
Image from pinterest
Good lighting in your home office is a must… and there’s no reason why it can’t look great on and off. Absolutely loving the long industrial pendant… fab!

Image from my scandinavian home
Hanging a cool pendant very low adds to your light and your look!

Image from my scandinavian side

Image from stylizmo
Dual pendants give great individual lighting and have a gorgeous aesthetic.

Image from modernmaggie
My favourite desk lighting would be … the humble desk light of course! Fantastic for directional lighting… and just a stunning design.

Image from pinterest

Image from my scandinavian home
Love love love a yellow attachable desk lamp!

Image from convoy
And two is twice as nice.. and twice as groovy!

Image from pinterest
Suspended from the ceiling… v. cool

Image from a merry mishap blog
And hello??? The mothership of home office directional lighting!

Image from bodyandfrou
Everything about this vintage desk lamp is fantastic… check the fastening harware.. yum!

Image from workspace
Probably not as effective… but cute.

Image from pinterest
Ditto…

Image from pinterest
Mixing it up is always a great look. How fab is this with two entirely different light sources?

Image from pinterest
My fave combo…

Image from Ideas for cottage on the water
If you want to love your office, then you have to make good decisions. Pick furniture that suits your needs and your taste. But remember form follows function… so the practical needs must be met first! How gorgeous is this vintage swivel chair??

Image from remain simple
Don’t be scared of large pieces in small spaces… but if you do have an oversized piece and you’re not after the overflow boho look, then minimise your other elements.

Image from April and may studio
I love this desk. Visually light, cute practical storage and a fun splash of colour.

Image from Eva Black Design
Ladder love… but holding a rug in a study is a little unnecessary (?), I hang my fabrics and trim on mine… They’re also great for business periodicals.

Image from My Scandinavian Home
If lots of storage is required at hand.. then choose something you are happy to have dominate the room, like this fab vintage cupboard.

Image from Vtwonen
Easily my favourite style of desk. The trestle table doesn’t sit heavily in the room. Many desks look like big blobs drawing all the attention and sucking all the visual space out of the room. If you have the traditional heavy covered desk… you want to be a good stylist and have a good space to play with.

Image from notes. analoguedialogue
Love this vintage black one! The only issue with a trestle is no drawers or inbuilt storage… but that can be behind you, to the side… even visible underneath…

Image from Apartment Therapy
Coloured filing on wheels … practical and cute.

Image from 2 Bp blogspot
Making or re- purposing your own desk or table means you’ll love yourself as much as your office.

Image from 4pb Blogspot
A custom built desk can ensure you make the very most of your space.

Image from Home designing
Or… it can just be beautiful and express you!

Image from The examiner
A quirky addition, like this hammock can give the humble office area a real lift… and perfect for power naps!

Image from Chictic
If you have more than one person using the space… symmetry can be a great friend. Note the lamps, pendants, desks and shelving.

Image from Pinterest
Or have two quite different styles complementing each other…. I love this look.

Image from Pinterest
If you’re lucky enough to be a designer or architect… you’re halfway there already with the beautiful lines of a drawing desk.
So…if you don’t have fabulous windows, and you want to be inspired when you sit at your desk… the answer, as always, is ART!

It’s diversity that makes this look work. Different shapes, different mediums, different colours. Unless you’re a minimalist, (and let’s face it.. if you’re reading my blog, you’re not), you need multiple focal points. Activity ( by that I mean art in all it’s shapes and forms) at eye level, means activity (and by that I mean your everyday bits and pieces -read mess ) on your desk and other surface areas doesn’t strike a visually discordant note. To put it simply.. if you’re a messy worker… make sure you have a really diverse galleria above the desk to balance it all out! ps. loving the extended light cord swung across the room.

If you’re not messy something like this can look amazing. What I love about this is the inherent symmetry of the “squares within a square”, beautifully contrasting with an offset image.

I love vintage signs in an office….such a sense of history and a cool re-purposing.

By incorporating the wood storage (love it) and using a smattering / scattering of cool art the result is confidently quirky … a very relaxed feel without any sense of clutter.

Clever styling. Note how the desk gathering on the left, and draped pom poms (who doesn’t love a pom pom?) balances the offset collage on the wall.

Another cool re-purposing. An old bed spring base works brilliantly within its own frame to hold any number of focal pieces.

I love this in so many ways… The beautiful symmetry of the pendants with the art, the pop of orange and yellow in an otherwise totally monochromatic setting, the lightness of the wire chair, the trestle table desk….

And I love this for just as many opposing reasons! Such a generous splash of loved images… the randomness of this look belies a beautifully considered layout.

Fabulous! I am in love with that fox print and the winged sheep! The beads on the round hook mix the overall look beautifully… the visible brown tape just works, and every office should have a feather quill.

Making your view an extension of your practical needs is always a cool and clever approach.

This is so beautiful! I may never be able to live with such a controlled look… but that doesn’t mean I don’t love it! That artwork is amazing.




Great vintage sign.





So…go big go small… go multiples with symmetry or multiples with asymmetry. Find a piece that you love, it could be a drawing, a saying, a print or a book cover. Start with that and group around it to make a view for yourself of things you love. Images that lift your spirit or quotes that inspire you. Whatever you do… don’t leave the wall blank. That’s catching that is…. your mind will be next…
Image from www.designsponge.com
For those contemplating a bathroom or kitchen update…have a think about decorative tiles. White is handy…but boring. Find tiles that you love…and make the space yours, not anyone’s. Don’t be scared about “matching”…matching is probably the worst thing you could do for any room. Instead surround yourself with pieces and designs that you love…and it will always look amazing.
Image from www.ahappyhabitat.blogspot.com
Image from www.apartmenttherapy.com
Image from www.everythingfab.com
Image from www.fireclaytile.com
Image from www.flickr.com
Image from www.flickr.com
Image from www.housebeautiful.com
Image from www.isabellaandmaxrooms.blogspot.com
Yummmmm
Image from www.ishtar.com
Image from www.lesapea.tumblr.com
Image from www.picasaweb.google.com
LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!
Image from www.re-nest.com
And these!
Image from www.shabbysugarpinkboutique.blogspot.com
If you’re too nervous to commit to a full pattern then consider sweet cameos. Just a couple of hand painted tiles like the gorgeous Marie Antoinette tile above or the sweet floral ones below will add so much to an all white or all neutral wet area.
For an on-line or at-home home consultation email me at ria@iwantiwantiwant.com.au
Don’t forget to check out our online store and our new range of fab statement furniture!
www.iwanthomewares.com.au
Such a well named business!
Image from www.thedivinechair.com
This is a bit of a tease for Aussie followers I’m afraid, with The Divine Chair being based in the States… but the “bold and bodacious” designs of owner Kitty McBride are inspirational for anyone out there on the hunt for the perfect chair.
Image frfom www.thedivinechair.com
With a talented designer eye, Kitty pairs vintage chairs with stunning fabric creating one of a kind art works.
Image from www.thedivinechair.com
I love that beautiful, or quirky, but dated pieces of furniture are given a whole new lease on life. These dusty antiques have been funked up to shine in any contemporary setting…and it’s been done with style, respect for the original piece and a sense of fun.
Image from www.thedivinechair.com
Like me, Kitty names all her pieces … which I also love.
If you’re thinking of indulging in a bit of upholstery..or just want to be wowed…check out www.thedivinechair.com
For an at home or on-line consult email me at ria@iwantiwwantiwantcom.au
Visit our on-line shop www.iwanthomewares.com.au
Your bath is the focal point for your bathroom…so make a splash with it!!
This beautiful old claw foot has been painted with a well chosen soft green. I love how the choice of a duller palette has left this room elegant, relaxed and understated. The combo of that amazing mirror and the claw foot could easily be overly formal with different colour choices.
LOVE pink in a bathroom. Bathrooms are definitely female right? …. just checked…”la salle de bain”…so yep… they’re girls!
Hot pink is even better…
This is stunning. What beautiful detail …
I’m not entirely in love with this space…but wallpaper to contrast ( rather than match…) with a cool coloured tub is a great look.
You can be as pretty or as dramatic as you please. Some more images to inspire…
This roll-top bath has been mounted on untreated oak blocks….cool huh? Love the Le Corbusier chaise…
Professional restoration and painting of vintage baths can be fairly expensive… So, if you’re feeling up to the challenge… check out The Daily Tubber (http://www.vintagetub.com/blog/2005/09/painting-exterior-of-old-claw-foot-tub.html ) and eHow Home (http://www.ehow.com/how_4882197_paint-claw-foot-bathtub.html ) Great tips on prepping and painting your bath.
Visit our online shop http://www.iwanthomewares.com.au/
For an at home or online consultation email me at mailto:ria@iwantiwantiwant.com.au
Apologies everyone! New computer issues and internet problems stopped me from posting most of last week….. Back on track now!
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
My mum had a beautiful old dressing table …. bagged by an older, faster sister who also nabbed the dining table. I loved it with its gorgeous triptych of oval mirrors, ornate legs and the general vibe of grown upedness that it gave off. But what I mainly love about dressing tables is that they not only condone sitting in front of a mirror to do your make up and hair…they kind of demand it. And if you have to sit down to do it the whole feeling of getting ready changes. I mean if we are going to go through the whole ritual of make up…then why not make it a really nice ritual?
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
A dressing table also gives you a surface to both order and display all your pretty girly stuff…love ‘em! Vintage cups and saucers, boxes an bowls are wonderful receptacles and help give you the layers of prettiness a dressing table should have.
Image from www.cafofofino.blogspot.com
And it doesn’t have to be an expensive original dressing table…an old desk here gets a new lease on life.
Image from www.livingetc.com
And this dining table makes a fabulous dressing table. A few images of non-dressing table tables to inspire…
Image from www.livingetc.com
Image from www.johanna-vintage.blogspot.com
Image from www.passiondecor.blogspot
Image from www.livingetc.com
Image from www.pinterest.com
I love this so very very much….
Image from www.homefurnituremag.com
Or, you can make it all about the mirror….
Image from www.funkybeardecor.com
Stunning deco wing mirrors!
Image from www.idealhomemagazine.com
Beautiful!
Image from www.housetohome.co.uk
So if leaning over your bathroom sink isn’t doing it of for you anymore then nab yourself a wee nook , it doesn’t have to be big, and make it your own.
Image from www.google.com
Love the colours and the mannequin!
Visit our online shop http://www.iwanthomewares.com.au/
For an at home or online consultation email me at mailto:ria@iwantiwantiwant.com.au
Image from www.desiretoinspire.net
I love plantation shutters…but the full shutters are my favourite. With the right paint job they look so amazing and on a practical level…these things work!
Image from www.123rf.com
Particularly if you have them on the outside. It makes much more sense to stop the actual glass of the window from heating up or cooling down by covering them externally. Also, if you have them outside it means you can have curtains inside…
But, inside or outside…they look gorgeous! Some images to inspire. x
Image from www.google.com
Image from www.prurientone.tumblr.com
Image from www.splendidwillow.com
Image from www.decor8blog.com
Image from www.completey-coastal.com
Visit our online shop http://www.iwanthomewares.com.au/
For an at home or online consultation email me at mailto:ria@iwantiwantiwant.com.au