This week was Rooms and Words' first week and I couldn't be more excited or grateful for the love and support we've been getting. I would love to see you there! Just click here or on the image above to enter my new home on the web.
This week was Rooms and Words' first week and I couldn't be more excited or grateful for the love and support we've been getting. I would love to see you there! Just click here or on the image above to enter my new home on the web.
I have something to admit... I've been keeping a secret from all of you. Yes, I hinted about it here and there, made some vague promises, but I never actually told you what to expect. Please don't blame me, I only wanted to surprise you and when deadlines, work and life pushed the expected launch a bit further I didn't want to promise anything in vain.
Didn't that sound like a soap opera scene? This was so much fun to write! So, anyway, on a less melodramatic note, let me announce the launch of Rooms & Words this August! (read more after the jump>>)
What is Rooms & Words, you ask? Well, Rooms & Words is actually two blogs - one in English and the other in Hebrew, that will replace Belly's Button. Yeah, this blog outgrew its former name in a heartbeat. Let this be a lesson to all future newbie bloggers... Rooms & Words will be a bit more magazine- (or blogazine-) like regarding its content, photography and design (by the brilliant, brilliant Mishka) but I am hoping to maintain the warm and friendly feeling I enjoyed so much while blogging here. I cannot even start telling you how excited I am for this new phase, and I am so grateful for the support Rooms & Words has been getting on both Facebook and Twitter. So if you'd like to get updated on the R&W whereabouts please subscribe here or here, and you'll be the first to know about the launch! Also, if you have ANY question, concern or enquiry (maybe you'd want to be a sponsor on a shiny new blog? or participate in an upcoming guest post series?) please don't hesitate to contact me here or by email.
See you very soon on Rooms & Words,
xo
Chedva
Phew... You must be thinking this post is fata morgana at this point, huh? So where have I been?
1. I've been finishing the office redo. Yep, there are photos below. I must say I regret having them taken (by the talented and charming Dana Israeli) at this point. I think there is a lot more to accomplish before this space is finished, but enough rambling, here it is.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
2. I started working with Gili Ungar. Yep, the designer I profiled here. For the last few weeks we've been working together. I'm working on content, new concepts and services, while also doing some styling and decorating. We're having a blast together (seriously, I love people who are both talented and nice!) and we even got a beautiful write-up from the lovely Danika at Gorgeous Shiny Things!
3. I'm writing. A lot. Over the last few months I got the opportunity to interview (among others) Casper Vissers from Moooi, Kelley l. Moore, Eddie Ross, Holly Becker, Yvonne from Yvestown and I even chatted with Dror Ben Shitrit and Raphael Navot. I promise to upload some of this goodness to the blog soon!
So how are you? What have you been up to while I was gone? I can't wait to hear it all!
Once in a while, if you're lucky enough, you fall in love with an image, a vision, a room, a design. I'm sure all of you design bloggers and lovers know what I mean. If you're lucky enough it sticks with you, inspires you, maybe even transform you in some way.
Once in a while you get the chance to meet the person behind the design, and if you're lucky enough, he (or she) turns out to be a genuinely nice person. Maybe even a friend. Such is the case with Gili Ungar.
I stumbled upon his rooms via Facebook (thank you, Mark Zuckerberg). I have long wanted to feature more Israeli designers/decorators on the blog and had a hard time approaching them (it was before I started writing for magazines). I sent him a message and he was so amazingly gracious. We met and talked, he sent me more pictures of an office he designed. Gili studied photography in Bezalel and even interned for David LaChapelle in New York. I think you can clearly see his art background in the rooms he creates. They have this collected, curated feel. He uses a lot of vintage pieces from all over the world and (like me) is in love with textile.
When all details were finalized and I knew I was going to start writing for Go Style magazine I knew I HAD TO write about that office. It was so spectacularly happy and colorful and right in every way... So I did. The article will be published in the April issue, coming out next Thursday. Meanwhile, you can enjoy some of Gili's other works and visit his website and brand new blog.
ps. Gili also helped me pick out the fabrics for the office redo, I hope I can show you more progress by next week!
{photos: Gili Ungar}
Why hello there, people! It's been ages, hasn't it? I've been busy working on the "during" of the office I'm designing for my parents (see the "befores" here), plus meeting some writing deadlines. How have you been?
Source: emmas.blogg.se via Chedva on Pinterest
So, as promised, I'm back with the inspiration files. As you can see, we're talking light paint colors (still not decided on the specific shade of barely there grey), green seating, mod furniture and very simple storage with accents of blue, orange and gilt.
Source: lesueurinteriorsblog.com via Chedva on Pinterest
I do actually have some progress to report (and let me tell ya, being ahead of a deadline for once feels super-duper exciting). Today I had the hideous mauve carpeting removed, the cement platform stripped and the exposed walls covered in plaster so we can paint. I also had a meeting with the electrician and decided where to move/add/remove outlets, and he will do his thing on Monday. After he's finished and the new air conditioning is installed, the office will get painted... (hold on, that's the end of the boring construction talk, decorating talk comes after the next picture)
Well, now to the fun stuff! I spent the afternoon in the Jaffa flea market with my dear friend who happens to be an uber-talented decorator and we picked up the most handsome, masculine mid-century desk that came with an adorable little storage unit. We proceeded to find a pair of the cutest modish chairs on earth (each has two tufts on their backs, which make them look like cartoon characters) for the most ridiculously cheap price. We made up for that by choosing a ridiculously expensive Canovas fabric (but still within the budget limits): light moss green for the chairs and a not-so-subtle floral for the seat cushions. We even brought them to the upholsterer already!
domino (see how only the sofa's seat cushions are upholstered in a floral?)
Don't ask me why I didn't take any pictures - I have no idea! I guess I was just too held up in the excitement of our great finds. This cute yellow chair reminds me a little of mine; not the details, but the vibe.
Source: homeshoppingspy.wordpress.com via Chedva on Pinterest
What do you think so far? Does it sound good? I hope to be back here next week with progress photos, and meanwhile I'd love to hear your opinions!
Is there anything more flattering than family members asking you to decorate for them? I think not. I was touched when my parents approached me regarding their neglected ex-guestroom slash craft room slash basement substitute. Being a successful social worker in a field where privacy matters the most, my mother needs a pleasant office to receive patients, and my dad wouldn't mind a nice room to go over his files and hold meetings, either. The catch? it all needs to be done under 5000$ and in 6 weeks. Are we up for a challenge?
Messy, neglected rooms make for the best "befores" because the "afters" will ultimately look so much better.
I found a roll of this fabric from my mother's (short-lived) career as a bedding designer. My instinct is to hate it, because I grew up with this fabric as pillows, curtains - anything and everything. But I actually think it's kind of cool. What do you say?
(a piece of wisdom on a random cafe napkin)
I'm meeting with the flooring guy in an hour. I'll be back tomorrow with inspiration photos and my initial plan!
If you want to be part of the action as it happens, follow me on twitter. And if you're there, why don't you share your twitter handle in the comments so I can follow you back.
I'm running late to a collection preview in one of my favorite home wares stores, so I'll keep it short:
What is graphic design ... what a graphic designer does from Design Council on Vimeo.
I don't know a lot about graphic design (though I'm at awe of those who master it), so I found this video enlightening. (via redesign)
I'm considering hanging three of these above our dining table. What do you think? Is it enough light? (except for this we have one outlet for a wall sconce in the dining room, and I'm considering buying a floor lamp). Yea or Nay?
Hi Guys, ready for my first podcast ever? I'm warning you in advance: it's not really polished (because that's how I roll) and the subject isn't really sexy. In short, I'm talking about how product-centric blogging has made me "want" much more than I really do and how that made me go off blogging for a while.
(click on the link to listen to the pocast)
Stuff I forgot to mention because I was so excited talking to you:p.s. the photos in this post are from the blog's Facebook page. Join the fun!
{image credits: Melanie Avecado, Palmer Weiss}
Recently I've gotten to know more and more work of Israeli designers and decorators, and I must say I'm impressed. When Ally of From The Right Bank asked me to guest post while she's away, I was honored. And I was happy to highlight TaGa, one of my recently discovered Israeli design firms while I go slightly goth... Mwaahhh:)
You may notice that I introduced my blog as Belly's- Interiors with a Story. Yes, Belly's is going through a redesign soon, and I'm going to focus more on the story behind designs. I promise to tell you more about it soon, but meanwhile why don't you hop over to FTRB and check out my post?
{image: TaGa}
Who would have thought a close up on a cabbage would make such a fine piece of art? Sometimes, extreme close-ups almost have the feeling of an abstract painting. I once took a picture of my grey sweater really up close, and the result took my breath away even though I'm a mediocre photographer at best. But enough about the art, ho about this beautiful dresser? It's vintage and once belonged in a pharmacy. However, what really works in this room, designed by Orian Dubitzky and featured in Go Style magazine is the fool-proof color combo green-natural-pink. In my opinion, it enhances both the wood and natural elements and the colorful ones.
What do you think?
{photographer: Ben Masio for view, Go Style Magazine}
Recent Comments