habitat, make it yours

I've spent more time at home in November than I did over the past half year. I'm a 'summer person' and I love playing in my garden and being outside. Inside the house I'm surrounded by just a few (big) plants and interior is getting more important to me.

Interior is an extension of your personality. That's what makes it so interesting and creative. Your interests, personal stuff collected over the years and being surrounded by things that are important to you. Certainly during the autumn and winter months, your habitat has to be a place where you can relax and really charge.

Well this time of year is fine too and I've been looking forward to spend more time at home, reading, watching movies, netflixing and finally finish the unfinished projects and find time to be creative and start new projects.

While the golden xs woodwoolstool cover is still in progress, I already have ideas about what to make next...

dahlias

The dahlia comes originally from Mexico and is named after Swedish botanist Andreas Dahl. It is the national flower of Mexico and was originally used by the Aztecs as a food plant.

Once the dahlias were spread around the world, they became much loved for their beautiful vivid flowers, but I still use the petals to cheer up the salad.

happy everything

Merry Christmas Eve everyone!

The hares have been brought out again. This year they hang out under the palmtree.

No x-mas tree in the house, but a simple pine branch in a large glass bottle. Last week we found a few beautiful branches in the Veluwe woods (I swear, they were already lying on the ground)

A joyful christmas to you all and happy everything!

mini gerbera

To be honest, gerberas are my least favorite flowers, but oh so sweet in mini.

In the simple vintage jug they remind me of a child's drawing of a bouquet.

the prototype

The very first wood & wool stool dressed up in a new summer outfit.

This stool I made years ago and it is not for sale, it's the prototype of the wood & wool stool, made with a piece of driftwood I once found on the beach in Greece.

The bright blue is my favorite blue, actually it's the same as our bedhead, made from two beach cabin doors.

Love to re-use old pieces of wood!

eclectic pixels

Popping pixels! Love at first sight, when I spotted our 'new' handmade pixel daybed spread.

It's an oldie from eastern europe with a colorful flower border, craftsmanship with an eclectic embroidery technique and lacy crochet.

Last week it was actually laying on our bed end, but I prefer to enjoy it all day, so the bright pixel blanket moved to the daybed in our livingroom.

mr easter bunny is in da house

Pippa brought a chocolate Mister Easter Bunny for her brother Minne yesterday.

Happy Easter to you all from the wool cabinet!

coconut & cover project

Two new projects on the bench. (and a basket full next to it)

Beyond the recent city trips, there is always a crochet project on the hook.

At the moment I'm working on a new harlequin pillow cover, with merino wool that I bought in Antwerp a few months ago. (actually for a warm beanie, whatever winter season is over)

The other project is a coconut palm.

My dear husband came home with this coconut palm last week, apparently he has been infected with the plant virus too. The coconut palm needs loads of sunshine, so I hope it will survive indoors the next few weeks, until it is warm enough to move it to the backyard. No complaints about the sunlight so far...

urban jungle stage

Another stage for our favorite houseplants!
Besides the homemade scrapwood plant stand, we bought an old table, with cut-out hearts.
Tomorrow I'm going to repaint this vintage beauty, because the brown is a little brown.

On stage: chamaerops humilis. Once winter is over, we will drag the small palm outside, because this plant can not cope with the harsch winter temperatures.

natural hues

Bamboo chair, oak floor, rope rug, raffia pillow, leather pouf, all in the same natural hues.

peacrockery

A brandnew year and brandnew stuff on the wool locker!

The peacock bowl is a x-mas gift from my sweatheart.

carpet on the cabinet

We've got a new woven rug, I found it in the carpet souk in Marrakech two weeks ago.
It was love at first sight and it's so different from the boucherouites I've bought in Marrakech before.
The new carpet is handwoven, herringbone, harlequin, ethnic and modern at the same time, also the colors are bright and gorgeous. (I'll show it soon, no doubt.)
It's exactly as long as our sofa and it suits in the livingroom so well. Thing is, the other carpet had to go...
We found a proper solution, the colorful harlequin boucherouite now is lying on top of the wool cabinet. Perhaps a bit unusual, but it looks great!
We can still look at it and change the carpets any time we want to.

One can never have too many carpets.

around the world

New books on the pouf!
Son Minne and husband Henk visited London for the weekend. They stayed at my niece Afra and had a wonderful time.

They brought home some very inspiring interior books.
Gypset Living by Julia Chaplin and How We live by Marcia Prentice.
Both books are not typical interior design books, they contain creative interiors around the world.
Yesterday I flipped through the pages and got an overdose of inspiration...
Today I'm going to read the books one by one, at ease on the sofa.

new harlequin pillow

New harlequin pillow in the s h o p.

A new design of the harlequin pillow with handmade multicolored tassels from Marrakech.

attractive things

The daybed is getting more attractive by the day.
Some extra pillows and a cotton throw blanket* from India feel at ease on the sofa.

Our newest green inmate is a gift from Pippa, because it looks like a pineapple on a stalk. It's living in a Moroccan bread basket and is called Eucomis.
Pippa told me it's a garden plant (and it smells), so Eucomis will move to the backyard within a few days.

(* good find Rosa... i love dots!)

home with heart: summer style handmade home

You can visit our home at decor8blog, with the 'house tour' by Holly Marder of Avenue Lifestyle.

'Hey guys! It's Holly Marder with another edition of Homes With Heart on decor8. For May, I’m excited to walk you through the charming, eclectic modern home belonging to blogger and maker Ingrid Janssen and her husband that feels so much like a beautiful summer day to me! I just know you’ll love the happy energy this home exudes and all of the pretty that lies within. If ever there was a Home with Heart, this is it.'

Thank you dear Holly! We are proud of this feature, which is truely an ode to our home.

locker love

One of our favorite pieces of furniture undoubtedly is this locker.

What's your favorite piece in tha house?

cover star

What a cool cover publication on Ireland's best-selling interior magazine House and Home!

Cover Star

'Ingrid Jansen is the Dutch designer whose sitting room graces the cover of this issue of House and Home. Inspired to create a cover for a seat she fashioned with legs of scrap wood, her blog WOODWOOLSTOOL (woodwoolstool.blogspot.com) was born in 2009 and just proves that crochet has been having a major revival. Beautiful photography and interesting DIY ideas are bursting at this blog seams. By now, extremely talented in the art of crochet, her wool covered stools, along with a selection of rugs and throws are available on her Etsy shop WOODWOOLSTOOL etsy.com/shop/woodwoolstool'

Would you like to win an issue of the House and Home magazine?

Please tell me your favorite interior magazine and I will pick a winner of this give away next Sunday!