Full to bursting with ideas
February 3, 2013
Ideas of all “kinds” have been racing around in that head of mine, from creation myths to creating huge interior projects and drawing out designs or my new quilting obsession.
Its been awhile since I posted anything, I have been sewing, reading, writing , researching and getting ready for the workshop I am facilitating in Malta with two dear friends,
A fruitful time in many ways, designing and detailing an interior design project thats being installed in March, and another in Leamington spa which is the most amazing building see here . Then I have been sewing my first large bed size quilt. Up to now have been practicing on small items, lap quilts, sewing accessories for the kitchen and amassing fabric!
In between all this activity it was my birthday, a very special day indeed, felt very loved by my two children and all my friends.
Here is a pictorial diary of the last weeks……………. Off to Malta Tuesday, so no posts for week !
Blue, blue and blue
September 23, 2012
this seems to be the colour of choice for me at the moment. I have just had my bedroom painted Hague Blue by Farrow and Ball…………
Somehwhile back my bedroom was given the once over by a diviner, I dont sleep well and without telling the guy he told me to move my bed around as a negative energy line was running across my bed. My bedroom is split level, this caused probs as not enough wall, because of a chimney breast , to put my bed against. So to cut a long story short I have had the chimney breast extended and new fittied in sheliving. All now Hague Blue.
Its looking good, now I am begginning to put back some of my old furniture as well as choosing some new, give it a few weeks and I think I will be a happy bunny
Dark blue rooms I love at the moment, here are a few that inspired me
The Calm after the Storm
September 17, 2012
Home at last, back in the calm of my newly decorated bedroom! Long story for another time, energy lines, changing bed around, dark blue !!
The last couple of weeks have been away installing a project in the Derbyshire Hills, extremely hectic, exhausting but in the end quite exhilarating when you look around and see the vision I have been holding for such a long time come to fruition
Such a beautiful area Derbyshire, this last weekend relaxed a little at the Riverside Hotel in Ashford in the Water, such a picturesque village, with its little stone bridge, church and cottages.
My work, courtesy of Yao photography
Ashford in the Water
This is why I have been so busy !!
July 8, 2012
At last, one down and two to go for this year ! for the past 6 months my team and I have been flat out designing many interior design projects for 2012 and beyond, this is one of them, a beautifully proportioned Georgian house. The picture was taken just after midnight on the eve before the launch the following morning, all very quiet and still after three weeks of absolute mayhem !
more pictures to follow
G ‘n T anyone?
October 23, 2010
The end of a busy period, a rather challenging time on all fronts, but the project has been completed………. The bar area below is part of an interior design project my company completed friday, and ended the day with a wonderful Gin and Tonic. It reminded me recently of a hotel I stayed at in Woodstock recently, it had a bar with 80 different types of Gin………. Me I like Tanqueray , nothing outlandish but I just love the taste. I am off now for a break, and teaching a workshop in Malta, so looking forward to it.
Suzani and friends
August 3, 2010
today I received my parcel today from Tashkent, Uzbekistan !! How exciting, ripping open the brown paper and wrapped inside in a plastic carrier bag, was my precious suzani, a hand emmroidered cloth I bought on ebay.
I have another one coming that is similar colours but a slightly different pattern, the two together plus some plain fabric i am going to create wonderfully coloured wing chairs that will sit at my new desk. Actually its a long trestle table, in aged silver oak, over 3m in length at which I can sit and create, write letters and eat breakfast as it looks out across to the common.
A suzani for those who may not know is a hand embroidered cloth, usually sewn in panels and joined sewn together to make a large piece. From Central Asia, these pieces would from part of a brides dowry, shows her skills at embroidery. Often used as wall hangings and bedcovers. Each region can be identified by its designs, but need to research this a bit more.
Such wonderful colours, and each embroidered shape is so neatly sewn, the back is almost as neat as the front, such tiny, tiny stitches.
above are my little friends, the large boy you will recognise from my before images, (if you click the image above you will see) he is painted black at the moment, thinking of either a bright pink shade, or repainting him white with a white with a white sculptural shade and putting in my bedroom……. decisions, decisions. The other little friends are my all time faves my japanese collector doll uamou , buuts buuts uamou and boo. Unfortunately buuts got a rubbing over by my cleaning lady and lost part of her head piece which was very annoying………. we have a bit of a love hate relationship, but all in all we get through, the flat gets cleaned. I cant do everything sadly, my interior design work takes a huge chunk of my time and the last thing I want to do in my spare time is clean……… You can can see the whole range of collectable uamous here http://www.uamou.com/shop/index.html
new take on the classic bust
July 17, 2010
Now in plaster, Kathy’s busts, usually in cast concrete giving a dark grey hue, are now much paler. These perfectly detailed subjects and with ” interesting ” additions, like tower bridge, tower of london make them extremely desirable and a “must have” for the interior projects I have at hand. Go to Kathy’s site to see the whole collection http://www.kathydalwood.com/Jan/busts.html
table contrast
July 14, 2010
love the mix of contrasting styles
absolutely beautiful things
July 1, 2010
colour, I love it, it excites me, it pours out onto the paper when I paint and sketch, but can I live with it. My white room is now grey, a mid to dark grey, it looks stunning……………. will I add colour………….. who knows. Grey will make any colour I add really zing, canary yellow, fuschia pink and and orange, mouthwatering indeed
Is this the “calm” before or after the storm
June 27, 2010
for the last couple of weeks my home and my mind have been a state of chaos. Have been wanting to decorate my flat for a long time, but have never really made a concerted effort to do anything about it. However a few weeks a go, enough was enough, have been selling and recycling everything I feel I have “attachments” to. My B+B Italia sofa which was such an effort getting in though my window 11 years ago was finally taken to with an axe and taken to the refuse tip in several large blue ikea bags…………. My pair of white Barcelona chairs sold and gone to Cornwall, couple of antique Horseshoe style chairs sold, a variety of console tables, large coffee table, footstools and cubes gone to YMCA. In the meantime I have decorator in who has started with the lounge, completely sanded down everything including the floor and has repainted.
BIG CHALLENGE is wall colour, I love colour and sketch and paint with oil pastels and sticks in bright clashing shades, but when it comes to my surroundings, I just don’t want to be surrounded that makes too much of a statement……… So I am being challenged here, cant seem to make a decision that feels right totally, have feelings of “if I am having redecorated I may as well have a colour” , but making a choice that calms my soul but that reflects something about me is keeping me in a state of anxiety . I can do it for others, this is my job! but when it comes to me, it’s not so easy.
I find this self-same issue in my clothes, black, white, grey, dark blue, severe, sombre colours…………….. that’s not what goes on in my head, its like a rainbow in there, but outside that’s so different. Today I have been sitting with shades of grey, from pavilion to downpipe, black painted floor, ivory paint work. Lucky that I live in a flat with really beautiful proportions, high ceilings, windows that come down to floor and detailed Victorian mouldings. It seems to be gelling more and feeling a tad more calm about it all, bit I have the whole flat to do, hoping this will get easier as I go along.
Can’t seem to upload any images at the moment, keeps freezing………. will have another go soon.
Inspiration came to me this morning in many forms
June 5, 2010
wow I came across a link to an exhibition called FASHIONING FELT at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York. The beautiful textural image on the flyer I found out was created by Claudy Jongstra and was actually a huge wall mounted piece for a public library in Amsterdam. How amazing is that !! so inspiring, her work really moves me and from my one small piece of felt I feel really moved to scale up, be experimental and felt, felt, felt. i can feel this is going to keep me occupied and find ways to be creative and install large pieces into my interior projects………….
Something about Claudy’s whole ethos of felt making and dying, she even has her own flock of rare breed sheep and an herb and plant garden for experimental work with dying, using Weld for beautiful shades of yellow and Madder for rich earthy reds. Such an inspiration to me this sunny morning……
some new things
May 20, 2010
some things I love, some for my home a couple of things for me…………. All at Anthropologie
A man who builds with sun, rain and shadows
March 16, 2010
Max Levy – Architect and creative genius. Now this is what I call my kinda man, he creates with the elements, sun, wind and rain are are important to him, if not more than than the physical materials he uses. He knows how important space is , the interaction with form, sun and shadow, he literally paints surfaces with shadows. A genius. Please take time to watch the opening video on his site whee you can see him talking about how he works. http://www.maxlevyarchitect.com/
Respect
February 27, 2010
George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg together design amazing interiors, based in Toronto and New York. These are some of their interior images, but look at their website for some very simple and stylishly impactful interiors.
