Category: Lights
A Progress Report: Blue Notes..
Things are changing daily..the lights: wall lights/pendants/milk churns are all up (I think they deserve a separate post..)
But here’s a sneak peak: This pic was taken last week..much has changed since then..but more later..
Down below in the underworld is where decisions are still taking place: The DVD-storage-provider-fireplace now has it’s hinged camouflage grill in place, completing the look..I LOVE it.
The TV needs to be mounted so the wall needed to be painted…and so the polymorphing paint trials started again. Sigh. The aim was for dark blue with grey undertones to link in with a big rug coming in. A blue shouldn’t be a hard colour to find, I thought – classic, straight forward..simple. The sample on the wall looked great – dark, velvety, petroly even – perfect!…except when I painted it on the fireplace wall…it was green. OH.NO.NOT.AGAIN (Yet look at the picture…blue…) but honest to God it was a dark, Victorian green…and looked OK..just not…right – too harsh – too green (I think colours are harder to nail when it’s a room with no natural light, but I am starting to wonder if colour blindness can be brought on by renovations and old age..) Arggghhhhhhhh!
So it was back to inspiration pics..
Back to the rug..
Back to the DIY shop…with the decision that if paint could change, then the exploitation of it should be a controlled decision. I went determined for a smokey blue that could almost be grey, but could be mistaken for a bruised lavender. And I went avoiding all the ‘branded’ paint with their promises of perfection, approaching the much cheaper Valspar range with their choice of 2000 colours…knowing to only trust my eye.
The result is a joy: A summer thunderstorm, the mist on a mountain..the light at dusk.
And look how the bare mdf looks in the pics…like the perfect just plastered putty pink! It’s the next colour to track down..that and a complementing grey..
Wish me luck.
Laters, Kate x
Light up my Life x
Ah! The potent joys of a holiday to Kent, where each time we visit I think I’ve cracked the lack of internet, only to fail miserably again and again..until the only option is to (with natural great regret) down tools entirely and embrace the holiday spirit and a world without computers. Needless to say, it was a walk along the path to bliss! But more on Kent another day..both pre and post trip I’ve been obsessed with the light for our new dining room. Much to my own surprise, having looked at various 1950’s and 70’s lights with their cool drama, I went for this classic flemish brass number. It was the cost shape that made it stand out..over a metre tall and two tiered, like a Christmas tree (imagine decorating with ivy, fir and baubles. Sigh) but it was in a pretty sorry state and covered in a dark varnish much loved in the 1940’s that now just detracted, like a bad fitting nun’s habit from it’s simple lines and austerity appeal.
But how to clean it? Pinterest proved to be a wealth of info and basically there were two options – making a paste with vinegar and baking powder or soaking it in nail varnish remover. Not being sure how much nail varnish remover would be required to fill the bath and dubious about the effect of remover on electric wiring, I opted for the first choice.
The vinegar and baking soda bubbled up beautifully when mixed together and had the additional benefit of the evocative scent of a down town chippie.
It was slathered on and left to simmer gently.
The result? A huge, stinking, smelly mess…and no noticeable change.
Undeterred, Plan B went into action: Cotton wool pads soaked in nail varnish remover and wrapped around the light like a mummy.
It definitely made a difference, but didn’t shift the deeper stains which even elbow grease couldn’t budge.
Returned to instructions…and to give them their due, they did say to use very fine steel wool with the nail varnish remover.
And when I finally got hold of some (slack..always make sure you have required tools before you start) it was like magic..the black literally evaporated away. From this..
To this.
Like Cinders from the ashes, she’s turned into a real beaut! Now I just need to source some of those vintage, edison-like-filament bulbs that have been popping up everywhere..pray they do them in this size…but knowing my luck…they’ll cost more than the light!
Laters, Kate x
Tickled Pink x
Rebecca Wilson is a young sculptor domiciled in Scotland with a cheeky sense of humour.
With her jewellery range she’s become the burlesque dancer of adornment.
Not that jewellery is the only thing she does..take this light, titled ‘Many hands make light work’
Beautifully cast in glow loving porcelain.
Or this one…inspired by jammy dodgers..
And temptingly called ‘Light snack’
Rebecca takes pleasure in looking at the humble objects of life – like these matches – and wants to see our reaction when she alters them either by material, situation or size..she wants to understand, why does our reaction then change?
It’s honesty and frivolity glued together with the luxury of porcelain and talent.
Just delicious.
Laters, Kate x
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
Shining Light..
Lindsey Adelman light-creations are an empathy grab to the heart, snaring you between brutal, industrial chic and fragile organic forms..
Strangely enough, the girl-with-the-design eye-started her life wearing another coat – that of reader and dreamer. The magic happened in 1992 whilst Lindsey was working as an editorial assistant at the Smithsonian Institution, she walked into the Exhibition Fabrication Department and saw an industrial designer sculpting French fries out of foam for a show on American work…”I think they were for a McDonald’s drive-thru set or something,” she says. But somewhere a connection was made: dreams could be made into reality…and she immediately enrolled at RISD to study design…
Her first lights evolved from playing with off-the-shelf parts: ‘The structures I’ve made come out of an interest in function’ She explains, ‘You have this idea of spreading out points of light in a space, then developing a system of materials and energy..till it ends up looking like a tree because a tree already has it figured out!’
Her Company, Lindsey Adelman, based in Mannhatten, New York, now supports a staff of 20 and deals in commissions from around the world worth tens of thousands of dollars per light…but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t lost her roots..
Her first foray light is still available to order for the bargain price of $145.25. The catch? You have to make it yourself…heaven!
…And it comes with a European wiring option…
Laters, Kate x
Haute Spot x
I have a sentimental weakness for the twinkling lights of Christmas – come tomorrow night, ours will be packed away for another year, marking the end of what has been a really rather lovely Christmas break…if self-indulgence is an art, there’s been just the right mix of celebrations and duvet days: The school routine and early mornings kick-off tomorrow and are going to be a seismic shock to the system..but now, excesses be damned, at least there’s something back in the tank to start the juggling again..and the harsh reality of New Year resolutions can wait another week: I like this feeling of cosy hibernation..
But if I had money to burn in this post-Christmas-spending-month-of-bill-contemplation, this fire-pit would be the object of my desires: Created by hand by the Artist Melissa Crisp and inspired by the north woods of Minnesota where the artist’s mother grew up it’s a living, breathing, visual delight..
Imagine the leaping shadows holding the cold of a winter frost at bay – that wonderful mix of being out in the elements, but warm…But until such times as the Lottery turns in my favour (as The Husband pointed out: would help if a bought a ticket), I shall just dream: There’re enough memories to keep flames burning…and simple candlelight and open fires aren’t a bad replacement..particularly if the candles are Jo Malone..sigh…and so once more into the darkness of winter we go..
Laters, Kate x
Objet D’art Lesson..
The effervescent Matisse Exhibition now showing in New York is a joy of art expressed in it’s purest form – as is this photo of Matisse’s studio: A glimpse behind the canvas and a spotlight on those moments of pure creativity where the trains of thought are literally turned into living, breathing, pale-pink, illuminated flesh..
What particularly fascinates me is that light..a visual delight in spontaneity and plaster of paris with a touch of Modigliani thrown in…My mother’s given me an old brass lantern light that’s missing it’s glass to transform for her…I’m now thinking she might get more than she bargained for!
Laters, Kate x
Brain Juice x
Laters, Kate x
Weekend Wanderings..
On Saturday Fairy, Bella and I headed to Shoreditch to the Jumble and Pearls vintage and more sale at the Book Club. (A fab cafe in it’s own right with loads going on…and it’s own table tennis table..)
Shoreditch is an eclectic, buzzing, creative, urban area with stories and something different round every corner. Looking with eyes wide open is a must.
(I was thinking of you, Su..loved the retro letters..)
Opposite the light shop was this fairytale-like Reclamation Yard…we were immediately sidetracked (it doesn’t take much..). Set in an old church it was like stepping through the wardrobe into Narnia…..
I didn’t think so much space existed in central London…
In my dreams this old French haberdashery unit is pride of place in my kitchen holding bowls and plates..and anything else..
We were at Jumble and Pearl to see my wonderful cousin Nathalie (her story here) and see her new merchandise for Sam Says Enjoy Life.
(My sister swears by these bibs and is always being asked where she got them from)
I also had Bella’s portrait drawn by the lovely Jenny Robins.
I’ve always fancied having a wall of framed ‘street art’ portraits of the kids, drawn across the years, seen with different eyes and marking their growth into adults.
Jenny has said she’ll help, so this is the first one…I like to think the finished collection will be like an Installation in it’s own right..
We headed home, very happy with my purchase from Nathalie – one of her new up-cycled denim bags, perfect to hold in style the daily detritus I manage to accumulate and lug around.
I particularly like the pockets..that little bit of embroidery is heaven.
Laters, Kate x
Doings…
The light (as discussed here and here) is coming on. I suspect my top shade is too big..but I just can’t stop! I love the way each shade eats up the shade below and covers the gap between them. At the moment they’re loosely hooked together – on the plus side it means they can be unhooked with the greatest of ease. On the downside you have to be careful to find the central point to keep them straight and balanced..and the slightest knock…..they all come crashing down…The window is open now and they do move most beautifully in the breeze.
We’ve also been having the most wonderful weather in London (long may it last and much deserved) so Bella, Charlie and I have been re-claiming the garden from winter. Utter madness, but I’ve wanted to extend our patio for ages…I managed to dig out over fifty bags of soil hashtag-who-needs-a-gym? I’m dying to know whether I can actually do it…I want to add some inlaid cobbles as well..time will tell – and I fully accept I’m nuts, but I really believe getting your hands dirty is part of the joy of life.
I’ve ordered my espadrilles (2 pairs) for the Competition..ideas are bubbling – just a matter of which ones to choose..and I’ve had another little creative project on the side based on a Dries Van Noten shirt I fell in lust with…but I think I’ll save that for another post! Only a week of the Easter Holidays left to get it all done…no pressure!
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 