November | 2012 | anordinarywoman

16/11/2012

Pretentious perhaps / 213

I can’t make up my mind about skin / leather such as cowhide & the like. I don’t think that I’m fond of them – only to be used as a decoration in the home. The reason being that the animals need them more than we do. It might for some, sound a little pretentious but there are actually other options, in my opinion. I can’t say I mind others using them, it’s up to each one, of course. I understand the attraction as well as the aesthetics of it but still can’t bring myself to it fully. But so what, it’s not a big deal really.

Anyhow, it ‘s interesting how different it can look in different environments. As always, when you mix materials, colours & furniture in a good way. If you then use your creative side to bring on your own touch … well, then, just occupy the place & enjoy. No matter if it’s pretentious with cowhide or not!

Stylish combination / 79ideas

Elegant with well chosen objects / desiretoisnpire

Light, fresh & modern / thediversionproject

Cool mix of modern & rustic / avolli

Designed & simple / thevedahouse.com

Black & white with colour / desiretoinspire

Earthy tones with bright pop out colour / honeyhouses

Concrete, glass & leather / imageshack

Masculine feeling / sarahkaye.com

Interesting – in a baby room / singularesmagazine

Light floor to the black & white hide / thepursuitaesthetics

Inspired by mountain cabins / google

Dramatically & graphically / blackbird

Soft nice colours / sweetthingblog

Take care / Marie

Tagged decor, decoration, details, floor decor, home decor, Leather, rug, rugs, skin, style

13/11/2012

Words / 212

Words – they seem to be in vogue right now, more than ever … maybe not so much for the sake of reading but more like a visual experience or as (un)spoken graphic aesthetics. If that make any sense to you. Letters in themselves are very appealing. Whether they are handwritten or as shop / vintage signs or mirrored letters kids do when they learn to write. There’s something about the shape that appeals…at least for me. Now I’m not particularly focused on letters today. It’s more about proverb. Proverbs arise for some reason & I guess they have different meanings depending on cultures. There’s a lot of knowledge & insight behind most so they are a source of wealth, if one is willing to learn.

Proverbs are something I rather recently discovered that I’m very fond of. I wasn’t aware of that nor that I wore a great deal of proverbs within me, unconsciously. At least not until I changed the language from Swedish to English. Suddenly they showed up & still today, I don’t know how it happened. I think it was because I lacked a lot of words & they became a support, as a transition. They often have the same meaning regardless of language & it became a common denominator in a foreign country. It’s funny how it can be sometimes. Now, I see them everywhere just because I’m aware & interested. But not all appeals to me – I choose those that feel right or fit my way of thinking. You have to be picky so they don’t loose their appeal 🙂

PS. Some aren’t proverbs but I like them because of the graphical expression.

Perhaps it’s some truth in this / Etc

Right, for sure / Frenchbydesign

Words & meaning / Curioos

A clear need to be over-explicit / Fancy

So through / Fancy.com

My favourite – even if I don’t fancy the word kill / Unknown

So refreshing nowadays / Google.com

You are your own obstacle /Google.com

Hhmmm / Wisuella

Wise advice / Flawedperfection

Requires a great deal of determination / Frenchbydesign

Awareness / Pinterest

Positive thinking / Justbesplendid

Say no more / Lylablu

Sometimes it is hard to overcome a habit / tumblr

Love & friendship / FB

Take care / Marie

Tagged home decor, letters, Proverbs and Sayings, quotes, truths, wisdom, Words

11/11/2012

Wallpaper / 225

Wall paper – well, I was in a wonderful little store with textiles & wallpaper when I was doing some of the Christmas shopping the other day. It wasn’t the range as much as the atmosphere & appearance in the shop – the smell, the space & the neatly folded piles. And the small the test pieces of wallpaper samples, where you hardly could make out patterns or even imagine how it would look like on the wall.

It’s a lot that is happening within that area now. With advanced technology, you can get whatever you would like on your walls, nowadays.

Enlarged photos of family, friends, idols, holiday memories or whatever. On the other hand, there are a great deal of new design on the market, which really evokes possessiveness. Great variety of beautiful motifs, graphic design, landscapes or skyline … it’s your choice! Wall paper is a good way to “dress” the room in pattern or color that provides a personal touch, express your personality & provide cosiness. It’s a great benefit today, that they are easy to put up & even take down to move to another wall … within certain collections & trade marks.

I can’t claim that I am a big fan of wallpaper even though I like the thought & often becomes inspired. It is such a difficult choice. How do I know if I will like the colour & pattern, once I have made my choice. That I will not get bored. I’m so used with white walls & have had it white – forever! You could say that it’s about time then, AND perhaps it is. But until I’ve made up my mind, it will do with nice & inspiring images.

Like sleeping in the woods almost / Alltihemmet

Frames in black & white / Creativeliving

Uplifting corner / Elhernandez

Lifelike photo wall / Mrperswall

Hand printed wallpaper/ Lantliv.se

White washed timber on the wall / Thestylefiles

Romactic garden on the wall / lizapopova via Fancy

Soft background with a quiet pattern / Borastapeter.se

Perfect in kids room /sweetpaulmagazine

Wallpaper with industrial look / tomhaga

Urban city life in the living room / fixaodona.se

Big impact in a small space / Ustagerimez

Same space but different wallpaper / tumblr.com

Another wallpaper from Boras tapeter – graphical this time / trendenser

Take care / Marie

Tagged bedroom, colours, design, home decor, living room, photo wall, simple, Wallpaper, Walls

09/11/2012

2 Comments

Homes / Interiors, Outdoor

Small space / 211

Small space – relevant in many places but perhaps not in Australia. I believe that AU are amongst the countries, if not the top, when it comes to having the biggest living space in m² in the world. And why not, it’s a big continent, right? If there has to be a reason, that is! It’s rather difficult to furnish large surfaces, however, it requires smart solutions to decorate small spaces. Both functionally & appealing but also spacious, despite the limited space. It’s very much about how you want to live. What you want to be visible vs what you want to store. What you need daily vs what you use infrequently. But also what colors you use, and what combinations. Some colours reduce spaces while others can enhance & create a sense of light & airy areas. The same with textile choices in terms of colours & patterns but also structure & materials.

Now, it was not my intention to go into details … I try to always keep things more general & trust that the images does the work. Let’s hope they do that this time 🙂

Wedged between closets but fully usable surface that feels just right in size / 79ideas

Great deal in a small space but perfectly ok for right target / Cubby via Tumblr

Appealing with good order which is important when you have open shelves /Astrid via Pinterest

Cell-like maybe, but it seems that all the functions are there / bungalow5

Small space with the use of height / Seventeendoors

Small but effective separate kitchen / brightbazaar

Stylish design with a lot of storage / livethemma

A clever corner part with doors that can be closed if necessary / planetdeco

Sometimes it’s good to be two to stay warm / dyingofcute via tumblr

Effective workplace / sfgirlbybay

Materials with contrasting color where the white comes after the dark, so it looks bigger / tumblr

Flexible design / frenchbydesign

Good enough for a laptop / Ikea

Take care / Marie

Tagged Australia, furniture, home decor, interior, Interior design, living area, living space, space, square feet

07/11/2012

Summer feeling / 210

It’s beautiful weather one day & the next it’s too hot so one must hide indoors, with air conditioning close to hand. Spring is here & with it the weather that can’t decide on a more balanced temperature. It’s quite funny that people gets just as annoyed here over weather changes as one does back home in Sweden, even though the temperature there differ significantly, because we are talking about freezing temperatures. It’s early November & the snow has already arrived, as I understand & the tone on social media is getting a bit negative. Summer with sun, heat & cool breezes are beautiful everywhere. But I still have a hard time believing that there’s anything which can be comparable or can beat the Swedish summer. I guess I’m influenced a lot in that statement through experiences, happy memories & dear flashbacks.

Anyway, I’m the last one to complain. I woke early this morning, walked down the street to buy freshly baked bread & pick up a cappuccino – while waiting for a prescription at the chemist … outside in the sun. To feel the heat, be dazzled by the sun & experience the different scents that occur in the heat … it’s not bad at all, actually. Let’s celebrate the sun & the summer with some images that’s influenced, to some extent, by a Scandinavian touch.

Perfectly organised for hot summers / Bobedre.no