Tagged: Interiors
Hitting the tiles x
I remember one autumn writing about unconformity and the pull of the unexpected when symmetry is taken away. Maybe that explains the appeal of zellige tiles? – the subtle variations of each tile, the changes of light playing across the glaze, the feeling of something artisan and handmade. Their origin is Moroccan, crafted from the clay found in the city of Fez. First formed in a mould, craftsmen use a shaping block and hammer to smooth and shape the tiles; an imperfect, perfect art. The second appeal is their infinite variety of colours and shapes, from pale, misty sea-kissed aquas to freshly just churned creams and barely there pinks to dark stormy greys and forrest greens, from skinny rectangles to chunky squares, hexagons or stars. The variations are endless.
(All pics Pinterest)
Versatile, beautiful yet subtle, these tiles quietly scream their presence.
And I love ’em.
Laters,
Kate x
By All the Planets! x
What a treat the Sunday Times Home supplement had this week – and whole article on this amazing story – Club Jupiter – the tale of three talented friends pulling together to create something special over lockdown that will change the way you think of static caravans forever. So much of this spoke to my heart – taking something forgotten and breathing new life, stripping away the plastic and replacing it with everything natural and considered, three women with a special bond, three women with fantastic eyes for colour and pattern; it’s a dream made in heaven – or rather Margate, because this little beauty is now up for renting – so not only brilliant but financially brilliant as well – I doff my feathered cap you incredible girls.
For more details and to book, click here – Club Jupiter
A little slice of heaven.
Laters, Kate x
At home with Cara x
An Architectural Digest tour of Cara Dellvingne’s L.A. home (as supposed to the one she shared with her sister, Poppy) In fact, this is about Cara living her best life and embracing her eccentric spirit. For me, it’s the first time I’ve seen the true extremes of money: we have bedrooms, dining rooms, sitting rooms? She has a velvet pussy palace and a vagina tunnel! Honestly watch – you’ll only smile!
Laters,
Kate x
Mind The Gap x
I was talking to a friend the other day about wallpaper for a downstairs toilet – always such an interesting room because it’s hidden away and small, meaning the imagination is free to fly – as are the purse strings; always a Brucie bonus. My first thought was for some classic Cole & Son; strong, contemporary that sing quality. But then I thought – how nice it would be to find something different that nobody else has – and remembered ‘Mind The Gap.’
(All pics Pinterest and Mind The Gap)
Bold, dramatic and timeless – but what more would you expect from a company based in Transylvania?
Laters, Kate x
Escape x
Call it the call of lockdown fever, the curse of cabin fever, but after a few weeks of containment – and despite this lockdown being different – my eyes start longing for far horizons and a glimpse of the sea. I saw this house in Architectural Digest and physically felt the pull.
(All pics Pinterest and Architectural Digest)
Maybe it’s time to get the Christmas lights out early…
Laters, Kate x
Alpine Style x
It’s the time of year where life seems to contract inwards, windows and doors closed, curtains drawn. Huddling and cosy. What better expression of that feeling than this chalet, tucked away in the mountains? What amazes me, is when I take the pictures in their whole, I love them. When I analyse individual bits, I question my choice – the pine wood – too orange? The side table and rug – Ikea? The pink cushions – too charity shop? Then I think, am I being honest? Or am I battling conditioned behaviour – maybe the wood has warmth, the rugs are original, and the cushions vintage. Is this actually a wind of change…?
(All pics Pinterest and Houses and Garden)
There’s certainly beauty in simplicity.
But I still don’t like pine when it’s too orange…
Laters, Kate x
Design Icon x
Have you seen Home on Apple TV? Property porn for the discerning palate, it’s a series that steps out of the shadow of commercial bling to present homes with heart, soul and integrity. I’m only on episode 2. But I think I’ll stay there a while, smelling the air and savouring the view, because I have a new design icon: Theaster Gates from Chicago. The man is an onion – multi layered, multi talented, he defies description in the best possible way.
He says, ‘I am interested in not only found objects but also in discarded knowledge.’ And I think it is this heart that pulls all his work together, whether it is sculpture, pots or interiors. He takes his subject and embraces it’s original essence, unleashing the spirit within.
But even rarer, he doesn’t hoard this spirit – most of his work is on behalf of the community making and re-making community centres, cafes, communal art studios – He touches these places with gold and passes them on. His joy is seeing the connections they make and watching the creative seeds he plants grow.
To see a building taken back to it’s bones and that skeleton, age becoming a work of art in it’s own right is a beautiful thing.
To be in a building with a printing press at one end, an library in another, a potters studio in between and a record collection nestled somewhere else is to be in heaven.
(All pics Pinterest)
This man is an inspiration in its purest form.
Laters, Kate x
Trends x
Has anyone else watched Good Trouble on BBC iplayer? Easy binge watching, like an ever replacing tube of paprika Pringles. One of the main stories is following the trial of a black man shot by police. Prophetic when you think it was made in 2018. But not so when you think how many times a shooting of a black man by police has happened. But it’s the interiors that have stolen my heart. Set in an old movie theatre in the City of Angels – both elements a pleasant spin on the habitual backdrops of New York – the vibe is high ceilings, large spaces, gorgeous flaking period features, with the implication that taste is always more important than high spend, except this would obviously cost for those not in the know, except of course these people know, except they don’t, because it’s all so artful and effortless for them. There’s one particular room – other than the library, the kitchen and the pool – to die for. And that’s Malika’s bedroom – on the wall by the bed is black and gold geometric retro wallpaper, inspired by Art Deco, mixed with the swinging sixties and oozing the era of Biba and Barbara Hulanicki – and it’s singing a sweet song of ‘my time is coming again…’
In fact, Barbara Hulanicki has been designing in her signature style for Graham and Brown wallpaper.
(All pics Pinterest)
Black and gold, geometric patterns circa Biba. It will be a thing.
Laters, Kate x
Red Hot x
(A re-post – this has been one of my favourite interiors ever, so I think it deserves another peek…)
Has property porn ever been this good? Let me show the ways…First an eyes on stalks glimpse into the warm, inviting, unpretentious Brooklyn home of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard which proves that true integrity is more than skin deep.
But there’s more…there’s a video too…in fact, blank out time somewhere warm and cosy..this is PP on tap…be prepared, then click here.
(All pics Architectural Digest and Pinterest)
And the final cherry? The house is for sale.
Time to buy a lottery ticket. And dream.
Laters, Kate x
Summer holidays: Pine cones, roses, lazy days, lemon sherberts, tottering piles of books, picnics, Victoria sponge cake, tartan rugs, muddy wellingtons, damp anoraks, salads, less but more, pots of tea, lashings of ginger beer, board games, walking, running, caring, but not caring, watching, listening, breathing. All summed up in this tiny cottage in Scotland that says come to me with it’s open arms of nostalgia and the warm embrace of simpler times.
(All pics House and Garden and Pinterest)
This is the joy of summer.
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 