Malibu Barbie Dream Home

It have to admit that I’m not a lover of all things Barbie! However, I can hardly let the 50th anniversary pass by without giving this famous iconic doll a mention.

Bloomacious have some wonderful images of the latest Malibu Barbie Dream Home designed by Jonathan Alder. Whilst I agree that the living area is almost beyond believe, I actually have to admit that the bedroom has some great interior design features, not least the bed linen. I wouldn’t go as far as the B initials on the cover and pillow covers, but the white with contrasting bold lines offers a clean look which coordinated effectively with the Barbie pink shown abundantly in the rest of the room.

I’m undecided about the table lamps, the black coordinates with the trim of the bedding but the base seems out of keeping, unless of course it depicts a silhouette of Barbie and I’m missing the whole point!

What does intrigue me is the fabric covered ceiling and walls. This is a great idea for covering up walls in a rented home which you really can’t stand the sight of and are unable to redecorate due to landlord’s terms of rental. Buy yards of fabric, not necessarily Barbie pink! from discount fabric warehouses or online. Simply use a curtain track to suspend them by and hey presto! one unsightly wall transformed!

And for those for you who are wondering if I ever had a Barbie doll the answer is a most definite NO!
Happy Birthday Barbie!

Making the Most of Natural Light

Making the most of as much natural light as possible is a great way to add natural warmth and a spacious feeling to small rooms.

This wonderful room design has used the most of the natural light entering the small place by using full length voiles to provide as much light expose as possible across the width of the patio style doors.

Using voiles in this way as provides privacy from prying eyes and yet is sufficiently sheer to let light in and the occupants to see outside. Using white voiles is also an effective way of letting as much light into the room while being able to leave them drawn across the entire glass.

Another great advantage to using voile curtains is their light weight. They can be hung from small diameter curtain rods or poles or used with conventional curtain tracking to make pulling them open effortless as well as coordinating with the interior design style of the room.

White décor with accents of this years Pantone yellow offers a really spring like and fresh appearance to a small room. The light coloured wood of the TV unit compliments both white and yellow wonderfully.

Keeping the main theme of a room white will enable natural light to bounce off the walls and reflective pieces, such as a glass dining table, to create an illusion of more space.

Anyone with a small room will know that it will have to be kept neat and tidy to prevent it being turned into a cramped and uninviting space.

Image source: Freshome

Faceted Curtains

A new design concept which offers a variety of different shapes to open curtains. Designed by Hannah Allijin by simply pulling strings at the side of the corded curtain track the curtains begin to move. The fabric is made up with triangles which folded together one by one. As the cord is pulled various geometric shapes form until they stopped at the corner.

The idea behind the concept was to ‘eliminate the colossus which arise when curtains are opened. The challenge is to change a big surface into a small form in different ways’.

This is a great way to bring curtains alive and interesting during they day. At night the cord is released and the weight will return the curtain back to its ‘closed’ state.

An ideal way to bring as much or as little light into a room as needed; as well as offering a great way to keep prying eyes out of a room by lifting the corner edges just enough to only let the light in!

The appearance reminds me somewhat of scrunched up paper! The Faceted curtains add fun and trendy way to dress a window. The plain neutral colours would blend with virtually all design colour schemes and interior styles; from traditional through to contemporary. An ideal window treatment for awkward shaped windows or those which are hard to reach, such as a landing.

For further information on Hannah Allijin’s Faceted curtains visit Yanko Designs

Image source: Yanko Designs.

Alice in ‘True’ Wonderland

UXUS, an Amsterdam based architec company, had the innovative idea to use their own offices to present and showcase their latest creation which is self described as a “mysterious and poetic atmosphere of old and new world fables’.

The transformation of their offices provides a simple yet stylish ambience to the space. The use of both natural and artificial light to cast white throughout the room is simply stunning.

I love the use the floor to ceiling plain white curtains hung simply from a curtain track to further bounce light and cast shadows throughout the room.

The designs are created to ‘foster powerful unforgettable stories that colour everyday life’. This exciting design is based on Alice in Wonderland, with the door patterned panel door opened to reveal more exciting things beyond. The overhead lighting looks like a large metallic spider hovering over the table!

The dark abstract woven chair in the lower edge of the image caught my eye. I like the simplicity of the design which would suit all types of interior room designs with ease. To see the latest UXUS collection take a look at Yanko Designs, I’m sure you’ll love what you see!

Wouldn’t be great if all offices spaces were designed and fitted with wonderful designs like these!

Image source: yanko designs