Category: interiors

Waterworks x

 

For the last week, autumn decided to roll into London instead of July: Grey, swollen clouds, heavy rain, a significant drop in temperature and most surprisingly, strong, bough wrenching winds.  They say Thursday will mark the change back to summer again. I hope so.  I would like some more summertime in the garden, particularly now we have a water feature.

 

 

(All pics Pinterest and Outdoorliving)

 

This is ours, hidden in the lavender.  We wanted moving water to cool the air on really hot days. And it helps that the birds are delighted with our choice, particularly Mr Robin.

 

Fingers crossed the sun will be back at the end of this week.

Laters, Kate x

Interior x

 

The interior of the garden studio will be a new building with an old soul.  Nature, natural, re-claimed, loved and lovable will be the theme pulling it together.  Soft edges, patina and unprecious the by-lines.

 

 

The space will not be big, but that does not exclude character.

 

 

The walls will be exposed wood, the floor wood, covered by a jute rug.

 

 

Down the left side of the sitting room, on the adjoining wall to the office, I will finally have the perfect place for the remains of my Cado storage system I originally bought for the sitting room for TV and has remained under a bed ever since – we only needed one section, but I bought…three! It’ll provide much needed storage, a place for a record player and an extra desk space – always useful.

 

 

The pod will divided into two – a small office room with storage on the left side, a larger sitting room on the right.  Both will have stoves as heaters; this has been a moot point – I would love proper, wood burning stoves – but we live in London, and I don’t think it’s fair on neighbours or the environment, so they will be electric, but cunningly disguised to look the business.

 

 

The office room will be a vintage homage, simple desk, anglepoise wall lamp, pictures and storage.

 

 

At the far end will be a door leading to floor to ceiling storage for things like our tent and paddle boards.

 

 

Still to be finalised is the ceiling – I would like to do something to suggest a bit of drama – nothing on the scale of these – but possibly some narrow cross beams, to add shadow and interest, a miniature of these above.

 

 

Further indecisions are whether there will be space for a small mezzanine level – a place for children to hide. Or will it eat too much into the space?

 

 

And whether to go for build in bench sofas with storage – or something else.

 I suspect budget will be the dictator.

 

 

Laters, Kate x

 

Shagged x

 

Needing a natural rug? One with a bit of an edge? Something a little different?

 

 

Well, hold the doors, because when it comes to floors, Tate and Darby are a little treasure trove: A design-led ethical brand, they believe in finding the balance between design being accessible to all against ensuring all their artisans are fairly paid. Their rugs are designed in the UK and then woven by skilled craftsmen and women in Morocco and India, which means a further flavour of marrying contemporary and traditional that touches everything they do and makes them quietly sing like a beautifully rung handmade bell.

 

(All pics Tate and Darby and Pinterest)

Ding. Dong.

Laters, Kate x

Light Up x

 

I’ve looked at all sorts for a focal light for the garden studio.  The obvious choice was something large and rustic, like these amazing Moroccan shades.

 

 

Or embrace the macrame.

 

 

This one from IKEA is lush.

 

 

The final choice was a step away from obvious, a return to vintage and celebrates the clean lines of the fifties.

 

 

(Pics: moroccan lights, Ikea light, Pinterest)

 

Found on ebay, this understated beauty catches the eye without dominating the small space, and its age injects soul and timelessness.

 

Decision, tick. Next one…

 

Laters, Kate x

Windows x

 

Ebay is not a safe place for me at the best of times, but now with an official project – let me write that again with capital, authoritative letters – Official Project – as my cover, it is very dangerous; our kitchen is beginning to look like a reclamation yard.  But oh, the pleasure! These are the stained glass panels I have snaffled – genuine Victorian, everything between £50 – £60 (which I think is good value, though they do  need work). I have visions of them over the doors, at the back of the pod, even in the apex space between the roof. Who knows where their final resting place/places  will be, but I am loving the colours – the pale pinks, the greens and then the contrast of the strong blues and reds. I can imagine sitting on something comfy with a cup of tea, looking at the garden, with the late afternoon light sliding through making patterns on the floor. The real bonus was finding painted centres as well – look! A duck!!


 

(little cough..I have three of these…all slightly different. All insanely gorgeous)

 

 

This is possibly my favourite – a caterpillar! Such a great metaphor for life, the universe and everything…

 

 

Little glowing bits of handmade, re-cycled, re-loved heaven.

Now for the lights…..hehe

 

Laters, Kate x

Decision x

 

The Pod will be a 5m x 3m structure at the bottom of a South London garden.  But that doesn’t stop the dreaming. And whilst the pull to modern is strong, stronger is the call of the old, timeless, batty and slightly battered, which is possibly best encapsulated  in these pictures, a cedar cabin in Wyong Creek, Australia, from The design files.net, the home of Natalie Watson, because pictures always speak.

 

(All pics The Designfiles.net and Pinterest)

Strength and gentleness.  Gentleness and strength. Age and ageing. Peace and quiet.

Simple and honest.

 

Laters, Kate x

It’s Happening..

 

Mindfulness or madness, it’s happening…the builder has been booked to start on an office-slash-living room in the garden in approx. six weeks time: There’s no time to dodge, designs have to be finalised, visions pulled into reality and decisions made.

 

 

The bubble of thoughts has been brewing for a long time, probably now spurred on by lockdown and the possible threat of more – but the main catching point has been the big, overall concept – whether to go modern…or to look to the past and embrace traditional.

 

(All pics Pinterest)

Which one is it??

Laters, Kate x

Favourites x

 

I am an avid Pinterest poster.  Driven by all things visual, I find it a place I can nail down fleeting thoughts and find substance to inspiration. It’s the workings of my inner mind, but held in aspic so it doesn’t fly away again. It’s also my way to test longevity – a day, a week, a month later, is there still the same reaction?  Sometimes things are pinned for the wrong reasons – on one level it’s a sofa, but the real magpie glint is the inspiring colour of the wall. Sometimes there’s a purpose, often there’s not, the intent just to trail a hand in the flow of colour and movement, pick up the scent of future trends. But this post is about what has caught other people’s eyes, what has unexpectedly cut the mustard in the big, wide world? Like this chair, from Ian Snow, has a remarkable 1.6k impressions.  Is it the velvet? the flexibility? the squish? Or all three?

 

 

It’s summer, the 70’s are becoming a thing. No surprise then that all things rattan are having a moment. Like this light from Etsy, 123 impressions and counting.

 

 

This one, again from Etsy. A bargain at £32.53 plus shipping. 104 impressions and rising.

 

 

This light is ranking third – from Design Vintage at £110 has 94 impressions.


 

At 110 impressions, this modern garden pod has caught the imagination. It comes from a photo I took from the Home section of The Times. No details unfortunately.

 

 

Is it the bench? Or the cushion? The link was for the cushion – £45 from Dibor –  915 for  impressions.

 

 

(All picks Pinterest)

 

The cushion on its own….444 impressions.

 

It’s a strange old world.

 

Laters, Kate x

 

Blooming Marvellous x

 

We may be in the midst of a global crisis, but nobody has told my window boxes.  They’ve had more love and care than ever before and are responding with abundant height, growth, width and blooms.

 

 

There is one cuckoo in the nest; I fear I’ve been cultivating a weed – I thought this plant was a white geranium as it’s first leaves were the same shape and I knew  I’d planted some in the area.

 

 

But now there’s a clear distinction.  I’ve left it a while to see if a flower would bloom – surely a weed is a flower by any other name? I had hopes it might be a foxglove, the seed dropped by a bird, said my romantic heart. But I know it’s a triffid and must go.

 

 

On the good news front, the combover tree is proudly displaying the first signs of bum fluff.

 

 

 

But whilst some things, like my garden are benefitting, other areas of the world are facing peril: ‘If the Coronavirus doesn’t kill my workers, then starvation will’ says a factory owner in Bangladesh. A quote that greets you on the first page of Lost Stock.  

Lost Stock was set up by Cally Russell, the founder of fashion shopping too Mallzee. It allows shoppers to buy a mystery box of clothing directly from the manufacturers, with almost 40% of the proceeds of each box donated to Bangladesh through a non-profit organisation based in the country.  This is enough to feed a Bangladeshi family for a week.

 

 

A Lost Stock Box costs £35 plus £3.99 postage and will contain at least three tops with a recommended retail price of £70. It will take time to arrive – between 6-8 weeks, but I think that’s a small price to pay.

 

In total, an estimated £10bn of clothing has piled up in warehouses during lockdown, much of it destined for landfill, layering crisis upon crisis. This seems a simple solution to help where help is most needed.

 

Where do I sign?

 

Laters, Kate x

Light my way x

 

I’m not here. I’m in a car, driving to Bristol, genuinely quite excited about experiencing a motorway again and moving wider than a 2 mile circle from the house.  We’re emptying The Husband’s work flat as he’s going to be in London till at least Christmas; Every cloud. The plan is to make a round trip in a day – normally a ticket to hell, but all of that has been subtly reframed by the thought of travelling at speed, the prospect of a horizon and the promise of new vistas.  Aren’t I the lucky one? These pictures were taken today – Sunday afternoon has become a potter time for me – projects to plan, things to do.  And this represents the first time I’ve tried to re-make candles.

 

 

The first thing was to get rid of the bits of wax left at the end of all the finished candles.  I found the best way was to pour in boiling water, which melted the wax, making it rise to the surface to create a wax plug that was then easy to remove.

 

 

My eclectic collection of containers, from tins to pots to old candle jars.

 

 

The wicks I ordered very cheaply from Ebay.

 

 

And stuck down with a dab of glue from a handy glue gun.

 

 

This was the super candle that inspired the re-make – a winter candle from the White Company with it’s gorgeous smell that died leaving lots of wax.  I melted down in a pyrex bowl over a saucepan of boiling water.  Once the lump of it became soft, I cut it up into smaller bits to speed up the melt.  I also added all the remnants of the other candles, because why not? Once everythings melted it’s possible to add various essential oils.  As the kitchen already smelt like a tart’s boudoir, I refrained.

 

 

Pouring in the liquid wax is not the easiest thing. I recommend a funnel.  Then I improvised with tin foil to keep the wicks upright and central.

 

 

Highly satisfying and highly recommended.

Laters, Kate x