I keep looking at photos of other paintings by artists that I like, but I don’t want to simply copy. I’ll probably never truly like my own work, but it’s cheaper than the alternative. Or at least that’s what I thought. There are lots of artists out there on places like Etsy these days, that can actually be quite affordable. Here are a few of my favourites.

Etsy

Lola Donoghue’s work was probably the first abstract painting that I fell in love with. I’ve had my eye on her painting “Turn Left at the Pitch” for years now, and apparently she only has a few prints left, so I may need to buy it quick. She tends towards recognisable shapes, in bright colours, with plenty of pink and teal. She’s almost always on people’s lists of affordable abstract art, and for good reason!

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I recently discovered Dan Hobday’s work and can’t believe how affordable his stuff is. I especially love that he does set that pair together well for diptychs and triptychs. There is a fair range of abstract styles, unlike many artists who tend to stick to their ‘look’.

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Camilo Matiz is another Etsy artist who does fairly colourful abstract paintings. They remind me a bit of Lola Donoghue’s work, with the colours and shapes.

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Minted

Like Etsy, Minted has been a great resource for affordable art. Not only do they sell prints for the home, but they also do plenty of cards and other personalized items. They sell individual prints, as well as whole gallery walls if you’re new to coordinating artwork.

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Artfully Walls

Artfully Walls is a great resource that I discovered a couple months ago. Like Minted, they have a range of artists selling photographs, paintings, etc. and have a few great abstract artists in their repertoire. They also have curated gallery walls, which are a great place to start if you’re unsure of how to group different artists together.

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Unless you’ve been asleep for the last 20 years or so, you’ve definitely heard of H&M. Their low-priced clothing and accessories have been a staple in many people’s wardrobes for the last few decades – as the second largest clothing retailer in the world, it has stores in 62 countries. You’ve probably been to one before, and mostly likely own a piece or two of their clothing. But did you know that they also sell home decor items?

I first heard about H&M Home a few years back but hadn’t seen any of their items until I moved to the UK. There are a few stores here that sell their home decor line, but otherwise, you can purchase it online. As with their clothing, the home decor items are current, on-trend, and cost-effective. Pretty much the perfect thing for someone like me, ha! Our flat still feels like it needs more finishing touches and accessories, yet I don’t have money to burn on frivolous things.

Most of the items that they sell are kitchen/table-based, as well as some pillows, picture frames, and other items. I wish they had furniture or lighting, but I still love the rest of the stuff they have. Wouldn’t it be awesome if they sold sofas and tables? I can only imagine how sleek, minimal, and functional they would be.

So, have you seen their stuff in stores? Do you like it as much as I do? Here are some of my favourite H&M Home items in stores now.

Textiles

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Baskets

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Storage Containers

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Decorative Accessories

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Kitchen Accessories

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So as I’ve been drafting up ideas for upholstering our bed, or making floor pouffes, I keep coming back to the idea of French seams.

Right now, I am thinking of making a sort of bed slipcover for our white MALM storage bed frame. Something that won’t involve taking the whole thing apart, but will make it look like I did. In the end it’ll look sort of like this bed but with French seams all along the edges.

Restoration Hardware bed frame

I figure I can add some plywood to make the headboard taller, then pad it with foam and batting. After that, I’ll make a bed skirt to cover the base and a fitted cover for the headboard. I may even make them all one piece, but I’m unsure as of yet. Does that make sense? The headboard will have seams all around like the one below.

french seam headboard inspiration

My original inspiration came from this bed’s headboard. Then when I was googling more inspiration, I came across some photos of headboards with simple bed skirts, and my idea was realized. It’ll be easier than trying to upholster each piece of the bed frame, and then put it all back together.

Nate Berkus French seam headboard

After that, I want to make a couple floor pouffes like the ones in Orlando Soria’s last apartment. They look super easy, I just have to find the right linen fabric.

So what do you think? Are you as into French seams as I am these days? What about these gorgeous ottomans and sofas?

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Gorgeous aged brick fireplace from Jacquelyn Clark

This past Christmas… the tree was decorated in the corner, glowing houses were on the credenza, and we had constant Christmas music and warm drinks on hand. But still, something didn’t feel right. It wasn’t quite cosy enough for Christmas, and I think I have put my finger on it. No, it’s not the lack of snow here in England… it’s the lack of a fireplace in this flat!

We have turned on the fireplace videos on Amazon Prime or YouTube, but it just isn’t the same. You need the crackling sounds, wavering light, and smell… oh the smell! Especially cedar! Just heaven!

Richard and I both miss having a fireplace, especially in this cold January season. It’s probably the one thing we wish for most in this flat, other than a second bedroom. We would probably rather have a working open fireplace than a dishwasher!! We can tell where a fireplace used to live in our flat, because of the vent down by the baseboard. Curse whoever ripped it out!!!

So, it’s only logical that I have fireplaces on the brain and their relevant accessories!

On a recent gift guide, Emily Henderson’s team listed this match striker + holder. I don’t know why, but I have always loved matches! It’s kind of a weird thing to love, but as a kid I remember my parents had this round matchbox with very long matches in it, and I loved it and always wanted to use them. Maybe it’s the pyro in me, but using matches is fun.

So when I saw this match striker, that doubles as a place to store your matches, it was love at first sight… until I saw the price tag! $50 for a wee-match striker! So I started searching for more match striker/holder things, and found some even more expensive! Who knew these were pricy designer items?!

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Here’s a list of my favourites, both expensive (in case you’re the type with oodles of cash to blow on silly things – lucky you ;)) and less so. It’s my new favourite thing to have on a mantle, which I don’t have… yet. Someday, we will buy a house and it WILL have a fireplace. Honestly, that’s non-negotiable for us.

built-in wood and blanket storage from Heather Bullard

But other than match strikers, I often find myself looking at wood storage. I love a good built-in storage option, but if that isn’t available, there are some really great containers. You can get racks that sort of mimic the built-in look or baskets… or even copper pots!

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But if we had our dream house, the fireplace would be brick. Quite frankly, if Richard could build a home, it would be red brick all over – he loves the stuff! And, if the house can’t be brick, well then the fireplace has to be! Like these beauties!

herringbone brick fireplace interior from Marcus Design Inc.

brick fireplace surrounded by teal from Little Green Shed

herringbone brick fireplace from Lonny

Although, if I somehow found a place with an antique fireplace like this beauty, I think I could live without the brick…

antique marble fireplace from Apartment Therapy

What about you? Do you have an open fireplace? Any must-have accessories?

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Richard and I have similar tastes in lots of areas, but we don’t agree on everything. Recently, we had a hard time agreeing on what kind of Christmas tree to buy. One thing that I have always loved is a flocked Christmas tree! I’m not talking about those all-white needle ones without any green, but the real trees that tree farms spray with faux snow… although you can also get artificial flocked trees. Do you know who isn’t down with flocked trees? Richard.

I get it. They’re kind of dated in a way, and obviously artificial (since when is there snow indoors?)… but they are so so beautiful! My favorite thing when it snows is how the snow-laden branches look, all thick and coated with white. And since there isn’t that much snow happening in London over Christmas, why not bring that look indoors? I’ve looked into it, and there are really good tutorials online that show you how to recreate the look at home. That being said, it seems to be a little harder to find the right flocking material over here in the UK, than in the US.

Buuut… despite my DIY suggestions, Richard would rather just stick to a classic tree. However, I’m still trying to get him to promise me that we can do one someday :). Now until that someday comes around (or he changes his mind), I’ll just have to look at all these beautiful pictures of flocked trees!

gorgeous flocked Christmas tree via comoorganizarlacasa

flocked gold Christmas tree via 11MagnloiaLane

flocked tree via Craftberry Bush

very white flocked tree via MonikaHibbs

Thoughts? (Aren’t they beautiful?!) Would you get a flocked tree this Christmas?

While the kitchen progress is ticking along slowly, I can’t help but look ahead and think about accessories. All the white cabinets and pale walls have me craving warmth and texture. I’m thinking of a funky wood clock, a patterned faux Roman blind, and a vintage rug!

Okay, so the rug may not actually happen. See, Richard isn’t a fan of having a rug in our kitchen. He sees it as a place for crumbs and germs to live, while I see it as much-needed warmth, texture, and style in our all-white kitchen. I have been eyeing this rug on Etsy, but am worried it might be a bit too small for our space.

I’ve debated spraying a rug with some sort of repellant fabric spray, but am not sure if that would help (or convince Richard). For now, I would be content to vacuum it regularly. See, I have always lived with some sort of rug/mat under our kitchen sink areas, while Richard has not. My mom always had flat weave mats to stand on, and I loved the feel underfoot. All soft and cushy…

But enough about how they feel, look at them! Doesn’t a rug just add so much color and interest to these kitchens?

bright pink kilim in a tuxedo kitchen via laurengrant

dark kilim in a pale sage kitchen via Glitterinc

colorful rug in a dark green kitchen via wtf

red Persian rug in a white kitchen via home deco

So where do you stand? Rugs in the kitchen – yay or nay? Gross and crumby, or stylish and awesome?

However, Richard isn’t too keen on the idea. He likes the concept but doesn’t think it will work in our tiny windowless bathroom. His argument is that the bathroom is too small and it’ll be too dark. My counterargument is that the walls and ceiling will all be either white or slightly blue off-white. Everything else will be so bright that the room can handle the dark floor. Not only that, but the floor tile paint options out there aren’t exactly vast, but they do make black!

Here are a few more arguments in my favor, in the form of photos of pretty bathrooms with black/charcoal floor tiles. One of them is even a basement bathroom, which shows you can do this in a room with no windows!

black hexagon floor tiles via Crate and Barrel

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A post shared by Whitney (Clappe) Utesch (@carpendaughter)

windowless bathroom via Deuce Cities Henhouse

small bathroom via Houzz

charcoal grey tiles via Contemporist

So what do you think? Are you on Richard’s side of the discussion, and think the black floor will be too dark? Or are you with me, and think that those black tile floors will really make this room pop? I’m curious to know what you guys think as it’s a big step to make in such a small place.

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black marble sink via Savvy Home Blog

With the Easter holidays approaching (we’re both getting some time off together – yay!) we’ve started thinking about updating the kitchen. It’s been a project we have long discussed but haven’t had the time to accomplish. I’ll write a full post soon, with before photos and plans, I promise!

But for now, I want to explore some of the things I am being inspired by for the kitchen. One of the things I know for sure is that the cupboards will be white, and the tile too! It’ll mean that a good portion of the kitchen will be light and bright, and for that, I think it needs some contrast!

I’ve loved all things black lately, especially in contrast to white. It’s classic looking, and yet can also be quite modern. So for this kitchen, I am hoping to add lots of black accents for a little punch of style.

black window trim via Boston Globe

My jumping-off point was these black cabinet handles that were used on an episode of Fixer Upper (man, I miss that show – I can’t get it in the UK on any channel). I have tried really hard to find something just like it, but so far it has been coming up empty or wildly expensive. The closest I have come- in style are these handles from Etsy. They aren’t quite as sleek as the ones Joanna Gaines used but are less traditional than many on the market. I think they will probably be the ones I end up with.

the Fixer Upper cabinet handles via HGTV

To go with them (on the drawers we are hoping to add), I am thinking of using cabinet edge pulls. Something really simple like this! I don’t think it would look good to use the same handles horizontally, as it would be too busy, so I want something visually lighter. So far these ones are the only ones I have found, but I’m still on the hunt.

Now, in my dream kitchen I would add a black faucet to go with all this… wouldn’t that look sharp? But at the moment, replacing the faucet or sink is probably out of the budget. I have to keep reminding myself that this isn’t my forever home, so let’s not get too crazy with the unnecessary improvements.

black faucet via Becki Owens on Instagram

Okay, but enough of these tentative plans, I will save the proper ones for later, in their own post. For now, enjoy all these photos of kitchens that are looking sharp with all that white and black contrast.

Cool-toned kitchen with black accents via Remodelista

black accents in a laundry room via Instagram

iron shelf brackets via Jen Loves Ken

black sconces via Remodelista

Burled wood frames | Hello Victoria

burled wood frame via

A few years back, in my first apartment, I made a large gallery wall using IKEA RIBBA black frames and black and white photos. It was modern and striking – which suited my industrial-loft-style apartment. In my last place, I switched to all-white frames with colorful photographs and artwork. Still a gallery wall (bigger too) but again, using IKEA RIBBA frames. While I do look back on them fondly, there’s something too simple about the way they look now. They never quite matched my eclectic style and felt too much like I was copying someone else’s aesthetic.

the Framebridge ‘Cairo’ frame

In our current flat, I’m thinking I may forgo the gallery wall, and instead focus on larger-scale art pieces, and a few small pairings. I’m hoping to use a combination of new modern frames (maybe even RIBBA?) as well as some antique ones. I fell in love with these burled wood frames from Framebridge a few months ago but didn’t want to spend that kind of money on just a frame. Then, as luck would have it, I managed to find a couple of antique ones, just the right size for £10! After researching a bit, turns out I got quite a good deal, as burled wood is expensive…

Since then, I find myself noticing this material more and more, in all kinds of furniture. It has such great warmth and visual interest. Who knows, perhaps I’ll find a cool piece of burled wood furniture in the coming months?

all photos via mydomaine

What do you think, yay or nay to burled wood?