design: brick walls

I have a soft spot for brick walls. Recently I´ve been dreaming of a summer vacation in the french countryside ... or a weekend trip to New York. In both places I picture a flat or a house with brick walls and high ceilings. I´ve noticed that they have been quite popular recently, especially in restaurants but I think they can also look very nice in a home. You don‘t want to much of it though. It can be just a part of a wall and don‘t have to be so dominating and you can also paint it white but it will still have a bit of a raw look, enjoy!

–Elín Hrund

Photos: 16house / vararum / vtwohnen / husligheter / planete-deco / apenthus

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home visit: new york, sibella court

In the latest issue of Home and Delicious there are an interview with the Australian stylist Sibella Court.  I've always thought she's a very interesting person and super talented in her field. Her style could be described as kind of organised chaos, where she plays with completely different things and objects, intertwines them often in their simplicity and normality and makes an outstanding outcome. The photos show the home she had in New York, she recently moved back to Australia, and I feel the appearance must describe the person living there. Knowing her work, Sibella shows honestly her personality in what she does and for me that makes people outstanding. 

Photo courtesy Living etc / photography James Merrell

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on the right shelf

When I saw this image above, where the Hyllis-shelving by Ikea is used upside down, I realised it should be spoken out loud. I've always been a kind of fan of Hyllis; I think they are versatile, multifunctional, rustic, simple, truly cheap and much more. Hyllis is not just to put in the garage, use it outdoor and honestly in every room of your home. Turn it upside down, put it on the kitchen worktop up against the wall, on top of a low storage cabinet in the living room. It matches the high and low style and adds industrial and raw touch to a room. 

Facebook-page Elle Decorations and Ikea Livet Hemma

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tea of the month – april

etsy

Then I'll keep talking about tea. As you know I'm really into tea and every month I get a new tea in a little brown box through my post hatch. The tea of April is Puerto Rico, green Chun Mee tea with a hint of coconut and pineapple that makes it taste very fresh and a bit sweet. It's suitable for ice tea, I've never made myself ice tea, but now it's probably the right time. Making of ice tea; always use a great tea as a base as the ice tea will never be better that the tea used in it. Make a cup of tea as usual, pour it into a glass or a cup, as there's a lot of water added with the ice make the tea a bit stronger than usual. Add some sweeteners; fruits, fresh mint, honey, syrup to taste. Enjoy.

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"Law of Kindness" ~ A Homemaker's Victory

For the very first time, she kept her lips from moving...

It took all her strength for she had plenty to say. The careless comment her husband made brought a rush of red into her cheeks and with it, plenty of ammunition. She was exhausted, it had been a demanding day. But, "her way" of handling situations never went well. She was determined to cleave to the Scriptures and give that "soft answer".

So, not trusting her words, she simply smiled…

How the angels must have rejoiced at her triumph!

The rest of this true story is shared today at Deep Roots at Home, please join us…

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Make it Yourself Mondays, Homestead Barn Hop, Natural Living Tuesday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Simple Living Wednesdays, Homemaking Thursday's, Farmgirl Friday and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. 

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monday's mix – far and away

Monday! This weekend I finished reading the book Restoration by the Icelandic author Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson (one of Time Warner's CEO's). I really enjoy reading his books in icelandic as he write such a lyrical and beautiful text but I've heard that the translation of this book is extremely well executed. The story pulls us to the countryside of Tuscany and Rome in the Second world war and you can read more about it here. You can feel Italy, the landscape and the warm weather when reading it and as I'm still into that feeling I decided to post this beautiful retreat, Monteverdi, in Castiglioncello del Trinora in Tuscany. In the heart of Val d'Orcia region the village has undergone a transformative restoration and re-emerged as a veritable destination. 

miss design / homedsgn

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"Tidy Baking Pantry" Inspiration ~ Pantry Series

This cheerful space created by a very sweet reader (using our pantry labels) is sure to inspire…

This is what she shares about this special area in her home:

"When we purchased my great-grandmother's house in 1997, it was in great need of renovating, which we have been working on ever since. This shabby metal cabinet is the only thing that now remains of the original kitchen, and it is still serving a purpose keeping all of my baking supplies organized and pretty."

"The jars with the silver lids with the knobs on top are from Target, the rest are all reused from other products, some are newer and some are pretty old."

"Inside the cupboard, I keep all of my baking essentials. I like to make my own baking mixes for muffins, cornbread, pancake mix and biscuits and I've found the easiest way to store and use them is quart size wide mouth canning jars with a simple label on the lid."

"This is also a good place to make extracts since it's cool and dark inside. The paper bag on the right is my current vanilla extract in progress. The bag assures that it's nice and dark. The jar in the center is my finished vanilla extract that we are currently using. The small jar on the left is my newest project, lemon extract."

Isn't her baking pantry charming?  I hope you enjoyed your "tour" as much as I did! Thank you Melissa!

Here is how she applied our labels to her jars: First, she printed them onto printer paper and cut them to size. Next, she cut pieces of clear contact paper (about 1/2 an inch larger all around). She placed the pantry label onto the sticky side of the contact paper and carefully affixed them to her containers.

You will find Melissa's other beautiful projects in pictures here.

Did you spruce up your space with some of our printable labels? Please email me with your photos as I would love to see your prettified places. Happy homemaking!

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: Modest Mom Monday's, Make it Yourself Mondays, Homestead Barn Hop, Natural Living Tuesday's, Teach Me Tuesday, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Make, Bake, Create on Wednesdays, Whatever You Want Wednesday, Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Simple Living Wednesdays, Homemaking Thursdays, Farmgirl Friday and Deep Roots at Home. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. 

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friday on my mind

the poetry of material things / modern hepburn / madewell on pinterest

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style: white on light

That's what I hope I'm doing when I'm making my posts I name "style". I want to give some useful ideas of how to mix and match what you may have in your closet. If you want to and if you can, you can go and buy some nice clothes and accessories to really "do" the dress and finish the look. Fashion can be bought, style one must possess. That's what we are doing, right? 

White on white and white on light. A bright combination for spring. So classy, loose and light. Some maybe shy of mixing too light tones together, but not be. Everyone has some white and light coloured clothes in the closet. Make combinations of what you have, you can hopefully get some ideas from the images. 

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the summer is here!

Like I told you yesterday, today is the first day of summer here in Iceland. It's a holiday. 

The day started with some gifts to our daughters to celebrate upcoming summer...spring.

–Photo by Gunnar, shot in the summer of 2003 close to Kirkjubæjarklaustur–

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the last day of winter

Gunnar Sverrisson

The old Icelandic calendar says today is the last day of winter and tomorrow the first day of summer. It's a cute tradition and tomorrow many children will receive some small summer gifts. But though the summer starts tomorrow it's more the first day of spring. Spring, prima vera, vor in icelandic – beginning of something new, it's fresh, expressing youth and freedom. Hopefully for all of us. 

Merry and happy summer everybody as we will say tomorrow! 

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10 spaces – kitchens and a focus point

10

Kitchens with an X-factor, a certain focus point that make them stand out somehow. The kitchen is supposed to be the heart of the home, therefor never too often talked about and it's never too often we get useful ideas for that space. I've chosen ten kitchens for their X-factor, they awake my interest:

1. Tiled wall, open shelves, free and informal space, concrete and the furniture perfectly mixed in the space. 

Nothing conventional.  

2. The Vipp kitchen looks stunning, but notice the dark walls surrounding it and the 

rawness in the floor. Great match. 

3. Light blue and marble. Gorgeous. Why are people so sceared of using light 

colours on conventional fittings? 

4. Mix and match. 

5. Black and this greyish tone that suits it so well. I feel the furniture makes it different, like it. 

So light and the vignette breaks it all up. 

6. White and tiled kitchen island. 

7. Unconventional form of the cabinets on the floor. I like how it creates the 

space for kitchen tools. 

8. Rough and dark. Notice the wall shelving and how low it is placed on the wall, 

plus the lamp in the corner. 

9. Black and simple. 

10. Old drawers unit as taylor made for this space. 

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