Hurray! we have a balcony!


It took some time, sweat and tears, but boy was it worth it!

We have a balcony!

our Tea for Two balcony

our Tea for Two balcony

Spring inspiration: balconies, patio’s and urban gardens for city dwellers


Wow, that was a trip. Winter just didn’t seem to know when to quit right? But voila, spring is here. Trees and plants are slowly beginning to bloom, birds dare to sing without fear of freezing their vocal cords, and the sun rears up it’s pretty golden head! Time to go outside, open those doors and let the air in!

I feel it, and can’t wait for Friday April 19th when FINALLY after 5 years of bureaucratic struggles, we’ll have a balcony too! I am already researching magazines and garden books for the best plants, the most comfortable cushions and outside candles. I can’t wait to add that bit of outside space to our home. Here are some of the best balconies, patio’s and urban gardens I stumbled upon.

Vintage finds and antiques revamped with old Silk Road fabrics


In my other career as PR, I am sometimes lucky enough to work with highly inspiring clients. Momiq is one of those. An former colleague of mine recently started this company with her sister.

Momiq combines antique and vintage furniture with fabrics from the old silk road

Momiq combines antique and vintage furniture with fabrics from the old silk road

They create wonderful, individual pieces of furniture using antique and vintage pieces upholstered with handcrafted colourful old and new fabrics. The fabrics used are mainly from countries along the old Silk Road. Among others, these are suzanis and ikat fabrics from Uzbekistan. Suzanis are embroidered pieces of cloth made by women in the region of Central Asia. They are an important part of a girl’s dowry and are also used for decorative purposes in Central Asian households. Colors are separately dyed and once the panels are complete and sewn together, the suzani is sometimes slightly mismatched because of this. But in these delightful flaws lies its beauty. Although the aim of Momique is to design in a sustainable way and re-use as much as possible, they also use new fabrics. These are all from established brands such as Designers Guild, Nobilis, Lorca and Osborne & Little.

SOBIR

Sobir is a walnut Fauteuil à la Reine from the Regènce period in France (1715–1723). The front side of Sobir is upholstered with a new fabric Papilio Plain II from Osborne & Little. An embroidered strip from Uzbekistan is attached to the front of the seat

Sisters Lidewij in ‘t Veld and Rosemarijn van Velzen – in ‘t Veld share a love for used furniture, colourful fabrics and different cultures.They roam the planet looking for hidden gems they can use when creating the collections for Momiq.

Sisters Lidewij in ‘t Veld and Rosemarijn van Velzen – in ‘t Veld, founders of Momiq

The first collection is called ‘Nomads’. Trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort used the term Nomadism for the trend where boundaries are blurred, and time, culture and place all roll into one. It is this what inspires Momiq. The first collection of chairs each bare the name of an Uzbeki word. Uzbekistan is a country on the old silk road.

Photography sunna & marcvanpraag.com

Another daybed


Loyal reader Arjan commented on my previous post with the suggestion to check out the PK80 by Danish designer Poul Kjaerholm. I found this image that I just had to share as it would’ve surely been included in the post if I had found it. I love the grey faded woods with the credenza combined with the cognac leather upholstered PK80. A true gem this….

PK80 by Poul Kjærholm