Beautiful Wooden Benches

I love simple furniture. The simpler design, the more I love them! 

It's no surprise then that I love stools. And benches. Both are very practical and looks good everywhere: as seating or as side tables. The bench above was found here and the bench below I found via tumblr. 

Aren't these two just beautiful? So simple and so clever. The wooden bench above is from MomoLiving and the combined aluminum-wood bench below is by designer Hilla Shamia is a new favorite of mine. Shamia's stunning design is currently on display at the Milan Furniture Fair. More on her work here. 

WABI SABI Lisbeth Williams @ Williams Design
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Editor's Choice: Stunning Furniture of Wood and cast Aluminum

I admit. I have been a wee bit disappointed with what I've seen from the Milan Furniture fair so far. Just rehash of old ideas. Yaaaawn... And then I stumbled upon designer Hilla Shamia's brilliant work, and I surrendered!

I think these benches, stools and tables are just magnificent, combining wood and cast aluminum to stunning and unique pieces of furniture. Looking good both indoors and out. THIS I want!

Below are two images of the design process, where melted aluminum is pored into and cast around the wood. All images from Shamia's website. 

If you are in Milan, this is where you'll find her work. CREATIVE LIVING Lisbeth Williams @ Williams Design 

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An magical place where the wind whispers

Will you be in Portugal this year? Then maybe you should consider staying a night in this eco friendly hotel with a sustainable concept, just outside Lisbon? I have not been there myself, but was instantly attracted to the place, when I saw the bedroom pic above, over at DesiretoInspire. Looks like a dream vacation to me! The hotel Areias do Seixo describe themselves as a "magical place, in perfect synthesis with the land". The hotel is a "haven in nature", where the sea, dunes and pine trees whisper their secrets in the wind. Sounds like the perfect place to relax, doesn't it? 

WABI SABI Lisbeth Williams @ Williams Design
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DIY: Room divider from old doors.

This may be more Shabby Chic than Wabi Sabi. More decay than beautifully aged. 

But I like the idea of re-using old doors as a screen, 

in stead of putting up a wall, when you need to create a separate space for a limited time. 

Photo by Emily Johnston Anderson via desiretoinspire. 

WABI SABI Lisbeth Williams @ Williams Design
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Displaying art online

I came across Dutch artist Laura de Wilde's work the other day. I love it! 

And I love the way she presents her paintings on her website. Not just

a picture of the painting, but also a photo of her work in an setting. 

I think many paintings loses out on being represented online: 

in color, as well as scale. But when you see a painting like Laura de Wilde's

in a room like this, it gives me so much more extra information, besides the hard facts.  

I know many artists read this blog. What do you think? True or just misinformation? 

Love to know what your think.

Cheers from CREATIVE LIVING Lisbeth Williams @ Williams Design

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Some clever decorating ideas for simple living

Swiss or Swedish? Who can tell the difference? Well, the former has alps, the latter doesn't. 

Seriously - this Swiss cottage in the mountains was photographed last December

 by Jérôme Galland for Marie Claire Maison.

Lots of interesting design ideas to be inspired by.  

An old favorite is clean, built in storage. Another is the bed facing the window. 

No frills. Take the kitchen: just the basic necessities in wood and steel.

A place to wind down and relax, don't you think? Like this Norwegian cottage

I wrote about yesterday here. Much more color, but just as relaxing. 

  

Tub Love

Love this circular "tub". 

Could it be an old wash- or laundry basin put to new use? Clever. 

Have no idea where it's from, or who took the pic, 

so let me know if you do.

It's fun to play with light

 I love light in all shapes and forms. 

In my work I use daylight and lamps to show off interesting 

features in a room. And to create a space within a space. 

How do you use light in your home and workspace?

Image via

Clay - moving in the wind. Kind of.

Just for fun - here is another set of pictures from my recent experiment with clay. 

This time it's a bowl with a yellow glaze on the inside and green glaze on the outside.  

I was not sure how the ragged bits in the rim would come out, but it goes well

with the over all asymmetric look that I was going for.