Monthly Archives: November 2012

Get in the right Christmas mood by decorating your mantel

Posted on by Nick Brandt

I know I’ve been talking a lot about Christmas lately, but I really can’t help myself. I love this time of year, and I love to see all the Christmas decorations in windows around the village. It’s festive, cozy, it’s actually quite amazing, don’t you think?

Not all of you have a mantel, but I know some of you have it, and I think it’s a wonderful idea to decorate it for Christmas, don’t you think? I’ve found some absolutely stunning, inspiring photos at Home & Garden Television, and I thought it would be fun to show you some of them, to give you some inspiration and maybe a few ideas. I also thought it would be a good idea to give you a few tips to help you get the most beautiful mantel for Christmas.

Only the fantasy sets the limit when you’re decorating your mantel. You can use any items you’d like in order to achieve a unique result. I love mantels with glam, silver and gray, like the one below, and here are a few of the things to remember when decorating.

 

 

  • The lighting is important. I think it’s more beautiful with tiny light sources, to make them less visible.
  • Get a beautiful garland. You can make it yourself, or buy it in store. I prefer frosted garlands with frosted cedar and such things, but green garlands are beautiful as well.
  • Add large accessories. This can be just about anything. It can be vases, pine cones, berroes or whatever you’d like. These accessories will give your mantel its unique look, so choose wisely.
  • Add small accessories. It’s now time to add the small items, such as ornaments. This is also your decisions of course, but too many small items can give a messy impression. I personally think it’s better to stick with a few, well chosen items. Totally up to you though 🙂

 

So, this is my advice for a beautiful mantel. Would you like to add more tips? It would be greatly appreciated of course. And it would be even more appreciated if you would like to share a photo or two of your own mantel 🙂

 

All photos: Home & Garden Television

A new book by Selina Lake

Posted on by Nick Brandt

It’s funny, I’ve had a hard time to figure out what I’d like for Christmas, but now I’ve found something that I really want, and then it turns out it won’t be available for Christmas. Not until March 2013 actually… That really doesn’t matter though, I’m just so happy to discover that Selina Lake has another great book to come! I love her blog, and I love her previous books, so I’m really looking forward to read the new one, Pretty Pastel Style, which can be reserved at Amazon book store already.

 

 

I like pastels, especially pink and green, but all pastels tend to make a room very unique, warm and special, and I think these colours are underestimated. It’s great that we’ll all be able to get advice from Selina, a terrific stylist, and learn how we can use these colours to make the best of our homes. The book will take the reader through the past, with pastels and elegant patterns, give us a hint on how to use retro pastels, teach us how to use lighting and furniture to get the best effect, and we’ll get plenty of beautiful photos of pastel rooms of course.

This will be so fun, and we’ll just have to wait. Until then I’ll stop by Selina’s blog once in a while, to read her posts and look at the beautiful photos. Are you a frequent visitor of the blog as well? The first photo is borrowed from the blog, and it’s some photos which will be used in the book.

Concrete wall by Tom Haga

Posted on by Nick Brandt

Do you know what I find fascinating when I surf the net? The fact that I see so many beautiful photos of homes in various countries, homes decorated in various styles. Some of the decorating styles are really not my style, but I still find them beautiful, and that’s what I find so fascinating. I think the net has opened my eyes big time. I’ve discovered so many new things and I’ve started to like things that I’ve never thought I’d like.

I remember a few months ago, when I showed you a few photos from a concrete cottage that I really liked, even though it was normally not my style at all. That post actually worked as a wake up call for me. I realized that concrete can actually be very pure and beautiful when it’s used wisely. I realized this even more when I found Concrete Wall, wallpapers designed by the Norwegian photographer Tom Haga. The wallpapers are designed with help from photos, taken of concrete walls in Norway. The result is stunning, and I think a wallpaper like these could make any home unique.

 

 

I wouldn’t put these wallpapers in every room in the house, but I would definitely like to have them as a contrast on a wall in some of the rooms. I think it would look real cozy with a concrete wall, with a fireplace, a mantel and a sofa. I can think of several ways to decorate a livingroom with a concrete wall.

What do you think of these wallpapers? Do you like them? I really think Tom Haga is a true talent, these walls are gorgeous!

 

All photos: Concrete Wall, Tom Haga