outdoor | anordinarywoman

07/03/2013

Umbrellas

Summer isn’t just about sun, warmth & hot long nights, at least not lately. We have had a fair share of rain in Sydney. In other states, much more unfortunately. That which causes joy for some can cause problems for others. With joy in this case, I can readily admit that I like the kind of rain that we have in Sydney. It’s not cold in any way, but when the rain falls, it falls a lot. Much rain, you could say. Sometimes, it falls for a short while, so that the air feels refreshed. Other times, it seems to be going on for ever. Not that it bothers me. There is no bad weather if you know how to dress, it all depends on the clothing you wear.

I bought a neat umbrella the other day, in suit-plaid-patterns – in different shades of gray. It took a while to find a stylish model with wooden handles & hefty design that can withstand resistance. AND that does not fall apart as soon as it begins to blow a bit. We have a number of countless black umbrellas lying in a basket in the hall for all visiting friends & acquaintances – who often want to take a walk in the pouring rain … when it rains, that is. They are not of the best quality, so we have to replace them every season. The umbrella syndrome, is either that it’s forgotten somewhere or that it breaks somehow. It is what it is … an umbrella!

By the way, it’s beautiful weather today – perfect & around 28 degrees. No umbrellas here today!

Hello there / airows via tumblr

Colourful pedestrians / fancy.com

Beautiful & refreshing / witanddelight

Romance in the rain / photobucket.com

Or in a boat / http://www.donpaulson.com

Design for everyone / photoproblem.tumblr.com

Floating light / sapalicious.tumblr

Black always works / theglamourai

Stylish / Burberry

Black & white in Life 1958 / myvintagevogue.com

Great atmosphere / solamentalist via tumblr

Personal taste / todayyouinspiredme

No matter if it rains a lot of love, some just can’t enjoy the moment / bathwater.tumblr.com

Maybe more a matter of shadow than rain / fancy.com

On a walk, barefoot in the rain / littlepaylady via fancy

Take care / Marie

Tagged design, outdoor, rain, style, umbrella, umbrellas, weather

27/11/2012

Warm decoration / 217

Daylight saving has made evenings brighter which of course is the point. However, our evenings are dark – all year round. Even in the summer, when it’s still slightly lighter than usual. In fact, it doesn’t matter, at least not if you are a lover of light in all its forms. I mean candle light, in this case. Perfect to use all year around & suits all occasions. Stylish lanterns do enhance as well as simplifies … not to mention safety, which always is important. Hot admittedly but still reasonably safe for kids, or if you accidentally fall over them. Candles makes the world go around, right? It’s easy to create a nice & relaxing atmosphere with candle light since they certainly makes spaces more beautiful. Same with people, we are more to our advantage in the glow of candlelight.

I thought I’d follow up last post about candles with this one about lanterns. I can’t claim that I’m a collector of those but I have some which I have grouped under a side table. I like the mix of polished metal, black steel & wood, in various sizes. – but most of all I like them with lit candles inside, so here towards the evening.

Simpler table setting & surrounding is preferred with a striking center pice like this / barabarakemp via Pinterest

Lanterns fits everywhere / conceptbyanna

Ref, frayed & old-style / expressen

Black, stylish & simple / mrsjones

Nice combination / pinterest.com

Everything in white – how about that / purplearea

Very beautiful / Sanctuary

Lanterns, candle light, rattan & greenery / stylizimo

Dusk with a beautiful view / tomvmorris

The first snow that falls – beautiful / ullamaijahanninen.n

Certainly not some lanterns but beautiful paper lanterns in all cases / Mokkasin

Nice pattern that becomes visible with candle light on / artpropelled via tumblr

Easy way to create a mood / browndresswithwhitedots

Light up in the window / Fancy

Nice image / sanctuary

Oriental touch / homedesign&decorating

Take care / Marie

Tagged candle light, Candles, decor, decorative, home decor, Interiors, Lantern, lanterns, outdoor

19/11/2012

Black & wood / 214

Wood used & worn down until it fades or new timber that has its color & strength left … all kinds of wood are a luxurious feel. A natural materials that live & breathe with the house & the individuals who use it. It is neat with all types of materials & colors … regardless what applies right now. Timeless, simply! I’m very fond of wood & I use materials that I prefer, of course. It may well be pine, birch or oak, in the first place. Ash might be nice at times, but a little too lifeless for my taste. But as usual, it’s vital how to put it all together. The mix of furniture with flooring materials, colors, fabrics & lighting … in combination with the room size. Even the way the light falls from the windows. It may look a bit pale, yellow or rather, without natural freshness.

I’m right now very fond of darker wood combined with black. A feeling of the fifties without that specific style. Well, with that style too actually, since it’s very appealing. I’m more after the contemporary style with soul…not styled or just copied right off but well thought out & detailed. Take a look at the first two images below. That’s the feeling I mean. But by all means, different woods combined with black details – it always works.

Very niiiiice / holmberg via pinterest

All these beautiful vases / bertrandbenoit

A personal look / mechantdesign

Inviting combination / helenaaro

Combination of old & new / solidfrog

Nice commercial area / kulunkadecoblog

Wood & black / keltainen

A classic beauty / keltainen

Yet another commercial area / scandic grand central

A fresh look with white combined / scandic grand central

Soft feeling / automatism

Black & wood details / tumblr

Stylish / Pinterest

Wood with black accessories / annagillar

Take care / Marie

Tagged black, dark, decor, details, furniture, home decor, interior, outdoor, style, timber, wood

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

Well, open doors throughout the season, a dream / Desdemyventana

Everything you need to enjoy the beach/ Dustjacketattic

Natural sunscreen / Expressen.se

Berry-sorbet, refreshing in the heat / Jelanie via Pinterest

View of the lake, greenery & white summer furniture / Hus&hem

Colourful picnic styling / Juste-la-vie via Tumblr

Peaceful, harmonious & relaxing / Keroiam via Tumblr

I adore this image, no more, no less / Myinnerlandscape via Tumblr

Romantic for sure / Ruffledblog.com

Perfect escape /Ruffledblog.com

Navy inspired summer feeling / 79ideas

Very appealing with mixed bottles & fresh flowers / Annatruelsen

Inside & outside – perfect combination / Expressen.se

Worn charm with abraded paint & happy rubber boots, in waiting for rain / Desdemyventana

Take care / Marie

Tagged home decor, outdoor, season, seasons, summer, sun, sunny, weather

16/05/2012

1 Comment

Outdoor

Rooftops / 163

Hej dear friends,

Rooftops have always been exciting, from the time when I as a child ran around with the big kids at building / construction sites where you really could not be … & were so exciting precisely for that reason. To the rooftops you get to see from hotel rooms … when I dared to look out from the windows from that hight. I loved the movie Aristocats where the characters ran around on the rooftops in Paris. And something exciting always happened. I think I watched it hundred times with my boys. It’s not only the view that is exciting or the height, but also the fact that you are on a roof, at the top, where nobody can see you but you can see everything.

It’s exciting, fun & uplifting, but also romantic, isn’t it ?

Tightly as in a sardine tin / Weheartit