I am low on creative fuel.....*

News from the place of my birth, Poland, has been very sad since Saturday and I am not my usual busy-body self, senses darting here and there....it's a quiet, introspective time....

I did, however, stumble on Pappas*Miron, a truly interest-worthy interior design firm of

Alexandra Pappas and Tatyana Miron.

This style of design truly speaks to me. It is fresh and almost minimalist but not quite - neither too much nor too little - just enough. The colour combinations are also modern and comforting.

 

Photos: pappasmiron.com

Oh, and did I mention purple rocks?

If you follow this blog, you know purple makes blood rush extra-happily through my veins!
Trust me when I say that if I could have purple, as opposed to rosy, cheeks, I would!

Purple comes in many shades - this makes it versatile and multi-faceted...

The combination of purple and black (one of my favourites) is modern and urban...

Purple can also be very romantic, feminine, gentle and dreamy....

I always smile when I see brave souls incorporating purple into their outdoors - homes, gardens and even cars! C'mon, give it a try!!!!!

I wish you ALL a memorable weekend! ox

Photo of dandelion by AJ
Credits go to the following, incredible Flickr members:
(in order of appearance):
tengtan
Ian Dinnebier
derene8187
KPieper
Pieter Musterd

Green is good for your eyes!

Found under synonyms for "green":

apple, aquamarine, beryl, bice, blue-green, chartreuse, fir, forest, grass, greenish-blue, jade, kelly, lime, malachite, moss, olive, pea, peacock, pine, sage, sap, sea, spinach, verdigris, vert, viridian, willow

My dear Mother told me that when she was a little girl, her parents would take her and my aunt for long walks in the woods - sounds basic and natural for us today, doesn't it? Sure, except that in the 40s, when she was a child, such walks were connected with the belief that actually looking at the colour green was good for your eyes! Sounds silly if we take the superstition literally but let's step back for a moment - being surrounded by green, as in nature, IS good for us, so they were clearly on to something....

 

There are a thousand shades of green and, therefore, a myriad of possibilities when it comes to including green in your home decor...

~try a green accent wall~

hey, that dog could use a splash of green!

~Green cabinets are funky and fun...not to mention very au courant right now!
Green is synonymous with "eco-"....

I have always been a fan of blue and green together, in the right shades...here, an Ikea cabinet was given new life with the addition of a blue background...wonder if they painted the backboard or the actual wall behind it?

One of the hottest trends these days is mixing green with South Beach colours - here, a stunning Kabloom wallpaper works its magic in combination with vibrant aqua blue splashes of colour...

Another example of green+South Beach....

Gorgeous, luscious green, and good for your eyes too!

credits: HouseandHome
collages by AJJ

Punctuated by Purple ~ One

My life is punctuated by the colour purple...
~it makes me smile~
...aren't these alliums incredible? They grow from perennial bulbs and are related to onions! I am forever amazed at how resistant aliums are to wind and rain..it's as if their stems are secretly reinforced....learn more about them here...

Purple is not violet but it's ok - mixing up the two is completely acceptable ~ afterall, there are many, many shades of both colours and they both fit into the range between blue and red....
Purple is a super accent colour - it works well with a pastel hue, bringing some colour interest but letting you maintain  a subdued palette.

My very favourite Vogue cover - August, 1957...

A home in Dublin, Ireland.....I am so glad that there are people out there who wear their love of purple on their sleeve or walls, as is the case here!

Lavender and purple work well together as well! ~ blue and purple are a romantic combination as well...

Mr. Depp is clearly a fan of my favourite colour and I am a fan of HIS!

Add some purple of your life today!

Grey and purple..a super-cool combo!

Dreamy, Italian-romantic purple..

If I had shutters, I would paint them purple..just like these folks in Alsace, France...

Magnifique!!

 Purple? not quite but lovely nonetheless....I believe this is a bridal shop in Waterford, Ireland

(I googled it - wink)

credits: Flickr: farm1, Ben,
travelblog.org, jerisheyaphotography.com, decorpad.com, photothing.com, danheller.com, vogue.com, jaxrabbit.wordpress.com

Colour Anchors

With age, I am better at verbalising what I like in interior design, at least I think I am...it's one positive quality of the aging process - understanding what we want, saying what we want and being more uncompromising in our quest to get it....

I like cool interiors, anchored together by colour...by cool, I mean the base palate is to be on the "Nordic" side, so to speak, white or pale grey, lavender or even blue/lilac (you know how much I looove purple)....
Colour is then inserted, like Cool Aid into a glass of plain water, to give the space bounce and punch...this allows the eyes to bounce excitedly from focal point to focal point....the word for the day  - "bounce"
* I am being silly

Look at this incredible kitchen - that yellow is simply smashing! There is just enough of it to let the eye bounce....the proportion of colour to background is important, in my view...too much colour and the effect is lost...

Another excellent example of that I mean here...in this kitchen, a number of colours work together but in my view, the green is the anchor...
Kevin and I are in the process of painting our fireplace a cool ink colour. Our wood floor is a cool, dark brown and the walls are a shade of grey. With splashes of purple and fuschia, the look is what I call
"Modern Lounge".
All of the photos come from the fabulous Canadian interior design magazine, which I simply adore, called
Canadian House & Home.

The Secret Life of Flowers

When the sun fills my garden with colour, I spend a lot of time listening to flowers and trying to capture their
beauty with my camera....
..they have secret lives, you know....I come very close to them so I know a little about them..
~they have personalities, strengths and weaknesses...joys and disappointments...when we are not watching, they engage in lively conversations....

Bring your ear a little closer...they may share their secrets with you too....



All photos by AJ

Anglomania

Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania Spring/Summer 2010 Collection....

..presented at Selfrigdes in November, 2009

Inventive...feminine and yet definitive....

 

When I grow up, I want to be like Dame Vivienne....

via style.com