home decor | anordinarywoman

18/02/2013

Oriental dreams

I’m dreaming about oriental rugs – Kelim, Persian, Pakistani, Afghan, etc. The hand knotted rugs with specific oriental patterns & colours. It has to be authentic & genuine too. Why on earth would you bother, if not. Those with plastic back & in synthetic material might look good nowadays but it’s the feeling of the pure material, the ancient craftsmanship, the origin & the history. That’s powerful! It’s always interesting & impressive with talent. Something to cherish when you realise that it’s not just any pattern but a solid foundation of culture as well as storytelling, through a craft. Those aesthetically striking colour combinations that appeals & materials that last a lifetime, at least. Not to forget, how easy & smooth these rugs melt into any environment. They do fit almost everywhere. So yep, oriental is my thing right now.

I drove my son the other day to a place where he was to meet someone for a quick catch-up. We went for a walk after, on the main street & just stumbled over a big shop with fantastic handmade rugs, from all over the world. I could have stayed there for hours & just continued to listen to the shop owner’s extreme competence about these beautiful objects. Desirable & precious oriental rugs to dream about 🙂

Nice combination with the white sofa / studiokarin

Traditional & modern / lineklein

Sweet tea glasses / sanna & sania

Soft & sound absorbing / studiokarin

Well mixed / seventeendoors

Colour & warmth / scandinaviandeko

So many choices / theselby

white, oriental, modern, contemporary / elramlahamla

Colour splash in a white environment / g.virbcdn.com

On the catwalk / Hermes

Holds together the entire room / thebeautifulsoup

Beautiful outdoor event / 2012flowercarpet@brussels

Mix & match / sanctuary

Boudoir feeling / apartmentlove

Completing the look / worldofbaths.co.uk

Take care / Marie

Tagged Afghan rug, carpet, home decor, inspiring rooms, Oriental rug, Pakistan, Persian carpet, rugs

13/02/2013

2 Comments

Homes / Interiors, Outdoor

Another brick in the wall

To live in a brick house in an old area with other similar houses, gets you thinking of the material that’s been used. Strangely enough, I’m of course aware of these houses that you can find all over the town. And a lot on my street, it’s a typical construction materials. Yet it’s not obvious with things until you get close. We went to visit a brick factory which is located not far from here, where you get to walk around on a sky-bridge that runs around the entire brickyard, press the buttons to hear the stories from the past, look at the production & see how buildings emerged and so on. Doesn’t sound so exciting maybe but it was actually interesting. It made me look at things differently & definitely appreciate these buildings around me in a more valuable way. Wood has otherwise always been the building material that I’m used to.

Well, let’s take a look at bricks of various kinds – mostly from the inside.

Rustic with an interesting mix / cdn3.welke.nl

Nice impact with a black wall / osbakkandchu.blogspot

Worn factory feeling / flickr.com

Dark & interesting / justthedesign

White & wood / lonnymag.com

Nice with black to a lighter wall / mstetson.com

Warm diverse colours / pinterest.com

Coordinated into a whole / 25.media.tumblr

Striking & inviting / satchi via fancy

Rough kitchen feel / stylizimo

Modern feel / planet-deco.fr

With white & wood / letmebeinspired

/ helenaaro

Contemporary / Vanguard – Residential

Neat with rounded wall & matching kitchen cabinets / ethereal-gold via tumblr

Tagged architecture, Brick, brick factory, brick house, brick walls, home decor, homes, Interiors

10/02/2013

2 Comments

Homes / Interiors

Reflections

Can you walk past a mirror without looking – eg. the mirror in the elevator, shop window that reflects, in a department store? I can’t help it, it happens automatically. A bit silly perhaps or even a bit vain. Glancing for a quick check, you know. I sometimes think that my three boys, one of which is my husband, are completely obsessed. They would use their time in front of the mirror all day long if they could decide, believe me. (Isn’t it a common ailment in our society today?) I often find myself sitting & waiting for them to be done, when we’re going somewhere. Once it becomes my turn, the expectation is that I should I be ready in three minutes … patience is a virtue! (Which is another thing we seem to lack a bit in our society). Anyway, appearance comes before everything else. Nothing wrong with that, first impression & so on.

So, moving on, there are lots of stylish mirrors, for those who not only want to look on themselves in the mirror, but also are fond of design too. Lots of different styles, colors, shapes & materials. Mirrors that can occupy an entire wall, or small round with nice details. Or just plain, simple with bevelled edge. You just have to pick & choose among all the varieties. Mirrors are nice, take a look yourself 🙂

Beautiful design / desiretoinspire

Size matters / domayneonline.com.au

Dining collection / keltainen

reflections / livethemma

Golden frame / jellysundae.tumblr

Bathroom collection / blissblog

Fun detail / nagashima&hyoudou

Adorns the walls / pinterest

Window mirror / 79ideas

On the wish list / eclecticlivinghome

Nice above the bench top / lineklein

Gets n=anyone to look good / restorationhardware

Wood & white / annatruelsen

Round shape that softens / helenaaro

Wooden collection / desdemyventana

Exciting background wall / sanna&sania

Take care / Marie

Tagged antique, bathrooms, decor, glass, home decor, mirror, mirrors, reflection, wooden mirrors

07/02/2013

1 Comment

Design, Homes / Interiors, Outdoor

Sunny side

Today I’m going to bid on a yellow theme. I am possibly inspired by the bright sun & pleasant warmth. Or, I may have noticed yellow somewhere unconsciously. Anyway, here below, are a variety of images with a bit of yellow here & there, as a common denominator.

Yellow is ugly, an expression that often was used when we were little. This sentence rhymes in swedish, which made it all the more fun, of course. I don’t know where it came from or how it started but it was a common thing to say, for some reason. I remember I got a bright yellow t-shirt with print in black, a horse head actually, which I was fond of. Same colour on the clogs too. I think I had these things, as in, using them, a whole summer. Otherwise, it has probably not been very much of that color in my life. Admittedly a period in my teens, in my own room, that was furnished in that yellow colour, together with wood & white.

Today I don’t think I own anything in that particular colour . Although I believe it’s a nice color that makes you happy plus that it’s energising. But that’s how it is sometimes, that some things fits well to love from a distance…

Neat tiles & striking with the same yellow color at the bottom / lote93 via Pinterest

Match accessories with a yellow dress / classygirlswearpearls

Paint yellow & catch the eye / olympusdigitalcamera

Nice place with a nice view / seventeendoors

Neat on the shelf / cushandnook

Simple thing to do & yet so stylish / pynter.tumblr.com

Common everyday things / larimule

Paint something yellow / riazolli

From head to toe / akris

Favourites in a pile / livethemma

Occasional objects / todayyouinspiredme

Playful & bright / cushandnook

Beautiful pattern / butiksofie

White & yellow / expensivelife

Cool styling / vtwonen

Take care / Marie

Tagged bright colours, clothing, colour, colourful interiors, energising, Fashion, home decor, paint, style, sunshine, yellow

04/02/2013

1 Comment

Homes / Interiors

Crystal clear

Glass has not always been something that I appreciate. I was early introduced to glass art & got some distaste for it for a while. I don’t know why really but I think it was too strong colours & complicated shapes that would not be explained. The design were meant to stimulate the imagination. It didn’t work on me unfortunately. That happened ages ago so that’s history now. Since then, I have discovered the style that suits me. I’m often drawn to a simple & relatively pure style. I prefer a simple & relatively clean design. I don’t like it too fancy or elegant.

The images I’ve collected below is a mixture of glass art, glass objects for everyday life & maybe something in between. Some of them reminds me of the early days when I was introduced to the art glassware – which I can’t find place for, in my heart, still. But that’s how it is sometimes. They have their fans anyway. The craftsmanship behind, regardless of taste, is something to admire anyway.