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A collaboration between one of my favourite mail order stores (Cox & Cox) and one of my favourite stylists (Sania Pell)!  What more could one want?

When the catalogue arrived on my doormat I squirreled it away for future perusal, and now I can’t put it down.  It’s so beautifully styled and the products are so gorgeous, I may just have to leave it lying around with “my Christmas wish list” post it notes sticking out of the pages.

And if, like me, you still can’t get enough, Sania has shared some of the ‘behind the scenes secrets’ over on her blog. Here.

A little early for Halloween. Yes. A little macabre. Yes.

I can’t help it, I like skulls.  I’d like a few of these little beauties lying around the house. One atop a pile of books maybe. One or two on the mantlepiece. Even one beside the bed.  Call me crazy. But I bet you’d like one too?

Sources:1 Etsy 2 Hollys House 3 Dwell 4 Heals 5 Etsy 6 Etsy 7 Furnish 8 Etsy

Yesterday I had time to sit down for most of the day and do some online sourcing and playing around with concepts for my Essex barn project.

I’ve already shared the concepts for the lounge and the master bedroom here.  And the grown up daughters bedroom will be something like this.  So, yesterday I concentrated on the gallery area that looks down onto the lounge in one direction and onto the drive and front garden in the other.

It’s practically the size of another room and the client wants to create an alternative sitting area.  We’ve already agreed that the red-painted wall above will be covered in Andrew Martin wallpaper but furniture has to be sourced, as well as a floor lamp and some art for the wall opposite the wallpaper.

So far, this is the concept I’m leaning towards.  Those Moooi Smoke Chairs are a bit on the pricey side so I may have to look for alternatives.

Then again, tomorrow the whole concept may have changed completely!

Stockists here.

With all eyes on our great city this year there have never been so many London inspired souvenirs around, but this has to be one of the nicest.  The definitive culture map of London.

Graphic artist Jenni Sparks has hand drawn this map with meticulous detail highlighting the London boroughs and neighbourhoods complete with quirky in-the-know hallmarks and landmarks that make our city so unique.

The print was designed and produced from the mapping of the actual geographic tube map so is not only a great talking point but is also a very useful handy reference for the office wall!

It’s actually full of fun facts such as celebrity birthplaces, local markets, social stereotypes, favourite pubs – they’re all on there… Hopefully you’ll be able to spot your London haunts!

Exclusively available at Evermade.

I want to draw you attention today to Lori A McKee.

Lori is a Graphic designer by trade but says she feels like she spends all day on the computer, so she has to get away and do something hands on. Whether it be knitting, painting drawing, gardening, or whatever, she always has multiple projects going on.

Her Etsy shop features original acrylic artwork on damask backgrounds and a variety of silhouetted animals.  Chirpy birds, cheeky cats, dogs, deer and more…

Like these two playful brown birds perched on swirls of flowery damask in aqua and green.  The edges have a worn, stained vintage effect and the multiple layers give the look of a scene painted upon old wallpaper.

And this pink silhouetted deer playing with a green butterfly in a whimsical woodland scene, surrounded by flowers in aqua blue and yellow green. 

But my favourite is these two little love birds playing upon an antique style sewing machine, silhouetted in a lovely Teal.  As this is digital artwork, not a print, colours can be customized.

There’s much more to see on her shop, including fridge magnets, pocket mirrors and bookmarks, as well as her artwork so I urge you to pop over and have a look.

You may be there some time! 

Coulson Macleod are releasing lots of new illustration prints on solid oak frames this month which definitely caught my eye. 

Each uses a mixture of hand-drawn imagery, and reproductions of 19th century type foundry art, plus the odd medical textbook engraving thrown in for good measure.

And this has to be my favourite.  Love the bugs!

Unmistakably Coulson Macleod.

They measure 54cm x 54cm x 8cm and cost £199 each.

Who says you can’t put art in the kitchen?

I’m not talking about the ‘moms place’ tin sign or the ‘if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen‘ type of art.  I’m talking about the oil painting, gilded frame type of art.

Art is a very personal thing, don’t you think?  And when it crops up in unexpected places it seems to have more of a punch somehow.

So, even if you don’t have ancestral portraits hiding in the attic, you can pick up similar canvases at the local boot sale – with or without gold frame. 

It’s another one of those little touches that turns a house into a home. 

Image sources: Skona Hem, Trendey, Sacramento Street, Chris Barrett Design

I haven’t done a ‘website wishlist’ for quite some time but I never need much of an excuse to have a little nosy round the website An Angel at my Table.

I can quite honestly say that I would like to take home every last item and the latest finds are no exception.  Of course, as usual it is all beautifully styled and shot.  Just take a look at my favourites.

Isn’t this canvas quite exquisite?  It would create such a stunning focal point in a dining room and lend such an air of elegance don’t you think?

And talking of elegance, I love this chair and footstool.  The proportions look perfect to me and the colour is stunning.  Only problem, I’d rather look at it than sit on it!

This ribbon cushion is so intricate and pretty. 

And this image just conjours up all sorts of dreams of sultry summer days.  Dreams being the operative word.

And a couple of these would look mighty fine twinkling away in that elegant dining room in my mind.

Which websites make you go all dreamy? 

 

 

I love this combination of smooth, pure, virginal white, with rough-hewn, untreated timber.  Throw in a smidgen of basket weave and you have a look that will stand the test of time and changing fashions.  Keep the walls and floor pale and plain so that nothing detracts from the contrasting textures.  Heavenly.

Sources: Main image, Siren Laerdal. Wooden Picture, Rockett St George. Candlesticks, French Connection. Table, Oka Direct. Basket, Marston and Langinger.  Bottles, Bouf.  Verner Panton Chair, Vitra. Stool, PR Home.

 

I’m delighted to tell you today that Mariska Meijers, the Amsterdam based artist and personal friend has opened her flagship store in a 17th century building in the trendy ‘9 streets’ district of the city.  It’s located on the Singel canal bank; a stones throw from the flower market and encapsulates the eclectic energy and creative soul of the area.

Not only does it stock Mariska’s own recognisable collections of original artworks, screen prints, paper goods and home goods (pillows, lampshades, trays and tables) but also a hand-selected range of vintage and design pieces.

I’ve only known Mariska for a year; we met at the first Meet the Blogger event last year, but I really do feel like I’ve known her for years.  She is such a creative, energetic woman and gave up a weekend of her precious time to introduce Arianna and I to ‘her personal’ Amsterdam for the second issue of Heart Home magazine later last year.

She inspires and awes me.  She gave up a very lucrative career in banking to follow her dream of becoming an artist and even a change in personal circumstances did not deter her.  She showed us an empty shop while we were there and shared another dream with us of opening her own store where she could style and display her creations in her own way and I’m so proud to know this woman who has made yet another dream come true.

So now, not only are her collections available in 15 countries around the world, including the legendary Nieman Marcus in the US but she has given us all another destination to visit in Amsterdam.

Mariska Meijers Flagship Store, Studio & Showroom, Singel 434, 1017 AV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Photographs by Marjo van Rooyen, styling by Anne-Christine Hartman

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