Inspirational table decorations for Easter

Easter is only a week away. How on earth did we get here so quickly? It was Christmas not long ago...

I don't really celebrate Easter anymore, but we used to celebrate it properly with lots of relatives when I was younger.
My mum used to decorate every room in the house with something Easter related - colourful curtains and tablecloths, little porcelain chickens, painted little eggs and feathers everywhere... you name it! The kitchen and the livingroom were of course the focal points. I used to love it! When Easter arrived you knew that summer wasn't too far away :)

How do you decorate for Easter? Are you lazy like me, or do you go full on Easter like my mum?

Here are some fantastic Easter table decorations that I have found for you lovely readers. Is the inspiration flowing yet?

Seaside feeling with nautical home decorations

Sail away, sail away!
I absolutely love everything nautical, and the dream would of course be to live right on the seaside.
That is unfortunately not the case at the moment, so therefore I'm going to have to bring the sea to me!
There are a lot of ways you can decorate your home to achieve that nautical feeling. The basic essentials are of course the colours navy blue and white.
I love the way people bring in real nautical artefacts to their homes, such as a steering wheel from a ship to hang on the wall as decoration, or how they are using part of a rowing boat as a bookcase. Just look at this amazing livingroom below!

An easy way to make a livingroom or a bedroom a bit nautical looking is by decorating with cushions.

I grew up by the sea, so now when I live in the middle of the country it's just natural for me to have a room in the house dedicated to the nautical decorating style. Do you want to know which room it is... the guest toilet! I was inspired by the round window in that room - doesn't a round window make you think about a boat window?! I've put in lots of tiny little nautical decorations in that room, and I even painted a 3-piece nautical painting which you can see on my art blog.

This just proves that any room in your house can be decorated in a nautical style - even the WC!

Moroccan interior design - an explosion of colours!

I thought it was time for a colour explosion here on Home Decorista! And what better way to do it than to feature the exotic interior design of vibrant Morocco. 

Cushions of a hundred different colours, silky fabrics, pretty mosaics, carved out wooden furniture, metallic lanterns and gold patterns are the key elements to Moroccan interior decoration. 

Look, enjoy, take it in, and get inspired!

Gorgeous dressing tables of different styles

Most women like taking care of their appearance, and a lot of women in the western world are big fans of fashion and style. Who wouldn't like a Carrie Bradshaw-like walk-in closet!? I sure wouldn't mind one... But what comes close second on a woman's wishlist (if not first!) is to have a dressing table where they can sit down and get ready in the mornings. Somewhere to have all their beauty products and jewellery - all in one place.
Do you have a dressing table, or a whole dressing room? How have you decorated it? Is it old fashioned, girly swirly, or contemporary?
Here are a few different inspirational pictures of absolutely gorgeous dressing tables of different styles. Which one is your favourite?

The first two styles are quite similar. They're both antique tables covered with thin textiles - the first one is a bit more modest looking, while the second one is covered in patterns.

The third and fourth styles are very contemporary. Both are chunky pieces of furniture, with lots of contrasts. The patterned wallpapers add a dramatic feeling to the rooms. The fourth dressing table also has a touch of shabby chic decorations to it, to contrast the modern furniture.

Both the fifth and sixth dressing tables are of a rococo style. The fifth is a more modern version of rococo - quite simple actually, while the sixth is a classic old style French rococo, with lots of gold and swirly details.

How to paint Shabby Chic furniture

1    Clean you object and make sure to remove any dirt and old paint. Sand it by using sandpaper, and use a damp cloth afterwards to remove any sawdust. Allow the surfaces to dry completely before next step.
        
2    To achieve that distressed Shabby Chic look, apply petroleum jelly to your chosen features on the object. You can apply the petroleum jelly with brushes, cotton swabs or fingertips. Apply to the edges, raised details or any other desired area, but use the petroleum jelly sparingly - it only takes a dab to keep paint off of the surface. If you use too much your paint will smear!
        
3    Paint your object with several coats of some kind of semi-off white paint, such as eggshell white or antique white. Once the paint has dried, use a soft cloth to gently peel away the layers of paint over your petroleum jelly application. When you have removed the paint, use a cloth soaked in warm water and dish soap to clean the surfaces and remove the petroleum layer.

4    Let the cleaned surfaces dry completely and then add any finishing touches to your Shabby Chic look using a piece of sandpaper to distress any surfaces you like. It is then up to you whether you want to leave the object as is to allow further peeling and distress, or if you want to protect your work with a coat or two of matte polish.

Vintage feel bed for your baby

One of my best friends is pregnant with her first child, which means she would need to start thinking about furniture for a nursery very soon. The baby deserves the best, of course, but since it will grow up to be a toddler very quickly, it's difficult to buy furniture that will be suitable for many years. You don't want to buy a crib that you only use for a couple of years, and then have to replace it with another bed when the child is getting bigger. So what about a bed that you can easily turn into several defferent variations?
My friend's house is very country side like when it comes to the interiors. It's simplistic, with white wooden walls, and rustic white painted furniture. Very Swedish summer cottage like - except it's a big house! I absolutely love this style, and I've found this gorgeous child's bed that would go perfectly in her house.

The crib is very clever - look how it turns into a toddler bed in just one simple step!

You can also remove one of the sides completely and make it into a daybed.

When your child is too big for the bed you can easily make the bed into a double bed for yourself.

The bed is from the furniture store Bonavita, and it's from the Francais Collection, and this is how it's being described on the website:

Reminiscent of treasures found in the French countryside, the Francais Collection offers a vintage feel and understated elegance. The details found in the scalloped apron, cabriole legs and hand distressed finish allow you to create a soothing and lovely Villa ambience.

Space saving sofas

Space is something a lot of people are struggling with, whether you live alone in a tiny one-room apartment, share a place with your partner, or have a big family in a house. Here are a couple of tips on how you can save space in your home with some great sofas.

Have you ever considered investing in a daybed? This is a great piece of furniture if you live in a small apartment. The daybed works as a sofa during the day, and at night you use it as either a single or a double bed. I think daybeds look really charming, and I always wanted to live in a small apartment on my own, just so that I could have one. With some pretty cushions and a throw you can easily make it look like a normal sofa during the day.
There are two standard models of daybeds; the drawer trundle type and the pop-up trundle type. There is a second mattress under the bed that you can easily pull out to make your daybed into a king size bed.

Chaise longue sofas have become extremely popular during the last 10 years or so, but if you are lacking space in your livingroom this kind of sofa might not be an option. Why not opt for a sofa with a recliner? The recliner chairs in the sofa result in you ending up in that comfortable position you want - a bit slouched, legs stretched out... it's just like a chaise longue sofa, but a lot more space saving! And you don't have to fight with your partner or family members about who is going to sit in the comfy spot - you all get one each!

Rococo mirror - Expensive high-street vs. Budget

The Rococo era is one of my favourites. I love all the swirly and dramatic patterns inspired by nature itself.

The latest thing I've been looking for for my house is actually something to put in the bedroom on a big empty wall (the boyfriend finally took the massive TV down! Who needs a TV in the bedtroom?! Talk about killing the mood...) and I was thinking that this mirror from Next would look perfect on that particular wall (comes in black or silver). --->

I think it's absolutely gorgeous, and I would do anything to have it... except pay £100. One hundred pounds?!! Are they serious? I'm sorry, but it's just not worth it...

The other day I went to IKEA to buy a fancy looking toilet seat for our new flashy bathroom, and I spotted this Rococo frame for only £24.99 (Ung Drill). 

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It is pretty much identical to the frame of the mirror from Next, except the IKEA one is just a frame - not a mirror. You could easily swap the glass in the frame for a piece of mirrored glass though.

So my budget tips for today: Pay £24.99 + a cheap piece of mirrored glass instead of £100 for a complete mirror.
You don't have to thank me ;)

Dare to go purple

Do you cringe when you see an extremely coloured sofa like this one from Rum Interiör?
Are coloured furniture a big no no for you, or would you consider going for something extremely colourful?
Are you daring enough to let one piece of furniture dominate a whole room?
I must admit, I wasn't sure about it the first time I saw this purple sofa, but after having done quite a bit of research I found a lot of wonderful and inspirational homes with a daring style. Just look at the ones below, and start dreaming away to the livingroom of your dreams.
It's very interesting to see the different ways people decorate a room with a purple sofa. Some make it stand out against a white wall and keep the decorations of the room very simple, while others go for a very dramatic style where the sofa kind of blends in with the rest of the room.
What would you prefer?

Amazing bathroom find!

I never knew it would take this long for professional bathroom builders/plumbers to re-do 2 bathrooms!

My boyfriend and I decided to clear out our old and ugly bathrooms completely, and hired a team to build the new ones for us from scratch.
They estimated that it would take 10 days to do both, but it has been 10 days now, and they're not even finished with the first one. 

I'm getting really tired of this now... messy, dusty house, having to shower at work, etc... But I am 200% sure it will be worth it in the end.

I just can't wait to have it all done. It's going to look so nice! I'm taking photos of the progress every day, and I will post them here when it's all done.

While we're waiting, let me tell you about the amazing find my boyfriend did. We had initially ordered a floating basin unit from Wickes, but apparently it wouldn't work in the end, so after having done a bit of browsing online he came across a bathroom shop called Victoria Plumb and they had a 75% sale on!!! We ended up buying 3 pieces of furniture - one floating basin unit (excluding the basin - we found a much nicer one that's oval), 1 floating tall cabinet, and one mirror cabinet - all for about the same price of what one tiny thing from Wickes would have cost. 

I'm gonna say what the English people are known for saying; WHAT A BARGAIN!