New Name - Changes Are Coming!

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Sears Tower sky deck Photo by Charlie Engman

 I'm stepping on out there 

photo by Hetero Topia

and taking the plunge 

Hi everyone... We have a name change... Welcome Home - a guide to modern living has been transformed to SnOOp.  

I have been holding the name and concept of SnOOp close to my heart for sometime. I originally wanted SnOOp to be a free print shelter magazine but as time has passed (two-years) I realised SnOOp belongs online with you. 

Welcome Home - a guide to modern living has always been such a mouthful and was always planned to be a temporary [working title] so I hope you love the new name as much as I do. 

The logo was designed by super talented London design agency Accept & Proceed

We will be moving home within the next couple of months but I wanted you to get use to our new name first.

Have a great weekend 

Amanda xxx 

Atelier Abigal Ahern's New Light Collection

I'm in LOVE with  Abigail Ahern’s  latest lighting collection. I really, really want the birds 

Furoshiki by Lucinda Newton-Dunn & Hennie Hayworth

Photos by Deborah Jaffe Found via Oh Joy

I'm famously guilty in forgetting to take a recyclable bag with me when I go grocery shopping. However all has changed now that I have been introduced to Furoshiki {a traditional Japanese wrapping cloth} by Lucinda Newton-Dunnan & Hennie Hayworth. This amazingly versatile piece of printed cotton textile can be used to wrap and carry almost anything from books and clothes to lunch boxes and watermelons! 

Modern Handmade Dinnerware Trends For Contemporary Table Settings

 My big thing is looking at how we as consumers want value but not at the cost of everything being the same.  I'm in love with everything that feels like it has been made by hand and a has a strong sense of provenance like this Rural outfit by Imke Klee and Looks like paper porcelain plates by Annett Janowiak 

Flick'r star Sayaka Minemura found this dinnerware set at Matsumoto Craft Fair in Japan. I adore the idea of using a familiar, disposable object such as the paper plate and transforming it into a cherished ceramic dinner plate. The uneven edge of the plate adds character and a feeling of one-of-a-kind to what is considered a mass produced product. The humble Wooden fork and spoon is by Ryuji Mitani

Beautiful, natural and informal linens like Lauren Kovin's textiles I believe make a dining table warm and inviting. Great food alone isn't enough. Serving dishes and dinner sets that feel like they're handmade is reminiscent of the love, time, care and skill you have put into making a meal. I'm currently in love with  Pure Deigns sandstone and porcelain collection.

 

Accessories your table with products that include natural materials like the Balloon & Seasoning Shaker by Masayuki Kurokawa available from K-Shop. Boiled eggs photo by Charlie Engman

Imperfect is the new perfect. Wonky and not ironed is OK. Metropolis bowls by De Intuïtiefabriek. Natural linen trousers available from Etsy shop Blood Orange Thing's.

I am always looking for simplicity, function and beautifully made objects. Homogenous mass market product is a thing of the past. I guess this post is a small stone against the flood of mass manufacturing increasingly dominating design. Photo of linen trousers by Joe Bonomo. Dinner setting photo by Sayaka Minemura

Watch Movie For Extra Inspiration

Rediscovering: The Traditional Use With Leather In The Home

Boiled leather cups by Simon Hasan

Boiled leather bowls by Simon Hasan

Boiled leather stool by Tortie Hoare

Boiled leather vases by Simon Hasan; Boiled leather chair by Tortie Hoare

Floor Lamp by David Ericsson; Stools by Willem Derrider; Pompom pouf by Lisa Hilland Design

Creating lasting memories for your child

New York loft designed by Resolution: 4 Architecture Photos by Martyn Thompson

 

Never under estimate the role your home plays on your children.  Our deepest memories come from the place we grew up. As children, we developed step by small step, and risks were taken because retreat to a safe place was possible. 

"Life begins well. It begins enclosed, protected, all warm in the bosom of the house". 

                                                                                                                             - Gatson Bachelard

The first view from a bedroom window, textures from a small vignette, patterns from a well used sofa or rug and cooking smells from the kitchen stay with us forever. The biggest tip I can give you is to make sure when you are decorating that you allow your ideas to be flexible. Let your home grow-up with your family. 

Four key tips to help create lasting memories for a child's lifetime:

Start introducing ideas for the home to ensure stimulating and relaxed environment for the whole family

Live  make the most of your shared spaces, fun places for everyday life, lounging and learning

Share celebrate your time together in the kitchen, around the table, and with family and friends

Nest bathing and sleeping, appreciate the daily rituals for a calm household environment 

Wrapped Up In Grey Fabric

 Press Play

This is my first video EVER guys. So let me know what you think.... I hope you like. Press the button on the right hand corner to see it full size (although a little blurry when large).

The fashion is by amazingly talented Lauren Kovin
Photos by Jessie McGowan

Music 'Something That's Real' by Quantic Soul Orchrestra

making the most of your home

Michael Zavros

Creating the perfect home isn't always about being a great home decorator. I was reminded by one reader, Michael Zarvos, when I asked "How Do You Make the most of Your Home", it's about making the most of the living inside. I have added Micheal's words on his picture. Truly beautiful. 

Yes decorating a room or buying a sofa are great additions but its the memories that stick with us. It's cherishing the fun times we have on the sofa or spending time with your kids decorating their room. It's about dancing on the new carpet. Do you agree with Michael?

Thank you so much for your lovely get well comments and links to your lovely blogs and websites.  My sniffles have all gone now. I guess you can see I'm useless when I come down with a little old cold. 

Ceramic Tiles Don't Always Belong On A Wall

Heritage Boy Tile Lamp by Lee Broom; Simple Mold necklaces by On Za Line. Buy here

Preserving Design

Jaeuk Jung designer of The Amber Chair wanted to explore the preservation of a historical object and capturing a moment in time. Jaeuk has used a classic wooden chair and has sealed it in an amber-like polymer. 

Marta Mattsson work contains preserved resin insects. " Nature is a great source of inspiration but so is Pokemon", says Marta. Carly Waito's oil paintings are inspired by natural objects that are curious and beautiful

Natural lacquers, varnish and glazes explore a new shine that captures a watery ciscosity and semi-translucency with a hard a polished exterior. Eclipse 2 by Nick van Woert; Barite, 2009  ~  oil on masonite by Carly Waito

I have always loved cheap sources of wood being transformed into a glossy, elegant material using transparent or semi-transparent lacquer. Rik Stool by Inon Rettig; Particle collection by Jens Praet's; Occasional table by Bleu Nature

Sick Leave - Invitation to Readers

Eclipse 8 by Nick van Woert; Christian Borstlap via Life in The Slow Line

Sorry I'm off sick today with flu... Arrrr.... CHOO!

Perhaps you can leave a link to your most relevant posts from your blog about making the most of your home for us all to look at...  Put it in the comments and I will review and put the best posts up on Welcome Home- a guide to modern living

Upcycling Old Carpet

What is the most iconic rug in the world? Without doubt its the Oriental rug. It's a design most of us know and if we haven't had one in our own home we certainly know someone who has. It's a wonderful example of design where east meets west. Photo by Charlie Engman

Young designers like British born Lee Broom are combining historical Oriental rugs to modern and sleek collections. Photo of girl wrapped in rug by Ren Hang

Adding hints of nostalgic detail to a modern shape and material can bring warmth and familiarity to a new design. Photos of girls by Yan Chang; Lee Broom Heritage Boy console table photo by Livingetc

Lee Broom's Heritage Boy Carpetry sideboard is nominated for Best British Design at The British Design Awards. If you would like to vote for him  then go here . Photos of girls by Ann He

Who says the floor is the only option when to told to sit on the rug? Photo via via  Haw-Lin

photo by Alexey Lapin

I have got flu (cough, sneeze, sniffle) so this post couldn't be more apt for me. I am so rugged up at the moment I look like I live in an Igloo. Could someone make me some homemade soup? :(

The Flat Life by Finn Magee

If Aoiyuu had a digital clock by her bed perhaps she wouldn't sleep in? Wake up!

No longer does Lona need to play music in the dark. Switch on the Light!

A couple of weeks ago I said why not turn your Flick'r photos into a design icon... Well now lets take it a little bit further... Irish designer Finn Magee has combined image and object into one. Using light-emitting doides (LEDs) he has created The Flat Digital Clock and The Flat Light... 

Do they work? Yes.

Up & Coming - This Week

This week I'm exploring how to make the most of your home. We are living in creative times so I want to encourage you to take another look at that piece of furniture or soft furnishing you are about to throw away - has it really passed its' use by date? Or are you just bored with it? Well the good news is Welcome Home - a guide to modern living has some easy updates and inspiring solutions to hopefully encourage you to hold onto that old heirloom.

If you don't have time to DIY don't worry because you will find pieces here this week that have been made for the masses but look like one of a kinds... Brilliant!

Let me know what you think xxx

Fitz Simmons Architects - Flaming Lips House

photos by  Joseph Mills.

I love this visually magical space so much! FitzSimmons Architects, are the masterminds and architects behind this renovation titled The Flaming Lip’s Oklahoma residence. 

It was created for Wayne Coyne from rock band sensation 'The Flaming Lips' and his wife Michelle Martin-Coyne. I adore how their dreaming doesn’t have to end when they get out of bed.

• Soft pastels
• Contrast sheen with matt
• Organic shapes
  
  

Zucchenti's New Bathroom Collection - Faraway

The bathroom is the only room where we are justified in being alone. It needs not to be a cold clinical affair but a place for pleasure and escapism . Consider words including touch, nature, senses, experience, future, journey and innovation when creating a retreat surpassing bathroom rituals.

Italian brand Zucchetti.Kos have created a complete and complex vision of the bathroom world with a new collection Faraway

'Faraway is a journey round the world, made through simple, soft gesture of opening a single lever tap'

Design this space with the same vision and creative flair as your living room and kitchen. Japanese or Turkish baths and natural water pools are a great place to find inspiration.

We are now exploring 'beauty', like nomadic globe-trotters in search for adventure. Each component of this collection was created with this logic: to fulfill a wealth of functions, complex in their use and in form - multitasking - bearing in mind each rule and its exception.

Beauty and simplicity characterizes great freedom and freshness

Investigate in new technologies for the saving of energy and water.  Don't be scared to embrace new materials. Corian for a bath or basin offers a completely new smooth sensation over traditional enamel. I LOVE  mat white hardware that strays away from traditional stainless steel finishes.

Tactile exploration on walls, floors, furniture, lights, baths, basins and taps will ensure a room to be seductive and sensual.

How exciting how we can create a journey without destination. A journey in search of another dimension: a new adventure for your bathing experience. 

To see more bathroom ideas by Zucchetti go here