A myriad of ideas to finish the week with......

He's finally made it. A cabinet for many occasions - kitchen, bathroom, office. Antique pine which we have painted in our favourite Farrow & Ball ( oh to create a paint range.... ) Black. He's available in the shop now...

On to more serious pursuits

Sitting on a bench being idle.....

 There is something extraordinarily restorative in sitting on a bench doing nothing. In summer, a g & t and nothing on your mind. Now that we head into Autumn, a cup of tea and a four legged friend catching some afternoon sun. 

The above is a (terrible) shot of my garden in NZ. A resting spot between furious gardening episodes, or a place for cake with my mum, or a drink and chat with friends. At best though, sitting, doing nothing with my aged pussycat wrapping herself around my legs and two doggies lying in the sun. These are happy days.

Snapping to it, I wondered why I had planted rhubarb amongst the lavender and perennials...... 

Nature knows best

Who was it that said - if all else fails you, turn to nature to be your colour guide? Mother Nature is a very smart lady. She would never put things together that didn't work. As the season is changing, look how the flowers are drained of colour, autumn fruits are ripening and the bleached seed-heads, all work together to create beautiful, restful palettes. 

 The above pictures are from our last visit to Kelmscott. A simply magical afternoon.

Thought for the week -

On Monday I visited Breakspears to check out the rooms in more detail. I'd sent over a questionnaire to each of the girls so that I could get a good understanding of what they wanted from Breakspears. I'm not talking about colours or tv's, but about what home means, and specifically, what Breakspears means. One of the questions was "What does home mean to you?"

Lots of response and some very emotional. But this answer I think sums up what everybody, from the Queen, to you and I, to those that are less fortunate want and need.

Private

Secure

Clean

Relaxed

Personal

Love

Comfort

Happy

That's all it is isn't it?

Surfaces that make you feel great!

We have five (six really) senses, all equally important. At home, when we touch, we connecting with our surroundings. Seeing is often a detached viewpoint - an observation, whereas touching creates hopefully good sensations. It calms our minds and makes us happier and healthier. There are reasons laminate floors don't make you feel the same as wooden do. So, when choosing things for your home, think about not just how they look, but how they feel - the weight of a solid wooden door, the smoothness of a marble benchtop, the softness of a woven merino throw or the lovely 'handmadeness' of an old wooden stool. It isn't about throwing about lashings of cash, it's about choosing once and well.

Front Doors - the importance of...

The best way to explain how I like to create homes is the following - when you put your key in the door and push it open, you should feel good, safe, uplifted and protected - a little flutter on the insides as it were. Your front door is the first contact between you and your home. It's important it's right.

Whether that means big numbers or a bright pink door, it doesn't really matter. It should be solid, with the right amount of locks for where you live, a way of seeing out before you open it so that you can avoid 'that' jittery feeling. Lights so that you can see when your putting the key in the lock during mid-winter nights and perhaps the most important feature - a personal expression of who you are. Duck-egg blue and a french antique number plaque - excellent. Black and modernist chrome numbers - smart. Cerise and stained glass - well you can't help smile at that.

Magazines and property programmes aplenty will tell you the importance of a good first impression for re-sale. All I can tell you is that your front door (and all that lies behind it) should make your heart happy and content.

Personal details

Remember the importance of keeping happy memories front and centre.

Postcards from holidays, invitations, love notes, sports medals, snippets from galleries and photographs help form a visual history of your life, family and home.

Display them with love and pride. You'll find that everything that means something finds its way there.

Thought for the week - hope

PS: hand-drawn by Ed...

Things we love ( this week )

Always good to start the day with a little cry....

Have a look here and just make sure you're ready for it. I think it's the most authentic idea that Anthropologie have had for some time. The Derek Henderson movie is gracious, moving and actually made me want to pack my bags.

Don't even get me started on Donna deMari's ode to her labradors. I still choke up when I think about my own beautiful girl who we lost far too early.

Russell Pinch. Modern, yet classic, hand-made, hand-loved, no tricks, no gimmicks, just very beautiful, very useful pieces of furniture.

Caroline Swift ceramics. I think the picture tells the story....

 My new fabric love - hand-dyed Indigo cloth from Mali. Hand-woven cotton strips are sewn together to make a whole cloth. The whole cloth is then tied or stitched to create a resist, before being dyed in indigo. Still handmade today. Can you imagine the rivers running blue?

Extraordinarily beautiful.

New things in the store

Some furniture, new patchwork cushions and a few small lovely things.

Take a peek.

Breakspears Haven - the starting point

When I start an interiors project, I always start with a questionnaire. Part fact-finding mission e.g. hate red with a passion, have four kids so need big table - and part emotive analysis. A lot of observation but also a few questions that have nothing at all to do with their physical needs.

The questionnaire for Breakspear's has been different again. It's their home, but only temporarily. They move through it and new people take their place. A little bit like a hotel - but not many hotel's can change your life..... 

It's not about the light fixtures, but it is about the light. It's not about what colour the walls are but it is about how that colour makes them feel. 

Tricky? you bet. So fantastically exciting though.....

We're launching the project officially in the next month or so. I'll be calling for volunteers and shamelessly asking for help from everyone.

What colour are you?

If I was a colour, I would like to be either Pigeon

or

Dix Blue

Grey'y greeny. Calm but warm. Takes on other colours well and there ain't no red anywhere.

At least that's what I'd like to project.

Colours from the sensational new Farrow & Ball website. 

Pick a colour, any colour.......

Quilts I love

There are a lot of quilts I don't like. Many people that I meet when I teach or make them a quilt, think that I am a passionate dyed-in-the-wool-traditional-quilter. It couldn't be further from the truth.

I love the philosophy behind quilts as much (if not more) than the items themselves. I definitely like the historical reason for making quilts. I'm not a big fan of prescribed quilting designs and bundled fabric options. I say, use what you have - old dresses with memories, a special piece of wax cloth you bought in Africa, your nana's old tablecloth and make those precious pieces into a quilt you love.Yes, buy some new fabric from Liberty, but make sure it tells the story of you! Intuitively piece as you go, fear not ripping up skirts or saris. When you are finished, you have a bit of your life and history mapped out in front of you. 

Rather comforting to know that you'll be kept warm by it at night isn't it?

The above quilt is not my own -it's by Alabama Chanin. I don't think they have them anymore, but I'm completely floored by the beauty of this.

Tables!

A table, or the space for a decent table is probably one of the most important things to me in my own home. They have to be big enough to sit eight comfortably and wide enough to hold not only your plates, but big serving platters so that everyone can help themselves. 

They need to be multi-functional - for kids art projects, working from home days and sitting around the table and talking nights. A table where you can spread out a full sized paper or sew a dress is essential. 

They need to be well loved and show the signs of the events and memories that have taken place. Hopefully it might be one that's been passed down, hunted down, or a bargain find from a second-had store. At the other end of the scale, it could be the thing you've saved up for, commissioned or coveted. Either route is superb.

I don't think a table is the place for mdf, copies or mean proportions. I'd rather have an old door on trestles! No sharp corners for small heads and nothing that screams this season.

We have two tables - a £30 Victorian table that fits six. It's been a great compromise whilst we've been waiting to buy a house. And in storage at Heathrow is the (table) love of my life. A two metre long wooden table made from antique Matai. I've served my nieces their first risotto at it, ate dinner with Ed for the first time together, had countless dinners including christmas around it and sat with a glass of wine and read many books at it. It has wine stains, scuff marks and teethmarks from puppies teeth. It talks about the last ten years of my life, so it's fundamental that as we look for our new house, this table must fit....

I think that a table says a lot about what your home means to you and how you like to live. What does yours say?

Yikes

It's been a topsy turvy, all over the place, never ending list week. However as I stand back and look at our found objects and revived furniture, I am happy(ish). Selling these on-line is of course the low risk, sensible option, but if I told you the hours I have spent walking the streets, searching the internet every which way but loose, to find that perfect atelier - well, you'd think I was obsessed. I've worked out what would suit me and Haven best. 

A working atelier that's open to you maybe three days a week. This means I can keep the creative juices flowing. I love people don't get me wrong, but seven days a week - no. 

How about we add in an area where I can teach and do design work for clients ? Lets throw in a few exhibitions of say - welsh pottery, or say, embroidered works. Would that be good? And then of course the workspace where quilts and cushions are made and furniture brought back to life. 

Don't be alarmed, but I even have the perfect locale - Peckham Rye/East Dulwich. Don't be snobs, it's a fantastic, vibrant and  beautiful conservation area, just a stones throw from the centre. The Anthony Gormley street bollards have won me over. So, would you come visit? and does anybody know anybody who knows someone that has that empty dream space. If I was a self help book reader, I believe this is called 'putting it out there'.

Come on - make my weekend!

PS: a post shamelessly about my needs as opposed to anyone elses. However, the upside would be somewhere lovely to visit...