small measures

The process of making our rental friendlier and more interesting is under way. This is what I have accomplished this weekend:

I started a herb garden. (please forgive the dirty windows, shame on me) As our kitchen is the most basic thing ever with the cheapest laminate flooring+cheapest white IKEA cabinets+cheapest grey laminated worktop, these two wooden pots with the herbs in them add real warmth to this place. Some more changes are foreseen here and I hope that the herbs will survive.

I said good-bye to the ugly brown plastic pot and our (so far) one and only plant was transferred into a lovely grey terracotta planter and found a new place next to the French doors.

Recently I scored three really old almost antique school posters on e-bay and one of them is now in my sons' bedroom. I have to tell you that the other two are in much better condition and are far more interesting and attractive (one of them is the anatomy of a sheep while the other one is a photo of Reykjavik), but Marci wanted this one. And he loves it. I'm afraid that he is becoming a nerd...

I think their bedroom is looking very cheerful now, but they just do not like being here. I think the simple reason is that it is on the first floor while the living room where we usually are is on the ground floor. And they just love being around us.

So this is a rather rare moment...

Notice the giant Bumblebee car on the table. That's what we bought on the flea market today. That place is filled with lovely vintage toys, but they wanted transformers...

Marci and I made this artwork. I bought him a craft book and he dyed paper towels. (Yes he has a flair for maths and art...) These are his color choices... afterwards I tried to display them tastefully with more or less success. Plus I bought a succulent!!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend!

simple moments to remember #1

Animal Jazz Band Fountain in sunset, Tervuren, Belgium

When we were walking to the kindergarten with Daniel this morning a lovely woman stopped me. She told me how much she admired me. In that moment I felt truly shocked. For what reason could anyone admire me, I thought. It turned out that she saw me every morning walking with my son hand-in-hand and she thought that I always looked so calm and peaceful. Me? Peaceful? I have never thought about using the words 'I' and 'peaceful' in one sentence. No way. But you know what? She was right. During that ten-minute walk I am really peaceful. This is actually the best time of the day. No rush, no noise, no worries. Just a mother and a son hand-in-hand. This is our quality time. We always walk very slowly stopping often to admire snails, birds, worms. There is something very simple and old-fashioned about it. I have never thought about it before, but this is a great way to sense the changing of seasons, something that we could never do if we were going by car. It was a great reminder for me to see how truly lucky I am and how sometimes the simplest things bring the biggest pleasure.

luxurious minimalism or something like that

As you may have noticed I have a thing for minimalism, frugalism, down-sizing, simplicity, etc. Recently I started to read blogs about people who successfully managed to simplify their life in many aspects. What I am really curious about is how to design and decorate a home that is simple and minimal, but looks warm and welcoming.

My ideal home

a) is low-maintenance

b) purpose-built

c) has a harmonious, visually pleasing decor which reflects its dwellers' personality

d) allows its dwellers to pursue all kinds of activites smoothly and comfortably

e) is welcoming and nurturing

f) has nothing that is not practical or does not have any emotional value for its dwellers

g) has a strong connection with the surrounding nature

I think this vacation home in Uruguay meets all of the above requirements.

It exists in symbiosis with nature and the architect managed to make the best use of its surrounding. Except for one guest bedroom each room has an amazing view of the ocean. The use of natural materials is a great idea to make a minimalist space look warm. In this case rough concrete walls are combined with wood surfaces and furniture. Hand-woven rugs and traditional textiles evoke a sense of simplicity. Nothing is too fancy or pretentious here (only the swimming pool, but it is a forgivable sin in my opinion) and yet the whole place looks sophisticated. This is a home that makes its dwellers calm, relaxed and happy. And that is the most a home can offer.

all photos by Horatio Paone for the New York Times are linked to their original source

dull vs. understated

NY Times has recently featured musician Moby's house, a rather modern and minimalist home clearly influenced by its owner's personality. At least this is what I think and this is why comments like 'soulless, boring and impersonal' made me think about simplicity once again.

Some of my most determined readers must be familiar with my journey of 'finding my real self' which caused me a lot of headache. Right now I am closer to accept that I am an understated person than I was a couple of weeks ago, but I still fear that my understatedness is perceived as being boring/dull/soulless, etc.

Just like in Moby's case. Although I am not sure if he is responsible for the décor, I think it fits him very well. (Let's not discuss the building itself now because that would be a completely different story.) The surrounding nature was successfully 'brought inside' which is all positive in my book.

There are objects in every room which I think tell a lot about the person who owns them. They may not be too 'over the top', but they add a personal touch anyway.

I also believe that creative people always have so many things going on in their head that they can find true comfort in paired-down spaces. Sometimes all you need is a guitar, right? Or a typewriter or a piece of paper and a pencil...

Clearly Moby has his own issues (read the article if you are interested) and I think a home like this can have a truly healing and soothing power on a wounded soul. It allows to breathe, to think freely and to shine through. Because this is what homes are for.

all photos by Trevor Tondro for The New York Times

Casual Classic Terrace Arimbi

The terrace looks casual. it is decorated by the landscape surround. it has classic style too.

Modern Bathroom::Minimalist Desain

the trend is modern design that open space planning and stripped down, seemingly simple forms. This ornament-banning minimalist aesthetic once espoused by the 20th century modern masters remains a truly international style that travels well and incorporates contemporary technology in timeless form. Modern design has always made sense in the bath, for all the obvious reasons. By understanding the essence of modern design, you can transform your bathroom into a simple yet luxurious, minimalist retreat. It involves assessing your space, determining how you want to use it, finding the right pieces to define the space, and adding any final touches to make it your own.for more inspiration you can look the picture above, you can comprehend the levels of wall's ornament.

Decorating a Dining Room By Matching Furniture

The first thing do when decorating a dining room is to take a good look at your existing furniture. Formal furniture will need formal decorations, while casual furniture begs a more relaxing room. Modern furniture should be highlighted with modern items. Traditional furniture is the most flexible, as it can be dressed up or dressed down. If you have not yet chosen your furniture, think about whether you want a more formal or casual room, and select accordingly. According to me, we really2 want a simple and matching furniture in our dining room would be. It would get eye catching...

How to Make Up Kitchen Room

The basic thing is that the kitchen room should be kept clean and fresh always so that the foods do not get spoiled.The next thing that comes in for a good kitchen is how to brighten up the kitchen so that everything can be seen properly and if there is any unwanted thing it can be removed. The most people feel easy in in home building but they feel really really difficult to keep it. And finally the room is full of unwanted things then makes us bored. Nowdays,minimalist and furniture are designed simply, so it doesn't need a complicated thing which is used to fill our room. It is like minimalist livingroom, interior and minimalist kitchen.

Bathroom Minimalist Design

Nowdays, the trend is minimalist or modern design. It is kind of open-space planning and stripped-down, seemingly simple forms in design. Minimalist aesthetic once exposed by the 20th century modern masters remains a truly international style that travels well and incorporates contemporary technology in timeless form. Modern design has always made sense in the bath, for all the obvious (and some not so obvious) reasons. By understanding the essence of modern design, you can transform your bathroom into a simple yet luxurious, minimalist retreat. It involves assessing your space, determining how you want to use it, finding the right pieces to define the space, and adding any final touches to make it your own cleate.

Interior In Home Minimalist Desain

The interior beside is exiting. We can build our house as well as this. The minimalist model like this is very popular in current time. The guestroom as an object, Look at the roof, it is like the sky. there are stars and a big lamp among them. The appearance of stairs and the second floor is built properly. Minimalist building like this is also needed an enough capital too. The lightening of this interior is proper too for the size of room like this.