Raise your hand if you have a Pinterest board (secret or not) devoted to your future wedding. Don’t worry; you’re in good company! If you’re guilty of spending a little too much time dreaming of the big day, then you know that Pinterest is a treasure trove of beyond adorable DIY ideas that can make even the biggest wedding-phobe swoon over white gowns and color schemes. Regardless of your current relationship status, these totally unique finds will have you planning your dream wedding, stat.
1. String a canopy of lights over your guests to create an intimate, cozy atmosphere.
2. Start the big day off right with a colorful bridesmaids’ brunch.
3. DIY name cards are more fun and personal!
4. Ombré is a modern take on the traditional wedding cake.
5. Give each guest his or her own photo op with a Polaroid guest book!
6. Print the program on the outside of a paper bag and then fill it with confetti or glitter for guests to throw at the bride and groom.
7. How adorable is this DIY vintage mailbox?
8. Macarons are possibly the cutest wedding favors ever.
9. Instead of a boring old layer cake, create a cupcake tower masterpiece!
10. Painted Mason jars are an easy yet elegant way to display flowers.
11. “Save the Date” postcards are affordable, unique and easily customizable.
12. With a wedding party Instagram hashtag, your guests can contribute to making the day even more memorable!
13. Mini Coke bottle wedding favors are a super cute vintage touch.
14. A truck that sells donuts and apple cider. Enough said.
15. For a truly fairytale-worthy wedding, make an aisle runner out of colorful flower petals.
16. A photo collage gives everyone in the wedding party a chance to showcase their personalities!
17. For ultimate class, gold-sugar-rimmed champagne glasses are a must.
18. Who says the bride has to wear white?
19. Winter wedding = hot chocolate bar.
20. We love the idea of taking hilarious bridesmaid “mug shots.”
21. To celebrate true love, name each table after a different famous literary couple, like Romeo and Juliet or Gatsby and Daisy!
Hello everyone, ready to take another home tour? Today it’s a pretty pastel abode located in Amersfoort, The Netherlands. I came across this home on Instagram and quickly reached out to owner Mariët van der Kooij as I just knew you guys would love it. Sweet faded hues with vintage and DIY elements make this home one to pin, for sure!
Having fallen for a similar home the same week Mariët and her husband Tim viewed this one that sold before they had a chance to jump on it, they didn’t waste any time in sealing the deal on what is now a spacious home for their growing family. “It wasn’t exactly love at first sight – a lot had to happen before we could feel at home,” admits Mariët. “One thing we did love about this house was the large, light living space with sliding doors to the garden, and the spacious kitchen at the front. Upstairs, we were taken by the exposed beams. We haven’t looked back since! We spent six weeks renovating and were able to transform the interior into a space that really reflects us and who we are.”
Dated floor tiling and old fashioned wooden panelling was swiftly removed, walls were freshly plastered and painted and a brand new kitchen was put in place where a tired old kitchen once stood. The goal was a light, fresh interior, which the couple achieved in six weeks, filling their finished home with characteristic furniture, each piece with a story. “I love collecting pieces that come with a story.”
A new home also meant a fresh new style for Mariët, who favored a more monochrome palette that relied on basic black and white. “At a certain point, I was bored of that style and found my home to be a little cold, and plus I needed a creative outlet and a monochrome home wasn’t allowing that.” Slowly, she began infusing her new home with color, mainly her favorite color pink, adding also more warm wood tones too to add texture and cosiness. “I like it when colors return throughout the interior – I would never have just one random color that doesn’t return elsewhere,” says Mariët. “This might be less exciting, but I seek balance in my interior. If I am styling with one particular color, I will often use varying shades of that color to keep things from being boring.”
“My own style can be described as a combination of budget and DIY pieces with vintage here and there, a primarily white base layered with light and soft pastels,” she says. Much of Mariët’s inspiration is found on Instagram. “I love seeing how others style their homes. I also follow interior boutiques and magazines and get a lot of inspiration from their feeds too.”
Styling and decorating at home is a hobby that brings Mariët – whose day time occupation is working with young children – immense joy. “I regularly shift things around the house, styling and restyling vignettes with new accessories and different combinations. Every now and then I find something I have stored away and it feels like new again!”
A favorite piece is the couple’s vintage pharmacy cabinet from the 1950s. “It’s a unique piece that you aren’t likely to see anywhere else, and I love that about it.” The decorating enthusiast clearly has a soft spot for vintage cabinets, because another favorite is the old ‘biedermeier’ wardrobe in the couple’s baby room. “It gives so much more character to the space than a modern wardrobe would have done.”
Downstairs, the couple enjoy a spacious living area that relies on a white basis, with characteristic half-painted pale green walls a pretty addition to the room. The dining area boasts a whimsical mix of materials and styles, both old and new.
The chairs around the table are all replica design pieces. “I don’t ever really by the ‘real thing’ but rather go for the less expensive option, which gives me the freedom to swap and change things around without feeling the heavy price tag,” Mariët admits. Both the wire chairs as well as replica Eames chairs were found at VintageLab15.nl. The Panton chair was a Maarktplaats (a Dutch secondhand online marketplace) score, while the table was custom made by Woodville out of a slab of solid oak with a white airbrushed metal base. The collage behind the table is by IXXI and is called ‘Sweet Poetry’.
“I have a thing for chairs – I can never have enough! I often repaint my replica Eames chairs in colors I am loving at the moment, which I did more recently with my army green chair – it was ocher yellow before that. Spray painting is a great solution for those who love change!”
In the living room, a large and functional grey sofa contrasts with pastel colored pillows (House Doctor, By Mölle) and a black and white graphic rug. On a round, army hued magnet board, Mariët displays favorite cards and artworks – a personal and low budget focal point for an otherwise empty wall behind the sofa. A String ‘pocket’ shelf on the adjacent wall displays favorite objects, artifacts and a hanging plant.
Upstairs, the master bedroom is a fresh and tranquil space which features a DIY wooden headboard, crisp white linens, a hint of purple and a playful lamp from Kitsch Kitchen.
With a well frequented Dutch interior blog, Mariët is always on the lookout for new interior ideas and regularly changing things up in her home as a way to stay current, unique and surprising. “I like trying out new trends at home, but always try to give it my own spin,” she says.
Home for Mariët, Tim and their new son Peppe is all about family and enjoying time together. “We enjoy our home immensely as a family, with the recent addition of our new son. It is a spacious home that allows us each to have our own space while being cosy and inviting at the same time.”
So guys, what do you think? Do you love Mariët and Tim’s pretty pastel interior? What were some of your favorite elements? Mine is the hint of army green – it adds some contrast and shakes things up little bit! See you here next month for another fab interior – Holly M.
French designers Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec have utilized wooden moulds to create giant versions of their diamond-shaped Ruutu vases. The vessels are named after the Finnish word for diamond, and have been originally launched by the design duo in 2014. Unlike the previous assortment, the greater constrained-edition pieces for London’s Galerie Kreo were manufactured using wooden moulds – a method that entails inflating molten glass into a wooden cast by way of a blowpipe.
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This offers the rhombus-shaped vessels, produced by Finnish manufacturer Iittala, a textured surface that Ronan Bouroullec likens to “rain on a window”. “Historically Iittala develop constrained-edition pieces, and they asked us if we have been interested to do something too. We believed it’d be a great idea to produce these vases in wooden moulds, and decided to make them at a massive scale.” “When the glass contacts the wet wooden mould, it makes the surface undulate in a specified way – it is a bit like when there’s rain on the window,” he continued.
The assortment includes 14 vases, ranging in colors and from 35 to 62 centimetres in height. Shades of amber and green differ, based on the thickness of the glass and the depth of the undulations on its surface, so no two vases are the exact same.
Lithos Design and style Primes widens the selection of supplies used for one particular of its historic collections, Nuance, which is now accessible in 3 new kinds of marble: in addition to bianco cotone and beige canapa, the 6 designs of the collection are now also accessible in botticino vaniglia, carrara ghiaccio and grigio tundra.
Architects office Studioplusthree has overhauled a classic residence in Sydney for a pair of musicians, including a recycled-brick extension that characteristics a projecting black steel awning. Situated in the suburb of Marrickville, Llewellyn House is a normal illustration of the Federation type that was prevalent in Australia at the turn of the 20th century. It was in a derelict problem when the owners asked Studioplusthree to transform into a present day, light-filled residing and rehearsal room for its owners.
