hello ...

Hello all,

Another long over due post,  I really will get back to my usual posting self from this week, brownies honour.

x

friday fancies ...

Hello all,

Finally Friday is here, hurrah! With an entire weekend off I plan to get inspired, organised and continue on my crafting head dress mission.

Talking about getting organised, what better place to start than my overloaded and cramped desktop. Throughout the week I tend to litter my desktop with inspirational images however it seems that not even half of them end up in my posts, something to do with too much choice and not enough time.

With this I thought a great way for me to use the copious amounts of images which I collect throughout the week would be to create a Friday inspiration board, this will give you an insight into what has inspired me throughout the week and what will hopefully trigger some creations over the weekend. Whether it's the colours used in the images, the subject, theme or texture my Friday posts will be a way for me to collate my favourite images which convey my weekly inspiration in the most simplistic and hopefully pretty way.

So here goes, my weekly inspiration.

Welcome to Friday Fancies.

What has inspired you this week?

Enjoy

x

bloom ...

Hello all,

Forgive my lack of posting recently, I have been tres busy with work, family and planning and crafting for the exciting adventure of Bestival. I can't help but mention my excitement, a full five days of music, hopeful sunshine and colour. In preparation I've started making some rather exciting head dresses, Bestival is well known for it eclectic mix of fashion and costumes, my take on this is all about the head dress.

I've become a little obsessed with imagery which will inspire my head dress or as some darlings would describe them - "crowns". I'm a huge fan of wild flowers, the messier and more natural the better I say so I've been on the hunt for some beautiful artificial flowers, twine and leaves. Mixing these three important aspects with a sprinkling of beads and pearls and a length or so of ribbon, I think my creations are coming along rather nicely. But whilst I finish up I thought I'd share some of the images which have fed my recent addiction. I hope to have my head dresses finished by next week so be sure to look out for a post of the final looks!

Bloomin' lovely, don't you think?

Enjoy

x

colour me happy ...

Hello all,

So as we can't rely on the brightness of the summer sunshine as the weather is somewhat schizophrenic at the moment I've decided to bring my own bit of sunshine to the table through weekly "colour me happy" posts.

As colour is the driving force to most of my design inspiration it makes sense for me to dedicate a weekly post  to my favourite colours and combinations. I'll be using inspirational images to showcase the colours/combinations along with selecting products currently on the market which use the colour(s). 

So here goes.

Lovely interior inspiration, from small introductions of colour to statement art work and furniture, this colour combination is fresh and contemporary.

Below I have selected some products which use these colours, if you don't fancy painting an entire wall one of these statement colours why not use a few of these products to implement this colour combination without having to commit to painting or wallpapering a room.

telephone -  Aria

shower curtain - Marimekko

floor mirrors - Graham and Green

chair - Graham and Green

Enjoy 

x

shades of grey and rays of yellow ...

Hello all,

Today I've decided to post about one of my favourite colour combo's of all time. As you may have noticed (I'd be surprised if you hadn't) I am in love, if not addicted to yellow. Whether in interiors, on a fashion print, in a bouquet or even in a summer cocktail I just can't get enough of this colour, especially when paired with gorgeous shades of grey.

To me, grey is one of those clever colours that manages to make anything and everything look effortlessly cool and chic with minimum effort, one of the many reasons why I think it's such a wonderful colour choice. But it's when you add a splash of yellow that it really gets exciting,  it provides an instant visual of freshness with a beautifully contemporary yet fun edge.

And it seems I am not alone with this colour combo appreciation, popping up all over design and styling blogs, it's becoming more and more popular, interestingly especially for wedding colour themes. I have to say, I think it would be my preferred colour theme, it's clean, fresh, fun and can seemingly never look bad or dated.

So below I have put together a collection of my favourite yellow and grey images which I've sourced from all over the wonderful world of blogs.

Perfection is it not?

Enjoy

x

five favourites - darling duvets ...

Hello all,

Another week, another collection of my "five favourites". Each time I put  my five favourites together I tend to think that I should rename it "fifty favourites" as I always struggle to whittle down the number of great products I come across. Stores and webshops are saturated with great designs for the home, so you really are spoilt for choice as there is such an abundance of beautifully designed textiles and products out there. 

Saying this, we all tend to have our favourite stores, the ones which we can rely on to provide us with great products each season, I have to say for me this store is Anthropologie, the mix of colours and patterns selected for their homeware products always caters for my taste perfectly.

As I'm sure you may have noticed, often my five favourites include an Anthro product. However I do like to vary which stores and designers I select, whether its a hand made product from the copious amount of talented designers on Etsy, a high street giant such as John Lewis or a luxury product for the lovely Libertys it's great to be able to mix different market levels and prices in my five favourites to compare the products that are currently out there.

This week I have focused on something which may seem basic in it's function but is anything but in it's design. Bed linen is big business, this is yet another way to explore pattern, colour and textures. Easy to mix and match, ranging from high street prices to high end luxury, the choice is endless. With fashion designers such as DVF and Missoni designing beautiful bed linen, it's no surprise that fabric you put on your bed can look just as fashionable as the fabric you wear each day. 

Below I have selected my five favourites, as always focusing on colour and print I think these five favourites are equally as wonderful, through their colour balancing and pattern placement they would make any bed that more inviting.

1. West elm

2. Missoni home

3. DVF Home

4. Habitat

5. Anthropologie 

Enjoy

x

the colour of sunshine ...

Hello all,

Shockingly an entire week has past since I last posted, time just seems to fly by so fast without me even realising. I'm only making a quick visit today as I wanted to post some belated "happy weekend" images.

This weekend I was thrilled to have an entire weekend away with all of my closest friends in a little village called Wem... interesting name right? It was a brilliant weekend full of laughter, surprisingly sunny weather and fruity cider. So here are a few pictures which I took whilst I was there which seem to sum up the theme of the weekend.

I'll be back tomorrow with my latest interior inspired finds. But until then, I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

Enjoy

x

colourful cabinets ...

Hello all,

It would seem as though my love affair with bright furniture shows no signs of slowing down, the amount of magazine pages I've torn out recently which showcase bold prints and colours could cover all four walls of my bedroom. So perhaps it's time for me to stop buying magazines and surf the wonders of the internet for inspirational images to post on here. As we all know, I'm loving bright tolix chairs at the moment, along with contemporary wire lighting, however today I wanted to look at classic pieces of furniture which have been kept up to date with the latest colour trends and surface finishes. Nothing says classic like a big, solid multi purpose cabinet, they can be put in any room and can solve any storage need whilst still looking elegant and grand.

It is amazing how a lick of brightly coloured paint and a little attention to detail can bring this piece of furniture bang up to date, whether used in a studio space, dining area or bedroom these cabinets grab your attention as soon as you enter the room. Whether wide and towering or low enough to lovingly arrange a collection of trinkets, books, frame and bottles on top, they are a wondrous piece of furniture which I will always love.

Here are some of my absolute favourites, I am especially loving the blue and turquoise examples. Perfection!

Love this idea. Use scraps of patterned wallpaper to fill in panels. 

ADORE this colour and the painted handles. 

Perfect studio storage!

Who knew storage could look so beautiful?!

Which ones are your favourite?

Enjoy 

x

five favourites - Bold and Beautiful ...

Hello all,

Whilst flicking through this months issue of Living Etc it has only fed my addiction for bright coloured furniture and pattern. Page upon page sees beautiful finds, from the Pema Beach chair from Anthropologie to the sunshine yellow Storm lantern from Toast, it's all about colour and this couldn't be more up my street if it tried.

There are so many clever pieces which can be used inside or outside the home that it provides an encouraging nod to alfresco living. My favourites examples of such furniture being the A Frame Bench by Jennifer Newman (in my favourite.... yellow. Hurrah) and the Florence wire chairs found in John Lewis, these can be used in a dining area inside the home or in the smallest of yards or gardens. The use of bright colours, surface finish and material give a cool, contemporary edge with minimum effort. 

Because of all the delicious pieces out there at the moment, it seemed only right that I put together this weeks "Five Favourites" - the theme this week being - Bold and Beautiful.
But before this I couldn't help but put together a little mood board, I am so inspired by the bold colour palettes and bright patterns out there at the moment, whether these are found in fashion prints, wall coverings or furniture they each capture the essence of summer and vitality perfectly.

Go get yourself a bright wire chair, throw a colourful tribal pattered cloth over a bistro table and grab yourself a pimms and say hellllllo to summer!

Take a look below at my five favourite finds and see if anything catches your eye.

1. Latitude Chair by Fermob

2. Pampille Parasol by Sywawa

3. Storm Lantern by Toast

4. Rug - Dash and Albert

5. Chinese Sideboard - Orchid Furniture

Hope you enjoy

x

ever eclectic ...

Hello all.

I've been flipping through some old interior magazines tonight, looking over old interior styling images that I've ripped out and collected over the years always inspires me to compare them with what is out there today. A trend that I believe will never go out of fashion in interior decoration and styling is the "eclectic" theme. To me this is a theme that is all about personal touches and quirkiness, dependent solely on the individual. Yes it's able to be created by mixing and matching clashing prints, colours and textures but I find the most interesting and authentic interior spaces to be the ones which have personal touches, objects which have been collected through a persons life, passed down by family or friends or hand made.

Colour plays a big part in this theme, something which has inspired my post tonight. I've pulled out some of my favourite eclectic and colourful spaces, all brilliantly individual and endearing in their own way. Take a look

Enjoy

x