Dress me up

A beautifully made dresser can really transform an area, be it your kitchen, dining room or hallway. It’s a piece of furniture that provides not only storage but a space to display treasured items and decorative accessories. Whether you like to have your dresser brimming with bric-a-brac, or keep it clean and crisp, there are all kinds of ways to get creative and use your dresser to show off your style. Here are some ideas to get you thinking…

from The Jungalow via Pinterest

I love how this dresser is overflowing with plants, it really draws you in, especially as the natural green of the foliage bounces off the green paint. Dressers are the perfect location to display fresh flowers and plants, as well as some interesting vases that’ll still catch the eye when empty. This Kassandra vase from Holly’s House has an interesting design with individual slots for each flowers, I can see a few wild flowers sitting in this beautifully.

‘Kassandra Vase Tall’ from Holly’s House

Something that might sit nicely on one of the shelves of your dresser is this unusually shaped vase from Nordic House, showing how you don’t need a whole bouquet of flowers to make an impact.

‘Reclining Clear Vase’ from Nordic House

from Vintage Rose Garden via Pinterest

These lanterns hanging off a dresser shows how you can get creative with both your lighting and your dresser. Although it may not be advisable to have any open flames on your dresser, it can be a nice way to display larger candlesticks when they’re not in use, ready to place on the dining room table at a moment’s notice. I like this contemporary brass candlestick piece from Holly’s House, which would sit beautifully on the surface of a dresser.

‘Move Brass Candlesticks’ from Holly’s House

These carnival tea light holders from The Estate Yard are an amazing collection of fun designs that’ll look great placed sporadically on your dresser.

‘Carnival Glass Tea Lights’ from The Estate Yard

Curating your dresser to work perfectly for you is all about finding the right pieces, and the right amount of pieces, to display. The key is to create a range of items, in all shapes and sizes to really give you something to look at. As a backdrop to your accessories I like the idea of fixing a few small mirrors onto the your dresser, this will not only give the impression of a touch more space, but will also give the dress some extra character. This collection of brass framed mirrors from The Estate Yard are the perfect assortment of shapes and sizes, and their style will work with a whole range of schemes.

‘Brass Mirrors’ from The Estate Yard

You may also want to think about what other decorative type things to add, some with a function and some just because they look pretty. This jars from Maison du Monde are a great style piece on their own, but also handy storage in a pinch.

‘Abelia Glass Resin Pots’ from Maison du Monde

 

from Mademoiselle Poirot via Pinterest

With an array of pots, bowls, plates and jar this dresser is covered head to toe; showing how a dresser can both store and display items beautifully.

One of the best things you can display on a dresser is a beautiful set of plates. From ones you’ve collected over the years, to maybe a special sentimental set, or just some really beautiful designs, on a dresser they’re safe from harm’s way and can be admired on a daily basis. Anthropologie always do some striking pieces of tableware, I love these botanical plates, they’re fresh and eye-catching and will instantly improve your mood. So will these pretty plates in a range of bohemian patterns.

‘Jardiniere Melamine Dinner Plate’ from Anthropologie

‘Adele Dinner Plates’ from Anthropologie

Finally, I had to add in this dramatic photo of a dresser displaying a collection of portraits. This is quite a bold look, but dresser are still a great way to display photos of your loved ones, especially in something as lovely as this photoframe from Plumo, which would look gorgeous on a dresser.

from Remodelista via Pinterest

‘Mustard Frame’ from Plumo

A beautiful dresser can be made even lovelier with the perfect accessories to go with it, tailoring to both your needs and your style is a great way to turn a functional piece of furniture into a thoughtful display.

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Bad to the Bone

It’s always fun to have a look at themes and trends that are making the rounds in the world of interior design. Our general rule of thumb here at Angel + Blume is to go with the style you most like over what’s hot right now, but it’s sometimes worth looking a little outside your comfort zone, you never know you may discover something new to take you fancy. Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of skull and bone like accessories that are perfect for anyone who wants something a little unusual and quirky. I’ve picked out a few fun and diverse products that all follow the bone theme for you to take a look at.

Not all bone themed pieces have to be obvious, in fact if you want to find pieces of furniture that make a statement, getting ones that ask a few questions is always a smart move. I find this whale bone chair from Anthropologie so interesting, it’s from eucalyptus wood by artist Adam Birch. At first glance, the chair looks like an abstract, Avant-Garde piece, but on closer inspection you can see the bone-like structure, making the whole thing even better. It’s a great occasional chair for a contemporary setting.

‘Whale Bone Chair’ from Anthropologie

If you feel like starting off slowly, a few simple home accessories are an easy way to work with the theme without going the whole nine yards. I love this picture frame from Graham & Green, it will beautifully mount a treasured photo without stealing focus, but without being dull either and will fit nicely into an already existing collection of picture frames.

‘Indigo Printed Bone Frame’ from Graham & Green

Another little gem from Graham and Green are these fantastic salad servers, they’ll be decorative both when in use and when on display, plus they incorporate both bone and colourfulness to make a wonderful combo.

‘Multi Coloured Salad Servers’ from Graham & Green

For anyone that favours the suave and sophisticated look in their home, and wants to keep this theme running, this reeded bone ice bucket from Oka is the perfect balance of vintage and sophisticated style, it’ll look charming on display and can be whipped out just in time for cocktail hour!

‘Reeded Bone Ice Bucket’ from Oka

Inlaid bone as a decorative form dates back to as early as ancient Egypt, and if you’re looking for a bit of bohemian luxury it’s a great way to get started. This four poster bed from Anthropologie is absolutely dream-like, ideal for helping create a fairy tale bedroom.

‘Bone Inlay Four Poster Bed’ from Anthropologie

If you want to take a more light-hearted leap into the bone theme why not try something cute and dainty? These star carved doorknobs from Rockett St George are just adorable. They’ll make a wonderful decoration to a cupboard door, anywhere in the house be it a kitchen, bathroom or bedroom.

‘Star Carved Knob’ from Rockett St George

Adorning your home with trinkets and treasures is a sure fire way to add character to the place. I really like these plaster cast shells, fossils, coral pieces from Pale and Interesting. Filling up a bowl with them is a great way to decorate a bathroom.

‘Bag o’ Bones’ from Pale and Interesting

These skeleton paper lanterns from Rockett St George are a kooky (and spooky) way to include the bone theme in an unusual way. They’re superb if you need them to make a party that extra bit special, but will also work well for everyday use if you want to create a playful interior.

‘Skeleton Crew Paper Lanterns’ from Rockett St George

If you want to bring your bones to the table, check out this set of six skeleton plates from Re-found Objects. Perfect for a dinner party where you want to impress and entertain the crowd, they’ll look amazing up on the table and will turn into a piece of art when on display.

‘Bone China Skeleton Plates’ from Re-found Objects

For the grand finale, a real showstopper, and something that’s probably not for the faint-hearted, is this glorious embellished buffalo skull from Rockett St George. Mounted animal heads on the wall may seem like a thing of the past, but there are loads of similar but alternative products floating around at the moment, from paper and felt animal heads to bedazzled skulls like this one. If you’ve got the guts it’ll look fab hung over a fireplace, bed or even placed amongst many strange and beautiful pieces running up a stairway.

‘Embellished Buffalo Skull’ from Rockett St George

From the adorable to the pretty to the slightly odd, there are all kinds of ways to experiment with the bone trend and so many ways to get inspired.

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