Exciting News!

"And suddenly you know... It's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings."

I have some very exciting news to share! Finally I can tell you that very soon I'll be launching my new website including a webshop! I've been working on this for quite some time and with a lot of help from Casper (Zilverblauw) my new website is almost finished... I can't wait for you to see it!

For a while I've been having this dream to open my own online shop with vintage furniture and accessories that I've collected and often updated as well. I had a lot of doubts and insecurities before I found the courage to just take this step. Collecting vintage treasures is really something that I'm passionate about and it makes me very happy! So why not share it with the rest of the world?! Well let's just start with Holland and Belgium...

To give you an impression of the products I will be selling, here are some pictures to hopefully get you excited! Off course I'm hoping that you will keep following me on my new website because I'll keep on blogging like before, just with a new look! I'll keep you posted about my new website so stay tuned!!

Pictures by Marij Hessel

A Happy Home: Pink Wall

Sometimes you have those very impulsive moments when you want to paint something... Last week I had such a moment when I decided to paint the wall in our dressing room pink! I still had some paint left from the Flexa workshop I gave at the Meet The Blogger conference in Amsterdam. For this wall I used the pink/peach colour by Flexa with the code D5.13.72 It's a beautiful colour that really warms up the whole room! 

I didn't have to change a lot in this room because the items that were already there were matching great with the new pink wall... I think the different shades of wood blend in perfectly with this colour. On the wall there are pieces by Housedoctor, Marieke Veere and Roxanne Dekker. On my Ikea drawer there's the Trash Lamp, some boxes from Sostrene Grene & a small mirror by Ikea PS. The big mirror & the leather bag I found at the thrift store.

On the other side of the room you can see out vintage closet that we found on Marktplaats. On top of it there are some thrifted vintage vases that I love! On the floor there's a kelim that we bought at the Dutch festival Pinkpop at the Kiboots stand. The green magazine rack I bought a while ago at Urban Outfitters. The cute cacti illustrations are made by the talented Inge from Teken-ing and the calendar is from the lovely Darling Clementine. 

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Thrift Shop

Yep, I did it again... While visiting a couple of thrift stores with a friend I came across this colourful piece of embroidery (I have a thing for embroideries lately). It really makes me long for spring with all those lovely flowers. Can you imagine how much patience it must have cost to make something like this? Because of the soft pastel tones it looks perfect above our couch next to my thrifted vase, wooden candlesticks and the round mirror I bought at a flea market.

I also found the cup and saucer which I instantly loved because of the green dots! The marble coaster and teapot are the result of an earlier thrift hunt. Can't wait for my next trip... Have a great week!

Pictures by Marij Hessel

A Happy Home: Christmas 2015

Today my holiday officially started and I was very ready for some relaxation and slowing down a bit! I really love this time of the year and as always I'm enjoying my two weeks off. Every year I have lots of plans.... "The things I will do, make and finish in my holiday!!". Well you might recognize this, only one third of those plans will come through most of the time and I think this year won't be any different! I've decided, not tot be to hard on myself. After all, holidays are about being lazy and having fun right? I hope you will enjoy some lazy moments as well the next couple of days!

For now I'll share with you our Christmas home! Every year I add some new ornaments to my collection. I love the cacti ornaments from the Dutch brand &Klevering. In the smaller tree there are some diy ornaments that I made with plaster, paint and glitters. If you have any questions about things I used in my home, just leave a comment and I'll try to respond as soon as I can. If it's taking a little longer, I might be busy doing nothing...

Pictures by Marij Hessel

DIY Flowerpots for Vtwonen

I made these diy flowerpots for my latest Vtwonen blog after being inspired by a couple of similar ideas on Pinterest. I still had some paint left from the Flexa workshop that I gave in October at the Meet The Blogger event and I decided to use it for this project. The terracotta flowerpots I bought at Ikea some time ago because I loved the design and shape, they were perfect for this diy!

With tape I created a graphic pattern on two of the three flowerpots and filled it in with yellow and mint green. For the best result I did the painting part twice but it didn't take too much time because the (wall) paint dried up quickly! For the third pot I made a template of half a circle and used it to draw the pattern on the pot with a pencil. After that I used a small paintbrush to fill in the pattern. I'm very happy with these updated flowerpots that are now on one of my favourite thrifted drawers!

As you can see, my cat Def, was not that excited as I was! He still wanted to be in the picture though...

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Gevonden op Marktplaats Wintersalon

Last Friday I payed a visit to the pop up store "Gevonden op Marktplaats Wintersalon" in Amsterdam. The first edition of this original concept took place in June 2014 which I wrote about here. Immediately I was a fan of this idea and again founder Julien Rademaker made beautiful and inspiring compositions. Julien has been a collector for years and decided to share his favourite finds on his blog. As you can see, he has a great eye for design and styling. 

For the next couple of months (untill the end of January) everything at the shop / exhibition is for sale, I especially loved the collection of graphic art! I must say this temporary shop is definitely worth a visit! You can find the Wintersalon on the KNSM-Laan 301 in Amsterdam.

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Thrift Shop

Lately I haven't had a lot of time to visit any thrift shops and I was starting to feel a little restless... Well maybe that sounds a bit dramatic but let's say thrifting just makes me very happy! Last Friday I made some time to visit a couple of thrift stores and off course I took some new treasures home with me! At one store I found a box full of beautiful doilies and I picked out the best ones in white and pink. As you can see they have some embroidery as well, aren't they cute? The pink teacup and the lilac bedspread I found at the same store and together I think they make a beautiful pastel composition!

I used the lilac bedspread in our guestroom and styled it with some accessories that I thrifted earlier this year in Belgium. The lamp is very kitsch but that is probably the reason why I like it so much... The little bird illustration we also found in Belgium during our thrift shop tour that we made this summer. These small things can make me very happy!

You can read more of my Thrift Shop posts here!

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Styling with an Autumn Bouquet for Vtwonen

I was very flattered when Vtwonen asked me a couple of weeks ago if I wanted to blog for them. I'm very excited to tell you that I will be blogging about greens, one of my favourite topics to blog about! Now I have another excuse to come home with some new plants once in a while...

My first blog is about styling an autumn bouquet. I picked out these beautiful branches at the gardening centre because they are a perfect fit for this time of year. You can style these branches in many ways, I decided to show you three settings with different vases. I collected many of my vases and divided them into three groups, you can see what a difference these vases can make! You can read the article (in Dutch) for Vtwonen here.

GLASS

The glass vases are almost non-excisting and therefor not distracting from the shape and colours of the branches. It's almost as if the branches are floating.

WHITES

When you only use white vases, it doesn't really matter which shape they have or if they're vintage or modern design. The colour white makes them easily blend in with each other. I think the white makes the whole setting more fresh & modern.

VINTAGE

During my trips to the thrift shop, I often stumble upon retro vases that I just can't resist taking home with me. For this setting I collected some vases in brown shades with different patterns & shapes. These vintage vases really bring out the warm colours of the branches even more so I think it's a great match!

Pictures by Marij Hessel

Hotspot: Vaen Utrecht

A while ago I visited a couple of nice places in Utrecht which I wrote about here, here & here. On that same afternoon I made a stop at this cute little store VAEN where you can buy vintage furniture, lighting and accessories from the 20th century. 10 Years ago Jeannette and Esrha started their webshop, years later they found this lovely place in the centre of Utrecht to start their "live" shop! When you're in the neighborhood you should pop by!

Pictures by Marij Hessel