interior update

Saturday 27th of July

An interior update in our bedroom with photos from the Marrakech archive and 'floating' cabinet of curiosities made of wire steel.

The XL cigale paintings have moved to the opposite wall.

c l u t t e r c o r e

Cluttercore. A colourful collection of memories, colours, patterns and designs, that together form a personal style.

Our interior isn't about what's trendy or good taste, but solely what we think is worth displaying and about personal items that we've have collected over the years.

souk breda

Saturday morning by surprise in the souk.

On our city walk in Breda we came across a brand-new place in town by chance, when we walked in the St. Janstreet.

Souk Breda recently opened their doors! Soulimane and Yassine are the young and proud owners, who shared a dream. A unique shop with Mediterranean delicacies and home accessories inspired by Marrakech.

Their dream has come true. You can now experience the moroccan vibes and food at Souk Breda.

We brought some moroccan food and pottery from the souk in Breda and had a delicious dinner in the backyard. Bismillah!

C /\ B /\ N /\

CABANA Magazine is about intimacy and explores that close relationship that every person has with interiors. Not only grand rooms but odd corners, exquisite details and the objects that make a room feel personal.

'Each issue is a journey through obsessive collecting, colors and fabrics brought to life with luscious photography that will inspire you to discover a new world.' - C A B A N A magazine -

The cover itself is already worth to get a C /\ B /\ N /\ , each one has a unique fabric cover.

This issue was a birthday gift for Henk from our newlywed friends and it adorns the 'new' harlequin table. Muchas gracias M & S!

tulips join the book table

Vintage tulip arm chairs by ? at the book table.

The iron table was my former worktable & home desk, now serving as a book table for quite a while and it’s chock full with our favorite books and (interior) magazines.

Joining the iron table is the best spot for the newest vintage design furniture.
I think we will take the tulip chairs outside, by the time the garden doors can be opened again. There even is a small water drain hole in the seats, so it's suitable as outdoor furniture as well.

I really like the new peek into living room, from every corner and paired with just the right amount of houseplants, books and the oak herringbone floor. I'm in love with this place...

house of plants

More green.

The [house of plants] is the newest book in our 'green books' collection.
It's a gift from my niece Afra from London. We share our passion for plants :-)

One of the other books, [evergreen] was send to me by Eimear from Ireland. She's one of the Cool Crochet participants in April last year and will join us again on the Green Gardens workshop in Marrakech in May.

Merci beaucoup Afra & Eimear!

We might already have as many plant books as plants nowadays...

botanical books

New on my desk: Botanical books.

To prepare myself for the Green Gardens workshop in Marrakech next year.
At least, that's my 'excuse' to buy new botanical books.

Plants are the latest trend.

Some years ago I had no plants at all in my house. I prefered flowers.
The temporary beauty of a bunch of flowers on the table. A week to enjoy them and when they are gone, time for a new bunch.

My love for 'evergreens' started early 2015. We started to visit lots of botanical gardens. My love for green is growing eversince.

Slowly but surely, more plants moved in. Some of them moved to the garden during the summer season, but some of them stayed inside all year around.
One of the first plants was the banana plant (or rather mini-tree) on my desk.
Inspired by the beautiful bananatrees in the courtyard of riad Chambres d'Amis, I decided to give it a go.
After a while new banana leaves appeared and the banana plant was doing quiet well on my desk.
I enjoyed to take care of it and was getting an emotional connection, what makes the love for plants so unique.
After the banana tree, more and more plants moved in...
I have a weakness for the larger plants.

Some months ago when we started preparing the Green Garden workshop in Marrakech, we agreed about the professional guided tours we will arrange for all the gardens we will visit during the workshop. I've learned a lot about gardens en plants in the last years, but not enough to call myself a green-guide.

Besides the daily garden visits, we also want to be actively engaged with our daily green experiences.
Everyone will make a personal Green Garden herbarium during the workshop. Collecting leaves, seeds and making drawings of the plants and leaves.
I've found lots of inspiration in the Herbarium book published by Thoth.
The drawings are contemporary and completely different from the historical illustrations. The simple geometric design and vivid colors are very inspiring.
I love to read and learn about the botanical world and I'm beginning to develop a new book addiction...

Below you can find more information about the Green Garden workshops in May and October 2017.

PROGRAMME:
During the workshop we will visit and explore all kinds of gardens in and around Marrakech; An Arabic garden, a rose garden, botanical gardens, secret city gardens, city parks, hidden courtyards, an art garden, museum gardens and vegetable- and herb gardens.

To make the green theme complete, we will also organize a veggie cooking workshop (including vegetables & herbes shopping in de souk). All the participants will get an herbarium notebook, in which they can make daily sketches and collect green memories, such as leaves and seeds.

You will be surprised how green the Red City actually is. Urban jungle adventures with guided tours and delicious moroccan food, make this green travel-workshop unforgettable!

GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP
Six days in Marrakech! Green is the theme. Price € 675,00 per person.
The price is based on a shared twin bedroom and excluding flight ticket. It's not possible to book a single room.
It's always possible to book extra nights, before or after the workshop (info@chambresdamis.com)
INCLUDED:
- transfer from airport Marrakech to Riad Chambres d'amis (v.v.)
- shared twin bedroom (5 nights) including breakfast in Chambres d'Amis. (no single rooms available)
- 3 dinners & 4 lunches (drinks not included)
- veggie cooking workshop
- collecting green memories in a herbarium
- all excursions in and around Marrakech

SPRING GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP arrival: Thursday 11th of May - leaving: Tuesday 16th of May
AUTUMN GREEN GARDENS WORKSHOP arrival: Thursday 12th of October - leaving: Tuesday 17th of October

If you would like to join one of the workshops, please send an e-mail info@woodwoolstool.com for an application form.

Both workshops are a collaboration with my friend Ank van der Pluijm, owner of CHAMBRES D'AMIS, oasis in the Medina of Marrakech and our 'basecamp' during the workshops.

sibella court books

Sibella Court, bestselling author of Etcetera, The Stylist's Guide to NYC, Nomad, Bowerbird and Gypsy is a globetrotter and treasure hunter.

Sibella is a unique and incomparable stylist and author. I love her style and sense of color.

Last week Henk got the 'The Life of a Bowerbird' a as birthday gift, which makes our Court book collection almost complete. Today I enjoyed browsing Bowerbird*

Heavenly books, full of inspiration to look at again and again! Highly recommended. You can find them all in The Society Inc.

Which one is your favorite?
* A bowerbird is an Australian native bird that builds a reedy ground nest and goes to extraordinary lenghts to decorate it with 'stolen' goods and found objects like shells, bones, pegs and shiny milk caps.

home with heart: summer style handmade home

You can visit our home at decor8blog, with the 'house tour' by Holly Marder of Avenue Lifestyle.

'Hey guys! It's Holly Marder with another edition of Homes With Heart on decor8. For May, I’m excited to walk you through the charming, eclectic modern home belonging to blogger and maker Ingrid Janssen and her husband that feels so much like a beautiful summer day to me! I just know you’ll love the happy energy this home exudes and all of the pretty that lies within. If ever there was a Home with Heart, this is it.'

Thank you dear Holly! We are proud of this feature, which is truely an ode to our home.

alice in wonderland anno 2014

The world famous stories Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll, are bundled in a new edition with cute and innovative illustrations by Floor Rieder.

For this book Floor used an old scratch technique in which she managed to create a new, witty and timeless Alice, you immediately close in your heart.

“You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland