There’s something very satisfying about a piece of tech that works well and looks good enough to leave on display. This compact projector from CREATE (create-store.com) manages to do both — and at a...
Interiors…
As much as we love our home, we love to travel, too. We like to seek out the unusual and we take inspiration from wherever we go. Following design blogs is not something which preoccupies us. We don’t want our home to follow the latest trends. That doesn’t mean we’re not influenced by what we see around us – we just know what we like, and if it’s not bang on trend, so what? It’s our home and we’ll do with it, what makes us smile.
Since starting this major renovation, we’ve become more creative, not only in what we do, but how we do things. We don’t have a bottomless pot of money – far from it. We still work full time – but luckily, as website designers, we can do this from the comfort of our home – and so we do need to be resourceful. Online trawling is one way we seek out new ideas, as well as recycling and upcycling what we already have.
Gone are the days when we’d throw something away, simply because it no longer suited. Becoming more conscious of waste and finances has made us think more creatively – and here, we’ll share what inspires us.
recent interiors blogs
upcycled wardrobe
There weren't many original pieces of furniture left in our house when we bought it. Plenty of 1980s stuff, mind you, that the previous owner obviously no longer wanted, and couldn't be...
ikea krusning pendants
Lighting - and pendants - have been a big consideration in the renovation of our house. Initially, we'd thought that we'd go down the route of Moroccan/Moorish style pendants, but to get what we...
chaise longue restoration
Not that long ago, if you told me we'd own a chaise longue, I'd have thought you were mad. Not only would we not really have had the space - or the kind of house - for such an item of furniture,...
a place for dinner
Although we are lucky enough to have a few options regarding where we can eat, sometimes we just want to eat in the living room, where the big woodburner is and where we can watch TV. When we've...
the *unfinished* apartment : citta alta : bergamo
Although we've largely finished the renovations of our stone house, I can always find something else that needs to be done. So, effectively, it always "unfinished". But not on the scale of these...
string curtains…
Our bedrooms are not overlooked and so we don't necessarily need curtains at the windows. But sometimes, curtains - or a simple roller blind - can just finish off a window. We have installed white...
winter teal
The main bedroom in our house is large. Certainly bigger than any bedroom we've ever had before - and keeping it warm and cosy in the winter, is something I work on every year. It's great in the...
hallway reno
Not all renovation projects need to involve demolition and mess and heavy tools and living with dust and dirt. I like to think that's all kind of behind us - at least for now, but we never say...
six years on…
Looking back over photos taken when we came out to view the house in Istria, and stay over as guests of the owners, has been a real experience. I can remember, obviously, what condition the house...
lluna aqua hotel : sóller : mallorca
When we last visited Mallorca, one of the hotels we booked was the Lluna Aqua Hotel in Sóller. Housed in a traditional Mallorcan townhouse, which we were told had been empty for over eighty years,...
window shelving…
One of the things that we've always meant to tackle, but never got around to it, as there always seem to be other jobs which take priority, is the levelling of a number of our window sills. Some are...
decoupage doors…
Decoupage or découpage is the art of decorating an object by gluing colored paper cutouts onto it in combination with special paint effects, gold leaf and other decorative elements. Commonly, an...
grey & white, with a woodland vibe…
We've never had so much space and shape to play with before, in any of the houses or flats we've lived in, and our stone house has proven itself to be a complete source of surprises. Each time we...
the living room : update 2
The living room, when we bought our Istrian stone house, was dark and oppressive. Walls were plastered in places, painted in places and in other places, the stone work was exposed. Window frames and...
fantastic faux…
I love fresh flowers. For the third year running, we've seeded up a few areas of the garden with wild flowers, because we believe that one day soon, these seeds will become something more than...
fifty shades of pink…
Pink has never been my colour. I think I've always associated the colour with being "girly" and so have largely avoided it. But, I've been wrong, Oh, so very wrong. And now I'm letting pink into my...
roxanich wine & heritage hotel : motovun : istria
We're suckers for stylish interiors. The kind of interiors that we maybe wouldn't be quite bold enough to go for at home, but love experiencing. And if anywhere does stylish interiors, it's the new...
les papiers…
Not long ago, who'd have thought you, or me, could have a piece of Jean Paul Gaultier in your own home? If you're a fan of the unconventional designer, you can now have a roll (or two or three) of...