14 december 2016

Hello Friday.... oeps Wednesday (don't want to wait).... a gift guide

I love presents. I love buying them, I love wrapping them beautifully and I love receiving them. Here are some suggestions for your wish list to Santa. Selected a bit for the home, some decorations and some beautiful treats like the art bag. I sure hope you like them. The mug with the small hearts would be for me. I regret not buying one when visiting my sister who lives in Oslo. Maybe I didn't so I would have a reason to go back soon. 


Design Letters Arne Jacobsen mugs L and M | Holiday show scene wrapping sheet RIFLE PAPER (I use this as a poster) | Superliving Dynamo lamp | 13 cm wall hook by Bloomingville | Art bag in petrol ice blue by Make History | Kids apron that you can colour in from Smallable | Big mug with small hearts from KID | 60 cm orange paper star by Dille & Kamille

2 december 2016

Hello Friday... we're in the month of celebration

Leather look star garland from Numero74 |  Glasilium vases with wall hanger by Scandinaviaform | Modern Christmas posters (branches and beer) by Juniqe | Up all night light by Lagerhaus (also ideal for New Years)I really like the month of December. My mom (who I love dearly) gets all hectic about all the things that need to be done. Recipes, pre-cooking, gifts, how to decorate the table. What day at their house and when with the in-laws? It must be the comfort of knowing we all have dinner at my parents house that makes my preparations more relaxed. Some day mom it'll be my turn... Decoration wise I want to keep things a bit calm this year. We don't have a large living space and share this with our adorable two blonde boys who come with a truckload of toys. There is enough going on in our living room. But there will be decorations! I have fallen head over heals in love with the posters I found on Juniqe. Definitely want the branches one. Curious to hear what your Christmas decor will look like. Will it be a DIY or do you shop at one of the large garden centers. Which ever one it is... as long as it brings the spirit of Christmas. 

26 november 2016


It's been years since I've done it but this year I will send out a few Christmas cards again. Main reason is that there are so many talented artists out there with beautiful cards such as these beautiful Christmas cards by Louise Cunningham. Each year a blog friend of mine called Monique from Happymakersblog keeps a list of all these talented artists and their latest Christmas cards. Do make sure you visit her blog to do some great new discoveries. 

18 november 2016

Hello Friday... it's like a gift from nature

This week I've come across some pretty exciting interior decorating items that look like true gifts from nature. Either inspired by nature like the drawings (those fishes wauw!) or micro photographed from the actual animal. And gemstones... a local friend of mine has an online shop selling these and you can just keep looking at them. Amazing to think that they actually come from nature as they are. It used to be a bit of a weird old peoples thing to collect them but to have on big colorful rock in your house is not old at all. It's rocking!! 



Poster butterfly | Poster bug | Bless this home print | Canyon marble dining table | gemstone pink | Poster gemstone green | Poster deep sea




11 november 2016

Hello Friday.... a modern kids room for boys and girls


I would love nothing more than to decorate kids rooms all day, every day. Whenever come across a product like these posters by Rylee and Cru I start to combine until I get this cute room. So if ever you feel like you could use some assistance. Be sure to let me know. You would truly make my day!

Wallpaper Esthex | Posters Rylee and Cru | Lamp by House Doctor | Cabinet by HK Living | Bedding by La Cerise sur le Gâteau | Storage bag by Telkiddo | Junior bed Caravan by Kalon Studio | Rug 'gittan' by Brita Sweden 

Wallpaper Ferm Living | Posters Rylee and Cru | Lamp by House Doctor | Black swan by Ilka | Cabinet by HK Living | Junior bed Caravan by Kalon Studio | Rug by Mum's via Pantoufle Design|


4 november 2016

Hello Friday... if you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen!

Often when I open Pinterest an images catches my eye. Today it was this large bistro style kitchen. I would love a super long kitchen like this that was smack in the middle of all the other living spaces like dining and living room. Being connected with the family whilst preparing meals makes you add the ingredient LOVE to all your cooking. 

I've adapted this images a bit more to my own style with this 'SHOP THE LOOK' collage. Sources from both Dutch and international webshops. For me personally it needs a few design additions, some fun 'I don't take myself too serious' accessories and affordable touches of colour. 

Faucet | Design Lamp by Ontwerpduo | wooden cutting board | Brabantia pink bin | mix of flowers by Bloomon | storage containers to show on the work surface | wooden spoon 1 and 2 | stool Twig with leather top by Muubs | kitchen cloth | neon style poster

28 oktober 2016

Hello Friday.... too early for Christmas?

Living in the Netherlands means Christmas is somewhat surpassed until after Sinterklaas. A Dutch traditional festivity for young kids on the 5th of December. A good thing as kids love it but I am so ready for all the Christmas decorations, tasty food and inspirations. I will be going to Oslo this year to visit my sister and am looking forward to some Scandinavian Christmas input. 

I've put together a shopping Favorite Friday with things that have already caught my eye. Being it as decorations or as a present for under the tree... 


Golden Merry Christmas garland (HEMA) - Bamboo sun mirror (ENSUUS) - Golden stars garland (numero 74) - Rocky Mountain pillows (SLOOP) - Consilium vase (SCANDINAVIAFORM) - white light garland (IKEA) - recipe for fruit minced pies (DONNA HAY) - Fir Fir plate and mug (HOUSE OF RYM) - Glasilium vase (SCANDINAVIAFORM)

I am looking forward to continuing this path of inspirational shoppings for you. I find it excites me more at the moment than posting an image of an interior and writing about it. Will try to make it as global as possible. Happy Friday and happy shopping.

14 oktober 2016

Hello Friday.... Shopping tips inspired by Pinterest

Whenever I squeeze my lower lip between my fingers my husband says 'STOP!, you are redecorating in your mind'. Guilty for sure!! So instead of decorating in my mind I will decorate on my Mac. Gives me the pleasure of venting out my thoughts and might give you some inspiration.

Let's start with a playroom on Pinterest that inspired me. I love the entire room and you'll find more images on my board. The nook that inspired me is here.




Plywood to make a chalkboard for the wall (available at your local DIY warehouse)
OYOY puzzle me
Liewood storage baskets
House Doctor wall lamp
Tiles rug from recycled PET bottles by Brita Sweden (nominated for the FORMEX award!)
my favorite poster at the moment Miniwilla 'Not a Black Swan'
Jotun paint colour 'Rose Basket' (love the way they describe this colour on their site)
The book 'This is not my hat' by Jon Klassen (oh please transform his images into posters I'd be a huge fan!!!)
the Odd couple by Danish Superliving
This sweet little chair by Mum and Dad Factory is the best!!

And walls covered in pictures. I have a square meter above the fire place covered with memories and little quotes I like. This image in the centre is one that I spotted on Pinterest by Urban Outfitters. When I spotted it I immediately wanted to gather some of my favourite prints online. Don't forget... I live in a men dominated household. Cars are very much a part of my day to day life.


Surfing sloth duo
Small jumper painting by Amy Blackwell
Vintage car print by Danielle Kroll
Roze smiley 'Joy us' poster
All we have is now quote print
Swimming polar bear print
all pictures are from private collection

30 september 2016

Hello Friday.... expect the unexpected

Are you a lover of natural materials and the industrial look than you may want to look into the collection of Lyon Beton. With a mixture of water, sand, cement and a pinch of fiberglass they make these amazing designs. With matching rebar legs the rugged look is complete. I like it when you add something unexpected in an interior.






23 september 2016

Hello Friday... I am getting closer to my dark side


We may need an extra house. Huh? What? Yes... I don't have just one love for an interior style and the ones I like don't go together all that well. One is Scandinavian light and simple like in the previous post (not empty house design like but where items have function and are desirable to look at) and the other one is a dark comfortable cave with lucious flowers, deep dark colours, combined with woods and soft fabrics such as velours that make you want to caress them. To channel my love and gather inspiration I've made a new board on Pinterest. My 'INTERIOR - LOVE THE DARKNESS' board filled with dark goodness.

I've selected a few products as my Favorite Friday to show you what I mean. They would all go so well in my cave of comfort. Some of them I've sources through Pinterest and some by following the hashtag of recent interior exhibitions in Europe such as Maison et Objet in Paris and Formex in Sweden. I visited Show Up myself and there you could also see the dark colours being used as wall colour of many of the booths. 




I love this loveseat type of 'banquette' in a deep green velours fabric by the French Honoré. Great use of different types of material which keep it modern and light even when a heavy fabric such as velours was used. 









Another brand that understands what I mean with LOVE THE DARKNESS is HK Living. Not ready to paint a wall in a dark colour? Than maybe their XXL palm tree wall hanger is more to your liking. Their collection is often shown in Australian magazines that I used to read when we lived in Singapore. I am proud that this is a Dutch brand, I remember how they started with Swedish style tables and serving trays and look at them now!

So... If anyone has a house they're not using. I can drop by to collect the key no problem!

Enjoy the weekend.
X Caroline

16 september 2016

Hello Friday... some plans to get Autumn ready

We're getting close to European Autumn. It will be my first leaves falling again in four years time as we've lived in Singapore for a while. With the outdoors becoming a bit more gloomy I long for an extra cosy feeling indoors. We've already made a bit of a start by changing the layout in the room. Our sitting area is shifted to the smaller back room and the front room will be the dining area and playroom for the kids. Here are some additional ideas and products I've come across that I absolutely love and hopefully soon will get.



Wallpaper Royal Blue Flowers, My living room 'art' wall, Hemp Rug, wooden legs for sofa, soft pink sofa cover, mustard tear drop wool blanket, cushion covers, fig tree plant.

I am curious about your plans to get the house ready for the changing season. Will you want to change a lot like myself or are you more a modest changes type of person? 

9 september 2016

Hello Friday... some things I liked this week

When searching for images on Instagram I seem to keep ending up on Australian accounts. Is my interest shifting from Scandinavian to Australian? I do find that I am looking more and more at bold designs, big use of color and not necessarily a white canvas to start with. Looking forward to seeing where this is headed.

A few of my favorites I would like to share are...


The artwork by Madelein Stamer is simply amazing. I love the black and pink cacti print and would happily hang this in our home. The other print is a more summery flower with bright vibrant colours. See more of her work at her Instagram account or head straight to the shop.



And if you are into printed fun and funky bedding Australia is also the place to be. In the past I've blogged about Kip & Co and Sack Me bedding collections. Another brand that has caught my eye is Sage and Clare. Love the little flowers bedding, the fresh striped one and the out of control fluffy pink pillow.
SaveSave

2 september 2016

Hello Friday.... Let's get creative

Returning to my blogging roots I have visited some Scandinavian interior magazine websites once more. I used to go this for hours and hours following link, brand, stylist and photographer in a search to new inspirations. It brought me to some fun creative ideas.

BoligLiv - DIY key holder
 boligliv - inspiration - diy - key hanger - lillelykke

BoligLiv - Wall hanging
 boligliv - inspiration - diy - wall hanging

The wall hanger reminded me that we are closing in on the launch month for the new KOEL magazine. Are you into yarn craft enthousiast make sure you order your copy here online.



But there is more to keep an eye out for. Staying in the theme of magazines another one you don't want to miss is the bloggers special from VT wonen. Many of my good blogger friends are in there sharing their favorite images, hotspot shops and inspirations. A must read if you ask me.

 vt wonen loves blogs 2016 - order oline

And finally a safe the date... there will be a launch of new books by publisher SNOR, a bloggers market, workshops and several refreshing entertainment. All in a great old train depot in Utrecht. Will I bump into you at the SNOR festival on the 24th or 25th of September?

26 augustus 2016

Hello Friday.... let's cuddle with Pax and Hart

We all know Pax and Hart located in Australia from their amazing posters. By great designs and using Instagram wisely they have won over the world. So clever from Miann & Co (former La De Dah kids) to seek collaboration and bring some of the artful designs to life in crochet dolls.





Emma from Pax and Hart has recently done an interview with '#mumlifeproject'. It's a nice insight on how she makes it all work with kids, designing and building a company. And how it all got rolling in the first place. Be sure to read it if you like her work. 

20 augustus 2016

Happy Friday... I feel sun kissed

After a few lovely sunny days at the beach I feel blissfully sun kissed and am reluctantly going back to work. Reluctantly until tomorrow when we start to set up for the ShowUp fair and I will get into an inspirational flow.

To stay close to the feeling of holiday a little bit longer I've chosen this summer cottage to be my Friday Favorite. If it were up to me we would look into this direction when thinking about revamping our own trailer by the sea.







I like how they've kept old elements and added new ideas such as a sliding door. Our space is much more limited than this one. We only have about 35m2 where this summer cottage is about 60m2. But still... enough inspirations to get my mind going. 

12 augustus 2016

Happy Friday.... collage style

What's keeping me busy lately... beside entertaining the children through the summer holidays I am busy making collages. So so many collages. And I am starting to really enjoy making them. Later in this post I will show you some that I have made (or am making) for other platforms. But this is one I made for my own blog. It reminds me of the fun I had selecting items for the VT Wonen contest to win 10.000 euros worth of products from their website. After searching their pages so much I had to go back to source some beauties for my collage. And I have also added some products from the FEMKEIDO shop as she is opening doors in Rotterdam this week! This calls for a little celebration.

Like what you see... so here is where you can shop all this.
wallpaper royal blue ~ muuto lamp mustard ~ frama shelf ~ HAY pillow ~ crowdyhouse poster ~ cabinet ~ iittala pillow cover ~ donna wilson plate ~ la forma chair ~ zuiver lounge chair

Expect more collages like this as I really enjoy making them.

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As promised also some collages I made for the platform BOYSLABEL. With them it is all kids related and besides a lot of fashion (new territory for me) I also sneak in some interior and other fun stuff. Just follow the link to get to their website with the blogpost. Not a boys mum. No problem... I also write for them on GIRLSLABEL and BABYLABEL.




But that is not all. I have also been very busy for a lovely agency called NCAgencies who has the most amazing brands. I get busy doing newsletters (again with collages) and we are very much looking forward to representing the brands at the coming SHOP UP Amsterdam fair. Will you also be there? Come say hi at booth 134 & 135 (ORLA KIELY and BRITA SWEDEN/ISAK).





And today I enjoyed making some collages for a friend of mine who has a webshop for baby & kids interior and gift items called PUURBELEVEN (pure experience). She is expanding her webshop with kids room and play room styling with additional discounts in her shop. Oh boy am I hoping she needs a helping hand as I love doing that!!!



As you can see I am not really bumming around lazy on the beach... I only pretend to do so. Happy last bits of your holidays and I still continue to enjoy mine. Both online and offline.

See you next week!
Caroline

8 augustus 2016

Sweet reminders


For years I have had a quote poster in my house. It says 'DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF' and I was put to the test right after framing it. One tiny piece of dust was stuck behind the glass. Oh no... or maybe whatever given the quote... 
Another good quote that caught my eye is this one. So true and sometimes a sweet reminder when I stress about what to wear. This is something I always have on hand. 


27 juli 2016

Happy holiday.... just had to share

Can I just quietly burst here.... I love this conversion of an attic room. They have created such a light sunny fun playroom. With storage baskets to hide the toys after playing and comfortable seating to enjoy reading or some gaming. I would personally add a little rock climbing wall to one of the sides. With so many mattresses in the room you would have a soft landing.



Needless to say I get so inspired I start to dream about creating this space for myself. I have even looked at what pillows I would use. Here is a first variety that I have quickly chosen from the VT Wonen online shop.




The converted attic room is part of a Westhampton Beach playhouse that has been converted by Change & Co and boy did they do a good job. I always love a good before and after but this one will make me look differently at every home I visit in the future. They have made a dull average house into a bright fun welcoming home. Not all choices made are my liking but overall the entire house looks very well decorated with color links and pattern links from room to room.



Now I am back to my deadlines for my freelance work and than some holiday fun at the coast.




15 juli 2016

Happy Friday.... I'm not lazy (just in holiday mode)

If they had this on a shirt I would wear it this holiday....

I haven't forgotten about you guys but as I've recently taken on a new job much of my time and energy goes into that. You know how it is the start up takes a lot of research and in that time... Plus I am not sure all my readers are into kids fashion... I get heavily distracted and slightly frustrated as I see all these fun clothes that I would love to get in my own size. 

All sweaters are on sale in the MANGO girls collection.

Corals and mustard colours at Sissy Boy girls collection. 

In addition I am happily running after my two fun crazy kids who are enjoying their holidays. I hope you also enjoy the summer. Let's do a sun dance together hoping the clouds will vanish. What we are up to this summer? Stay up to date by following me on Instagram

I'll be back in three weeks or if I cannot hold myself to share the online goodies before that. 
Have a great holiday and see you soon.

X Caroline