Sunday 26 October 2014

autumn break

It is time to step away from the computer and embrace the children's autumn break with walks in nature and relaxing moments at home. We have already stacked up on books from the library and we intend to try out a few autumnal recipes. I'm leaving you with these inspiring autumnal photos that show items from the autumn 2014 collection by the Lexington Company, discovered in the 'Will's Picks' feature in the latest Sweet Paul Magazine.

I will be back on Wednesday the 5th of November. Enjoy the days ahead!
photo credit:
Lexington Company/Pinterest (discovered via Sweet Paul Magazine Fall 2014 - 'Will's Picks' p. 37)

Friday 24 October 2014

Space: a sitting area with a hint of orange



Apart from the architecture of this South African lodge (the angular ceiling is made with locally harvested thatch and plantation-farmed pine beams), it was the orange-painted corner in this sitting area, with built-in shelves, that caught my attention. What a great way to add a touch of colour to a space, not to mention warmth. The ceremonial antelope masks on the wall were bought in Black Mamba, a bistro and an arts and crafts shop in Vaalwater in the north-east part of South Africa.

photo credit:
Victoria Sambunaris for House & Garden, August 2007 via Architectural Digest

Thursday 23 October 2014

Outdoor living

Outdoor living is a series on the blog that contains stylish outdoor living areas and sometimes al fresco table settings. It's about celebrating being outdoors all year round!



I doubt it has escaped anyone that fashion designer Oscar de la Renta (b. 1932 in the Dominican Republic) said his final goodbye last Monday. In this week's 'outdoor living' post I would like to honour his memory by featuring parts of the lush garden surrounding his seaside home in Punta Cana. It gives me the chance to post one of my favourite photos of the designer, where he stands smiling with his dogs under a purple petrea in bloom.


The designer helped around the garden and so did his wife Annette. They both loved this place. I find the vegetation fascinating. The plants look so healthy. The fertiliser used is the Sargasso seaweed harvested from the beach at low tide. I'm also fascinated with all the garden paths and courtyards. I had to feature the limestone fountain below that was built by one of his handymen.
photo credit:
William Waldron for Architectural Digest

Wednesday 22 October 2014

styling: reading nook



This is one of those blog posts, which I use to play with ideas or to think out loud about a space in my own home. This time it's the reading nook, or the sitting area. We have been living in this house for a few months now and our ideas of what to do with each space are slowly coming together. In my experience it's never good to rush into anything. Instead of buying the things you need, I find it better to wait and see how a space/home grows on you. Maybe it's the arrival of Christmas that makes me want to finish styling the reading nook, which is in the living room and has two chaise lounges, a coffee table between them, and a glass fireplace (electric). I'm just finding it difficult to decide on the colour palette.


Currently we have a whitish wool rug on the floor and a few mainly bluish accessories on the table, and to pop things up I just rearrange the books regularly and add fresh flowers. I have always leaned towards cushions in soft yellow tones and currently I have a crush on this suede cushion from French Connection Home that fits with everything. They also have this block printed rug in blue and white that I really like. The only problem is that the rug is too small for the space so I would have to find another one. I just cannot decide whether to go for a patterned rug in light colours (see also the top rug in this post from West Elm) or to choose a rug that has deeper tones.


When I look at the two stylish spaces featured in this post part of me thinks we should keep the neutral rug and use cushions, blankets, and other home accessories to style the space according to the seasons. A neutral rug on the floor gives us endless possibilities and we would never grow tired of the space. However, a patterned rug in ethnic style definitely defines a space and adds depth if its colours are deep. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever reach a decision!


photo credit:
1: Nuevo Estilo via Planete Deco | 2: cushion • French Connection Home | 3: rug • French Connection Home | 4: Roger Davies for Architectural Digest, March 2012

Tuesday 21 October 2014

drawing with light 41



Oscar de la Renta (1932-2014)

photo credit:
Platon Antoniou

Monday 20 October 2014

irresistible heathers



When listening to people (perhaps I should say women) speaking about autumn obsessions they are usually referring to clothes and accessories. For me this autumn it's heathers in all colours and shades, especially the deep blue and pink ones. These beauties recently caught my attention at Walkers Nurseries, my favourite garden centre in the area (remember the autumn colours last week?). Before the end of October I have a plan to make our mainly green garden more colourful. I love conifers but I a bed of blue and pink heathers will definitely add more charm.
photo credit:
Lisa Hjalt

Friday 17 October 2014

Outdoor living

Outdoor living is a series on the blog that contains stylish outdoor living areas and sometimes al fresco table settings. It's about celebrating being outdoors all year round!


In this week's outdoor living series I wanted to not only give a nod to autumn but also embrace its arrival. Do you remember a blog post where I suggested celebrating the season of summer properly? This is the same thing but now it's a proper autumn dinner with roasted marshmallows for dessert (I would buy mine in health food stores). I found this old feature on the website of Style Me Pretty Living styled by Jennifer Carroll, who calls it an impromptu "Gather ‘Round the Fire” party. I'm hooked! I wish I had a spacious patio and an outdoor fireplace to copy this kind of feast. Well, over here it's not the right weather for a dinner outdoors but a weekend lunch would be perfect, perhaps with everyone wrapped in blankets.




Thursday 16 October 2014

autumn colours at Walkers



Starting this blog post with a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall", would have been perfect. However, this autumn season in South Yorkshire (my first) isn't quite crisp, yet. Indeed it's mild and rainy, and there is certainly no reason to complain. Our house is surrounded by evergreens, mainly tall cypress trees, and it wasn't until yesterday that I really noticed the arrival of autumn when I spent some time at Walkers Nurseries garden centre. In the Chinese section of their gardens I vividly saw the orange and yellow shades, beautifully contrasted with the greens all around. I had almost forgotten how much I love this season. Almost! I decided to return to Walkers today and as I write this, I'm sitting at their café, enjoying a latte, and thinking about what to photograph next.
I will be back tomorrow with 'outdoor living'. Have a wonderful (autumn) day!

photo credit:
Lisa Hjalt
- October day at Walkers Nurseries, Blaxton, Doncaster, South Yorkshire

Wednesday 15 October 2014

V&A Museum: The Fabric of India exhibition



So I thought, why not simply continue with the Indian theme on the blog this week. I was viewing the website of the V&A Museum in London when I came across an exhibition called The Fabric of India that starts next autumn.

The exhibition is part of the V&A's India Season and features handmade Indian textiles from the 3rd to the 21st century, among others, a wide range of historic costumes, an 18th-century tent belonging to Tipu Sultan (1750-1799), and contemporary fashion items by Manish Arora and Rajesh Pratap Singh. If Indian textiles fascinate you I think you should grab your day planner and plan a London trip sometime between 26 September 2015 and 10 January 2016.

If you cannot make it to London there is a blog about the exhibition on the V&A website, where you can read all about it.

Speaking of Indian textiles. I have to point out this book, Indian Textiles: The Karun Thakar Collection, which I discovered last summer on the Style Court blog by Courtney Barnes (if textiles are your passion her blog is a wonderful read. In fact, I just noticed that earlier this month she blogged about the same exhibition). I haven't had the chance to browse through the book, yet, but I have a good feeling about it and immediately added it to my wish list.

photo credit:
1: 20th-century Indian wall hanging (detail) via Victoria and Albert Museum | 2: the cover of the book Indian Textiles: The Karun Thakar Collection, published by Prestel (discovered via Style Court)


Tuesday 14 October 2014

Space: a contemporary library in India



Yesterday I took you to India and decided to stay there today. A few months ago there was a house tour in Elle Decor, where they showed a contemporary retreat in the southern part of India, in Puducherry on the east coast. The owner is also the designer, architect Niels Schoenfelder, who with his family uses the retreat to escape the hustle of the city at weekends. These two photos show you the library, which is built like a balcony. The walls are hand-polished lime plaster, beautifully contrasted with reclaimed Burmese teak and stylish textiles that complete the space. All cushions are by Jean-François Lesage and the upholstery on the sofa as well. The rug next to the daybed is by Shyam Ahuja.


photo credit:
Richard Powers for Elle Decor

Monday 13 October 2014

drawing with light 40



photo credit:
Georges Gasté (Taj Mahal, Agra, India, 1906) via Old Photos

Thursday 9 October 2014

Outdoor living

Outdoor living is a series on the blog that contains stylish outdoor living areas and sometimes al fresco table settings. It's about celebrating being outdoors all year round!


These images do not exactly scream summer but I wanted to continue with my yogic mood this week and feature an outdoor living area that felt calming for the mind. This zen style farmhouse in southern Sweden couldn't have fit the profile more perfectly. The owner gave Scandinavian architects Gert and Karin Wingårdh a free hand to create "an uncomplicated space, using natural materials, that would bring the outdoors in" and I think we can all agree on that they did exactly that. The arches to the right in the above photo and to the left in the one below are woven with willow branches. I recommend that you view the slideshow on the website of Elle Decor to see the simple interior.


photo credit:
James Silverman for Elle Decor

Wednesday 8 October 2014

Hand-painted artisan tea towels by Bertozzi


This week I came across the website of AllÓRA, a shop in London that offers handmade Italian home accessories by various artisans. The Italian word allóra means 'in the past' and the company's philosophy is 'oggi come AllÓRA', which means 'today as before'. At AllÓRA they believe in the finest quality, authenticity, passion and craftsmanship, and they have built close relationships with the craftspeople. The shop, also available online, offers a wide range of accessories but it were mainly the hand-painted tea towels by the artisan house Stamperia Bertozzi that caught my attention.


At Stamperia Bertozzi, a family company established in the year 1920, they use ancient artisan techniques to create hand-painted and hand-printed fabrics with passion. The colours are hand-mixed from closely guarded family recipes that have been passed from generation to generation.

These stylish tea towels, the Gradation design, are made of 100% natural crumpled linen. The fabric chosen for the tea towels is pure, organic and woven in the traditional way on a shuttle loom, which produces a fabric that feels soft and is a joy to hold. Over time it gains beauty, as its character grows.

When they paint the fabrics they are not simply left to dry. The linen is worked three times, which involves painting with a different tone of colour each time. The final process is the fixing of the colour where they use Bertozzi's unique technique, which involves steam that is driven by solar power. The result is a vivid colour that lasts longer.

I fell flat for the indigo and cacao colours and would love to have them in my kitchen, but the Gradation tea towels are also available in green and pink.

- size – 70 x 55 cm (circa 28 x 21 inches) - machine washable - no need to iron


AllÓRA | 66 Oxford Gardens | London W10 5UN
Tel: 020 3701 4076 | Email: info@allorashop.com

photo credit:
via AllÓRA (discovered via The World of Interiors on Facebook)

Tuesday 7 October 2014

Space: a Japanese minka by Axel Vervoordt



Yesterday, in my post about architect Vincent Van Duysen's home in Antwerp, I told you that this week I would be doing what I call 'interior design yoga'. I feel the need to clear my interior-design head and view spaces that calm the mind, like this minka ('house of the people' in Japanese) by Belgian designer and antiques dealer Axel Vervoordt. This Japanese style space has a dining area and a shallow pool and it belongs to a historic 17th-century countryside estate in Belgium. It is actually an outbuilding on the estate that was transported from Japan and reconstructed on-site, under Vervoordt's supervision.

Namaste!

photo credit:
via Axel Vervoordt

Monday 6 October 2014

Vincent Van Duysen's Antwerp home



There are those moments in life when we have to unwind and recharge our batteries. For some, it is enough to relax with a cup of coffee and a good book while others may need a session of yoga or meditation, a walk in nature, or even a vacation in a faraway place. For me, the same applies to interior design. Every time I have spent a certain amount of time viewing grand and/or colourful interiors with many decorative objects there comes this moment when I feel the need to take a step back. That is when I turn to what I call the yogis or zen masters of interior design, guys like Axel Vervoodt and Vincent Van Duysen, and I view their projects that consist of clean lines and natural materials. When I have had my share of almost bare homes, and am ready for more decorative objects, I browse through some works by, for example, Thomas O'Brien and Alexandra and Michael Misczynski of Atelier AM.

This week I need to do some 'interior design yoga' and I'm starting with the aforementioned Vincent Van Duysen, a Belgian architect. His Antwerp home is perhaps familiar to some, as it has been featured in many publications. I once gave you a peek into the living room, which has a striped, hand-woven Iranian rug.

In the living room: a deep Axel Vervoordt sofa and a Pierre Jeanneret chair

These first five images appeared in T Magazine last year when the architect was interviewed about his home. It's an interesting read, especially when he talks about buying the 19th-century building and the lawyer saying: "There is one catch … there is a hermit living in the attic." Please read the interview if you want to know what happened to the hermit and to view more images.

Two custom-made Atelier de Saint-Paul tables, designed by Vincent Van Duysen himself.
The artwork is by Tadashi Kawamata

A 1940s staircase and Gaston, one of Van Duysen’s two dachshunds

Friday 3 October 2014

Styling: Blue and white striped rugs

styling: blue and white striped rugs | Lunch & Latte


For some time I have been collecting images of spaces styled with blue and white striped rugs only. I hadn't really decided what to do with them until I found the website of NW Rugs (I had never heard of them until they retweeted some of my blog posts) and viewed their collection that things fell into place. They have an amazing collection of rugs - traditional, oriental, modern, tribal - and in their stripes section I found various flat-woven rugs, or dhurries, with blue and white stripes in all colours and sizes. I love it when I find so many items I like in one place! As you can see in the individual rug images, they have striped rugs in many blue shades and right now I have a crush on the dark navy one at the bottom, the one with the wide stripes. I'm already picturing that one in my home.


NW Rugs: Pura Vida 45

Some people use stripes to create an illusion in their home while others simply choose them because they are classic. Striped rugs are an excellent choice to increase the feeling of space in a room. For example, if horizontal stripes are used in a room that is long and narrow it will seem bigger, while vertical stripes can make a small space, like small entrances or hallways, look longer. A striped rug is also an excellent choice if you have a low ceiling because the stripes draw attention away from it.

I have heard people say, in a negative way, that they think the blue and white striped rugs make their home feel like a beach house. It all depends on the blue shade chosen and the size of the stripes. Just look at Frédéric Malle's former dining room further below or the bottom image with a space designed by Jean-Louis Deniot. Nothing in those two rooms reads beach style; on the contrary, I would say they look sophisticated.

I think the website of NW Rugs sums it up neatly when they say that 'the crisp lines and straight edges' of striped rugs 'have a way of bringing about a modern element of sophistication to a space.'

Decorator and stylist Michael Penney for Canadian House & Home

NW Rugs: Maroc


The stripes in the rug above could be black and if they are then let's just pretend they are dark navy. This is the home of artist sisters Laura Naples and Kristen Giorgi of NG Collective that was featured in Domino magazine. This space is very bright and chic, and I think the stripes are a good contrast to the airy quality of the room.

Perfumer Frédéric Malle's former dining room in New York City


The nautical styled space above is a Victoria Hagan design. I have already featured it on the blog, but the space is too good to skip in a post on striped rugs. Speaking of Hagan, I found this tip from her on the website of Elle Decor: 'Add a blue striped dhurrie and you are guaranteed a happy room.' You heard her, folks!
NW Rugs: Pura Vida 46
The classic beach-style look
This space is a Jeffrey Alan Marks design. There is something sophisticated about the striped rug
A wide-striped rug. The space is an Emily Henderson design

NW Rugs: Pura Vida 34

As I mentioned before, I have a crush on the striped rug above, a reversible flat-woven dhurrie. I have the perfect spot for it in my own home. The one in the image below is a Moroccan rug and I think these dark wide stripes (they could be dark navy or black) give a room such a classic look. This space is a library and an office in a farmhouse in the Loire Valley in France, which the designer Jean-Louis Denoit helped his sister renovate.


Do you have any thoughts on striped rugs? Do you have one in your home?

photo credit:
1: Felix Forest for Inside Out/Homelife | 2: Angus Fergusson for Canadian House & Home Makeovers 2009 via Michael Penney | 3: Brittany Ambridge for Domino via Le Fashion | 4: François Halard for Men's Vogue, February 2008 via Pinterest | 5: Michael Mundy for Elle Decor, August, 2002 | 6: Porchlight Interiors via DecorPad | 7: Simon Upton for Elle Decor via The Adventures of Tartanscot | 8: Bjorn Wallander for Country Living | 9: Derry Moore for Architectural Digest, May 2013

- All individual rugs via NW Rugs