Category: 2016
Handling it..
The designing of the kitchen actually started on Friday – Alleluia! Naturellement it’s not a new kitchen per se but a hotch potch of the old kitchen units (we like recycling) and new additions that somehow all need to be brought together, but this picture represents the inspiration (I only wish I could have that island unit…but sadly it’s the only space for the sink/dishwasher/bin/cutlery so the carcasses need to hit the floor..maybe in another life..) But we’ve been working on how to line up the sight lines, even up the variety of widths and unify the look.
Which is never easy..go for industrial raw edge?
Or embrace industrial engineering with these beauties from Buster & Punch?…
(There’s something very tactile about that surface..)
The potential fly in the soup is the mixing in of an old french glazed bookcase (a bit like this one) I have to hold my crockery. The thinking goes that to pull them together by using that same handles on at least some of the other units.
It helps I like a variety of handles.
But it’s still a matter of balance..too many would just be wrong – so which ones to choose?….lovely brass handles?
Delicious little catches?..
(All pictures Pinterest)
Or just subtle, understated cup handles and little brass knobs?
The thinking cap is on.
Laters, Kate x
Magic Carpet x
If there’s a theme over the last few post it’s re-invention. And the carpet industry is ripe for it: 400,000 tonnes of unwanted carpet is buried in UK landfill every year.
Isabel Webb has decided thats where the rubys in the dust lie – she’s taking both domestic and industrial carpet waste and giving it her own unique twist through dying, tufting, embroidery and shearing to reveal new patterns and textures and expose the potential within.
(All pictures Isabel Webb)
Isabel only graduated in 2016 so this is the embryo of a work in progress. But we like it. And we need more.
Laters, Kate x
Christmas x
The chandelier is decorated. Tick.
New mirror inserted. Tick.
Large star in kitchen? Tick.
Christmas tree? Done. Finally got the damn lights to work.
Elves? Here. Every day. When we remember..normally in bed at midnight..
Christmas to do list? Still long – buy presents, wrap presents, hunt holly, find mistletoe, find stockings, clean chimneys, make gingerbread houses, ice cake, plant carrots. It’s still reading like something the sorcerer would leave for his apprentice except without the hope of any magic. So what am I going to do today? I’m going to add a bright pink trim to the side of our kilim stair carpet.
Just because I can.
Laters, Kate x
Wonderland x
We’re taking the kids to the slopes for the first time this Christmas – well, I say this Christmas – we leave on the 30th. But that’s not much time to move from turkeys and tinsel to long johns and salopettes..
(All pictures Pinterest)
If only I could pack this little lot in my suitcase…
Laters, Kate x
‘Ear ear…
Need that effortlessly cool present that also has to sit happily in the wallet? The answer could be an ear cuff…brilliant in so many ways: They work equally well on unpierced ears, the range of prices is immense (these are £12.46 plus shipping)..and you only actually need to buy one. Winner, winner chicken dinner.
Some of them do resemble those metal puzzles that used to appear in crackers. But don’t let that put you off.
Particularly when you can find them for only £4.90 plus shipping.
These are the most expensive of the bunch at just over forty squids plus shipping from here.
(£16 plus shipping from here)
(£8 plus shipping from here)
(£7.50 plus shipping from here)
For a flash in the pan trend without the pain, it’s an easy no brainer.
Laters, Kate x
Minakani x
Minakani is a Paris based textile design studio and brand created by Figuette and Frederic Bonnin in 2005. Their work is unerringly recognisable – I’ve long lusted over this picture – yet travels below the obvious radar.
Theirs is a taste for the different – natural, spatial, rich and expressive.
Yet surprisingly simple.
Pared back to just enough.
A name to add to the scrapbook of my future lottery win..
Laters, Kate x
High light..
Do you get the time to breathe these days? The air after rain – a crackling fire – or a newly delivered Christmas tree? If you’re a smell person, these things matter because they’re memories, the past and future colliding like smoke in the air. I love the power of fragrance – how it can become the essence of a person left to linger long after they’ve gone….and these are three of my favourites.
Bal D’afrique by Byredo is described as a warm and romantic vetiver inspired by Paris in the late 20’s and its infatuation with African culture, art, music and dance. It’s an evocative mix of neroli, African marigold and Moroccan cedarwood.
Oi All In One Milk by Davines is a leave in, frizz controlling conditioning hair spray containing Roucou oil. But why just use it on hair? It’s a beautifully fragranced, soft, light moisturiser for all over the body.
Emulsified with extra soothing rose extract to help ease irritation and condition the skin, Rose Salve by C.O.Bigelow is the sort of product you need to always have in your bag. Use on lips, face, cuticles, elbows, knees and any chapped skin because it’s a little winter wonder.
Fragrances: Dreams that live in reality. Enjoy.
Laters, Kate x
Make a point x
This post gained life from the previous one – those upcycled chairs from Refound? A gateway to delicious that warranted further exploration. Who thought needlepoint could be so now?
Yet on the face of it, it’s probably the worst granny chic ever.
But that’s what makes it comic, sad, happy, complicated and rather wonderful.
And it’s that nibble of lust which keeps the world forever moving.
Laters, Kate x
A Christmas Tale x
Not into rubbish? How about re-cycled? – It’s the present that keeps on giving.
All these joys are from Re-found Objects, the royalty of quirky finds.
(All pics from Re-found Objects)
Just make sure you’re buying presents for others hey.
Laters, Kate x
The alternative Christmas x
Good intentions be damned, the only thing I’ve learnt since writing this post is that they never last and the only way to go is big, bad and ballistic..
With that in mind I will be fully embracing the anti-commercialism at Pencil Agency’s Rubbish Shop.…and buying all my presents there.
Who could resist Beyonce as an angel?
A set of fine minatures?
Or four handmade napkins?
A multi-purpose iphone case for that person who always has little accidents?
Or a naivly crafted nativity scene?
(All pictures The Rubbish Shop)
Just pure elfing genius.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 