Ombre wall for the beach-inspired space

I was very lucky to do a beach-inspired space for a client last year.  Being a beach person myself, it was like creating my own dream beach house.  There were lots of beach-inspired design options to choose from. From nautical to rustic to modern and minimalist.  We decided on a white backdrop for the main areas with the walls painted stripes in very light seafoam green. For the bedroom accent wall, instead of choosing a beach-theme print or wallpaper , I decided to have the wall painted like a mural. 

The inspiration mostly came from the colors of the sea of course, from deep navy blues of the ocean floor to the light turquoise of the waves along the shore.  

Then, the colors from the seaglass collection were also a no-brainer. Look at the seafoam greens and those aquamarine blues, can you feel the sand on your feet already? 

Of course, we decided on the colors already but how do we do the mural? Ombre was big for the past few years and when i saw this paint swatches of blues, i wanted to cry. This clearly depicts the fading blues of the ocean on the first photo. Oh, serendipity!

And here's how the painter did it step by step using an airbrush 

Here's the finished wall against the wood laminated flooring.  Looks like a petrified wood washed ashore , don't you think?

 with the lights installed and the bespoke distress-finished bed against it

 Here, with blue bedding and some coral touches on throw pillows and basket weaves under the night tables.

 I'm liking the look of the white furniture against the play of blues and corals, don't you?

 The sheer window treatment, because the beach wouldn't be complete without some sun, right?

 And here it is, a glimpse of the "beach" on the mirrored closet doors, with the same distressed finish as the bed.

 I really enjoyed doing this project, the client actually just had her housewarming a few weeks ago and I was able to take complete photos. Will upload the rest of the space soon .

KIMpulsive buys in Bali

Went crazy for these things in Bali:

Ikat weave fabrics to add to my fabric collection (here as table runners) , the buddha bead necklaces I bought from a vendor in seminyak beach, and those kalachuchi (frangipani)  flowers that tourists wear everywhere ( I had to buy a couple, coz they match some of my outfits/swimsuits and they will never wilt, :) :

this huge cocktail ring made from carabao bone that matches my buddha bead bracelet (  the heavily carved table unfortunately  I cannot bring home :) 

and we bought this "angel" ring, also made from carabao bone set in brass, as a  memento for this special trip with my BFFs (best fag friends haha)

and this seemingly serendipitous purchase, serendipitous because we just happened to be walking the whole length of Petitenget after a full lunch at Sardine, we didn't really know where we're going. Then I just stumbled upon this hardware store full of beautifully-crafted brass hardware (doorknobs, drawer pulls, hinges, etc). I found myself touching and gushing at each piece. I felt like that fat kid in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory, the salesboy giving me an embarrassed smile seemingly questioning why this tourist is having her photo taken at a hardware store. lol

For the shopping alone, I can't wait to be back Bali. 

Greatfuckingdesignadvice

I have found my mantra for 2013. 

  You can buy the poster and more fucking awesomeness  here.

new year, new me, new blog

photo from the atelierblog

brown paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things.............

the one on the left is the vintage wrapping paper that i found

Yes, I know it's  way past new year already and packages-tied-up-with-strings season is officially over, but before I move on to talk about new year's resolutions (not!), I would just like to continue what I started talking about in the previous post.  For those who cared to guess, the blue and white one on the right with the victorian ladies,  is the real vintage. I actually came about it while scouring a store in Divisoria for the generic wrapping papers, boxes, and whatnots. I found this almost-hidden in their display cabinet which apparently has been there for ages, already forgotten. It wasn't for sale, but I managed to convince the salesperson to sell it to me at a super bargain price, some of the edges were already browning but I loved the authentic look and the feel of the thick old paper ( yes, I'm even addicted to the smell of  old dusty pages of a book).  The salesperson couldn't quite believe I was interested, he told me the wrapping papers were probably older than me, that bit of news just made me want it more.  Now i just want to preserve it and don't even want to use it as wrapping paper anymore.

For the past three months, my sister and I have been busy with gift wrapping, yes, the business of gift-wrapping, tags, and the like.  We have been up to our necks (literally) with wrapping papers, ribbons, tags and stickers for the bazaar slash christmas season. We expect to at least earn some profits from it but like any small business venture we find ourselves engaged in, gift wrapping as it happens, has always been something we also love to do. Actually people who know me well know how I like wrapping presents for them and I am known to spend major bucks on wrapping papers, ribbons and other wrapping paraphernalia.

The Kraft paper and paper twines are my all-time favorite wrapping materials.  There are like a hundred and one ways to wrap things with Kraft paper or Japanese paper, so simple yet so versatile, they are every wrapper's best friend.

For some people, wrapping for them involves qeueing in the free gift-wrapping section of a department store or buying a paper bag to stuff their presents into but for me gift-wrapping is an essential part of gift-giving. Somehow making an effort on the presentation just make it seem more special, the gift more personal, don't you think?

which one is the real vintage?

skeletons in my closet