Top 10 Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Mothers are the most significant others in our lives. They give us unconditional love and are behind our successes. When we were children they were always happy (or at least pretended they liked them) with a handmade card or drawing which were far from a piece of art:)

Now when we are adults it would be nice to put some effort into choosing a perfect gift for our mothers. If you are looking for ideas for presents that you can purchase online I got you covered. Here’s my subjective list of perfect gifts that you will save you time because you can find them online. This article contains some affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase through them I will get small commission. The products I link here are the one I would consider myself when buying a present not only for my mum.

1. Personalised mug -it can be cute like this one or cool like this one depending on your mum’s taste and personality.
2. Throw is a good idea as well- by wrapping up with a warm and cosy throw your mother will feel that you take care of her. She will think of you in that moment and she will feel loved.
3. Jewellery is something that always work and on any occasion. I really like the idea of personalised necklace with a name or this delicate bracelet
4. Purse– the bigger the capacity the better. There are reasonably priced ones like this Patent Kisslock Clutch Wallet or this vegan leather wallet
5. Scarf is also a cost friendly idea for a present. This statement piece or delicate neutral one – definitely there is a plethora of styles available online.
6. Scented candles – because everyone likes beautifully smelling house. Her home can smell like cookies or there are sets of different smells available.
7. Books are always good idea for a present. It can be an uplifting book on happiness or a book about healthy cooking.  There’s plenty of bookstores that sell online which is convenient as you can shop any time of the day.
8.  Home accessories like pictures , cute bedding or this cool wine rack are good ideas if you know your mum’s taste. Us women like to decorate home and surround ourself with beautiful decor.
9. Instant camera- I think this is an absolute hit. a camera  that prints pictures straight away. How often do you make a photo and then you never print it? So many memories lost. I would be happy to get a present like this for any occasion;) They also have a pink version.
10. Beauty and hair products – especially the ones that make our life easier like BaByliss Big Hair which I recommend. It changed my life forever and saves me a lot of time and effort when styling my hair. A good hair dryer is always handy as well.

This were my personal favourite Mother’s Day gifts ideas that can be found online. I hope this post was helpful and I am curious what were your favourites from this list. Would you add something to it? Please leave me some comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Gosha

How To Add A Boho Chic To Your Interior?

Historical Background

The term Boho is a short form of Bohemian which is defined as a someone who lives and acts freely, disregarding conventional rules, usually an artist or writer. It has its origin in 19th century France where some artists and poets rebelled against an institution controlling the art market- the Salon. This movement died at the beginning of 20th century but influenced later art like surrealism or music like punk rock.

Bohemian Style

Nowadays Boho chic in fashion and interiors is associated with free spirits like hippies, Gypsies, travellers and artists. This eclectic style has to express individuality and freedom. There is no rules here and you can be very creative decorating in Boho vibe.

Boho Chic Interiors

As there’s no rule and the style is as unique as a person utilising the space it is hard to define the style, but there are few characteristic elements of Boho chic. Combining few of them or even all creates Bohemian feeling in the room.

Tropical Plants

They remind us exotic places and travels

Macrame

This technique uses different knots to produce textiles and decorations. There are tutorials available online that show how to create macrame decor like the pictured below.

Hobbies

If you play the guitar or any other instrument or paint incorporate your interest in your interior after all Boho chic is associated with art and free expression. This will be a perfect topic for a conversation when someone visit you 😉

Rug

In this style rugs are welcome even the old fashioned ones, patterned and vibrant- whatever you like.

Fairy Lights and Lanterns

There’s something magical and artistic about them, they create ambient atmosphere- a perfect background for good music and long night conversations.

Pattern and Colour

In Bohemian interiors there’s no rules how to mix and match patterns and colours be as creative as you want.

Lace

This decorative and romantic element is used commonly in Bohemian style interiors.

Succulents and cacti

They don’t need too much care and will survive without watering even if you travel a lot.

Dream catchers

They are supposed to protect us from nightmares and are characteristic for Boho chic.

I hope that this article was helpful and inspired you to add a bit of Boho to your beautiful houses…Writing this post made me think of buying a camper and travel around the World… Maybe, at least, I will learn to play the guitar?

Thanks for reading,

Gosha

How To Mix And Match Patterns For Beginners

If you’re fed up with boring plain block of colours and want to add a visual interest to your room, introducing pattern can be a good idea. Today I will give you few tips how to start.

Choose the colour palette first. Decide which colours you like and check if they go well together. Weather it be warm or cool colours, complementary or harmonious scheme. Now you can proceed to mix and match patterns.

Pick one colour that ties everything together. On the picture below we can see that mustard yellow ties two unrelated patterns in cohesive look.

Photo credit: Ikea 

The image below shows beautiful tiles pattern which is only highlighted by small dots on the emerald green vases.

Black and white pattern is perfect solution if you have other colours in the room it can be stylish and interesting update to any interior.

Photo credit: Ikea

One bold print as an accent wall gives this room a focal point. It is interesting element itself but could be paired with a smaller pattern with the same theme colour.

Your personal style is the most important as it comes to decorating your home so I encourage you to experiment ant play around. Breaking the rules can have unexpected effect like on the picture below.

I hope this post inspired you to do some changes in your houses. Introducing pattern gives an interest to your favourite rooms and will stimulate your brains which can lead to many more creative ideas …

Finally I want to share with you some mind blowing example how a German artist Lars Contzen combines bold colours with patterns in his work (click).

Thank you for reading,

Gosha

Colour Wheel – A Powerful Tool In Design

(Today I want to talk about a basic tool that can help you with creating a perfect colour combinations in your interiors- Invented in 1666 by Sir Isaak Newton colour wheel.

This circular diagram of colours presents a logically arranged sequence of pure hues. The colour wheel is designed so that virtually any colours we pick from it will look good together. Over the years, many variations of the basic design have been made, but the most common version is a wheel of 12 colours based on the RYB (or artistic) colour model. 

 

The basic design colour wheel (pic. Gosha Galuszka)

Traditionally, there are a number of colour combinations that are considered especially pleasing to the eye. These are called colour harmonies or colour chords and they consist of two or more hues with a fixed relation in the colour wheel.

Based on colour wheel we can define three groups of colours:

• Primary Colours: red, yellow and blue. They cannot be made from any other colours
• Secondary Colours: green, orange and purple. These colours are formed by mixing the primary colours.
• Tertiary Colours: yellow-orange, red-orange, red-purple, blue-purple, blue-green, yellow-green. They are achieved by mixing a primary and secondary pigment.

 

The colour circle can be divided into warm and cool colours.

Warm colours are vivid and energetic, and tend to advance in space.

Cool colours give an impression of calm, and create a soothing impression.

White and black are the absence of chroma and  with gray are considered to be neutral.

There are three aspects of colour: a tint, shade and tone. If a colour is made lighter by adding white, the result is called a tint. If black is added, the darker version is called a shade. And if grey is added, the result is a different tone

Based on the colour wheel we can create colour schemes that will make our space beautiful and interesting. Today I will talk about two of them: complementary and analogous.

 

Perfect example of complementary colour scheme (pic. Stocksnap.io)

Complementary colour scheme
Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel are called complementary colors (example: red and green).

The high contrast of complementary colour scheme creates a vibrant look especially when used at full saturation. This colour scheme must be managed well so it is not overwhelming.

Complementary colour schemes are tricky to use in large doses, but work well when you want something to stand out. When creating complementary colour scheme it is better not to use two strong colours together. I would advise to use lighter tint on the wall and use stronger second colour for accents for example.

 

Nature is the greatest designer- complementary colour scheme (pic. Stocksnap.io)

 

Analogous colour schemes use hues that sit next to each other on the colour wheel. They usually match well and create calm and pleasant designs.

Analogous colour schemes are often found in nature and are harmonious and nice to the eye. When choosing an analogous colour scheme we have to make sure that we have enough contrast. It is better to choose one colour to dominate, a second to support. The third colour is used (along with black, white or grey) as an accent.

 

Another example from nature- Analogous colour scheme: blue-green-yellow (Pic. Stocksnap.io)

The colour wheel is a tool that can make your life easier when decorating your space. Complementary colour scheme is the easiest way to create visual impact in interior but it is important not to use two strong hues together- otherwise it can be overwhelming. Analogous colour scheme creates more harmonious feel and if you keep the perfect ratio it will look interesting too.  These were just two examples how to create perfect room using colours. Next time I will give you examples of few more colour schemes based on the colour wheel so please follow my blog and leave me the comments below. And if you decided on the colours I recommend my post Choosing The Paint Colour. How To Do It Right? which will give you few practical tips too.

Thank you for reading,

Gosha

 

 

 

 

Window Display For Charity Shop

This Summer I started to volunteer for Saint Vincent de Paul charity shop in Trim. I work there as a volunteer staff but they gave me also the opportunity to do the window displays. I go there whenever I have time and there’s a need to change the exposition. This job gives me a lot of satisfaction and nurtures my creativity. I never know what I will have in store so there’s a lot of improvisation and staging. So far I have done three displays  and I had no experience with visual merchandising so I hope you will like it.

This was my first display ever- baby themed

Inspiration for this window came from the large painting we wanted to show. We didn’t have space in the shop to display it properly (by the way the painting was sold very quickly). The window was supposed to show men’s clothes but I always introduce a bit of interior design.

This one was difficult as it seemed that we didn’t have too many interesting things in the shop. I usually get the men’s window which is a little bit harder but I think it went well. It’s Halloween themed but really subtle and elegant (I even heard the comment that “we’re becoming very posh now” which is a good thing).

My aim is to show that people can find really interesting and good things in charity shops and by buying them they help others and the environment. Don’t be afraid pop in and take a look and if you have things in good condition- donate.

Thank you for reading my post.

Gosha

Photos by Gosha Galuszka