Tagged: Interiors

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

 

Cubit x

 

 

 

We’ve been looking at getting a new corner sofa  in the sitting room. If money were dreams and conveniently grew on trees and my sitting room were double the size, I would seriously be considering a Cubit sofa: Sustainable, architectural and totally flexible…all the things I desire to be…

(All pics Pinterest and Cubit)

 

I think it’s the freedom that’s at the root of their appeal: There’s something so nostalgic about re-arranging the cushions and chairs to make something just for you, it’s like adult lego for nest builders.

 

Laters, Kate x

Burn baby burn!

Saw this on a Pinterest board and loved it: Well crafted, obvious quality with a quirky sense of humour.  Shame the price point was in the couple of hundreds.  But it did remind me, there is an alternative to burning candles and that the plus point with incense is the choice of burners.

 

(I did have a quick google dive to see if I could find a similar cat.  This one from Etsy was a tenth of the price.  But I suspect you know that already…)

 

And then there’s this type, with backflow incense, which turns the whole thing into a living, moving sculpture.  (From what I have read though, you have to be careful about the quality of the incense, otherwise you get mucho smoke, bad smell and residue.  Another alternative is to make your own backflow cones – you tube has some videos…)

(All pics Pinterest)

Too much?  The tacky side of tacky?? I just can’t decide!…

Laters, Kate x

Re-entry x

 

I made a discovery yesterday. In fact I made several. Firstly, I am genuinely getting old – the proof came in an unexpected moment when I found myself looking for and using a different attachment for the hoover.

Afterwards I needed a full fat caffeine filled coffee to recover: I’d taken it upon myself to have an autumn-clean; a cathartic move to put away the summer and embrace the coming cold. Part of this meant pulling everything out from under the bed and doing a proper job, because our bedroom has exposed floorboards and the brass bed sits on a vintage rug, provided as a welcome mat to any hungry moths in the neighbourhood. Discovery no.2: There is a Dust Monster, and this is where he lives, along with his neighbour, the Sock Monster.  (I believe these are the protectors of said moths)

But none of the negatives will stop my meshed love and appreciation of the aesthetic quality of a perfectly placed rug, whether in a bedroom or partnered with a sofa.

 

(All pics Pinterest)

 

There’s something about a rug that pulls a room together, anchors the furniture and solidifies all the opposing elements. I was reminded of this whilst watching the latest interior design competition (Interior Design Masters) on the BBC.  The joy of these programmes is considering what you’d do in their position. And often I find myself shouting ‘rug’, and sometimes other words, at the screen.  But the truth is, seeing where contestants go wrong is easy, particularly with the addition of retrospect.  The hardest thing is always to narrow the choices and come up with original ideas in the first place. And that’s without cameras and a time limit.

 

Laters, Kate x

Smile Plastics!

Hats in the air to Waitrose starting a ‘bring your own containers’ trial to Oxford.  Plastic packaging for a range of products like pasta, cereals, rice, coffee, wine and frozen fruit will be removed and replaced with a refill your own station.  About bloody time one of the big supermarkets did this.  When they roll it out across all stores (fingers crossed) maybe they’ll use Smile Plastics in their design..

Smile Plastics is a material, design and manufacturing house making desirable hand crafted panels from waste material.  Their vision is to change people’s perceptions around waste via innovation – to use art and technology to unlock the hidden potential in recycling and open peoples eyes to the unexpected beauty of scrap.  In doing so they hope to inspire more people about sustainability and recycling.

(All pics Pinterest)

Transformative.

Laters, Kate x

575 Wandsworth Road

 

It won’t be this year I get to see this house – visits are limited in numbers and duration and this years slots are already full – but it’s on the bucket list.

 

The house is the work of Khdambi Asalache, a poet and writer of Kenyan descent who also worked for the BBC and the Treasury.  He started making fretwork to cover up the damp coming from the next door launderette, beginning a project that would last another twenty years. He would use abandoned wood, doors and boxes first cut to size then carved using a single knife.

 

(More details from National Trust and pics from Pinterest)

An extraordinary testament to patience, human endeavour, love and creativity.

Laters, Kate x

Minimoderns x

The driving force of Minimoderns is pattern with a story: The founders, Keith Stephenson and Mark Hampshire view what they produce as applied pattern across a range of products, including some incredible wallpapers.  It adds a pleasant change, a certain flavour. A different slant.

Their design influences range from mid-century British textiles to vintage toys, literature and even childhood memories.

(Love this for a boys room)

It’s the detail..

Wallpaper, trombone and badger are three words I never expected to use in a sentence.

 

If you want retro nostalgia with design integrity and are not afraid of making a statement, look no further.

 

Laters, Kate x