5 Happy Inspirations: Little Treasures

Reinterpreting our homes is a sort of catharsis. Some kind of rebirth. Yes, a 'decor renaissance'. We change, accentuate, de-clutter, add details - and all of this is a visualization of our inner feelings. Ok, you might roll your eyes now and think 'why this psycho-crap'? I am just trying to decode the enigmatic force that ignites that restless drive to decorate our dwellings. After all, we are no superficial shopaholics remotely controlled by a vicious consume machinery, are we?

Think of your last decoration endeavour at home. What did you do? And what was the real driver of this undertaking? And trust me: it's never the first answer that comes to your mind! But enough said here, I could go this week with the following five treasures for a bit of home happiness:

1. The amazing vintage rug would be a real eye-catcher on a wooden floor. Seen on Artilleriet.

2. This fruit calendar from Anthropologie has to be mine. Love, love, love!

3. Pair a colourful lampshade with a differently coloured cord. Result: Visual happiness. On Coloured By you can customize your own design.

4. How about a handmade and fair trade Ghana basket? Seen on Baskets of Africa.

5. The happiest packaging tape ever - seen on Impressionen.

Happy hump day, friends!

Read More

No comments

Put On Some Colour

Admittedly, I am 90 % of my life in a colour mood. I can't help it but fall for the happy feelings evoked by colourful accessories in a home. And anything that leads to happiness can't be wrong, right? Even though I know there are some monochromatic fellows out there I need to annoy you with my colour mood today. Probably it's an inner urge to prolong summer vibes just for a little bit longer before we had into more quiet, more mellow times with muted hues and lots of neutrals. So no matter what type of person you are: put on some inner colour. Let your mood be a bright one. Let happiness rule your Tuesday. Nothing can go wrong. 

Photography: Bed, dining table, gallery wall via Mila Loveology; kitchen via Apiece Apart; fabric via Hauser & Wirth; lamps via Style Files.

Read More

No comments

Giveaway: Win An Art Print By Minted

I am a self-confessed sucker for art prints. If I lived in a bigger apartment, I'd probably have a serious budget problem. But hey, how can you not be a lover of art prints with companies such as Minted who offer incredible designs with a more than teasing price tag? Well, when the guys from Minted approached me and asked if I'd like to host a little giveaway on Happy Interior Blog I was more than - you guessed right - happy!

To give you a glimpse of the beautiful selection offered by Minted, I've chose just a few of my favorite prints here for you. But you are free to choose any art print you like for up to $65. And the best thing: This giveaway is open to all international readers and all you have to do is leave a little comment under this blog post and tell me which of your rooms could get along with a fancy art print from Minted. The giveaway is open until Tuesday, September 4th, when a winner will be drawn randomly and announced here in the comment section, on Twitter and on Facebook.

Oh and a little tip for the upcoming holiday season: Minted offers super cute holiday photo cards for a personal message of love. Feel free to send me many of them:-)

Happy Tuesday, folks!

Photography via Minted

Read More

No comments

Happily Ever After: Flair Magazine

How about a brand new fashion & home magazine to kick start the approaching weekend? We all love a good read for a relaxed weekend, right? Here we go. With Germany's 'dernier cri' on the magazine racks: Flair Magazine.

Flair is sassy magazine combining fashion, beauty and interiors. While I do indulge in the latter, I am pretty sure many stylish ladies won't neglect the first two sections. Flair's cover suggests a high-gloss lecture, but once you open it and touch the first page you will sense the tactile feel of raw, eco-friendly paper that is pretty much zeitgeisty. Glancing on, you will enjoy not only a visual feast but a tactile one, too. Like!

The first issue sparkles with a plethora of features: a trend radar suggests goodies for the ongoing month, the fashion category covers the looks of the season while the beauty column outlines the latest trends and products in cosmetics. My personal focus is on the home section though: A New York penthouse with vibrant colour accents, the eclectic home of Margherita Missoni, and statement sofas to awe your guests - quite a selection to please an interior loving eye. 

Personal verdict: A great first issue with coverages that are spot on. Personally I'd add a few more pages to the home category, but then again I am interiors obsessed. Grab a copy if you're in Germany or have a look at your international newsstand. It's worth a look. Happy Friday!

Photography by Igor Josifovic / Flair Magazine

Read More

No comments

Ideas For A Happy Weekend

There is one thing that unites all of us here: the love for homes. To be more precise - for our home. Now, in the midst of the holiday season (and just a week before I am off on holidays) I am thinking of the sweet feeling of coming home. I've stumbled over this amazing photography and it immediately triggered the notion of that very special feeling of returning home. That special emotion that we sense when we encounter our own space, our own home, our own bed. Even after splendid holidays in amazing hotels and beautiful locations - after all, nothing beats our home. So no matter where you are this weekend - here's to our special little place. Our nook that is so close to our heart. The place that is a part of us. Our home. Happy weekend, friends!

Photography via Homelife

Read More

No comments

5 Happy Inspirations: At Home

Ever since I've got my new DSLR camera, I can't help but snap around in my home. So I've decided to compile a very personal '5 Happy Inspirations' post today by sharing five snapshots of little goodies at my home. I hope you'll understand why they make my home happy!

1. My succulents on my windowsill. I love them cause they manage to live in my too hot rooftop apartment and still look so fresh.

2. A great book that keeps inspiring me. Frida Kahlo was a real artist. 

3. I got this candleholder in sale last Saturday. I love its geometric shape and the texture of the stone. 

4. I brought some of my favorite Instagrams into tangible reality as fridge magnets by Picpack.

5. This is my favorite scented candle by Compagnie de Provence. Whenever I light it, my home smells like a refreshing boat trip on the Mediterranean.

Happy hump day, friends!

Read More

No comments

Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Staying in is my big plan this weekend. The weather forecast says rain and chilly. My body says rest and chilling. And my sofa says something like 'I am so comfy and look at your new cute pillow, snuggle up and stay here'. Well, after all it seems that even rainy summer weekends have a good side. They don't make you feel guilty for sleeping long and staying in. And if you abide by the concept of a happy home, you will most certainly enjoy even a rainy and cold summer weekend. By staying in. In your happy home. Happy weekend!

Photography via Katie Armour

Read More

No comments

Ideas For A Happy Weekend

How afraid are we of being alone? Do we feel ashamed to have a walk alone? Do we need a book or our smartphone to have a solo lunch? Do we feel awkward for loving our quiet moments alone, cut off of the outer world? Sometimes I do feel all of this. And then again I remember that solitude - chosen solitude from time to time - is the best way to deal with yourself. To work on the big, eternal relationship - the one with yourself. I consciously choose moments of solitude in my home. And to fully enjoy these moments I must feel comfortable, I must feel cosy and at home. And then I realize that it's the little things at home that sometimes elicit a smile and the happy feeling of being all satisfied and confident about yourself. And about your home. Happy weekend, friends!


P.S. Have you seen my musings as a francophile on Fleurishing blog? Check it out here.

Photography: Vintage 50s vase via Dawanda

Read More

No comments

Happily Ever After: Happy Home

Today's 'plat du jour' will add a good deal of happiness to your home - let me introduce you to the online shop 'Happy Home'. Based in France this shop has not only attracted me with its happy name but also with its adorable assortment of goodies - whether you'd like to opt for a new cushion, something cheerful for your kitchen, or some colourful bliss for your desk or office, you won't leave unsatisfied.

I am in love with the beautiful black and white cards, the abundance of masking tape, the cute paper bags. And the best news - it's sales time till the end of July. Anything you fancy from this happy shop?

Photography via Happy Home

Read More

No comments

Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Happy weekend, friends! I hope it is as beautiful and warm where you are as it is here! This weekend I will be spendings lots of time outside: enjoying the sunshine, having breakfast with a friends, visiting a beautiful interior store slash café, and strolling down my neighbourhood's 'courtyard flea market'. And maybe I will find a new happy goodie for my home. 

So this week I want to warmly recommend to add a bit of happiness to your home. Your choice what it is - a big smile, a warm hug, a pop of colour, new decoration. Just let it be happy! For a rough idea here are four of my Instagram shots from my home. Oh, and if you want to see which design classic I would wish to have, check my guest post for 'Furniture Friday' on Canoe Design. Have a great one, folks!

Photography by Igor Josifovic

Read More

No comments

Home Sweet Home

Do you know the feeling when you arrive home after several trips or a long vacation? Well after quite busy past days and a few trips I really enjoyed returning to my home. And though this is not my home but a beautiful Scandinavian living room as seen on Alvhem, I do appreciate the cosiness and intimacy of my home (and I promise to do a home tour of my tiny abode soon). Nothing beats the feeling when you snuggle up in your bed or on your sofa. When you walk around and you see yourself in all those little details at home. I truly understand the saying 'Home Sweet Home'. Enjoy every bit of YOUR home sweet home!

Photography via Alvhem Makleri

Read More

No comments

5 Happy Inspirations: Don't Feel Blue...

After yesterday's flashy pink door I thought I'd dedicate today's '5 Happy Inspirations' to one of my favorite hues, blue. There is one absolutely important rule when it comes to blue: Don't feel blue, decorate with blue! Whether you like the Blues, Blue Velvet, blueberries, the blue Smurfs or blue fashion items - don't forget to add a tad of blue to your home, too. You can go from bold to delicate. 

Inspiration 1: Paint a blue feature wall like this one as seen on Design Sponge. Use a saturated blue like Farrow & Ball's 'Cook's Blue'.

Inspiration 2: Get yourself an eye-catching throw with a geometric pattern and blue accents. Like the Harlekin blanket from Fine Little Day.

Inspiration 3: Get handy and DIY a cool wooden chair. Then paint it, spray it, watercolour it, dip dye it - but keep it blue like this one as seen on Static2.

Inspiration 4: You are a blue pro? Then revamp your bathroom and enrobe it in blue vintage tiles like here as seen on Traditional Home.

Inspiration 5: For the indecisive - keep it small and flexible and add blue accents with a little stripey rug. Choose for example this one as seen on French Connection.

So, if you ever hear of a 'blue Wednesday' then you know where it comes from! Happy hump day!

Read More

No comments

Happy Market Picks For Sister Magazine

Have you seen the new issue of Sister Magazine? It is a real inspirational blockbuster with 290 pages of creative ideas for the kitchen, the home, the lifestyle of digital ladies. The two sisters who run the magazine, Thea and Toni, accomplished a stunning work by bringing together so much creative and informative input in one e-magazine issue. Moreover, I was one lucky guy when Thea asked me to contribute to the second issue with a double-pager. I was asked to compile some inspiring market picks for a new home. Well hello!? With BIG pleasure! I was guided by the overarching theme 'blossoming beginnings' and had an instant idea of a colour that will tie my picks together: a springy and warm yellow. I browsed through a plethora of products, ideas and inspirations to finally bring together some favorite pieces that could definitely contribute to a blossoming and happy new home (see pages 132 and 133). I hope you like some of my ideas and feel the spirit of spring -  a new beginning with a home full of sunlight and warmth!

Market Picks Screenshot via Sister Magazine

Read More

No comments

Ideas For A Happy Weekend

Some of you who are regular readers will know that I love to stress the importance of relaxing and spending quality time with people you love. And that is exactly what I am about to do. I am off to Austria to my family's home to spend some time with them and old friends. And I will make a stop over at the local flower market. I don't know about the place you live in, but here temperatures have gone up these days and believe me or not, I can smell spring! It must be around the corner. And there is nothing more springlike for me than going to the flower market, absorbing the charming scents, enjoying the bright colours and picking that bunch of spring for your home. With this in mind, I'm wishing you a happy, springlike weekend!

Photography via Real Living

Read More

No comments

Organizing + Storing

Maybe some of you will now roll their eyes and click away. But hey, let's face it. Winter is ending, spring is approaching. And with it comes one thought: spring-cleaning. To be honest, I like it. Cleaning out after a long, cold season. Uncluttering the home, cleaning out closets and drawers, organizing books, magazines, household goods, washing all blankets, covers, cushions, linens. Creating new storing solutions for home office supplies, paperwork and textiles.

It also is the season when I get rid of many things. And it feels so good and liberating. Some things I give away, others I sell on flea markets, and some are simply going right into the trash bin. I reorganize my magazines and books, clean and unclutter the kitchen shelves, sometimes I change rugs, pillow covers and blankets on the sofa. I add a bit more colour and spring feeling. How about you? Do you love or loathe spring-cleaning? And do you have some tricks and tips?

Photography via Martha Stewart

Read More

No comments

Happily Ever After: Ikea Family Live

I will tell you a short story that happened five years ago. Back then, I moved from Austria to Munich, Germany, to start my new life. I found a great job and loved the new city. Plus, I found a cute little apartment in the city's heart, set atop of a building overlooking Munich's Old Town. When I moved into the apartment, on a gloomy winter day in January, it was literally 'stark naked'. There was nothing in it. Not even a light bulb. 

As I was already working in a full time job and had no car, buying furniture seemed like a tough challenge. With a small budget and even smaller time frame, I was determined to accomplish this task the best possible. The question where to get nice and reasonably priced furniture was quickly resolved: Ikea. I browsed their website, jotted down furniture pieces I liked and set off to the closest Ikea on a snowy evening after work. I had to use the public transportation and I need not mention that it took me a 45 minutes ride on the suburban train plus an additional 25 minutes of walking through the snow. Finally, I arrived there an hour before the store closed. I went to a salesperson, went through my list (I pre-checked the availability of my chosen pieces online) and got everything I needed in 30 minutes. Another 30 minutes later I paid around 1.000 Euros for the furnishing of my entire apartment. Of course, I had the goodies delivered and assembled - and after a few days I had a fully furnished and lovely apartment that I've called my home up to today. 

And that's why I love Ikea. It is beautiful design. It is super affordable. It gives you a lot of possibilities to arrange and hack their furniture. After all, Ikea is not about having the same things everywhere. It is about interpreting their products in your personal way. And this is proven if you visit the inspiring Ikea Family Live website. Have a fab Friday, friends!

Photography via Ikea Family Live

Read More

No comments

Happily Ever After: Ethnic Inspiration

I'd like to live happily ever after...in ethnic inspired interiors.

Some of you might know that my family roots lie in the Balkans, to be precise in Serbia. So throughout my childhood I was faced with many ethnic inspired elements in my parents' home. I've despised some of those traditional elements such as handmade crochet work. I admit. But then, I was always drawn to the wonderful oriental rugs and cushions at my grandparents' house in southern Serbia. 

So I decided to dedicate today's 'Happily Ever After' blog post to ethnic inspiration. Ethnic as a word can encompass a wide array of traditional inspirations from every corner of the world. However, I focused on a few styles that are widely known as Aztec, Navajo or - of course - Balkan and orient inspired. 

I like the fact that ethnic elements can be used as accents to juxtapose interior styles or to add focal points in rooms. Thus, I am convinced that an ethnic rug for example can perfectly work in an urban apartment with modern furniture and accessories. After all, it's all about playing and finding the personal style. In a nutshell: Make a statement with your very own interior design!


Photography: Camel pic via Desert Dreamer; Serbian Pirot kilim via kilimpirot.com; Artpiece "Eunuch" via Art.com; bedroom via Design Sponge; hallway via Re-Nest; baskets on wall via Rooms for the Revolution; Aztec rug via Pinterest; rug pattern via Pinterest; workspace via Design Labyrinth; Mexican Tree of Life via Tilton Fenwick; ethnic fabrics via Simplified Minimalism; Serbian Pirot kilim in chapel via Tanjica Perovic.

Read More

No comments

Welcome To Happy Interior Blog!

1

Here I am. After almost a year of networking, scooping, pinteresting, tweeting interior design & home decor topics I finally have a digital home to call it my very own ‚happy home’. Just as we're able to transform a house into a home with a distinct interior design that reflects our personality and taste, I did my best to convert this digital house into a very personal digital home. And this home has a name: Happy Interior Blog.

Why this name? Above all because I am a very happy person in general. Hardly ever in bad mood, almost never cranky, and when it comes to interior design and decoration topics my happiness reaches its peak. Thus, I thought this very plain and simple title suits best. Not only does the topic make me happy, but I am also very happy to welcome you in my new digital home. I hope you will become a recurring guest and you’ll take a little bit of happiness with you every time you come and visit me.

I won't spend too many words on reasoning my existence in the bloggosphere. I am here because I felt this is the right thing to do and I am sure I will find my little niche. Moreover, I was so inspired and encouraged by many of you during the past months. Thank you for that. You made me happy! Now it's time to give back. I want to make you happy. On Happy Interior Blog! Happy reading!

Igor xo

Read More

No comments