Hello decor8 readers, I’m Sia from siagrafica, an illustration and (graphic) design blog. I’m visiting today to share with you, “A few of my favorite things”… I am super excited that Holly and her husband have recently relocated to Hannover because it is only a train ride away from Rotterdam, The Netherlands! I just moved back here after living in Amsterdam for six years and here are some favorite things in my apartment…

This vintage dress form was a gift from Richard, my former boss at Dutch department store De Bijenkorf. Richard also gave me the advice to stay true to myself – it’s a waste of time living up to other people’s values…

One of the things I really like about this apartment is the fact that there is stained glass in every room.

I also love my day bed from Habitat – it used to be my bed when I was in college – I love sitting here while flipping through magazines.

This “I love my clothes” cup was made by Femque van Geffen and Janneke Dröge – together they are BLOND Amsterdam. I bought this cup back in 2003 at their tiny studio/shop at the Spuistraat in Amsterdam. Nowadays, their Flagship store is located at Gerard Doustraat 69.

Another item I bought when I was still in college: this painting by Italian-Dutch artist Selwyn Senatori. I remember eating ramen noodles for the rest of the month but I’m still in love with this cute Vespa!

I am inspired by everyday life (I always carry a moleskine notebook and some TOMBOW pens with me), illustration + graphic design blogs and small shops like the Otherist (formerly known as egg mercantile) selling items by independent artists.

Another source of inspiration: films such as The Science of Sleep, Delicatessen or Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (ssshhh… the credits are pure eye candy)! -Sia

(images: siagrafica)

Hello everyone! While I’m back blogging full-time here on decor8, I have some lovely “favorite things” to still share with you from some fellow bloggers… I ended up having so many accept my invitation to participate that more favorite things will be included this week so that I can get them all up for you to see. :) Enjoy! -Holly

A few of my favorite things: Pikaland

Hi everyone! I’m Amy Ng from Malaysia and I write the Pikaland blog – a blog about living the illustrated life – and I’ll be showing you a few of my favorite things as part of Holly’s guest series while she is settling in her new country.

I recently moved house and one of my first priorities was to make my own working corner as comfortable as possible. I love cheery colors and lots of light, so I chose a spot by the door. The shawl was given by my best friend in Japan when I visited, and it’s always been with me ever since. The drawers were a vintage find, while the bookcase is from IKEA – I taped a patterned paper to the back of it (to avoid dust and to add a pop of color!)

I have a lot of books and I just moved it upstairs into a mini library of sorts. The books shown here are what I like to flip through when I’m trying to sort through mental clutter.

We have a yellow feature wall that was supposed to be filled with art, but right now we’re still organizing things, so it has to wait. I love this particular nook because of the contrast in color that seems to make the space bigger, and of course, there’s Camilla’s print on the wall! My husband loves to collect sculptures/3-D items while I like paper/2-D items.

Our bedroom is black and white, but the walls are a deep orchid purple, so it’s one of our favourite places to lounge about and talk about what happened during our day. Our room’s layout was a little odd, so we decided to drape a patterned fabric and hung it from the ceiling, and it also acts as a divider – the best part is that we instantly had a walk-in closet! Those little sticky notes you see in the picture was one I left for him under the pillows when I had to go away for the weekend – he likes to read it over and over again, and so there they will stay.

This is a little embarrassing to say, but I find myself dressing in colors that have brown or aqua blue in them. I have my favourite bag in there, as well as my jacket that makes me stand out among a sea of boring corporate types, and these lovely new heels. I am a collector of shoes with t-straps and I love seeing variations of patterns and styles for it. I love bangles, and I must have one on my wrist — without them I’d feel a little naked! I also collect books that I find inspiring and I am in love with my collection of vintage children’s books that were handed down from my cousins which I now display in my library upstairs.

My inspiration comes from reading lots of books – I still have a stack of illustrated children’s books from the 1970s which are almost falling apart (no thanks to silverfishes.) My imagination is able to conjure up images just from reading, and is one of the reasons I don’t watch movies based on books, especially if I have read the book before – most of the time I prefer the reels that are showing in my mind! I also love to travel and wish I could do more of it – I’d love to be able to meet some of the friends I have made over the internet.

My favorite advice is one that my teacher told me: “Don’t be afraid to buck the herd and be yourself. When the whole herd jumps over the cliff – will you be one of them too?” I took this advice literally and it changed the way I looked at life forever.

I hope you enjoyed that little sneak peek of a few of my favourite things — thanks so much Holly for inviting me over! : )- Amy

(images: amy ng)

A Few of My Favorite Things: This is glamorous

Hello everyone and happy weekend to you! I’m Roséline from the blog {this is glamorous}, visiting while Holly is in the middle of beginning a new life in Germany. It’s lovely to be here and to share a few of my favourite things which just may get you in the mood for the weekend…

{mirrored storage boxes} Open plan living means the need for storage — favourites are glittering and etched venetian glass boxes to hide clutter and hold pretty little things.

{the perfect handbag} I am rarely without my blackberry, ipod, a camera, a variety of lip balms and glosses, a compact, a daybook and many other things, so a great handbag is necessary — this sandy suede Phillip Lim is perfect and a Summer favourite.

{heavenly scents} There is always a scented candle burning somewhere and never leave the house without wearing a beautiful scent – current favourite is Tom Ford’s Black Orchid, which is warm and heady and really quite sexy.

{shoes, shoes, shoes} Current favourites — from the UK, the softest suede and go with nearly everything.

{little luxuries} Perfectly chilled champagne, pretty pastries and bouquets of roses are a few of the little things that add a little elegance to the end of a busy week.

{inspiration} Always so many beautiful things to be inspired by, but the things I always return to are: bright summer afternoons, dinners for two, crème brûlée, being on the water, late-night conversations, morning coffee, discovering new things, and traveling, which is the best inspiration of all.

{good advice} Spent one summer in a beautiful art gallery where the very wise and talented gallery owner once told me to think about where I wanted to be in ten years and to do one thing every day that would take me a step closer to that goal — it was such a novel idea — tend to live in the moment and ten years seemed like an eternity away, but it reminds me to take a moment every once in a while to look at the big picture…

Also love this quote: “A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are for.” Thanks so much, Holly, for inviting me to be a part of this lovely series — warm wishes + best of luck in your new adventure! Have a beautiful week everyone, ~ Roséline

(images: this is glamorous)

A few of my favorite things: Mer Mag

Hello friends, both new and old! This is Mer from the Mer Mag blog and I’m so happy to help the lovely Holly out while she is en route and in the midst of moving mania. Her timing was great as I myself am looking to move out of my little home come September (not overseas of course…more like over a few blocks). So what better time to share with you a few of my favorite magical spaces in my current location?

This little display makes me happy as it’s the first thing I see when I walk through the door. I’m very fond of the vintage wire basket I purchased a couple of years ago on ebay (my husband thinks it a tetanus trap waiting to happen…but design always comes before health right?) and as a magazine hoarder I find this to be a tidy and attractive way to keep everything all together. In fact I like this little spot so much that it’s one of the few spaces I insist on always keeping in order. Jon (the huz) knows better than to download his keys and coins atop this dresser (a second hand mid-century modern steal by the way…also a love of mine).

Where the “magic” happens. Believe it or not I do most of my work here…work meaning illustration, blogging, printing, scanning, etc (crafting/sewing happens elsewhere). Because it’s so small I’m forced to keep it simple, which I like. I’m often drawn to glorious looking clutter but for the teensy-weensy space that I’m currently in I find my creativity works better with things more simple and minimal. I’m also very happy to sit down to a painting that my little one and I worked on together during an arts and crafts afternoon. The memory is as bright and sunny as the painting.

This clock display is adjacent to my work desk. With clients on both coasts and even in the UK I find this set up very useful. I threw up a few hooks for displaying inspiration, current projects or paperwork that needs my attention.

I love all the art supplies I have around the house. They add such a fun splash of color and help keep me ready to create whenever inspiration strikes. This set of colored pencils in particular produces a smile as it’s meant for small hands and is part of a coffee table display that is both functional and beautiful. With two littles running around it’s crucial (and fun!) to incorporate small design into the home.

You know how I mentioned that I was a magazine hoarder? Well that’s only partially true. I’m a magazine “page” hoarder. In the not too distant past when the world was filled with exquisite publications at every turn I made it my personal responsibility to absorb as much of them as possible. I did that (and still do) by tearing out pages that speak to me and then proceed to categorize them in my “genius files” (a term I fondly borrow from Anna Sui who does the same thing with tear sheets that inspire her). I’m a little OCD about this and am still not sure why I do it…only that it makes me happy…if not a little crazy. I guess I love that I have my own “tailored-made” magazines when I’m through (“magazines” that I treasure even more now that so many of the source publications are out of print).

This is a jewelery display that I simply think is pretty. With a nine month old on the hip, wearing these necklaces for a long periods of time is out of the question so I appreciate that I still get to enjoy them here.

Being a visual person, physical spaces like these are necessary for my peace of mind but I also find a great deal of inspiration in music, film and those around me. I’ve always been a fan of Tori Amos music videos (and who doesn’t love her music?). If ever I’m in a creative funk I just pop in my Tori Amos video collection and the collaboration of music and visuals always seems to get my juices going. I listen to Pandora stations (current favs are Joanna Newsome, Howard Jones, Lykke Li, and Vampire Weekend) when I can but often find that the “music” of my littles is just about as much audio as I can handle. My family and friends inspire me a great deal. Things I want for my children, but can’t seem to find or afford, is one of my greatest source of inspiration as of late.

And to end I’m to give you some of my favorite advice. There are so many little sayings that I adore but one that seems to be a constant is “Do it today, you’ll be ahead.” I can be slacker in many areas of life while indulgent in others and so to try and get things done (that I might be dreading) this little idiom rings in my head, helping me along.

Thanks again Holly and to all of you have trudged through this with me! I’ve so enjoyed spending a little time with you and the opportunity to share a bit of my world with you. – Mer

(images: mer mag)