Tuesday’s Design Detail ~ Hanging around

I know it’s been done, done done. But. I still love hanging barn doors.  I’ve put together my top 5 Inspirations for Hanging Doors.

1. A splash of bright colour and architectural hardware makes this grown up and contemporary.
2. Here are 2 different ways to achieve a rustic chic look.  I love this clever pantry idea, can I have one please?!
3. A neutral palette works well to create a grown up feel to both room dividers.
4. The space saving doors on the left create a statement in their monochromatic way, and this clever design detail on the right creates an additional layer of art to a feature wall.
5. Although hanging doors most often give a room an architectural feel, this pretty treatment puts to clever use a hanging door between a bedroom and dressing room.
Do you have a door that you’d like to convert?

Room Gallery

I’m really into neutral and restrained palettes at the moment…perhaps it’s the grey weather. But this bedroom above is anything but dull.  I can just imagine retiring from the blazing sun for an afternoon siesta or reading a good book.

Where do you like to retire to read (or cat nap)?

Room Gallery ~ Apres ski, anyone?

I’m being massively spoilt by Mr B, and as a (impending) birthday treat, a gang of us are off today to his house in Austria skiing for the week.

Is it just me, but doesn’t skiing involve so much stuff?! If you’re going to pack the kitchen sink, you might aswell do it in style. I shall be packing the below for a little bit of on (and off!) piste chic.

This room of the week has me dreaming of hot toddies  in front of the fire….

{via Mr and Mrs Smith}

See you on my return!

Friday’s Breathing Space ~ Just Breathe

Sometimes it’s important to just remember to b…r…e…a…t…h…e…

Firstly, start playing me.

Next, scroll down and gaze on the image below.

We rush around every day, never stopping to remember that our biggest comforter, stress reliever, life giver and connector is with us all the time. So take a moment to stop. Take a deep breath in. Imagine you are walking down this tree lined avenue. Breath out. Breath In. Smell the fresh air. Feel your shoulders drop, a gentle smile playing on your face as you reconnect to yourself.

Much better, yes? See, January isn’t so bad after all.

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Be Yourself

As the first working week of January is coming to a close, how was it for you? New Year’s resolutions are pitfalls, purely because you should resolve every single day of the year, not just one day, what you want to do, who you want to be and how you are going to get there.

New Year is a great time to review and to look at areas that you need to work on. Make new determinations as to what you are going to do, and who you are going to be in the next year. Set a programme for yourself, follow it through and you will find how much happier you are. Failure to keep to your schedule of improvement means you have paralysed your will. You have no greater enemy or friend than yourself, if you befriend yourself you will find accomplishment.

Don’t follow fashion trends, the most fashionable thing is to just be yourself. Cultivate your vision, tenacity in what you love and confidence in what you do. Listen to your heart, it knows what makes you happy; and trust your intuition, it is strong and powerful.

My motivation this year for the blog is to include more lifestyle posts, to create a broader subject topic that hopes to inspire you in any way possible and to help you to get to know me a bit better. Plus, we’ll be launching our website soon so lots of exciting things on the way. I invite you to get in touch with me with thoughts, musings, comments or anything else you’d like to share, or requests for topics you’d like me to cover. My door is always open!

Tuesday’s Design Detail ~ A little bit of D.I.Y

I wanted to share with you this great DIY post, by Roost blogger Marissa Waddell.

If like me, you have over-indulged over the festive period (and why not, I say!), then I’m sure the wallet is receipt heavy and cash light. With this in mind, I wanted to share this great article that shows you h0w to create eye catching bedside drawers at a fraction of the price of originals.

If you are looking to smarten up your master bedroom and/or looking for a fun project to while away those non-drinking January hours, Marissa shows you step by step how to create these smart drawers, and I recommend you check out her blog.

Happy DIY-ing!

Happy New Year!

To all,
Happy New Year!
May you find..
…joy
…blessings
…fulfilment
…love
…health
…happiness
…success
…beautiful design
…and most importantly, that you find what you are looking for, whatever that may be.

Here’s to a blinder of a year!

Love, light and peace

Friday’s Breathing Space

{via Elle Decoration South African}

A bit of a tenuous link for Friday’s Breathing Space…one of my South African friends, who has been involved in interior design, has recently moved to Japan and in celebration of her work visa being granted (which she was very much wishing for) it seemed serendipitous that the September issue of the South African Elle Decoration magazine had a featurette on the colours of Japan.

{via Elle Decoration South Africa}

I can practically smell the blossoms from here….

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Grown Up Bunk Beds

{via tumblr}

If space is limited, don’t discount bunk beds. They don’t have to be only for the kiddies and overflowing with toys. This is a very grown up space saving solution, I’m not sure about you but I’d be very happy to bunk down in this room!

Tuesday’s Design Detail ~ Basket Case

I’m having a blast back in S.A. I’ve been running around seeing all kinds of great artists and suppliers, eating delicious food and not to mention basking in the sun and heat. A welcome break!

In keeping with the African theme, I thought I’d share this great design feature from Stephan Falke.  He’s taken the traditional African woven basket and transformed it into a contemporary feature wall. Love this.