Happy Sunday ...

My weekend wish list.

Lovely Lovely

Items in set - Cushion - Pip Studio. Letter "E" - Hobby Lobby. Brown Satchel - Urban Outfitters. Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Candle. Tassel Ankle Boots - Urban Outfitters. Vintage Book Bundle - branca.com. Ring - House of Fraser

Enjoy

x

the look to live...

Lust

x

everything is all white ...

I know for a fact that I will never, ever tire of scouting out beautifully, styled interiors. Not a day goes by that I don't save an abundance of images that I've came across on the net or create a pile (when it should be a neatly filed collection of) torn out images from magazine or newspapers. I admit it, I am obsessed!

So you can only imagine my excitement when I found a website that fed by ever growing addiction. It literally couldn't be more perfect for me if it tried (the name of this blog had be straight away anyway)

welcome http://interiors-porn.tumblr.com/archive

This is where the above images have been pulled from.

My life is now all the better for having you in it!

x

For You...

x

picture perfect...

Hello all,

I must say that I am more than tired (dare I say a little blurry eyed thanks to a tipple or two) this evening, after a long but lovely weekend away at a friends relatives wedding I am ready to curl up and look at some beautiful images. And who fits the bill perfectly? The amazingly talented Claire Cole.

I have been a fan of hers for a long time now, the botanical themes used within her work, along with the innovative use of embroidery is always something to behold. What I would give to have a framed piece of her work. Even the little treats on her website such as the gift cards and the brilliant mugs... embroidered porcelain. Genius.

Below is a selection of her beautiful work.

ENJOY!

x

Monday, Monday...

So, much to my surprise I have had a pretty pleasant Monday. A cliche it may be, but Monday's really are the bluest of all days... usually. But today, I have felt inspired, dare I say excited about my project at uni. Yes I am of course still filled with fright and fear about the time that is ticking away far faster than I had imagined, but I am excited to reach the end.

This is probably down to the fact that I have found a chair frame to use for my final piece in my degree show, I've managed to buy it for a great price, and with a lick of gold paint (tasteful not tacky...of course) and my own fabric upholstered onto it, it should work out pretty well.

Here is a picture of the chair I will be using - bare in mind the fabric is not my own. Im going to paint the frame an antique gold and possibly sand it down a little to really make it look a little aged. So hopefully with the addition of my own fabric and my devored velvet work it should look as pretty as a picture.

At the moment, I am designing some patterns to put into Point Carre so I can get tester strips woven off on the power loom. I am concentrating on decorative patterns, which I've found through my visual research into theatre interiors and decorative architecture. A company that has inspired me remarkably is Lewis & Wood. Directly inspired in many cases by the arts an crafts movement, many of their wallpapers and fabrics are a flury with patterns reminiscent of A.H Mackmurdo. They are however given an up to date twist through their colour combinations and styling. Lewis & Wood - a company that I will never bore of looking at. Here are some of the images that have inspired me lately....

enjoy

x

stylish living...

Some quirky and colourful images from Living Etc

Jo Berryman's London Home

So I have been flicking through a book called "the well worn interior" by Robin Forster and Tim Whittaker. It's jam packed with aging buildings and interiors from around the world, dedicating a chapter to each room in the house. It really is a lovely book to spend an hour flicking through, the photography is brilliant in the book, it highlights details of peeling wallpaper and ornate architecture perfectlty. As predicted I already have about 25 post it notes marking out pages that I plan to photocopy.

But as lovely as this book is, after seeing all of these aging buildings and interiors I had a real hankering to see some new, fresh and modern interiors. And so off to Livingetc.com I went. I really could spend hours going through the galleries on this website, especially the tours of peoples homes. In particular the online photo tour of Jo Berryman's London flat. Her home is such a great mix of traditional and modern design that I couldn't help but feel ridiculously jealous each time I clicked "next" in order to be taken into another room of her home. Perhaps the most beautiful room in her home is her bedroom/bathroom/walk in wardrobe. Infact there really isn't any point in me refering to this as a "room", it is actually the entire first level of her flat which she decided to convert into what I can only describe as every girls dream. I have posted a few of my favourites images from the website, including some of the Berryman home.

Hope you enjoy

x

life's a stage....

So today I have started doing more visual research for my new project in uni. Since going to see the Moscow Ballet last week at the theatre I was inspired by the beauty of the interior of the Royal Court Theatre here in Notts ; this has lead me to combine this area of visual research with my antique/aged luxury.

There really is nothing more luxurious than the interiors and decorative architecture of theatres, this is something I'm going to try capture in my own weaves design and creations. Looking at metallics in particular. As of yet I have not come up with any finalised colour paletter, but I do have some in mind....

Here are two of the images that made me want to look at theatre interiors further

The second image in particular really captured my imagination, the limited colour palette is so effective within the overall atmosphere and feel of the room, something which I will definately consider when starting my design work. A limited colour selection with two metallic tones could be a really interesting path to go down. Hello sketchbook ....
x

such great heights...

Busy days.

At the moment I am in the middle of editing my dissertation, an arduous and easily avoidable task, I have however only got just over a week until it is finished and then I can finally get back into my textiles work, something I am itching to do.

Due to all this writing and editing I do have the occassional sudden urge to get creative, fully aware that this could set me back time wise, so I am having to curb my enthusiasm on that front. My break from writing today is updating my blog. I am thinking about changing my inspiration wall above my desk so I was on the hunt for some lovely photography and art to fill in the new space.

I found two lovely photographers on Etsy, here are a few little snippets of their Etsy portfolios.

Two lovely images from Futurowoman on Etsy. She has some lovely retro and polaroid prints, I especially like the hazey prints, they give such a sense of nostalgia.

Tracey Capone Photography. I love her prints so much, the use of gold and brown hues in her photography really has inspired me. I will definately be using these images in my contextual file as part of my "aged luxury" project.

In regards to my love of colour and texture there is one artist that I always seem to go back to, David Stanley. I was lucky enough to have him as a fine art tutor on my foundation course before university. Every time I need a little inspiration for colour proportion and balancing I always refer back to his work. Daves work, especially Amstel Joy are still some of my favourite pieces of art, 3 years on.

Amstel Joy

Lymm Light

Red

http://www.ds-art.co.uk

Enjoy

x

Picture Perfect...

Today has been busy, but in a lovely and exciting way. Now, back at home I thought it was time to get stuck in and look out for some new interior stylists and photographers to add to my collection of favourites. What a treat I came across.... Keith Scott Morton, he has a great website, showcasing little less than 4 portfolios of work. His work is so lovely, clean, fresh and colourful it is hard to find fault with anything on his website. Here is just a little glimpse of what he has to offer.

Enjoy

x

a french fancy...

So today I have returned to Nottingham, ready for the start of university on Monday. I'm ready to get back into the work mode now, although i'm fairly certain that after a week or so I'll be longing for these "snowed in" days.

Whilst doing some research for inspirational images for my new project I came across a lovely book, pages full of pretty, antique fabrics and decoration. I'm going to treat myself to it on Monday, after all it is going to help me with my work....

I've decided to carry on with my "aged luxury" theme for my second project, once again using silk and linen yarns to create some large jacquard pieces and then experiment with technical processes which suggest an element of antique/"worn in" surface interest.

Whilst doing some image research for this subject area I came across some lovely and somewhat decadent interiors on my laptop, I seem to save copius amounts of images and now and then forget to jott down where I've found them. I'm afraid that this is the case with the images below, I have no idea where I have collected them from, but their gorgeousness detract from this little problem.

Designers Guild

x