Category: Lights
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
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
Light Up x
I often wonder, do people like Champagne because of the taste, or the associations? It raises that question of how much of life do we see through filters of branding and subliminal messages? Step away from what you’re supposed to want and a whole other world can open up. For instance, this lighting is from Homeof, a relatively new brand formed by Helen White and Michael Jones, ex-BHS lighting designers who decided to go it alone. Remember BHS lighting? How brilliant it was? A high street wonder…the ethos here is very similar, but oh so much slicker…
(All pics Homeof and Pinterest)
This is designer looks, because they’re designed by exceptional designers, with the experience to know what the high street wants, and the eye to push boundaries for the perfect product, at a price point that’s genuinely affordable.
I, for one, am sold.
Laters, Kate x
Mind the gap x
A fan of the quirky and like a genuine re-cycle? For present inspiration, look no further than the London Transport Museum shop. and their vintage shop.
There’s a whole section dedicated to first edition posters at unframed, present friendly prices.
As well as refurbished luggage racks, large and small. And for the real aficionados…push plates…
And even a jubilee line telephone….
(All pics London Transport Museum)
Choices, Choices.
Laters, Kate x
Madness with love x
A fusion made in heaven: Tall candlesticks – already an object of desire because of their perfect balance of functionality with beauty – now upgraded to lust level with whimsy, madness and imagination. Apparently these lovelies were originally from Anthropologie, and – apologies – are both unavailable and required deep pockets (I saw them priced at $395 each). But their joy is the love they continue to radiate in inspiration, because when should price stop anyone?
I particularly love this pic, and can only doff my hat to the skillful drilling it must’ve entailed. Muchus Kudos.
Quite a few examples have used glass: I have no idea what kind of glue they used, or how long the bonds would last, but how appealing for a Christmas table…
(All pics Pinterest)
And then there’s this little beauty, a hybrid of many things, including a brutal yet fanciful version of Japanese Kinsugi, the art of finding strength in the broken.
Come to Mama.
Laters, Kate x
Shadows
All these art works were created by Kumi Yamashita using a combination of solids and a single light source.
She says ‘ I sculpt using light and shadow. I construct single or multiple objects and place them in relation to a single light source. The complete artwork is therefore composed of both the material (the solid objects) and the immaterial (the light or shadow).
(All pics Kumi Yamashita or Pinterest)
Pure magic.
Laters, Kate x
Light it up x
In the back of my mind I’ve been thinking about these lights ever since my sister-in-law Sue said they had a problem with the lights over their kitchen table because there’s no way to put a pendant in. Their attraction is multilayered: Many are fixed to the wall rather than a ceiling, there’s the brooding statement wow factor, the multidirectional angles plus playful shadows and that cunning ability to move the arms at whim.
(All pics Pinterest)
Add in a dimmer switch and I’m sold.
Laters, Kate x
Bright White Light x
There was this article I read last week that on initial skimming was talking my artisanal language – it’s message was make sure it’s the stuff you hold and use every day are your investment pieces because this is where quality and appreciation will sing. Except that’s when I had a lightbulb moment because it’s so not true – in fact, the real truth is the very opposite: We need the stuff we use every day to be simple and replaceable because their constant use means the chances of them being broken wracks up and who wants to shed tears on a daily basis? I know we have a white mismatched dinner service that I’m sure started off as a two bogoffs from Tesco. It’s been added to over the years, but it’s core has remained the same: mismatched but matched simplicity with a lack of drama when a piece inevitably breaks.
(From Argos £7.99 for 12 piece set)
I’ve been noticing this boomerang effect a lot lately, where you think one thing leads to a certain consequence when in fact, the opposite happens: Take the row over Facebook…the premise is we’re all connected. But in truth is it segregation with the tribes who share our views leading to intolerance, division and stress? It’s food for thought.
(From Argos £58 for a 18 piece set)
(From Habitat reduced from £60 to £30 for a 12 piece set)
Maybe we need to be more careful where real value lies, but what I do know is taking a walk on the cheap side of the tracks means there’s so much more left in the kitty for the real stars to shine: The ones that get used every day but have no danger of being dropped..
Laters, Kate x
Jamb x
If money were no object and unicorns were real, the choice of light for the study wouldn’t be which light, but which light from Jamb.
There’s a meticulous attention to detail that sums up the English historic aesthetic.
All these lights are reproductions. Except you wouldn’t know it, from looks or price.
(All pics Jamb)
Sigh. Dream. Lust.
At least it’s the first of December and Christmas can finally be mentioned. Now where did I put those pesky elves?
Laters, Kate x
Light it up x
Planning out the study has become my default setting with the spotlight of attention now focused on lighting, which at present is an issue in the room: Unlike the other ceilings in the house which are Victorian high, the ceiling in the study, mainly because of its position on a mezzanine level in the back overlooking the garden, is lower. So sadly a large, feature light is out of the head-hitting-question.
Which is a shame, because oversized standout lights are rather delicious.
But then the symmetrical scales fell away from my eyes: Who says a main light has to be in the middle of a room? And why, like we do in kitchens over tables, can’t a light be strategically placed over a desk? And even if the central symmetry does add something (love a bit of symmetry), why can’t a cunning hook in the ceiling direct a beautiful fabric cable to just over the desired spot? Allelujah!
(A sort of reverse of this really (Note the carefully positioned photo to disguise his bruising on the left side from continual light bashing))
And so the magical world of lighting has opened up again…
(All pics Pinterest)
(Except if I’m totally honest, whilst I love this mental breakthrough enough to share it, the desk is going to be opposite the central window…and it riases the question, would a light block out the light? Would it actually be an oxymoron in physical form?)
I fear More thought is needed..
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 
