Bloesem

DIY: new upholstery for my chairs

Today I would like to share a personal project with you that I finished last week. Two chairs that I bought a long time ago while living in Toronto ... vintage chairs in a beautiful shop on Queen street, not sure if the shop is still there? 

I never really liked the upholstery but last year I bought a whole roll of this retro fabric for only 6 euros and although I first imagined them as curtains in a perfectly white bedroom I decided to use them for these chairs instead.

The bedrooms here in our new Singapore apartment are a bit brownish already with all the wood used for the cupboards and floors so it was better to use white and light curtains instead. Not sure what I will do with the remaining fabric though :)

Upholstering chairs like these is actually quite easy. Just make sure you have the right stapler (you can buy in all the craft and hardware stores). Make sure you follow the patterns of the fabrics and stretch the fabric not too hard but strong enough so it doesn't wrinkle on the top. Corners are always a bit tricky but just experiment a bit and pretend you are wrapping a gift.

Good luck! ~irene xoxo

Little pictures

It has become my absolute favorite social media tool ... instagram. Being a very visual person, these images give me lot's of inspiration, small sneak peeks into other people homes and fresh ideas for products.

I am going to try to at least upload three images per day ... will you join me?

.. follow Bloesem on Instagram

Small things in our new home

Moving to a new home is one thing but decorating the new place is another ... not easy to find a good place for all my little treasures... 

Before this vintage white serving trolley was standing in our bathroom, but here in the new apartment I thought it rather looks nice in our living room. I  decided to place some books, my moms copper vase and our Ericofon. Would be great if we could really use it again, does anyone know if this is possible...? 

All images by my, Irene Hoofs from Bloesem except for the bathroom image, which was made by Dutch photographer Marjon Hoogervorst. 

Bloesem's home in Real Living Magazine

 

Last week Irene came home with the December issue of Real Magazine Australia with a smile on her face. She must have been happy with the feature. We all are! It looks great! Irene and family would like to thank Real Magazine so much for featuring them and their home here in KL. Being one of her favorite magazines, this December issue is filled with great Christmas decorating ideas too.

All pictures was taken by personal friend Marjon Hoogervorst. Im sure you recognize that name by now. She has beautiful pictures all over Bloesem especially in our Face-to-face a new Designer's Profile column.

The article starts off with what Irene and Rik wants in a home. "open spaces, high ceilings and a decent sized home office for Irene's studio." This place says it all. After getting to know Irene a little better I can really say that every inch of this home was thought for and added a touch of their personality and style even some toys on the counter by the boys.

Every piece that I point to has a story. "a mix of new and vintage pieces bough on trips to the Netherlands since their travelling adventures began in 2006." And yes, I even asked about the story behind the albino Chinese girl photograph on the wall. Creating a 'real home' sounds easier than done, Irene shares this thought too in the article. [READ MORE]

Decorating my living room

I really felt like cleaning out some shelves and re-organise some things in our dining area. Perhaps the loss of my dad and all the sadness around it made me want to start fresh again ... you recognise this feeling? Some people go out sporting or shopping I like to stay in my own home and find comfort in the things I cherish ... so last Sunday while my boys were playing outside I gave myself some 'me' time .. while listening to some music I enjoyed moving my things around. 

Usually I forget taking pictures but this time I thought let's share it with you my dear readers, you have been so supportive of me lately ... so I hope you like my small decoration ideas. 

I always keep things simple in my home, group things together and try to give proper attention to even the smallest object.                            [CONTINUE READING]

my collections

I was experimenting with my camera (nikon D7000) last week ... i am the person who loves and cherishes small things that were either given to me or bought my self ... every little item has special value to me ...

image above: my new threads from Angela Liguori ... I have so many ribbons from her already and couldn't resist buying some spools of this gorgeous wrapped cotton thread too , the spoon I bought in china town and the felt brooch was a present from Arounna from Bookhou a long time ago ... she should be selling these too don't you think?

image below: new ribbon from fog linen work, the brooch again :) , paper stars given to me by Jurianne Matter the first time we met, a little candle holder that i bought in a thrift shop and the copper key is from an old clock my parents had at home and a glimpse of one of my new fog linen trays. 

Hope you like my little gems too ...