The Pillow Tutorial

Dear Lovelies,

When I think of pillows I think of snuggling, cosiness, feathers, pillow fights, dreams, warmth and comfort.... I simply LOVE pillows!
If it was just me, the whole bed would be covered in pillows! Unfortunately my better half is already struggling with two, therefore you can imagine that my pillow addiction causes a fair bit of tension.

On my journey to finding the the right pillows I stumbled upon a few questions and found so many pretty pillows that I found it very confusing to choose the right ones. Here are a few things that I learnt:

Choose a colour scheme
When it comes to colour there are a few things you need to consider.
First of all, what is the base colour of your couch/bed?
And: is there a particular colour in the room that is already present or that you like a lot?
For example you decorated your room with mint vases or have a feature wall in red?
While I'm not saying that your pillows have to reflect the identical colour of these decorations, it is recommended that you stay in the same colour family. This will make the style of the room look "complete" and your pillows will effortlessly tie back into the entire look of the room.
You could also choose to have the pillows in complimentary colours, but always make sure you don't end up with too many colours in your room (unless you love it of course, then please go ahead!).

My favourite colour combinations at the moment are:

1. Navy, Sea Glass, White

2. Berry, Rosegold, Beige

3. Mint, Rose, Beige

Have fun with textures, patterns and glitter
Gone are the days when mixing patterns were considered too busy and inconsistent. Have fun mixing a chevron pattern with flowers and stripes!
Also, add an additional layer of depth by combining different materials. Fake fur, cotton and velvet can look really nice together.

As a rule of thumb: Fake fur or knitted fabrics are considered a better decoration for winter because they appear cosy and warm and will make the room appear warmer too.
For summer months, cotton and linen will look fresh and crisp.

But once again, this is also up to personal taste - I currently have knitted pillows on my couch and outside temperatures reach 25 degrees - I just love the cosiness on the couch <3

When it comes to glitter, sequins or animalistic patterns (leopard, zebra, etc.) less is often more! They are such strong designs that they should be used as just the tip of the iceberg. If you overdo it, things can start to look a bit tacky very quickly.

Size matters!
Think outside the box and don't just choose the standard 45 cm x 45 cm pillow. Think of all these cute round pillows and the rectangular ones. Go ahead and mix them. Little round or rectangular pillows tend to look best as a feature piece to finish the look off, using them sparingly i.e. just one or two will already create the desired effect.

How many pillows?
I wish I could say "endless", but too many nice things can be a bit overbearing. Keep the space you want to cover in mind. A three-seater couch or queen sized bed should probably not have more than five pillows on it. I usually choose odd numbers over even numbers as I personally believe it looks better.

What is your favourite pillow colour combination?

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

A dusty pink kinda spring!

Dear Lovelies,

Being on the other side of the planet also means that our seasons are the other way around.
While Europe is heading into Autumn, Australia is heading into spring.

There's no doubt about it, you can see it everywhere: the days get longer, the skirts of ladies shorter and there's so much laughter everywhere as the hearts seem to get lighter just like hair does in spring.

Having recently traveled overseas where Autumn is knocking on the door I was lucky to spot some colour trends of the colder season and immediately fell in love.

I'm talking about wine, or call it bordeaux - this velvety dark red with a hue of a purplish pink. Absolutely gorgeous. Dusty pink is the little sister and because it's lighter it fits perfectly into spring. Combine it with neutral colours and a touch of gold and you have an easy-going casual outfit.

Top: Zara | Pants: American Eagle Outfitters | Shoes: Louis Vuitton

With Love, 

Coffeebeanlilly

Amsterdam!

When I think back of our 3-day-trip to Amsterdam in September 2011, this loveable city still puts a smile on my face.

Being the Netherland's largest city (805,166) and capital, Amsterdam often gets viewed as one of the top financial centeres in Europe (the stock exchange is the oldest in the world!) as well as a cultural capital with the highest density of museums.

Expecting a big city feeling when in Amsterdam? Far off!

Swans swimming in the gorgeous canals, hundreds of friendly Dutch people on bikes, the relaxed atmosphere around the Coffee Shops and areas overgrown with weeds everywhere in the city make you feel like you're on a country trip.

We wanted our trip to be as authentic as possible so we chose not to book a hotel room, but instead to live on a houseboat just like approximately 4500 other people in Amsterdam. And we would definitely do it again!
The lovely Annette that owns Ark16, which is a housboat anchored in a former workers district called Jordaan, was such a great host. http://www.ark16.com/en

Ark16 was a great basis for us to check out the city and as many attractions as you can see in 3 days. 

Here is my Top 7 of things to do:

1. You probably expect me to say "Rent a bike.". Umm, no! Simply because there's SOOO many bikes out there (approximately 50% of the population rides their "Omafietsen").
Even worse: there are so many tourists on bikes which are not familiar with the traffic in Amsterdam - it can quickly turn into quite a dangerous fun thing. Infact, isn't experiencing a city by walking everywhere much more rewarding?

2. Eat a Herring! Raw Herring! Actually: eat as many Herrings as you can, they will never taste better anywhere else! You will find a quality fish stall on almost every corner where this delicacy gets served either with or without cornichons, onion and bread.

3. Visit at least one of their beautiful markets around the city! We went to Lindengracht Market (www.amsterdam.info/markets/lindengracht) which is located in Jordaan which has become one of the most upscale locations of the Netherlands and a favourite place for students, artists and young professionals. While you're there: don't miss out on Poffertjes! These baby pancakes are deliciously fluffy and traditionally served with powder sugar and butter.

4. Visit the Anne Frank House. Walking through this part of our history will send a chill down your spine and even I may have cried a little. Worth seeing, but best to go there relatively early as queues get very long. 

5. A cheese shop! You have to indulge in all those varieties of cheeses as they might not be available in other parts of the world.

6. Go to the Bloemenmarkt - Amsterdams flower market - to buy tulip bulbs for your loved ones at home.

7. Take a stroll though the Red Light District, but be prepared because the beautiful girls in the windows don't care if you're female. They will still try to pick you up. On this note: while we were strolling through the city we saw these...umm..modern (?) Public Toilets everywhere. Strange to see and hear certain parts of someone elses very private business!

There's so much more to see and do in Amsterdam, like going to the Rembrandt or Van Gogh Museum or take a canal tour, but we simply ran out of time. But there's no doubt - we'll be back one day!

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly