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

All images by Irene Hoofs

Coffee, magazines and some marimekko ...

My mom and stepdad arrived last week and it is just so wonderful to be with them! Not to mention how happy I was with my new 'toys' from the Nethrlands :) ...perfect material for a good weekend!

Magazines: Linda, Red and Elle decoration - creamy lotion from Embryolisse, more marimekko plates and napkins and a nespresso machine ... loving the colors of these cups. 

During the weekend I'm going to show my mom my favorite spots around town, will bring my camera and try to capture some things for you too ... most likely I will post them on my instagram feed. 

When seeing the chinese white lanterns in one of the series in Elle decoration I again fell in love with them ... beautiful how they are stacked together here on top of the yellow stove.

I hope you are in for a nice weekend too! Love to hear what you are going to do and wish you a very good weekend! ~ irene xoxo

[MORE IMAGES]

 

ps. not sure about the coffee yet .. but very sure about the colors!

All images by Irene Hoofs from Bloesem

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. 

Calendar round-up 2013

{tea towel calendar from foglinen, image by Bloesem}

Hello everyone! Every new year I feel brings a fresh start. Why is that? I want to have new stationary, new clothes and a new set of mind to do things better than 2012. Let's start with new calendars. Believe me, you need the perfect one to look at everyday for a year. These are some of our favorites here at Bloesem. A clean simple one for my wall with lots of space for me to doodle on would be my choice. After the year ends, you can look back at all the things you've done for the year.

The many different ways to illustrate a moustache by Blush Face. I find this simple and funny and would definitely make a great gift for the moustache in the family.

Kissanpäivät's simple illustrated 2013 calendar. What I love about this one are the colors. Blue, teal and turquoise have always been my favorites.

On to the next page for more of Bloesem's pick for 2013. 

          

Darling Clementine's 2013 Scandinavian inspired Calendar. Bold colors of floral illustrations and the best part printed on recycled paper too.

What does your horoscope says about you. Keep track with the stars with this Astrology wall calendar by Prismatic Print Shop.

Re-use and wash. What a unique idea for a calendar. Kauniste's 2013 Kitchen Towel calendar. Have them in color or black and white.

Dozi paper wall calendar. Simple designs that would go so well with the theme of our office actually.

For all you typography lovers, here's 365 of them for the year. Typodarium 2013 by Slanted. 

Another illustrated calendar we love to add to the collection by Bambula. And there's space for you to doodle on too.

Weekly reminders before you're out the door. Definitely handy for the whole family to take part in. Chalkboard Calendar by Mixed Mangos.

Wood Stump Calendar by Anthropologie, use them as paper weights at your workspace. A cute little addition for the table.

This home calendar by Paper Sheep takes you around the world of 6 different apartments. A great story behind the artist's travels. I love the San Francisco one.

We love paper especially when they are letterpressed by Paper Boat Studios. I wouldn't want to write on these because they are too clean and pretty dont you think?

This is something you could plan out for next year as well. Gather all your pictures to make a calendar. We love the polaroid look in this one. Poladarium 2013.

This ends our 2013 round-up, and we hope you found your special calendar for 2013! What's your pick, do share. 

{tea towel calendar from foglinen, image by Bloesem}

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]

Kiet at the kitchen counter on stools that were bought locally.

This is where I spend my weekdays, the office space/crafts room/inspiration room. I love it! And yes, the best part is the full window of natural light and a view of the outdoors. Irene talks a little bit about the 'black walls' she has here. For an office like this it's perfect for photoshoot days and matches well with all our wooden furniture.

As you can see in the picture below, her bedroom has a black wall as well. What do you think? Do

we all love?

Explore Irene's vintage finds, studio space and her relax and play rooms. Grab a copy of the December issue of Real Living to check out Irene's full feature and many more. There's some last minute gifts idea, more beautiful homes and some Christmas recipes to try out.~Sufiya

 

 

..Real Living Magazine

..Real Living Facebook