Wakey wakey! 

What is the best colour for a bedroom? I think it's the colour that makes you feel comfortable and which you find calming and relaxing. My favourite colours are black & white, of course, and grey and pale pink. So I have chosen all of these for my bedroom as well.

As I like to keep it simple and as clutter free as possible, I don't have too many items laying around (well, sometimes I do have piles on the floor, on the chairs...).  There's no need for new furniture nor accessories, but to make it look & feel more comfortable, I have gone for amazing flower arrangements.

Flowers set the mood for the whole bedroom without breaking the bank. Take a good survey of your bedroom. Take into account the decor, colour schemes, natural light, and possible display surfaces. 

Flowers have a strong healing energy of beauty and grace. According to Feng Shui tradition it's not only about colours, it's also about the number of flowers you want to add to your bedroom, about the balance. For creating the most sensual atmosphere in the bedroom is to go with delicate flowers without too powerful scent. Saying that I have here some hyaciths as I love their scent and don't personally find it too strong.

The main thing is to have a great sleep and a stunning visual appearance. 

This beautiful bouquet in pale pastels was creatd by Mihaela at flowerMe.

(FI) Herätys! 

Mikä olisi paras väri makuuhuoneeseen? Mielestäni se on se väri, joka sinusta tuntuu miellyttävältä ja saa olosi rauhalliseksi ja rentoutuneeksi. Omat lempivärini on mustan ja valkoisen lisäksi harmaa ja haalean vaaleanpunainen. Joten olen valinnut nämä värit myös makuuhuoneeseeni. 

Tykkään yksinkertaisesta sisustuksesta ja haluan pitää nurkat vapaina kaikesta ylimääräisestä (no, kyllähän sitä välillä kerääntyy kaikenlaisia pinoja niin lattialle kuin tuolien päällekin...). Uusille huonekaluille tai koriste-esineille ei siis ole tarvetta.  Mutta koska jotakin kivaa tarvittiin, jotta huone näyttäisi ja tuntuisi mukavammalta, päädyin kukka-asetelmaan. 

Kukat tuovat tunnelmallisuutta koko tilaan suhteellien edullisesti. Tarkastele makuuhuonettasi, ota huomioon sisustus, väripaletti, luonnonvalo sekä alusta jolle laittaisit asetelman.

Kukissa on paljon parantavaa energiaa. Fengshuin oppien mukaan värien lisäksi myös kukkien määrällä on vaikutusta, tasapaino on tärkeää. Makuuhuoneeseen kannattaa valita herkkiä kukkia, joiden tuoksu ei ole liian voimakas. Itse olen valinnut sesongin kukkia joihin lukeutuvat myös hyasintit. Omasta mielestäni niiden tuoksu ei ole liian vahva. 

Pääasia on, että unenlaatu on hyvää ja huone näyttää ihanalta. 

Tämän kauniin pastellin sävyisen kimpun on sitonut flowerMe'n taitava Mihaela. 

Here's a mood board for soft pale pink & sharp black.

What are your bedroom colours?

Decor Ideas

Found some decor ideas from HM Home for a black, white and grey room. The function of this room is a guest room slash home office slash music room with guitar & drums. Perhaps some cushions, a blanket, candles, baskets and curtains are needed. There's place for a small puff and frames to have some black and white family photos on the wall. A black & white world map is on the shopping list as well. It will be nice to mark the next holiday destination there. New lamps are already bought.

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(FI) HenkkaMaukka Homesta löytyi kivoja sisustusideoita musta-valko-harmaaseen huoneeseen. Tämän sisustettavan huoneen funktio tulee olemaan vierashuone/kotitoimisto/musiikkihuone. Ehkä tarvitaan muutama tyyny, peitto, kynttilöitä, säilytyskoreja ja verhot. Tilaa löytyy vielä pienelle rahille ja musta-valkoisille perhekuville. Ostoslistalla on lisäksi musta-valkoinen maailmankartta, johon on kiva merkata perheen seuraava matkakohde. Uudet valaisimet on jo ostettu.

A few years ago the room was made for a teenage girl. As she has already moved to her own home, needed to change the function of the room. Just by painting you can make miracles and change the whole atmosphere. Now this room starts to be a perfect extra place for a teenage boy to practise drumming, for mother to have a home office day and for friends popping by and staying over night. 

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(FI) Muutama vuosi sitten ko huone sisustettiin perheen teinitytölle. Nyt kun hän on jo muuttanut lapsuudenkodista omaan kotiin, oli aika muuttaa huoneen käyttötarkoitusta. Jo pelkkä maalaaminen sai ihmeitä aikaan. Nyt tila alkaa pikkuhiljaa muotoutua paikaksi, jossa perheen teini-ikäinen poika voi harjoitella rumpujen soittoa, äiti työskennellä etäpäivinä ja ystävät majoittua yön yli. 

Before painting / Ennen maalausta:

After painting / Jälkeen maalauksen:

There was some new ideas for the flooring, but as the soft surfice is good for the drums, decided to go on with the existing carpet. It just needs a bit cleaning.

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(FI) Lattialle oli muutama uusi vaihtoehto, mutta koska pehmeä alusta on sopiva rummuille, päätettiin jättää olemassa oleva kokolattiamatto ja vain pesetettää se kunnolla.   

Housing Fair 2016 In Seinäjoki, Part 6

Let's continue with the Housing Fair 2016 in Seinäjoki a bit more. Here again are some random pics from the fair - all with a bit of black. People are easily afraid of black, because they think it will make a place dark and sad, but I always say that a hint of black sharpens the interior. Black gives character to space, which can otherwise feel and look a bit blank and blurred. It doesn't have to be all black and it absolutely shouldn't be - that would be boring, but a cushion, a decor item, a stripe in a rug and so on. Just a tiny touch.

Here're some examples which I found at the Housing Fair 2016. They show how to use black in interior decor. Btw, it's always easy to add some bright colours with black, such as yellow as shown in a couple of pics below.

Are you afraid of using black in interior decor?

ps. more pics and details from the Housing Fair 2016 here, here, here, here and here!

Housing Fair 2016 Seinäjoki, Part 1

I will share some pics from this year's Housing Fair 2016 in Finland. It's an annual fair where around 40 houses are built for real families, and for one month people have chance to come and see them. The houses represent the newest technology and trends. I'm interested in interior designing, and this fair gives such a great opportunity to update my style, get new ideas and find interesting solutions.

Interior trend with lots of white, a bit of grey and a hint of black continues. It's so Scandinavian, pure and cosy - at least that's what I think. What about you - do you need colours around you or are you more for 'non-colour' style?

I love pillow cases and duvet covers made of soft linen. They are comfy, natural & so casual looking.

These pics are from the house #19 Honka Marki by Honkarakenne and the interior design was made by Anna Tuohimaa. 

Small Bedroom

This small bedroom had an iron-wrought bed and shiny orange walls, which were actually handpainted with a special (and expensive) technique. It was not possible to re-paint the walls nor to put there any wallpaper. Instead used simple, thin basic white panels by Halltex to hide the plastic looking and overwhelming (restless) effect of the walls. 

The owner had already bought a dark Ikea Malm bed and 2 high chest of drawers beside the bed. There's storage place under the bed, which is a great idea for a small bedroom. To keep the bedroom fresh and airy added white curtains and white linen duvet cover. The owner has a loads of photos, posters and souvenirs, which he wanted to put on display, and anyway those are the pieces that makes a place home.

The colours of the posters give nice warm look and feeling. 

Here are some tips to keep in mind when furnishing a small bedroom:

• Light colours enhance the feeling of space,while darker hues tend to close in. Lighten up tour walls and furnishings.
• ditch the king size (or evven queen) bed and use space-saving furniture. If storage space is an issue, under-bed storage containers can free up a lot of space.
• Visually expand the room by using mirrors.

You can find more great inspirations fro a small bedroom at Freshome!

PS. This was the starting point:

Still kept the warm tone - at least slightly!

Something Black For April?

Spring and April is so full of gorgeous shades of pastels - why not add some black pieces to sharpen up the whole interior at home? Made two moodboards by picking up black pieces of furniture and other decorative objects. The first one I did at Polyvore and the one below at PickMonkey by using HM Home items.

Black Oyster

Black is the color at the moment.

My home-made manicure consists of

- nail hardener Scientifique by Mavala

- anti-split nail sealer by Essence

- nail polish by Mavala

- top coat all-in-one by Essie

- quick dry oil by Opi

Nautitaan nyt mustasta!

Sweet Dreams

 Made some spring-ish mood boards for bedroom by using HM Home pics & items. Which one would you choose? 

Soft grey with an industrial touch? 

 Romantic shabby chic?

 Hues of ocean blue?

Natural shades sharpened with black details?

Patagonia

 One of my favorite outdoor labels is Patagonia. When I first a couple of years ago popped into a Patagonia store on Main Street in Santa Monica, I didn't quite understand what's the point of a short, thin and light down jacket. Then suddenly I noticed that every second customer at Whole Foods was wearing a Patagonia jacket with flip-flops - of course! Gradually I realized that this short jacket was perfect for Californian autumn. It's thin, warm, light, easy to carry, no pullover needed underneath. Ever since I've been wearing the jacket in every season, even in summer in Lapland. I always pack it in my suitcase wherever I travel. In November I bought a longer version with hood. Perfect  for city strolling.

 Yksi lemppari ulkoiluvaatemerkeistä on ehdottomasti Patagonia. Kun ensimmäisen kerran piipahdin Patagonian liikkeessä Main Streetillä Santa Monicassa, en oikein ymmärtänyt mikä ihmeen funktio on tällaisellä lyhyellä, ohuella ja kevyellä untuvatakilla. Seuraavaksi aloin nähdä niitä joka toisen Whole Foodsin asikaan päällä yhdistettynä flipflopseihin, tietty! Vähitellen huomasin, että takkihan on kuin tehty kalifornialaiseen syksyyn. Se on kevyt, ohut, lämmin, helppokantaa, alle ei tarvitse pukea paksua neuletta. Siitä syksystä lähtien olen käyttänyt Patagoniaani jokaisena vuodenaikana, jopa kesällä Lapissa. Mihin tahansa matkustan pakkaan takin mukaan. Marraskuussa ostin myös pidemmän hupillisen version. Ihan täydellinen citytakki.

Short one and a longer one.

Lyhyempi ja pidempi versio.