Raku in my garden

Yesterday I made some raku ceramics. Testing different glazes. Not all turned out as I wanted. Celadon green turned out emerald. Most yellows turned beige. Back to the drawing board. Of all the experiments, I think the white glaze turned out the best and produced the cracked pattern I so love in raku ceramics.

The 4 major steps in the raku burning process:




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Greys and blacks

Hope you all had a good weekend.

Do you find decorating with colors difficult? That the colors you fell for in the store, never turn out quite like you expected in your own home, once you painted that wall? Added that textile?

Designing with color IS difficult, and takes years to learn. The way around the problem is to go all black and white. And perhaps add shades of grey? And a touch of natural wood. Playing it safe. Like this elegant and relaxed scandinavian interior, photographed by Trine Thorsen

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Stairway to Heaven

I live in a one story house. There isn't much need of a stairway, so to speak. Still - I love them. Especially wrought iron ones. Old ones. Like these: 





Images: dialgurgaon.com, salvoweb.com, wroughtiron.com, stairrailing.net, pretoriaschmiede.co.za, flatrock.org.nz

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DIY med en gren, lite snören och annat smått och gott

Veckans sista quick tips med grenar och kvistar. För tillfälliga arrangemang eller mer permanenta lösningar. Det behöver inte vara mer komplicerat än så här att förnya ett rum, en balkong, ett uterum. Lycka till!

This weeks last quick fix using nature's own materials like branches in new places and combinations. Happy weekend.



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Beautiful bath

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DIY - Simple quick fixes for your home

In this pic from Lincoln Barbour, with lots of items from Ikea
is a nice example of mixing nature and lamps. 
Like Cez pointed out in her comment to the previous post, 
this may be a safer way, unless you mix LED lights with your branches, of course.
Below - no lamps are involved.
Decorating doesn't get much simpler than this.
Source: Ace Hotel

DIY - Bedroom lamp with a green touch

Need some light but is out of lamps? Grab a bushy branch, add a bulb and a cord, and you've got a very trendy chandelier. There are more pics from this beautiful house over at the casalil blog. Enjoy.
Photo Living agency
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Fine line decoration

I am back at my desk, after a weekend of teaching. I really love these intense weekends, when we talk interior design and homestaging around the clock (it seems).

Inspired by our discussions, I will focus this weeks posts on the use of branches and twigs to make an eye catching arrangement. This picture is from the Abingdon 12 Gallery in West Village, New York. Note the owner Paul Caddell’s use of all linear shapes: the painting, the sculptures, the pendel and floor lamp etc. Well thought ought and executed. Beautiful. Go to the gallery for more inspiration.
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Trendy green - nu är det smaragdgrönt som gäller.

Idag har jag pratat homestaging hela dagen. Där gäller det att utifrån en bostads befintliga möbler och andra inredningsdetaljer, skapa en visningsmiljö som på absolut bästa sätt visar upp ett hus eller lägenhets fulla potential. Rätt så ofta gäller det att "tagga ner" färger och mönster som själ uppmärksamheten från det som skall säljas. Som smaragdgrönt. Även om denna kulör (NSC 3050-G20Y) är den allra trendigaste just nu, är den inte alldeles lätt att använda. Utomhus? Nja, kanske liiiite för intensiv, kanske tar död på den naturliga grönskan, Men kanske på en asfalterad innerstadsgård?  Vågar du? 



Smaragdgrönt passar bäst till olika blågröna eller gulgröna nyanser, färger som ligger nära varandra i färgcirkeln.

Blogspotting: Méchant Design

Blogger (my blog host) have had technical problems and like all my blogger friends I have not been able to post anything for a while. But now (fingers crossed), things seems to be back to normal.
Yesterday I wanted to tell you about a post over at the blog Méchant Design, where the owner Cez had gathered a series pics of of great shelves/book cases. Now that post is (temporarily?) gone, but here are some samples of what was there: three DIY shelves made out of old wood. Check out Cez great blog here.
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Dark beauties by Dietlind Wolf





All images by Dietlind Wolf
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Styling by Dietlind

This week I am totally in love with Dietlind Wolf's styling. Here are some of his more subtle works. But he can do colors too, as seen here
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Bohemian Chic Gardening in Västerlanda

Old news to many of you, I am sure, but if you haven't visited this blog before - hurry over to Made in Persbo right now. Today she reports on an article she's written for a Swedish gardening mag. Allt om Trädgård

What I specially like about this green house and garden, is the use of subtle colors in the dishes, textiles, furnitures etc: all greys and off whites, that makes the greenery and flowers play the lead role. Relaxing. Harmonious. Beautiful. No? 

Bilder från bloggen Made in Persbo. Läs mer i Allt om Trädgård, i butiker nu. 
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Shapes and pattern

A few random pictures from the web. Round and square. Old and new. Beautifully arranged. 





Source: unknown
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Vintage Linen makes timeless beauty

Wendy from Vermont loves old textiles, and has collected antique and vintage linen since childhood. Now she sells them via her online store The Textile Trunk. If you - like me - share her passion, check out her current listings over at eBay.
I too have some antique linen and cotton in my chest of drawers - but unlike Wendy, I will not part with them...

Summer furniture - snyggare än konstrotting

A selection of summer furniture from Vincent Sheppard. Not made of fake, plastic rattan, but of paper-wrapped steel (see mid pic). Love these classic chairs:


Som många av er vet, är jag lagom förtjust i de nu så populära konstrottingmöblerna för utomhusbruk. Kanske mest för att de flesta ser så löjligt klumpiga ut, trots en strävan att vara "tjusiga".

Men dessa från Vincent Sheppard, är inte alls dumma. Inte tillverkade av plastig konstrotting utan av pappersklädd stål (se mittbilden).

Nätta och eleganta, med klara referenser till förra sekelskiftets korgmöbler.




Stolarna på bilden nedan, är "på gränsen" i min smak. Lite för fyrkantiga. Men eftersom "rottingen" inte går hela vägen ner till golvet, bli stolarna inte så klumpiga som många konstrottingkusiner på marknaden. Den ljusa färgen lättar också upp, och gör stolarna betydligt elegantare.


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Wabi Sabi Fashion

Thai designer Saran Yen is experimenting with natural dyed cotton for his Wabi Sabi garment project. He's taken his inspiration from Leonard Koren's book Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers

At his website, he writes about these stunning garments, intended for the Japanese market: the wabi-sabi aesthetic include asymmetry, asperity, simplicity, modesty, intimacy, and the suggestion of natural processes. As a result, the fabric is dyed with natural components such as yeast, coffee etc. 



Hand stitched details, holes and wrinkles is used to create a new perception of beauty - his interpretation of imperfection in fashion design.  I love it. Do you?




Mer om Saran Yens spännande designprojekt hittar du här
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Some great Wabi Sabi accents

Do you feel your Wabi Sabi rooms are - well, lacking something? Why not try a bold, classic design to liven things up a bit? Here are a selection of classic and new Marimekko textiles for your walls or windows.

Any preferences? I love them all. For different reasons. Maybe the bold "shoe-print" pattern at top right, is my favorite at the moment. Or....





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A Cave with a View in Majorca

A few pictures from last weekend's T Magazine: Alexandre de Batak's very minimal summer retreat in a small costal village in Majorca. 


De Betak wanted the place to be ecologically sensitive and in tune with the local culture, yet twisted in his own way. Built with indigenous materials by local artisans, there’s hardly a right angle in the place — evoking the spirit of spanish architect Antonio Gaudí, and....  Barbapapa! Read the full article here.


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