i’m trying to get back to basics, to purge unnecessary items i have piling up over here before i move to the new place. i just don’t need this stuff, you know? these images of natural elements and neutral decor inspire me to be ruthless while cleaning out closets and drawers packing for the new place. if it doesn’t have a reason for being, or can’t be re-purposed into something useful right now, away it goes. into the garage sale pile. oh yeah, if you didn’t hear, we’re having yet another yard sale this saturday – part deux, the finale!

honey pie living.

OLIVE & MANNA (above and below). love the ceramic egg crate for containing the odd bits and bobs.

bodie & fou.

wiksten.

bodie & fou.

remodelista.

• top images via home life.

and so it begins…my favorite part about moving, is collecting inspiration for my new home — a small guest cottage in san francisco’s noe valley. the least favorite part being the dreaded packing. therefore, i hereby vow to live more simply. to declutter and purge, feel lighter and live better. that’s my plan, and i may need you to help me to stick to it. i saw this print, a butterfly in your house, by barbara berrada and it reminded me how much i do love the idea behind living with less. i own a home full of ‘stuff’ and most of it — in truth, a great deal of it — is never used. enough. time to come clean. here’s what’s inspiring me to move on with a much lighter load, carrying with me only those things that matter most.

a perfect butterfly chair, via stella harasek’s home.

i’m going to take along just a few of my favorite prints, via les zigouis; and i like the idea of playing music on my turntable more often, like this one pearched on a saarinen side table and the other via bostad erikolsson; and i had to have this classic Mid-Century Modern Plycraft Lounge Chair, via mid century modern finds.

a great combination living – dining area, via patric johansson photography.

love this look in Rue Magazine, Photographed by Emily Johnston Anderson.

i have this lovely well-lit room in the new place which is currently being used as an office. i’m going to turn it into a cozy dining area, a bit like this one photographed by patric johanssen.

i plan on having a fiddle leaf fig, like this one from the marion house blog; another lovely butterfly chair via erik olsson; and this is nice bright dining inspiration, too, this one photographed by trine thorsen.

when i move, the space i occupy is bound to be much smaller. there’s no doubt about that. san francisco rents are at an all time high, so i need to spare down and keep it simple. i’m really okay with that. i collect (dare i say hoard? no!) stuff that i really don’t need or use as often as i should to justify their presence in my home. so homes like this one from bostad erikolsson are quite inspiring to me right now. how to scale down? what to keep and what should go? i’m only keeping the pieces i really truly covet. any keen advice you have to spare on how you keep it simple is most welcome! wish me luck!

like a lot of people, i dream of having a little cabin off in the country to get away to. that’s why i made the teepee! the home away from home in my head though, is perhaps not what typically comes to mind when you think ‘cabin’. i dream of a light and airy space maybe more like a tree fort, with loads of zen-like white, and cozy bedroom with lots of knit blankets and a fireplace to keep me warm at night.

i’ll decorate with lovely old prints, mementos and family photos — like this great gallery by hilary walker. but i’d like to keep clutter to a minimum to help clear my mind, so i’ll leave big empty spaces, too, with nice slouchy sofas, like these via family living.

dining will be keep simple like this pretty dining room with all white dishware (below), and little white dinette, photographed beautifully by bieke claessens, too, with fresh foods and home brewed coffee like this from Benjamin Bergh. i’ll sit quietly and peruse ideas from kinfolk magazine and serve fresh bread on my dip-dyed baguette board from terrain.

• top photos via Morten Holtum (as seen on french by design).

if there’s one thing about paris, it’s that if you’re not feeling fashionable, it’s quite easy to feel trés frumpy! i swear, i had a couple of days when it was 96 degrees fahrenheit and i was melting and looking like poodle poop! and these french women would traipse by me looking mad chic, and i’d want to just crawl down into the metro and skulk away.

and so, i tried my best to adopt their simple striped t’s, jeans, a blazer and some stylin’ sandals and then i felt much more at ease.  i thought i’d round up some parisian-inspired couture today…and try and learn something by their example.

france’s own brigitte bardot; asos striped skirt with red ballet flats; classic warby parker eyeglasses; and sparkling white bensimon sneakers.

the sartorialist.

the invincible Audrey Tautou; leather and striped canvas weekend bag from shop terrain; me too lilyana ballet flats; and bloomers from jcrew.

i think mummy looks quite fashionably parisian here; loft nautical striped scarf; anthropologie’s stripes forever red sandals; and catawampus striped bralette.

the sartorialist.

hilda grahnat.

i have this thing for funky little kitchens. the ones i favor usually have herbs and plants growing, bowls of fresh farmer’s market produce, and are occasionally kind of disheveled, a bit kitschy, sometimes cramped, but more often than not, effortlessly cool. they are usually european, as the paumes books are great at pointing out. even boxes of corn flakes, pasta, canned goods, cooking oils and liquor bars appear to look chic. why is that? if i left mine scattered about, they would look cluttered and slothenly. and, instead theirs are endlessly charming.

i love an intimate kitchen. it’s kinda where everyone gathers, no matter how small, at every single party. here’s what i mean.

this kitchen from vintage shop owner charlotte rust, via the selby, happens to be in auckland, but nevertheless, it’s got that certain je ne sais quoi, and a freakin’ loft!

open kitchen shelving, via ole:); bright and cheery window sill from posy!; a sweet little cafe au lait, via ulrica wihlborg; some swedish packaging, via hilda grahnat; and more open shelving and an unexpected spot for an art collection, via marie claire.

Alvhem Mäkleri & Interiör; even the liquor and packaging looks stylish, via the selby; i love this modernized little green and white kitchen, via bolaget; and a cozy little kitchen via freunde von freunden.

lovely kitchen details, via hilda grahnat’s swedish home.

hus & hem.

Malin Elmlid’s charming kitchen and dining area, via freunde von freunden.