When Instagram first became the latest social networking plaything, I remember registering for an account right away and then...nothing. For the longest time, my Instagram account languished, unused, while I stuck to my usual social networking tools.
This morning at Casa Stiletto, since I had no appointments to go to or assignments to work on for once, I thought it was the perfect time to play with Instagram! I was SO relieved to find how easy and user-friendly this app is, even for a newbie like me. Here's a look at some of the fun this morning at Casa Stiletto, as captured on Instagram:
The view from my home office window. My early morning ritual consists of pondering this view and sipping a hot cup of coffee while checking my blog, emails & all social media doo-da. Yes, Stiletto-istas, this is what I feast my eyes on while contemplating my thoughts for you & putting 'em down into words on my laptop. Sometimes if I'm lucky, there's an occasional piece of eye candy of the male persuasion lounging around, for additional visual inspiration :-)
A "cornerscape" in our foyer where we dump keys, the occasional pair of sunglasses & my beloved trusty tennis racquet. Little red table with door (used for storing slippers) is vintage, which I found dumped in the bin of my old apartment building in Manhattan; I rescued it & lugged it 5 flights of stairs to my walk-up. Silk lamp is from Saigon, Vietnam (where Herr Hubby used to live), the wooden warrior puppet with sword is from a market in Chiangmai, Thailand. His name is Krishna (we name all puppets, teddy bears & ceramic animals in Casa Stiletto) & he guards our foyer. Sandalwood chair with Chinese silk fabric & embroidered "good fortune" cushion from landlord.
Herr Hubby and I share a love for art. We just wish we had an unlimited budget to indulge this love, haha! We tend to acquire art from the places where we’re from, where we’ve lived or have had an emotional connection, e.g. the Philippines, Germany, Vietnam, the US, China. With limited wall space in our home, what’s my fave decorating solution? Stack them on top of tables, let them peek behind chairs or let them simply rest on the floor!
I tried my hand at "tablescaping" in the dining room by putting together these random pieces from our former homes in China & the US: "his & hers" stainless steel espresso cups with porcelain saucers from American designer Ross McBride's Anamorphic series, silk-screened floral Chinese tea pot, cup & saucer in one (all elements are separable) a gift from our life in Beijing, China, pair of inscribed ceramic-bottomed wine glasses from a divine shop in my old Upper West Side neighborhood in Manhattan: Our Name is Mud. The wine glasses remind us that:" Life's too short for bad wine." Round wooden tray from Ikea.
Here’s another amateur attempt at “tablescaping”, using our collection of coffee table books, various Chinese knick knacks from our lives in Beijing and Shanghai and personal wedding portraits. An exciting dilemma had presented itself when we moved into this apartment – seems that I had 2 beautiful long tables! (Yes, I hyperventilate with excitement over furniture, so there.) One was a lovely stone-topped table from our landlord and the other one was a gorgeous old, distressed, long wooden table I’d inherited from a very good friend who was graduating from Harvard b-school at the same time I was entering Fordham b-school. Feeling sorry for me that I didn’t have a proper table in my NYC apartment (and seeing as she was getting married upon graduation), she shipped her study table from Boston to New York. With all my moves since then (New York to San Francisco to Beijing to Shanghai and now, to Guangzhou, I’ve lovingly kept the table, fondly used for dining or “tablescaping”, ever since.
These inspirational words from our collection of fridge magnets are what greet us first thing in the morning when we grab our milk out of the fridge. Kinda like a real-life version of a Pinterest board! Aren't they hella cute???
In the guestroom, a little Mexican hand-painted wooden chest which I picked up in a Manhattan flea market provides extra room for storage while some of our collection of culinary & beverage books make a nice prop for a hand-sketched fun cartoon of Herr Hubby & myself by a South Korean artist during a memorable "mini-moon" in Jeju Island.
Every civilized home has to have a bookcase filled with books that have been collected, read and loved through the years. Casa Stiletto is no exception. During my move from Hong Kong to New York City, I made the foolish mistake of selling or giving away all my books. The result? Buying the same books all over again. Ain’t gonna happen again…
Soft early morning light filters through the sheer white curtains framing a view of palm trees from the guestroom. Wooden sailboat, tiny lighthouse & cottage (partially seen) are mementos of a trip to the coastal town of Svenborg, Denmark while white cotton curtains, hand-embroidered with tiny flowers (can't be seen clearly in photo) are from France, provided by our landlord.
Isn't Instagram FUN, Stiletto-istas??? This is totally our latest addiction, haha! What about you, have you been Instagramming too?
If you'd like to share some fun Instagram-scapes of your interiors and home decorating efforts, I would LOVE to see them...and I'm sure your fellow Stiletto-istas will too! I will make sure to ask your permission first before posting them online and give photo credits where it's due. And don't sweat it, if you would like to remain anonymous but would still love to share your Instagram-scapes, you can do that too! We absolutely respect our readers' privacy here at The Bamboo Stiletto. PLEASE, PLEASE, pretty, pretty please email The Bamboo Stiletto with your pics and privacy preferences at bamboostiletto@gmail.com.
My email inbox is quivering with anticipation! :-)
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Diane Fermin Roeder is a reformed marketing communications expert in the hospitality and financial service industries. She enjoys being an expat's wife and founding wordsmith of DFR+word.works, a consultancy specializing in content solutions and development for luxury hotels and resorts in China. She carved a 15 year leadership career spanning the Philippines, Hong Kong, the US, and China, with an American MBA to boot. Diane suffers from an incurable addiction to killer stilettos. You may to The Bamboo Stiletto (personal blog) http://bamboostiletto.wordpress.com and Follow tweets: https://twitter.com/bamboostiletto
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