Category Archives: Design

Before and after

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Some people have been asking for before and after pictures of my renovation, so here they are. I’m not going to apologise for the mess!
You can’t tell on the pictures of the kitchen, but just like in the other room, the door frames and stuff are all grey, I did that for the entire apartment.

Before:

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After:

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Before:

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Pre-cleaning:

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After:

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Still to do; put new wallpaper up in the entrance hallway. That’s really not my first priority at the moment though so it’ll have to wait, at least until the cuts on my hands have healed a bit.
Needless to say, I am extremely happy with the way it turned out, it really feels like my own place now :)

Home sweet home

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I apologise for my lack of activity here lately, I actually have a few posts coming up and also a video or two, but I simply haven’t had the time to neither write nor edit anything at all since I came back from Stockholm. The reason for that is a phone call I got while I was away. I was second in line for an amazing apartment, and I never thought I’d get it, but that phone call was from the local housing agency, telling me that it’s mine if I want it! The morning after I came home I went over to look at the inside, and it confirmed what I already knew. This is my future home!

Luckily I was able to sign a lease from April 1st, which explains why I’ve been so busy. I’m in the middle of moving! And not only that, I’m also renovating the apartment before I go, in the past weekend I’ve painted the kitchen and all the door frames, and also filled any cracks and uneven spots on the walls in the living room. Today I’m going to finish the frames and then I’m starting to put new wallpaper up in the living room.

I’m going to show you before/after pictures when I’m done, and if you are someone I’ve written a letter to/ you would like to send me a letter, make sure to get my new address. I will have post from my old one sent to me for a period after I’ve moved, but just to be sure.
Let’s get this week started! I’m off to the paint shop!

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Design your own stationery?

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I know I have a few snail mail enthusiasts on my blog, and here’s a tip for you. I know we all like cheap/free but nice stationery, and most of you are so creative that this should interest you.

Do you want to learn how to design your own letter writing paper? Of course you do! Well, it’s your lucky day! The lovely Robine over at Vintage Voyage has put together a tutorial for how to make it in Photoshop (complete with instructions on how to download a trial version of PS). There is also a striped paper template that you can use for an easy start in your designing! To get to the tutorial (which is in English and Dutch), click on the picture! :)

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A little tip from me; if you’re not a photographer, you can still get a long way with Photoshop brushes. A good way to find free ones is to search for them on Google, but if you’re lazy, this is a great source; Brusheezy.com :)

Light

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I felt that the old design was getting a bit too dark, even though it’s nowhere near spring yet, it’s still a whole lot brighter, and by the time I go to work at 7.30am, the sun is just about to rise. I feel that the new brightness, not only in nature but also in my life, needs to be represented by a new blog design.

This was the old one;
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And this is the new one;
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Approve, yes or no?

I dream of a library

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Ever since I was a child I’ve loved books and what they represent. Not only to read them, but to have them at home. My largest piece of furniture is a book case. I learned to read early and have done so ever since, nowadays I usually read in English, both because it makes the books last at least a bit longer, but also because I want to avoid awful translations.

My dream is to one day have a house with a library with a small bar (that, of course, is equipped with tea too). There I’ll spend rainy Sundays sitting in the reading nook in the window, with a good book and a cup of tea as my only company. I see dark wood, old furniture, and a ladder or two, to each the tops of the bookcases.

Browsing on Pinterest is a great way of feeding that dream, here are some of my favourites (click the images for links to the pin).







(sunlight actually isn’t great for books as it bleaches them, so huge windows like on the last picture might not be the best idea. Mostly liking the piano to be honest)

Tiny kitchen

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I live in a 23 square meter apartment, and my kitchen consists of two small cupboards an one big one. I decided that it was time to make an effort to organize them to create more space and efficiency.
Before;



After;



I also got this pot after I took the pictures, seems like a better way of storing cutlery considering the limited space. Keeping things upright instead of lying down is key when it comes to compact living.


I’m very happy with the result!