Just another pencil portrait

My dear friend Laura kept asking me if I could do a potrait of her, so I decided to draw one for her birthday.

I felt like a right stalker when I looked through all her photos on Facebook, to find one that was of good enough quality where you could see all the little details. This is how it turned out. She was really chuffed when I gave it to her, and I'm so glad she likes it :)

It's just made with normal soft pencils on a quite thick sheet of A4 paper.

Unique lighting

I used to work in a warehouse for lamps a few years back (yeah, I know - great job... not!) and to be honest I got a bit obsessed with lamps. Not normal boring lamps, but unique and creative lamps. The artier - the better! Lamps don't only function as light sources, but they are for decoration as well. 

I do admit, the lamps in my house are quite plain and boring, but I am looking to invest in some more creative and unique lamps to match my creative mind :) I want the interior decorations in my house to be as arty as possible.

The dream would obvisously be to have one of those amazing Chihuly chandeliers that I wrote about in my last blogpost - but I think that's gonna have to stay a dream. 

I've been looking at some fantastic handmade wall lights that I would give anything to have. What do you think about these?

Or what about this wall lamp made out of reused umbrellas? That sure is creative!

I do quite like lamps made out of other things, such as this old typewriter lamp. My friend actually made me a table lamp out of an old converse shoe not long ago. Interesting... The thing is that I had to take this lamp in my hand luggage on a flight. The staff in the security control sure looked at me funny when they looked through my bag!

 

When it comes to ceiling lights I've got a thing for swirly baroque style chandeliers. I used to have one very much like this one, which I loved, but I had to give it away when I moved over to England. My sister is now taking good care of it back in Sweden. 

I've got a silver one in my house now, but it looks awful (my boyfriend bought it before we even met). I'm thinking if it's possible to spray it black with some matte spray paint. It would look so much better. Any suggestions?

Chihuly exhibition at the Halcyon gallery in London

Just over a week ago, which was the last weekend of January, my dear boyfriend took me down to London for a couple of days. I haven't been to London for years, so this was really appreciated. 

We hadn't planned to do any touristy things at all, but we simply had some nice strolls around the city. We visited Covent Garden market - I love that place (but not as much as Camden, of course!), and we had a very short look on Oxford street before we got bored. What's the point of going there when you've got the exact same shops in Leeds?

Anyway, when we turned off Oxford street we got to New Bond street, on which the Halcyon gallery is. We looked in the windows of the gallery and were both gobsmacked. In there was one of the most fantastic exhibitions I've ever seen! I've always been fascinated by glass art, since I come from the part of Sweden that it known for glass blowing, but this was truly amazing.

The gallery was hosting an exhibition by Chihuly, and I was sold first thing! Just look at these fabulous pieces.

The glass pieces are all inspired by shapes you can find under the sea. The massive ones you can find in the gallery's two windows (one blue and one purple) look like octopus arms and sea shells mixed together - twined and twisted in every angle imaginable. It's very mesmerising looking at it all. Unfortunately my camera doesn't do these pieces justice, but you really have to see them with your own eyes.

Chihuly also exhibited a few abstract paintings with "splash" effects. I love abstract art, and it's what I prefer to paint myself. These paintings with simple yet beautiful patterns, and the contrast of colours, are gorgeous. Just my style! I wish I could hang one of these in my livingroom. They're definitely something to get inspired by next time I decide to be creative enough to paint. If only I had some motivation!

Fascinating staircases

When decorating a home there is so much to think about – tiles, wall colour, fabrics… you name it! But have you ever thought of doing something as extreme as changing your staircase to something more creative and eye-catching? Most people think that stairs are just stairs, and that their only function is to take you from one floor to another. I guess this is true on one way, but just take a look at the creative staircases below, and you might change your mind! 

Stairs aren’t just stairs, but they work perfectly as book cases as well. The one that really caught my eye is the first one of these four (could it be oak?). I like the fact that it’s so chunky, and that the shelves are square.

If you have a small home, space saving stairs could be a great option. And they look so extremely stylish too! But oh my, it sure must be scary walking in them. Better watch where you place your feet! I absolutely love the staircase made out of wooden boxes that have simply been hung up on the wall. If you are looking to do something like this for your home it might be easier to build it yourself, rather than buying a ready-made one, in order to fit it in perfectly with the angles of your home. But don’t think that you can just build a staircase with any creative materials you find (like the wooden boxes below). Remember that each step needs to be able to hold a heavy weight, and therefore it’s essential that you buy some high quality, professional stair parts, like the ones in the range of Richard Burbidge from Flyde Stair Parts.

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 A set of creative spiral stairs can be just enough creativity in your home if you’re looking for something that stands out, but not too extremely. The wooden stairs with chunky steps have a really natural feel to them, and they would fit in most homes. If you prefer to style up your staircase with patterns, a great way to do so is to opt for a printed or painted banister, like the one with the tree motif below.

If I could change the staircase in my current house I would definitely go for any of the two below. The black one cause it looks so dramatic (just imagine that black and those patterns against a light wall – what a cool contrast!) and the one with the tree banister because I’ve got a bit of an obsession with trees since I recently covered a whole wall in my house with a big tree painting. And also, the tree staircase is the most similar one to the stairs I’ve already got in my house, so this would actually be feasible to create!