Frangipani flowers

I love changing things around at home.

Today, it was the frangipani flowers I picked.

I really wanted to display them almost individually and enjoy 

their scent for days to come, so I used the candle holder in the 

dining room and traded the candles for water and flowers.

They give the candle holder a delightful twist.

Simple or elaborated ?

If you had me choose between 

simple or elaborated decor I will

probably chose simple.

This dining room is a good example.

I think simple makes it easier for you to be functional.

Since by nature I am a collector - which 

usually leads to clutter - "simple" kind of helps

me stay balanced.

Now, don't get me wrong I appreciate

all those elaborated homes, with pillows,

throws, zillions of paintings hanging on the wall,

and colorful rugs, however just to think of all 

the cleaning involved I get a little jittery.

I think it also translates to what I wear..
I try to keep it simple.

How about you ?

Christmas 2010

Here are a few shots 

(finally!) 

of the Christmas tree and other decoration

that I am still working on....

Ornaments for this tree are from so many different places, I

cannot even begin to tell you !

The dogs are constantly hoping that one of the mice will fall off the tree

so they can play ...

They also like to snoop around and see if they can 

find any presents for them....

A few years ago they got upset as there were not presents for them 

under the tree, so they decided to pee on the rest of the gifts and

chew on some ornaments.

Now we make sure to have one present for each of them.

(Lesson learned)

My dress form aka "La Señora" is also into celebration,

she stands in the living room wearing my green cardigan and

some star lights we picked up at Ikea a few years ago.

Some of the same star lights were added to my Nativity scene.

A new miniature Nativity scene was added to the collection, it was 

a gift from a dear uncle.

 

Santa's reindeer - well they have been around for over 

20 years too...

Finally the living room table ...

Happy Holidays !

Bed Hunt Over

My IKEA Morkedal bed (below) broke a little over a year ago.

I was in Argentina at the time when my H informed me 

the front part had broken in two pieces.

I told him to remove the legs and let the bed

sit on the floor and that when I got home we

would deal with it.

And so my search began.

I was not very clear on exactly what I wanted, all

I did want was a big padded headboard.

We started hitting at least 4 furniture stores per weekend.

He was going insane, he really liked the one above and 

I almost succumbed and bought it.

But, it was not what I wanted.

Months went by and we kept on visiting furniture stores,

at least once a month.

I had something like below in mind, but anything 

similar to this was totally out of my budget.

So the bed hunt continued.

My H had lost it more than once, he refused to look

at any more beds.

So I did one final round at the stores and

had two finalists:

This one...

The other one was this:

They were within the same price range.

Then we both agreed on: Calligari's

It was delivered two days after we bought it

and assembled the same day !

So, this is my new bed.

I like it, the only thing is that now I need to do some

work on the room so it will match the bed.

I will be removing the artwork on the wall and will

replace it with something more subtle.

I will also paint and probably get new curtains.

So, this is not over... but is it ever ?

Guest Bathroom

Three years ago when we moved into a 35 year old 
apartment many things had to be either repaired 
or remodeled.

The guest bathroom was one of them. 

It was torn down and rebuilt entirely.

(I now wish I had taken "before" pictures)

The wall and floor tiles were replaced, new faucets 

lamp and mirror were installed.

Of course little details were added as a gel stick-on 

flower vase (on the mirror).

IKEA was my source for shelving, lighting, 

towel and toilet paper holders.

On the shelf I keep vintage bottles such as the

Listerine one which is probably my favorite.

This bathroom is rather small. 

It has a window in the shower area which is extremely

old and needs to be replaced.

Since we will not be replacing it for sometime, just chose

to install the tube that holds the shower curtain really high,

the closest to the ceiling.

Kept the regular curtain rod with a clear plastic 

curtain to maintain the textile one dry.

(which you can see due to back lighting)

The textile curtains are from IKEA and I guess they are 

meant for other living spaces but, they work well here.

One of my favorite things about this bathroom is the ceiling 

which is painted in a light green tone.

I would like to do other changes here, yes, specifically the

window and probably replace the door... it's amazing how

we are just NEVER DONE !

Well, maybe I should day I AM NEVER DONE.

Everyday view

I take my everyday pictures in a small 

balcony in our apartment.

Mostly because of the lighting as I use

my cel phone camera and it needs all the

help it can get.

And in case you have ever wondered, this

is what I usually look at while waiting to hear that

*click* from the camera.

It's not always this nice, sometimes it's

dark and cloudy.. other days it's pouring rain but, 

most of the time it's a pleasant view.

I wish I could remove the buildings from the view...

so I could see the mountains !

Home: My Bathroom

We moved to this 35 year old apartment about 3 years ago.

We knew that we needed to have many things fixed.

It was something we were aware of and ok with.

Our first task: the bathrooms.

The apartment has 3 bathrooms, 

we decided to remodel two of them.

This is the one in the master bedroom.

It is a small bathroom and in my head it is 50%

finished, while my H thinks it's done.

We replaced everything here. Everything, but the mirror.

Floors, tiles, toilet, sink, shower head....you name it.

It was hard work choosing all the materials 

and then living under tons of dust for weeks.

Finishing touches like the stainless steel storage fixture on the wall, 

the drawers under the sink, the round mirror, the toilet paper holder 

and the towel holder are from Ikea.

(Have I told you I love Ikea?)

 

One of the last things that we did, 

well more like I drove my H insane to do, 

was paint the ceiling in silver.

(Sorry I forgot to take a picture)

The original idea was to install a bathtub... 

well the idea remains the same.

My favorite part of taking a shower is being able to look outside.

I can see the ocean and sometimes even cruise ships.

Sometimes I see my neighbor taking a shower :o(

When I shower, I do wonder if there is anyone looking, 

so I make my them very short.

Upholestered Living Room Part 2

A few weeks back I posted a picture of what my living room 

sofas looked like before and after they were professionally upholstered.

The first time I posted about this, the idea of adding colorful cushions came up and as you can see I listened and added some color.

Then, I asked for suggestions on anything 

else I could do 

to improve the area.

One of the suggestions was from Delane at Euphoric Agony she commented on the white tables being kind of tiny and that maybe I should work in getting the leather bench in the middle and putting trays and using it as a table.

Here it is...

Needless to say, I have already began receiving compliments !

Close up of items on the tray: Painted shoe horn (Uruguay), 

Pharmacy jar (Peru), plant pot from IKEA, flowers dried up by me.

There is still a lot of work to be done at home, but the living room seems like a good place to start.

After the Upholster

Last September, 

after almost 7 years we decided to upholster our living room sofas.

They get a lot of sunlight as I do not have curtains so they were no longer blue but kind of turning purple.  

BEFORE

After they were changed to this shade I was a little jiffy about it.

I had mentioned then that I need to get some cushions, which I finally did..

I usually move the pillows around, as I do the furniture.

Most of the time I have just brown, gray and that shade of bright lime together. But, for the pictures I did otherwise.

Now that I look at the pictures, the pillows look kind of frumpy.

I know I drive my H crazy sometimes when I start rearranging furniture.

One of the reasons we bought this set was because I felt I could change it around and around and have different "looks".

They are really light, so I don't even need his help I just push them around.

Another thing that we changed were the sofas' legs. 

They use to be metal, they are now wood.

We changed them because the metal had rusted as we live close to the ocean.

Stainless steel is a myth here, it rusts.

:0)

My home is not close to being finished, anyways I think that trying to decorate it is just something that is endless.

So what do you think ? 

Would you have chosen a different color to upholster, for the legs, for the cushions ?

Living Room Upholstering...

A few weeks back I mentioned that I was excited because my living room furniture was being upholstered.

I have had these for over 5 years so it was about time.The one thing I love about them is that I can move them around and I can be creative with them.

When I got home that day and saw my upholstered sofas I was not very happy.

That is probably the reason why I did not ramble about it any time sooner.

Now, that I have gotten used to the new shape and color I present to you the before and after pictures.

What do you think ? Do you think I should be happy with the results ?

I am thinking about adding some cushions for color later on ...