As you all know, I spent the weekend pottering around the boat, fixing and organising, getting things done on my ‘houseboat to do’ list. One of the things that has been bugging me for a while was my desk area. I had been blu-tacing things up on the wall since I’ve been here, trying to create a moodboard of sorts, and eventually everything just kept falling off – it was not unusual to be woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of papers and notes falling, creating a domino effect of falling items on the desk which, akin to my way of doing things, were all carefully balancing on top of each other (oh I hear my mother’s voice right about now, with the rolling of the eyes – she always had a strong dislike to my style of blu-tacking things to my bedroom walls and balanced things precariously on top of one another… don’t look Mum!).
And as you also know, with rentals you can’t hammer nails into walls. But this has never deterred me from claiming a space as mine and this weekend I came up with a system for getting as much of my inspiration on the wall above my desk as possible…
I used the wood trimming as my frame, and unscrewed a few of the screws just partially, wrapped some twine around them, screwed them back and tightened them to create a criss cross of strings around the window. Then I pegged all my inspiration and notes, ribbons, drawings and cards to the string…
What do you think? I am loving having everyone’s cards, gifts, and work on display. Do you recognise a few? The bird illustration card is from the wonderful Joetta when she sent me her My Heart Wanders submissions. The yellow square is a Tibetan prayer flag given to me by my aunty sue…
The artwork on the left is an abstract cityscape of New York, and is the incredible prize I won on Lynne’s blog. The competition was to name the artwork and as soon as I saw it the name “city talk” came to my mind. And I won! So here is “city talk” in the flesh, from the very fabulous New Mexican artist Sage McKee. Thank you again Lynne and Sage, I am totally in love with it. The photograph in the middle is one of David’s of which he wrote all over the back of as a card for my birthday (super sweet). The black and white print on the right is actually a poster of my Dad. He was a Judo Olympian way back when (I know, this fact has never made it easy bringing my dates home to ‘meet the parents’!) and i just love this poster of him doing Judo moves with his pal Peter Paige. The photo above that is from the Aymara catalogue and reminds me of my Mum, so beautiful. And the pic above that, well you all know, that’s of my favourite island retreat!
Above is “the desk” in situ – so you can see where it is on the boat. It is the perfect spot because from the front door in the kitchen you can’t see it which keeps the space looking clean lined, and it is not until you walk down the stairs and into the main living area that you see it to the left. It is such an inspiring space to work at now – i often glance up at it all and dream away, finding inspiration in the colours and textures, stories and memories.
I will show more things that I created this weekend, but for now, I hope you liked this snapshot.
xx
The random stringing looks gorgeous.
June 25th, 2008 | #
clever idea. uuu but i noticed you have a piano…so much on that boat:)
June 25th, 2008 | #
oh yes nancy, i’ve squeezed as much as possible on this little floating home! no room for us now! hehe, no there is just enough room for us.
thanks kirsty! so glad you like 🙂
June 25th, 2008 | #
This morning upon reading this post I decided that I wish ‘I could float upwards towards the clouds and make a soft landing, so that they would give me the gift of bringing me to you and your boat – so I could live in another life for but a fleeting moment, day or week.’ That would be so lovely. Your home is truly inspiring.
June 25th, 2008 | #
I also like to be able to see inspiring images, logos, whatever I can pin and that it will bring a smile everytime I look at it, but I have not enough space to put them all as I wished.
wonderful spot to be inspired 🙂 you even have a window to see the water…uhhmm that’s fantastic!
June 25th, 2008 | #
Hi Pia,
I always enjoy seeing other peoples spaces where they work and create,and you def.have the whole package!Thanks for sharing more….
June 25th, 2008 | #
I love it. The hanging string looks perfect and what a clever idea.
June 25th, 2008 | #
It’s such a great idea! I love it. What a beautiful houseboat you have 🙂
June 26th, 2008 | #
lovely pia! im working on an inspiration wire myself.. its hard to find a good spot though.. somewhere to tie the string without resorting to nails and pins (renting is annoying!)
June 26th, 2008 | #
i love this…love the string especially.
you’re “inspiration board” has managed to be highly inspiring…to me… 😉
June 26th, 2008 | #
fantastic! great idea and i am crazy about bullitin/inspiration boards/walls anyway! looks like a great space all round! and so happy to see that gorgeous piece of sage art in its home!i’m delighted you love it!
June 26th, 2008 | #
i use the string method as well..across the wall in my kitchen..where i can see it from across the room while im chopping up vegies.
your houseboat home looks dreamy. my kids would love it.
June 26th, 2008 | #
It’s a wonderful idea :-). You’re not supposed to put nails in the wall if you rent? I am in a whole lot of trouble :-).
June 26th, 2008 | #
oh the strings and the clips and the drawings, they’re all so perfect. i love the organic feel 🙂
June 26th, 2008 | #
It is so funny, I don’t think I’ve commented here before, though you’ve crept into my daily reads and just now when I was having a cup of tea I thought, “I must check Pia’s blog” then realised I’d never even said hello. Not like me, I don’t know why. So hello! I love the idea with the string…x
June 26th, 2008 | #
Hi Pia,
It looks lovely. I too love seeing where people work. Your work space is such an inspiration 🙂
June 26th, 2008 | #
wow, what amazing comments, I had no idea this little space would bring such inspiration, I’m so pleased that I shared it with you!
xx
June 26th, 2008 | #
looks lovely, love that you kept the card, its nice to know that the handwritten, handpicked out still matters…
I am inspired by you to finally get my little inspiration wall up and going to…thanks
June 26th, 2008 | #
i love it!
June 27th, 2008 | #