8 inspirational Coffee stations...

...from the www.

I hate to break it to you guys, but summer is coming to an end...

...and that means, it is back to routine for most of us: Busy mornings, school-runs and work.

It can be hard to keep your home looking it's best with hectic long days and busy schedules, let alone to find the time to enjoy it. So, as I mentioned in my previous post, I am going to be investigating how we can keep our homes looking good....even if you've not had a chance to tidy, and how good design can improve our lives, as well as our homes.

 And this is my first post in this new series, called Beautiful utility.

So, first thing's first: 

Coffee!!

Image from Me and Alice

I don't know about you, but for me, every day starts with coffee!

In fact, without coffee, the day is a complete non-starter!

So, coffee is VERY important to my everyday life.

But, I felt like my experience of reaching for that sleepy first cup of morning coffee could be improved upon.

Admittedly, having to reach into cupboards to pull out the percolator and cups, is not a hard task, but in a bid to maximize my enjoyment of this first, quiet half hour of my day, I want to A) Make it a more aesthetically pleasing experience and B) Make it a better quality experience!

Like I said: Coffee is VERY important to me!

After all, a good start to the day sets you up for success...right??

So, I've decided to create a little coffee station in my kitchen, and upgrade some of my basic coffee-making essentials.

Image from Desire to inspire

What is a coffee station? And is it not a bit indulgent to have one in your home??

Well...yes, perhaps it is a little indulgent, but after all the hard graft I've put into redecorating out home, it is a luxury I deserve...

...and so do you!

A coffee station is what you make it....Chances are you've already got one in your kitchen:

It is basically where you keep your kettle, ground coffee,teabags and any other hot drinks paraphernalia you may use on a daily basis.
A Coffee station is just a more luxurious and practical way to organize this area.

Image via Pinterest

My aim is to make this area more pleasant to use...

...make it an easier "I can do this in my sleep" experience (which is often the case, LOL)

...make it a more attractive area of my kitchen, but in a very functional way

...And last, but not least, Improve the quality of my morning coffee!

Image from Dust jacket attict

I've been investigating good looking, high quality coffee makers...and although I'd love to have a barista style frappuccino machine extraordinaire with bells on...I have to consider the limited space I have available to me on the worktop, so my new coffee station will not be quite as pro-looking as some of the ones pictured in this post...

Image from Le ButikSofie

But, never the less, these images represent my ideal coffee station, and will be my inspiration as I create my own, that I will share with you all next week.

Image via My Scandinavian home

I love the idea of a good coffee station:

Keeping all your coffee-making essentials in one place makes sense, but more than that, this is about quality design and making it an attractive display: I am talking about beautiful electric kettles, coffee makers, storage jars and cups here.... Making the coffee making experience as enjoyable as the coffee itself...

Image via SFgirl by bay

...setting you up for a good day....right from the start! To see more inspirational images of those perfect coffee moments, check out photographer Cindy Loughridge's tumbler page 365 days of coffee

Back to basics....

....A pretty, useful mess

But as anyone posting images of their homes online will tell you: Behind every lovely picture, on the other side of the lens, there is a pile of mess: A bed filled with dirty washing, a floor strewn with toys, a sink filled with washing up or a desk covered in paperwork...As an interior blogger, I am constantly sharing images of my home online, whether it is here on the blog or on social media, such as instagram or pinterest ...And I also love seeing pictures of other peoples beautiful homes: Perfectly styled corners of a room, all tidy and clean...or close ups of details, beautifully curated items grouped together in a thoughtful way...
...life online can seem pretty perfect!

Real life could never be that picture perfect....

...or could it??

Image from My Scandinavian home

When I visited Copenhagen, I stayed with an old school friend....and even though his home was far from perfect, with signs of daily life everywhere: his 1 year old son's toys strewn across the living room floor, and a constant pile of dirty dishes in the sink, it always looked stylish!

It took me a day or two to work out what it was that made his un-styled, messily real apartment always look like it was instagram-perfect, then I realized:

It s all about design!

Danish people inherently know that good design is paramount to good living!

From the people friendly infrastructure of Copenhagen to the architectural layout of their homes and the way even the cheaper housing, like the block of flats my friend lived in, is built around a communal backyard, with a playground and a landscaped garden that provides the residents with accessible outdoor space and invites them to socialize.....All aspects of Design is well thought out ,and with daily life in mind!
This emphasis on design is of course extended to the Danes approach to interiors, but way beyond the Arne Jacobsen chairs and the Louis Poulsen lamps commonly associated with Danish interior design...

Image from Daniella Witte

It is all in the details: from The coffee maker to the washing up brush in the kitchen, the laundry basket to the dust pan and brush....even the kids toys: Everything is beautifully designed....functional , but beautiful....
....and when your everyday necessities look this stylish, your home will ultimately look stylish as well!

Image from Avenue Lifestyle

So, over the next few weeks I am going back to basics here at Nostalgiecat, showing you how good, functional design can elevate your interiors, and make your everyday life a bit more stylish.
Introducing my theory that if your everyday mess looks good, your home will look good....but more than that: Your quality of life will be better....that is the power of good, functional design!

I will be looking at everything from kitchen utensils to housekeeping essentials, sharing my picks of beautifully designed products with a purpose, storage and organisation.... even kids toys....as well as, of course,  the odd useful DIY!



I call it BEAUTIFUL UTILITY.
An if you'd like to have a sneak peek on what sort of thing you can expect me to be posting about here on the blog, why not check out my Pinterest board of the same name.

Image from An angel at my table

Thanks for popping by, and hope to see you later this week , when I start this series of posts by looking at how to make ,perhaps THE most important everyday essential, THE MORNING COFFEE, a more beautiful experience!

Moon phase wall decoration DIY

In the Scandinavian countries there is a word: "Pyssel", which basically means small, enjoyable often creative activities....something to do..

This little project pretty much falls under this category:

I made this decorative wall hanging, inspired by the varying phases of the moon, for Mia's new look room (See my One Room Challenge posts, in the sidebar--->)

And it perfectly compliments the DIY feature wall I did, but more than that: This is  a quick , easy and enjoyable  "pyssel"....something to do: And it looks great!!

It adds a bit of fun and interest on Mia's wall...

Fancy having a go??

Here's how:

You will need:

Black polymer (Ovenbake) clay

wooden beads (I painted some of mine)

Embroidery thread/ cotton cord (You may need a needle)

Jewelery chain and jump rings

Wooden curtain ring

Rolling pin

Baking paper

Glass

Craft knife/tool

pencil

Fine grade sandpaper

wirecutters

Pointed pliers

Knead the dough until soft and pliable, then place it between two sheets of baking paper and roll out thin (5mm or less). Remove the top sheet of baking paper and, using a glass as a template, cut out 2 circles and two crescent moons with a craft knife/ sharp tool. Cut one of the circles into two halves.

Keep the shapes on the baking paper and transfer onto a baking tray.

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees centigrade.

Use the tip of a pencil to pierce small holes in your clay-shapes. These are for attaching the chain to later.

Cover the clay-shapes with another piece of baking paper, then place another baking tray on top and weigh it down with something heavy (I used a heavy casserole) . This is to ensure your clay-shapes cook flat. Place in the oven for 10-15 minutes. (The general rule when cooking polymer clay is 15 minutes per 5mm thickness)

Take out of the oven and leave to cool down with the weighted baking tray still on top.

 Whilst you are waiting for the clay to cool down, get your thread and make a tassel:

Cut out a piece of cardboard and wrap your thread around as shown above.

Thread one of the jump rings onto the thread as you wrap it around the cardboard, so that it ends up at the top of the tassel. Finish it off by wrapping come thread around the top of the tassel and tie tightly.

Using a bit of fine sandpaper, gently sand back any rough edges and any bumpy-ness on the surface of your moon-shapes. (Don't worry about getting it super smooth, just a little tickle will suffice!)

Take them outside and give them one or two coats of clear lacquer...

Whilst you are waiting for the clear lacquer to dry, attach the wooden beads to your tassel to make the bottom of your wall decoration:

Tie another piece of thread through the jump ring at the top of your tassel and thread on the beads. Then tie the beaded tassel to the end of your chain, as shown above. Tuck the end of the thread back into the beads for a neat finish.

When the varnish has dried on the clay-moon-shapes, bring them in to attach them onto the chain.

Using wire cutters, cut the chain up into 4 equal small lengths to go between each moon shape + the beaded tassel end and a longer length for the top.

Using the pointed pliers manipulate the jump rings into the holes in your shapes and attach the chain before squeezing the jump rings shut. Assemble the wall hanging in this way, then finally attach the wooden curtain ring at the top to use to hang the wall decoration from:

Make it as long or short as you want....Perfect for those awkward little spots on a wall that's just screaming out for a bit of added interest!

I love the graphic black moon shapes against Mia's new pale grey wall...

And the beaded tassel at the bottom adds a bit of colour and fun!

Easy, cool and cute...I'd actually quite like one for our living room!

What do you think?

You up for a bit of "pyssel"??

Please vote for me for best DIY blog

Mid Century Modern style sideboard...

....DIY

Inspired by my recent trip to Copenhagen, and the spirit of the Danish architect and furniture designer Finn Juhl, to design and create furniture to suit my own taste and interior, I've made this Mid Century Modern style sideboard to fit into our new look living room.

This is not a hack....this was made from scratch, and although it is not perfect, I am rather proud of my first attempt at furniture making....And if I can do it, so can YOU!

So,  in today's post I am sharing how I did it.

During my Copenhagen visit I fell in love with this sideboard from Normann Copenhagen , I love the simple design and the mix of blond wood with the white gloss pegboard.

 But, as always, I could not afford to get one. 

But lack of money has yet to stop me from getting the look I want for our home, as you will know if you've been following Nostalgiecat for a while...

And after doing a bit of research online, I found this, simpler version of the look I wanted:

Image source : Houzz

So, this was my main inspiration when I came up with the design to make my own.

But instead of forking out £700 + for one I spent less than £100 in materials and made my own custom fit one....in two days!

As whenever I share a tutorial for things I've made for the home, it is meant as a guide, so for example,if you don't share my love of pegboard, swap it for something else...

But below you can see my design and working drawings with measurements and read how I made mine:

Materials and tools:

Plywood (for the main box)

6 ml Pegboard

Aluminium door sliders

Furniture legs ( I ordered these from America)

Angled leg fixing brackets

Primer spray paint

Gold spray paint

White spray paint

Screws

Primer paint

Flush sliding door handles ( I chose these round ones)

White sticky back vinyl

Clear wax

Saw

Jigsaw

Sandpaper

Pencil

Ruler or measuring tape

Drill and drillbits

The box

The first thing to do is to make up the main body of the sideboard, using the plywood.

I used 18ml thick structural softwood plywood, because it  has excellent stability and load-bearing properties, perfect for cabinetry + I really like the finish, coloring and grain of the surface wood.

Here's my working drawings with measurements to make up this box:

You can of course make this to a size to suit you and your space.

Cut out the pieces of wood, ( I used a jig saw with a guide to make the cuts straight )then assemble:

When assembling, the best thing to do is to pre-drill pilot holes, then screw together with 2" screws for stability.

Countersink the screw-heads into the wood.

PS! The middle, dividing piece of wood needs to be set back in the box to make space for the sliding door gear (see further below...)

Prime

Because I wanted a mix of wood and white glossy finish, I painted the inside "floor" and the top of my wooden box with white primer, to set the base for the finish later on....

Sliding door gear

Cut the sliding door runners to fit inside the top and bottom of the box...

Spray paint these in gold now, if you want...

Sliding doors

Whilst the primer paint on the box, and the spray-paint on the sliding door gear is drying, Cut your pegboard to make up the sliding doors:

One of your sliding doors needs to be slightly longer than the other,  and the height of each panel will need to fit inside the box,  so measure out the height of your box , minus the width of the wood x 2  + take off a few ml extra to allow for the thickness of the door-sliders,  so that your pegboard sliding doors can move freely from side to side later... But mind you don't cut the pegboard too small!!
NB! Please do not get pegboard that is thinner than 6 ml, as it will be too flimsy.

Use a fine toothed wood saw to cut the pegboard to avoid a splintered cutting line...

Spray paint the pegboard sliding doors

Because I bought unfinished pegboard (The already finished stuff costs a lot more), I then spray painted the front of it white: Using first a primer, then some glossy white spray paint..

The table legs

I did the same to the table legs...but this time using just a light dusting so that the wood grain would show through, which I think looks really nice! I also sprayed the ferrule end gold to match the sliding doors runners...
 There are loads of mid century modern style table legs available to buy online, I chose these ones, because I liked the shape and they were cheap, but I had to order them from America....

Vinyl, not gloss...

Because I chose to make my main box for the sideboard out of plywood, I would've never gotten that smooth glossy finish inside and on the top of it, using just paints.... .....So instead I covered these areas with some glossy white sticky back vinyl to get the finish I was after, perfectly juxtaposing the rawness of the wood.
I simply used a squidgy to smooth it down on the surface. (The primer I applied earlier in these areas helped prevent the knots in the wood etc. showing through)
I did the inside of the box first, then last of all I did the top, as I needed access to the screws at the top of the box still at this point, as you will see below.

Insert the door runners.

By now my spraypainted door sliders was dry, so I tacked those in place according to the instructions on the pack: Using nail tacks and making sure I placed the deepest of the runners at the top, inside the box.

Inserting the pegboard doors

As the spraypaint on the pegboard doors was now dry, I put them into the runners, by placing the top into the deepest top runner, then gently lifting the bottom into place in the bottom runner....

(I had to unscrew the space divider in the middle of my box to get enough movement in the wood to make this easier...Hence why I waited to apply the vinyl at the top...)

Positioning and attaching the legs

Turning the box upside down I loosely positioned the furniture legs, then stepped back to assess the positioning, before deciding on where they should go.

Then I marked their position with a pencil.

I chose angled leg fixing plates , because I wanted the legs to be slanted, but you can of course use a straight attachment, if you'd prefer...

These make attaching the table legs very easy:

Simply screw the fitting into position (don't forget pilot holes, or the wood might split) then screw the table legs into the fitting.

Starting to look like the finished article now...

Door handles

I wanted some round , brass door pulls , and ended up ordering these ones from America.... But there are loads of styles available online.

First I figured out where I wanted them on the sliding doors...

....then I marked the position with a pencil.

Because my handles were round , it was easy to cut a hole in the pegboard doors using a suitably sized hole-cutter bit for the drill .

(A rectangular or even square door handle would be much more difficult to fit)

Then I simply pushed the hardware into the holes, and secured with a dab of superglue on the back (not that I think this was strictly necessary as it was a tight fit)

With everything else in place, all I had to do now to finish off my new sideboard, was to fill over the countersunk screws and any little dinks on the top surface, using some quick dry filler, let it dry, then sand back with some sandpaper before applying the sticky back vinyl to the top. 

(Making sure the surface is dust free before...)

I also lightly sanded the edges of the wood, and applied a coat of clear wax to the untreated wood on the sides of my sideboard.... ....but that's it! Finished!!

I am so chuffed with how it's turned out...yes, it is a bit wonky here and there, but for my first attempt at making furniture, not bad at all.... Making your own has the advantage that you'll get exactly what you wanted, both in terms of style and finish....but also you can make it to the right size to fit your space... I love the raw feel of the plywood mixed with the white and opulent gold touches... And by using the vinyl on the surfaces , I have achieved a very smooth and glossy finish, that I would not have been able to get using just paint. And again, I love how this smooth glossy finish juxtaposes with the rawness of the wood.

So, how about that? Do you like it? Does this inspire you to make your own? I hope this post has made it a bit less daunting to embark on making your own sideboard, from scratch!
Not only will you have something uniquely yours in your home, but also the smug sense of achievement when you look at it and think to yourself: I made that!

Please vote for me