Sponsor Spotlight: Mikkili

If you like photography, Scandinavian living and nature then by nord Copenhagen is the perfect home accesoiries brand for you! Online shop Mikkili offers a wide variety of their tea towels, duvet covers and cushions.

Inspired by a very famous restaurant's principles ... raw and Nordic nature... where the rough and gentle meet ... designer Hanne Berzant founded by nord in 2008.

So just like many Scandinavian brands by nord strongly believes in sustainable design... where beauty and functionality are supported by the use of organic materials.

Above in the collage just an impression of what is available from the by nord collection over at Mikkili ... and below some beautiful pictures from the by nord catalog summer 2013. 

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.. By Nord collection available at Mikkili

Monday's quick start: NU leather handles

You might have seen them before but I still like them very much and thought these lovely leather handles by NU need to be shown here at Bloesem Living too. NU interieur | ontwerp is a design studio from the Netherlands ...

When these couldn't find the perfect leather handle they were looking for, for one of their interior design projects they thought designing one themselves. Handle is available in different colors and in three sizes: S, M and L. You can order the handles in their shop right here.

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All images via NU

.. Handle
.. NU interieur | ontwerp

 - NU previously on Bloesem Living -

 

Bookreview and Giveaway: Furniture Makeovers

Good morning lovely readers, I am still enjoying vacation time in the Netherlands and am not posting  so regular as I normally do, but today I am very happy to have a book-review and Book GIVEAWAY for you just before the weekend starts.

Bloesem is part of a blogtour organized by Chronicle Books to help spread the word about this must-have book: Furniture Makeovers by Barb Blair from Knack Studios. Photography by J. Aaron Greene and foreword by Holly Becker.

Finally then… for all of you who had been hoping for guidance on how to restore, revamp and transform your vintage furniture finds…the wait is over… even for those of you blessed with two left hands (no offense, dear husband… ) furniture makeovers have never been this accessible and, simply, lots of fun to learn… enter Barb Blair with her new book Furniture Makeovers, published by Chronicle Books. Many of you will have come across Barb’s Knack Studio – a blog, studio and online shop full of furniture make over inspiration! 

As a keen collector of vintage furniture, it is great to get some hands-on advice, tips and tools, discovering clever tricks to personalize those special finds… even better, with my newly acquired make over knowledge (that is, after reading the book which I haven’t done yet…only browsed through the lovely images which are actually an excellent DIY manual by themselves…), there are no limits to what you can do with partially damaged, worn and torn or faded vintage pieces… come to think of it, someone should write a book on vintage ceramics makeovers, or perhaps I am getting carried away now… :)

 - WIN a copy of Furniture Makeovers - 

Are you interested in the book ... sure you are ... well there are two ways of having a chance to win:

1.) just leave a comment below telling us about your makeover plans

2.) and/or leave a comment on Bloesem's Instagram tagging a friend at the same time for another.

This giveaway is CLOSED ,runs until Friday 2 August and the winner will be announced on Monday 5  August here on Bloesem Living.

WINNER IS HomeMarit at instagram

 - Good Luck ! - 

ps. Jan shared one of the awasome DIY projects from the book over at poppytalk last week ... Using Découpage ... you know that age-old technique that was used centuries ago in places like France, China, and Russia.

Furniture Makeovers is available over at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, or Chronicle Books.

All images are by Irene Hoofs, founder of Bloesem.

Oh My Home

The lovely people from Oh My Home send me one of their gorgeous new posters ... Taking Breaks is perfect for our Amsterdam apartment ... because this is going to be our place where we will be during our vacations ... relaxing, resting, enjoying and taking breaks!

I haven't had time yet to frame the poster but while looking for a spot where to hang it I made some pictures for you. The poster is not just paper ... it's  plasticized ... meaning  higher quality and longer lasting.  

More posters by Oh My Home right here ... ps. great styling by this bloggers couple!

.. Oh My Home poster shop

.. Oh My Home blog

Some things I like this week ...

I am so lucky ... the weather in Amsterdam has been so beautiful all week long and they say we are going to have another great week next week. I have been making lot's of pics on my iphone for instagram .. so if you want to see what I am up to during the day follow me here ... 

Did you have a good week too? What is keeping you busy during the vacation? If you are a bit bored follow these links they will bring you to good things...

Giving away one of my necklaces from the Bloesem Wear collection via Naturelle magazine ... 

Shelves I would like to buy ... not sure which color I like best?

"hippie" tablecloths for a Summer feel ... 

Visiting brick and mortar shop Harvest & co. in my old neighbourhood ... 

Black ceramics and pottery ... 

Rings, rings and more rings ... almost sold out!

Meanwhile at Maukstudio ... 

Very sweet Birthday cards from niko niko ...

The 3rd bedroom almost done!

summertime decoration over in the North countries ... 

 ~ Wish you a lovely weekend hope to see you back next week , irene xoxo ~

 

Sponsor spotlight: Linen Fabrics

I believe there is nothing better then sheer Linen curtains ... in fact I believe linen is the most beautiful fabric of all and I use it a lot in my own home. The see-troughness, delicateness and lightness of this material is what makes me like it so much. Ada & Ina are specialised in fine, natural linen curtains and made to measure curtains. 

Although I am more prone to buy plain fabrics I do like these printed fabrics which are Ada & Ina's exclusive designs cause they do give something special to a room.

If you are thinking of getting linen curtains or roman blinds in your home too I would seriously consider visiting Ada & Ina as they will be a perfect place to ask for advice and they can customize it exactly to your wishes. 

.. Ada & Ina