style | 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

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

13/01/2013

1 Comment

Homes / Interiors

Shoe lover

Shoes – the one thing that really complete an outfit. Get it wrong & you feel uncomfortable the rest of that day. Not just comfortable as in comfy but also the total look. It’s the same with the hallway. A hallway without shoes aren’t really a hallway. It doesn’t feel as someone lives there. Finding a combined solution for storage where design & function goes hand in hand…that’s not easy. On the other hand, it’s not always necessary to hide the shoes … many times, they are stylish enough to showcase. Shoes are like jewelry nowadays, considering material, color, design & so on. Anyhow, I like open storage with the shoes visible. But that requires some orderliness. The main thing is that it is simple. If I don’t see the shoes, I won’t remember to use them either. I’ve been pleasantly surprised many times when shoes suddenly appears. But maybe it says more about me, unfortunately.

Overall, one can at least say that the shoes are a fun but oh so important detail, which does wonders for the body & soul – with or without storage. I threw a lot of shoes when we started with the move. I should not have done that, of course. But that’s what happens when you want to have order of things, be clever & clean up the mess … to avoid having to deal with it on the new site. In the rush, things can go to fast sometimes. But now it’s too late, it’s done so it is just to enjoy the space. Perhaps it fills up just as quickly again, who knows.

Store & organise / amandaross via Pinterest

Store them visible – still-life /plazainterior

Spacious & bright storage / lindsayclarke via Pinterest

Leave them on / mollygolly.tumblr.com

Boots loves jeans – or is it vice verse / suitupordie

Natural / supreme via Fancy

On display / trendland

Coordinated display / prettysedaynacar

All in black / e-lements.tumblr

Personal style / refinery29.com

Stylish / socialbliss

Mixed with accessories / bellamumma

Food styling / frogs&crown

Things neatly organised / elle.es

Prepared & in order / desiretoinspire

Take care / Marie

Tagged clothing, Fashion, home decor, shoe shelf, shoe storage, shoes, Solutions, style

13/12/2012

Personal touch

I’m leaving Christmas to rest for a while even if it Lucia today back home. Instead, it will be about interiors in varying styles – no extremes – but a bit more about small differences or rather taste, actually. I’m not a daring person when it comes to home decor. I am, after all, a fairly ordinary woman & therefore choose the images that are common but appealing in different ways. You know by now that I’m rather beige & predictable in my taste. I like it in that way, you see!

A home is something we all have in common, where we create our own world … our own space, our way of life & living. Some like to have it as in a magazine, others want to find their own thing. Some build their homes from memories of their childhood. Again, some have no direction, but it gets as it gets, AND usually it becomes good … because it’s about lifestyle. In fact, there are no limitations, more than in our heads. We are taught or influenced by people we spend time with, newspapers we read or TV programs we watch. The older we get, the more often we end up in the style we ar grown up with. It’s like as we sometimes take after habits or behaviors after our parents, despite the fact that we said – I’ll never do this or that. It happens unconsciously, simply. The force of a habit is great.

Now, not that there’s something wrong with that, just a general observation. It’s precisely what makes things so interesting, right? The perfect, or the half-finished, or that which is in constant change. Or the odd or unusual or completely ordinary – the personal touch!

Different materials & colors mixed into a lovely expression / aprillaprill

Old & new combined into a nice style / isiljacob via Pinterest

By keeping things visible, a home becomes alive & cozy / alvhemmakleri

Ambitious with every little detail in place / designnerd via pinterest

Attractive style for most, charmingly frayed & enjoyable / bellemaison via tumblr

Hard & cold surfaces & materials becomes welcoming with colour & vibrant details / Desiretoinspire

Postcards, tickets & others, gathered into a work of art / Pinterest.com

Cute small space with everything on display / aprilandaugust.tumblr

Hallway with lots of personality / Vogsesparis

Well selected stuff to create something of your own / housetohome.co.uk

Charming with a worn country style / Draumesidene

Big furniture, patterns, wall paper & comfort / Housetohome.uk

Spacious with space for social activities /architectureandinterioresign

Cool mix & combination of furniture & accessories / myscandinavianhome

Wonderful childhood memories / Facebook

Take care / Marie

Tagged bedrooms, Contemporary, decor, home decor, Interior design, kitchen, living rooms, personal, rustic, style

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