Wishlist: The Eames Eiffel Chair

I am in love.

The Eames Eiffel chair is a classic design by American husband and wife design duo Charles and Ray Eames, known for their major contributions to contemporary architecture and furniture. They worked in several fields of design including industrial and graphic design. They pioneered innovative technologies during the 1950s, revolutionising 20th Century furniture design. Such designs were the fibreglass, plastic resin and wire mesh chairs designed for the US furniture manufacturer Herman Miller. Highly influential in the world of design and imitated time and time again, the Eames Eiffel chair skillfully combines modern art with affordable yet durable materials to create perfectly balanced, functional furniture.

The Chicer Antiquer

The Eames Eiffel chair was a landmark design in its time, the first industrially manufactured plastic chairs. What made them an admired design was the contemporary, simple structure that would cradle the body. The designers were enthusiastic to work with new materials at the time, focusing on new plastics because this material was versatile and could be moulded into shapes that would conform to the shape of the body. The design is as popular today as it was back then, though manufacturers nowadays embrace eco-friendly materials whilst maintaining the authentic design. Varying base types, shells and colour combinations are now available, making the chair trendy all over again.

New York Times Magazine via Feathered Nest

More than just an accent piece, the Eames Eiffel Chair is a comfortable, durable item which looks at home in all environments. The Eames’ works are said to be real ‘designs for life’. They’re iconic art pieces and objects of desire, while being absolutely practical.

Home Shopping Spy

 The Eames chair has a retro feel about it, whilst still maintaining a contemporary edge. The iconic chair features minimalist maple wood legs, black metal struts and a curved seat for stylish simplicity.

Lisa Cohen via Living Inside

The Eames rocking chair is ideal for a nursery, but is edgy enough for a living area too.

Vasastansmäklarna via Design Attractor

The chair looks great in pretty much any setting: modern, country, eclectic...place this versatile item just about anywhere, and with any other item of furniture and you've got yourself a winner.

Nuevo Estilo via Delight by Design

I am looking to update my dining area with four of these beauties. I love that they are not too large and overpowering when placed in a small space, whilst still making a statement and complementing a vintage/eclectic inspired space.

Do you also dream of owning the Eames Eiffel chair?

Holly

Celebrate with Bunting Flags

Bunting (or bunt) was originally a specific type of lightweight wool fabric used for making ribbons and flags including signal flags for the Royal Navy.

Today, "bunting" is a term for any festive decorations made of fabric, or of plastic, paper or even cardboard in imitation of fabric. Typical forms of bunting are strings of colorful triangular flags and lengths of fabric in the colors of national flags gathered and draped into swags or pleated into fan shapes. via Wikipedia

via flickr

I am particularly drawn to the effect of flags inside as well as outside the home.

via Flickr

There are so many ways these lovely things can be used, either for a temporary festivity or as permanent decor.

via Penny People Designs

They create a wonderfully whimsical feeling in a nursery, as well as providing a lovely visual distraction for your little one (possibly buying you a few extra minutes in the morning), and they can follow your child as they grow.

via Maxine Brady

via Lonny

For a more adult adaptation, try enhancing your colour scheme with block colour flags.

via Houzz

via 100 Layer Cake

Get creative and use any fabric or paper you have lying around, I particularly love these lace flags, or why not try cutting flags out of old maps for a more masculine approach?

via Flickr

You don't have to stop with interiors (when your onto a good thing, moderation is rarely important right?) You can transform this idea to decorate many things in you life, including cake (I'm sure it will taste better with those flags on it).

Feeling creative? Pop over to Kind Over Matter to find some adorable free printable bunting fun...

...like this uplifting Printable Poster.

Or these printable Love Flags.

Where ever these lovely little flags end up, I hope you remember to celebrate life when ever you see them.

Love,
 Lauren

Untouched: Rustic. Raw. Rugged.

There is something about the crackling of paint, the charm of unfinished wood, the raw beauty of exposed beams and the industrial appeal of exposed brick. All of these elements add up to a look that I deem as the most beautiful look a home can acquire - rustic, raw and rugged.

Nuevo Estilo via The Style Files

Perhaps it is the mere age of tired looking furniture that lends its appeal. Knowing that that particular piece has lived through ages I can only dream about, travelled to far corners of the globe and witnessed the lives of countess people throughout it all. Perhaps it’s the mystery I seek. The thrill of knowing the crooked wall, tired wooden beams and rustic brickwork came from another time. Another life. The ‘untouched’ look lends itself to many interior styles: rustic, country, vintage… Whichever the style, what is always most striking is that way the item of furniture or part of the structure is left in it’s raw, natural state to be appreciated for its authenticity and original charm.

Bringing a bit of ‘untouched’ charm into your home is not as difficult as it may seem. A piece of furniture doesn’t necessarily need to be old to look old. A wall can always be stripped and treated to give it a raw look. The options are endless.

 

Living etc via Kitchenisms

I ADORE this rustic kitchen. The main feature is of course the fantastic island, which is central to the look of this room and gives it its characteristic old world feel. What makes it truly stand out is that the island was not touched up, painted, sanded or anything. It was simply left in its original state. This kitchen would not be the same if it had been reworked.

 

Art & Décoration via Hungarian Provence

The above room is equally as beautiful, with its untouched, unvarnished exposed wooden beams and vintage and country style furnishings. Every item in this room seems to have been placed there for a reason. Though mismatched, it all works in perfect harmony.

Gilles Trillard via Home Bunch

I love that the chair in the above image was not painted or touched up in any way. By leaving it untouched, the chairs lines give it a romantic look, and paired with other rustic looking furnishings (the antique trestle table and gothic candlesticks), an old world charm has been created. Note also the rough, pale hued wall behind? This is rustic at its best.

RED/Polly Eltes
 

I love the way the shelves in the kitchen above look as though they were salvaged sleepers left over from a garden makeover. Placed in an asymmetrical fashion on a simple white wall with earthy goodies and simple white crockery, and the kitchen has an innate rustic appeal.

 

via haigr.com

 Though the image above is slightly fuzzy, you can see that the exposed brick wall behind the gorgeous vintage tub gives this beautiful bathroom an industrial feel, while the furnishings give it old world appeal. You can just imagine a tired traveller from yesteryear sinking into this tub after a long day on the road…

creativeinspiration via sweethomestyle

I love the idea of utilising antique doors or shutters as a headboard that is as interesting as it is beautiful. I have been in the hunt for old doors to do this exact same thing with. I too won’t be taking out my paintbrush or sandpaper in an effort to enhance the look. The doors speak for themselves, and certainly the feature in this bedroom. I particularly love the bits of blue paint poking through. I would lie in this bed and imagine where and in whose possession these doors have been over the years…

 

Ballard Designs via Our Suburban Cottage

The antique wash table above is a lovely addition to this country setting. Placed in front of the exposed stone wall, and paired with a couple of fun items, this look has a country feel to it. I love the splash of turquoise too. Always a welcome addition to a neutral palette.

  

Via Mlle Magpie

The shed turned home office above is my idea of heaven. Just a tiny little nook where one can read, write, knit, create, dream. Perfection. What I particularly love about this little space is the desk, which features the original sky blue paint. If it had been sanded down and painted until it was all glossy and new, I wouldn’t appreciate it nearly as much. As they say though, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And boy do I love treasure!

Love, Holly

Swaying in the Breeze

Summer days are on their way, and I can' think of a better way to spend them than swaying in the breeze in a hammock, with someone you love, with a good book, with a cup of tea (and steady hands), with some dappled sunshine on your face and happy thoughts in your heart.

Addicted to Grey

There are so many options out there now that finding a hammock to suit your home and your lifestyle is easier than ever. Whether you fancy to 'hang' out between among the trees,

Sunday Girl

IP

or add a touch of fun to your bedroom or lounge room,

Kexy

Minja's Home

or create a precarious yet fun addition in your pool area,

Kiwi Collection

Boho Bisous

I'm sure you can find something to inspire your lazy side.

79 Ideas

Happy relaxing,

Lauren

Just a spoon full of turquoise....

....helps almost any room go down in style. Whether it's the whole room, an accent wall, or just a well placed bottle, vase or sideboard, turquoise has the ability to add subtle glamour and eye catching charm to your living space. 

thrift store apocalypse

fy home decor

not my beautiful home 

small rooms

blue shoe

everly true

This colour scheme transports me to the beauty of crystal clear water near my home in Queensland.

those blue jeans

What a perfect way to inject some summer into your house just in time for the warmer months, or to cling onto that summer magic for just a little while longer as the leaves begin to fall.

Love,

L

My market finds: vintage additions to my eclectic home

Hello readers!

I had a super productive (last) weekend, managing to steal a visit to two of my favourite antique markets, the one in my home town Delft that is on every Saturday throughout the summer, and the one in The Hague, situated on the stunning Lange Voorhout beneath a canopy of trees. I love to stroll alongside the canals in Delft to find quirky trinkets to bring home, but I also love the exclusiveness of The Hague markets, as you know you will find something truly special. I love the crunching sounds my footsteps make on the ground as I stroll from stall to stall. The ground is covered with tiny seashells and I am positive I am the only one who would notice something like that, but it's these small details that I just love about Europe! Without further ado, here is what I found!

I happened to stumble across a stall specialising in authentic vintage posters, magazine covers, postcards and much more. I scored these two La Femme de France magazine covers, dated from 1929. I have a lot of neutral tones in my home and I loved the subtlety of these. I can’t wait to get them framed and hung on the wall behind my bed!

I love the look of vintage and art nouveau posters. They can really spruce up a room and add a quirkiness that you don't get from a painting, and it’s a really inexpensive way to inject a hit of colour to your space. The images below are my inspiration.

 

Spots and Stripes

Vintage poster featured in Living etc June 2009 via Urban Kaleidoscope

Vintage Mazdafluor poster by Herve Morvan (1957) with a Featherstone chair photograph by Lucy Feagins via Urban Kaleidoscope

I was so inspired by Lauren´s post about the many uses of vintage paper and music sheets, that my eyes lit up when I saw this old music book. There is no cover left so I don’t know when it was published, but it looks pretty old as the sheets have all yellowed with age.

 

I am collecting old music sheets and paper from now on to achieve a similar look to the image below. I love the idea of using paper from old books and music sheets to make wallpaper! Thanks Lauren for the lovely idea.

Tongue in Cheek

I fell in love with this gorgeous vintage tricycle too. I know most of you are thinking “what on earth did you buy that old thing for!” (people have actually said that to me!), but it is an authentic piece which I just had to have. I plan to use it as a decorative item, perhaps on a shelf in a focal point in my living room. It is quite big, so would really make a statement on its own, but surrounded by a few other vintage trinkets, some books and some wild flowers, it could look so preppy and retro. I like items like these which are different and compliment an eclectic or retro space. I have lots of trinkets that I ahve picked up from antique markets over the last few years, so this one will add to the space nicely, I think.

Have a beautiful weekend!

H x