When we are in Amsterdam

... this is where we stay ... the first 'home' my husband and I bought ... last year our  friends XandL renovated our 100sqm and we are thrilled with the result ... although the place is not done completely, as we still should decorate it a bit better I feel...but already we find it is quite nice 'as is'...I really wanted to share the images I took with one of my favourite blogs ... because XandL deserve the attention!

I have been a long and with that I mean a very long time fan of Remodilista. I truly appreciate how the founding ladies of this blog or should I say online interior design resource still give so much personality to each and every post they share with their huge amount of readers. So when I sent over some pics of our Amsterdam apartment to Sarah Lonsdale I was thrilled she was interested in sharing them at remodilista ... so if you would like to go for a short tour ... head over to Remodilistaand read a bit more about our special place in the Jordaan. 

All images by me, Irene Hoofs

.. Amsterdam apartment over at Remodilista
.. X and L

Some things I liked this week ...

DK3 is very welcome in my house ... 

Just what I need Flower bells wrapping paper to download.

or perhaps no wallpaper on the wall?

20130814 20130812  20130801 ... all very pleasant to read.

Shall we go to Venice?

Painted summers ... 

A simple but perfect headboard ...

this green chair ...

Ever wanted to learn more bird names ... play some BINGO!

Seeing where Zoé de Las Cases lives in Paris. 

A Do Nothing Kind of Weekend.

just a spinning bottle ...

Can you find your city? 

A new game in our house. 

 - Enjoy your Weekend! irene xoxo -  

some things I liked this week ...

We are back home in Singapore ... and it really feels like HOME. I was a little bit worried first and felt a bit sad leaving Amsterdam and my family and friends... but just one step inside our new house here gave me a very comfortable feel and I knew that is the place where I would like to be for a couple of years! Funny coincidence that Singapore is celebrating it's 48th Birthday and I understand why Singaporeans are very proud of what they have accomplished in such a short amount of time and in a turbulent part of the world. 

On another Note ... all her images are welcome in my home!

Such a beautiful vintage desk and chair! 

A studio in Tokyo by Leif design park ... 

Never know what to wear to a party ... here's an idea?

Talking about parties ... would you like to win this gift voucher?

Even food looks amazing in copper ... 

'How to grow' got me so inspired for my balcony ... going to give it a try too. 

Romantic hallway just the way I like it!

I have loved GRIJS from the beginning and will always do!

Some Paris Love... 

Still very nice to be mentioned in a Blog Love post! 

Lemon cake Please!

Nice to read a little story about one of my handmade necklaces. 

Download be Happy or make someone happy! 

Make little paper flower magnets ... 

And THIS letter is Important!

Unfortunately I won't be able to visit ... but you can if you are in Amsterdam between 12-18 August... The PIN Gallery, a great initiative by studio Sjoe Sjoe. 

- Hope to see you back on Monday! Irene xoxo - 

FLOW vacationbook

 When a magazine approaches me for an interview I am always very honored and grateful. It is nice to know they value my opinion and want to share my work and ideas with their readers. The FLOW vacationbook is a seperate issue from FLOW magazine that is eagerly awaited by many readers during the summer. 

This year the magazine book focussed on all things 'photography' ... inspired by everything you see online. They asked me what kind of images I like to share on Bloesem blogs, what to look for in an image and what I keep in mind when making my own pictures. Like the image above when I photograhped a kitchen shelf in our Amsterdam apartment with ceramics found in thrift-shops. 

I'm not a professional photographer but I do believe with current digital camera's, a good eye for composition, color and keeping things simple we can all make nice pictures. 

I also said during the interview that true inspiration for me comes from within myself and not so much from pinterest or instagram. I do love browsing through them and of course they give me good ideas but sometimes there is just too much and I need to go back to my inner voice and think about what I feel is beautitful!

[MORE IMAGES]

Thank you F for inviting me and being part of this summer book. Great reading the interview with Ing-Things too. 

ps. many free downloads from FLOW, best to use Translate not sure if you know how to read Dutch :)

All images by me, Irene founder of Bloesem blogs.

.. FLOW magazine

 

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