shak-shuka

Personalized Photos on Bamboo

Since we've recently become a family of four, things have become quite a circus. I didn't want to neglect our blog for too long, so our posts will be short and sweet for the coming weeks. Still wanted to leave you with a bit of eco inspiration though!

I caught a glimpse of these Bamboo Wall Art Decor by Paper Culture on Cool Mom Picks a bit ago, and think they would make a great addition, to - well, our newest addition (Baby No.2). I just love the richness the bamboo gives the image, and it saves me the brain space of having to think of a frame to put the picture in!

Abeego Has Food Covered

Besides full-on nesting mode, I've gone into "Kitchen Armageddon Preparation" in case the little baby decides to show himself early. I seem to have this inate fear of being left without enough food, and for my family, that fear is even more deep. In fact, I don't think I've ever heard my daughter say the words "I'm hungry" without having food shoved immediately into her mouth. Ah, instant gratification!

Clearly I've been cooking up a storm to prepare for the baby's arrival and the days after when the LAST thing on my mind will be cooking (what will be on my mind? radio silence!). I have to admit - filling up the freezer is pretty impressive, but also daunting. I find that I'm running out of containers, and I really despise using plastic/cling wrap on top. Imagine my delight when I read that there is an eco-alternative to plastic wrap: Abeego reusable food storage. The Abeego that I've got my eyes on for "Operation Freezer Filler" are the "Flats" which work the same as plastic/cling wrap, but instead they are made from beeswax, tree resin and jojoba oil infused into hemp fabric which makes it "mold" onto your choice of container. I personally love the eco idea of this, and the child in me thinks this sounds like the coolest thing I've ever heard of. So, my package of Abeego better hurry up and make it in time before the little man arrives!

Organic Bed(ding) Buy

Recently our little girl has progressed from a little kids bed to a real, honest-to-goodness twin sized bed that will probably fit her until she's 18 years old! It's startling the contrast between the cradle, the crib, and now...a bonafide big girl bed. 

Since we've made this transition, my nesting instinct has gone wild and I am on the hunt for bedding that will be stylish and eco-friendly not only for her new bed, but also ours (because we deserve a little pampering too, damnit!). I was lucky enough to have the newest edition of 101 WoonIdeeen in my mailbox, which is always chock-full of great ideas and sites to shop at. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I saw the RosenbergCph Bed Linen, which comes in a variety of super cool designs and of course, organic cotton. While you're at it, the rest of the RosenbergCph is worth a length visit, and I'm seriously coveting everything from the Rectangular Cushion to the Fauna Bag for my travel needs. I mean, a family can never have too much organic home decor or bags.....right?! 

Black Sheep(skins)+Cleaning Tips

This weekend we scored big time at a few second-hand shops and while doing some online shopping. One of my "oh goody!" finds was a rotan rocking chair that will be in our bedroom and used for nighttime feedings and of course, like all good women everywhere, to hold the clothes that I rip off in an attempt to find just the right outfit. I know you feel me!

The only minor issue with this rotan rocker is that it could use a bit of comfort. My newest method to make anything soft and comfy: sheepskins. Good for the kids, keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer - BAM! we have a winner folks. My favorite sheepskins of all time? The undeniably gorgeous Black Sheep (white light) Icelandic sheepskins. Totally natural and eco-friendly (no nasty chemicals to soften them), they are available in colors that you won't see anywhere else. And almost as good as the skins themselves, are the cleaning tips: I can verify that this weekend I washed ours according to their method and not only did it work wonders, it was kinda fun! Maybe I need to get out more, but nonetheless, I'm even more in love with my sheepskin, and now my rotan rocking chair!

SerpentSea Rugs - Oh My!

By now you know me - I love good lighting and good floor materials. My theory is this: the better you can distract people's attention up or down when they come into your "in-between" designing home, is ideal. I have so far succesfully attracted visitors to do nothing but stare at our beautiful etched ceilings (done by the original home designer, not us - don't get excited!) or the lighting that we installed. Voila! (almost) DIY magic.

Floors, rugs - oh my! My feet were doing a giddy step when I saw these rugs made from recycled rope, reminiscent of a nautical adventure. I saw them on Re-Nest and fell in L-O-V-E! SerpentSea rugs come in a variety of colors and are destined to make it into my home and help distract from the explosion of toys around it, instead I want to hear the "oohs and ahhs" of "where did you get that?! I love it! It's so unique!". I think SerpentSea manages to do something that I don't see that often: make a rug in an eco-friendly way, but also keep it as clean and polished as if it were set only for a design store. Shiver me timbers, I've set sail on the SS SerpentSea!

 

Chilly Weather Home Decor

Crisp crisp autumn weather I love you! It brings together the best of both worlds: a bit of the sunshine of summer and the chilly jacket-worthy feeling of winter. I seriously could not be in more love!

With this change of weather, I feel myself already gravitating towards warmer, toastier fabrics like wool, sheepskin and fleece. This fabric change has even got me thinking about our home, and I saw that the spirited designer Donna Wilson has a new range of woolen items - this drool-worthy kelim rug, zigzag pouffe, and hilarious Bla Bla blanket. I first discovered Donna Wilson's range when I saw her porcelain plates in one of my favorite decor shops and frantically started Googling how to hang plates on the wall. Yes, it might sound Grandma-ish, but it looks so cool! Wilson doesn't forget the youngins in your life, as she has a Make Your Own Monster Kit that I think almost every little boy and girl I know would love!

Must Have: The Dots

Things are picking up around here at Casa Shuka: corners have been filled, chairs have been bought (and broken in by both the child and the dog) and now the walls are crying out "we're naked! please help us by putting something on us!". Who knew walls could be so demanding??!

We have this wall that is a covered fireplace (boohoo - we love fireplaces!) and therefore the wall is really prominent and since it's in the dining room, it's really a focus point. I have debating about trying to make it look like a real fireplace (think a mantel, fake fire wall decals, the works!) but then I thought it might look a bit too cheesy. Then I remembered something that I had seen in Copenhagen and think it might be the solution to my naked-wall-conundrum: Muuto the Dots. Yes, they're Dots, and sure, they can hold things, but I really love the way they occupy the wall as if they were pieces of art and you don't really have to hang things on them, right?! They're made from sustainably-harvested oak, come in packs of 5 or singles, and are available in a natural color, black, or call me crazy - yellow! I'm actually thinking that the yellow might be just the punch our dreary dining room needs, and if we run out of coat rack space, you know where to hang your jacket!

Acapulco Chair that Rocks!

Not sure if it's just me, but I am a BIG rocking fan - by that I don't mean music, I mean I love rocking chairs. This love has become even more intense now that I have a bun in the oven, as I imagine myself feeding the little babe in a chair rocking us both into oblivion. Bliss!

Funny how things work, because this weekend we were headed to a market, passed by a beautiful floral shop that also sold some fun items, including a (gasp!) Acapulco Chair - yes, like the ones that the Kennedy's rocked on back in the day in their resort homes. To be honest, I don't really care about the iconic status of the chair, because once my tush hit that seat, it was a match made in heaven! Part of me didn't want to get out of the chair, while the other half, just, well - couldn't (I'm much heavier these days!). When I got home, I researched and browsed to see if I could find the chair anywhere, and to my amazement I discovered they make a rocking version! Be still my beating (or should I say rocking?!) heart! There are a few places that you can get this chair, but the most eco-friendly option seems to be hailing from a Brooklyn factory - GreenPointWorks - where they make everything locally with local materials. Durable enough to withstand the outdoors, but I am picturing this rocking chair in our bedroom with a nice sheepskin rug on the back for added padding.....don't expect me to get out - EVER!

PS: for those of us in Europe, I discovered this site that does ship (for a fee!) to us

DIY Bedroom Advice

Rather than share an item or find that we discovered, we thought it was best to ask the advice of our experts - YOU! You see, in preparing our house to look somewhat inhabitable, we've run into a problem that we can't seem to figure out: we have a lovely bedroom with a terrace off of it, a decent sized closet, decoration at the ready for all the other walls, but we have this stubborn wall behind our bed that has this strange phone jack/outlet line that we don't know how to remedy. So we're asking for your help, advice, ideas, craftiness to help us resolve this problem, albeit quickly and cheaply if possible (haha). We've thought about a headboard, but not sure if we want to make such a serious investment if we end up hating it. There are a few restrictions (the house nightstands that we love next to the bed) which means it can't be too big, and we had the idea of putting nightstand lights on the wall, but that depends on what we end up doing to cover up that horrible cable/line behind the bed. Please share your ideas about how we can remedy this eye-sore of a problem!

 

Raamtekens: Window Beauty+Function

One of the most striking things about living in the Netherlands (to foreigners or expats) is that the Dutch leave their windows without curtains or blinds to cover themselves, or their homes, up. I heard that it was a demonstations to prove that people had nothing to hide, so passer-byers can easily walk by and take a peek into nearly every Dutch home. And the funniest part is that we're not talking tiny windows that are not at eye-level, we're talking HUGE floor to ceiling windows similar to those you'd find in a store front!

Even though I love Dutch design, I'm a bit more modest and, to be honest, feel like I want to hide a lot of what goes on in my house (most important the constant mess!). Having said that I do have something to hide, we have these lovely eye-level windows in the front of our house that we've been trying to address for a while now. There is a great recycle store here in Rotterdam, called Studio Hergebruik, and in their window I saw the solution: Esther X's Raamtekens. They look like semi-transparent figure-8's, and can be linked together to either create a room divider, or a window screen, just like we were looking for. In the past we've used this horrible foggy-looking cling film to cover the bottom of the windows so people can't see in, but this is a much more stylish and eco-friendly solution (they're made from recycled advertising signs). The toughest part for us was deciding which color/pattern to choose from (there are MANY!) and now we're working on the design part that will fit our window. So far, so good - we'll post pictures once you can't see in the house!!!