You might have caught me crushing on my brand new dining table if you follow me on Instagram, but there’s just one eyesore left that is keeping me from considering my dining room finished. At the moment I have only four chairs, one of which I found on the streets and has no proper seating. The other three beautiful hand-me-downs from my grandfather’s aunts, but since I’d like to sit more than three people at my table at the same time, I’m in need of something new.
When interior architect Edith Macken (who I’ve worked before here) asked me to photograph her work for design store Espoo, I couldn’t say no. Dries was the first to introduce Nordic design to the city of Antwerp when he opened his store back in 2009, and since then Espoo has become the place to be for interior lovers far beyond the city of Antwerp. At their brand new location, designed by Edith Macken, they offer even more interior inspiration then before. With brands such as Menu, &tradition, Ferm Living and Frama, it’s unlikely they won’t be able to still your hunger for beautiful furniture and stylish accessoires. They even have your reading habits covered with a great selection of magazines and coffee table books. If you needed yet another reason to spend a day in Antwerp, this is it. They’re open on Sundays too, so there’s no reason not to stop by! Can’t make it to Antwerp after all? No worries, you can find all your favorites in the Espoo webshop. Happy shopping!
Espoo - Kloosterstraat 75-77, 2000 Antwerpen - website - facebook - instagram - pinterest
This Summer, I was checking out options on how to integrate more art into my home without going bankrupt, when Kunst in Huis contacted me to shoot their upcoming campaign. This organization can be described as an art library – for a mere €12 a month, you can borrow an art work from their extensive collection. In other words: exactly what I had been looking for. They asked me to shoot several of their clients’ homes and their brad new location in Brussels, which I wanted to share with you today. (You might have already caught a glimpse in last Thursday’s edition of national news paper De Standaard though!) I’ve already been scrolling through the Kunst in Huis online library to select my favorites and can’t wait to find the perfect spot for my pick, which you’ll surely see on my blog or Instagram soon!
In other news: Kunst in Huis has asked me to be part of their Art Sunday, which means I’ll be giving one on one interior advice in their venues in Leuven, Brussels and Antwerp today! Have a look at the program for more info, and maybe I’ll see you there? Oh and if you can’t make it – I collected a ton of inspiration on how to integrate art into your own home on my Pinterest. Enjoy!
When it comes to my interior, I want to create a space that feels both minimalist and cosy, mixing rough materials with soft textures and vintage pieces with modern design. Exactly the kind of interiors that are featured in Piet Swimberghe and Jan Verlinde’s brand new interior book, Think New Modern. This addition to their series of interior books features a few of my favorite Belgian architects and thus I could not resist adding it to my book shelf. It’s filled with soulful interiors that mix bohemian with minimalism in an effortless way, making me want to move in ASAP. In this blogpost, I’ve collected a few interiors from the book, accompanied by inspiration from the world wide web that feature the same clear lines, sober colours and rough materials. Do you want more? Get your hands on Think New Modern here or have a look at my Pinterest.
In a few months I’m (hopefully) off to Portugal again for the christmas holidays, so it’s about time I shared the remaining photos of last year’s trip to my favorite country. Despite living in Lisbon for 5 months and visiting the city countless times since, a visit to its neighboring town Sintra, known for its numerous royal palaces and castles, was somehow long overdue. Last winter I finally made it and visited Sintra’s Quinta da Regaleira, a clear favorite among my Portuguese friends. This romantic palace dates back to the early 1900s and is surrounded by a garden that was designed to mimic the idea of “heaven and hell”. Any luscious garden is a must-visit in my book, but with its multiple lakes, grottoes, wells and fountains, this garden is something else. Only a train ride away from the city of Lisbon, Quinta da Regaleira is a mysterious fairy tale that’s waiting for you to be explored.
Quinta da Regaleira, R. Barbosa do Bocage 5, 2710-567 Sintra, Portugal
While I’m enjoying sunnier places this week, I wanted to share few fragments of last year’s trip to Denmark. I visited family in the vicinity of Copenhagen and spent a few days wandering the streets of the Danish capital on my own. One of my favorite discoveries was the Glyptoteket, a museum that is dedicated to sculptures but is a work of art on its own. Wandering through its marble clad halls and exploring the luscious winter garden was an absolute dream and a must if you’re ever in Copenhagen.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Dantes Plads 7, 1556 Copenhagen - website - facebook - instagram
When I moved across the hall almost a year ago, I quickly decided that the brightest room of all had to become my home office. Nothing as depressing as slaving away behind your computer in a dark room, no? While I already owned enough furniture to decorate the rest of the apartment, I never had a home office before and thus had to start with a blank slate. I knew straightaway my grandfather’s drawing table (which you’ve seen before here) would make its comeback as my desk, and when I discovered the Veberöd shelving units at IKEA, I decided to team up with them to create the home office of my dreams.
Just outside the city of Antwerp, designer Ben Storms transformed a former furniture store into a plaground for his creative endeavors. Under the name Haptic House he created a greenhouse for artistic designs and ideas where likeminded creatives such as Nathalie Van der Massen, C3T, Clay Club, Wilder, Mr. Frisko Vintage Furniture and Wiesi Will found their home. Today Haptic House is opening their doors to the public, but I already got a little sneak peek of their exhibition and studios. I’ve gathered a few fragments of the beautiful Haptic House studios in this blogpost, but if you’re in the neighborhood today, I suggest you discover their surprising mix of furniture design, textile, ceramics, glass, jewelry design, photography, floristry, graphic arts and collectible design for yourself!
Haptic House studios, Turnhoutsebaan 1-3, 2100 Antwerpen - facebook - opening event
One of the reasons I moved to my current apartment, is the extra room that I could turn into a home office. I was tired of working from my dining table and the constant mess I was creating there and felt that a seperate workspace would not only increase my productivity but also make my sparetime around the house more relaxing. Also, what’s not to love about another room to decorate… Soon I’ll show you this new atelier of mine, but for now I’m leaving you with a ton of home office inspiration.
As I’m currently spending the majority of my time either behind the camera or behind my computer, I figured I’d show you a glimpse of the kind of projects I photograph for a living. Last winter, I shot the brand new hearing center Foon in Leuven, designed by Edith Macken (who I’ve worked with before here) and Pinkeye Design Studio. Having hearing protection made to measure is not exactly the most pleasant experience (been there, done that), but it’s certainly no punishment when it takes place in an interior like this. So if you’re ever in Leuven: take care of those ears of yours and enjoy this beautiful interior while you’re at it.
Foon, Mechelsestraat 7, 3000 Leuven - website - facebook - instagram