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How does your bedroom look like?   Is it a space of total zen or is there a lot of display pieces inside defining you and your partner's personalities?  Today, I'm featuring bedrooms where I'd like to spend the rest of the day in. I can imagine having breakfasts in bed or meditating in there or spending the rest of the afternoon reading a book.  

They all have a common denominator;  wood tones + slight touch of color + plush cushions, very minimal accent pieces or decor, neutral colors, with a perfectly matched artwork.

The light olive wall and the hue of the artistic photographs serenely accentuate this bedroom.

Bedroom Retreat modern bedroom
 Interior Design by Susan Kennedy Design

I love the overall combination of materials and colors.  The subtle artwork of the galloping horse matches very well with the ceiling color and dark flooring.
relaxing bedroom modern


The blending of wood and blues in this room is soothing balanced by romantic lighting. The mirror leaning on the wall makes it all more dramatic.

Natural Bedroom modern bedroom
Interior Design by See Construction

William Hefner Architecture modern bedroom
Design by William Hefner Architecture Interiors & Landscape

A canopy bed makes it even more romantic along with warm lighting.

Kemptown House contemporary bedroom
Photographer David Churchill - Architectural Photographer

Kemptown House contemporary bedroom
Photographer David Churchill - Architectural Photographer

The simplicity and stylish factor of this bedroom is at the top of my list.

Cary Bernstein Architect Choy 2 Residence modern bedroom
Design by  Cary Bernstein Architect, San Francisco

I should post a photo of my bedroom one of these days.  It's very simple much like myself and my hubby.  There are unusual artworks above our bed.  My black and white photographs of gigantic cactus during our trip to South America. Why? They remind me of our times together and they look sort of sexy. :)  

I'm off for a nap after staring at these beautiful bedrooms :)

How are you all doing today?  It's a holiday tomorrow in our part of the world so we're blessed to having a longer weekend.  I can't believe I'm celebrating my birthday next week.  It was just last year when the hubby took me to a surprise weekend getaway.  Gosh, it seems we're chasing after time yet our age is definitely catching up with us in full speed especially by the time we hit the 30s.

It's very timely that I share this...


                                                                                         Source: prettystuff.tumblr.com 

Speaking of cheese, (this is making my mouth water now) I am in dire need of a lovely cheese tray perfect for entertaining  after the main course.

Source
Wine Barrel Serving Accessories
Source
Organized and pretty...
Source
Unique Slate cheese board!
Source
  Ahhh! Camembert!
I love it when it melts.....

Source
I'm off to the nearest supermarket to buy des fromages now. 
Sheer goodness with a glass of red...
Let's now throw a wine and cheese party!

This evening after a long day at work, I went to the newly opened spa close to our community.  The Haven Spa.

via  Haven Spa

I tried their Haven Melt Treatment, a one hour full body massage with your choice of aromatherapy oil that will take your stress away and it was heavenly!  The staff were very friendly, the massage was excellent, the  interior of the treatment rooms were nicely designed and I even got to practice speaking french with the reception manager.Very clean and hygienic, tranquil with soft music caressing you to sleep along with the smell of lavender on my eye mask.  It was well worth it!  


I'm planning to continue this beautiful zen feeling to a restful sleep.
Bonne nuit!

        Start of the week, don't we just love to chillout at home watching movies non stop sneaking in a nap in between?

media room eclectic media room
                                                                   Photographer Elad Gonen & Zeev Beech

via House to Home


Knight Frank LTD contemporary media room
                                                                                          Photographer Chris Snook

via House to Home



Lovell Residence modern family room
                                                                               Design by Quezada Architecture

Take your pick..Where do you most likely feel like lounging around?
Happy Monday!
I should print this and post this everywhere...on my bathroom mirror, on the fridge, on my office cubicle partition, as my screen saver :)  

Source

Wise words for a slow Monday..
Hot and sunny Sunday calls for a color that would cool down a 42 °Celsius (107.6 °F) temperature outdoors. Turquoise reminds me of an inviting swimming pool! According to Wikipedia,  "Turquoise is a slightly greenish tone of light blue. The color is based on the gem turquoise. The term comes from the French for Turkish."









Have a Turquoise Sunday!

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Design favorites of the Week:   Fun & Quirky La Terraza del Casino
by Jaime Hayon

                  Check out the shape of the columns.  The color scheme is so tranquil yet brilliantly fun!

Image from Bernhardt Design
A new boss, lots of work, attending a bridal shower and a wedding, A dear friend visiting over the weekend..
These are my excuses for no posts in a week.

Check out the highlights of my lovely friend, Cheryl's Arabic Weekend in Dubai  here


Have a great weekend!
Hello! How are you doing?  I missed you all.  While I was in bed terribly sick since Monday, I'd stare up at the ceiling and think, "Oh, the blog.."   I kept myself completely away from the internet and strictly followed doc's orders after he prescribed a complete bed rest for several days.  In a nutshell,  I'm still recovering and waiting for hopefully some positive news on the results. 

Today, I want to write something about what makes me happy. I am madly in love with murals,  frescoes,  trompe l'oeil...so much that I am always elated to see them.   I think that if I were to have the opportunity, I would love to become a muralist.  

I've never done it before, but I once guided a muralist team from a residential project I was working on several years ago.  I was there to see to it that the mural design matches the furniture we were putting in.  One day, I was surprised by how fake the marbling looked and I was completely disappointed.   I practically grabbed the brush out of his hands to do it myself. It was so funny, there I was, no experience of doing a mural and working on the marbling.  The guy answered back, "How did you do that?"  Honestly, I don't know..I just remembered how the marble looks like and painted it.  Anyway, to cut the story short, we hired another team of muralists to re-do the walls and this time, they did an excellent job.

This is also the reason for my love of castles.  Apart from the architecture and history, the best part was staring at the murals.  Each time, I stare up at them, I feel happy and ecstatic, sometimes I cry out of joy.   I think about the artists who made them. Their feelings, their thoughts, their desires, were they hungry when painting? Were they happy?  Oh how lucky they were!  It must be a strenuous task to work on large scale art works, but those heavenly frescoes, the greatness of their skill printed on the wall is just beyond words!

It's very rare we  find a flying cherubim painted on our ceiling nowadays. Hence,  I'm posting a selection of tasteful murals in a contemporary twist.

Dramatic Dining Room in Hollywood Regency Style - Robert Naik photography contemporary dining room
 Designed by Peg Berens Interior Design LLC

Yes, we always find them in children's bedrooms.

pottery barn kids rooms traditional kids





Very sophisticated and refined work of art..


Photographer: Roger Davies


The monochromatic hues of the photomural woods design blends in so well.
Photographer:  William Waldron

I love the tropical feel of the soothing palm fronds painted by Aaron Barr Studios

Photographer:  William Waldron

There you have it.
Do you have a mural at home?  Or considering having one painted?
 I'd really like to try doing one myself one day...
I wonder if it would ever happen..I have no idea.

I wish you a great Thursday!





Image Sources 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
I woke up at 10:30AM from a hazy dream.  Still giddy from the vision of my husband cascading down a steep slope on a mountain bike during a vacation in rural Asia, I heard his voice ushering me to get up from bed.  I felt the urge to concoct lunch from the remaining rice and veggies in the fridge. This led to hubby's favorite fried rice.  I served it with a sunny side up egg on top, sausages on the side for a brunch in bed treat.

Still craving for the texture of the quilt, I hopped in and watched an old animated film, Megamind. I loved it! :)
By mid day, I was off to the art studio, feeling a bit anxious to face my classmates and teacher, wondering what to say why I have disappeared for two months without notice.  I ordered a hot brewed coffee at the coffee shop across the art gallery and brought it up with me to the studio on the upper floor.  I was alone and I spent some quiet time staring at the colorful canvases leaning on the walls around the studio while I sipped my coffee.  I turned the radio on and sat in front of my unfinished painting of a woman with one un-drawn eye.   I knew I had to at least finish painting her face today.

I haven't painted for the last two months.  I would always walk in our guest bedroom where my easel is and my finished and unfinished works. I would stand there after work  for minutes staring at them and that was the closest I got to them for the last few weeks.  My first self portrait gazing up at me unsigned.

The greatest thing that happened to me today was I reunited with my brushes.  The smell of turpentine on my clothes, the wonderful conversation about art and encouraging advice from my teacher.  I told him about my emotional encounter with the masters during my Vatican museum tour, walking under their frescoes crying in ecstasy.

While my teacher, Ali  was giving me pointers for improvement on my current paint studies, a guy came up behind us and acknowledged the work with appreciation.  He asked me, "Are you the artist?"  I was stunned and didn't know what to say.  I nodded and  answered, "I'm learning.."  and indicated that Ali is my teacher.  He handed his business card and he turned out to be an artist himself exhibiting downstairs and working in a gallery in New York.  I'd love to be able to say I'm an artist one day.  Maybe I am, but I think I'll call myself that when I actually get to finish a lot more oil paintings and actually exhibit.  That would be a dream.

I came home and Yohann invited me for an overdue movie date.  We ended up making a u-turn to a fine Argentinian restaurant,Palermo  at the Dubai Polo Club instead. Very intimate and I love the courtyards. Those beef empanadas for starters are really yummy.  Great ribeye, medium, tender, juicy steak with that great chimi churi sauce along with mixed green salad and  grilled veggies. When there are dim lights, I often order medium.  It scares me to eat reddish meat.  Their  shiraz was so-so.   I had the apple tarte with vanilla ice cream and cinnamon for dessert.  An evening of fine dining was a treat indeed.

Lingering scent of turpentine and blogging seals my perfect day.

Do you have that feeling sometimes when you're obliged to do something you hate?  Out of responsibility.  More often than not, it's something we just need to deal with.

I learned something today.  While I was in the car before the task at hand, I breathed a big sigh of surrender and prayed, " I'm doing this for You.  Not for me. Bless the people I'm going to meet today and make them happy. I want You to know, this is all out of obedience."  A wave of relief lifted  the task at hand. Everything breezed by very quickly without exerting any effort,  similar to a movie in fast forward.   It went smooth. I felt happy afterwards.  I don't know why I'm sharing this but I realized, we are not alone.  I didn't have to carry all the burden of fulfilling a mundane or herculean task in solitude.

Gosh, I'm too serious.  Having said that...it led to retail therapy. (I hope hubby's not reading this). Shopping purchases happen once in a while.  Honestly. I'm amused to see his eyes grow big whenever he sees stuffed paper bags of Zara, Mango, H&M, not to mention shoes lined up in the hallway.

Speaking of which, how do you reward yourself?  When you have fulfilled a difficult task or spent late nights completing a deadline, to chill out as a reward?



My normal personal treats are as follows:
  1. A nice cup of brewed coffee with a tablet of dark chocolate!
  2. A full body massage or mani pedi.
  3. A relaxing facial.
  4. Cooking myself a dish I'm craving for at that moment and would enjoy eating it, perched on the pouf in front of the telly.
  5. A shopping treat of clothes or makeup.
  6. Browsing inside the bookstore and getting  myself a book.
  7. A trip to a fave furniture store and buying something from there.  One time I got myself two ottomans and you can just imagine the big eyes my hubby threw me. 
  8. A dinner date with the hubby.
  9. Dinner or afternoon coffee with bffs.
  10. All you can eat brunch during the weekend.
  11.  Haagen Dazs Belgian chocolate ice cream large.
  12. Watching a happy film.
  13. Vacation.
  14. Painting.
  15. Long distance phone call home.
I'm excited because I have signed up for some hours back in the Art Studio tomorrow.  I intend to spend the weekend painting and probably squeeze in a date with the hubby.

What about you?  How do you reward yourself?

Image via Sweetest Occasion
Hello lovely friends! 
I'm posting today a storyboard I have created for Joy and Nathan's studio apartment. 
One of the challenges is to transform their existing nest within an extremely tight budget.
We started the first phase by prioritizing the essential needs;
a new TV desk and a new closet all in white paint finish.



Nathan is a bit hesitant to paint their existing wall.  If he doesn't agree, I will create a huge abstract painting on canvas with the same color sceme above their bed.  There's a lot of beige color going on at the moment so to add a dash of vibrant spirit after a long day, I came up with this refreshing color scheme.

  • Table lamp:  Panay Range Shade 30cm dia x 18cm @ Freedom
  • Cushion:  Audra Pillow from Crate and Barrel
  • Existing Bar Stool Cover:  Ludde Sheepskin White from IKEA
Using existing furniture will minimize a lot of huge costs.  Widen space with wall mirrors.
My intention is to add touches of color on cushions, sliding door curtain, accessories and accent wall.

Days are going by soooo fast!  I honestly thought it's Tuesday today.
Happy Wednesday!
How's your start of the week?  Please forgive me for posting something personal today.  I am very happy and surprised to hear that my husband's passion for gardening bore fruit.  Literally.

So today, I'm making a tribute to my husband , congratulating him for his patience and diligence in planting a sweet melon in the desert!

This was how it started.. 


The  plant that started as a seed we bought from the Dubai Garden Centre
It's extra tough due to the extreme heat this summer.
He had to put some grass to cover the soil to protect it from the heat.
He eventually created a net shade for them.

Then it grew to this and kept on growing.

Here it is..his first Sweet Melon!


After all those times when he was frustrated because the insects ate them or someone stole them. 
Finally this melon survived.  :) 
Well not for long... :)


As a treat I made him the Peruvian specialty, Lomo Saltado for dinner.


For the recipe, click  here
Bon Appetit!
Happy Monday!

I have no intention of writing a smelly post today. :)  I'm currently on the hunt for a perfect magazine rack in the bathroom.  Quite tricky because it needs to be low maintenance.  Much as I love the sophisticated  racks perfect for the living area, practicality is essential in the bathroom. Keeping everything off the ground that is prone to moisture and humidity.

This is a total must have!

via

so is this!
via Bed Bath and Beyond

I think this is cute!

via Coisas da Orlas

via The House of Smiths

Brilliant idea! A hanger rack!

via

                                                                   

    via

Now if I could only convince my hubby to drill holes to mount them.  I guess I'll stick to the hanger  option.
Happy  reading!
Weekend calls for the outdoors.  Intimate spaces. Inspiring terraces.  Colorful patios.
Take your pick.



Girl power..


Blues Point Hotel Outdoor Terrace by Carter Williamson Architects

What a terrace!
                                                                                   Source: marvman.tumblr.com via Ank on Pinterest


Romantic..


                                                                                        Source: flickr.com via Jenny on Pinterest


Which one is your favorite?
Excellent weekend to you all!

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Arni Nauleau. Interior Architect. Artist. Coffee Addict.

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