And Until I return... I will leave you with this beautiful thing to watch!

Hello again, Lovelies!

 Philo the cat (RIP) watching closely a paper crane from the "PCP".

A kind stranger once sent me by snail mail a paper crane (see photo above). It happened through an event called the "Paper Crane Project" (now closed). Thank you Liz!

But I just found this video that reminded me of that kind stranger and her "Paper crane Project". The video was found via the blog of guerilla artist Keri Smith.

It really put a big smile on my face, and I can only hope it will make you smile, too!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

P.S. Bad, bad blogger I am. Writing a blogpost again, when i should really stop, when I should really rest. Doctor's orders!

Why Not? (Part 2)

Hello Lovelies!

photo, my own.

I promise, this is the last post I write here before I'm leaving for a month for a much-needed rest. But I am passionate about design, and I have a rather intense relationship inth my interior, so I couldn't help myself and just wrote this follow-up piece, after writing "Why Not? (Part 1)".

So, as i said before, my living-room has pretty good, classical French bones.

Among things I already have are:

A greyish/navy couch
A floor lamp from Habitat (with white lampshade that may need to be changed)
Accent pillows as shown below (image from laredoute catalog):

A chenille IKEA throw in chartreuse green (one of my fave colors).
Three nesting vintage IKEA coffe tables, with a thin black frame and a thick glass top (they were bought by a Swedish friend in the 60's).
Two classical French wooden narrow armchairs facing the couch, with pop red pillows on them (my cat loves to sleep there).

instagram photo, my own.

I set up a nice nook in the living-room that serves as a home office, together with a French vintage wooden desk, a vintage metallic desk lamp, and nice wooden shelving above desk.My fave element there is my vintage black dial phone, that still works (pictured above)!

Things I want/need in order to add warmth to the room and pull it all together:

A pratical, gallery-like hanging system for my oversized artwork, to be hanged behind couch.
Painting the black frame of my nesting tables a light shade of grey (I love the color called Elephant's Breath by Farrow&Ball).
Adding an area rug in front of couch (I have frankly no idea were to begin to search for that rug... Any ideas? I love these Nicola Cerini rugs, but they are made in Australia, not even sure they ship to France... IKEA... well frankly, it seems like a bland option to me. )

About the home office:
I may need to rethink the way it is organized (do i have enough storage?) and decorated (how about a personal, DIY inspiration board?)
I definitely need a more comfortable desk chair.
And a new mousepad, too. I would love a bigger, sleeker computer screen.

Finally, adding the right window treatment over my pair of French windows. I want something simple, organic, white, sheer... With maybe just a little hint of a pattern... I need it to be catclaws-proof, too! Again, if any of you has any good ideas... I am all ears! Thank you!

When I'm back, I will post photos of my living-room as it is today ( the "Before" picture) and I will hopefully be able to post a decent "After" photo in a few months from now. Then, I'll move on to tackle the kitchen, the entryway, the bedroom and the bathroom. Still a long way to go, but gosh, am I enjoying the process!

I hope you enjoy reading about it, too!

Oh... Wait! Did I just sound like an awful pinterest fan that only thinks of gigantic shopping lists? Oh, my! This is not me. I don't really intend to buy all of these things, at least not all at once. What I really aim for is making my home a place for my dreams to come true.

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Inspiration(s) in a Bottle

Hello Lovelies,

Here is some cool stuff I am...

This moving video by Kirsten Lepore called "Bottle". Very inspiring! (found via the bastisrike blog, a daily read for me).

I was also wondering lately: What Is Art? and found some answers from famous artists and thinkers here, on the same page where the poster below comes from.

image source

I also love the answers to the "What Is Art?" question I found on Brain Pickings.

The picture that started it all is from the sorted books series by artist Nina Katchadourian, as seen here:

 via

Turns out Nina K.'s inspired many others to open a "Sorted Books" group on flickr.

So... What is Art?

I have been obsessed for a long time now by this photograph by Sally Mann:

source: photograph by Sally Mann, "Night-blooming Cereus", 1988. 

This image has a haunting quality for me. It is art, and it is not something I can explain... Then I realized I didn't even know what a "night-blooming cereus" was! I looked it up, an found this beauty for you to enjoy:

http://youtu.be/Zbzi8XydHQc

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

How To Hang Artwork - My Personal Ongoing Project

Hello Lovelies,

I have briefly mentioned on my previous post that I wanted to hang a big, bold artwork, probably this oil painting of mine, above my couch in the living-room:

 
Oil painting by Naomi Lipson. All rights reserved.

While I see a lot of thin shelving options around the internet, just like this example:

 source

I find it will be best for displaying smaller pictures in my hallway.

Above the living-room couch, I'd rather go for a museum or gallery-like way of hanging art. like this:

 image from artdoctor.fr

In order to make a bold statement, like this example found in Lonny magazine:

image source: Lonny Magazine Jul/Aug 2011 | Photography by Patrick Cline; Interior Design by Lauren Gold

For more big, bold art, see the pinterest board I created on the subject.

Enjoy!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Why Not? A Personal Journey in Amateur Design

Hello Lovelies,

image: this is Muriel Cibot's living-room, as of 2011 - as published here, among other photos of her place.

I recently bought a French home decor magazine called "Le journal de la maison" and stumbled upon what I believe is the perfect inspiration for me: a house tour of a Paris apartment the same size as mine, 60m2.

I couldn't help but think: "If Muriel Cibot, owner of said apartment, can do it, why shouldn't I at least try?" Muriel Cibot is a trained interior decorator and you can see some pictures of her home here, while I am just an amateur and design-enthusiast, but... WHY NOT?

The pictures of Muriel Cibot's place you can see here were taken back in 2011, while the photos in my home decor magazine, published April 2013, showed an updated version of the apartment. I then realized that the right use of textiles such as an area rug, a throw and a pillow on the sofa, drapes on the windows, a lamp with an actual lampshade on it, etc... could add incredible warmth to an otherwise very bare and cold interior.

Keeping simplicity in mind, I started using pinterest to gather eye-pleasing, beautiful but realistic and affordable ideas.

I must admit that I started with myself, since tackling a home decorating project can be a huge task. First, I researched (and found) the perfect Spring/summer fragrance for me. It is going to be "Orange blossom" by Jo Malone. "Après l'ondée" by Guerlain was also a favorite option, but not an affordable one.

Then I bought two dresses, one for spring, and one sleeveless for hotter summer days. The first dress is from Taillissime.fr - as pictured below:

The second dress is from laredoute.fr :

Yes, i have a classical taste in clothes and I love navy. ;-)

That done, I started a pinterest board with random want/need stuff for my rental, in no particular order. Again, I *do* intend to eventually pair this stuff down to the essentials.

One of the first projects I want to tackle is organizing and decorating the living-room. I want to hang my artwork (and as an artist, I have quite a few oil paintings I want to show off) and I want it *so bad* because I firmly believe it gives a room a "grownup" look and I'm tired of the "forever adulescent" look. Hey! i'm not a kid anymore, and I like it that way. I want to see that fact reflected in my interior.

My inspiration is gathered here. This board helps me define my style, a little "industriel", a little "wunderkammer" with a "masculine flair" twist, but is not realistic nor affordable. It's about dreaming (which a necessary function, too).

Now, let's have a look at the bones of my living-room, which are quite good. It is a classic French living-room. high ceilings (hooray!), high French windows, a grey marble chimney, parquet flooring, nice proportions and one built-in storage cabinet. The walls are painted a nice medium grey, and the mouldings are painted white. So far, so good.

I got a new (very cheap) couch at a thrift store, because my previous cat had scratched my old couch beyong recognition, alas. I got a new kitty, with less fierce claws. Here is my new friend, Kachimo:

 Here she is, asleep in a cardboard box.

I also bought flowers on a weekly basis for my place. Just an example:

The vases pictured here, all my own, are displayed on the mantel of my grey marble chimney.

And when Spring arrived (at long last!) I bought a pair of chartreuse silk accent pillows to add a punch of color, and one geometric patterned pillow grey/white with a hint of chartreuse in it). As seen on this image from the laredoute.fr catalog:

Since the room has high ceilings, I think a nice chandelier is in order. I found at least four nice and affordable options online, and I gathered them here. I love this option from Habitat:

The genaral layout of the couch area in my living-room will be as pictured below:

 image: design by Mark Tuckey, via green design blog.

A medium-sized couch against a wall, a big statement artwork above couch, like my painting below:

 oil painting by Naomi Lipson. all rights reserved.

A chandelier hanging from the ceiling (to be bought soon). And two small coffee tables (I actually have three vintage IKEA esting tables with a glass top).

So the chandelier is my next buy. Any ideas? Suggestions?

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

P.S. This post was so fun to write, I hope you enjoyed it. but I still need to take some time off the internet and this blog. Please understand. Will be back in a month or so.

My New Home, My New Couch, My New Cat...

Hello Lovelies!

[this is a re-writing of a blogpost I published elsewhere] 

I haven't told you much on this blog about my epic move, back in July 2012, to a new and much better apartment, just a five minutes' walk from my previous one. So i still live in beautiful southern France.

Here is the first picture I took of my new place:

photo, my own (c) 2012.

I definitely need to take more pictures for my flickr set called "My New home since July 2012". Will keep you posted!

Back in April 2012, I asked my mom to take care of my cat Philo for a few days while i was away and unfortunately, she didn't do it right and my beloved cat disappeared at that time. After over six months of grieving her loss, I adopted a stray cat named Kachimo. When I take more photos of my new couch, you will see more of that adorable creature... Here she is:

Kachimo the cat. instagram photo, my own (c) 2012-2013.

Until then, take care!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

An Inspiring woman: Maria Sibyalla Merian (art & insects inside)

Hello Lovelies!

 The art of Maria Sibyalla Merian: Masterful insect drawing in the late 17th century, beginning of the 18th century. image via Jane's blog.

I have a board on pinterest called "Inspiring Women" - the inspiration for it obviously comes from Jane Flanagan's series of posts that are all about discovering the lives and deeds of incredibly "Inspiring Women" on her wonderful blog (a must daily read).

 Cover of the book "Amazing Rare Things". Art by Maria Sibylla Merian



On her blog, Jane has criticized our collective (mis)use of pinterest, and I fully understand her position. I try my best to not "hoard", as Jane puts it, that is I try not to mindlessly collecting beautiful images all day long while neglecting my own life.

That said, I find pinterest practical for the time being, as a virtual bookmark of sorts, especially now that we can have secret boards. I personally avoid pictures of hairdos, beauty products that are not organic, weddings, babies and tattoos on my pinterest boards.

 Maria Sibylla Merian, Passion flower plant and flat-legged bug, c. 1701-5 image via a great article on insects in art.

Some other boards I created aim to share the work of artists I admire, my own artwork, as well as other interests I think are valuable enough to share. That is why I mention the masterful art of the insect illustration by Maria Sibyalla Merian here today.

Maria Sibyalla Merian was a woman, an accomplished artist, an "insect lover" or rather a naturalist with a pioneering spirit, all wrapped in one. Her accomplishments as a woman living in the late 17th centurey are beyond amazing. Read more about her here.

So here am I adding today a "pinnable" image of one of her plant/insect illustration, so that anyone not aware of Jane's blog can see it on pinterest and get to know Maria Sibyalla Merian and many, many other inspiring women.



Enjoy!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.

Sudden Inspiration

Hello Lovelies!

 image source : the Beauty of the Letterpress.

I know I haven't updated this blog in a long time. Times were tough lately, and well, Murphy's law was upon me, giving me the gift of sorrow and despair day after day.

Then suddenly, inspiration hit me and I just wrote five blog entries (on my home decor blog) within 2 hours' time. Go figure. All these blog posts are somehow design-related. If you wish to read them, here they are:

Hello Design Enthusiasts!

The Beauty of the Letterpress

Spring Colours Week - my 2013 photos

I forgot to mention: I have moved

Inspiration: The Perfect Place For Me.

You can find all of them at: http://strangerfiction.canalblog.com/

Enjoy!

After all the stressful events in my personal life, I am taking some time to rest, relax and reflect. Please understand.

I will be back in a month or so. See you then!

-Naomi of TeaButterfly.