~A little glimpse into my urban hobbit-hole

Saying I have a thing for home design would be an understatement. I've always been fascinated by home decor, not professionally, just as a hobby. With a background in photography, I have a solid understanding of color theory, which really helps when I decorate my own space.

My life has revolved around work, more work, and even more work (because it’s never enough). With a short vacation coming up next week, I figured it’d be a good time to sit down and write. I also wanted a break from the “patentese” I deal with on a daily basis and the chance to write something a bit more casual.

So, let’s get into it. After rearranging the furniture in my apartment several times to make room for a couch I recently bought, I wanted to show  the result of months of planning (and shopping 👀). ~Sorry for the poor photo quality. They were taken with my phone 😐

I’m such a homebody (I even work from home!), so I spend a lot of time rearranging things to make my space cozier. After a busy workday, I usually dedicate a few hours to leisure (what I like to call my “no-thinking hours”) browsing decor ideas for inspiration and checking prices across different stores.

I've finally found the terracotta velvet sofa I've been searching for over the past few years(!!). I'm obsessed with terracotta shades because they bring out the warm tones I see in nature. I love this color so much that my entire apartment is decorated around it. (I totally forgot to take a picture of my sofa...) My goal is to incorporate elements of nature into my decor by choosing products made from wood and cork, both of which are typically eco-friendly and cost-effective.

Scented candles are really popular these days, so I decided to give them a try and bought a few from a store that specializes in literary candles [Update: I think the store is closed until further notice :/]

My favorite ones are Mama Bear's Pancakes, The Fantastic World of Beatrix Potter and Alice's Poetry. The first one references a cartoon I used to watch in the 90s, which feels really nostalgic. Alice's Poetry is my second favorite. As it burns, it releases a warm, soothing fragrance of apple, peach, and tutti-frutti, while sparkling with delicate glitter.

I’ve been really into entomology collections lately. I got these from an entomologist who turns dead insects into art (she doesn’t kill the insects, but instead uses the ones she finds already dead).

For those who don't know, I'm an entomology photographer, so having insect domes on my shelf makes total sense. I’m particularly interested in Odonata, especially the suborder Zygoptera, which is really hard to photograph. These insects are so small that they’re hard to capture even with a macro.

I also collect mushroom replicas in glass domes, but I’ll talk about those in another post where I’ll be introducing Bia’s work :)

It’s safe to say my little hobbit-hole of a home is finally achieving the cozy vibe I’ve been going for.

I still have more decor ideas, which I intend to share little by little. That's all for today.

🎧 Dead Can Dance ~ The Trial.

Você conhece a Windland Store?

Recentemente, conheci uma loja que vende diversos produtos capazes de fazer qualquer apaixonado pelo estilo cottagecore ficar eufórico. São broches com bordados de cervos, porta-moedas de cogumelos silvestres, chapéus de época, marcadores de página antigos e brinquedos ecológicos feitos de madeira! Tudo muito lindo e a um preço super justo! E o melhor: tudo isso bem pertinho da gente! Trata-se da loja @windlandstore.

O nome Windland remete ao universo mágico que a artesã responsável pela loja criou em sua casa. Ela transformou a moradia em um cenário digno de contos de fadas! Nas palavras da artesã: “eu faço tudo à mão, compro com pequenos empreendedores locais, reciclo materiais (upcycling) e embalo tudinho com carinho e visando causar o menor dano possível à natureza". Ainda, a loja não faz uso de nenhum tipo de plástico, optando por matérias-primas de papel ou tecido!

O primeiro produto que comprei com eles foi o chapéu Little Women. A embalagem veio com um perfume delicioso. Senti que estava recebendo algo enviado do vale dos elfos 😊 Certamente foi a primeira compra de muitas!

Você pode adquirir os produtos da loja diretamente pelo perfil do Instagram ou pelo site https://www.elo7.com.br/wstore.

Projeto decoração I – metrópole

Moldura artesanal de galhos falsos

Salve leitores deste blog decrépito! A garota que vos escreve resolveu dar as caras aqui para finalmente iniciar a série de postagens com inspirações e ideias de decoração que há muito pretendia fazer. Confesso que lá em meados de março eu ainda acreditava que o isolamento social causado pela pandemia era o que faltava para eu criar vergonha na minha cara sardenta e voltar a escrever. No fim das contas, em vez de vergonha, só ganhei mais sardas 😁

Pois bem, sem mais enrolações, vamos ao que interessa. Eu sou apaixonada por decoração de interiores, fato que me faz passar literalmente h-o-r-a-s olhando meu feed do Pinterest (siga-me!) em busca de inspirações. Uma das coisas que mais me interessam são alternativas para enfeitar a parede sem precisar furá-la! Afinal de contas, moro em apartamento alugado, então sair furando a parede não é bem uma opção. Pensando nisso, busquei maneiras simples de deixar o meu cantinho no meu estilo, sem, contudo, danificar a tintura.

Neste post vou mostrar como: i) colocar desenhos na parede com uma moldura que imita galhos de árvore!; e ii) decorar móveis com ilustrações adesivas de cogumelos! Os materiais necessários são de baixo custo e ambas as ideias são fáceis de fazer. Primeiramente, vamos falar sobre os materiais necessários. Você vai precisar de:

• Imagem impressa em papel couché ou textura mais grossa;
• Fita tusa cor de madeira;
• Tesoura;
• Agulha de bordado;
• 50 centímetros de papel adesivo transparente;
• Meada na cor marrom;
• Fita crepe (ou outra de sua preferência).

Principais materiais para a moldura

Ilustrações de cogumelos e plantas

O primeiro passo para criar a sua moldura é cortar dois pedaços da fita tusa (usada para fazer cestos): uma para colocar nas bordas e outra para o trançado dos "galhos". Um detalhe importante é a largura da fita: conforme mostra a imagem, a fita que comprei é mais larga, de modo que tive que partir o comprimento em dois para deixá-la mais fina. Recomendo seguir esse passo por ser mais fácil trabalhar o trançado dos galhos. O tamanho da fita a ser utilizada depende do tamanho da moldura e do quanto você quer trançá-la :) A ideia é colocar um pedaço da fita ao redor da imagem (no formato oval) de modo que fique esticada, costurando-a nas bordas do desenho com fio de meada para o acabamento. Os outros dois pedaços divididos devem ser somados a mais 5 cm tendo em mente os trançados.

Após contorcer uma das divisões da fita, fazer o mesmo procedimento na outra metade. Quando finalizar, unir as duas metades, transpassando as duas partes de ponta à ponta. Nas extremidades, você deve dobrar os galhos que estão em uma única metade (extremidade inferior da imagem) e prender com um nó invisível de meada as partes superior e inferior das partes trançadas ao pedaço costurado na borda da imagem. Em seguida, corte as sobras.

Eis o resultado final :)

Para os adesivos personalizados, tudo que você precisará é de uma boa impressão em papel couché e o papel adesivo transparente. Primeiramente, recorte cada ilustração dos cogumelos cuidando para que as bordas do recorte fiquem suaves. Em seguida, abra apenas uma pequena parte da folha adesiva e cole a superfície frontal da ilustração para o lado colante do papel adesivo, pressione a figura contra o papel para garantir que está bem aderido e feche a superfície não colante novamente.

Na sequência, recorte o papel adesivo no mesmo formato das ilustrações e, por fim, abra cada uma delas e cole sobre a superfície do móvel. A vantagem desse tipo de adesivo é que ele não danifica os móveis, sendo facilmente removível.

Estante com adesivos de cogumelo

Eu costumo imprimir em papel de fotografia imagens de esquilos, ursinhos e raposas - meu animal preferido depois dos bichanos. O conjunto das imagens transforma a parede branca em um mural bucólico lindo de ver :) É claro que também há a opção de usar plaquinhas decorativas personalizadas, embora o custo-benefício delas não seja tão bom, afinal, elas são mais caras e possuem um adesivo dupla face que acaba com a tintura da parede. Outra opção seria colocá-las em molduras, o que melhora ainda mais o acabamento. Porém, será preciso desembolsar ainda mais pelas molduras. Sobre plaquinhas decorativas, aguardem meu próximo post! :) E aí? O que acharam da decoração?

Gothic room decor – cheap ways of getting your own bat cave

Home decoration is something I have a crush on but though I have a foot into the goth scene I don’t like this extremely black thing. My wardrobe is indeed filled with black garments – but this is something I’ve been changing lately because I don’t have time nor the patience for dressing like a victorian crow all the time. This is pointless. Instead of buying everything black I’ve given a chance for other colors, like red and blown. My house is far from being a goth or medieval realm. Actually one would never guess a goth girl lives here, except for the witch dolls on my shelves: the walls are light yellow, the curtain almost white and there’s absolutely nothing indicating my tastes. I don’t usually hang band posters on the walls, though I had a few pictures of random bands a while ago, but it also said nothing about me enjoying the subculture. I joked a little on the title referring to batman because of my cousin. He mocks me every time he visits us by saying: I’m going up there in your bat cave”. I’d never take it as offense. I think it’s pretty cool since he’s a very religious guy.

People look forward decorating their houses to make it a cozy place, and I don’t see why it should be different with Goths. So I thought up a few ways you can decorate your sweet home to make it resemble your personality. Remember: Good sense is always a helpful tool, there is no point in turning your home into a satanist temple, alright?

Rugs, tapestries, curtains and such: always a good start

Instead of buying paraphernalia such as pumpkins, fake blood and spider webs (save them for when you throw a Halloween party), consider adding customized bed linen, curtains and rugs to your room. Victorian rugs are by far the easiest thing to find, since it’s a classical pattern and any good store should have it. For tapestries it might be a little harder, for you must order it from specific shops specialized in customization (unless you customize them yourself). The second option is obviously the cheapest but it requires talent. Bed linen is also a simple way of giving your room a quite elegant look. Overall vintage patterns are commonly seen in the goth subculture, specially polka dot and stripes - remember they're trendy right now. Red roses and skull linen would go perfectly well with red walls, but if you think red is way too heavy for a wall you can put only red victorian frames to match the linen. Either way is fine. 

I bought three black provencal framed portraits to hang on the wall but since I live in a rented apartment I’ll probably have to bring them to my family’s house, it’s not a good idea to make holes in the wall when the apartment is someone else’s, hehe. I found them for only $ 6 in a second hand shop I frequent. I personally love these frames because of their elegant and antique look, once you have a black and white picture of you on them it feels like you’re from another time^^. Mine are made of porcelain, but you can also find wooden frames in crafts stores.

This bedspread reminded me of Emilie Autumn, lol. 

These cushions are not at all hard to do it yourself. And again, these patterns are trendy nowadays so you should find them easily. All you will need is a sewing machine, some meters of lace, the fabric, something to fill the cushion and a few pattern pieces for cutting the fabric correctly. Depending on the shape of the cushion you must draw either a circle or a square on the paper, as simple as that! 

Furniture, candles, skulls and paintings

If you have too little money even for the ideas given above there’s still something pretty cheap you can do. Buy wooden frames and paint the borders yourself, then google for artists whose works fall within the scope of goth. I can name a few ones: Mark Ryden, Jessicka Addams, Natalie Shau, Kukula… the list could go on forever (nah). The ideia here is to print your favorite pictures and hang them on the wall using your newest customized frames. Old clocks are also a good alternative and are among the stuff we find in attics.  We goths love candles, antique dolls, skulls and this sort of creepy stuff, don't we? On this post Gothic Furniture I uploaded a few images of what might look great for our bat cave. 

Gothic decorations are typically arranged with antique furniture. Like I said before: vintage is trendy nowadays which means you can get them for lower prices. The industry has been manufacturing furniture inspired in old centuries though the quality of the wood is not the same. At least you can get an old-fashioned bookshelf customized in different colors. I would personally recommend black, red or purple.

In the city where I’m currently living there’s a point where second hand shops of all sorts are located, so I’ll usually hang around over there whenever I’m shopping for clothes. I remember passing in front of a store that was selling a victorian purple sofa.I didn’t dare to ask for the price but it really caught by attention. I just wondered where it had come from, who had owned it and why the hell they were getting rid of such precious thing!

If you want to "goth" the rest of your home this tissue holder might be interesting:

Haha this is great.