Lots of love for Lotta

I've spotted an incredible stylist who has my heart completely today! Lotta Agaton is freelance stylist in Sweden who has styled images for some of my fave places like H&M Home and Elle Interiör where it doesn't matter if you can't read Swedish, you can just enjoy the visuals!
Lotta has a portfolio of stunning images which you can view for yourself here but I have gathered some of my faves together.

 I am so in love with this room. Often a black and white room can appear stark and cold, but the 'lived in' look of the sofa cushions as well as the hints of green leaves make this feel like a very liveable room. Don't even get me started on the wall too. I want everything there!

These images almost could form an inspiration board for me. I am totally in love with the simple black and white palletes used in most of these images, and the typography - swoon! I also love the dusty pink of the chair in the bottom right image. It's a little bit retro and not a too 'girly' pink that it makes it look too feminine. I've no idea where the incredible typographic prints come from, but they are a constant feature of Lotta's work.

 

More typography and prop wonderfulness! Again I love the shot of greenery which brings these scenes to life and gives them a scent. I also have total envy for all the beautiful, quirky and fun accessories in these shots. I think that is one of the strongest draws for me to Lotta's work, there is always something fun, whether it's a great quote in a print or a wooden hand flipping the middle finger!

Anyway, I hope you like this tiny glimpse into this talented ladies work. Please check out the online portfolio as it is jam packed with amazing images, you can also read Lotta's blog here where you will see her inspiration sources. Finally you can become a fan on facebook (search Lotta Agaton Interior Stylist) and check out some behind the scenes of some of her photoshoots. It actually has made me miss my previous life as an assistant stylist!

Christmas Inspiration - H&M Home 2010

H&M Home once again have put together beautiful inspirational Christmas looks for 2010. Though we can't buy the lovely products (unless you are in a select few European countries), we can get inspiration and ideas to follow. So here is Christmas 2010 according to H&M.

This Christmas trend is wonderful and feminine and let's you use homewares and textiles you already have and can use again at other times of the year. I really like the lace accents, especially the hanging piece over the table. I also think the silver and white combination works in both a wintry Northern hemisphere as well as the hot, summer Christmas we enjoy down here in the Southern hemisphere.

In this more traditional Christmas look, it is the use of natural linen and canvas which gives a modern, relaxed look. I love the use of traditional typefaces and icons to give a vintage feel.

 

Finally, for a modern Christmas look go for this purple, black and bling look. The purple can be substituted for any colour you like, just make it bright so it  jumps out from the glamorous black and blingy setting.

To check out the H&M Home Christmas Trends visit the website here

What's your favourite look? I think mine is the red and linen combination because of it's relaxed yet traditional feel.

lace lovely - etsy faves

A fine way to finish a busy week is to share some of my latest etsy faves. It's funny how I don't notice a theme to my 'hearts' on etsy, until I step back and see them all together. Lately I've been loving lace and all things textural.

First up is this beautiful lace wrapped locket from Blue Bird Lucy's. So pretty and feminine! I really appreciate the product photography too! It makes such a difference don't you think?

Another lacy jewellery piece that has caught my eye is this White Lace Textured Pendant  from efiwarsh. This time rather than wrapped in lace, the texture is imprinted into the clay. I love the gold that has been added into the imprint!

My 3rd lacy find is from a shop that frankly I could go nuts in! This is a lace rubber stamp from karuku.

Top of my wishlist would be this beautiful set of stamps presented in a wooden box. I would go stamp crazy!

Finally, a small deviation from lace, but on the fabric, textured theme are these fabulous knitted porcelain vases from Alyssa Ettinger's beautiful range of knitwear pottery. She normally has a few more pieces, so bookmark and check back in later if this style takes your fancy too.

I hope you enjoyed my end of week blogging cram! 

Hopefully I can have a fuller week next week and embrace more pretty things.

bedtime dreaming

Have you discovered Serena and Lilly? I had not heard of this amazing store before, but somehow found myself recently getting lost in their catalogue online. It seems that they have star pulling power with with Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Garner as fans of their nursery ranges. 

I think that dressing your bed is such a little, simple pleasure that can make such a big difference. Over the weekend I swapped around the throw cushions I have on our bed, from creams and blue to greens, and it is like I have a new bedroom! I love how simple it is to make a decor change with linen and cushions. Here are some totally dreamy images from the June 2010 Serena and Lilly catalogue.

 

Aren't these dreamy images? The prints in the bed linen is wonderful, as are the combinations. I really like the bold black and white softened by the green, as well as the soft pink used under the crisp blue and white above. Now how about these kids rooms.....

A room certainly fit for a little princess, how wonderful is this colour combination... and for the boys there is this great sea inspired room.

I love the vintage sails hung behind the bed and paper pirate hat touches! I would love to know who the talented stylist is behind these images!
Warning:: try and avoid being clucky when you see some of the nursery images...

Again another incredibly styled image - how wonderful are the paper cranes! This colour pallete is divine too.

Here's another childs room with a pop of colour - a great combination of blue and persimmon/orange.
There is so much inspiration in this catalogue, I've come back a few times just to browse! I even love the way they display the paint colours available.

I also really appreciate that there are lot's of decorating tips both on their website and in the catalogue. They show you how to out some of their looks together.
Check out the Serena and Lilly website (there's a local Australian version too). You can head straight for the catalogue here too if you need more amazing inspiration.

a kindred spirit

It's no secret that I am an etsy fan and a place I like to visit for some inspiration is the treasury page. This where creative etsians pull together collections of products based on a theme, be it colour, shape, texture, season... pretty much anything. It's a great way to find new shops and objects to add to your favourites. I recently was drawn to a treasury by hoolacreation - it is a beautiful celebration of one of my all time favourite colours.

 {Soft and Romantic Treasury by hoolacreation}

I have already added a few pieces from this collection to my favourites.

I was so impressed with the collation of some many beautiful pieces of art, jewellery and clothing that I wanted more from this talented lady. It was at this point that I discovered that she and I were kindred spirits with similar tastes, and low and behold careers. We both are graphics designers, the only difference is she has channelled her creativity into creating wonderful products - something still on my "one-day" list.

 

 {funny and lovely colors treasury by hoolacreations}

Next up, I found this collection of aqua and red - a colour combination I recently blogged about here. My eye straight away went to the Handpainted Pattern Bowls from Kevin Oshea Designs (2nd left bottom row) and the Vintage Russian mechanical alarm clocks (far left bottom row - sold already unfortunately) from Clockwork Universe.

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 Another treasury colour combination is this orange and blue set called Goooood morning Etsy! There is definitely something very fresh and 'morning' like about these colours and once again some great products.
My picks: love on a sunday morning - framed print (top left) - such a tasty image, and the smiley face of the Shine mixed media collage print (2nd left - second row).

The final icing on the cake for me was this typographic celebration - Typographic addiction. I noticed a piece from plastique (the helvetica necklace) from which I still want buy something...anything. I've also now been introduced to another typorgraphy jewellery maker - junkprints. I love the visionary necklace (top row, 2nd from right). I noticed another familiar seller in Farouche whos cool Sugar and Spice tags I featured a few months ago here. This time it's the bold typographic print "you are here now" (top row - far right)
Now not only is hoolacreations a wiz at pulling together great etsy treasuries, she has a great store herself selling prints, bobby pins and necklaces. The style is a modern retro feel and very cool. Here are a few pieces that caught my eye. I seemed to be drawn to the green items - perfect for us southern hemisphere dwellers haning out for a sunny, green spring!

Round Round Handmade Bobby Pins

Spring 2 print

Spring Necklace

Catch up with hoola creations here there and everywhere: etsy, www, facebook, flickr & twitter

I want to live in CB2

I have some serious retail envy for anyone who has access to a CB2 store in the USA. As I flick through their catalogue I find myself thinking, yep I could live in that room, that room, pretty much every room. It's a combination of really cool and different products, with great styling and photography. Here are a few pieces I would buy and the rooms I would live in...

This room above is made cool by the Hive Storage Unit. Coming in blocks of 3 hives, you can stack them and combine them to make your own sculptural display to house books and other nick-nacks. Did you also notice the floor lamp with the red power cord? Finally a power cord you don't need to try and hide in and around furniture!

There are 2 features in this room that I would really like - the Gear 'C' Table and console table and then the incredible Chop Chop wooden side table/stool. I really like the combination of the minimalist glass and metal Gear range with the big, chunky timber pieces.

These Chop Chop pieces also have a great back story. Using recycled urban forest timber only from trees which have been felled if they are suffering from damage caused by wind or old age, the production process is then done with minimal environmental impact. Each piece is oiled and waxed by hand. Read more about some of the people behind this project on the product info page.

Another cool CB2 room here features the Array Silver bookcase. Also check out the use of it as a towel holder in the bathroom (click through the little pictures under the main one here)

 

I do have a thing for yellow and love this combination of yellow chairs with the timber table, but what really caught my eye was the collection of Lumi Candleholders clustered together in the middle of the table.

I like the simplicity of these shapes and how fabulous they look with a long taper candle in them. Even better, they are pretty cheap - $2.95 - $4.95 USD - so you could afford to buy many to recreate the clustered look.

This last room close up features some pure CB2 quirkiness. The un homme and une femme vases (on the wall in the background, are one of those great features you could add to your home for a bit of unexpected fun. You can top them up with anything you like and change the way they look. Again they are so cheap, only $6.95 USD so it doesn't cost a fortune to have something different!

To add some more fun to your workspace (because every office desk needs something fun) here are a few more accessories that make me smile... I hope they make you smile today too!

mr. white photo or memo holder

stikit tape dispenser

russian nesting dolls set of six

more marimekko

Here are a few more pieces of eye candy from Marimekko.

The Oiva tableware range combines a graphic black and white pattern with bursts of colour on simple shapes. The pieces were designed by Sami Ruotsalainen and the patterns are the work of Maija Louekari. I like the shapes of the pieces. They feel somewhat organic with the simple shapes. I also like the way the print isn't perfectly centred like on the large black and white plate.

Don't they look great all stacked and mixed together? I saw these pieces quite often and really like when they are mixed back with simple plain plates.
Another favourite is the Kippis range. Kippis means cheers is Finnish and this pattern was also designed by Maija Louekari.

 I can see some reference to the classic Kastehelmi range of glassware from Iittala originally designed by Toikka in 1964. I like the idea of referencing a piece of classic Finnish design (which you see in many Finnish homes) in a new design piece.

i wish - a bernabeifreeman fragment tray

OK so I truly wish for many pieces from bernabeifreeman, but this fragment tray would be a nice beginning for me!

geometric gems - Sex and The City

Bernabeifreeman are a duo whos cut lace lights and screens are featured in many fabulous locations locally and around the worldwide. I especially love their lace lights, but more appropriately for my theme this week, they have partnered with Designer Rugs to create an incredible range of rugs in their own graphic style.

Applique - 100% Wool Rug

 Brodie - Wool and Silk rug

With a strong geometric feel, I think that any one of these rugs adds an element of Arabian style to any room anywhere in the world. They would certainly be an amazing feature piece! I actually think they look very much like the light patterns you get from Moroccan style lanterns.

Bias - 100% Wool Rug, with a peek of a Lace screen in the background

Check out the full range of bernbeifreeman Designer Rugs here, and also view all the great range of lighting, screens and more at bernbeifreeman.