Happy haunting!

'Tis now the very witching time of night,
When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out
Contagion to this world.
~William Shakespeare



'Tis is the night..


Happy haunting and gathering....

Victoria


Pictures by V. Zlotkowski

Happy Halloween!

From our ghostly home to yours!








A happy Halloween weekend to you all!
xx
Victoria



All pictures and decorations by V.Zlotkowski

Artful inspiration

I just found this painting by August Macke so inspiring ...


That I recreated it at home in a corner of my dining room...





Artwork by August Macke via google image, photography by V.Zlotkowski.

Dining chairs - before and after

After a few hours of work on my dining chairs they have a fresh face....It took the better part of the day to cut fabric and to staple it on to the frames. I used some batting to give a bit more support to the seat and now they are done! Strict orders have been given to mind the 'new' chairs, since they will be used at every meal...









And the bench had been done yesterday by me, trying out my skills and being quite happy with the results...



Now all I need is a manicure...
PS: And just click at House and Living above to see my recent acquisitions on Etsy and Ebay.


All handiwork and pictures by V.Zlotkowski.

A bench makeover

Beginning with the bench belonging to our dining chair set I worked Sunday afternoon to re-upholster the old and ripped fabric.
I replaced it with a wonderful fabric I found at my local fabric store. Having only to spend the money for 3/4 of a yard, the project cost me $35.00. Not counting the staples... And it took about 1 hour from start to finish.
The bench looked before pretty much like the chair and has been waiting for the right moment in the attic to be brought back to life.


All I needed was a staple gun with 3/4'' staples, scissors and a hammer to reinforce the staples a bit.


Notice the apple pie which my husband served to sustain me...


The green fabric hanging over the back of the bench will be used tomorrow to re-upholster all six dining chairs. Now I have confidence enough that it will work out, the bench was tricky, the fabric rather thick and not easy to stretch over the bench. My daughter was a great help.



I am really happy with the results...looking good with wallpaper and the curtains.



The chairs will hopefully be done by tomorrow.....

PS: And just click at House and Living above to see my recent acquisitions on Etsy and Ebay.



All pictures taken be V.Zlotkowski

Adore on Friday

The new Australian online magazine 'Adore' is a great addition to the online magazine family. Fresh and easy designs, many fabulous low budget solutions. Absolutely adorable!









Have a great weekend everybody! And do not forget to check out my latest home project found at House and Living! Just click above!

Victoria

Today I love

Light filled rooms. As the days get shorter and the sun doesn't shine these long summer hours anymore I appreciate light filled rooms even more.
I have been exploring artist spaces, these ones fit right in.
In Toronto a painter accustomed to crashing in his studio created an airy artistic haven with both working and living quarters for a more balanced and polished picture. Kent Monkman's
industrial style work and living space connects all the dots.



Modern living room in the Infiniski Manifesto House, Curacavi, Chile. James & Mau Architectura



This last image is a home in California. Build originally by the late architect David Boone for himself, it is now the private residence and work space for Primo Orpilla and Verda Alexander of Studio O & A.





Pictures from dwell magazine

Art and design

Often I am happy to find a lovely pairing between rooms and art work. This one I love for it's clear colors and lovely patterns. The lady could as well lounge on that pretty sofa and read her novel...and the artwork in the photo goes along! (I do not know the artist, but it's beautiful). The painting above is by August Macke, famous German painter belonging to the Blaue Reiter group. He painted his wife many times. I adore his work. To read more about him and see some of his work just click on his name.
I also adore Krista Ewart's interior design work!


And don't forget to have a look at some of my Halloween window ledge decorations at House and Living...please click above!




Image via google image. Interior source Krista Ewart.

Row, row, row my boat

Or in this case nothing sweeter then rocking the boat like this....


Found at the Etsy seller BeaverBoatworks.

Bjørn Wiinblad

Sometimes I find photographs or features in magazines which in turn result in an avalanche of information, inspirations and sometimes even shopping... Reading a few days ago in Elle Decoration (UK) about about Bjørn Wiinblad, the late Danish artist, this was exactly what happened.




His house delighted me in it's colorful glory and the living room reminded me of a painting by Gauguin.




I began to research his work and became truly excited, since some of it was utterly familiar. His ceramics and designs for
Rosenthal Porcelain are well known to me. Living in Germany in the 70's and 80' particularly at Christmas time one would find his whimsical designs on plates and vases.
I found beautiful examples of his work on eBay.



And I did go and bid on some fine piece!
And I got it...


Now on it's way to my house from good old England!

Day and night

I love to create vignettes in my house. Small collections of things which just happen to delight me get routinely changed and moved from room to room. Right now I love my little white and glass collection on top of an old dresser, which has been given a second chance in my house after I had rescued it from the curb in the neighborhood. A new paint finish and lovely new knobs gave it new life. This was a while ago and I love this piece ever since. It's functional too, holding candles, candies and games.
The small white vases were another project a couple of month ago...





It brightens this corner during the day, disguising the view into the kitchen and since it's in full view from my desk I can see these small things and many hold memories. The beautifully etched wine glass was a lucky find at a yard sale, Versace's greek key pattern for Rosenthal Studio Line...The small bird vase came from Salem on our journey to Massachusetts two summers ago, the small salt and pepper pigs are from this year's trip to Berlin and the lovely crooked candle holder was the farewell gift my oldest and his girlfriend gave to us only a few days ago.
At night I have tea lights inside the vases casting a soft glow into the room, inviting to sit and dream a little.




Do you change your collections?



All pictures by V.Zlotkowski