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Mixed Metals

Ever since ink & peat received a gorgeous little collection of metallic leather poufs, we find ourselves enamoured with all the metallic accents and fixtures popping up all over our favorite design blogs. Gold, silver, bronze, copper ... whether your going for simple, romantic, industrial, or modern, mixed metals bring a lot of class to any space. Check out our faves!     

 

Gilded fringe chandelier found here!



Retro metal chairs and stainless steel kitchen found here!

Shimmery golden chevron bedding found here!

This silver stage for pretty votives found here!


Glamourous gold chair by Charles & Ray Eames found here!

Polished silver bathroom found here!

Shiny penny copper lampshade found here!

Gold-textured dot wallpaper found here!

 

 

Fluted metal and wire light found here!

 

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Love to Lounge: Window Seats!

This past week, we've had a flurry of lovely new goodies arriving on our doorstep here at ink & peat! We always look forward to transitions between holidays and seasons, especially when the shop starts filling up with warm blush colors and notes of citrus in the air. With all the moving and shaking going on, we have a new-found appreciation for ways to kick up our feet after a long day at work! Window seats offer a nook-style space great for decorating with bright accents and soft pillows. We love the thought of cozying up in one ourselves - with a good book and a spot (or a lot!) of sunshine of course! It has been a sunny winter in Portland this year after all! Check out our picks!

Photo credits can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here

Written by Holly (at ink& peat)

 

Gorgeous Woodgrain: Natural Wood Pottery by Silvia Song

We made a beautiful discovery this week when we came across a collection of natural wood pottery by Silvia Song. With a background rich in design and architecture, Song pulls the best from both worlds to create functional pieces that gleam with natural details and elegant symmetry. She also has a knack for choosing amazing wood to work with, including blocks of maple and air dried claro walnut! With a deft hand, Song carves, shapes, and polishes the wood to absolute perfection - or imperfection! Our favorite piece is the walnut bowl with that exquisite, natural edge. Take a look!

All photos found here and here.

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)

 

 

   

Ceramic Delights by Kaye Blegvad!

We are so very smitten with these delightfully small ceramics made by English-born artist, Kaye Blegvad! While we could spend all day figuring out new ways to put a high-fired dish to good use, Blegvad's quirky and unique style is a nice reminder that ceramic aesthetics aren't confined to vessels for flowers, coffee, and dinnerware. Sometimes, we just need to see a darling, extra-long ceramic dachshund parked on our windowsill! We love Blegvad's minimalist approach and how pretty it all looks fired and glossed into figurines that would be a joy to collect. I'd love to start mine with the artist's spiffed up, old-fashioned brush and comb set! Enjoy our picks!    

All photos found here!

Click here to learn more about the artist!

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)

The Art of the Tea Bag

This week, we discovered new and beautiful ways to enjoy a simple bag of tea! With an ever-growing focus on DIY craft-arts and mixed media creations from found and/or used objects, it's not surprising that artists and crafters have transformed the humble tea bag into colorful and striking studies of organic shapes and perfect symmetry. We love the idea of artists working with tea bags as a medium to produce beautiful abstracts that boost this ancient beverage onto a very grand scale. Check out the amazing photos!

Tea bag abstract by Armen Rotch found here.

Dried tea bag curtain found here!

Wildly beautiful, embroidered tea bags found here.

We found this sweet painted and papered tea bag here!

This pale blue rorschach tea bag found here!

Tea bag window screen found here!

Dyed tea bag rainbow found here!

 

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)

 

 

 

 

Bright Idea: Dark Walls!

If you've ever set foot in ink & peat, you know we love a bright, airy space with lots of natural light! While we would never trade our many skylights and windows for anything (especially in the winter deep,) we've noticed an abundance of darkly painted rooms popping up in our daily search for unique, beautiful design ideas! There's a great deal of allure in creating a space with a darker backdrop. Subdued shades of black, navy, and grey all capture a certain twilight-to-midnight moodiness that invites a thoughtfully designed constellation of focal points. Pops of ultra-bright color, various shapes and textures, and timeless patterns stand out against the harmonious blending of dark paint and contrasting accents ... check out our picks!

Soft and pretty! Charcoal wall, fresh lilac, and soft quilt found here.

These lovely grey walls and natural relics found here.

This Mid-century modern/monochromatic dream space found here!

This gorgeous snapshot of woodgrain and watercolor map against matte black paint ... found here! 

This grey wonderwall of curiosities found here!

Stark antlers and a warm, floral print bring a nice glow to this grey room.

This herringbone floor belongs with a lovely shade of navy!

The sweetest brick wall we've ever seen ... found here!

 

“I’ve been 40 years discovering that the queen of all colors was black.” — Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Written by Holly (at ink& peat)

 

 

 



       

A Confetti Filled New Years!

The New Year holiday brings us to the end of another busy season! We cooked and feasted on Thanksgiving and shopped til we dropped for Christmas gifts - now it's time to put on a fancy dress, some dancing shoes, and celebrate with a glass of bubbly ... and some confetti! We love all the festive photos of confetti floating around Blogland this week. It's no secret how far this celebratory tradition has come since the old days of throwing rice at the bride and groom! You can felt it, dip it, tassel it, dry it, and string it into a number of beautiful (and easy!) projects! The possibilities seem endless, but one thing remains the same, tossing a sparkly handful into the air is the best part!

Fancy dress confetti snapshot found here!

Gold confetti dipped balloons found here!

Confetti-tassel installation found here!

Felted ivory confetti garland found here!

Dried petal confetti found here!

Confetti boxes found here!

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2014 from all of us here at ink&peat!

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)

 

 

Luminescent Art by Nancy Lorenz

With the winter sun setting by late afternoon here in Portalnd, we've been looking for any extra light and warmth where ever we can find it! Today we spent some time on the website for abstract artist, Nancy Lorenz. Her warm color pallet, inlay, and guilding work shimmers with both soft and rich metallic splendor. Even her grey and rain inspired pieces seem to glow! We can't get enough!    

Photo credits found here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)

Holiday Gifts Galore at ink & peat!

With Christmas just one week away, ink & peat is bright with an array of splendid gift ideas! Whether you're in the neighborhood to shop or just passing through, stop in to enjoy our lovely collection of goods and pick something out for everyone on your list! In the meantime, take a peek at a few of our shop favorites - our holiday gift guide is here!

These sweet and spicy holiday blends from Bellocq Tea are so tasty, we could drink them all year, but a nice warm cup on a winter's night makes the best gift!

This Coral & Tusk embroidered illustration goes beyond cozy (and darling) with their bunny-in-a-sweater framed artwork!

tatine's garden and forest scented candles are seriously good. Not only do they perfectly capture all the fragrant notes of a woodsy forest, but each candle is mixed and poured by hand in small batches. Find it here!

We give three cheers for the Blue Chair Jam cookbook! It makes a lovely gift - especially when paired with a jar of seasonal jam from your local farmer's market! See more about Blue Chair Jam here.

Children (and adults!) love the wonderful details that make this plush bambi snuggle from Danish toy company, Maileg, extra sweet - the faux fur collar, rosy cheeks, and her one-eye-awake, one-eye-asleep ... lovely!

Soap by Saipua is a staple at ink & peat! Made from the finest, most natural ingredients, our collection of Saipua soaps make a beautiful stocking stuffer! Find it here! 

These handcrafted, ceramic vessels from Soda by Amy are both lovely and useful. Makes a good tea cup, nook for an airplant, or a handy pencil holder. Check out our collection at the shop or see more here!

Fine art and sophistication go hand and hand in this very giftable book, full of illustrated splendor by iconic artist, Maria Kalman. 

We've got jewlery galore ... and we just recieved a new batch of these gorgeous sterling silver and gemstone earrings from the Heirloom collection by Jane Diaz!

Sometimes the best gifts come in small packages! This photo doesn't do justice to how delicious this chocolate bar by Sweeteeth really is, but maybe words can - it's three chambers of dark chocolate filled with sweet liquid caramel, finished with flaked sea salt, and made by chocolate artisans from South Carolina. Absolute yumminess. Stock up here!

Hope you've enjoyed our holiday gift guide! Wishing all of you a happy holiday from everyone here at ink & peat! 

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waking Dream Wallpapers by Minakani Lab

If we were in Paris right now, we'd be headed to the Minakani Lab studio to check out where all of those gorgeous, large-graphic wallpapers are created (and munching on a chocolate crepe along the way)! Just one look at these gorgeous prints inspires us to the edge of world!

All photos collected from here

Written by Holly (at ink & peat)