Bloesem's Oasis in Kuala Lumpur

Irene Hoofs is easily one of my favorite design bloggers. The power girl behind both Bloesem, a haven for all things beautiful, and BKids (which I would hardly call a mommy blog), Irene has an uncanny ability to style the world around her. Naturally, Irene's home is just as I imagined it would be: clean, organic and modern. I asked her to walk us through a few favorite spaces in her new Kuala Lumpur home, and she was so kind to oblige -- just a few short weeks after moving in!


"We always lived in apartments, but with a three-year-old son and a baby we decided it was time for us to move to a "real home" with a garden," she says. "We fell in love with this place because it has a spacious area outside at the front of the house...great for playing, lounging and practicing may gardening skills. My husband and I use this area to relax and have a cocktail, while our son is cycling and running around, and occasionally watch a monkey family pass by! I chose yellow for the mattresses because it adds brightness to the gray tiles."

The inside of her home is less colorful, but just as stylish. "The kitchen in our house is separated from the living room by a long bar. I love it because it nicely displays all my favorite collectibles, such as ceramics, wooden items and my clock from Dick van Hoff."

Those fabulous curtain panels? Irene purchased them from IKEA's newest fabric collection. "They're a bit retro with daring orange and green colors. I am in love with them and they give me a bit of sixties bungalow feel as the garden doors open to our swimming pool."

She's done an incredible job making her kid's space both functional and pretty in the home's playroom. "I'm trying to create a small kids' corner under the stairs -- a space which often remains unused but is a great spot to build tents and turn into a kid's art center," she says. "I bought some brown painters canvas which I used as wallpaper (editor's note: BRILLIANT!), as I like the linen feel of it. I'm planning to put some bookshelves and paint some of the wall with charcoal so we can use it as a blackboard."

So where does this super-mom relax from an active three-year-old boy and new baby? "Our spacious bedroom makes me so happy. For the first time in my life I feel like going to this oasis when going to bed. All my favorite colors are presented here: white, gray, black, brown and ice-blue. The bed was custom made by Fiske and the headboard is covered with beautiful fabric by Kvadrat."

Oasis indeed. Anyone up for vacationing to Kuala Lumpur? We're on our way, Irene!