Sentiments Attach

I'm sentimental. So recently when someone told me that packing books and shipping them as part of a house move is a waste of time and money I looked at that person like they were crazy. I could never leave the books and things you see on the bookcases in the pictures above.

I have books that were gifts-- like my bible which was a gift from a dear friend. That bible came to me express-delivery one Christmas wrapped in a plastic shower curtain. My dear friend knew that I love the smell of new shower curtains because they remind me of the smell of the new plastic dolls I would get as Christmas present every year as a child. Also, every year at Christmas my grandmother always bought and hung new shower curtains and since then the smell of new dolls and shower curtains gives me the happy Christmas feels. So I could never part with my bible or any other book.

 I mean, I have romance novels written by Anne Mather, Sandra Brown and Mary Balogh that I'd kept since I was 14. Who doesn't get the sentimental value of books? I have Pengiun classics and my favourite copy of Pride and Prejudice which I read over once per year. I have all my Sydney Sheldons and Danielle Steeles and Dominique Dunnes; and for every country I ever visited, I also have a corresponding travel book. I have a copy of Dead Aid. And Alan Dershowitz's Chutzpah. And a biography of Justice Sandra D.  So I have over 1000 books! Does that make me a hoarder? I.THINK.NOT! I'd like to think I'm a collector.

So I am quite thankful to Ikea for its Billy bookshelves. I have hacked the Billy in so many different ways to lovingly display my colletion of books.

This week I am putting together Ikea Billies and displaying all my books once more. I always try to recreate the same styling I used since my first Billies in Washington DC. But alas, the more books I acquire, the less room there is for figurines and things. But I'll definitely try for the many-faced yellow vase arrangement you see in the first set of pictures from my Brussels home.

Inspiration

 I'll do three clocks in my office so I can know what time it is in Lithuania, Belgium and the country for which I may be doing a law-related project.

In my office I'll also stack some framed pictures on top of a tall-boy secretary.

 I may copy this painting/cutting board arrangement in the kitchen. In any case the cutting board will be on the wall.

I like this kind of shelving and am using it for the kicthen. I have taken out the old cupboards that were hanging on the wall.

 I collect paint brushes and chinoiserie. I like paintimg furniture. I have a lot of blue and whirte chinioserie porcelain plant pots and vessels. For full effect,  I like to group them together.

 Shelving! I will have my glasses and tableware on full display in my kitchen . Also, since my bookcases will now be in the dining room, I will also have serving bowls and serverware on the bookshelves alongside my books and other collectibles.

 I like the towel, painting and flowervase vignette. Thinking about using it in the watercloset.

 I like the painting above the mirror. I also like that they've put the symmetrical arrangement of the towel bars.

 I will use this vignette of vessels, framed pircture, books and basket in my bathroom. And also in my daughter's bedroom.

 I have no idea where to find a round mirror. May have to order one online. I like this for my stairway or bedroom.

 I like this layered vignette. Lamp in front of mirror and picture above mirror.

 Bathroom tray.

 I have lots of magazines. I never throw the ones I buy away. So I usually use my belts to hold magazines and loose pages. ( As above).

 Painted table. Love it! I recently spray-painted a table using car paint. Very shiny finish. Will post it this week.

 I will go to the hardware store and get a very large cutting board done like the one above.

 Simply framed art. Ikea would come in handy here.

 This is  the new colour of the kitchen. Very dranatic. Will post once the kicthen is complete.

 When I come home in the evenings the first thing I want to do is take off my heavy necklaces and bangles. So a hanging rack will come in handy in the foyer.

 For my little daughter's room. Hazel has been bringing home her artwork. For now it's all a mass of random lines but I like this hanger trick because I  can keep changing the pictures on display.

 I do not have  a lot of kicthen drawer space so lots of cutlery will be in baskets and boxes like the above.

 In my living room I will mount a 2 meter long shelf and display some German art I acquired above it. I will frame the art in a giant gilt frame. I'll keep the shelf vignette simple.

 Living room vignette.

 I may do the guest room in this colour. I love it.

 I like this furniture layout for my office.

 Framed art! Oversized and matted. I love it.

 In my kitchen, I always need a writing surface. It's where I pay the bills.

African art on the all and also hung up in my book shelf.

Today's post is a look at all the pictures that are inspiring the decor of my Lithuanian home. From kitchen, to bedrooms to bathrooms and living room.

DIY: Tile Paint

Not a single shop sells tile paint in Lithuania. Basically, the big home improvement stores like  Ermitazas and Senukai do not sell tile paint; neither do the art supply shops. I think it's because renters in Lithuania do not get into the business of DIYing their landlord's home. But it was critical to figure something out because I am not the one to be living with those not-quite-italian-restaurant-maybe-German-kitch-or-Pennsylvania-Dutch-ugly-kitchen-tiles. So I decided that I needed to paint the kitchen tiles. They are the ones you see on the wall in the kitchen. I wanted white tile paint and I was not trying to order it from the U.K. So I set about figuring out what the composition of tile paint could possibly be. I figured that exterior concrete paint would drive me insane because of the fumes that it would give off during application. But then I realised that even if I bought tile paint there may be fumes too. So I went with glossy metal/wood paint in white. I used a primer coat first to give the paint something to adhere to. For sure it was smelly but the smell wears off once the paint is dry. Result below (I am not the greatest with a SMART phone camera).

The cream/beige,orange, gray, kitchyness has gone and is replaced by sedate white. (Yeah, I removed the cupboards too and am replacing them with shelves).  I'll let you know how the paint stands up to hot water splashes and stove/grease cleaner.  So there you have it: if you cannot access tile paint use a very good quality primer followed by metal or wood paint.

Next stop: the ugly yellow tiles in the bathroom. As I mentioned before: I am not the one.

Hideous Furniture

I went looking for a new bed last week. I went to some furniture stores in Vilnius. I knew from the get-go that I did not want to shop for furniture in Lithuania. I'd never been to a home here and admired anyone's furniture. Truth. So when I was coming from Brussels and wanted two new sofas I actually shopped for them in Brussels and shipped them with most of my other furniture. I also brought a few antiques pieces I got from Brussels. But I thought that I'd be able to find a modern bed here. Surely they can't get modern wrong. Clean lines, no fussy details, etc. I am dead wrong. The furniture here in Vilnius is all kinds of hideous.

Space age, fake leather, odd colour. Hideous!