Picture This!

The last big change that I'm gonna tell you about today is my feature-wall of pictures. As an interior-designer I know that a very important thing when putting up pictures on your wall is to not scatter them around randomly as that causes clutter and an unstylish look. So I'm gonna show you what I decided to do when I had some pictures I wanted to portrait:

As you can see - even if all the frames don't line up, and they have different sizes and shapes, they look like a collective unit. The reason for it is that if you look closely, the outer frame is rectangular. Together, they form a geometrical shape. And they work sooo well!! I'm very happy about this feature. 

All of the pictures are made from stuff I've had laying around the house. The Marilyn Monroe-metal sign used to be on my bedroom door. The golden picture in the upper left corner was a christmas present from my sister Siri (who is a great photographer!). The one next to it I got for christmas from my aunt about four (?) years ago, and it's never had a proper place in the house until now. There are a couple of Dreamcatcher-related pictures there, as well as my Take That paintings. And last, the dark one over the clock (that used to be in Gabriels room):

This is a curled up, well used 1$ note from Sudan. It is a cherished "souvenir" from when I visited the worlds poorest country a few years back. My reason for going to Sudan was to be a coach for a bunch of fabulous Sudanese women - as a part of a democracy education by NPA (Norwegian Peoples Aid) and DNA (Norwegian Labour Party). My stay in Sudan taught me a lot about how cool and hard-working the local women are. No matter where in the world you meet your fellow gender, there's a universal bond between you. This photo that I've constructed from a well used (to the point of almost crumbling) note and an old frame reminds me of my stay in Sudan - of how cheerful, hard working, innovative and crazily wonderful these women are - and of how life and love can flourish; 25 years of civil war be damned! 

I learned a lot from these women - and this way, they'll always be with me, making my life better :)

Lamps that I Love

Today is a good day for an update about my Project Makeover, right? :) I wanna tell you about some key items that have found their way into my home during the change to a new style.

First up are two fabulous retro lamps!!

I found the lampshades first in the Remix Miljø- og Gjenbruksbutikk (secondhand store) and fell completely in love with them! They are so unlike anything I've ever owned, and they fit brilliantly in the design I have worked out in my head! The bases of the lamps I found at Fretex (another secondhand store). I was originally thinking about having black or brown lampstands, but I spotted these gold ones and thought to myself: Gold... And Orange... That's a COMPLETE mismatch! I HAVE to do it! lol! All in all these lamps cost me a total of 128,- NOK. A bargain!!

The next illuminating find I want to share with you is a proper retro floorlamp from the 60's. I got it from a friend of mine, who had inherited it from her late Godmother. It had just been standing around unused in her storage-room for years, and when she came over to visit yesterday, she immediately announced that it would have been perfect in here, and that I could have it if I wanted it. Woohoooo!!
Here's the lamp:

!!LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE!! 

Talent Of The Year

Last Friday, me and my sister Therese went to the "Tromsø Culture and Commerce Galla 2012" to represent our beloved Dreamcatcher. Personally, I love the opportunity to get dressed up and meet new interesting people, and for a long while, I'd been looking forward to a fun night of networking and chilling out. Adding to my excitement, two of my favourite local up-and-coming artists Peter Estdahl and Oh! were performing, something they did brilliantly!!

Peter Estdahl (foto: PR)

Oh! (foto: Marius Fiskum)

At the Galla, a few awards were to be... well.. awarded, and although we probably should have given more thought to the fact that Dreamcatcher was nominated for one, we were absolutely unprepared when Arne-Wilhem Theodorsen of INTRO started reading out the background/justification for the winner of "Talent of the Year 2011" and we realized it was us!!! In shock and absolutely jumping out of our seats, this picture from the award-ceremony really describes how we felt about being honoured with this title: Floating on clouds!

I know I should probably have written a blog about it sooner, but quite frankly, it's not until now (5 days later) that I'm able to gather my thoughts enough to put it down in blog-form. With the award comes a lot of publicity and opportunities for projects, as well as a check for 50.000,- NOK to spend on a specific project: Going to SXSW 2012 in Austin, Texas and work our Dreamcatcher magic to expand our business-opportunities and the opportunities for talented Dreamcatcher-artists. We're absolutely blown away by the faith Tromsø has in us, and are gonna utilize the resources in the best way possible. Already now, the planning is in full motion, and I can tell you this is going to be absolutely aaaawesome!!! 

We will keep you all updated through the Dreamcatcher fb-page and by revitalizing the Dreamcatcher blog. Make sure you like our page and follow our blog for the latest updates and news about the trip itself, talents you should look out for and loads more. 

The award, diploma, cheque and flowers <3

Cushion Makeover

I'm gonna tell you something that may come as a shock to a few of you: I did some sewing today! :D

One of the things about my redecorating project that has proved the most difficult has been to find textiles (sofa cushions, curtains, floor mats, table cloths, blankets etc) that are used and look perfect for the new home. So what I've had to do is resort to some creativity!

Today I've redone a purple cushion that used to have lovely diamond-shaped buttons on it. Obi Wan has eaten the buttons a while ago, so it was either time to throw it in the garbage or replace the buttons on it. Of course, diamond-shaped buttons are not gonna work designwise in the new living-room, and I don't know anywhere in Tromsø that sells used buttons, so what I did was look through my old sewing-kit, where I've occasionally thrown in extra buttons that have come with clothes.

After a bit of consideration, this is what I chose to work with:

And here's the finished result!! :D

Brilliant Buy!!

I have just made the most expensive purchase of my whole "Project Makeover"! But it's soooo worth it!!

Having sold my dining-table+chairs I had room to replace them with something that's gonna fit brilliantly in the new style, and I've just come back home from picking up my new thingies.

Peeps: Meet my new diningroomtable+chairs:

And although they're my most expensive buy at 2500,- NOK - they're actually a bargain (!!!) as they go for 16.000,- when new. So as you can tell - WELL worth it! Also this is a norwegian design set, made by Fora Form. They specialize in office-furniture, and are well known for their use of sustainable materials and durable furniture. Amongst other things, they've been awarded "Award for Design Excellence" by the Norwegian Design Council, and thanks to the awesome interior designers F&O (www.f-o.no) here in Tromsø, their old lunch-room furnitures are now my new precious gems.

 The flower-pot on the picture, btw, is also one of the purchases I've made for the project. It came from Fretex and is fitting nicely into my new design :)

Have a great weekend everyone! I know I am, now that I'm enjoying the rush of endorphines that comes with having new furniture. ;)  And thanks for following my "Project Makeover"!!

Project Makeover: The First Purchase!

I made my first new purchase today!! Woohoooo! This project is coming along splendidly :D

I am particularly happy with this one, as it is going to be a big focal point in the redecorated living-room.
Do you want a sneak peek? ;)

Ok, here it is:

(drumroll)

Isn't it a retro beauty?!! :D A couple of buttons need replacing, but that only means I get to replace them with odd-buttons (maybe a green one and a purple one?) - making it even more special than it is.

I can't wait to get it into my living-room, and to show you more as my "Project Makeover" progresses :)

Another Update

Today has been spent doing only interior-design'y stuff, and let me tell you: I've had so much fun!!

Apparently a bit inspired by my "Project Makeover", my sister Therese called me last night asking if I could come over today and help her redecorate their apartment. I believe my initial response went something like this: "Physical labour and interior design?! I'M SOOOOOO INNNNNN!!!! :D"

So this morning I showed up at her place and we been moving things around, vacuuming and washing, laughing and smiling all day, and in the end we made our deadline of finishing before her unsuspecting boyfriend got off work at 4pm. ;) Just call us the Interior Ninjas! lol

As the need for some additional candleholders proved necessary, we decided to kill two birds with one stone and head out for a bit to check out the second hand shops of Tromsø. I must say, I've fallen in love!! There are a few hidden gems in this city, and I'm excited that I finally know about them! :D At my new favourite charity shops, we found many cool things, and although I ended up not buying anything today, it was not because I didn't want to!! I basically had to be very strict with myself and decide that the big things like sofa and diningroom-table have to be sold off first and new ones purchased before I can start adding the final details....! Sometimes, I'm not a big fan of logic thinking ;) hehe

Anyways! Recon for my project has been done tonight; and here are some pictures of the end result of the redecoration of Therese and Eivinds apartment. Please excuse the poor lighting, but you get the jist. ;)

Update: Cluttered Chaos

Hey lovely people :)

This "Project Makeover"-thing is turning out to be quite exciting! The response to the stuff I put up for sale has been great, and already, people have started coming over to pick up their purchases :) I'm mega-excited about this all!!

The first thing to get picked up was the magazine-holder. Bon voyage to it :)

Earlier today I put up a question on facebook: Where can I find second-hand stores in Tromsø? Needless to say there seems to be more of them than I realized, and I'm planning to start visiting them tomorrow to look for new treasures for my apartment. It kinda feels like planning an expedition, and the thrill of not knowing what cool stuff awaits for me out there is getting my blood pumping.

At the moment, the apartment is a mess! hahaha I've rearranged some of the furniture I intend to keep (the chairs I inherited from my grandma, the old piano I used to play at my godparents house when I was growing up +++), and the place is a horrible mix of styles and clutter. Some of the stuff for sale is just bundled up in a corner, and let me tell you: I'll not be having friends over the way this place looks now!! LOL Here's a sneak peek:

But I can live with a cluttered place for a little while. By rearranging things I get to see what I'll need once the selling-frenzy is over - and start putting design alternatives together in my head.

And I can tell you I have some wicked cool ideas! Creativity Overload!!! Just hope I find the second hand bargains I'm hoping for ;)

I'll keep you posted!

xxx

Project Makeover

Right - so it is decided. My apartment is about to undergo a makeover - from girly, metallic minimalism to funky, colourful retro with a twist.

The rules are as follows:
- The new additions are to be second hand, and come from Fretex, charity-shops, finn.no, ebay.com, garage-sales and other second hand stores.
- My budget for the makeover is the sum of money I can raise from selling furniture and stuff that I already own.
- Free stuff like gifts etc is allowed
- Reuse of furniture and stuff I already have in the house is allowed

The first step is to put my stuff up for sale so that I can figure out what budget I have.
Here are the things that are looking for a new home:

Wish me luck! :D