Category: interiors
Little Shack x
I think you’re either a big house gal, or not. Whilst I admire the space of large places, by heart lies in the quirky comfort a small place can offer..a retreat from the hustle and bustle of the world..
(all photos Pinterest)
A shack by the sea..my idea of heaven.
Laters, Kate x
Kids Inc..
Every now and then it’s good to let the music stop..which is what we’ve done for the last 4 days. Miles away from the whirling, high energy, high pressure of London we escaped with the kids and three other families to a Feather Down farm just outside Oxford to cook on wood burning stoves, chase errant chickens and drink copious amounts of wine….
Each family had their own tent on the side of a forested hill (or ‘mountain’ according to the kids) looking out over the lush, green fields of England..
The tents were fabulous – (this really was glamping with a capital ‘G)’..all rustic with purpose, without being plastic-basic..and apart from food, everything was provided..although even food could be bought or ordered in advance from the on-site honesty shop.
I’m still in love with this candlestick chandelier hung from a piece of wood..
And this coffee grinder, complete with beans..
We thought the kids would fight over who slept on the top bunk..
But they were more interested in the cupboard bed!
(Probably a wise choice – on our very first night, there was an almighty thunderstorm which even managed to blow the ash pan off our internal wood burner’s chimney..those in the cupboard with it’s wooden roof never so much as stirred..)
The view out…
Next to each tent we all had our very own chickens that the children had to keep fed and watered and could check for eggs for our own consumption..
There was no electricity..making the morning brekkie..
Not having to cater for every element of camping meant there was room in the car for extras..like my basil plant – how London can you get?!
The time just flew – between teaching the girls to make Makrame and friendship bracelets..
To checking the chickens for eggs at the main paddock…and being sure to keep the goats and sheep in…not that we always managed it..and then it was a drama trying to catch them and herd them back in!..
Success!
On Saturday morning we did a tour round the farm led by Farmer Bill and his wife..the tractors were a big hit..
‘Please Bella sit in the wheel so I can take a picture of you to show how large the wheel is..’
At least Charlie was a bit more obliging..
I’ve got a brand new combine harvester an I’ll give you the key!
Learning about sheep..
What the kids loved most was the freedom..they spent hours off exploring or on this mud slide going up and down..
In the evenings we gathered around the campfire, making music, singing songs and roasting marshmallows.
And that’s only half of it..
Laters, Kate x
Klemens Torggler
This is a post courtesy of the lovely Lia in Brussels who first introduced me, via a comment on this Blog, to the incredible work of Austrian wizard, Klemens Torggler.
There are a rarified group of objects like the London Underground map that have totally fulfilled their design potential – to meddle any further would be to over-engineer or muddy. And so it could be thought with the humble door – opening or sliding are the only two options.
That is until now. Torggler’s design, based on rotating squares, makes it possible to move an object sideways without the use of tracks. Even if the object weighs 200 kg.
There’s also the Evolution door,a door based on triangles that moves at the touch of a finger tip like a piece of living origami.
What I would give for my own flock of steel birds – The perfect marriage of function and Art.
Laters, Kate x
Clean Slate x
Old fashioned..or functional and full of character? Anaglypta or embossed wallpaper has that decisive, divisional effect.
Personally, I love it..it protects walls from the bumps and bangs of everyday life and offers a rich, timeless texture that’s hard to find anywhere else.
My marmite moment was what they did to it in the eighties..blinging the raised bits with lightly brushed metallic gold and copper paint..I can feel the bile rising all over again. But in a deep, dark matt grey or black?
(last 2 pictures mine, all the others from Pinterest)
It’s time to experiment with samples..how high should the dado go? Maybe a whole wall of anaglypta..different anaglyptas….the mind is happily starting to bubble..
Laters, Kate x
Weekend Inspiration..
Up-cycle Inspiration..
A bit of weekend inspiration for anyone with time and the need for lights on their hands…
(All pictures Pinterest)
Laters, Kate x
The Essex Taj Mahal x
Grayson Perry
When was the last time you were touched by someone so brilliant they made your head start sub-dividing?
Stand back and welcome previous Turner Prize winner and national gem, Grayson Perry and his new project, a House for Essex: a collaboration with Charles Holland and the architecture studio FAT. Built in Wrabness this huge marmite piece of art is a monumental shrine to a completely fictional character, a lady called Julie May Cope and is dedicated to the ‘Single mums of Dagenham, hairdressers in Colchester and the landscape and history of Essex’. The house holds testament to Perry’s visions of Julie’s life, through her birth in Canvey Island in 1953 to her two marriages, her children, her work all the way to her sudden death at the hands of a pizza delivery moped on Colchester High Street at the premature age of 61.
On the outside there’s a shining copper roof and 1924 glazed terracotta sigils of St jules.
Inside, the main room is in the style of a chapel to pay homage to the life of an ordinary woman.
There are biographical tapestries and pictures over the ceilings with snap shots of her history.
In pride of place and hanging as a chandelier is the very moped that killed her.
Upstairs, the two bedrooms are dedicated to her two marriages..the second of which was a story of true, tender love which permeates through the whole building and draws it together.
Kitsch, ebullient and eccentric it may be, but the joy of Perry is that in his work, as in his life, he describes the truth as he sees it. Underneath the undeniable humour, there’s a deeper, thicker message running through. This is a celebration of a modesty of aspiration and acquisitions that uses high art to pay homage to the notion of hard work and normality. It’s one mans couture shrine to the silver linings and special moments that bless every single life, no matter how hard or down trodden. Which ties up nicely with why it was commissioned in the first place: It’s part of philosopher and critic Alain de bottom’s (great name hashtag-childish-sense-of-humour) Living Architecture programme to allow members of the public – that’s you and me – to stay in buildings by world class contemporary designers. Click here for more details for your own personal taste of Julie’s life.
Imagine…a weekend away…here??
Laters, Kate x
Light and Shade x
Time is running away. I have May to make decisions, June to order..we’re away in July..work starts in August. It’s really not long. I’m sort of there on most things..but I know that what I want to do is a dance with the dark side – the really dark side – which in view of the popularity of scandi design is like holding hands with the devil..but if I stand back it’s more a collective reaction to inspiration from my past that’s already firmly stood the test of time..
One of my most favourite interiors ever is Henry Higgins house in Wimpole Street from the film My Fair Lady with it’s opulent multi-layered mash of texture and colour..there’s a welcoming warmth far removed from the clinical hotel look we’ve come to view as the norm. The William Morris wallpaper is spectacular as is the sense of history and quality.
(The Cecil Beaton costumes weren’t bad either..I still want this blouse..and my wedding dress was based on Audrey Hepburn’s dress to the ball)
The other interior that holds it’s place to this day is the house in Practical Magic..
All dark and brooding woodwork..
With stunning cabinetry..
A kitchen to die for..
And a heavenly conservatory to boot…
It’s not the colours – it’s the good/bad design thing that’s oppressive about our modern interiors..the time has come just to claim the space. I think a trip to Leighton House where the above picture came from is needed to further that connection with Victorian opulence and underline the fact it’s not about being different – there’s very little that’s truly new – it’s about going with what you feels is right..rather than what’s expected.
Laters, Kate x
Kai x
I have a thing about faces and love portraits: That moment captured in time..the emotion caught forever. This artist – Kai Samuels-Davis seems to have an absolute instinct for committing to canvas impossibly transient sentiment and creating paintings that both emerge and disappear.
He lives with his wife in the small and beautiful coastal town of Jenner, just 70 miles north of San Francisco – and the peace and calm of his surroundings seeps into his work. They’re grounded and real.
In the dream house that lives in my head, I have several on the walls…there’s also a studio where I can pretend to be him..
Laters, Kate x
Banjooli x
There are three things that caught my roving eye with this remarkable collection of garden furniture designed by Sebastian Herkner for Moroso..
1. They’re brilliantly inspired by the mating dance of male ostriches – (or ‘banjooli’ in Wolof tongue) – who stretch out their wings to show off to the ladies.
2. They’re produced by African craft weavers using fishing net yarn.
3. They make me smile.
Herkner says, they may be based on birds, but they are human in their perfections and flaws. Mi piace.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 