stripes!

If there was one pattern that I had to choose among all patterns, it would be stripes.

I am loving this pattern that never goes out of style - be it on furniture, walls or floors.

image from Ikea Family Live

This room has gone all out with beautiful grey stripes on the bed, the floors and even on the clothes hanging on those hooks. I love the beachy relaxed feel of this bedroom.

House Beautiful

I like large stripes on the walls - the stripes used in this room brings out a modern edge to this otherwise feminine room. I'm loving the colour palette of blues, greys and light browns.

HGTV

How about horizontal stripes on the wall? I love this bold and beautiful dining room.

la Brocanteuse: L'Orangerie

Stripes look great on upholstered pieces too. I adore this combination of a striped sofa and burlap pillows for an authentic and rustic feel.

Better Homes & Gardens

Colourful stripes look great on these wing chairs!

If you're not that bold to go big on stripes...

Washington School House

... they make a great pattern on throw pillows when paired together with plain ones.

via Luxe + Lillies

I love this breakfast nook overlooking a great view. Stripes on the throw pillows looks great.

Or you can bring in some stripes on your floors from rugs...

Tim Clarke inc

Ellen Pompeo's kitchen from Elle Decor

Ellen Pompeo's house from Elle Decor. Isn't that just gorgeous?

So what do you think of stripes? I would like mine on throw pillows and smaller pieces of furniture like a wing chair or a one-seater.

And I would totally consider using stripes in a kids' room!

Source unknown

Have a wonderful weekend!

black accents

Today is 1st May and it's Labour Day here in Malaysia! For all Malaysians, I hope you're having a good holiday!

Just the other day, my rather opinionated sister mentioned that my blog features a lot of white and wicker and needed some variety. Of course I was indignant and said, "well, yeah, it's my blog, I'll post things that I like." Which happens to be a lot of white... and some wicker, too.

White walls and wicker chairs? Erm, I couldn't resist! Image from Country Home

So, if you're getting bored of white, I thought that this time I would write about the opposite of white... which is black of course. I've always liked rooms that are neutral in colour scheme, but I feel that a hint of black, as an accent, tends to ground the room and give it that little bit of edge.

Here are some examples.

Katrin Cargill

I love the black backsplash, the granite top, the lanterns and the black stools in this country kitchen.

My Home Ideas

Hints of black on the coffee table, black piano, iron railing and curtain rod. I love this room.

Katrin Cargill

The console table against the wall is black - adding some edge to this otherwise neutral room.

Decorpad

I love this white kitchen and the black pendant lamps to ground the room together.

All Things Stylish

I love the composition of black and white photos in black and white frames. Modern and stylish.

Eclectic Revisited

The beautiful black chandelier is a gorgeous accent in this neutral and edgy room.

Source unknown

I love this study room and the hints of black - the chair, the doors, the photos and their frames.

Elle Decor

Black and white stripes on the banquette - the other chairs and furniture are more traditional to complement the modern stripes of the banquette.

Elle Decor

I adore Meg Ryan's house featured in Elle Decor. White with dark floors and black accents. Her bedroom is gorgeous, too.

Elle Decor

And the black cabinets in her kitchen.

Elle Decor

 So what do you think of black as accents? Is it too strong, or would you consider using it in your home?

red nook

I wrote about breakfast nooks the other day. So we've decided that we can't afford to have one in the house, for now.

But it still has not deterred me from finding beautiful pictures of breakfast nooks on Pinterest!.

I'm loving this one right now.

Source unknown! Pls let me know if you can find the source

I've never been a fan of red, but this crimson looks so pretty. I'm loving the exposed wood beam, the raw plaster walls, the linen table cloth with the red stripes. And floral pillows matched with striped pillows look great, too.

Lovely!

a look into seaside decor

I’ve never really been a fan of beach / seaside décor, but after collating photos on Pinterest, I find myself drawn to the qualities of how beach homes are decorated – casual, laid-back and elegant. Nautical has never been my thing, nor knick-knacks made of seashells and corrals, so I think this style, sans these two elements would be more appealing to me.

This is pretty though. Source

One thing in particular that I am drawn to is the palette of greens, blue, sandy whites and driftwood greys. 

Source

I have always loved rooms that look casual and effortlessly pretty with nothing too precious to touch. 

Via Decor de Provence

You don't need to worry about the kids ruining your furniture. 

Pinterest

Slipcovers are also useful - just whip them off to the laundry whenever they get dirty. 

Eclectic Revisited

I love the use of linens, seagrass rugs, the wooden driftwood table and coral as decoration. The palette of natural neutral hues is beautiful. 

Velvet & Linen

Of course, I couldn't resist putting up this picture again. The perfect palette with a casual, beachy feel to it! 

Eclectic Revisited

This breakfast nook is gorgeous too. The painting of the ocean is reflecting the view from the window across, I would guess. 

Eclectic Revisited

The adjacent kitchen with the ocean blue backsplash tiles is gorgeous. I love the stone floors too. 

via Kitchen Design Photos

This kitchen is beautiful too.


Lets see what a beach-themed bathroom would look like.

via By the Sea

via Delight by Design

And finally, a beach-themed bedroom to retreat to. 

via SW Design

Do you like the beach look? I love the elements of casual and elegance that it brings!

breakfast nook dreams

I think I’m giving my husband a headache with all my crazy (and expensive) ideas for our house renovation. Okay, I won’t call them crazy, but maybe a little bit…. ambitious?

You can’t stop a girl from dreaming about her dream house, huh? I’m sure a lot of you reading this have been dreaming of the perfect house since you were just little girls (or boys if you’re a guy). Well, at least I have.

My latest "ambition"? Having a breakfast nook.

We have a room next to the kitchen of our new house which I believe would be unused (stashing ugly stuff does not classify it as 'used'). And since the kitchen is rather dark, I’ve been contemplating on taking down the wall and making it into a little breakfast nook with lots of light.

I can just imagine myself in any of these breakfast rooms, having my morning breakfast of cornflakes and cold milk. And a cup of hot Milo (a chocolate drink here in this part of the planet). 


The photo below is simply beautiful. I love the neutral colour palette of whites, beige and white washed wood. Seaside decor at its best.

Casual and elegant. Image from here

From Apartment Therapy

I love the denim blue material used for the seats and the mix of patterns on the throw pillows. Lovely!

House Beautiful

The use of neutrals in this breakfast nook is gorgeous. 

Aesthetically Thinking

A striped black and white banquette and lovely mix of frames and pictures. They used two square tables here and mismatched chairs. Casual elegance again!

Southern Living

This breakfast nook is clean and uncluttered. Simply beautiful. 

Triangle Honeymoon

Get those wicker chairs at Ikea!! This corner is oh so pretty. 

A House and Home

Sunlight being filtered by those lovely roman blinds. How lovely. 

Elle Decor

I love this nook with all its use of textures. 

Can your house afford a breakfast nook? I'll let you know if my dream of having a breakfast nook comes to life. If not, I'll probably opt for a french door with milk glass panes so that the sunlight can enter in to the kitchen from that room. 

Have a great Tuesday!