New laissezfaire sponsor - Green Tea Design

Laissezfaire is proud to welcome on board a new sponsor - Green Tea Design. You can find the link to their site at the left column of this blog.

Green Tea Design is a wonderful online source if you are looking for contemporary and antique Asian furniture. It also offers custom services to meet the particular taste and needs of your home.

With its clean lines and simple forms, Oriental design has a style that can be easily adapted to suit modern lifestyles. While its intricate carvings and traditional motif bring elegance to any interior, oriental furniture is incredibly versatile and often can be combined effortlessly with other design styles to reflect the diverse taste and experiences of its owners.

Here are some pictures and ideas that will hopefully inspire you towards incorporating some Oriental pieces you can find from Green Tea Design into your home.

(above) The brightly coloured bowls act as a perfect washbasins while a clawfoot bath fits perfectly into the oriental theme of this bathroom. I simply love the green coloured walls and deep turquoise curtains here.(above) I love the strong visual effect created by the bright red tiles and clean lines in this washroom.
(above) The toilets are cleverly concealed within these custom-built antique style chests.

(above) A traditional Chinese dining table with long benches forms a great discussion table in an office here.

(above) Mix and match a modern Ikea bookshelf with Oriental elements, such as an antique Chinese medicine cabinet here.(above) These brightly coloured kitchen towels and tin plates with traditional kitchy oriental motifs really give this kitchen a lift.

(above) A typical 1920 old Shanghai bedroom deco. Love the deep brown typical of aged antique oriental furniture.

(above) Love the old industrial feel of this room with the bare bulbs and antique rosewood treasure chests

(above) Classical Chinese furniture is paired with vibrant saturated cushions on the day bed. The floral elements adorning the arched doorway also gives this room a nice touch.

Ideas to reorganise your workspace

I am in the process of reorganising my work area at home and decided to do a bit of research online for some good ideas on how to organise one's workspace. Here are some fun ideas I found from Martha Stewart crafts.(above) This ribbon organiser is an ingenius ingenius way to keep those ribbons from entangling each other!

(above) An great idea to organise my spools of thread and other sewing nik-naks.

(above) Transform tin cans into stationary holders with your favourite vacation ephemera, such as maps, menus and posters or decorative paper.

(above) These drawers with painted blackboard labels is a good way to get organised, again and again.

This simple but beautiful idea will allow one to create an inspiration or notice board using decorative paper and a few clipboards. Simply cut the paper to the clipboard size, glue onto the board using decoupage glue and viola! My favourite idea of the day.

Too cool to be true

I think these business cards are just too cool. For more creative ideas, click here.

Paper Trail

Some gorgeous file folders from Paper Trail to inspire one to get organised!

Gorgeous favours from Beau-coup

I was so excited and literally over the moon when a package of gorgeous favours from Beau-coup arrived in the mail today.

(Here is what I found beautifully packaged in a box. #1and #6 mini candy dispensers with scoop, #2 cupcake tea lights place-cards holder, #3 packaged box that came in the mail, #4 Baby Bottle Votive Candles, #5 heart shaped measuring spoons )

Really love the cupcake tea lights place-cards holder and mini candy dispensers with scoop. Think they will be perfect for a baby shower favour.

If you are looking for unique wedding favors, and wedding decorations, do check out their website and wedding blog where they offer fresh wedding ideas to help you personalize your event.

There is a 15% sale going on now so hurry! Thanks Silvia!

Alicia Bock

I am mesmerised by these pictures taken by photographer Alicia Bock. The saturated colours are just so beautiful. Alicia also has a lovely blog and etsy store. Do check it out! (via ohjoy)

Bright Green Alligator Paper

I came across this gorgeous gift wrap by Carolyne Roehm today and just had to share it. The green is just perfect! The texture and pattern of this wrap reminds me of the bright orange packaging for fruits you usually see at the supermarket. The spring green ribbon is available here.

Les Bains des Docks by Jean Nouvel

The aquatic complex Les Bains des Docks designed by the 2008 Prtizker-prize winning architect Jean Nouvel has just opened in the historical Port of Le Havre. The design is inspired by the Roman thermal baths. From the pictures and video, the complex has the most beautiful play of natural light and labyrinth spaces. Looking at this inspiring building sure reminds me of what made me love architecture in the first place.

The builidng is primarily white, allowing the flowing water curtains to create different hues along the different textured surfaces. For more pictures, click here.

Glass Domes

Don't you think these sculptural glass domes by Fabrica are simply gorgeous?

Arte Luise KunstHotel

I found out about Arte Luise KunstHotel, located near Mitte(Berlin) via Copenhagan Collage today. Each room is uniquely designed by a different renown artist and concept. How cool is the view of the hotel as seen from outside! What an amazing elevation!

Cycle of Life

One of my all time favourite lighting designers, Nicolette Brunklaus, has launched a new collection entitled "Cycle of Life". To see here entire collection, click here.

Tea Code

A lovely reader pointed me to this neat design by Gazin Create called Tea Code. This cup is designed with two layers that eliminates the need of a handle and a cool silicone button so you can attach the tea bag. Available here.

Bird mobile

This is another cool project for those with crafty fingers. All you need are two pieces of scrap fabric and a needle & thread. This will be a wonderful welcome addition to a baby’s room. Just too cute. Click here for the free bird pattern from spool.

How to make a crayon holder for boys

Learn how to make a crayon holder for boys. (via thirtyhandmadedays)

The Conversation Cushion

Give a tiring conversation a fresh boost with the conversation cushion. Each cushion is filled with 100 questions on ribbons which you could pull out from the small rips in the front.

Tink Treasure Chest Ring in Turquoise

ohhh....I just love love love this!!!! It's a gold-plated ring with a hinged blue enamel chest that opens up to reveal a sparkling selection of Swarovski crystals and a tiny note from Tinkerbell. Designed by Kidada Jones for Disney Couture.

Dorogaya Magnetic Calendar

These calendar fridge magnets designed by ukrainian designer Serhiy Chebotaryov was awarded the Bronze prize at the Kiev International Advertising Festival '08.

Dinner Napkins

Dress up for dinner with these stylish dinner napkins.

Plant labels

These gorgeous plant labels are designed by british artist kim jenkins. Think these sticks would make a wonderful gift for someone with green fingers or a wonderful idea as a garden themed wedding favour (if you personalise it with a message). Available here.

The glo pillow

Designed as an alternative to the traditional alarm clock, The glo pillow is a response to a brief to create a product which helps to combat the pressures of a "24 hour" lifestyle. The pillow uses an LED fabric to wake the user using light. This pillow surface also shows the time using the grid of LEDs below. 40 minutes before the pre-set alarm time the pillow begins to glow and gently brings the user out of sleep. This natural waking process helps to set your "body clock" and apparently results in more healthy sleep/wake patterns.

Wonder if this pillow can withstand drool or if I would start hating my pillow if I had something like this.

My beautiful backside

‘My beautiful backside’ is a seating collection launched by Moroso during Salone ‘08. Designed by Doshi Levien, this range draws upon a miniature painting of a Maharani (a wife of a great king) sitting on the floor of her palace, surrounded and supported by multiples of pebble shaped cushions. I just love the colours and shapes of these chairs. (via The Chair Blog)