This loveseat in a recent Elle Deco UK really caught my eye.
Beirut-based brand Bokja specialises in taking vintage furniture pieces and re-vamping them with gorgeous and unique 60s and 70s textiles and tapestries.
Matthew Williamson is apparently a customer – I’m wondering whether Williamson’s tapestry sofa and mirrored armchair are from here.
Bokja’s one-off pieces are available from The Quirico Company. Here are some more stunning pics from their website.
I don’t usually like to use unknown people for ‘Go Fug Your Room’ – it’s generally far more satisfying to diss celebrities and famous designers - but I have to admit this recent photoshoot in Elle Deco UK of the New York apartment belonging to Leif Sigersen, a Danish set designer, left me rather befuddled and confused.
Sigersen is described as a collector of ‘weathered vintage pieces and quirky accessories’ who has turned his home into a ‘showcase of stunning displays’.
Or has he?
This looks like a particularly squalid student bedsit.
Since when does a pile of leather sandals piled up on a rusty radiator equal either interior design or a ‘collection’?
Aren’t kitchens meant to be for cooking? And isn’t this all a little unhygienic?
And who does all the dusting?
I think the plants must have died of depression.
So, I can just about get on board with the restrained colour palette and use of texture, though it’s not exactly my cup of tea; and there are probably some very interesting vintage pieces in with all the old junk and I genuinely think the photography (by Ditte Isager) is delicious and redolent with atmosphere.
I could probably be persuaded to classify this as conceptual art if you asked me nicely, but seriously, does it count as interior design and decor? And if it does would Elle Deco like to come and photograph our basement?
Really interested to hear your thoughts.
Can you believe it’s been three years since we first got our visas for the US?
When we first came out to Seattle we assumed that definitely be back in the UK before our visas ran out. But here we are three years later, happily settled and with no return to Europe in prospect, needing new visas. You have to leave the country to get them renewed so we’ve driven 150 miles up the freeway to spend a few days in Vancouver.
Here are a few pics from a gorgeous autumnal walk we went on yesterday in Stanley Park.
And here are a couple of links which might be of interest until I’m back properly in front of a computer (on Friday).
First up Alexandra from A Bit Late is not impressed with Kelly Wearstler’s beach house. While I don’t think I hate it as much as her previous effort (she appears to have given up raiding the British Museum) I’m not sure it has a huge amount to commend it. I haven’t yet seen the Metropolitan Home feature though.
Also our friend Marcel Wanders has apparently designed a range of Christmas decorations for Target here in the US. I had high hopes for these as he’s done good stuff before for Habitat in the UK but really, with the exception of the big red, white and silver column candles which I may have to acquire, he was phoning this in without even bothering to switch on the phone. BO-RING.
I’ve never had much of a desire to go to Miami, but all that changed when I saw this hotel. I totally adore the whimsy and wit of Marcel Wanders and his masterful use of shape and pattern, though the only thing I have that he’s designed are my gorgeous patterned storage boxes from Habitat.
The Mondrian Miami is still very ‘Miami’ with lots of shiny, lots of heavy columns and lots of huge curly chairs, but it does all look rather fun.
Design details I love include the faces on the walls, the shiny white floors, the layered monochrome patterns, the indoor and outdoor chandeliers, the strangely curving staircase and the funky modern chairs (not so keen on the faux French antique chairs, but I can see what he’s trying to do).
One of the main things that really drew my eye to the Lulu Guinness spread was the magnificent Pearly Queen of Dalston wallhanging above the banquette. I love everything about it – its wit, the fact that it’s made of buttons, its quintessential Englishness, the colours – and it seemed like just that sort of thing an expat Londoner would hang over her Seattle sofa.
I even vaguely thought about commissioning one, but it soon became clear from sculptor Ann Carrington’s website that it would be way out of my league – it’s apparently a fairly important piece, purchased by the Rothschild collection in honour of the Queen’s 80th birthday, and doesn’t belong to Lulu Guinness at all, it merely served as the inspiration for her limited edition ‘Stamp Jayne’ handbag (shown to the left of the banquette picture and seemingly no longer available through her shop).
Here it is in more detail
And here are some other works by the artist, both made using thousands of tiny pearl buttons.
I wonder, though, if American readers are getting the cultural reference?
Pearly Kings and Queens are the heads of certain families in London’s East End, descended I think from Victorian costermongers (street sellers?) who decorate their black clothes with thousands of tiny buttons and do tons of work for charity.
If you like the look then these cushions here are pretty special.
I’m a little bit on the fence about this one, as it’s a little too romantically girly for my taste, but there’s still a lot to love in Lulu Guinness’ Notting Hill house.
First up the bones of the house are superb – the Victorian houses built in Notting Hill are larger and grander than in other parts of London, so the proportions are generally, as in this case, more splendid.
And there’s something about the quality of the light there, I lived in Notting Hill for twelve years and even on gloomy days it always seemed brighter and lighter than the rest of London – something to do with the white coloured houses and the sunset views to the west. But maybe it was just because I loved living there so much.
But I digress.
I love the eclecticism of the decor, the bold use of colour, the collections of objects which are clearly much loved and personal and the way the whole thing reflects LG’s own quirky feminine but slightly kitsch style. (Is she well known in the US? I haven’t come across her here. In the UK she is renowned as a handbag designer, but she also designs homewares.)
The other interesting aspect is how the house has evolved since it was last photographed in 2001 (seen here on Hidden in France) – LG has kept many of the same pieces but the style is a little more pared down and the colour palette more restrained, with much more use of white. It’s so refreshing to see a wealthy person who doesn’t throw everything out and start again every few years, but who keeps their house full of familiar, much-loved treasures.
What do you think? {All images, by the way, from Living etc}
Feeling inspired to create but can’t afford the materials?
Yes, paints and stuff are expensive, so go and rescue that sad and lonely reel of packing tape you’ve got stuffed in a drawer, pick off the bits of fluff and get to work.
Here’s the sort of thing you could be making.
The above are made from layers of tape stuck to plexiglass with light shining through.
All images by Mark Khaisman.
I came across this fabulous art via Flavorpill’s Daily Dose, where my post on Charlotte Mann’s wall art was also featured {via a mention on Fashioncopious.com). As a result my blog stats have gone through the roof and it’s been fascinating to watch my post go slightly viral, with people blogging about it, linking to it on Facebook, Tweeting it and posting it on other social networking sites.
Such things don’t normally happen round these parts, though I suspect it has slightly more to do with Charlotte Mann’s fabulous art than my sparkling prose. Anyway, thanks all for the mentions and I do hope Charlotte is getting some nice juicy commissions as result.
Really my dears, she makes it all too easy.
I know we’ve been through all this before, but Ms W has a new book to promote, so therefore pics of the interior of yet another Hollywood home are doing the rounds (does she actually live in any of these houses?) and it’s the FUGLIEST yet! Quelle joie!
Ths sad thing is that from the exterior this is a beautiful LA house with a stunning pool, but now you couldn’t pay me to live amongst all this cold, hard, ersatz splendour. Money truly is wasted on some people.
Can anyone explain what I’m missing about this woman? I would genuinely love to know – at the moment it just looks to me like the Empress has new clothes.
No, she didn’t let her boys scribble on the walls, apparently this is custom-made graffiti-inspired wallpaper. Which is not to say that the boys wouldn’t have done a better job.
Like living in the British Museum, and about as comfortable.
Doesn’t it strike you as a little inconvenient to have to move half a hundredweight of assorted replica statuary every time you want to lay the table?
This is apparently Kelly’s study – such a practical place for a working designer n’est-ce pas? And those chairs would seriously freak me out.
Two further questions strike me.
- With the zebra skins and the faux decapitated heads, is Kelly channelling Eddie or could Eddie be channelling Kelly? (Though why either of them would wish to is beyond me.)
- And how on earth does a colour scheme of dark blue and dirty brass with some pink scribbles qualify one to write a book about colour (the subject of Kelly’s next magnum opus)?
Oh and for those of you in the UK and elsewhere, Kelly Wearstler is one of the most famous interior decorators in the US. I kid you not.
This post is for all Project Runway contestants (and judges) past and present, who have struggled with the concept of ‘avant garde’. Viktor & Rolf took saws to densely packed layers of tulle to create walking sculpture and the result is both strangely gorgeous and absolutely riveting.
Wouldn’t you just love to see some super brave starlet walking down the red carpet in one of these? (And she could always sweep the carpet at the same time.)
{via Project Rungay – run there to see more pictures, the runway videos are worth watching}
I don’t often indulge in fashion here, mostly because I just don’t have the figure for it - no one out there is designing for short, big-boobed women of a certain age. And thanks to foot problems, it’s also years, despite a congenital passion for shoes, since I indulged in sky high heels.
However, I was blown away by these – my dears, aren’t they gorgeously, divinely, ridiculously fantastic? (Not sure about the peep toe boots though).
Would someone like to buy me the pink booties at top right? I couldn’t walk more than an inch in them, but all the cotton candy colours and graphic prints mixed with steel and plastic would fit right in here (after we’ve painted the walls) and I could display them on the mantelpiece as a piece of conceptual art or something and pat them lovingly from time to time.
And while you’re buying the shoes, the bag on the left wouldn’t go amiss either. (Oh and by the way, your eyes are not deceiving you, the soles of the shoes are indeed floating away from the heels).
Images via Project Rungay (the best blog in the world) and Obsessed With Shoes.
Delicious eye candy via Decor8 yesterday of the home of photographer Danielle Thompson. More photos of the rest of her home are on her blog, but I was particularly drawn to the pictures of her sofa, which sort of have the vibe I’m aiming at – a smooth modern sofa accessorised with a vibrant granny blanket. And her warm contemporary pastel colour scheme is so wonderful.
I also really like the arrangement she’s created above the sofa. I’m a bit over very frilly frames like these, but love the idea of collecting frames and framing fabrics.
If you’re looking for a easier crochet blanket, check out this simple but beautiful one from Casapinka. I love its clean modern vibe, crochet can so often look overwrought and fussy.
Feeling down because you can’t afford the latest must-have chair, your partner is allergic to the cats you love, or the view from your window is less than stellar?
Why not just grab a black marker and paint the things you crave on your white walls instead? That’s what London artist Charlotte Mann does, which has garnered her a spot on the shortlist for the British Design Awards 2009 in the Surface Design of the Year category.
Or what makes this work?
Holly over on Decor8 put up a very thought-provoking post recently asking for styling tips and wondering how interiors stylists manage to achieve that sort of perfect lived-in dishevelment which just looks desirable and comfortable rather than messy and cluttered.
I thought it would be fun to take a look at rooms that ‘work’ and see if we could analyse what makes them look so good and try and pick up some styling tips of our own.
This room takes the city of Barcelona as its inspiration and comes from the Habitat-sponsored supplement in October’s Elle Decoration UK.
So, what makes this work?
Colour Editing
- The colour palette used is very limited – just splashes of red, orange and yellow against a white background. A few touches of blue and green are introduced in the kitchen and on the sunburst clock just to stop it all looking too ‘matchy matchy’ (and because I suspect the tiles were a permanent feature the stylist could do nothing about).
The colour values on the other hand are varied, from the dark red chair (and note that half-hidden but important black chair) to the medium values of the yellow and translucent orange and the lightness of the white.
Echoing Shapes
I love it when stylists do this. Look at how the orange rectangles in the windows are echoed by the orange fridge and how the straight lines of this quite boxy room are reflected in the large floor tiles. Then see how all those edges are softened by circles of the table and round chairs, which are again echoed by the lampshade. And how the rounded corners of the fridge are repeated in the rounded arms of the straight-legged chairs and the gentle curve of the fireplace.
Tchotchkes/Knick Knacks
The funny modern chess set on the table looks a bit incongruous I think, though I can see why something predominantly white, black and boxy was used for the scheme. I love the way they’ve used the beautiful tins that Spanish packaging is famous for but then mixed in some slightly less glamorous packaging with the salt and the teabags so that it looks like a real person might live there (though the salt pot echoes that little canister at the front and the colours of said salt and teabags match perfectly). Varying the heights and sizes of the canisters to the left also gives some visual interest.
I particularly like the artfulness of having front chair a little askew so that it looks like someone has just sipped their drink (note the perfect colour), got up from the chess game, and is lurking just out of shot. Though why this person needs sunglasses to play chess beats me.
Hidden Theme?
I think the theme here is ‘sun’. That’s certainly what this room makes me think of. The colours of course are part of it, but also the sunglasses and sunburst clock, the bright yellow daisy-like flowers in the tea cosy and wall art and the shape of the pendant shade say ‘sun’ to me.
What do you think? Does the room work for you? What other little pleasing tricks do you notice? What could the stylist have done better? Why has the enormous pepperpot shown in the main picture disappeared from the kitchen close-up?
So here are more details of the present I’m planning to make for the new sofa.
This project has been percolating for a long time, ever since my friend Heidi from Peacock Modern showed me the pattern at the beginning of this year. It’s the reason I’ve been teaching myself to crochet and desperately trying to finish my existing big projects (I’m still ploughing through both the blanket and the lace wrap). And I’ve spent the whole summer collecting Koigu KPM sock yarn – picking skeins up cheaply on Ravelry and scouring and stalking online stores for sales and special offers.
Buying everything online has made for mistakes (which I’ve sold on) but also some happy accidents - ‘ugly’ colours such as mustard and burnt orange –which I would never probably have picked up, but which, in the spirit of Noro, I’ve kept on and which I’m hoping will give the whole thing more interest and depth.
Here’s what I’ve collected so far.
And here’s what they’re going to be.
Babette. How I love this funky modern take on the classic granny square blanket. How I’m looking forward to playing with my own colours to create a harmonious whole. How terrified I am of actually crocheting the thing and sewing it together.
If you too are foolish enough to want to embark on this, the pattern is here, there is a helpful Babette group on Ravelry, and a Flickr gallery full of Babette inspiration.
I’m always a bit jealous of fabulous nurseries. For the first year or so of her life when we were in our London flat the Minx slept in with all the mirrormirror stock in our second bedroom – not exactly conducive to beautiful decorating schemes. Not that she really noticed if the truth be told.
This baby nursery is truly stunning – not many people could pull off a zingy green, yellow, turquoise and red colour scheme but Kenzie Kate of wedding blog ‘Something Old, Something New’ does an incredible job.
I think it’s a great idea to do a bright scheme like this, as in my experience most little children are not very fond of pastels and will let you know that in no uncertain terms as soon as they can. The Minx can be very vociferous on the subject of her dislike for baby pink (though hot pinks and fuchsias are another matter entirely). So this scheme should last for some time.
The thing that really pulls this together are all the little homemade touches – the gorgeous mobile, the soft toys, the homemade quilt and art work. I would give my eye teeth to be that talented a craftsperson.
All details can be found here. Found via the gorgeous Helen of Countryside Wedding – ex mirrormirror staffer and soon to be yummy mummy herself.
I was just flicking through the most recent copy of the Elle Deco UK when I came across this house by Dutch designer Carlos Weeber.
I’m not sure I could exactly live with the colour scheme, but it is so refreshing to see an architect using colour – so many seem to be members of the ‘any colour as long as it’s white’ school.
Funnily enough the architect himself is colour-blind, so he works with an artist friend to put the colours together, and yes, the house is in Curacao, where a bright palette like this will fit in more, but still, I wish others were a bit more brave.
I apologise for the scanned-in quality of the images. Of course if Elle Deco got its act together and had a website….
Somebody on Ravelry suggested putting all the yarn for your work-in progress projects for the month into a separate bowl or basket. This month I’m attempting to finish my Interminable Blanket (I’ve started sewing it up, yippee!) and my Lacy Wrap and for my quick and easy portable knitting I’m treating myself to a new pair of orange socks.
Oh I’ve have been a very naughty blogger recently. I’ve been struggling a bit keeping all the balls in the air while the Minx has been on summer vacation and to top it all Seattle has been having a mini-heatwave this summer culminating in a record-breaking temperature of 103 degrees yesterday (that’s 39.5 degrees in real money) .
I realise this is nothing compared with what many people elsewhere in the US go through, but you have to remember that most places in Seattle, including our house, don’t have air conditioning. So we’ve been getting through it with a combination of cool baths, evening swims in the lakes, sleeping in our new tent on the roofdeck, moaning about the weather and generally finding it difficult to achieve anything.
There’s some potentially exciting stuff going on in the background though, of which more later, and I’m intending to relaunch the blog somewhat when the Minx goes into full-time education starting in September! I’m such a bad mother, but I really cannot wait…
In the meantime, here are some pictures I took of the lavender festival in Sequim on the Olympic Peninsula. Sequim (pronounced ‘Squim’) is in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and has a uniquely dry micro-climate for these parts, which is apparently very similar to that of Provence and has become the centre of a burgeoning lavender production area.
Just a bit of a knitting catch up. As you've probably noticed I'm not afraid of a bit of colour, so I've become endlessly fascinated by Noro self-striping yarns from Japan. The colour changes are beautiful as they're spun into the yarn, not just dyed into it and it's mesmerising to watch the individual plies within the yarn change colour as the next colour comes through.
The colour combinations are also very unusual and generally contain a couple of 'ugly' colours, but somehow they seem to work incredibly well together - with the ugly colours somehow making the colour scheme seem more sophisticated.
Firstly, I finished my crochet project. I'm really pleased with it and it has had loads of compliments on the few occasions I've been able to wear it (Seattle has been ridiculously hot and sunny these last few weeks). I think I can now officially say I can crochet, which is good as I have a ludicrously large crochet project in mind.
I obviously hadn't got the Noro completely out of my system when I finished the scarf because I immediately cast on a Gaia shawl in Noro Kureyon Sock. I'm enjoying knitting my lace wrap but it's taking forever and is not very portable/social, so I was looking out for a quick and easy very casual wrap that I could wear up on the deck on chilly evenings. This wrap is a lot of fun as the colour changes in the yarn dictate the pattern.
This colourway (180) is incredibly garish, but I'm sort of loving it - I think it will work really well with jeans and a purple tee-shirt for a sort of 'punk grandma' look.
All details as before on my Ravelry page.
So we've made a decision.
We're going with the Deep sofa below from Couch Seattle, though we're going to switch out the wooden plinth underneath for mid-century style cone feet and the whole thing will be in buttery soft ivory leather. The leather was a bit of an indulgence, and in all honesty I'm not really a leather sofa person at all, but it did seem the most supremely practical option with a Minx in the house - our existing white slip-covered sofa really does look horrific nowadays.
We partly made this decision because this is one of the few sofas we were able to sit on and test - and goodness me is it comfortable - but also on the basis of a long email discussion with Ameer at Couch. That man knows his couches.
I'm reproducing one of his emails here as I believe the advice he gives might be useful to anyone else currently buying a sofa, but also because this sort of exemplary and helpful customer service really needs to be celebrated.
Over to Ameer (the below is his email in response to my previous sofa post). I've included mini-pics of the sofas he is referring to, so we can follow the argument.
'It seems you want a modern or mid-century sofa that sits like a big lounger - which is a bit of a challenge.
Mid-century styles like the Petrie and Jasper
are a bit more upright. Not familiar with how the Jasper sits but it mimics the depth and geometry of the Petrie so I assume they sit the same-which is to say well, but hardly plush, which is what you liked about my Deep model.
For reference the Deep is 40" while the Jasper and Petrie are both 36"- and the Deep features down blend in the back and seat while neither the Petrie or Jasper do. Styles like that are both all about the straightness of the line, which down would compromise.
As for the 51 , the other style you scanned, I dig it but simply don't dig it as much as the Deep. Seeing both in person in California the Deep was a fair bit more modern and eye-catching. I don't think it's necessarily rounder by any means than the Deep.
The Rae and Nina are both nice looking but the Nina
is only 75" wide, while the Ray looks from here like it sits stiff (and being only 32" will sit quite shallow).
The Danner is pretty (but again shallow) and undoubtedly well made but you're paying maybe $1,500 to get the Adler label. I could do the Nina and probably the Danner as well. But since you've mentioned you want loungy comfort I might encourage you to look at options that include back pillows.
Byward is an awkward knock-off of a B&B Charles.
It looks awkward because the seat cushion is too fat by about an inch - and the back cushions need a touch of space between them so you can see the frame. The Charles needs to be knocked off perfectly to look good. An inch off here and an inch off there and it's not so very pretty at all
Movie sofais good but CB2 quality isn't quite the same as that of the CB main line - and the problem with a sofa like that is that you NEED lots of cushions to put behind you and while lots of throw pillows are nice to look at, they can drive one crazy trying to find the right arrangement on dvd night. Sleek yet plush is really kind of a difficult thing to do.
The Frigerio line at Limn is amazing yet Italian made with prices to match. Restoration Hardware has some great designs, but perhaps a little too traditional for your taste and they're overpriced and Chinese built. Kasala and Alchemy are always options for some contemporary styling, but you undoubtedly visited since they're both on the same street I am. Hmmm. Given your parameters I dunno where'd I'd get a sofa if I didn't get it from me.
If I didn't have 10k for Frigerio (which I don't) I'd probably go for a Steele from CB (which would fit with your room aesthetic). It's got a nice sleek look and in my opinion sits better than the Petrie.
I'm also of the mind that the aggressively mid century style of the Petrie won't age as well as a more updated style like the Steele. You could also get the Steele in time for your parents in a suitable fabric since it's stocked in a nubby polyester. The Petrie is stocked in a cotton which just isn't the right call for you given the Minx. To change out the cotton to the leather on the Petrie you're going to be waiting till well after your parents have come and gone.
I'm going through my databanks here for a good source for a deep, stylish, plush, sofa and coming up blank.
Best I can do is the CB Lounge which is stocked in a stain resistant poly velvet. Yup, that's my story and I'm sticking to it - though that one is 46" deep so will have a large footprint in a not so very wide room. I really did try!
To answer your question I've got the exact spec for both the Petrie, Jasper, and Movie but I'm not in love with any of them. I'll take another look at my resources and see if I can't suggest a couple others. For a really progressive piece that looks fantastic and sits well, I really am a big fan of the Deep. I think it would look right at home in one of my neighboring boutiques at 3x the price.
ameer
So here is the new baby. She's not exactly the colour I would have liked (we saw a fab orange one which was just out of price range) but she's cute and nippy and the Minx loves her very much. We are in ongoing discussions about her name - I favour 'Myrtle' but the Minx pefers the alliteration of 'Belle' (though we should be grateful that Aurora, Ariel and Tinkerbell have not yet come up as options).
I am naturally wondering whether any embellishment is in order - or would that be unspeakably naff and cliche'd?
Options include.
Retro flowers from TonyaBug on Etsy
Daisies from the Daisy People
Fabulous and fabulously expensive offical Beetle decals from Mibo.
Daisy tail light covers
and er, 'eyelids'
and, just in case you have money to burn, daisy hubcaps
Just in case I have any readers left after my shameful lack of blogging in recent weeks, here is a poll.
One of our very favourite suppliers is Scottish jeweller Abigail Percy, who makes, among other things, our very popular Sweet Horse Chestnut Earrings.
She has a wonderful blog detailing her inspirations and the creative process in her tiny studio and has recently been taking us through a project she calls 'Hyacinth Watch'.
Together we've watched her hyacinths grow, seen her sketches, marvelled at the limited edition jewellery she created from the sketches of hyacinth blooms, and you can now buy her photo postcards, wrapped in a brown paper band printed from one of her hyacinth sketches.
Do yourselves a favour, wander over to her blog and see the process for yourself. Or, even better treat yourselves to a necklace or a set of postcards.
All photographs copyright Abigail Percy. Find her Flickr here.
I have SUCH a weakness for gorgeous hotels. This weekend we managed to get a deal on the recently-opened the Nines in Portland. Great location and a fabulous boutique-y feel for a largeish hotel.
There were some great decor touches. I liked the taupe colour scheme with accents of aqua, lilac, purple and amber in the pillows, sheer drapes, and Murano glass light installations; the subtle taupe on taupe patterning in the wallpapers; and the lovely bespoke carpets which reflected the accent colours and the patterns in the papers and drapes. The Minx adored the sparkly chandeliers and a somewhat strange sculpture of an enormous jewelled necklace in the lobby (I didn't get a good picture of this though).
The lounge and bar area in the enormous central atrium was fabulous - divided up into a number of different 'rooms' each with their own decor, lighting and seating, but working together harmoniously as a whole. And we were quite memerised by Matt McCormick's art installation comprising four enormous LCD panels showing silhouettes of cars crossing Portland's Fremont Bridge at sunset in the restaurant. Here's an article with more about the hotel's art collection.
All-in-all highly recommended next time you're staying in Portland.
This weekend the weather was utterly fabulous, so of course we spent it going to Ikea and doing loads of chores around the house and garden. We are in that in-between stage with lots of half-completed jobs and Ikea flatpack boxes lying round the house, but progress of sorts has been made.
We did take a short break on Sunday to go for lunch at the Volunteer Park Cafe and then for a stroll around Volunteer Park, stopping at the conservatory along the way.
I just happened to have my macro lens on my camera, so it was a good opportunity to get up close and personal on some of the flowers.
People have been wondering what an Easter tree actually is. I think it's originally a Northern European tradition (Swedish? German?) but is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. We never had one when I was a child but I've made one every year since the Minx was born.
They're very easy to do. Just put some florists' oasis/foam in a bucket; stick in some branches, (either flowering tree branches or some twisted willow as I've used here); cover the top with sphagnum moss; decorate with little wooden pastel-painted eggs and ornaments, and finish off with peculiar pompoms.
I found our little decorations, by Gisela Graham, a few years ago on Ebay, but I see that for US peeps Williams Sonoma is getting in on the act with some pretty wooden eggs, which are even on sale if you want to snap some up. If you were one of the crazy people who doesn't like my pompoms, I sup-pose some pastel satin bows would do at a pinch.
Slowly but surely, the colours for the main room are coming together (yes, I know it's been ages but I'm still searching, vainly so far, for the right pink- and yes, I know you told me to paint it green).
One question on my mind at the moment is what to do with the stairs, which face directly into the main living room and are currently painted the most revolting shade of diarrhoea brown.
I've posted up a couple of ideas here and here with other staircase inspiration, but was flicking through an old Livingetc yesterday and came across this picture of Orla Kiely's staircase in London which I rather like (though it is intrinsically a much more beautiful staircase than ours). Though not in red.
What do you think? Have you seen any other good painted staircase ideas anywhere? I'm worried that painting a stripe will add an extra layer of complexity that the room doesn't need, but it IS much more fun than just painting the stairs white. The other option of course is just to find a door to replace the one which is currently missing, which we may still do whatever we end up doing with the stairs.
Yesterday we went for a walk in Seattle's rather splendid arboretum (say what you like about this city, but it is incredibly good at trees).
It's been a long snowy winter in Seattle terms, so the spring flowers are only just unfurling, but it was a lovely day for a walk with my newly cleaned 60mm lens, which I am very happy to have back in my arms.
I've been using some of these images as desktop backgrounds and if you'd like to do the same, please feel free to nab them (got to my Flickr, select the image, choose 'All Sizes', open the 'Large' size, right click on the image and select 'set as desktop background'). Please remember that all images are my copyright.
Speaking of desktop backgrounds, check out the Kindred collaboration between Holly Becker and Heather 'Ez' Pudewa, who have collaborated with a number of artists to produce free artist desktop backgrounds (also downloadable notecards and gratitude notes).
Yet another awesome video
I'm back doing Weightwatchers and getting back on the Wii Fit again as, due to extreme laziness, I haven't lost any weight since I posted this.
This has of course led to every blog I read to enter into a conspiracy to see who can post up the most enticing/intriguing pictures of cupcakes they can find.
So, in a spirit of 'if you can't beat'em, join 'em' and with apologies in advance for sabotaging your diets here they are.
First up gorgeous things from Aussie Hello Naomi {via Whorange}
Then cupcakes that look like burgers, so you can beat two junk food cravings at once (from here {via Twig and Thistle}
Chocolate Guinness cupcakes with Bailey's buttercream (I am SO stealing that idea) to celebrate St Patrick's Day from Trophy Cupcakes (available through March 31st for all Seattleites).
Finally this has been around the blogsphere a bit but I am DETERMINED to make him some day {via Violet Posy}.
Jona Hoad is a UK-based lighting designer, who specialises in wallpaper-like lighting panels and lighting installations for hotel bars, restaurants and your house if you've got enough money.
Here are some pictures from the DeVigne Bar in Marylebone and the Vanilla Bar in Soho. Sometimes I do like a bit of spangly overthetopness.
I also liked these pictures from his website, which reveal that things are not always as they seem in the world of interiors photoshoots.
When we were talking paint colours recently (still dithering about that and waiting on a couple of samples) a couple of you mentioned my little Matte Stephens painting, which I picked up when Matte gave his talk at the Lab last year. It was originally intended for the Minx's room, but I've decided that I love it far too much to waste it on her.
I bought the picture because, although it's supposed to be a picture of Matte's wife Vivienne, it reminds me of the Minx, and the fir trees and umbrella are just SO Seattle.
Those of you who spend a lot of time in the American blogosphere will certainly have seen Matte's work before - much of his talk at the Lab was about how he had been quietly plodding along with his art for years, before becoming something of an overnight sensation, with lots of interesting projects in the works.
However, for those of you who don't know him so well he has an Etsy shop here full of prints, and a blog here. You can also buy original works here at Velocity. And as of today he is giving away these three new pillows on his blog.
I hope you appreciate how much I love you, as by telling you this I am severely impacting my own chances of winning.
Here's Matte and Vivienne at the Lab last year
Just updating to say that, just in case you're not lucky enough to win, the pillows are on sale at Urban Outfitters at a very reasonable price.
I was awash with nostalgia after seeing these pictures on Crooked Shmooked of the quintessential London Victorian house. Most of our friends with kids in London live in houses like this and if we had stayed in London I'm sure it's the sort of family house we would have ended up buying. (This particular house is not far from where we lived in Notting Hill in London and in an area we were definitely considering moving to).
Vast swathes of houses like these were put up in the 19th century all over London, and while this is certainly not on the cutting edge decor-wise it's a very well done example of the genre, is quintessentially London and the sort of decor I love. If you want to use it for a photoshoot all details are here.
Come in! The encaustic tiiles inside and out are very Victorian and very typical, but the colour of the front door is fresh and modern and the beautiful stained glass is again a very Victorian idea, though I'm not sure if the glass in this particular door has been restored and modernised.
I've sat in so many rooms like this, with beautifully ornate fireplaces, a large bay window and an ugly telly tucked in the corner, because no one knows quite where to put it. Not sure about the sofa though.
Got to love the that Paul Smith 'Love' needlepoint from the Rug Company. It's the companion piece to the one hanging in Carrie Bradshaw's redecorated apartment and something I'd love to have here in Seattle, if only George Bush and Gordon Brown hadn't stolen all our money.
I wish twinkly interior light strings were more prevalent in the US. We had them all over the flat in London and you can generally find good examples at Habitat and Graham & Green. Unfortunately the voltage is all wrong for the States (which we forgot about when we shipped some twinkly lights back for the Minx's room last year).
Pretty much everyone in London has extended into the loft to get a bit more space.
As someone who is in the process of knitting thousands of interminable small stitches for my blanket, I do hope this video was made by some sort of camera trickery, and not by someone knitting every frame.
A sign of the times - which has inspired me to count up those coins {via The Daily Dish}
This is long, but if you're struggling to create something, anything, it's well worth the listen. I wasn't a huge fan of Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love but she sure can give a cracking a motivational speech {via the ever-inspirational Uncle Beefy}.
I was flicking through last month's Sunset (which just gets better and better), when what did I see? A Seattle Craftsman house very much like ours, even down to the need for kid-friendliness.
Loving the furniture placement here. Unfortunately we can't emulate it because of our built in bookcases.
They've even got a Tripp Trapp! And I like the way they've done the lighting over the table. I've been contemplating doing something like this, but am wondering about maintaining the symmetry in the room. Need to think about this.
Nice kitchen, for when we ever have the money to do ours. I like how the cabinets and shelves look modern, but completely fit in with the look of the house.
I ADORE this lamp. The house is owned by an architect couple, and from their website it seems that they've done some very sympathetic renovations of Craftsman properties in Seattle. I'm keeping them on file just in case we ever win the lottery and can afford to remodel our basement and downstairs kitchen.
There's a great quiz here on Sproost {found via Esthetic Eclectic} which will help you find your decorating style. Mine is apparently 100% Cottage Chic, which, while I hate the name, seems to be pretty much spot on.
What's yours?
I've always wanted to have an office in the garden and in my dreams that office is a vintage Airstream. This month's Readymade featured a young couple in Minneapolis who are living my dream with an Airstream they bought for $4,500. I wouldn't mind the rest of the house either (with maybe a bit more colour and pattern in the main rooms).
What special things would you have in your dream house? Mine would also have a a turret with a completely circular room. And be in Provence not Minneapolis.
I have to admit that the general concept for the cake was not original. There are always loads of greatl ideas on Coolest-Birthday-Cakes.com
I baked three separate chocolate cakes using the recipe for 'Mom's Chocolate Cake' from the Macrina Bakery and Cafe cookbook
I didn't have a small enough tin for the upper tier, so I just made two medium-sized cakes and cut one down to fit.
I was a bit nervous about making a tiered cake as it had to be transported quite a way up the freeway to the pool where we were holding the party, so the the Husband, thank goodness he's an engineer, constructed quite a complex structure of wooden sticks and cardboard circles to make sure that the cakes didn't sink into another or slide about.
I then mixed up a large quantity of buttercream and tinted most of it sea blue - I found that about 2-3 drops of Royal Blue colouring to 1 drop of Leaf Green worked well.
We then coated the whole thing, including the base board, with the buttercream; piped on some green seaweed tendrils and jaggedy coral; and then decorated it with the shells. I am so pleased with how they turned out as they made the whole cake.
We then sprinkled it with some blue sprinkling sugar (which you can't see on this photo but which gave the icing the texture of bubbles) and topped it with Nemo and his daddy. I cheated massively here and used some bath toys - the Minx thought this was an excellent idea as she got to keep a souvenir of the cake.
And the kids were mesmerized...
Or in this case go love your yacht. I've realised that I don't post enough pictures of rooms I find inspiring, mostly because I don't come across them all that often.
Everything about this boat though - which belongs to superstar (in the UK at least) DJ and producer Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim - is utter perfection. It's even moored in Sardinia, of which, as you know, we are very fond.
The only teensy problem is the price tag, as it will cost you £20,000 (approx $30,000) to rent the four spacious cabins for a week. Oh, and the name Barracuda, which now reminds me of a certain governor of Alaska.
For more details and pics, including what music they have on the fully stocked Ipod, go here. If you want to hire it more details are here.
{via the ever fabulous Style Files}
I've been going through agonies of indecision about the paint colours for our main living room. I can't tell you how many different sample colours I've tried out and rejected.
Just to bring you up to speed, we're looking for a colour to replace the egg-yolk yellow walls in the downstairs living room. There's a bit of a crazy colour scheme developing in here of chartreuse and white with raspberry sorbet, cranberry, dark brown and er, orange accents (see pictures below) and I need a paint colour to pull it all together.
And before you say anything, yes, I am well aware that this room needs lots of 'editing', though at least it is mercifully free of the toys which are normally scattered about with gay abandon.
The sitting area is going to be a white, though a white which will pick out the mouldings and the white fireplace which you can see better here. This white is TBD. However I'm looking for a colour to go above the panelling in the dining area. The colour needs to be sufficiently bright to withstand the grey Seattle winter light; sufficiently deep to emphasise the panelling, but not so pastelly that it looks like a little girl's bedroom in bright sunshine (the room has lots of south and east facing windows, so can get very bright).
After much deliberation I have narrowed it down to this green (Greenwich by Ralph Lauren) or a pink. The pink in the sample is actually the pink of the sample board itself which I rather like, but I don't actually have a paint identified. I wanted your input before I go searching further though.
First up the green. It is a beautiful colour and I think it's the right green if we decide to go the green route. I'm just a bit worried that with green curtains and a green table runner and a green rug the room is just going to end up being rather er, green.
Here it is in strong sunlight
And here it is when the light is more subdued. I'm pleased that it doesn't go too grey.
On the other hand here is the pink in strong sunlight
And here it is when the light is more subdued which is when I like it best. Subdued light happens a lot in Seattle.
Here finally are both colours in tungsten light. The green stands up well, but the pink goes a bit too 'bubblegum' for my taste. Sorry about crappy blurred photo - my little point and shoot doesn't do well in low lighting conditions and flash would have defeated the object. I do miss my camera!
Anyway, shall I go for the green? Or keep looking for the right pink? If so, do you have any suggestions for pinks I should try? Or should I do something completely different entirely?
One of my resolutions this year is to finally get the house sorted out. The major remodeling of the basement and kitchens that we planned will have to wait because of George Bush and Gordon Brown, but we ought to at least be able to get the house PAINTED. I mean, we've only been here two years.
Two things which really need to go are the two brass light fittings in the main downstairs living room. I presume they're originals in the house and so must date from about 1912. This doesn't stop them looking like strange brass jelly fish hanging from the ceiling.
As a Brit I've been taught to be respectful of original features, but I really can't cope with these and the Husband loathes them. I mean look.
I would obviously like to spend several thousand dollars on two groovy light fittings but George Bush put the kibosh on those as well (he's got SO much on his conscience). And then I saw this in Ready Made magazine.
Designed by Jean Pelle, they're made from three light fittings, round glass bulbs and these gorgeous handblown 'bubble' balls from CB2. All tied together with bits of string. I even have an electrical engineer (turned online advertising guru) for a Husband, so we shouldn't even get electrocuted.
My questions for you are as follows:
- Should I ditch the original fixtures?
- Where's the best place to sell the original fixtures?
- Will someone really pay MONEY for them?
- Am I really going to have the patience to put these together?
- Should I even bother?
- Are they going to look like expensive fixtures?
- Or just like a hopelessly homemade bundle of balls tied together with string?
Answers on a postcard please.
We'll be talking paint colours next. FINALLY, we're going to ditch the icky egg-yolk yellow. Am beside myself with excitement. Some colour samples arrived in the post today. I just have to paint them onto boards and then we can have a chat.
Miniature Knitting
{via Abigail Percy}
Fun in Bed
Video for Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie {via Uncle Beefy}
Feeling a teensy bit bored? Then why not pull out the photocopier paper and make yourself a hat. Which is exactly what Japanese hairstylist Katsaya Kamo did for Chanel's Spring 2009 collection. I think this should be a Project Runway challenge. (Speaking of which, WHEN is it coming back?)
{More here}
I'm not so sure about some of the textile choices in this English Victorian house - a bit too old fashioned for my taste - but I love the owner's use of colour and the use of contemporary furniture contrasted with the house's old bones. A couple of great Ikea hacks too.
The stair runner is made of Barnslig Rand rugs sewn together.
The round bed was apparently sold in Ikea but I can't find it on the current website. There's one for sale here. The owner of the house made the round headboard for her teenage daughter's room. I would have KILLED for this bed when I was a teenager (except for the surprisingly nasty Lulu Guinness bed linen).
{All house photos from Living etc.)
Susan Sarandon is 62 years old. I think I need to do some exercise.
I just wanted to point you guys in the direction of this fabulous giveaway on Shelteriffic. This nifty Color Helper machine lets you scan colours in from walls, fabrics or magazines and then either tells you the closest match from its inbuilt palette of manufacturers' paint colours or suggests complementary colours for you to use.
All you have to do is prove to Shelterrific how much you need one by sending them a photo of a room that needs help and the worst will win the prize.
Fortunately for you guys, I'm not going to be sending in this photo of our famously horrendous kitchen - yep, after living here nearly two years we still haven't painted the house and the kitchen still looks like this, though considerably more cluttered. Luckily for me, Mary T from Shelterrific is going to lend me her one of these machines, so I'll do an indepth review when I can. And yes, doing up the house is VERY high on the list of resolutions this year.
Isn't this just awesome? In the spirit of a New Year's organising frenzy I'm on the lookout for a knitting basket - my yarn is currently artfully arranged in a large plastic carrier bag tucked by the side of the sofa and looks a right mess.
I really, really love the above, made by Kathryn Ivy from an old felted Aran sweater, using Martha Stewart's recipe. Am I honestly going to be able to make this though, given that I still haven't plucked up the courage to felt my little bowls?
It's a little bit cluttered for my taste and I don't like the rug, but the most glamorous woman in the world and Karl Lagerfeld's erstwhile muse Ines de la Fressange gives us all (and Betsey Johnson) a lesson in how to do pink walls - choose a great shade of pink, keep the rest neutral and add lots of dark brown accents.
How does one become a 'muse'? It sounds like nice relaxing job. I wonder what job she's got in her passport?
I've put a question mark here as I actually rather like the very funky, very London, house belonging to British fashion designer Matthew Williamson, which has been featured in both September's Domino and now in January's Elle Deco UK. However I can understand if it's not exactly other people's cup of tea and would love to know what you think.
Personally I love the way he mixes old and new, ethnic sensibilities, colours and patterns and the whole seems very much a reflection of his personality.
I'm not saying I would choose to live here - I'm not convinced I could cope with mirrored armchairs, spinal cord wallpaper, that bright a colour scheme and all the Indian stuff doesn't do much for me - but in the end this is a very personal space, doesn't feel 'try hard' unlike the Miles Redd space below and contains quite a lot of stuff I absolutely adore. It's probably closest in feel to the Betsey Johson apartment we critiqued pulled apart earlier this year, though it seems much less cluttered and the colour scheme isn't so execrable.
First up the two covers of the magazines provide an interesting Britain v America moment as both publications use exactly the same corner of the dining area on their covers.
Elle Deco's styling of the room is much less cluttered - no cushion on the chair, nothing on the tulip table, no globe in the corner and less junk on the console under the mirror. The chandelier also seems to have 'disappeared'. I like the pretty boxes they've added on the console and the Fornasetti plate over the mirror is inspired. Interestingly though, Elle Deco has put Williamson on the cover, which they hardly ever do, whereas Domino, which is usually no stranger to cheesey celeb shots for once doesn't have a person at all. Note that Elle Deco has made the room seem far less 'white' by punching up the colour, having the coloured wall reflect in the mirror, cropping away from the white window and er, 'painting' the ceiling. Which cover do you prefer?
{Images from Elle Deco}
Funnily enough the globe and the table dolly return when Elle Deco shows some interior shots, suggesting that Domino stuck with the original styling. I quite like that Designer's Guild wallpaper and am a sucker for white vinyl floors. And I love the mix of the Eames chairs, the tulip table and that fabulous peacock chair. The mirror is a bit baroque for my taste, but has a nostalgia factor for me as it was apparently bought on the Golborne Road, just round the corner from where I used to live in Notting Hill.
I love what he's done with this sofa. That is all. Curtain treatment is strangely boring though.
{Above images from Domino}
Mirrored armchair does NOT look cosy. Still loving the white vinyl floor. Love the windows and orange paint, not sure about the mirror mosaic fireplace, don't like the mirror, though I see what he's trying to do. Those books sure move around a lot.
Light installation in the stairwell. Best thing in the house. As Rachel Zoe would say, I die.
Fuchsia pink kitchen bar area. Personally wouldn't have done it quite such a girly colour. But still rather fabulous.
Ha ha! You can tell we're in London from the pokey bathroom. Thought Venetian mirrors with modern had been done to death by now, but like the collage on the wall. I used to do things like that in my teens. Haven't we see these vases before?
Lovely floral wallpaper in bedroom. Except it's not a floral. Wallpaper design is made up of spinal cords and ribs. I love the effect, but am far too squeamish to have this in a bedroom.
The weather in Seattle
The weather in London
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Recent Comments
Hi Paola,
I just found your blog and really like your blog. I especially like that you post about your goal of loosing weight. Good luck!
Where do you live in Seattle? I lived there for one year as an Au pair :-) I watched 2-year-old triplets and lived in Mt. Baker. I miss miss miss Seattle a lot! My hostdad also works at Microsoft.
Next year in april I'll go to Seattle for my vacation and I cant wait!!
Whose pretty Arabian is that?
Which sofa did you get? And do you know how I can get more info on the last one pictured? I found your site b/c I'm researching the movie sofa from CB2 as an option for us to purchase.
How wonderful - things always work out for a reason!!
Off to buy Ideal Home.....
Found your blog through a google image search for 'Gisela Graham'!
Have had great fun looking through and seeing your lovely stories and photos.
The yarn above is absolutely beautiful!