Little Boho Makeover At Home

Whenever in life we feel the need for change, there is one or several reasons triggering it. When I felt like it's time to make a little boho makeover at home, I think I was ushered by an inner drive caused by the warm summer weather, my recent trip to Serbia, the general desire to explore the world, colour inspiration from the streets. All these or maybe something else, I don't know exactly, I just know I gave in and rolled up my sleeves. Here we go.

First I was going through a stack of extra accessories I had at home. I found my vintage Boucherouite rug from Morocco (sourced at my Marrakech based friend Maryam's Red Thread Souk), a Mexican blanket, a Moroccan cushion, a very colorful bedspread, a vintage lithography of oriental folk costumes bought in Paris and my ever present collection of vintage ceramics, colorful vases and plants. That seemed like a good pile of home accessories with a boho touch.

Another important fact was my gallery wall in the living room. It's been up for like a year and I wanted to change it entirely. I needed a new center piece and I found a wonderful Mark Rothko art print on a wooden panel through allposters.de - I was immediately drawn to the blue and yellow interpretation. Around it I've decided to add some vintage and newer paintings. 

While unrolling the Boucherouite rug I started to play with it and tested it in my living room and in my bedroom. Personally, I prefer it in the bedroom cause it is more neutral and the vibrant colours and patterns of the Boucherouite come to full impact there. What do you think? After lots of shuffling around and a few coffees, I approached the end of my boho makeover.

As a person I see myself as a traveler, as an explorer. Traveling is the essence and makes me happy. But it is not only the travels abroad that keep me going. It is also the daily impulse to see the world around me with other eyes. I like to think of that as my boho soul. And thinking about it this way, I'm convinced that everyone could use a bit of boho in the life. Don't you agree?

Have a happy weekend, friends!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

This post was supported by allposters.de

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Giveaway: Art For Your Walls!

Currently I am in the midst of my own little restyling project at home. One of my tasks is a little gallery wall above my new sofa. Since I have quite a few framed art prints at home I started playing around with them, holding them against the wall and marking the desired placement with masking tape to get a better feeling for the look of the upcoming gallery wall. Little did I know that nowadays you simply pull out your iPhone, use an smart app and get an instantaneous impression of your future gallery wall. Sounds rad? Well, imagine my happiness when I discovered Artfully Walls, a new online shop for art with a smart application.

My friend and photographer Sivan Askayo emailed me a few weeks ago to introduce me to a project she's involved in as an artist - Artfully Walls. Since I am a huge fan of art prints and all kind of illustrations, I was interested in learning more. 

Artfully Walls offers a unique portfolio of art prints hand-picked by professional curators and showcased on beautifully styled gallery walls. This is a new way of seeing art prints in a more holistic concept of a gallery wall. You know, sometimes it feels so hard to group the right art pieces together without arriving at the deliberate chaos ending. The best thing is you can choose to either buy a single art piece or an entire gallery wall - all online, all with a single click.

To get even fancier, let's talk about the handy mobile app. I've tried it at my home and I've literally spent half an hour swapping gallery walls on my living room wall via the mobile app. The app uses augmented reality and recreates a realistic image of a gallery wall in your home. Fabulous!

And to top now everything I am happy to offer a fantastic giveaway with Artfully Walls to you my dear readers. We are giving away five art prints picked by me - so please feel free to tell me which is your favorite and you are in the draw for a free art print!

To join the giveaway:

• Leave a comment under this blogpost stating which art print you want to win.
• Like Artfully Walls on Facebook.
• Five winners will be drawn through random.org. The giveaway is open worldwide and closes on Friday, November 15th, midnight CET.

Good luck!

Photography via Artfully Walls

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

Sometimes it's a single things that catches my eye, sometimes it's a compositions, an entire setting that draws my attention. Today's chosen room, a lovely living room, belongs to the latter option. Here it's the entire composition that catches my eye and inspires me to ongoing little redecoration projects in my own home. Here are the three reasons why I love this room:

• Gallery Wall: A lovely curated gallery wall with personal memorabilia is a fabulous way to entertain the eye - be it your's be it your guests'. I am working on my own gallery wall at the moment and hope to accomplish it as beautifully as it is in this room.
• Powder Pink Accents: This is my favorite pink hue! It is so soft, discreet, gentle and partners perfectly with grey, green, black and white.
• Black & White Contrasts: The overall black & white contrasts in this room set a perfect stage for the former mentioned interior design elements. It is sort of framing the entire room and making it look sophisticated.

What caught your eye? How do you like this living room?

Photography via Ellens Album

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If I Was A Rich Boy (Na, Na, Na…): Art Lust!

I really, really love nice things to hang on the walls or lean on them. It is a little crush of mine. Actually, I am currently working on a gallery wall but that takes time - it must grow almost organically:-) 

Most of the time I buy pretty affordable art prints and illustrations. A few years ago I invested a bit more money in an original art piece of the Berlin based illustrator Olaf Hajek and it is my sort of luxury treat if you want so. 

A friend of mine told me about a site called artsation.com a few days ago. I had to glance at it of course - first because I love art and second because it's a Munich based online art gallery for contemporary art. So I clicked and clicked and well, I ended up with four favorite art pieces. Instantly I had the fiddler's tune in my head 'If I was a rich boy na na na…' - because if I were, I'd be spending money like right now. Of course I'd be living in a spacious lofty apartment where I could hang this fab art and dwell in my own little gallery. You see, it's a dreamy Friday today. But every now and then one must invest in good art, right?

Happy Friday, friends!

Photography: Gallery wall via Line Klein, art via artsation.com

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

Now this is a happy room, right? The colours, the patterns, the personal touches - this room tells the story of its owner. I imagine the owner to be a creative, cheerful person, always with a smile on and a healthy sense of humour. It is actually the living room of Danish artist and illustrator Anne Bundgaard. And if you have a look at Anne's work, you will confirm my first room-character-analysis. She must be a darn happy person! Apart from having a happy home this example comes in handy this week as I am off to Copenhagen, Denmark, right today! But more about my Danish adventures tomorrow. Let's now have a closer look on what caught my eye in this room:

• Personal Collection: Nothing speaks more of a home owner than a personal collection united in a gallery wall. This personal collection seems to include the owner's own works with other illustrations and screams: Happy!
• Quirky Vase: The fun and quirky vase by Meyer Lavigne (I blogged about them HERE) is also a statement piece for cheerful people with a witty personality. It perfectly accessorizes this room.
• Kilim Rug: On the first glance I thought this is my room as I have almost exactly the same kilim rug in my bedroom (just a bit smaller in size). The colours and the pattern are such a happy highlight and strong eye-catcher. I love it so much!

How do you like this happy room? Anything that caught your eye in particular?

Happy Tuesday!

Photography via Bolig Magasinet

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Why This Room Caught My Eye

Yesterday evening I attended my French conversation course at the Institut Français. I was asked to prepare a little oral presentation for my fellow students, and I picked my blog and the topic of social media. So, I told my francophile friends about the happiness that dwells in a personal and beautifully designed home. And today's room conveys exactly that idea with just a little nook of the entire home. It is a peek into the laid-back yet impeccably stylish and personal home of the blogger and interior designer simply named Jake. I stumbled over these pics while reading the blog of one of my favorite West coasters, Dabito, and he is the artist who shot the pic. But why did this catch my eye?

• Long Arm Chandelier: This chandelier from West Elm is a little masterpiece. It looks like a mid-century design classic with a modern twist and its shiny surface and floating appearance add an airy lightness to it. 
• Personal Gallery Wall: The personal collection of illustrations, photographies and tearsheets creates a focal point, attains interest and makes for a nice chat while seated on the table. 
• Bright Wood: The use of bright wood as a tabletop as well as framings pulls the design together as does the black colour of the chandelier and the chairs. A visual treat!

Anything that caught your eye on this sunny (at least it is here) Tuesday?

Photography by Dabito

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Happily Ever After: Art By Tush Tush

These days I am hooked on Etsy. It so happens that I have periods where I can't stop browsing Etsy and one click leads to the other and before I notice, hours have passed. Can you relate to this? Well, in one of my last browsing sessions I've stumbled upon a fabulous Etsy store called Tush Tush. It is the creative outpost of an Israeli artist who has recently moved to Canada and sells über-cute tiny drawings and paintings, mostly on canvas. Those kind of little art pieces that are ideal as accents for gallery walls. 

You can find a few original paintings made with acrylic paint as well as reasonably priced canvas prints. I am no art historian, but last December I visited the Edward Hopper exhibit in Paris and I must say, these works remind me a bit of the artful play of light and shadows that are distinctive for Hopper's oeuvre. 

My personal favorite is the guitar playing seaman (probably because of my soft spot for stripes and anything nautical). Which one do you like in particular? If you like to see more, click HERE to visit her Etsy shop. Happy Friday, friends!

Photography via Tush Tush / Etsy

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Gallery Wall Ideas

Here is another facet of me: I love art, art prints, illustrations, and anything beautifully framed. Living in a small apartment I am constantly challenged to withstand a new acquisition as I've already started just leaning framed art against the wall. However, I have been desirous for quite a long time about one specific decoration project: my own little gallery wall.

I don't know how it's with you, but I feel a bit insecure about it. The variety of prints and pictures, the diversity of frames and unframed solutions, the question of where to install the gallery wall and the final layout of it - all this seems so overwhelming that I have been postponing the project for quite a while. But soon, yes soon, I will tackle this open task. I was thinking of laying out all my prints and illustrations on the floor and thus creating a specific layout that works for me. I will have to buy a few more frames and then the hammering can begin. If you are thinking of the same, I've found a great step-by-step guide here. I've also decided that I am more the variations kind of guy - that means, I prefer different frames, sizes, shapes, colours. At least I think so. And if not, I will have yet another project to procrastinate. Do you have a gallery wall? Any tips? Questions? Let me know!

Photography: 1 via Design Crush; 2 via Vineet Kaur; 3 via Curbly; 4 via Remodelista.

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5 Happy Inspirations: Living Room Ideas

Today, I am paying due attention to one of the most frequented rooms in homes, the living room. I start by carefully scrutinizing my own little living room: the dominating colours (black and white), the textiles, the furniture, the art, the style, the decoration. And I notice I need a new coffee table. But I digress. I thought it is a good idea to put together five happy ideas to style a living room - with bold patterns, a gallery wall, colours, a monochromatic approach or a feature wall. What do you prefer?

Photography: Bold pattern via Anthropologie; gallery wall via Planete Deco; colour via Miluccia; monochromatic via Lily; feature wall via Fauxology.

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