Remember Me?!

It’s so long since I posted anything on this blog that I’m almost embarrassed to continue with it!  However, my blushes aside, I shall try and pick up where I left off!  I’m still working for the same company and we’ve been lucky enough to work on some fabulous houses.  At home, we’ve also been pretty busy with our own house and garden (updates will follow).  Not all work and no play though - my husband and I have also had a few fantastic and inspirational holidays - pics below ........ more for my benefit as I get back into the swing of writing this blog but I hope you will enjoy them too!  

First stop - KEFALONIA, GREECE .........

Fiskardo - so picturesque

Beautiful Kefalonia - 

don't you just love Bougainvillea? 

Melissani Cave - an amazing open air cave.  I love the way the sunlight dances on the crystal clear water!

Assos - stunning!

After a storm - but not quite ready for the sunbeds!

o o o o o o O o o o o o

This was our third trip to the Greek island of CRETE .........

And our first time to Chania .........and part of the reason for my absence is now evident!

Chania by night

Small carpet weaving factory in Chania - fascinating!




Further round the bay from where were staying.

Commonwealth War Memorial, Souda Bay

Wow - beautiful Elafonissi

Agi Apostoli

o o o o o o O o o o o o o

Then we had an amazing holiday in the city which never sleeps - NEW YORK ......

Brooklyn Bridge

How about this for a fireplace?!

                
              We spent a good few hours in the Metropolitan                         Museum of Art but could have spent a few days - it's huge!  

The new World Trade Center 

Guggenheim Museum building designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright.   Sadly closed the day we
planned to go (we'll just have to plan a return trip!)

Inside my favourite building - the Chrysler Building

The Woolworth Building 

o o o o o o O o o o o o o

One word to describe the view from our room in ANTIGUA - WOW!

Driftwood on Valley Church Beach

My favourite holiday flower!

St Peter's Church in Parham - fantastic roof in this church which was built by British architect Thomas Weekes in 1840

Beautiful sunset over the pool!

Flambouyant Tree at Nelson's Dockyard - I love the bright orange against the blue sky

o o o o o o O o o o o o o

Closer to home - CAEN, FRANCE ..............

For the last 2 Easters we've taken the car to Caen with the car club.  This was early morning in St. Malo.

I love these dead straight tree lined roads!

British Cemetery at Bayeaux (above left) and American Cemetery near Colleville-sur-Mer - 

very humbling 

A lovely modern take on stained glass windows.  This was at Pont L'Eveque.

Beautiful tiled floor in that church too!

The really pretty Medieval village of Dives Sur Mer 

Le Memorial De Caen - fantastic museum

o o o o o o O o o o o o o

Well, I could write a separate blog just for FLORENCE - it was beyond my wildest dreams!

This was our first sight of the Duomo and I actually gasped when we walked round the corner and saw it for the first time - it takes your breath away.

Ponte Vecchio

 

Temptingly pretty!

 The Duomo by day - even more stunning!

Early evening on The Arno

Spotted the bike (actually advertising for a cafe) on our walk back 

The top of the Duomo from Giotto's Bell Tower - and (following a quick cup of coffee) the bell tower from the top of the Duomo!  

I love this 3D effect floor inside the Duomo

The interiors of the building are works of art in themselves and the contents are amazing.  This is just a couple photos of the interiors and the treasures inside.

Inside the Palazzo Pitti

Costume Gallery in the Palazzo Pitti

Santa Croce

The cloisters in Santa Croce

Inside the Uffizi Gallery

The Tribune Room - covered in shells 

U

 An exhibit from the fascinating Bargello Museum

Inside the Palazzo Vecchio -
Moorish influence here

Inside the Palazzo Vecchio we stumbled across a tapestry restoration project and textile display

Naturally dyed fabric samples

Tapestry restoration project

A bit of wall art .........

Sunset over the city from Piazza Michelangelo

And just time for a quick visit to Pisa on the way back to the airport

Well worn steps inside the leaning tower - how many thousands of feet have stepped on these I wonder!

Leaning Tower of Pisa - obviously!

All 3 - slightly distorted in this panoramic shot but you get the picture!

o o o o o o O o o o o o o

We love Greece and last year went to the island of NAXOS ......via ATHENS

These photos need no explanation!

The view from our breakfast table in Naxos ....

Expecting rain?!

This model sewing machine 

was in a little toy shop

The view from our lunch table

You can't go to Naxos and not see the sunset at the Temple of Apollo .......

Whilst there we took a boat trip to Delos - uninhabited island and birthplace of Artemis & Apollo.  Really interesting museum where these pottery fragments were exhibited - fantastic colours, given how old they are!

Later in the day we went to Mykonos

Stainless steel trees on a wall and 
street lighting made from pipe fittings!

The iconic windmills of Mykonos

Early evening in Naxos Town Harbour

Cool chairs!

We hired a car and went up into the mountains  - 

this pottery shop was in the pretty village of Apeiranthos (good chocolate cake here too!)

Looking out from a disused emery mine

Halkia

Lunch in Apollonas - and holiday hair!

Olive press museum

Sunset in Agia Anna

Back in Halkia the following day - summers aren't complete for me until I've seen bougainvillea

We visited Bazeos Tower and there was a fantastic art exhibition which was a real bonus!  This was 'folded' marble and was carved - stunning!

Carved marble pots

Folded paper - also part of the exhibition

We spent a couple of days on the neighbouring island of Koufonisi

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Early evening in Koufonisi

Greece - or the Caribbean?  Look at the colour of that water - perfect!

Back on Naxos and we had a wander around the back streets of Naxos Town (Chora)

Gorgeous Kelims!

Interesting use for an old propeller!

Pre-dinner drinks on our way into town

And all too soon, we were on our way back to Athens!

So, those were the holidays for the last 3 years or so - will be back soon with a few updates on the house and get back to the main purpose of this blog - and that's posting about interiors!

Be back soon!

BIID Annual Conference

Yesterday my work colleagues and I left the Hampshire countryside for the day to attend the inaugural BIID Annual Conference - what an interesting event! 

The theme of the conference was 'Celebrating British Design' and a really interesting line up of speakers took part.  It was held at the offices of the Royal Institute of British Architects' building in Portland Place, which is a beautiful building and where my graduation ceremony was held 2 years ago, so it brought back memories for me!  The current President of RIBA, Angela Brady, welcomed everybody and spoke briefly but passionately about the throw away society we live in today and how she believes that all designers, architects included, have a duty to design for sustainability - very inspirational!

The first speaker was Glen Adamson, Head of Research at the V&A and co-curator of the recent exhibition 'Post Modernism: Style and Subversion: 1970 to 1990.  He gave an insightful talk about the position of the British interior within museum practice today.  There is an exhibition celebrating British Design at the VA& which runs until 12th August.

There then followed a really interesting talk by Kathy Lithgow, Head Conservator of the National Trust who looked at how the future is shaped by the past using lots of photographic examples from National Trust houses, some of which I've been to, including Kingston Lacy (which has fantastic interiors) and Avebury which was also the subject of a recent BBC TV series following the National Trust's journey of restoration of the house.

Kingston Lacy

Avebury Manor

After a break for coffee and networking, Rosie Millard was in conversation with Sir Paul Smith and for me, that was the highlight of the day - he was so down to earth and very entertaining.  

Sir Paul Smith

Before lunch Diana Yakeley (President of the BIID) presented a number of Honorary Fellowships to a number of figures who the BIID believe have helped shaped the interior design profession.  They were presented to Dr Paul Thompson (Rector of the Royal College of Art), Graham Watts OBE (Construction Industry Council), Andreas von Einsiedel (Photographer), Zandra Rhodes who unfortunately was unable to be there, and Sir Paul Smith.

After lunch there was a panel debate, the subject of which was "What makes British design worth celebrating?"  Chaired by Paul Finch, the panel members were Dr Paul Thompson, Christine Losecaat (Creative Industries Adviser to UK Trade and Investment) and Sue Timney (Vice President and President Elect of the BIID).

Last to speak was Deyan Sudjic (Director of the Design Museum).  His talk included the challenges of transforming the Commonwealth Institute building into the new home of the Design Museum which is scheduled to open in 2014.

Interior of the Commonwealth Institute building

Diana Yakeley closed the conference and we just had time to grab a quick coffee before the BIID AGM which saw Sue Timney elected as President of the BIID for the next year.

Finally, it was time to party!  We made the short walk (in the sunshine which was a pleasant surprise!) to the fantastic Fritz Hansen showroom in Margaret Street for a welcome glass of something fizzy!

  

My Own Home - Master Bedroom

I thought it was time for a bit of an update!  As is usual for us, we started a project leading up to Christmas.  At the beginning of October last year we de-camped to the guest bedroom, cleared our room completely and ripped out the old fitted wardrobes (something I've been longing to do since moving in 13 years ago!)

So, with the old wardrobes gone, we had quite a lot of (boring) preparation to do/organise such as electrics, plastering the ceiling, coving and fitting new skirting boards.  On the plus side, we do now have underfloor heating in our en-suite bathroom! With the new wardrobes fitted, it was time for the fun bit!

We'd replaced the bed a couple of years ago with an oak bedstead and couldn't justify a new one so, working round the bed, we had new wardrobes fitted which gave us so much extra storage.  I wanted a room which felt more 'grown up' and elegant.  I knew what colours I wanted (that was the easy bit) and collected lots of samples before making my final choice.  I really believe it's much easier to design for other people than for myself - sometimes you can have too much choice!

A selection of the samples I was considering .......

Having decided which fabrics, wallpaper and paint colour to use I had a bit of a selling job to do on my client (ie, my husband!).  I put together a small informal sample board with a couple of rendered sketches to illustrate how I thought it would look.  Visualisations are a great way of communicating a design to a client (including husbands!).

Here is my 'vision' of the way the new room would look, together with a reminder of the old ......

This room really needed dragging out of the 80's!

Having spent ages taking wallpaper off all the walls when we first moved in, I am now slowly re-introducing it, although not on the same scale as it was before and with wallpaper designs which are easier to live with!

It's all in the detail ........

Decoration

Walls painted in Zoffany Sheepskin flat emulsion 

Wallpaper - Zoffany Tours (calico)

Window Treatment

Curtain fabric - Wemyss Heti (Dusk) Silk/Linen
Elephant grey roller blind for privacy and to protect the curtains from sun damage

Trim on roller blind - Wemyss Houles Opaline bead trim

Wemyss Houles Opaline bead trim

Interlined curtains with French pleat heading

Cushions
Square (22") - for the front of the cushions I used Larsen Allure in mineral, and for the backs and piping I used Zoffany Ketti silk in aubergine

Oblong (16" x 20") - Larsen Mood velvet in plum trimmed with Wemyss Houles Opaline bead trim along 2 sides

Mirror

Raines and Willow mirror 

And here's the finished result ......

A few final comments ........





My preference for curtains would always be to have them to the floor, especially in an adult's bedroom, as it just creates a more elegant look.  However, this is not always practical and not a view my husband shares "because the radiator would be behind the curtains when they're closed".  As it happens, if we'd used full length curtains in here (including dress curtains with Roman blind which is another option I was considering), we wouldn't be able to open the drawers on the bedside cabinet so my husband won the argument - this time!  

As for bed linen, I love white but in here I wanted the room to feel warm, so went for ivory which also looks better with the wardrobe doors.  The chenille throw at the end of the bed is really for the cat's benefit!  Cats love to sit 'on' things and I'm trying to get him to sit on the throw and not the bed linen!

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Whilst I'm at it, we do have a blind in the Family Bathroom (finally!)

The fabric I chose for this blind is Romo Quintus in Rocoto from the Fougere collection.  It's a lovely heavy cotton/linen blend, which is also suitable for upholstery. 

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Thanks for visiting! 

Next on my list is my son's bedroom, followed by the guest bedroom - and both by Christmas.  Although with the way this summer's going, they'll both be done by the end of June!

Best of British

As many people in the UK are celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee this weekend, here are a few British inspired bits and bobs!

Lovely vintage style Union Jack Bunting from Vintage Amethyst.

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London Eye Pop Up Card, Denim Union Jack notebook and Pink Merino Wool Throw, all from An Angel At My Table

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Enslow three-seat sofa in Mojo in cerise and Spring Tide by Linwood and Naunton in Granite.  

Sofa from Wesley-Barrell.

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Linwood recently introduced a new children's range of fabrics which includes this London's Calling design available in 3 colours.

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The cushions above are made to order and available from Not On The High Street.

These cushions are both from William Yeoward.  Endellion Rose cushion (left) and one especially created to commemorate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee - hand embroidered Jubilee - Poppy cushion.

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Vintage Style Union Jack Chest from An Angel At My Table.  

Other pieces are available such as waste bin (shown), storage boxes and coasters.

Further similar products can be found on my Pinterest Best of British Board

I hope you've enjoyed our extended weekend, despite the weather - 

but it wouldn't be England without a rainy Bank Holiday weekend!