Interior Design: Gallery Walls

I'm moving into a new place June 1st and I couldn't be more excited to have the ability to plan and decorate this time around. When I moved into this apartment, my first apartment, everything was kind of rushed and I didn't take time to really plan out the space. It's come together in the three years that I've lived here, but now not only will I have time, I'll also have space! I'll get to have space and lots of white walls to decorate. So I've been imagining a gallery wall above my TV for a long time and just haven't gotten excited about anything. Now that I'll have the space to fill, my love of gallery walls has been renewed!

Photo Friday: Colorize Me

I love seeing old photos colorized, mainly because I don't understand the process. I never was a very good artist, so the idea of doing these by hand baffles me. Still, I love vintage photographs and seeing them in color just makes them seem so much more alive - like you could jump into them and across time like Doctor Who. This collection of vintage photographs is particularly interesting because it doesn't focus on a specific subject matter. The subject is people, yes, but people from across different ages, classes, races, and cultures. For a girl who can't get her head out of the past, it's really fun to see this kind of range of vintage photography!

Photo Friday: Self Examination

You guys, 2013 is almost over. How did that happen? It's so weird how time just seems to go by faster and faster as you get older. No one really warns you about that when you're growing up. Soon I'll blink and a year will pass me by. Actually, I think that just happened.

With the year ending, I though this was a perfect time to share this photography series by a very talented young photographer and his collection of self-portraits. To combat his social anxieties, Kyle Thompson started experimenting with photography and used the only subject he had around - himself. The result is something fantastic that shows his tremendous talent.

Photo Friday: Secret Paper Adventures

I don't think it's a secret that I'm a daydreamer. And an introvert. (But I guess all creative people are? Amirite?) Often times, I'll be out with friends and get quiet - not because I have nothing to add to the conversation, but because someone said something that sent my brain spiraling down some secret, imaginary adventure that no one else can see. It's a blessing and a cruse. Mostly, I find it to be a curse. It means I can't focus on a damn thing for longer than 20 minutes.

This awesome photography piece by Japanese photographer Kouichi Chiba is the best way that I could have ever found to explain to someone how my brain works.

Monday Design: Chic New York

If you love style and design and live on the internet like I do, you've probably already seen Athena Calderon's absolutely gorgeous New York apartment. And I do not feel bad about sharing it even though it's already been all over the internet because it really is an amazing work of interior design so seeing it again is a treat.

Photo Friday: Glass Oceans

Quick post today because I'm super distracted by the Gaslight Anthem show I'm going to tonight here in Chicago (can you say squeeeeeeeeee?!?!?!), but I saw this and wanted to share some good waves - pun totally and nerdily intended. Mario Ceroli created huge ocean waves out of glass and wood.

Monday Design: Living in an Art Museum

Ever wonder what it would feel like to live in an art museum? No? Just me? Okay then. But I'd imagine that Luis Bustamante had the same thought when planning the design of this voluptuous Spanish apartment and in all of his work. The volume and shape of the furniture is balanced beautifully against the classic sculptural pieces. But what really caught my eye right off the bat was the perfect drama of interior design in all of Bustamante's designs.

Photo Friday: Walking on Clouds

Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to walk through a cloud? Or did you dream of actually having clouds floating above your head as you drifted off to sleep in your bedroom? Well, apparently so did Berndnaut Smilde. Except he did more than just dream, he made it happen.

Photo Friday: Darkened Cities

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2013. Good news is, I'm not dead. Bad news is, I still feel like death. It's been a rough start for me in 2013 since it seems like I've caught the plague and have had to maintain blogging silence for a bit. I hope no one noticed or missed me too much. ;)

Now I'm that I'm recuperating, it's back to business as usual. So what do you say we start of 2013 with some pretty pictures of the world's biggest cities without any electricity?

Photo Friday: Up Close

When it comes to photography, interior design or otherwise, I'm obsessed with color composition and details. Just like many of the shots by photographer Brett Stevens. Or rather, almost all of the shots. I can't accurately describe how gorgeous all of these shots are. The color composition is absolutely beautiful. I love how many of the shots are photographed with one color scheme in mind. Enough blabber, just look at this photography...

Photo Friday: Rainbow Strings

I would be oh-so-thankful that it's Friday, but I decided to leave all my Christmas shopping for this weekend. Why? Because I'm a crazy person. So before I go into all out frenzied panic mode, I pulled some pretty colors from the internet.

Photo Friday: Bathed in Light

It's been a long week. Err, I guess when isn't it a long week? With the holidays on my tail, most days are spent juggling several to do lists. But I'm sure you're feeling a whole lot of the same right now. In a blur of Christmas ornaments and tree farms, I found this gorgeous set of photos of forests bathed in sunlight and fog by Boguslaw Strempel and all of them seemed oddly calming so I had to share them with you all.

Photo Friday: Two for One

I am in love with every single one of these prints by artist Tang Yau Hoong. Every single one. I've always been a fan of art that masterfully plays with perception and negative space, but these are also kitschy, fun, and whimsical. I love the idea of playing with all of the space visually instead of leaving some empty. It always gives your eye two different world to look at. Anyway, hope you're having a happy Friday!

Photo Friday:Vintage Books Brought to Life

I am a book nerd. It's not a secret. I will say it loud and proud. My friends used to (okay, still do) make fun of my by saying I would become a librarian and the truth is, I thought about it. I mean my personal library probably comes to something like 500 books now - that I still haven't read. So whenever any one makes "crafts" from old books by tearing out covers and cutting holes, I have a mini panic attack. Fine, I have a major panic attack. However, I do have to give credit where credit is due and I think this work by Thomas Allen  is pretty sweet.

Photo Friday: Hauntingly Macabre

I stumbled across Laura Makabresku's work a while back and I can't believe it slipped my mind until now. The first time I came across it I was immediately pulled into the images. There is this incredible sadness that envelopes each image. The photographs were eerie, definitely, yet I couldn't pull my eyes away. I had the same feeling when browsing through the photographs on her blog. Makabresku's photos are soft and minimal and incredibly personal. Each set of photographs in her blog posts tells a story, sometimes a very sad story, but you want to know it. Perhaps she's just fantastic at enticing the inner internet voyeur in all of us. Perhaps I just have an affinity for the macabre.

Photo Friday: Silent Yugoslavian Giants

How gorgeous. These monstrous monuments were photographed by Jan Kempenaers, a Antwerp based photographer. He trekked around the Balkans finding these monstrous monuments from the fallen state of Yugoslavia. They were commissioned by the ex-president of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz Tito, as standing reminders of WWII. They were built in spots of famous WWII battles and in the locations where concentration camps used to be. Photographed through Kempenaers' eye, these giant, menacing, almost alien-like monuments seem incredibly haunting. I love how they light seems absolutely perfect for the mood of these giants. via Feature Shoot

Photo Friday: Tiny Crafts

I have no idea why this is true, but it is: Ever since I was little I've loved miniatures. Regular sized things made tiny have just always fascinated me and I can't, to this day, figure out why. I've always loved all that tiny doll house furniture and when I was in France I made sure to stop by the miniatures museum in Lyon. Now THAT was some talent. Whole rooms were created in excruciating detail all in miniature form. I loved it!

At this age I think the fascination is the sheer mind blowing realization that making this tiny thing, whatever it may be, took tons of time, effort, and patience (that I don't nor will ever have). I saw this collection by Anastassia Elias a while ago, but I realized that I had yet to share it with you all. These are all amazing little worlds created on the inside of toilet paper rolls. She cuts these tiny layered scenes from paper that's the same color as the toilet paper roll and then carefully arranges them inside the tubes. The hope is to create and effect like the tiny world is coming up out of the roll and she does it masterfully.

Photo Friday: Neon and Nature

The following is going to be a very weird sentence: I love that I love these. Does that even make sense? Probably not. But I do because they seem to scream to me in such an obvious and simple way. Obviously because they are very literally neon words, so yes these photos are speaking to you, but also because of this very stark opposition and integration between technology and nature. Art always pits man vs. beast and these neon word installations do just that while very literally speaking to the man. I'm getting too academic her, I can feel it. Sorry all. Obviously, I love this.

The installations were done and photographed by Jung Lee of Seoul, South Korea. I kind of want to know the details behind the logistics of installing neon words into the snowy ground, but I guess that's a project for a different day (yes, my DIY wheels are spinning). For now, enjoy! And I'd love to know what you think of these!

 I adore this one. Not for it's obvious sentimental value, but because I'm wondering who Jung is talking to. This is the English major nerd coming out in me, but I see this photo and I wonder who the speaker is. Is it nature speaking to the viewer? Welcome to my head people, it can get a little intense in here.

Do you love these neon text pictures as much as I do? (It's ok if you don't ;)

Photo Friday: Charming Prints of High Street

I found these prints by Eric Ravilious on Elle Decor the other day and they charmed me into sharing them with you all. They're prints of the types of shops and people you would find on High Street, the British equivalent of Main Street. Every town has one and every one can relate. Even in the style of shops of the early 1900s you can imagine that everyone knew where to find what they need on High Street. I love these prints because they're those old fashioned book illustration prints that you just don't find anymore. You know the ones right? Where each print had to be inked and hand pressed into the pages of the book, those books were always special editions and cost a bundle. Oh dear, excuse me while I put my inner librarian back in the closet.

Either way, whether you know what I'm talking about or not, they're pretty prints of vintage times. What could be more charming? The book has actually been re-released so you can pick it up and see them up close for yourself. Something I might just do soon.

Photo Friday: Archways and Hallways

Like most girls my age who share similar interests, I am what is commonly referred to as a Francophile. Yup, you heard it here first, I love all things French. But what's not to love? The historic buildings, gilded bridges, and winding streets of Paris drew me to France since before I even really knew where it was on the globe. In college I was lucky enough to study abroad for a semester in the south and have been plotting ways to get back there ever since. As you might suspect, I haven't had any luck so far. Anyway, all this probably played a huge role in my falling in love with photographer Franck Bohbot.

Born in the suburbs outside of Paris, Bohbot began documenting cities and urban spaces in 2008. I'm particularly fond of his architectural studies, especially since I have been to some of the places he depicts in his photographs. They make me feel nostalgic and happy. But I also love the composition of these photos. The angle and lack of people in each shot make the pictures seem like geometric works of art, not photographs of hallways. He has a fantastic eye for capturing the gorgeous details of architecture and their repetitions.                     

I am definitely a fan of wide open spaces and geometric shapes, so obviously I adore all of these photographs, but what about you? Too bland or just gorgeous?