home sweet home

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Orangery redo – Part I

Hello my friends! I am in the middle of moving furniture all around the house, because next week the painters will arrive to repaint our orangery! I wrote about our orangery in an earlier post HERE. We really enjoy sitting in this place, gathering around the fire place with family and friends! It is almost 4 years ago since we moved in our home and some places, as the orangery, really need to be repainted. When we moved in, we painted the walls of the orangery in a flat grey color but I am done with it at this moment! I really wanted something new…! Jan and me have decided to paint the walls in a lime wash painting.

Here are two pictures of how the orangery actually looks like.

Photo credit : Jo Pauwels for Beta-Plus publishing

Photo credit : Fotografie Claude Smekens

The passed weekends, I was browsing through my collection of BETA-PLUS books to find some inspiration for this orangery redo.

Mainly in these 3 titles of the Beta-Plus publications I found the most suitable images to explain the painters what I really wanted the walls have to look like :

COMPENDIUM COLOUR & TEXTURE (to see a preview click HERE)

CONTEMPORARY LVING WITH ANTIQUES (to see a preview click HERE)

LIVING WITH COLOUR

To choose the exact paint color, we have to take a few elements into consideration :

The lime paint has to match the color of the oak roof construction,

has to match the brick stone floor,

and has to go with the black colored steel windows.

I definitely want to use again linen fabrics for the window treatment and the sofa upholstery.

Actually I love the earthy color of these antique chinese vases in my kitchen and…

… the sandy color of this antique Syrian vase.

Believe it or not, this will be the basic point to determine the exact lime wash paint for the orangery walls!

This sample of the Belgian Libeco linen is beautiful!!!! A mix of earthy and beige tones!

Wonderful together with these lime wash paint tones! Isn’t it!

Lime wash paint 2

Our painter promised me to mix and match the color of the lime wash paint, during the application next week, untill he will become the exact, required color!! Great isn’t it? So,that gives us the possibility to even change the color if we don’t like it!

The chosen color needs to have tones which are present in the pointing of the floor bricks,

and which are seen in the oak ceiling beams,

and seen on the chimney piece of the orangery!!!

Because the orangery is in connection with our kitchen, as you can see on the picture here below, chosen fabrics and painting have to go well with the kitchen color palette.

Photo credit : Fotografie Claude Smekens

I have chosen for this Libeco linen sofa upholstery, that is for sure!

We decided to not change the window treatment fabric because it has to match the black steel windows.

The slipcover of the existing 2-seats sofa will be changed into the chosen Libeco linen color as shown above.

Photo credit : Fotografie Claude Smekens

On the other side, in front of the 2 windows, I have chosen for a new large, straight sofa (upholstery in the same fabric as the 2-seat sofa).

I can’t show you a picture of it, because it doesn’t exist yet! The sofa will be new-made for us! But it will look a bit as the sofa on the image here below.

Here are a few inspirational pictures about the color palette and furniture I love to see in the orangery.

image source : Alexandra Siebelink

image source : Axel Vervoordt

I love the combination of a large coffee table in front of a large straight sofa!

I will tell you more about the choice of furniture and decorative items in a later post about the orangery-redo!

I do hope that our dog Ralph will love the new look because the orangery is also his bedroom at night!

Talk to you soon!

The French greige

Det är härligt att låta sig inspireras av utländska hem, det blir annars så likriktat svenskt allting. Det här huset i Provence i södra Frankrike och har den franska ganska typiska ljusa greige putsen både på väggar och golv som matchar perfekt med deras klassiska stenväggar. Att inredningen sen går i vitt, naturfärg och trä gör att det blir ett väldigt jordnära och harmoniskt intryck. Kul att de blandat ruffa trämöbler med moderna lite mer 'snygga'. Om du undrar hur man ska kunna anamma det här i ett skandinaviskt hem, kika på dagens inlägg hos Linda.

Take a look at this house in Provence in south of France. I like the earth to ground colour scheme with the greige on both floor and walls, and also how they have mixed rough wooden furniture with a more modern neat style. It works really great and it looks calm and harmonic. Take a look at Living like Lindas post today, these walls in a more modern and scandinavian house.

Photo from photographer Nicolas Mathéus

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Make Your Own Lampshades

by: Dean Novosat

When redecorating your room, you may be faced with looking for new lampshades (or perhaps a lampshade you currently have has gotten damaged). So why not make your own!

If your lamp currently has a lampshade on it, half of the battle is already won! You have a base to start building your new shade. When selecting a material for your new shade, you can use paper, fabrics, plastic, or any heat-resistant material. Do keep in mind though, that the surface of a 100-watt light bulb can reach over 200 degrees and could cause a fire hazard. Make sure the material you choose for a lampshade is either far enough from the light bulb, or is fire-resistant.

Next, have fun! Take a trip to your local craft store or fabric store and get some ideas for your fabric or other material for your shade. Remember, the more transparent the material, the more the color of your light will change by the material. If you use a lightweight, transparent green sheer material, your finished lamp will give off a greenish glow. On the other hand, a heavy piece of velvet (or how about some thin strips of tree bark) won’t allow much light through at all. Light will escape from the top or bottom of the lamp only. Keep this in mind as you plan your new lampshade.

To begin making your new lampshade, you will need the measurements of the current shade. If possible, take the old shade apart by carefully cutting it along it’s seams. You can then use this as a template for your new lampshade. However, don’t be stifled by the old shade! You can easily create an entirely new look with a piece of rigid wire, bending it into a new shape for a new shade. In this case, making a new cover may be a little trickier, but the process is the same. Simply cover the lampshade frame with your material. For fabric you can sew the seams or glue it. The same is true for other materials. If the glue is far enough away from the light bulb, you can even use hot melt glue.

The best part of making your own lampshades is that if you don’t like your creation, or you redecorate your room, you can quickly and inexpensively make a new lampshade.

About The Author

Dean Novosat holds a degree in Scenery and Lighting Design from Frankling & Marshall College and he uses his knowledge and experience with theatrical lighting in the home. He feels the home is just a blank canvas or stage that we choose to live in! He is the webmaster of http://www.only-lamp-shades.com and he enjoys using light in unique and different ways in the home.

Improving your home and your life only at Home Improvement Idea : http://home-improvement-idea.blogspot.com

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Vårinspiration från Åhléns

Wow, 492 som följer bloggen via bloglovin, det är så kul att se hur det går, i och för sig väldigt sakta men, uppåt. Du vet väl att om du följer min blogg via bloglovin så har du möjlighet att få ett mail varje gång jag gör något nytt inlägg.

Åhléns skickade ut nya inspirerande vårbilder för någon vecka sen. Så här ser de ut.

New spring inspiration from Åhléns.

Pressbilder

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Kitchen island lighting fixtures

Choosing the most suitable lighting fixture for your kitchen island isn’t always that evident. There is a lot of choice of different kinds of fixtures, as lanterns, glass and shades pendants, industrial pendants, chandeliers. Passed weekend I was searching for an island fixture to hang above the kitchen island of one of my clients and I realized that there are quite a lot of possibilities to add the most beautiful lighting into your kitchen. Depending of course of the design style of your kitchen. Either you have a rustic or industrial styled kitchen, a contemporary or a more traditional styled kitchen, you will always find that fixture that fits your style.

I posted some images of kitchen island fixtures to inspire you to make your best choice.

Enjoy!

Lanterns

Image source Erin Martin