Category: 2016
Kitchen Update x
Oh Joy aboundeth! I got home yesterday to see the antique French bookcase sitting in it’s new home for the first time! The builders have done a sublime job incorporating it into the new kitchen..one day it will hold all our crockery and glassware..one day..to say I love it is an understatement. It’s always a dodgy time when you imagine a concept – and you’re pretty sure it’s going to work..but you never know until it’s actually in place. The relief!
The plan is now for all the big units to disappear off to be spray painted whilst the room is decorated and the floor is laid…which has bought on a major paint crisis.
I thought I was blissfully sailing along, all paint decisions for the kitchen made.
Except the spray painters want an RAL number for the colour so they can mix up their own paint with additional hardeners. And I’ve chosen a boutique paint that no-one knows – Madison Grey by Abigail Ahern.
I’m running off now to the paint shop to see if they can help me – the last thing I want to do is to start looking at tester pots again…and of course it’s the big fascinator poker night piss-up party tonight. Always the way…
Laters, Kate x
Bohemian Minimalist?
I’ve been reading Bea Johnson’s book ‘Zero Waste Home’ with interest – it’s fair to say it’s an eye opener. Whilst there’s no doubt she’s taken her chosen style of living to an extreme (her 4 member family produce just one large jar of rubbish a year)..( I confess that’s less than we manage in a day) and despite the fact the book is written for the American market, there’s no denying the hidden gold between the pages…..she genuinely believes that in our fast-paced, modern world we’ve disconnected from the true reality of our commercialism and the consequences of our voracious, unstoppable actions. By shining a light on something as simple as rubbish she aims to change people’s attitudes in a broader, rippling sense..and make a real difference both to the individual and the planet. Impressive ambitions.
The book reminds me of an article I read in the Times by Caitlin Moran where she admitted that as a poor person she was far more creative: No money to buy it equalled make it or fix it. But now with success, she just throws money at the problem…we think because we can have it all, we should have it all. We even deserve to have it all.
Bea thinks differently: She likes to simplify life right down to needs not wants, equalling less hassle, less waste..less stuff.
And that’s where she and I differ. I understand the simplicity of a clutter free, simplified life…but clutter and old stuff are fundamental to my personal lifeblood. All these pics represent interiors I aspire to with their sense of timeless style and soft edges.
A house without books? Soulless.
No artworks and bedspreads?
(All pics Pinterest)
Or knick knacks and beautiful rugs? It would break my little heart.
But I think there are grey areas where we overlap. And I’d really like to explore her world in little steps..doing something different every month. Watch this space…
Laters, Kate x
Free to Roam..
The wander-lust is strong today. Despite spotting my first snowdrops on the way to school drop-off this morning, spring and summer still seem a long way off and the routine feels monotonous.
I just want to pack our bags and head off in a vintage jaguar with crinkled beige leather seats.
I don’t care if it’s a trip to the crisp, cold mountains.
But truth be told, I’d prefer somewhere with colour and sun.
Somewhere where life is simple.
(All pics Pinterest)
It’s probably to much builders dust and not enough vitamin D..
Laters, Kate x
The Underworld x
The hunt for the perfect wallpaper goes on. One group of designs that would’ve be way off the radar a few years ago but are ticking the boxes now are the tie-dye patterns.
There’s something about the way they repeat that looks so natural and realistic..as if they’re not repeating at all. Which, let’s face it, has to be a good thing…
Or maybe it’s the memories of a happy summer’s day in the garden.
.
(All pics Pinterest)
They’re probably more suited to a bathroom or bedroom than a cellar…but there’s just something about them..
Laters, Kate x
Le Weekend..
The plan was to get out of the urban bubble and see the sea..so we leapt on a train and headed for a grey, blustery Brighton.
Charlie and his gloves: Is this style, laziness..or a deep understanding of recycling??
Not that the kids cared about the weather..the sea is the sea after all..
It was bracing enough to freeze cheeks and brighten eyes.
Then the boys went to see Arsenal play..Charlie’s first proper match..seventh heaven for him.
So the girls got out the power tools…and played..
The table is our reproduction mahogany dining table that has got damaged over the years. Rather than replace it, I wanted to know if we could sand off the varnish and paint the pedestal leg to transform it into a classic but more rustic/practical piece of furniture. Can mahogany be more like a farmhouse table, happy to take dings and knocks? Not be so ‘precious’ and permanently hidden under a tablecloth? The only way to know was to experiment…
I had my helper with me for a while..but then she got bored and went to clean out her hamsters.
Oh joy! Lesson for mummy: Never assume you’re child’s intelligence. Lesson for Bella…we all have to make mistakes..but please don’t repeat this one again!
(Particularly when due to the building works, this sink represents our kitchen sink. Arggghhhh!)
By the end we looked like 2 orange oompa lumpa’s, but thankfully the table looked fab – I already prefer it…though I have no idea what to do as the next stage….oil? Wax? I know I don’t want the shiny red again..I want to knock back the red if at all possible, but not entirely sure what to do?….any suggestions very gratefully received…
Laters, Kate x
Touching the Tide..
The girls are coming in and heading for home!! Row Like a Girl, the 4 girl team rowing 3000 miles in the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge Race are due to cross the finishing line and arrive in Antigua today (around 4 o’clock UK time) to claim a staggering 2nd place against 26 other boats and break all sorts of records – like the youngest women ever to row the Atlantic, fastest women etc…
And they won’t be too sad at coming second..they were only bested by another British team: Ocean Reunion – which included the brother of Row Like a girl’s Bella Collins….and adds to their remarkable record haul: First brother and sister to ever complete the challenge..
Behind them many boats are still battling it out..including the magnificent and maverick Row2Recovery…who boast only one pair of legs between them..
And the awesome YorkshireRows – 4 forty something mums proving that motherhood is just a stepping stone…if you dare to dream.
Gutsy, bonkers, courageous, inspirational. It’s been a joy to follow their journeys..and you can be a part of it too – each and everyone of them are doing this for charity..click through tho their respective websites here to see more..because this is special and they deserve everything they get.
Laters, Kate x
Marbled Marvels..
It’s that time of year: sick children…one coughing her way through the night which is the natural equivalent of chinese water torture, the other with a weeping ear and suspected perforated eardrum. Winter – don’t you love it? At least there’s beautiful wallpaper to keep the blues at bay. The final choice for the cellar (can I really keep calling it that? (but cinema room sounds so pretentious..)(such a first world dilemma)) has yet to be made: There’s three choices and this post represents the first group…a marbled/malachite paper with the hint of unusual mixed with traditional, timeless beauty..
I’m going to trawl the internet to see what I can find that’s UK based…but first we’re off to the quacks…
Laters, Kate x
An Update: House etc..
Yesterdays fascinator experiment went well..I was thinking of you Julie (hattitude) as we marshalled in the sinamay into shape! Could’ve done with your skill!!
No real finished ones to reveal yet..(the first official creative coffee is on Wednesday) but I think we’re a bit more prepared..
(It’s great stuff just to let loose and play with..I recommend it.)
On the house front, there’s no longer a broken neck risk checking out the cellar…we now have stairs!..
Upstairs…could that actually be a sink in the kitchen??!
To the unknowing eye, this all just looks like mismatched piles of wood..
To me, it’s the light at the end of the tunnel..(even knowing, once it’s made it’s coming out (sob!) to be painted (and so the floor can go down))..but this is pure progress. We may even have a working bin soon – the excitement, the luxury!
Laters, Kate x
Hats Off…
It’s the trial run today for our termly creative coffee morning for the mum’s in Charlie’s class…we’re making fascinators to be worn at our class party the following week. Cross your fingers – I’ve only ever been a pupil before, never the teacher, hence the need for a few guinea pigs, but I was treated to a class just before Christmas….and found it fascinating…here’s hoping for luscious lilly’s..
The odd rose…or two..
Big bows for those that want..
And just letting imaginations run free…
Pics to follow…
Laters, Kate x
First Step..
There was a brilliant article in the Evening Standard last night about our insatiable appetite for stuff, it described a worker in a plastics factory in China laughing at the crap products being churned out for the international market..only to see the order tripled the following week. It’s all around us..look through a Lakeland catalogue and see some brilliant ideas..but also some entirely superfluous ones, designed just because we think we need them..or (because we always have to show progression) over-engineered designs of something that already worked perfectly fine. But hey, that’s more money for the fat cats economy..particularly when you add in the modern power of build-in-obsolescence..with any luck it’ll break…and we’ll buy it twice!
I’d love to see a move away from vapid accumulation to less is more, quality over substance..and the best changes start at home. The wardrobe is having it’s first attack today…
All nightwear is heading the way of charity or cut up for rags, leaving just two pairs of pajamas and a dressing gown.
It’s a start.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 