studios a multi-disciplinary design firm based in Los Angeles - simply brilliant! ~ Inspira

(Images courtesy of notNeutral)

lizzie allen

loving whimsical wallpaper from lizzie allen - woot! ~exp~

{left to right: changing guards at buckingham palace, st. paul's, london city gents}

Bunny Maxwell

It's almost the end of the work week.

I'm still in the nesting period.

I think it's got loads to do with the monsoon season in this part of the world. Rain always makes me want to (a) go out and play in the rain or (b) stay home and start re-doing something around the house (nevermind that I have probably re-arranged the furniture like 5 times since moving in to the apartment 1 year ago!) --> that just shows how neurotic I can get.

So, I've been sitting there on my couch, figuring out whether my usual drycleaners can do something about cleaning my cow-hide rugs and I'm surfing the internet drooling over these rugs from Bunny Maxwell. They are such visual delights, I bet they can be hung on the wall. ~ Inspira

Budding Vases

The bouquets Exp picked out deserve a beautiful setting. ~ Inspira

(Images from {top left clock-wise} : Moma Store, Red Envelope, Elsewares, West Elm & Violet)

Umbra-ing along

I'm looking forward to cleaning out the living room tomorrow. Somehow, even though we spend most of our time in the living room together, we don't seem to have put in as much effort to make it "ours".

We have yet to put up our paintings (a quick stop to Ikea can help that along!). The cowhide rugs need a bit of cleaning. The CDs need to get onto the DIY shelves.

And oh, we sooo need a wall clock (can you believe we have been relying on the clock timer on the cable box all this time?!). Is there no cheap but chic wall clocks around in Singapore? Because we want to keep the colours in the monotonous shade of grey (to bring out the intensities of the paintings, thank you), it's been a torture to get a wall clock to go with our wall colour (well, technically I've seen them around but I'm not paying over 100 smackaroos on them - call me a cheapie, yes).

(Images from Umbra)

I love the clocks from Umbra. We don't need the mirrors but they look so sculptural - I would have got them if I had set my eyes on them earlier. The red soap dispenser is just cos' they match our kitchen. :-P ~ Inspira

Brocade Home

I'm loving these from Brocade Home.

(Images from Brocade Home)

Maybe for our new home in London? ~ Inspira

3B and 3M

I was in a manic cleaning mode over the past weekend.

*scrub* *disinfect* *polish*

I will be attacking the living room this weekend, then off to the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon on Sunday to give M a moral boost and be his "official photographer".

In the meantime, feast your eyes on these from Blue Bell Bazaar.

(Images from Blue Bell Bazaar)

If not for the fact that our kitchen is in red (and white) and our living room swathed in muted grey, I'd purchase the orange compote in a heart-beat.

Exp, the compote will look beautiful in your future orange and aqua kitchen. :-) ~ Inspira