Moments of Beauty

An elegantly mysterious portrait for you today, in keeping with the Hallowe'en mood.

(photo of montreal-based model camyl via folio)

Country Loft

A crumbling Italian villa was completely renovated and is now an airy loft-style home. The original architectural details were preserved, beautifully complemented by the modern fixtures and staircase. Particularly love that silvery wood table — wonderful. More here on Afflante.

Cinema: Hallowe'en Special

Looking for something spooky to watch tonight? The Internet Archive has a great selection of free vintage films online, from the terrifying classic 1922 silent horror flick Nosferatu to the 1962 low budget but extraordinarily atmospheric Carnival of Souls. Happy browsing!

Simple Pleasures

Hallowe'en costume parties. Are you going to one this year?

(photo of jennifer lawrence by tim walker for w magazine)

Atelier: I Can Read Movies

This is truly inspired — a series by the mysterious Spacesick featuring cult movies redone as vintage paperback covers, similiar to the Penguin book cover art of the 1950s and 60s. Really clever as well as beautifully designed. See more on Spacesick's blog here. Via grain edit.

Monday

A pretty still life to start your Monday with a little inspiration. Have a good one.

(photo by love warriors via méchant design)

Manhattan Beauty

Marie Claire fashion director and Project Runway judge Nina Garcia's home is a lovely apartment in a 1908 building on Manhattan's Upper East Side, an elegant and peaceful retreat where she, husband David Conrod and their young family can enjoy private time together. Classic beauty. More here on Architectural Digest.

(photography by björn wallander)

Weekend

Happy weekend! Hope it's a lovely one. We're looking forward to going out and seeing my brother Greg's band play — great music and always a lot of fun. How about you?

(photo via la boheme)

Perfectly Small

The light and open spaces of this loft in Madrid instantly attracted current owner Dorothea Valls — despite the fact that the space is only 60 square metres. But thanks to a clever layout that uses varying levels, excellent storage, ingenious multitasking furniture and a simple colour palette, it looks far more spacious than it actually is. More here. Via micasa.

Smile

The Gue(ho)st House, created by French artists Christophe Berdaguer and Marie Péjus, who were inspired by fellow French artist Marcel Duchamp's playful aphorism: A Guest + A Host = A Ghost. More here on the Phaidon blog.

Sweetness and Light

A sweet photo of a costume inspired by the character of Max, from the classic children's book Where the Wild Things Are.

(photo by theradicalthreadco on etsy. via my little things)

Buffet

This week's links — with a few Hallowe'en-themed ones to get you in the mood for next week, too. Enjoy.

The Power of Quiet
Lovely animated short featuring author Susan Cain reading an excerpt from her book The Power of Quiet, animated by artist Molly Crabapple. A must see.

Printable Hallowe'en Paper Dolls
Sweet little paper cone dolls that have fun interchangeable costumes. Great for a Hallowe'en party display and/or for your kids to play with, too. Via How About Orange.

Epic Tea Time with Alan Rickman
Awesome. That is all.

Horrorgami
Extraordinarily detailed paper art by London-based artist Marc Hagan-Guirey, whose Horrorgami series features papercraft artworks of 13 movie haunted houses — all made from a single cut and folded piece of A4 paper.

Spilling into the Street: Café Culture in Istanbul
My good pal Innes now lives in Istanbul, and recently he contributed an article to The Globe and Mail (Canada's oldest national newspaper) about café culture in his adopted city. A lovely read.

The Great New England Vampire Panic
Curious chapter in American history. Two hundred years after the Salem witch trials, farmers became convinced that their relatives were returning from the grave to feed on the living.

Blue Through the Centuries: Sacred and Sought After
Fascinating NYT article about the allure of the colour blue.

A Spooky Soirée
Gourmet has a great round up of recipes for Hallowe'en entertaining — indulge your guests (and yourself!) with grown up treats such as Salted Chocolate Caramels, Devil's Food Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream, Apple Soju Cocktails, Passion Fruit Gelées and Brandied Hot Chocolate.

(photo by frida of fridas fina)

Smitten

I'm smitten with this lovely Large Washed Leather Duffle Bag by Burberry — beautiful colour and shape. Out of my price range, sadly, but it's inspired me to look for something similar.

(via pinterest)

Moments of Beauty

Who knew sending letters could be so beautiful? Lovely atmospheric photo by Juergen Teller for Royal Mail in i-D magazine.

(via abundance)

Mood Indigo

The traditional Tokyo home of Gen Turama is a testament to his deep passion for indigo blue. Throughout, you can see his huge collection of vintage textiles in this beautiful hue — stacks of kimonos, piles of work clothing and tablecloths plus patchwork rugs made up of smaller pieces. There's even a runner on the stairs of indigo fabric, made by the master dyers who continue this ancient craft. Turama's three shops in the trendy district of Daikanyama not only sell indigo as well, but also serve as a way to teach others about the long history of indigo fabrics, too. More here on Marie Claire Maison.

(photography by François Goudier)

Quote

Life is not a having and a getting, but a being and a becoming.

—Myrna Loy

(photo of myrna loy taken in 1937 by laszlo willinger. via classic film heroines)

Sponsor Spotlight

Add a warm and welcoming glow to your home with beautiful copper pendants from Black Rooster Decor. Available in large (top) or small versions, these lovely light fixtures would give a dining room, kitchen, or other room a cosy atmosphere, thanks to their mellow patina. And as always, there's free shipping within Ontario!

Make your work area a prettier one with the lovely 2013 Floral Desk Calendar from Bates Mercantile Co. Illustrated by Pamela J. Bates, the calendar comes with a reclaimed wood stand and features six different floral designs and an inspirational quote from authors such as Frost and Robert Louis Stevenson. A great holiday gift!

Simple Pleasures

The stunning colours of autumn — and the satisfying crunch of fallen leaves underfoot while out looking at the trees, too. Those are my feet in the photo, incidentally.

(photo by lori)

Atelier: Nishe

Today I'm admiring the mysterious, beautiful and atmospheric work of photographer Nishe. Lovely. See more on her website here.

(thanks so much to susan for sharing the link)