A BEAUTIFUL MESS // ARTIST

As I am sure you are aware by now, I just love colour. The brighter, of course, the better. So this style of art, certainly brings a sparkle to my eye & a smile to my face. I mean, what's not to love? Tell me you have a big smile on your face just browsing these images! Am I right?

I knew it! Well the talented Barbara Kitallides' work, is so vibrant & full of colour that she likes to think of them as 'emotional landscapes'. Spontaneity is the key to her success, with 80% of her large scale canvases achieved during the initial sitting.

(All images via The Design Files)

Each of the paintings have such a beautiful & unique use of colour, that just draws you in. Gosh, what I would do to have one of these beauties on my wall!

-AXX

INSPIRED // WEEKEND

I have had the most wonderful weekend! I spent Saturday on a Christmas Home Tour (can you believe it- already!) which I found to be incredibly inspiring. It's easy to get caught up in the beautifully styled homes we see on the internet on a daily basis, homes that have been glammed up just for those photos to be taken. So it was really nice to see actual homes in my own town & how beautiful they all were in their own way! 

On Sunday I was pretty amped to have a tidy up of my own room, by throwing out lots of clothes & giving it a big spring clean (better late than never right!?) It's always lots of fun to re style certain corners, create new vignettes & update some bits & bobs that need a little invigorating!

Hope your weekend has been just as inspiring! Have a happy week.

-AXX

IN COLOUR // INTERIORS

Wow! Over on the Adore Home Magazine blog I was treated to the colourful eye candy of interiors from interior designer Maria Barros. Of course I immediately had to jump over to her site & boy what a treat that was. The site itself is really well thought out & an absolute dream to look through, I totally got lost amoungst the riot of colour & pattern. I will certainly be keeping my eye out for much more of her incredible work.

(Photos from Adore Home Magazine blog.)

Happy Friday!

-AXX

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SECRETS // LOVE

A few weeks ago I came across the instagram account of Jasmine Dowling & immediately fell in love with her prints (which she does for fun by the way!) Recently she created this print here & it got me thinking about all the dreams I have for the future. Now that I am feeling very settled in my job & all my little DIY projects on the side I am feeling very creatively satisfied. But to get ahead perhaps I need to do more. And that's where this wee blog here comes into play. I get how every other blogger out there states that their blog is a creative outlet from their every day, but for me it is so much more. Design & creativity quite simply put, is my life, a part of who I am. And this is just another portal in where I can express my love for it.

I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I am!

-AXX

CLAM SHELL // DIY

Now when I say 'DIY' I am using the term rather loosely in the fact there wasn't an awful lot for me to do!

Whilst out at our beach house over the long weekend, I came across this large clam shell. It had been kept outside, so had accumulated a large amount of growth & wear. But I could see past that, into the beautiful glossy white clam it had once been. 

The above two images show the clam after it had had a lot of scrubbing & a fair dunkin' in a bucket of bleach. That grime withheld quite steadily, believe me, but we got there in the end!

To return the clam to it's original (or shall we just say revamped?) state I simply spray painted her all white. The ridges and burrows show up really beautifully & are a true testimony to the raw beauty of nature. For awhile there I was determined to spray her all silver. Then black. Then pink. So white was decided. Honestly though, it could be painted any colour to match a room & make a truly breathtaking statement. Sometimes though, natural truly is best (wise words for the day.)

-AXX

THE WEEKENDER // HOLIDAY

Ahhh, it's difficult to get back into the swing of things when you are given a taster of the holiday life isn't it?

Here in New Zealand we had our first long weekend in which some waited with bated breath for, including me, until I realised just how quickly that time had flown- time seems to be whizzing by at an almost alarming rate this year!

I spent those few days of relaxing time with family between our beach home & up north in the wee settlement of Paihia, where we indulged in plenty of wine, good food & much to our joy, lots of sun!

I hope your weekend was just as enjoyable :)

-AXX

HEART SINGING INTERIORS // LOVE

Nothing gets me more amped than rooms painted in head to toe white (including the floors!) with a variety of colourful furniture & special bits & bobs decorating the space. I don't know what it is, but something about these interiors just make my heart sing.

Of course you can't go past a monochrome black & white palette either. Adding hints of colour around the place makes for even more heart racing. What can I say- clean white lines with colourful decorators is in my make up.

(images via Light Locations)

-AXX