The winner of the signed print by Maike Kristina Harich is....

Congratulations to Solstice Night, you have won a framed and signed print of your choice in size 20 x 20 cm by German artist Maike Kristina Harich. And also to Anna Papageorge, the winner of a set of three cards with hand drawn daisies. Please send me a mail so we can get your shipping details. Thank you so much to everyone who entered! Maike's lovely prints and cards are for sale here. 

This competition is now closed.

Beautiful snapshots of a home in The Hague

Last night I discovered the blog Saar Manche and was blown away by the beautiful pictures. I quickly e-mailed the owner: Saar and asked if it would be OK to share a few of them with you today. This is a small sample of the images she has captured of her home, which she shares with her husband and three children. Her lovely blog also regularly features her illustrations and paintings as well as magical family life in The Hague, Holland.

Saar Manche - with kind permission. Thanks to Toc Toc Vintage for the introduction. 

Although these are angles rather than complete room shots they still paint a picture of the relaxed feel of family life in Saar's Dutch home.

I was interested to see greenery in many of the images she takes, whether in terms of fern fronds pinned to the wall, wild flowers in vases or floral head wreaths on her children. A girl after my own heart (I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to this!).

While looking at today's home tour I was reminded of new sponsor - Kær (a Danish word describing the space we inhabit between nature and home: beautiful, simple and calm. Founder and owner Marianne grew up in Denmark and if she was ever sad as a child her mother would say 'go outside and look at something beautiful'. Marianne took this advice with her to Brooklyn and the pillows, throws and 100 % linen personalizable table cloths she sells in her online shop are designed to bring the outside in.

We're flying back to Sweden today after a lovely break in London. it's always sad to leave, especially when the sun's shining. Do you live a long way from home?

Have a lovely day!

Easter give-away: win a print of your choice!

Thank you so much for taking the time to enter. I'm thrilled to announce the winner....Debbie, Greece. If you weren't lucky this time don't worry, there'll be another fab give-away soon - watch this space!

To celebrate Easter, I've teamed up with one of my favourite Swedish artists Elina Dahl, to offer you the chance to win a fab print of your choice from her online shop. For inspiration, you can see examples dotted around Elina's lovely former home (one of my most popular home tours of all time no less, you can see why!). It's soooo quick to enter too - find out how below.

All images: Elina Dahl, shared with kind permission.

How to enter:

1. Visit Elina Dahl's shop and take a look around. 

2. Comment below which print you would most like to win and why

And that's it! The competition is open to everyone until Monday, 6th April 2015, Midnight GMT. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 7th April 2015 here on this post so make sure you pop by to see if it's you!

Terms & Conditions

You must be age of majority in your country of residence. We are not responsible for any duties, import taxes that you may incur. Only 1 entry per person. 

Wishing you a very happy Easter!

The lovely home and atelier of an artist

This Friday I'm part of the  'Makers Spaces' blog tour, a new book by Emily Quinton. And it got me thinking about the wonderful creative spaces people live and work in. Johanna Bradford  and Kristin Lagerqvist shot this simply beautiful home and atelier in Varberg on Sweden's West coast a while back. With a sea-view on one side and forests on the other, it's the perfect place for Lisa Burenius to paint and enjoy life with her family - Petter and Eddie. The artist describes her interior style as 1930's with a personal twist, and loves to surround herself with personal objects, books and ceramics. Her advice is to 'listen to the house and trust your instinct. A home should be personal and warm, it should tell a story about who you are'. I feel her home is a perfect example of this, don't you?

 

Stylist: Johanna Bradford (with kind permission). Photographer: Kristin Lagerqvist

It's wonderful to see an entirely unique home where the personality shines through. It's got soul.

Lisa has some great ideas too - I love the way the books have been arranged so that some are facing outwards and piled high. I also like the simplicity of the fern leaves in jam jars and the retro set of garden furniture outside. All in all, a truly inspiring home.

What do you love most about this space?

You can see more pictures here if you'd like. 

It's well worth checking out Lisa's website  too- I love the video showing her at work in the atelier.  Her work is available here.

I often dip into the art studio archive for ideas. And my office Pinterest board has oodles of work space inspiration. Hey, if we've gotta work we might as well make it pretty, don't you think?

Have a lovely day!

PS do you have a wonderful maker's space I can share on the blog this week? If so, drop me a mail!

Thursday Tip # 12- Art above the sofa

Do you have  one big blank space above the sofa?  Are you wondering how to fill it?  If the number of questions I get about this is any indication there are lots of question marks out there about this topic.  Ta da... answers.  I  introduced this topic a little in last week's Thursday Tip  when I discussed scale, but I wanted to give more formatting options this week. 

 This is an area where there are lots of thoughts on how to and how not to hang art for best effect.
My guideline is to think about ways to fill at least 2/3 the width of the furniture. It is often difficult to find large scale art so think about pairings of various types.  It also looks good if your art expands to the edges of the sofa.  Once you go beyond  sofa width the art starts to look very top heavy and the sofa  is diminished. You should also consider the height of the art.   Remember it is a long way to the ceiling so refrain from work that is only twelve or 14 inches high.  It will look lost even if it is long enough.

I have to thank  Interiors PL    for creating this great graphic that provides many options for what to hang over a sofa.

11 options for hanging art over a sofa.

My favourites in these options are  4, and 6-11.  They all fit the guidelines I discussed above.  1 and 3 are my least favourite because they don't fill up enough space for me.  I like 5 because it is asymmetrical  and I could balance this placement by adding things on the left of the sofa to create a pleasing balance. Richard Mishaan discussed  another aspect of asymmetrical placement in a House Beautiful post.

Why asymmetrical layouts work

Here is the same idea expressed in one of my painting compositions called Breathe.

 Margaret Ryall, 2004, Breathe, acrylic on canvas, 12 x 24in.

 Are any of these options wrong?  Not really.  There are only guidelines in interior design,  no right or wrong. 

Do you have a favourite way to arrange art above your sofa?  Please share.

Reclaimed wood works

 Old is good. What is old can be new again with a little ingenuity, and I don't mind admitting that the art side of my brain has lots of that.   I think reclaimed wood  is beautiful, and this summer I made great finds on the beaches near our summer house.

Are you wondering how this connects to decor?  Keep reading!

Atlantic Ocean beach wood

 Storm tossed and sea sanded house/shed remnants  were dragged home against my better half's judgement. At the time I answered the strong call emitted by these materials, but  I didn't know why I needed them.  My art often begins with the call of materials rather than with sketches and preconceived notions of a final product.

Not a pretty site/sight

No this is not the home decor section!

Move over hubby,  I am taking possessions of your precious workshed and tools.  Yep!  I know my way around drills, bandsaws, chopsaws and sanders and I discovered construction adhesive will stick most everything together. Drop paintbrushes, fine papers and canvas.  I have a new palette and perhaps a new series for exhibition.

This one is my keeper.

Beach Quilt, Margaret Ryall, 2013, reclaimed wood

 And here it is in the back entry of my summer house.  I have to wait until May to see it again (and take some decent shots of it).

You've reached the home decor part

Stay tuned for more creative moments in my life.  What have you created for your home lately?

10 Ways to use Pantone's Colour of 2014

The news is out and after much  guessing  by designers the world over Pantone has declared Radiant Orchid as the colour for 2014.

2014 Pantone Colour of the Year

 It seems to leave people a little speechless.  Now I am a purple lover and have hits of it around my house, but I lean toward the bluish purples.  Even my front door is BM french violet. I have lavender  front porch cushions  etc.  I wear lots  of purples in clothing.   But this is more pink.

It is a far cry from last year's emerald. 

 If you bought into emerald last year here's a combination of the two.... 

source

Certainly colourful.  Notice how white is used to quieten this scheme.

But how to deal with this vibrant pink purple.... 

source

 Play it safe and use it to add a  jolt of colour in flowers... Beautiful and temporary.

 

 source

Invest in a little leather that can be moved from room to room.  

Paint a piece of furniture or a mirror.

 source

Throw in a daring light fixture. 

source 

 Buy an accent chair in this lovely hue and connect it with a patterned pillow. 

source 

Mix it up in lovely patterned bedding. 

 source

Or on a ceiling or headboard.  Notice the leather ottoman from a previous shot.

 source

Now we are getting daring with drapes, a bold geometric pattern and peonies.  The dark furniture provides a rich backdrop for this scheme.

 source

Or have the full meal deal with walls, bedding, drapes, pillows and art.  Thankfully the white offers the perfect foil for the vibrancy.

Did you notice any trends in how it is used? 

And good- bye with one of my paintings that works with this lovely colour

source

Margaret Ryall ( In Between) mixed media on canvas, 12 x 36 inches , private collection

8 Ways to fill empty corners

The four corners of a room are often a no man's land when it comes to design.  I am not saying that you have to fill up every corner with something, but I am advocating thinking about your space to determine if  it might need to look more "fulfilled". Here are some of my favourite solutions:

Art 

Using Art to fill an empty corner

Margaret Ryall

 Usually you can't walk right up art you place in a corner,  so choose something that can be read from a distance. This lovely matted and framed wood sculpture is stunning for corner purposes.  It brightens up the space, fills it nicely, provides a backdrop for the dark table and lamp base and is a bit of a conversation piece. I was so excited when it was hung on my clients' wall.  

 

 Kristen Rivoli Interior Design

This colourful mid century modern space needs art work to match.   It creates another layer for the space that invites the eye to roam and then return to the equally colourful lamp and chair. 

 Round table and two chairs

Houzz

Round tables are great for corners because they allow you to fill the awkward space and at the same time move your eye around so you don't get stuck there visually. The addition of the lamp provides the third height thus creating a more interesting design.

Tall  floral arrangement

 Jeffers Design Group

 When you have the height why not go for it and use something tall to fill the space.  Again a round table is the mainstay for  this foyer area. 

 Built in bookcase 

Vicente Burin Architects

This beautiful set of bookcases  tucks effortlessly into a corner.  The colour adds to the whole space and the minimal arrangement of objects and books ensures it isn't too busy. 

Chair and floor lamp 

 

 Cravotta Interiors

A round floor lamp behind a chair is a perfect and quite functional solution for a corner. 

 Houzz

In larger spaces the addition of a round table helps to fill the corner and provide variety in heights. 

 A  workspace 

Siemasko + Verbridge

Tidy and interesting  art too. 



  Leslie Goodwin Photography

Or perhaps a larger space to make use of a corner under a stairs.  


 
SchappacherWhite Architecture D.P.C.

Large scale vases/urns

InHouse Design Studio

Sometimes you need a certain something to complete a design and these two large scale floor vases do just that.  Imagine the space without them.  

Flüff Designs & Decor

 This arrangement is not in a corner, but it very well could be.  Rather than bamboo you could use birch sticks if you wanted a more rustic look.

 Corner mirror and two chairs

Tydings Design Inc

Love this solution because it expands the space making it seem like it goes on forever. The glitz and sparkle doesn't hurt either . 

Then there's tall plants, built in benches, screens .... The list is as long as your imagination.  Do you have any bright ideas for filling corners?