Today I love

To find exciting and newly designed pieces is one of the pleasures of my profession and I love browsing sites, shops and magazines.
Why don't you follow me around a little?

I love the classic lines of the Matador chair by ConranUSA.

And I would not mind travelling the world on a cruise liner, carrying that trunk! (Conran)

Twiggy lamp, not absolutely new, but sooo chic!(Conran)

Marimekko creates this fabulous bedding, find it here.

Westelm's headboard and organic blocked paisley duvet & shams.

Tea towels via Quel Objet, they have more divine patterns and colors and other great stuff to satisfy the francophile in you.

One of Conran shop's many cool wall units.
Speaking of wall units,Temahome makes this shelf system, it's fun and fabulous.
See here more of their great furniture design.

I love the modern classic chairs  made in a new colorful way ...

The lamps with table attached are coming back in a cool new form.

Clean lined sawhorse work table, all from Westelm.

Beautiful handmade copper and cherrywood table lamps, seen at Shandell's.

Great designed pieces fit in everywhere, in classic or traditional,  modern and eclectic homes. It brings the freshness of now into your space. Why don't you give it a try?

Tuesday vignette

Tea at the piano...




Picture byV.Zlotkowski

Weekend plans

Weekends are not as nice as they used to be....my daughter usually has made plans by Wednesday how to spend most of the time with friends, my son practices Saturdays soccer and plays his games on Sunday. My husband is the coach and I do not see him for long parts of the days....and it's raining....
Well, what's a girl to do?


OK, maybe not really an option....



Shopping, perhaps for shoes? Hmmmm....

Then again I am still in PJ's and have my cup 'o Jo in bed and read...



Or I could begin making plans how to elevate our bedroom to a finally sexy new level, a plan I've hatched over the last few month with the approval of my other half...as long as I stay in the planing mode....

From this
to that perhaps?






Time to take action I say!!!



The phone rings, it's 9 in the morning, my daughter needs to be picked up from sleep over....ahhh.... ring again, game canceled due to rain, I call my husband and he dutifully runs off to bring our girl home and I make plans:


Breakfast in bed with newspaper, kids watching some movie and I snuggle up with my hubby, just as weekends used to be BC...

Keep your weekend cozy!

XX
Victoria


Divorce add, book and bedroom by V.Zlotkowski, all others via flickr and a magazine or two!

Sunny autumn weekend

Get in the mood, go for a walk, enjoy the smells of fall in the air, the bounty of harvest at the markets and enjoy those sun rays....you know, time passes fast!
And bring some nature home, some branches, a couple of leaves, a pumpkin or two...

Have a sunny weekend!


XX
Victoria




Picture via flickr and by V.Zlotkowsi

Inspirations

I have always had a strong affinity towards colors. They lift me up, embrace me, set my mood and carry me away. They make me happy, they make me sad. My childhood memories are gray.


Nature apart, the country, the city, the streets, the shops were gray in East Germany.



I have since then longed for colors, strong, vibrant colors. Have you ever thought of where those likes and dislikes for certain colors come from? Distant childhood memories, the surroundings we grew up in, the colors we are used to since - forever? The way your mother dressed you and the home?


My friends, my children, books and magazines, flea markets and thrift shops, farmer's markets and street scenes, window displays and movies.
All these are the source of endless inspiration.



Artwork and music!





Just walking through New York City gives me again a taste of the big world we are living in and I am grateful to experience it.












Sitting in my garden does the same. Or walking in a park, over fields or through a light filled forest.






How do you get inspired? What makes you feel content and comfortable, secure and relaxed?





I have often wondered how new trends are developed in design and decorating.
But truthfully, I like to follow my own trends (or so I believe...) mull my inspirations over and start making design plans again.
I keep my eyes open and my mind, let the endless picture stream of life filter through me...


All pictures and artwork by V.Zlotkowski, except top two through Dreamstime.com, Domino mag. & National Geographics image.

Birthday wish

How I wish to surrender my feelings and fold them
into words, to take those wild emotions and
press them into lines.
And wrap these sheets around me, with words quite
filled with truth,
they always shall remind me in passing of my years.



Painted and written by V.Zlotkowski

Weekend post: A tree

Today has been a happy day. A couple of weeks - oh, actually month (6/25) ago I posted on a big, old tree, which had to come down in front of our house. Yesterday the Arborist of our town called me a gave me the good news to plant a new tree. They came earlier this morning, gave us choices between two types of trees and after discussing location, light and conditions of growth and environmental resistance we decided on a Japanese type of tree: Zelkova Serrata, also known as Keaki. It belongs to the Ulmaceae family. Elms are widely spread throughout most temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe, North America and Asia, except where they have been affected by the fungus Ophiostoma novo ulmi, which causes Dutch elm disease.



These japanese elms have been successfully planted, after the dying of the American Elms at the beginning of the last century.
It is a young tree with not much of a crown yet, but, if it adjusts well, in two three years we can expect some big difference in size.




So, today instead of Friday flowers I show you our brand new baby tree!
One day, let say in 30 years, I will post about a wonderfully shady tree, planted years ago in our front yard...just wait!

Happy weekend!

XX Victoria


Picture by V.Zlotkowski