About Me

Mijn foto
Welcome! Thank you for visiting my weblog. I am Irene, Elisabeth Pouw, a Dutch blogger. As blogger I am connecting my readers with beauty, style, quality and craftsmanship in various subjects like interiordesign, architecture, haute couture, photography, art etc. I love decorating & bringing beauty and harmony into interiors. I created this blog to share my passion for decorating as well as the many other things which inspire me. From time to time I am also highlighting certain interior designers, decorators, architects, stylists, photographers etc. I hope you enjoy your visit. Feel free to give a comment on my blogs. I will react back as soon as possible. Best regards, Irene Pouw from Holland.

30 december 2017

Best Wishes for a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2018!

Happy New Year! With New Year's Eve just around the corner I wish my readers a Healthy, Wonderful & Fabulous New Year filled with Love, Joy and Happiness!
Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar! Wens mijn lezers een goede Oudejaarswisseling toe en een Gezond, Liefdevol en Sprankelend 2018!
Thank you for reading this blogpost.


Art Deco exhibition - The Roaring Twenties by Paul Poiret at Gemeentemuseum The Hague

While surfing on internet this afternoon I found this interesting information about the Art Deco exhibition from Paul Poiret at Gemeentemuseum The Hague (NL). Step into the world of the roaring twenties or les années folles by Poiret, Le Magnifique. 
Couturier Paul Poiret was among the greatest innovators in early 20th-century fashion. But his influence was not limited to fashion. He aspired to create ‘total works of art’ and surrounded himself with artists, designers and architects. His world included figures like Raoul Dufy and Man Ray and the work of Brancusi, Robert Delaunay and Kees van Dongen. He is rightly regarded as the founding father of Art Deco.

Paul Poiret created a unique style that would be a major influence on the western art world. This style and that of the artists around him, would provide the seedbed for Art Deco. Poiret can therefore rightly be hailed as the father of Art Deco.

Art Deco – Paris will be an interdisciplinary presentation combining art, fashion, decorative art, photography, music and film and bringing to life the decadence and opulence of the Art Deco period, which still holds great appeal today. Visitors will enter the world of the roaring twenties, Les Années Folles, personified by Paul Poiret, Le MagnifiquePeriod: 14 October 2017 till 04 March 2018. Be Inspired .....

Thank you for reading this blogpost.

27 december 2017

Kitchen Inspiration: Pantone names Ultra Violet as Color of the Year 2018 (03)

With 2018 just around the corner, Color company Pantone has chosen a vibrant purple shade, named Ultra Violet, as its color of the year for 2018. The Ultra Violet color is described by Pantone as "a dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade". Below you will find examples of how to decorate your kitchen with this inspiring color Ultra Violet. I wrote more blogs about Ultra Violet, Color of the Year 2018 Be Inspired .......
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via KitchenAid
More about the Ultra Violet, the Pantone Color of the Year 2018
Ultra Violet, or Pantone 18-3838, is a complex, celestial shade of purple, veering toward the cooler end of the color spectrum, that calls to mind the vastness of the galaxy, the power of spirituality and creative expression in all its forms. Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, tells that purple has rich, transcendent associations, noting," It's often associated with mindfulness practices. So it has that spiritual or mystical quality that's attached — a little bit of magic that's inferred in the color." 

Certainly, purples of every shade are deeply evocative. Purple has been associated with royalty, wealth, complexity, craftsmanship, ecclesiastical power and counterculturalism. Eiseman describes it as "nonconforming." It's a potent and resonant hue. Still, it's wonderfully — surprisingly — accessible. 

Its worth noting that purple has a tendency to come into vogue at important turning points in history. Also that turbulent times are often, in their turn, crucibles for artistic expression. Purple was a favorite color of the Fauvists in the revolutionary first decade of the twentieth century. It had a heyday with musical artists like Jimi Hendrix in the late 60s and early 70s, at the apex of the Countercultural movement. 
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration, Coasters via Barneys
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via Amazon
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via Crock-Pot
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via Farberware
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via Amazon
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via Le Creuset
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via Urban Outfitters
Color of the Year 2018 - Ultra Violet - Kitchen Inspiration via Wayfair
Thank you for reading this blogpost.

26 december 2017

Editorial: Hanaa Ben Abdesslem for Harper's Bazaar Arabia

What a beautiful editorial photo from Hanaa Ben Abdesslem for Harper's Bazaar Arabia. Be Inspired ......
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Source: BOFPhoto: Michelle Ferrara.

24 december 2017

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to You All!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2018 to you all. May your 2018 be filled with Love, Peace & Prosperity.

Wens je hele fijne Kerstdagen toe en de beste wensen voor 2018! Dat 2018 gevuld mag zijn met Liefde, Vrede en Voorspoed. 
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Ph. found on Google, source unknown.

19 december 2017

Be Inspired: Interior photography by Rene van Dongen (10)


Be inspired by these stunning interior photos from the company Herman Peters Interior Design, lensed by Dutch interior photographer René van Dongen. This residential project is a luxurious penthouse in Moscow, Russia. Herman Peters Interior Design designs and develops worldwide luxurious architectural and interior design projects for houses, penthouses and commercial properties including the surrounding gardens and outdoor areas. Additionally, he is responsible for the entire design process, from creating the first sketches to managing contractors and from the aesthetic guidance to the selection of art, furniture and lighting. Earlier I posted some other blogs about René's photography work, see Various BlogsMore photos from this interesting photographer will follow later on. 
More about the photographer René van Dongen
René has been an independent, full-time photographer since 1994 with an expertise in interior photography, architecture and advertising. He is trained in photography, graphic design as well as graphic design techniques and has a tremendous amount of experience in this field. 

René always goes for the best result for the client and has a great eye for details and a passion for delivering quality. He analyzes his objects thoroughly: color, structure and above all light/shadow are leading in this. He is working for architects and interior designers, as well as a wide range of businesses that provide products in the interior design industry.

Thank you for reading this blogpost. 
©photography: René van Dongen and Interior Design: Herman Peters Interior Design
Note: these photos have been placed with approval of the interior designer and the photographer.

Colorful Abstract Artwork by Japanese artist Kazuo Shiraga (05)


Sacred Flame, 1975 by Kazuo Shiraga. Lyrical Abstraction
Be Inspired by this colorful abstract artwork from the Japanese artist Kazuo Shiraga (1924–2008). His painting method involves dripping paint onto canvas instead of using a brush and painting strokes with his feet while hanging from a rope. His work exhibits an incomparable feeling of power and speed and stands as one of the monumental landmarks in the history of Japanese avant-garde art. Love his free, creative and expressive way of making art. Would love to make artwork like this on my feet like Kazuo did do before. :-) I wrote more blogs about his interesting work, see THIS LINK
More about the artist
Kazuo Shiraga was a Japanese artist best known for his performative painting practice. Shiraga’s gestural style was influenced by American Abstract Expressionism and indicative of his participation in the Gutai avant-garde movement. The object of Gutai was to allow action and everyday life into the creation of dynamic artworks. The artist would suspend himself over his canvases, swinging back and forth, creating marks with his feet, creating a unique texture and thickness to his abstract swirls and splatters. 
Kazuo Shiraga in his studio, 1960. Ph. courtesy of Amagasaki Cultural Center
“I want to paint as though rushing around a battlefield, exerting myself to collapse from exhaustion,” the artist once proclaimed. Born on August 12, 1924 in Amagasaki, Japan, he graduated from the Kyoto Municipal Special School of Painting in 1948 and joined the Gutai group in 1954. 
In a seminal early work, Challenge to the Mud (1955), the artist explored the gesture of sculpting clay by throwing himself and contorting his semi-naked body in a pit of mud. Through the following decades, Shiraga continued to work on activating art through moving a body in space. He died on April 8, 2008 in Amagasaki, Japan. Today, the artist’s works are included in the collections of the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Hiroshima City Museum of Art among others.

Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Sources: ArtnetPinterest and Google

17 december 2017

Ballet: The Nutcracker by The George Balanchine Trust

I guess you've noticed already that I love to see ballet. Below you will find a beautiful photo from the Nutcracker by the George Balanchine Trust. In the past around Christmas time, I saw several times this wonderful performance of the Nutcracker in theatre. Be Inspired ......
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Ph. © Paul Kolnik. Courtesy of The New York City Ballet.

Waiting for Christmas ......

With Christmas just around the corner I wish my readers a wonderful Holiday Season and a fabulous New Year!
Christmas Inspiration. Ph. via This Ivy House - Tumblr.
Christmas Mail. Ph. via Hadley Court
#Christmas #Cookies #DIY Ph. via Popsugar. Image source Dolly and Oatmeal
Thank you for reading this blogpost.

16 december 2017

Color Forecasts: Pantone names Ultra Violet as Color of the Year 2018 (02)


With 2018 just around the corner, Color company Pantone has chosen a vibrant purple shade, named Ultra Violet, as its color of the year for 2018. The Ultra Violet color is described by Pantone as "a dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade". Ultra Violet or Pantone 18-3838, is a complex, celestial shade of purple, veering toward the cooler end of the color spectrum, that calls to mind the vastness of the galaxy, the power of spirituality and creative expression in all its forms. I wrote more blogs about Ultra Violet, Color of the Year 2018
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, tells that purple has rich, transcendent associations, noting," It's often associated with mindfulness practices. So it has that spiritual or mystical quality that's attached — a little bit of magic that's inferred in the color." Certainly, purples of every shade are deeply evocative. Purple has been associated with royalty, wealth, complexity, craftsmanship, ecclesiastical power and counterculturalism. Eiseman describes it as "nonconforming." It's a potent and resonant hue. Still, it's wonderfully — surprisingly — accessible.
Its worth noting that purple has a tendency to come into vogue at important turning points in history. Also that turbulent times are often, in their turn, crucibles for artistic expression. Purple was a favorite color of the Fauvists in the revolutionary first decade of the twentieth century. It had a heyday with musical artists like Jimi Hendrix in the late 60s and early 70s, at the apex of the Countercultural movement. Be Inspired .......
Thank you for reading this blogpost.

Furniture design: Luxurious Soho Writing Desk by Eric Kuster Metropolitan Luxury

Today, while surfing on internet, I found this chic and luxurious writingdesk called 'Soho Desk' from Eric Kuster Metropolitan Luxury. What a Beauty! Be Inspired .......
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Source: Dering Hall and Eric Kuster

15 december 2017

Ad Campaign: Kendall Jenner stars in Estée Lauder's Holiday 2017 campaign

What a beautiful photos from Kendall Jenner in the Estée Lauder's Holiday 2017 ad campaign. For a real Christmas feeling! The face of Estée Lauder since 2014, Kendall looks ready for Christmas season. The American beauty looks festive wearing a red gown complete with layers of tulle and a ruffled neckline. In the second image, Kendall channels ballerina vibes wearing a short red dress with polka dots and voluminous layers. Be Inspired .......
Thank you for reading this blogpost.

12 december 2017

PFW: Hairtrends F/W 2017-18, seen on the runway - Cornrow braid style

Be Inspired by this cornrow braid style as hairtrend for the season F/W 2017-18 for Balmain, Saint Laurent, Andrew Gn etc.  
Andrew Gn F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style 
Balmain F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Balmain F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Balmain F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Andrew Gn F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Saint Laurent F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Andrew Gn F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Andrew Gn F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Andrew Gn F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Andrew Gn F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Andrew Gn F/W 2017-18 hairtrend: cornrow braid style
Thank you for reading this blogpost.
Sources: TrendyStyleHAIRdromeELLE and VOGUE