Monochrome masterpiece

The first thing I did as I decorated my house was to paint it all white. I'd long dreamed of the clean simplicity of the classic pale backdrop – I imagined I'd magically begin to hoard less, and that my bits and pieces, suddenly 'curated' rather than clutter, would gain stature, as if in a freshly whitewashed gallery. Ha. Obviously that never happened. It's just not my natural style – and, once a hoarder... 

But it wasn't all down to my lack of style discipline: although my house has heaps of huge windows (it's a poor-man's Span house, so they go wall-to-wall) and light-bouncing Scandi-ish pale floorboards (they came with the house – good design Lambeth Council), bits of it remain gloomy and dark. So colour has crept onto walls. And white soft furnishings are not ideal with a frequently muddy dog. But I can still dream. And when I saw this beautiful Idaho home, belonging to jewellery designer, Jennifer Hagler, on the Etsy blog, I thought I'd share what exactly it is I dream of...

Love the slightly haunting drawing above the sideboard; and wall-fixing furniture like this is a top tip if you want to maximise space and flash a bit of minimal chic. (Just don't shove loads of tat underneath it every time you tidy up.)

This (bottom right image) is a far better use for those hanging Ikea containers; I tried putting herbs in mine (messy), and they currently hold kitchen utensils, uselessly, as the angle means everything always falls out. But stubby little pens and pencils, parfait. Mine may be reborn on my office wall. 

I have written about bunching up a light garland like this (right hand picture) before, after seeing it in the home of the Brigg blog. It is a good, cheap look. And – hurrah – some typographic art that doesn't look dated. Nice font.

See more images of Jennifer's place on the Etsy blog, as well as lots of get-the-look shopping inspiration. You should also check out Jennifer's very beautiful blog, A Merry Mishap and the geometric jewellery she designs and sells through her Etsy shop. It's clean and minimal, but striking – just the sort of jewellery you'd expect someone living in this flat to design.

All photos from Etsy.