I have a weakness for all things personalised. Adjust any item or present to fit the occasion, recipient, mood and the simplest of gestures is multiplied by awesome and a trillion. Oh well, I’ll just admit it, I still make hand drawn cards, drawings and poems for my mum’s birthday!! And yes she loves them.
I have been drooling over custom made (family) illustrated portraits on Etsy and Fiverr for a while now. I think I was first introduced to them in an article in Flow magazine a few years back. Last x-mas I decided to put and end to the wait; it was the perfect time to order my first commissioned illustration. After a few sessions of websurfing I ended up in a little Etsy shop named Strangeteeth run by a lovely illustrator Claudia. Click here for her main website which is very beautifully designed! In one of her listings Claudia offers a mini portrait, drawn by hand with prisma markers (you learn something new every day!) ‘giving them a sweet and dainty watercolor look’ (I quoted Claudia there, hence the missing u in colour:-).
I bought the listing and sent Claudia a digital scrapbook collage with pictures of my guy, my bun and myself. The communication with Claudia was really easy, she asked for certain extra info and she even sent me a little ‘in progress update’.
The drawing arrived digitally in time for christmas (Claudia includes sending the real thing by post in her listing), I added a little title to it and gave it as a christmas present to James. He absolutely loved it, it cracked him up. I don’t think he had ever seen a custom drawn portrait before. I showed it to one of my friends the other day and she’d never heard of it either. I think I found a bit of a new calling in ‘pushing’ custom drawn portraits to everyone I know.. It just makes such a considerate gift! Now that I think of it, it might well be the easiest most original gift you never even have to think about anymore. It could be your signature gift for a lifetime! Think of all the possibilities: a friend with a baby on the way, a new house, a new pet. It’s like a gift that keeps on giving,; each update, hairstyle change, family addition means a new gift. Ha!
Anyway, I wanted to show you something else I did with my portrait, besides framing it. I’ve recently been really into resin pouring, mainly because I have to test lots and lots of different types for our new series of coffee tables. So as I was pouring away I thought it would be nice to use some of the leftover resin to cast a mini mini version of the drawing into a silver pendant. So it can go on a necklace for me or a keychain for him. Here’s the result, look how tiny…
I think it turned out great, very chuffed with it.
In my never-ending quest for finding different, fun and creative ways to integrate photography in my interior, I’d like to share a recent project with you.
I’m a sucker for reclaimed wood, you literally find it everywhere in my house (even in my toilet!). I love combining a rough reclaimed wooden surface with something unexpected; shiny, slick or new.
For this family photo display project I was preparing for a friend who has four kids I did just that: I combined the old and the new… the rastic and the plustic (my word joke didn’t come across, did it?). I wanted to make sort of a window frame, very three dimensional and chunky. But nothing too difficult, I didn’t want to have to router or chisel into the wood or slot the forex into anything. So I decided to just simply glue and screw a frame ON TOP of a big print.
In the array of ways to display large images without breaking the bank, these are my two favourites:
1: I combine multiple images in one big file in photoshop (think A1 or A2). I leave it on my computer and whenever I come across a good offer or discount code for an online photo printing service I send the file off to be printed on the biggest size poster available. Once I receive them, I cut all the individual images out with my stanley knife and cutting mat and then I mount them onto a nice sturdy sheet of mdf. I find this is an amazing way to create huge artworks / photographs that look like gallery pieces, but at a fraction of the price you’d expect. When I get round to my next print-and-mount-session I’ll share a tutorial with you, promise!
2: The magic word is….forex print. What is forex, you might ask? Well, let me briefly explain. Forex is a relatively low cost type of hard foam plate, it usually consists of three layers: two hard outside backings and a foamy interior, sort of like a sandwich. Forex is ultra light weight and strong, it’s a material which is used a lot in the advertising/display/signs industry. It’s perfect to print high quality photographs on, it’s durable and scratch proof enough to use outdoors, but so light you can hang it on virtually any surface. And that is a big advantage, especially if you like BIG art on the wall. If you use my earlier mentioned photo mounting option, anything larger than 80cm by 80cm can turn into a seriously heavy display! If you have the right tools and wall plugs, then, by all means, go for it. But if you don’t, stick with the forex! Considering this particular photo display was going to be 100cm by 100cm AND I was using chunky wood to make a frame window; I went with the forex!
So here is my forex print as it arrived to my house. Even though forex is sturdy, my studio is always dirty and messy, so I used some fabric to protect it anyway.
INGREDIENTS FOR A WOODEN WINDOW FRAME DISPLAY:
-a big photo printed onto forex
-7 bits of wood: four for the outer frame, one long bit in the middle, vertically, and two shorter bits to go across horizontally.
-wood glue / pva glue
-acrylic paint
-bunch of screws with a mushroom head
-drill
-drill/ screwdriver bit
-very thin drill bit
In case you want to hang the piece on the wall:
-2 D-hooks
-a bit of string or metalwire
STEP 1: decide your type of wooden frame and make it easy on yourself by drawing the frame on top of your photo before ordering your print.
Before combining my four photos in a photoshop file, I decided on the type of wood I wanted to use to ‘window frame’ this foursome with. I went for reclaimed scaffold wood, nice and weathered and, grey, yet straight enough for me to easily cut four pieces to size. Why do you need to decide this in advance? Because to make it easier on myself I added the lines where I was going to add the wood on the photo, and I made them slightly smaller because I didn’t want them to peep out from underneath the wood. The width of the wood strips was 3cm, so I made 2.5 cm lines. It’s all in the preparation, people!
STEP 2: cut the pieces for your wooden frame to size.
I cut the pieces so they only had one cut side, which I was obviously going to hide/ glue onto the forex surface. I also cut the end s into 45 degree angles. Honestly, cutting angles in wood is NOT as difficult as you might think, just give it a good practice before you start on the real thing. It’s always nice to feel confident in what you do and practice always makes me more confident.
Right, next step.
STEP 3: Paint the edges of the forex board.
Since I was going to make a frame to go ON TOP of the forex board, the edges of the forex would remain visible. I didn’t like the thought of that and so I decided to simply paint the edges. With some acrylic colour I mixed up a shade that resembled the colour of the wood. At first, I was insecure whether the forex would be too ‘plasticy’ to paint on to, but I didn’t have any trouble.
Paints…
Painting…
Comparing the painted edge colour to the colour of the wood… emmm ..close enough for me.
STEP 4: A bit of puzzling to see which bit goes where. To be honest.. I left the three inside pieces a bit longer, just in case I messed up any of my measurements. You can always cut OFF, and never cut ON.
Step 5: scratch/scour/assault the cut/ NON SHOWING side of the wood.
Use a knife, use a screw, use your nail, as long as you make sure the surface is prepped for the glue. I am a firm believer that scratching before glueing really helps the two components to bond properly.
STEP 6: Glue the four outer pieces onto the board.
IMPORTANT: glue a THIN line towards the OUTSIDE of the wooden strips. You don’t want glue to seep through on top of your photograph. If it does, it’s not the end of the world as a wet finger/ cloth can get rid of the glue when it’s still wet. But better to avoid it. The good thing about reclaimed wood is that things don’t have to be too precise and clean, you can wiggle a bit to see which bits connect nicely. And if at this stage you discover you haven’t measured properly, don’t worry about it, make the frame stick out over the edge a little bit. hey, that might even save you from having to paint the forex edge all together!
STEP 7: place something heavy on top of the wooden strips, let glue dry for 15 mins and them turn the piece over.
STEP 8: Pre-drill holes for screws.
Obviously measure the width of your wooden bits, and the distance you want your screws to go from the edge of the frame. I’m quite the lazy maker usually, but I really recommend pre drilling for the screws. Forex has a porous and soft base and you don’t want to risk anything going wrong in the process of screwing it onto wood. Pre-drilling eliminates that risk. STEP 9: screw two screws into each of the four outer corners, securing the forex board to the wood.
IMPORTANT: use mushroom headed screws. They’re the kind of screws that have a head that’s round and domed but a bottom that’s FLAT. Why, you might wonder? Well, since the forex is soft on the inside, a standard type screwhead would pull the forex with it and will try to force it to go into the wood. We don’t want that.
Tadaah.. Two screws securing the forex board into the reclaimed wood.
Make sure to keep checking if the wooden bits are aligned and close to the edge during screwing, the easiest way to do this is to place one finger along the edge.
STEP 10: Now screw one screw in the middle of each side.
STEP 11: Turn over and cut the last three bits of wood to size. STEP 11: repeat the scouring, glueing, waiting and then turn the piece over.
So Now we’re almost finished. Pre drill and screw another four screws to the inside wooden bits the same way as you have done earlier with the outer bits.
STEP 12: Attach the D hooks to the back of the frame. PRE DRILL and SCREW. Attach string or metal wire.
I usually attach my hanging hooks something like 10 cm from the top of an artwork, just so you have a bit of space to play with. You never know in advance how much a certain type of string is going to give, or how heavy the piece is. It saves you having to cut the string, knot the string and then recut the string every time.
So here we go.. that’s it.
And this is how it looks in its new home! I haven’t seen it up on the wall yet, I took this photo when I went by to drop it off. I absolutely love the way the piece looks in its new surroundings, what a gorgeous wall colour!!! Combination with the black and white photo, old wood… stunning!
What better way to lighten up these grey, drabby and dark days, than by receiving a (de)lightful package in the post….?
Today I received a package containing something beautiful, something handmade, an object skillfully made by someone living aaaaall the way on the other side of the world… Even just that thought alone puts a smile upon on my face…
Starting an Etsy shop so far has actually costed me more money than it has given me! It’s not my fault though; I keep finding these amazing things made by equally amazing and passionate people! Today’s purchase is a beautiful handmade wooden light that travelled all the way from the workshop of Ken Read from Mequon, WI, America, to my living room here in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
The product was very carefully packed and accompanied by a little handwritten note on top, isn’t that cute? Actually, Ken’s handwriting reminds me of the handwriting of my nan, she used to write me lovely notes when she was still alive. So without even having unwrapped the contents, Ken’s package has already had an instant melt effect on me. I’m such a fondue kit..
Very carefully wrapped up in a box with popcorn foams, the package contained a handmade wooden light with dimmer, a chord with american plug and an Edison lightbulb.
Beautifully plashed and varnished red toned cedar wood. And look.. as a true artist Ken even signed his handmade lamp. What a dude!
my chord and electrical bits collection…
I knew the plug was going to be an American one because I asked the seller about that in advance, but luckily I love making lights too, so I have the supplies to easily replace the plug with a European one.
I love that handmade wooden dimmer. I find retro filament bulbs don’t really make sense if you use them on full power, I always add a dimmer to them myself.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, me and furniture designer James have done a subtle (though very effective) overhaul of his one bedroom flat in Kent which doubles as an AirBnB let. This flat is very special to the both of us, as during the last year and a half every time James came to visit me in the Netherlands he has been renting the flat out through airBnB. This has allowed us to cover the extra costs that come with having a bi-national-living-in-two-separate-countries-and-still-trying-to-make-it-work-relationship.
So to give a little love and happiness back to the people staying in James’ little haven, we decided to do this make over and we wanted to make it extra homely, with lots of little handmade touches to make everyone feel welcome and at ease.
Project manager of the day was our traveling fluffball house rabbit Parker (no, he’s not a cuddly toy, he actually is alive)
When we bring Parker to work he always watches us like some sort of fluffy type of hawk, making sure we keep at it!
Overview
Here’s the before situation with some of my initial plan of action notes
The space was very ‘British’ to start off with: lots of beiges, lots of carpet… the living room floor really summed it all up: carpet in a slight pinkish shade of beige.Ah.. the Brits and their carpets… Don’t even get me started. The British and their carpets! God knows when that ever started. But I thoroughly believe that whomever was the first person to even consider using carpet in a bathroom should get a proper psychological check-up.
Honestly: carpet + water + toilet+ after shower dripping feet= not a very hygienic combination, now is it? Yuk.
Anyway, I am drifting off subject.
To be honest, it wasn’t actually that bad as the amount of carpet in the flat was limited to the sitting room and bedroom loft space, apart from an overload of separate rugs scattered around, it was quite modern and almost scandinavian, which is the style both me and James happen to like. The kitchen, toilet and hallway were fitted with a beautiful rustic shade of wooden flooring which made for a perfect starting point for this natural make-over.
The walls had some really big framed pieces of art on them, most of them not really in keeping with theme and colour scheme. So the first thing we decided to do was to take them down and assess if the walls needed a fresh coat of paint.
The wallpaint was in excellent condition, obviously the Air BnB guests had honoured James’ no smoking request! A wet cloth and some Fairy liquid did the job.
The surroundings looked bigger already, it’s amazing how dominant big dark artworks can be in a small space.
Space around television
The television corner area was instantly transformed when we replaced the very dated black IKEA tv-stand with our own custom made and space saving alternative.
Here’s the before situation:
And this is what it looked like afterwards: We custom built an angular TV unit, to make optimal use of the space. And obviously we went for a lighter colour, since that big black TV screen is enough darkness for one space anyway.
In a small space it’s so important to maximise the use of every square inch available. By replacing the square tv stand with an angular shaped one we managed to do just that. Also, by changing to a lighter colour scheme the space now looks optically bigger.
Space around the sofa
The sofa, doubling as extra sleeping space (by the way, good tip for any airBnB owner) had a good size and colour. All we really had to do was to make the styling a bit more current and trendy by adding some colour, pattern and texture. We replaced the covers of the sad and deflated cushions with some new ones. Both cost and waste saving, we re-used the old flattened cushions by inserting them in pairs in the new cushion covers.
Plump cushions… check.
before…
after!
This is an artwork by Anna Allworthy (James’ sister), she paints amazing cityscapes using a mixed media and collage technique. We commissioned her to do a piece especially for the flat but she didn’t manage to finish it in time. So in the meanti
me we used one of her paintings we had at home. Luckily we’ll only have to miss it for a short while because it looks so good in our own house! The colours of this painting do clash a tiny bit with the colours in the LOCI GENIUS table but it doesn’t bother me too much.
The sofa hasn’t got the biggest of bum-sit-spaces, so I infused some extra comfort into it by adding a little soft stool. Amazingly I found this one on sale for 15€, I kid you not. The legs were black though, which I didn’t like, so I gave them a lick of turquoise paint.
LOCI GENIUS customised coffeetable
We made one of our brand LOCI GENIUS coffee table especially customised for the flat. For any of you who don’t know about LOCI GENIUS; it’s a furniture brand I founded last year together with James. We make customised coffee tables with elements of reclaimed wood in which we incorporate locations by printing parts of maps onto the wood. We top it off with really cool handmade midcentury hairpin legs and a sleek shiny glasslike transparant resin surface.
For the coffee table in the flat I incorporated Canterbury and Blean, the birthplace of James, into the surface and went for other greenish toned Canterbury surroundings because their natural feel went so well with the rest of the new interior.
Some close-up photos of the result:
Space around the table
We wanted to use the wall space above the dinner table-writing desk in a clever way. Now that we removed the artwork, it all looked very sterile. We decided to go for a multifunctional alternative in keeping with the colour/material scheme; a hanging wooden wall feature. Not only does it look does it look good to use a blind shelve instead of a dark artwork, it’s also a way to save yourself the hassle of having to change artworks every time you’re bored with a look. Having a wall shelving feature means you can combine, experiment and change styles to your hearts content. Scatter little plants around, display postcards, photo frames, or paint the wall (even easier: place a piece of patterned wallpaper) behind one of the compartments to make more of a bold colour statement.
wall ornament floating shelve with retro filament light bulb
I found these cute little concrete square planters last minute in a pound shop.
Serious love for the filament lightbulb.
We had to include a bike in the display, come on, I am Dutch!
Here’s the message.
I love the greyish colour of the repurposed wood
To save space on the multifunctional reclaimed wooden table (some guests might want to only use it as a writing desk, since most visitors go out for dinner anyway) we got rid of the table lamp and integrated a light element into the shelving feature. I bought all the parts online and assembled it myself, really easy to do. I used:
a retro filament bulb,
a porcelain light fixture,
a transparent dimmer,
a plug
and some very awesome coloured fabric covered cord.
I wrapped the excess chord around the radiator pipes in a very loosely and nonchalant manner, I don’t think it’s the kind of chord you need to hide.
And again, in case along the line you might get bored of the look this light element creates, when you decide to remove it, all you’re left with is a tiny hole the size of the cable’s circumference in the top. Not too invasive.
Space next to the tv
OK, and then there was that very present wicker plant stool next to the television oozing with 80’s appeal…
I thought long and hard but didn’t manage to find a way to re-use that stool, I really just didn’t like its vibe. We did want to allocate that space to a plant again though, so we decided to buy a new, smaller stool and customised it by painting the top the same colour as parts of the television unit.
new stool, with painted top.
Replacing the wall light with a customised version
Right, so the space around the stairwell is a real eyecatcher, mainly because of the beautiful custommade reclaimed wooden cupboards in its base but also because it leads up to the cosiest sleep loft you’ll ever see!
On the wall by the stairs there was a simple wall light, one of those plaster half bowl shapes lampshades. I figured it would be quite easy to come up with a more creative alternative light cover without too much hassle. So I used some of the bits and test scraps of the LOCI GENIUS table and asked James to saw them into little strips. I then stuck them, together with painted and stained bits of scrap wood, onto a base I made out of MDF. Finished the back of with some metal hanging slots and Bob’s your uncle: new customised light. One little downside to the result: by replacing the lampshade with this new version, the light shines in two directions, not just up but also downwards. We didn’t quite take into consideration that the plastered walls of the flat aren’t that smooth… The drop shadows of this new lighting really accentuate the flaws! oops. But to replaster the walls wasn’t really an option looking at our budget. Oh well, after all, Canterbury is a very old city so hopefully the guests will consider imperfect and old accents merely as added character
recycled/upcycled bits I made
Why spend if you can re-use? Here’s what I managed to repurpose.
the plant pots
I swapped some plants around, as I found the prickly palm didn’t really go where it was and I wanted the softer, rounder plant on the new coffee table. I never realised how difficult it is to find a nice plant pot! Honestly, I went to so many shops and perhaps it was because it wasn’t summer, but I couldn’t find any nice neutral coloured ones. I only managed to find glossy, very tacky or dark ones. Therefore I decided to paint two of the existing pots light grey, again to infuse a bit of lightness into the space.
the wooden lamp support
The lamp shade and shape of the light were beautiful, but as it is often the case with any sort of pine, the colour had over the years turned into a horrible shade of orange. Easy solution: I repainted it in a bright shade of turquoise, which just happens to be the complimentary colour contrast of orange, isn’t it?
Newly coloured lamp in its natural habitat.
the ceiling lamp shade
Before:
After The lamp shade didn’t really fit in anymore with its brown, orange and yellow creamish tones. It was still in really good knick though, so I decided to paint over the stripes in grey, white and turquoise tones. I have to add that this job wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be, in the end I had to apply two layers of primer and three (!) layers of paint because the material absorbed like crazy.Teacup planter:
I re-used a teacup by transforming it into a succulent planter (I mean, you NEED a teacup in a British BnB, am I right?)
I framed an H&M HOME collection coaster.
I also re-used some old IKEA photoframes I had lying around and made some little arty bits in keeping with the home theme, using stamps, string, ink, bits of leftover paint and a coaster.
Upstairs
Upstairs didn’t really need any work as it is such a beautiful loft sleeping space, we get so many compliments on it. I decided to add a little plant to the wooden ledge since there wasn’t any green. I also added a little home made framed artwork (I had fun with some letter stamps) and we replaced the carpet with a nice contemporary patterned one I found in the H&M HOME collection. The two brown cushions I took off of the sofa downstairs now have a new place on the bed, they look so much better there.
So, that was my report on the make over. What do you guys think?
I hope you like the results.
Parker definitely thought it took too long though…
I really enjoyed doing this make over so much! I just love this space, it’s so special to me because of what being able to rent it out has meant to my life. I hope the guests staying in the flat will experience equally special times…
Update:
A few months after our make over this is what it (still) looks like… We only decided to hang back a painting on the right, I’m not too happy about it though. Need to look for something nicer, perhaps a cool black and white photograph. Also, James’ parents have removed the floor cushions, I don’t know if they understood their function.
This is the photo I have used on the Air BnB listing, hence the text on the tv. 😉
A couple of weeks ago me and furnituredesigner James completely restyled an air bnb interior in the UK. The space was perfect for a project, not too big so the budget could stay humble but not too small to actually really make a change.
Since the space wasn’t massive, we wanted to keep the colours light. I would have LOVED to start with a blank canvas, rip all the carpet out and lay some luscious whitewashed reclaimed flooring down, but hey, you can’t have it all. So there were some basics we had to work/deal with:
-warm beige coloured carpet (what is it with the British and their love for carpets??)
-a simple futon in a sandy coloured corduroy
-reclaimed wooden diningroom table and set of painted chairs
-a lot of plants and pots
-reclaimed mapleboard corner coffeetable
-a wooden tablelamp with creamish linen lampshade.
The space features a lot of handmade wooden elements which the guests really
appreciate (according to the many lovely comments on the flat’s ‘natural and homely vibe’) and that’s a nice starting point for my moodboard. Another thing I got from the guestbook comments is the fact they really appreciate the ‘get away feeling’ the flat evokes, a home away from home that is. Is’t that the Airbnb slogan as well?
So a lot of natural materials to work with, a home away from home; I’m thinking something a bit more masculine, or gender neutral maybe, greens, dark blues, greys, prints, sturdy rough material textures and definitely some feelgood printed quotes in English. I find printed words to be an amazing way to catch attention, evoke a feeling and since the bnb is so well travelled in, they’re not easily going to get boring (which is a definite DISadvantage of using printed quotes) because no one’s ever around long enough for it to get to that point!
I used the website Polyvore to make a moodboard and gather inspiration, together with adding some items that already caught my attention online and in magazines. I am a big big BIG fan of the H & M HOME collection. They always seem to offer stylish scandi and most of all affordable solutions for interior styling.
It’s a bit much, I know, I’m just so overflowing with ideas for this space! And I also want to add that the colour scheme may seem a bit darkish now, but keep in mind the walls and floor of the space are beige creamy, so I think it would be nice to play with some contrasts.