The art of recycling old wood

Nowadays, furniture of solid wood is becoming more and more of a rare thing. Due to the mass production of trendy furniture, companies have swapped their solid wood furniture to cheaper "saw dust furniture" with simple wooden veneers. Therefore, when you get your hands on some proper wood you should make the most of it. Just look at the picture above - an old window can easily be turned into a shabby chic style photo frame.

Some drift wood can be turned into a hanging fruit basket. You don't need to be particularly handy, but it's only a very simple design. Just add a lick of paint to it, and print some simple letters on it. Very stylish, and perfect for a country style or a nautical inspired kitchen.

Got a bunch of old wooden fruit and vegetable boxes laying around at home? Why not turn them into a bookcase?

Pallets are good for nothing outside a warhouse... or are they? If you saw one in pieces it can easily become a few hanging shelves for the livingroom. Perfect for placing smaller things like photo frames on.

Don't throw away those old window shutters! Although they might not be in style on the outside of your house they can work as a super trendy headboard for your bed.

Wall decor ideas for a nursery

It's a baby boom going on at the moment - at least amongst my friends. And therefore, I have put together some inspirational images on nurseries, with a theme on trees and owls. I found the above picture on some website a while back, and was super inspired by it. I love everything about that wall decoration - the colour, the shape of the branch, the cartoon-like owls... it's just a perfect detail for a child's bedroom!

A more simple version of owls and trees above and below. I like the fact that the design of this is more as if a child has painted it. Very cute, and the colours are really nice, buit can of course be changed to your own taste.

Below is a slightly more grown up design, but it would still be suitable for a child - just look how gorgeous this nursery is! I love the combination of this bold blueish turquoise with the black, white and bright yellow.

The picture below is actually a creation made by myself. When I moved in with my boyfriend in the summer of 2011 I made one of the guest rooms into a creative project. The purpose of this room is not to be a nursery (there really aren’t any plans of babies yet!) but I simply call it my “creative room”. You can read all about how I painted this olive green tree on my other blog The CreativeArtista. This tree is kind of like my masterpiece – I am so happy with it! And sure… if we were to have kids in the future and we still live in this house I guess this would be suitable as a baby room…

 

Creative thinking...

I'm thinking of some ways to make my teal coloured kithen wall look a bit more interesting. I just created this on my computer after having read this great life motto somewhere. It's definitely something to keep thinking about, and I'll probably make a few variations of this text before I decide which style to go for, but this is a first idea. What do you think? I'm a bit obsessed with life mottos and the fact that you only have one chance to live, and I think this sentence is great.

The swirly furniture of the Rococo style

One of my favourite interior and furniture styles is the Rococo, which is also referred to as late Baroque – good to know for those of us who get our eras mixed up. This is a style of the 18^th century that was developed in Paris, which you will understand if you go visit the Palace of Versailles.

While the Baroque style is more symmetrical, the Rococo style is more playful, graceful and more focused on floral patterns. You will often see Rococo furniture that are of asymmetrical designs with curvy details of gold, while the base of the furniture are of either creamy colours or pastel hues.

This is a style and design associated with Louis XV's reign and the beginning of that of Louis XVI. Just look at the modern homes below decorated with this particular style - it's all so inspirational.

I love the fact that the Rococo style can look so different. Above is a more casual style with simple carved wooden furniture of creamy colours, and below you can see an amazing bureau with fancy gold details.

It wasn't just the furniture of the Rococo era that was carved out with swirly patterns, but every ornament in the house was adapted to this style - just look at the swirly mirror and the cake stand below!

Rococo furniture and the furniture of Louis XV has such an amazing style, and although I love the "clutter" of the rooms above I would love to decorate my future dining room like this more simple Rococo style below. I think the simpler white style with the swirly details and that gorgeous chandellier is such a lovely combination.

My personal home decorations

Adding some life to your home can be as simle as putting up some small decorations - it doesn't have to be more complicated than that. These are some of the decorations I've added to my house lately...

In the small guest bathroom I've gone for a bit of a nautical theme, inspired by the round window in that room. This glass ball was bought at the Range, and the blue bottles are from Next's home collection.

In my two upstairs bathrooms I've gone for a very simple style. We redecorated these two bathrooms from scratch earlier this year, and I think the tiles and mosaics are nice enough, so you don't really need any other decorations. I've simply gone for a pretty white orchid in one of the windows, and three wavy style bottles from a local Leeds store.

These scented purple and stripy block candles add a nice little touch to our bedroom. These, and the ceramic tray they stand on, are both from IKEA.

 Best home buy of the year! When I came across this lamp in Leeds Corn Exchange (Yellow Sunrise) it was love at first sight! I love the combination of metal, wrapped fabric and grass like details. Super pretty, and it goes perfectly in our purple, black and white bedroom. (on my side of the bed, of course)

On my dear boyfriend's side of the bed you'll find this high vase of black and silver, full of plastic flowers of different types. This is all from the Range - a shop I could walk around in for hours. They've got so many nice home decorations, and it all comes quite cheap.

Keep coming back for more updates of my house :)