A Touch of the Orient

I instinctively like anything with a traditional oriental vibe. Clothes, paintings, photos, but most of all knick-knacks. It wasn't until I bought a rather lovely fan today from a second hand shop and placed it in my room that I realised I had quite an oriental feel in my room at the moment, mixed in with a touch of English cottage and French shabby-chic. Here's a few of my favourite things at the moment.

This is the fan I bought today for 79p (yes, really!). I thought of hanging it on the wall, but it looked like a bit of a complicated job, so instead it is sat on top of typewriter. I particularly liked the bird on this one, and thought the colours would match my room well.

I don't know what this is called. My parents gave it to me a couple of Christmas's ago, and it's a charming little box that I just keep a lot of scrappy things in (mainly paper clips). It has a beautiful floral pattern all the way around, with red birds sitting in the branches. What can I say? I just really like birds!

I made these origami dodecahedrons a while ago, and now I have no idea how I made them at all. I'm itching to make more though!

Some pretty miniature scent bottles, and a TARDIS. As you do.

This is a vintage postcard which used to belong to my Mum, which also used to belong to my Granddad. It's pinned to the side of my bedside cabinet, and I think it might be the one view I could never tire of.

I found this in a charity shop, and I'm pretty sure that it's intended to be used as a handbag. I did actually intend to use it as a bag, but pretty much instantly after buying it I remembered that I have a LOT of crap in my bag that would just fall through the holes. It is now reborn as a magazine rack, although if I get super-organised, I might make a pocket to sit inside and stop all the loose change and receipts falling out.


I don't think I'll ever stop picking up things to decorate my room with, but here's some tips for getting the look you want if you're thinking about redecorating:

• Make a mood board - If you want to get a really streamlined, matchy-matchy look, make a mood board so that you know exactly the kind of things to look out for when shopping. If you want a more eclectic look, simply just buy stuff on instinct, as long as you know it'll fit in with your theme (maybe a time period or place).
• Start from Scratch - If you're redecorating an already decorated room, sometimes it's easier to just start from scratch. Make two piles of stuff that you already have - stuff you like the look of, and stuff that you've grown tired of. Take your inspiration from the stuff on your 'like' pile.
• Make it! If there's something you really want but can't find it anywhere, think about how you'd go about making it. You might have stumbled onto a really unique idea that could catch on!
• Hunt about - When redecorating, it can be tempting to just go to Ikea and buy everything you'll need, but it's worth taking your time and searching for more unique items from car boot sales, auctions or second hand shops. The extra effort will be worth it!
• Get social! - Look at what other people have done to their spaces on the internet for some really unique ideas. Pinterest in particular has loads of unique decorating ideas that you can DIY yourself.

Have you found any knick-knacks lately? What are your favourite ways of DIY decorating?