West Elm South African Collection

Have you seen West Elm's collection of South African designs? The collection ranges from furniture to pillows, lighting and decorative pieces. Though the collection is from different artists, there is a slight commonality in the pieces. They all are vibrant in color, and they have an organic quality to them. Which makes sense because it's all about working with craftsman/women and local artists. I really like a lot from this collection,  it does feel like a breath of fresh air for this genre. It is very frustrating that every time a design whether in fashion or interiors is labeled "African", it is usually some stereotypical print and color combination.

There is so much diversity in each African country let alone the whole continet. Even me as an African more specifically Gambian, I can't speak for the whole continents design aesthetic. Each culture/tribe has a little something (or big) that is quite different from the other. I think the bold colors, and vibrancy is one thing that ties them all together. African design is usually very bold, and uplifting, which is very true for this collection. What do you think of this collection?

Wishing you a bright and happy week! :)

(Images: West Elm)

Helt Enkelt Blog

I have been a fan of Anna Malin's blog Helt Enkelt for a while. She is a photographer in Sweden, with a very lovely blog. She shares photos from her home and of her work. These pictures from a summer day is such a beautiful caption of that perfect day, spent enjoying nature's abundant beauty. I was struck by how gorgeous these photos were, and something about the feel of the whole post really captured my attention. 

You can visit her blog here for more beautiful and inspiring images.

(Images: Anna Malin)

Vintage Chic Penthouse

I love mixing design styles, and I love it even more when I see styles that aren't supposed to work, but they do so well. Vintage Modern almost sounds like an oxymoron doesn't it? :)
This sleek New York City penthouse with its clean lines and minimal design incorporates some vintage pieces. Warmth is brought in by the rich brown colors of the furniture, art, and accessories.

Thoughts? What do you think of this mix? I know it's nothing new, but it's one of the most extreme mix of modern and vintage I've seen in a while. I love too that its not disguised, the modern design is able to stand on it's own just like the vintage pieces do, but it still looks cohesive.

(Images: Living Etc.)

Purple Reign

Boy has it been a long time! I have missed blogging, the last few weeks of school were so brutal. It's over, it was a tremendous quarter of growth and self discovery for me. More like affirmation rather than discovery maybe? Taking more of my core classes reaffirmed that I have finally chosen the right path for me. I really enjoy this field of Interior Design. Even after finding out things that I wasn't expecting about the industry, or for the first time really working my butt off in school, because everything is not coming so easy for me (I'm talking about you Auto CAD). I finished school a weeks ago I think, and I have just been distressing, and I really haven't felt very motivated to blog either. Don't get me wrong, everyday I think about it, and I missed the process, but I just haven't seen or felt passionate about anything that I wanted to share. I was okay with that, instead of feeling like I had to come up with something, I just went with it. I figured once my brain was ready, I will be back. Last thing I want to do is to post for the sake of it.

That wall is no doubt the focal point in this room. I love the height of the headboard against the half painted wall. The pillows, the prints on them and the rug is just perfect. You can see the Moroccan influence, but it is nicely balanced with some modern touches. 

The last few weeks of school I noticed myself being drawn to rich purple tones with my projects. I've never really been a purple person. Lately lavender, but never really deep rich purples. It is said to be the color of royalty, and I think I finally get it. It is quite regal.

This beautiful crocheted blanket brings in such warmth and softness to this room. This room could have easily been on the very formal side, but the addition of this beautiful blanket loosens it up.

I love this saturated shade of purple for this couch. 

This chair is sexy!!! The lines and that plush luxurious velvet upholstery. I'm a fan of purple with yellow too. 

I love the round bubble rug. I like this mix of industrial and classic design. 

I find this room so perfectly eclectic and sophisticated.

How have you all been? Thanks to all of you who checked in regularly and bared with me on my long absence. Wishing you a lovely weekend!

(Images: House to Home)