My pins over the year...

Hi! I'm back with a short update :-)

It's probably been more than a year since I joined Pinterest, and I was looking at my pins back then to see how my preference for decor has changed over the year. You know how when you keep a diary and read back to the days when you were younger, and thought, "really? I wrote that?"

Well, in this case, it would be, "really? I pinned that?"

Okay, my pins from last year were not bad at all. Let's take a look at a few of them, shall we?

Source here

I'm still into neutrals and blues and browns like in the photo above. This room is still pretty - clean and modern.

Elle Decor

I like the herringbone floor and again - clean and modern.

Rue

At the time, I was sourcing for inspiration to decorate my sister's bedroom. I like the image of this room. I particularly love the patterns on the bed sheet and the texture from the grey-blue velvet pillow.

Houzz

This is a nice dining room - and I've always loved lanterns. Loved and still love white upholstered dining chairs, too.

Source here

Another handsome living room made of greys, blues and browns - my favourite colours.

Though all photos above are beautiful in their own ways, I now find myself gravitating towards rooms that look less than perfect, lived-in and maybe a little under decorated?

Let me share with you some of my recent pins to show you what I mean.

Source here

This is what I call an effortlessly beautiful room. It just doesn't look decorated - the rumpled bedsheets, the aged wood of the side tables, the 'real' reading books in the niches and a cute personal photo of a baby. This could be anybody's room - and it just happens to be beautiful.

Source unknown

I love the relaxed look of this area. The patina on the frames of the two identical mirrors makes a beautiful contrast to the reflection of a more modern chandelier.

Taken from here

Another undecorated room - wouldn't you just love sitting here, doing mundane daily stuff, but it wouldn't be so mundane because everything around you is so pretty. The bookshelves are messy - but that's what brings character to the whole room. It looks like a real room.

Barefoot Contessa

The use of natural materials - the rug, the basket under the desk, the wooden stool and painted desk, brings the warmth into this little hallway. It looks so inviting, doesn't it?

From here

And this kitchen, although the cabinets are modern with no handles and a clean, streamlined look, the use of wooden countertops, antique trays and aged wooden beam just brings the kitchen back down to earth that I love.

So as you can see, after a year of collecting images on the internet, my preferences have changed from that clean, modern look to a more lived-in, undecorated look.

Have you found that your preferences have changed over the years? 

Orange

If you had asked me, what is my least favourite colour, I would have said "orange".

Without a doubt.

But.... I find that orange works great as an accent colour to add life to any setting. I mean, even Blogger is using orange as the accent colour for their theme! :-)

When you feel like your home is lacking in colour, throw in some orange!

Orange and blue looks great together. Here, the orange place mats bring zest in to this neutral coloured room.

House Beautiful

Or, how about some orange trinkets styled on your shelves in the kitchen? I absolutely love this kitchen and the deep blue colour with the bright orangey-red.

Helen Norman Photography

Even an orange book in a bedroom would do. Love the little birdie on it.

via The Pink Pagoda

I love the texture and look of this single vibrant orange cushion in this grey-toned sitting room. This is such a beautifully-styled room.

via Belgian Pearls

Or you can go bolder by throwing an orange cloth over your dining table like this one. I love the velvet texture of this fabric. It looks so rich.

via Belgian Pearls

This beautiful room by John Saladino uses orange and green - colours that complement each other well. Don't you just feel like hanging out here all day?

Veranda

This room, decorated by Giannetti Home uses orange cushions as an accent.

Velvet & Linen

Orange-coloured flowers brighten up this pretty little breakfast nook.

BHG

Or, you can just use oranges - and I mean the fruit - in a bowl to brighten up your kitchen!

Martha Stewart

So how would you use orange in your home?

Have a great week!

Just imagine...

I've been busy.

I know, I know, I've been giving the same excuse so many times for my lack of updates.

When I saw this photo on Pinterest, I thought to myself, wow, I need a break. Work and life has been hectic.

Leo Trippi

What caught my eye was the view outside. What a breathtaking view to wake up and see that.

I also love the lines of the poster bed and the linens. Lovely.

Okay, back to reality!

Happy Eid-ul-Fitr!

It's the second day of Eid, our religious holiday where Muslims all over the world celebrate the beginning of a new month after 30 days of fasting. This is the time where we spend our days with our families and loved ones over good food and laughter.

In the mood of Eid, I'd like to show you some photos of Islamic art and architecture - something I've always thought was beautiful. It's not exactly religious, rather Islamic art and architecture depicts the ways of life of its people and is influenced by many different cultures.

I have collated some beautiful photos over the internet for you to enjoy.

The below is a mosque in Semerkand, Uzbekistan. I love the turquoise colour of the dome. Surrounded by huts and greenery, it is a beautiful sight. 

Source flickr

An element of Islamic art usually found decorating the walls and window screens of mosques and Muslim homes and buildings, is the arabesque, an elaborate application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of plants, shapes and sometimes animals (specifically birds).

This is from the same photographer, still in Semerkand, Uzbekistan.

Source flickr

Symmetry is often used on walls of art - to interpret balance and peace. I love the bright mint of the doors.

Source here

The use of blue and whitewashed walls is beautiful here in Tunisia.

Source here

This is a hotel in Hammemet, Tunisia.

Source here

More blue and whitewash. I love this.

Source here

The garden is an important element in Islamic architecture - due to the spread of the religion in hot, arid areas, gardens were built with cooling fountains and greenery for shade.

Granada, Spain. Source here

I believe Spain has some of the most beautiful gardens influenced by the Muslim culture. Notice the symmetry used in these gardens.

Alhambra, Granada, Spain. Source unknown

 The lush gardens of the Alhambra Palace.

Courtyards instead of back yards are popular in residences due to their privacy to enjoy one's own garden. This residential courtyard below is a beauty.

A residential courtyard in Qurtaba, Spain

Another beautiful courtyard to enjoy the outdoors without the heat. Lovely aged brick walls, arches and a hanging lantern complete this photo.

The courtyard of a townhouse in Cairo. Via Cultural Kiosk

Well I hope you enjoyed these photos. If you're celebrating Eid, I wish you Happy Eid and peace to you and your family!

Sheers and panels

Our house renovation is almost complete, and now, it's time to think about how to dress our windows!

Personally, I like decorating room by room, so thinking beforehand on what curtains to use for all the rooms in our house is quite the challenge for me.

I have an idea of how I want my curtains to look like - a neutral colour in a natural material that I won't get bored of over time. I'm not really into patterns, as I like the flexibility of plains where it can go with any theme.

But the thing that has left me scratching my head is on how to layer day with night curtains. You see, houses here are so close together, that day curtains are a must - it keeps sunlight in, but gives us the privacy we need during the day.

I was thinking of going for sheers and pair them with panels - but I really can't find much inspiration out there. Here are a few photos of rooms that have dressed up their windows with both sheer and panels that I will refer to as inspiration.

Velvet & Linen

This is from Brooke Giannetti, I love the use of this gauzy sheer fabric, layered with linen panels for night curtains. Gorgeous.

Phoebe Howard

Phoebe Howard

Phoebe Howard

Phoebe Howard mentions in her blog to stay away from polyester when you use sheers, and she likes using double poles to pair sheer curtains with panels. Aren't the three photos above just beautiful?

The photos of the room below uses double poles with sheer curtains and panels. The room is just beautiful, so I thought I'd just put in all three for your viewing pleasure. :-)

The sheers bring that elegant and romantic touch to the room. I love the use of natural textures of linen, sisal, antique chairs and console. 

You can better see the double poles used here in this photo. I love the stripe on these chairs. 

Source unknown! Let me know if you know who the designer is!

The below room has a modern touch to the interiors as well as the sheers used. You can't really see it, but the sheers to filter in light and maintain privacy is hung as blinds and pulled all the way down to the floor. This is a gorgeous room.

via Eclectic Revisited

The below is one of my favourite photos of sitting rooms - you can't really see the curtains, but they have also used sheers and panels here.

via Mark D Sikes

A beautiful dining area uses sheers and panels here too. I love the ornate chandelier.

House Beautiful

Well, I guess I'll be referring to these photos when I'm making choices for my windows! Have a great week ahead!

simple, elegant and beautiful

I found this photo on Pinterest that I fell in love with.

The designer is Alexandra Siebelink, and I visited her website and found beautiful photos. You can check them out here.

I love the look she creates - simple, clean and a wonderful mix of natural textures. Beautiful!

looking for a lantern for my dining area...

It's been a while since I last wrote, hasn't it!

Well, work has been rather hectic, so I haven't had much time and energy to update here.

My husband and I have been busy looking for lights to decorate our new home. We've been looking for three weekends and still haven't found anything suitable for our dining area until today! I can easily say that looking for pendant lighting can be as difficult as looking for our wedding rings two years ago :-).

I've never really been a chandelier kind of girl - I like simple lighting, and I am drawn to the simple elegance of lanterns.

However, after scouring a total of... (counting in my head)... 12 (!) different lighting shops, today there was a shop that had great-looking lanterns at reasonable prices. In addition to that, lanterns are categorised under the 'outdoor lighting' section, so today, while admiring the lantern I liked, I didn't tell the sales girl that I was considering of hanging it in our dining room. I think she would have maybe laughed at me.

Anyway, we haven't bought the light yet as we were rushing off somewhere after that, so we'll probably buy it tomorrow or next weekend. I hope I can post a picture of it here and show you then.

In the meantime, here are some of my inspiration photos of lanterns in dining areas. Take a look!

Velvet & Linen

I love this sunroom with the french doors and windows! Isn't the lantern so pretty as well?

Munger Interiors

A simple, clean white dining area with a lovely, squarish lantern. Love it. Love the Roman shades with the elegant grey stripes, too.

Tammy Connor Interior Design

I am in love with this room above! I love the sheers with the thin iron rods and those glass doors. Beautiful!

Loi Thai's dining room

Now who has not fallen in love with Loi Thai's dining room yet? Well, I have. Amid the neutrals, the beautiful dark lantern makes a great accent. I love the size, too.

Sally Wheat - Better Homes & Gardens

A pair of industrial looking lanterns complete this look in this fresh and bright dining area. Check out the ghost chairs. Aren't they lovely?

So what do you think? Well, I am most certainly loving the lantern look and most likely will get one for myself!

Have a great weekend, all!

white fan

You don't really see ceiling fans in interior photos, but when they do, I'll be among the first to notice. Why? Because having a ceiling fan in this hot humid weather of Malaysia is compulsory. Every room must have one. And I like to see the kind of fans decorators use for their homes so that I can make the right choices for my own.

Well, some people go for air conditioning sans the ceiling fan, but I've always preferred the good old ceiling fan. Mostly because air conditioners makes my skin dry. 

Anyways... we have to start looking for fans in our new house. And I'm digging white ceiling fans. Not those contractor-chosen white fans (that is being used in my current apartment) we see often.

But something like the one in this photo. 

via Elements of Style Blog

Okay, too bad that we can only see like, three fourths of the fan... well, I did tell you ceiling fans rarely show up in photos of beautiful rooms. And, might I say, this room is beautiful. Loving the window seat and the collection of blue and beige pillows. 

So, if you're a Malaysian, please tell me where I can find a white fan similar to the one in this photo! 

Much appreciated! Have a lovely week ahead!