Inspiration is Everywhere

Dear readers, you know how it is. Vacillation, that is. One day you want to live simply, with less things. The next day you go shopping and get over-stimulated by all the beautiful things. Humans definitely make beautiful things, and there is no shortage of them. You can live simply, and make your environment beautiful. It's all about balance. Inspiration is everywhere. It's better to look and gather inspiration rather than impulse buy.

I am always decorating fictitious rooms in my head. My current aesthetic is simple, clean, feminine but edgy, modern, Bohemian with a little retro-Asian thrown in. I am still enamored with color. Pink and blue, to be exact. I love the combination of hot pink with cool baby blue, or turquoise. Also, I'm seeing a lot of gray and silver and digging it. Here's some inspiration I saw while shopping. Hope you enjoy!

I've been seeing prints on canvas quite a bit lately. Even though I prefer an original painting, they look pretty good. The above print is by Michelle Armas and is available at Urban Outtfitters. Love the colors. Also from UO is this divine capis chandelier. Love it.

I'm always fascinated by display. I saw this display at UO. Love the color of the wall, and what a great idea for turning a pillow into wall art. I could see this done with any textile you love, like a scarf or a rug. I love the primitive look of the string and the unfinished wood juxtaposed with the fine fabric. Very creative.

At an exclusive mall in a Cleveland suburb, display was outrageous! The pieces were more expensive than anything I own and I could not stop drooling. Dig this silver end table. Just sitting in a store window. That baby begged me to take it home. Love silver pops in an edgy feminine home.

And for an unexpected edge, I'd love to make a pillow out of this Jimmy Hendrix t-shirt. I could see this in a really glam room decorated in plums, grays and black. Like this one (link).

I almost had a heart attack when I saw these Moooi pendant lamps by Bertjan Pot. I had never seen them in person before, only in magazines. And let me tell you, they are drool worthy. But I will wait for Target to produce a knock off.

Dig this ceiling. One of the design rules that's getting a lot of attention lately is that the ceiling should not be forgotten, it should be treated as a fifth wall. I love how they have carried this pattern to the ceiling but have not gone overboard. Just the right amount of whimsy, yet it's still simple.

On another side of town I saw a loft like space painted in the most sublime two tone gray. I love the ceiling and the fixtures painted gray.

In the same shop, this Buddha print really popped against the gray wall.

I saw these three lovelies in a vintage store. Here's another color scheme I adore: gray and orange (see previous post here). The vase in the middle is really tempting me. Love it's shape, love the geometric Asian motif. Hmm. May need to go back for that one. So many choices. What's a girl to do? I've said it before. Virtual collections are the best. They cost nothing, take up no space, don't have to be dusted. And the best part is you don't have to move them. Because as I'm finding out from my adventures in living simply - you should always pack light.