Visually inspiring storage solutions

Since I came back from Paris, I have been obsessed with storage and streamlining our home. We are lucky to have a nice, spacious home and nonetheless, there is always stuff lying around so next weekend, I'll be tackling Mila's bedroom.
I have accepted a longtime ago that I can not win against the constant invasion of pink, plastic toys which turn up in our home without me buying them but I have not given up and I will find a solution that works for both of us, which means that it will be easy and practical for her to put her toys away while looking visually inspiring for me and I think boxes like these below could just be what we need. I especially love the use of MT masking tape to mark the content of each box while adding a touch of creativity...If anyone is up to a trip to Ikea with me this week...

1. via Emma's design blog 2. Home of Irina Graewe via Design Sponge 3. Home of Paula Leene

Depuis que je suis rentrée de Paris, je suis obsédée par le rangement. Nous avons la chance d'avoir une jolie maison et pourtant, il y a toujours des trucs qui trainent partout donc le weekend prochain je m'attaque à la chambre de Mila. 

Cela fait longtemps que j'ai accepté que je ne gagnerais pas contre cette invasion constante de jouets en plastic rose qui arrivent a la maison et que je n'achète meme pas mais je n'ai pas dit mon dernier mot et je finirais par trouver une solution qui marchera pour toutes les deux. Une qui sera facile pour que Mila puisse ranger ses jouets facilement et qui sera pour moi agréable a regarder et je pense que ces boites sont peut-etre exactement ce dont nous avons besoin.

J'adore l'utilisation du masking tape japonais pour marquer le contenu de chaque boite et qui en meme temps ajoute une petite note de créativité à l'ensemble. Si ca branche quelqu'un de venir a Ikea avec moi cette semaine...

De gauche a droite...{By Sophie}

From our beloved Bat print to this adorable little kitten with bat wings found on Pinterest.
Happy monday!

White interiors by J. Morabito

I had a very productive weekend which felt really nice. I finally managed to put all our old CDs on this site, made a very healthy homemade vegetable soup, a not so healthy but delicious coconut & chocolate cake, moved the furniture around in the lounge, painted a wardrobe in white and given it has been a while since I posted about my design hero: Jacqueline Morabito (you can see Morabito's La petite Epicerie range here) here are some gorgeous photos by Martin Morrell to start thinking about Spring & Summer.
Hope you had a great weekend!

Relaxing weekend

I have been wrestling with Google Apps most of the day and several times I felt like screaming my head off. It's time like this that I fondly remember how nice it was to work for a big corporate company where I only had to dial a number for an IT guy to come up and fix everything (sigh)

Anyway, I've finally managed to set up everything and now I really need a creative break!!

I love, love these inspiring shots of Le dans La workspace spotted on Tantjohanna. Things are a bit on top of each other but it still looks so calming, especially all the photos on the wooden board.

What are you up to this weekend? I'm on a mission to Spring clean my wardrobe and sort out Mila's cupboard. I'm not pregnant yet but I'm certainly in the nesting mode. Have a fab weekend

J'ai passé la journée à batailler avec Google Apps et plusieurs fois j'ai cru que j'allais hurlé. C'est dans des moments comme cela que je me souviens que c'était quand meme sympa de travailler pour une grosse boite ou je n'avais qu'a appeler pour qu'un bonhomme du département informatique débarque dans mon bureau et régle tout. Enfin, j'ai quand meme réussi a installer le nouveau système et maintenant j'ai vraiment besoin d'un break créatif!

J'adore, j'adore ces jolies photos de Le dans La vu sur Tantjohanna. C'est un espace de travail, un peu désordonné (elle va etre contente Aurelie quand elle va lire cela) mais en meme temps, je le trouve reposant et je suis fan des photos sur la cloison en bois.

Quels sont vos plans ce weekend? J'ai des envies de rangements féroces et je vais m'attaquer à mon placard et la chambre de Mila. Je ne suis pas encore enceinte mais je suis définitivement en train de préparer un petit nid pour le bébé. Passez un bon weekend!

In the shop this week: MILK DECORATION No 5

I came back from Paris yesterday with a batch of the MILK DECORATION No 5.
The book is totally delightful and exactly the kind of interiors I love and I aim to recreate in Mila's bedroom at home or in the shop so I think you will love it too.
The intro below by Marie Montuir, Editor of the TV show Interieurs also summarizes the spirit of this book very well:
"Not so very long ago, when I was a little girl, interior decoration for kids was strictly codified. Dreamy pink for girls, navy blue for boys. The lounge and the parents' bedroom were adult sanctuaries. On Sunday mornings, when the boys come bounding in far too early, screaming how much they love us and scattering cornflakes in between the sheets, I sometimes regret that slightly rigid division of territories. I get my revenge by hanging their pedal car over their bed or plonking a vintage lamp down on their desk. But they love it! Even worse, I have to ask their permission before putting their Star Wars "AT-TA" walker in the lounge. It's as beautiful as a modern sculpture..."

I'm glad decoration codes at home have changed and while it would be nice to have most days our lounge looking how I had envisioned it when I slaved over DIY: i.e calming & relaxing rather than looking like an extension of Mila's bedroom with plastic, colourful toys disrupting the simplicity of the few, carefully selected objects I displayed, I would not changed it for the world.
I'm as guilty as her anyway. While I ask her on a daily basis to take her stuff back to her room, the rabbit lamp that I took home for her bedroom is still proudly sitting in our lounge near my beloved Paulistano chair (see page 5 of our catalogue) and Mima le Chat print has very much find its place in the more grown-up quarters.

 

De gauche à droite...{By Sophie}

From this gorgeous image found on Pinterest to this beautiful, RAFT stool designed by NORM Architects for &Tradition

Paris | New Catalogue | ♥

I'm off to Paris this afternoon to attend Maison & Objet and of course I'm very excited because I haven't seen my sister and my mum since the last one in September and I know that Saturday we will do our usual shopping trip to MERCI and Zadig & Voltaire in Le Marais and Sunday, I'm catching up with my two best friends but at the show, between meetings, I'm also going to meet up with fellow bloggers like Lau, Cristine, and Carine which should be great fun!

As I working on our new homepage this morning, I could help thinking how much I enjoyed styling some of these shots below* for our first mail order catalogue and given how successful our catalogue was, we have decided that not only we will produce a bigger one for Christmas 2012 but we will also send out a mini (but SO inspiring and beautiful) Summer one.

You can still receive the Winter one by requesting a free copy here until the end of February and we will mail you the Summer one when it's ready, which should be in May.

Have a great week!

*the one in the top right hand corner was styled by VosgesParis

Je pars à Paris cet après-midi pour aller à Maison & Objet et bien sur, je suis excitée comme une puce. Je n'ai pas vu ma soeur et ma mère depuis le dernier salon en Septembre et je sais que samedi, nous ferons notre sempiternel tour chez MERCI et Zadig & Voltaire dans Le Marais. Dimanche sera réservé à mes deux cop's et au salon, je vais aussi retrouver des copines bloggueuses: Lau, Cristine, and Carine, ce qui je pense va être très sympa!

Alors que je travaillais sur notre page d'accueil ce matin, je me disais à quel point j'avais adoré styler certaines de ces photos ci-dessous* pour notre premier catalogue et étant donné que ce fut un vrai succès, nous avons décidé cette année de non seulement produire un catalogue pour la fin de l'année qui sera un plus étoffé que le premier mais nous allons aussi sortir un mini (mais tellement BEAU et inspirant) catalogue pour cet été. 

Vous pouvez toujours recevoir celui d'hiver en demandant une copie gratuite ici jusqu'à la fin du mois de Février et nous vous enverrons celui de cet été quand il sera prêt, ce qui devrait être aux alentours de Mai. 

Je vous souhaite une bonne semaine!

*la photo en haut a droite est de VosgesParis

Donna Hay's Seasons

I'm not the most prolific blogger in January.
As we spend the Christmas holidays with Steve's family in New-Zealand, I most often come back jet-lagged for a few days, then the post-holidays blues kicks in (read these tips to fight it) along with a mere attempt to resist giving in too quickly to the busy pace of my working life - Do you know the feeling?
Sure I miss the fun, inspiring interaction I get most of the year chatting to like-minded people via Facebook, Twitter or this blog when I'm on holidays. I miss looking at gorgeous and inspiring images on Pinterest , I miss the support and the fun exchanges with friends I made over the net despite them living in different countries. It's like a little family, isn't it?!
It's fun and comforting and whatever you post, you're pretty sure that someone will say something or like your comment but having started a trend last Summer when we went on holidays on a 7m boat without internet connection (and no shower!), I had a taste during our back-to-basics holidays how hugely enjoyable my holidays were if I was nowhere near a computer to work.
Let alone the good this new trend has done to my relationship with Steve ♥

So this Christmas, I was determined to do the same.
No work, no social media, no pictures taken thinking that they would make a good post for the blog on my return...Nothing, peanuts! I slept for the whole of England and when I was awake, I spent quality time with my family and looking after the body I had neglected in the busy run up to Christmas.
It always amazes me (and saddens me) how I can easily throw away months of healthy habits when stress kicks in. Do you get that too? I find it so easy to reach out for the chocolate bar while trying to do several things at once...
It also hit me that as we are now trying for baby no 2, more than ever I need to look after my body and make sure whatever I put in my body is worth it and full of nutrients so rather than stocking on self-development and business books, this year, I got my first Donna Hay book: Seasons.

 

I love French food (actually food in general) but when it comes to cooking, I much prefer the relaxed, easy-going approach of the Australians and New-Zealanders rather than the pompous style of French nouvelle cuisine which does not inspire me.

Each year I marvel how Steve's sisters Linda & Caroline can make a whole, delicious homemade meal in no time while the rest of us is sipping wine and I bow to the two homemade meals our friend Verity made of us in Auckland while we were catching up after two years. I beg her to send me the recipe of of the chocolate brownie with coconut.

The thing is, while I love food, I'm not much of a cook.I spent years thinking it was boring and it is only since I met Steve and had Mila that I started appreciating how creative cooking can be and how important I need to make it fun & healthier for my daughter so she enjoys the art of cooking rather than living on cheese and toast at Uni like I did.

So when I look at a cooking book I want to be inspired and I feel a lot more in tune with the relaxed approach of the Australians. 

My first love was Michele Cranston who took over Donna Hay as Marie Claire Editor and has written over 25 books. I discovered her book Seasonal Kitchen three years ago when we were staying with Steve's sister at the beach and it changed my view on cooking. Here I was, reading this amazing book filled with inspiring images and easy, healthy recipes thinking I could re-invent myself. While her Spinach and coconut soup is not Mila's favourite, it's extremely good for the body and her spicy prawn salad has became one of my staple dish. It is delicious, easy to make, healthy and very comforting.

I then added Bill Granger to my collection, a self-taught Chef who recently moved to the UK and has opened a new restaurant in Notting Hill. His book Bill's Basics is full of classic recipes made simple and I like his easy-going approach then there was Donna..

  

Ah Donna...who took my love of Australian cooking to the next level. Not only her book is filled with easy, healthy recipes to feed you through the four seasons, the stylism and photos in the book are simply amazing and this is why, this month, rather than rushing back into the world of interiors, I shall indulge a bit more into thinking I'm still by the beach, eating fresh fish, scallops and avocado on toast and ensuring that I'm healthy habits are there to stay and will not be replaced by a Kit-Kat at the first sign of stress!

 

(C) images: Seasons by Donna Hay

Swimming like a fish

I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

On Saturday, I took my first swimming lesson with Mila to learn how to crawl. Her friend Clara didn't want to go swimming this term and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for me to finally put in action something I have been talking about for years....and I love it!

While I can swim the breaststroke, I have never been able to get my breathing right for the crawl and doing lengths of breaststroke bored me to death. I like to go fast so for an hour, I learnt how to blow bubbles under water, breathe without feeling I'm gonna suffocate and get the moves right.

It was hugely liberating!

I'm on a mission this year to make a lot of fine-tuning resolutions to improve my well-being....what small changes do you want to make to your life this year to improve yours?

PS: So loving our Batgirl print & black masking tape on VosgesParis (thanks Desiree!) The gold Batgirl is available at 15% OFFin the sale until Wednesday 18/01/2012.

 

(C) photo: Vosges Paris

J'espere que vous avez passé un superbe weekend.

Samedi, j'ai pris ma premiere leçon de natation avec Mila pour apprendre à crawler. Son amie Clara ne souhaitait pas nager ce trimestre et j'ai pensé que c'était l'occasion parfaite de faire quelque chose dont je parle depuis des années...et je me suis éclatée!

Bien que je sache nager la brasse, je n'ai jamais été capable de respirer correctement pour nager le crawl et faire des longueurs de brasse à la piscine m'ennuie profondément. J'aime aller vite et donc pendant une heure, j'ai appris à faire des bulles sous l'eau, à respirer sans avoir l'impression que j'allais suffoquer et coordonner les mouvements avec ma respiration.

C'était génial! 

Cette année, je suis déterminée à apporter quelques changements dans ma vie pour améliorer mon bien-être...quels changements souhaitez-vous apporter cette année pour améliorer votre bien-être?

PS: J'adore cette photo de notre Batgirl print & black masking tape sur VosgesParis (merci Desiree!) La version or de la Batgirl est disponible à moins 15% jusqu'a Mercredi 18/01/2012.

In the shop this week: The BAU pendant light

It is not often that I look at a suspension lamp and think "yes this is it, this will transform my room'. 

I had this with Kathleen Hills cluster light which we have now in our bedroom in London and in our house in France  and the Koushi lamp that I made for our lounge (waiting for new Paola Navone sofa to arrive to show you everything) but that's how I felt when I saw the BAU pendant light.

Designed by Vibeke Fonnesberg Schmidt the BAU* Pendant Lamp by Normann Copenhagen is a striking and sculptural lampshade that combines geometric shapes, composition and creativity that suits both minimalistic interiors and more daring houses.

Based on interlocking geometric wooden circles, sticking out in all directions, the immediate pattern of the BAU Pendant Lamp is  BAU is broken up by the discs' colours, sizes and off-centre linkages, making the lamp living and organic in its expression.
Personally I prefer the natural version because I like white and wood in my home but the coloured version looks great too.
*means construction in German.

 

Finetuning resolutions 2012

I love the beginning of a new year! It's such a wonderful opportunity to start fresh, forget about things that went wrong and move on. A few years ago, I diligently made lists of things I wanted to achieve. These days, I'm more relax about achievements, I don't do lists anymore because I'm happy in my own skin and my life in general but I still make small changes to be happier as a person, be there for my family and enjoy my work.

So in our little family, we don't make new year resolutions, we make finetuning ones....Little changes to improve our family life and overall well-being and we ask each other 2 things we would like the others to change/improve/stop....

Me: "So Mila...what would you like me to change this year?"
Mila: "I want you to stop drinking coca-cola and stop smoking" (I had actually given up smoking two years ago but had a few last Summer)
Me: "Ok, that's fine. I can do that. My turn...I would like to make sure that you brush your teeth twice a day and eat your Five a day. You can chose what they are and you can have chocolate from time to time as long as you had your 5 a day. ok?"
Mila: "OK"
Me: "And what about papa? What would you like him to change?
Mila: "umm....nothing"
Me: "WHAT??!! Com'on!! There must be something"
Mila: looking at Steve talking to his Dad in the garden..."No...he is just delicious!"

PS: This is a picture of Lucas making the most of our sofa while we were away, knowing fully that he is not allowed to do this! I wish you a wonderful, inspiring 2012!

Thank you!

Last day at school for Mila, last day at work for me...
Me grabbing her royal blue trousers from COS: "What about these??....you havent worn them for ages"
Mila: "No I don't want to"
Me: "Oh come on! I can turn them up and make you look really cool in it"
Mila: "I don't want to look cool, I want to look pretty and for that I need a skirt and some tights"

Mila and I are flying to New-Zealand tonight to meet Steve in Hong-Kong and carry on our journey together to Auckland. 
I can't wait to switch off. I look terrible and I seriously need to go back running, drinking water and eat healthily but this has been by far the most full on, enjoyable and most rewarding year: a new/first mail order catalogue (on issuu here), some amazing feedback, great press, our own App on iTunes (you can download it for free here), My Interior Life in Living Etc and days at work with a great, new team that have been hugely fun. 
I wish you all a fantastic, relaxing, enjoyable Christmas break with your friends and family. xoxo 

Shanna Murray wall sticker...you should really get these for your home and this new print that makes me laugh

In the shop this week: Whisky glasses by Normann Copenhagen

and they are seriously cool...

Like the Cognac glasses which have been one of our best-sellers for the past 5 years, the Whisky glasses by Normann Copenhagen make great gift for all the men in your life and are perfect for any festive occasions from weddings, to anniversaries and house warming parties, etc.

From a design point of view, they are also different from the average standard whisky glasses as they have been designed to enhance the pleasure of drinking whisky.

They are surprisingly heavy and feel good in your hand so all in a all, a great gift for men

Whisky glasses: Exclusively available from BODIE and FOU

£35.50 for a set of 2

PS: We received hundreds of pre-orders since the launch of catalogue which have now all been processed in a record time given the volume we had to deal with in addition to all the order Christmas orders

 

Lust-have♥

with a mention for our concept store as one of the few stockists :-)
Our last CV batch arrived last night, pre-orders have been sent, the black foldover clutch bag is now sold out but there is one orange left, only 2 of this gorgeous gray neon clutch left, a few messenger bags in black, navy and gray and 3 pretty leather wrist wraps (I have one and it goes with pretty much everything!) La Tropezienne in 5" (see below) is now sold out and the 8" is running seriously low.

Pack what you want...ermm but not quite

Packing Mila's suitcase... 
Me: "Can you put in a pile all your favourite Summer dresses please....Non, not this one, I don't like it"
Mila: "But it's my favourite one and your maman bought it for me"
Me: ""Yeah I know but I don't like it"
Mila: "What!!??? You're saying you don't like what your maman bought! I'm gonna tell her"
New-Zealand D-2

 

via the Pursuit Aesthetic

My Interior life in Living Etc

So proud...and so tired too, I'm beyond exhausted. 

Thursday, Mila and I are flying off to New-Zealand to join Steve and then it will be about 3 weeks of Sea, Sex and Sun hanging out in Waihi Beach and Raglan to learn how to surf and make babies...well at least one...

So if I'm lucky, 2012 I will look like a whale again!

 

Rabbit lamp ♥♥♥

Yesterday, my friend Mandy, Acland came around so we could finally meet Isla who is just the most gorgeous little thing!

Mandy reminded me that during the first year of the business when we were packing orders from my flat in Bristol while looking after Mila, we used to stuff our faces with chocolate muffins to cope with the volume of orders and the stress of running a small business and we used to tell Mila that 'chocolate' was called something else so she wouldn't tell her dad that we were eating chocolate during the day...Mwouahahahah

Back to the boutique... the large mushroom lamp and the Rabbit lamp are now back in stock but the Rabbit lamp is flying off. We received 15 of them on Friday and minus the pre-orders, we have now only 6 left. Once gone they'll be back in 2012.

Did you know? The Rabbit lamp is handmade in Germany and the company that manufactures them has been using the same mould since the 1960s. Sweet, isn't it?!

BODIE and FOU Christmas Guide {Stylish gifts under £20}

Quite a few items from our Christmas Guide {Stocking fillers under £20} have now sold out but we've also added new, pretty things to our collection so here is an updated version of stylish gifts under £20.

 

NEW Leaf necklace and Bird necklace: £16.50 |  Set of 4 decorative hearts to hang around the home or on the Christmas tree: £15 | Leather notebook: £15.31 | French ceramic hook: £14.50 | Rob Ryan notebook: £12.50 | Set of 4 rocking glasses: £19.50 | House Doctor DK pesto or tapenade jar: £8 each | colourful yarn: £14.99 each | MT masking tape: from £3 | Ceramic hurricane lamp: £13.99 | Set of 3 egg candles: £14.99 | NYC canvas bag: £19 (also available for Paris & London)

Prouvé RAW

Steve is a G-Star RAW man which suits me fine because he looks very handsome in their clothes and I love how manly yet stylish their cuts are (which is why the Jules leather bag will be perfect for him!).
We went there on Saturday to get him a new pair of trousers before he flew to New-Zealand and I picked up their in-store mag to see the latest campaign shot by Anton Corbijn but then discover the special collaboration between the Jean Prouvé Foundation, Vitra and G-Star RAW.
Prouvé, a forefather of the modernist movement and trailblazer for the machine age, was a metalsmith, engineer, maunfacturer and architect who in his lifetime would design anything from bookshelves to bicycles to buildings. His success would be in uniting honest materials, functional requirements with the complex demands of mass production.The result of this amazing collaboration between the Prouvé Foundation and G-Star is a collection of 15 pieces that channels Prouvé's original intentions in terms of quality and functionality while also bringing the designs up to date with new materials and manufacturing technology
This Special Edition was exhibited during the Summer in the Fire Station designed by Zaha Hadid on the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein and is now available in selected Vitra retailers around the world.