Tell us a little about your home.
I have a typical Japanese apartment, small (about 70 square
meters), not enough sunlight, the builders try to use every little space
efficiently with lots of build-in-wardrobes, tiny kitchen and bathroom,
Ready-to-move-in therefore not too much creations you could make.
My living room is facing west, most people would say facing south is
the best, but I prefer west, because of the beautiful sunset, the room
fulfilled with warmth in afternoon.
Living room is the
place my family spends the most time, eating, working, entertaining, I
divided it into two parts, the left side is for eating and relaxing,
the right part is for working and entertaining.
For the
left side, I use simple antique white as the main theme, and a little
bit blue for the highlights. I could not choose which part is my
favorite, I love them all, the cupboard, the couch, and the little
shelf above it.
I collect beautiful fine china dinner wares, especially those blue
with rose patterns. Everything in my cupboard came from thrift stores,
flea markets. most of the prices not even as expensive as an apple in
Japan, but they are my treasures.
I made the slipcover of the
couch with simple soft blue stripes and checks fabric, it is my first
sewing project. My two westie babies also love it, they take naps
everyday on the couch.
And the shelf above, it is totally what I need, perfect for
displaying my thrift finds, enamel wares, blue china, and antique tins.
It is the place for showing my handmade totes as well.
I want more colors for the right part because it is the place for fun.
My favorite part of the right is the colorful shabby old oak shelves
for my books, thrift trinkets and fabric. I did not planed to line
those 3 big shelves together like this when I bought them, however,
that wall is the only place big enough to place them, this is might not
the best way to present their individual beauty but very interesting I
think.
Also I like the little show place for my vintage finds, this is a
build-in-wardrobe before, I hated it so much. Why hiding things? I need
to show off!!!! Therefore I remove the doors, decorate with a shelf
border, filled with my little goodness.
My bedroom is facing east, and has very little lights, because
Japanese apartments share same elevator for one floor, the outside of
bedroom window is the public corridor.
When I first saw my
bedroom I almost cried, it is so small, about 6 square meters, also
very dark. Therefore, for the decoration I choose antique white
furniture, soft color beddings and soft color decorating items. I
believe that simple monochromatic color theme makes the small spaces
feels bigger.
For the summer time, I prefer to use light blue,
like my favorite patchwork bed cover, seashells give a cool feeling. My
favorite part of my bedroom is the small shelf for display my collected
sleeping wares.
Where do you find inspiration for decorating your home?
I
got decoration ideas from Magazines and of course the Flickr, there are
some of great Japanese decoration magazines such as Sutekina country ,
zakka. Etc. and I could sit in front of my notebook and searching for
pictures of decoration on Flickr for whole night.
How do vintage things play a role in your room/home?
In my home, you could find vintage things everywhere, vintage furniture, kitchenware, displays, clothes….
Flea
markets in Japan is not very popular, but thrift stores everywhere,
there are two near my home and I almost go there everyday, and always
got surprises.
I love to go to flea markets when I travel to
other counties, the first thing I went to a new place is go to the
tourist information, asking if there is any flea market held in town. I
do not buy a lot souvenirs but take back the whole luggage of vintage
finds.
Any advice on creating your look?
I have to
be honest, I have totally no knowledge of decoration, I could even not
say the right word for the colors. I believe in my heart, when you see
something at the first sight you just know it, you need it!
I
love shabby chic style, but not too chic, I love colors but not too
colorful. I love the word COZY, and I try to make my home comfortable,
not only for me and my hubby, also comfy for my dogs, I hate to making
rules to them, they could jump to anywhere they like, therefore
everything in my home should be easy for cleaning, that is why I love
soft furnishing so much. They exercise their teeth on my furniture as
their chew-toys, no problem, every time I saw those marks, I smile and
remembering our old happy days. That is why I love shabby chic vintage
furniture so much. J
Also the budget issues, we have a lot of
other things to worry about in real life. It does not have to be an art
by famous artist, I use vintage frames with fabrics, cheap print to
decorating the walls. Famous brand beddings are way too high, I just
simply make my own. Matching is important but not the restrict rule,
mix match is also great. Everything could be used or remade to be used
for decorating purpose. Just need a little bit imagination I think.
I
have lot of works to do with my apartment in future, get rid of wall
paper and paint the wall, some works on kitchen, floors..…. Changes
make me happy.
A special thank you to Wan Wang of cottonblue. Please visit cottonblue via Etsy for a wonderful line of Japanese fabrics and supplies.
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