Bright New Bedroom part One

Before I talk about changing rooms around I thought I would just pop the link to voting for this blog in the #IBA16 awards.  It only takes a few seconds http://www.interiorblogawards.com/vote/janice-issitt-life-style/  thank you.

I don't know what it is that triggers me to change rooms, but generally it happens when I have been somewhere inspirational with a great vibe, I get home and see my rooms with new eyes and I just do it, straight away, no pontificating, I just crack on while the momentum is hot.

You just know when a room is looking tired and after seeing the home of Tamsyn Morgans, with the cool, pale and relaxing mood, I just had to tackle my bedroom and give it a complete makeover. I share a lot of the same loves as Tamsyn in our choices of vintage items, and it's probably what drew me to go and see her home for myself.  One thing that I noticed particularly is that while Tamsyn has collections of objects, she gives them space to breath and let's them be noticed.  I haven't changed around the treasures I have on display for some time and decided to pack away many things and rotate some beautiful items that had ended up at the back of cupboards.

My bedroom isn't just the place where I sleep, it is my den, my workroom and my chill-out zone, it is my centre of operations, my HQ.  For some reason it is my room of choice for working on the laptop, editing photos and social media interaction.  My bed is more comfortable than the sofa and all the cats can fit onto it with me. Also, as my partner is working with musicians they are often in and out of the lounge and kitchen during all hours, so I like to hide away, not worry about what I'm wearing (yes that means I don't get out of my pj's) and I also have a television and Sky box, so I can have films on in the background.  Occasionally I need complete silence when writing but more often than not, I have a tv on as background noise. I don't seem to be able to sit and watch a film or series and do nothing else, so if Im not working then I will be knitting or crocheting. There is no start and finish time to 'work' for me, the lines are so blurred that I start the second I wake up and continue through the night.

a couple of items influenced the colour pops, mint green, pink and aqua, this oil painting from the 50's has these tones

My point here is that rooms can morph in their use and then it's time to admit that the name you call the room isn't truthfully what you use it for.  We have an office, no-one ever uses it, the computer rarely gets switched on unless we have to print something and it's most common use is for the foster wild animals, so right now the 'office' is actually a squirrel nursery.  See what I mean? The conservatory is my prop and craft storage area which also doubles as a place to build room sets and make a dark area for moody shots.  The lounge, is a backdrop for photos, the guest bedroom is my other half's den and the sheds in the garden are recording studios and vocal booths.  The kitchen, well occasionally things get burnt here, and I make a lot of coffee and toast, but the cats eat in there more than we do.

OK we are very unconventional people, self-employed artist and musician but as more and more people now work from home then it's worth re-assessing the spaces you have and what they are used for.
Hence, the rooms that I spend the most time in need to change probably more than is normal, changing the displays of collections, changing for the seasons and changing for the current purpose too.

The Office! 

my father used to buy me antique cigarette cases for birthday and christmas, this is one of the most gorgeous ones

For me the more places in my house where I can photograph the better and a photographers eyes are trained to see things differently. They see the background mess and clutter, they see the light and the way it changes through the day and bounces off different colours. Constantly looking at images makes you hyper critical to how things look, you become extremely concerned with aesthetics and everything becomes a still life. Don't get me wrong, I'm incredibly untidy at times (in the areas where I don't have to sit and look at it for too long!). 

My bedroom needed taking down a notch, I just fancied pale, whites and tones of French Linen. Less clutter and a cleaner feel. I had in my mind a mix of old and new, Scandinavian in parts with a French influence and this had to work with some English antiques. I knew the elements I wanted but, honestly, had no idea how it would turn out until the very last minute.  One thing I did know - the colours would bind it all together.

Chances are that if you read my blog, you are quite interested in interior style, so over the course of the next few weeks I will be looking at different elements of the how and why's of my room transformation.  Hopefully some of my instructions and ideas will help anyone who is ready to do this too.

To get the look : Paints Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, new furniture One World Trading, Linens from - Loaf, Soak and Sleep, GZ Badboys.

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Urban Jungles and Resolutions

Feeling slightly deflated as the start of this week leaves us with the loss of a very important part of our lives.  Goodbye to Mr. Bowie, the world feels strange without you.

And if the loss of someone, although not close but an important part of musical history, were to teach us nothing else, than to leave a mark on the world and not to fade into the background. David Bowie was a man who created the soundtrack to the youth who grew up, like me, during the 1970's.  So it is poignant that at the time of year when we are making our resolutions, that his leaving should be a reminder to do it now and pontificate no longer about how your life should be.

There's no easy segue from that to my post about plants in the kitchen, so I won't even try. 

I have had a rush of energy during these first few weeks of January to get the house, clean, tidy and refreshed. Although I constantly change the way it looks and paint walls often, I did feel a little de-clutter and re-organisation was a good idea. So I set about to find a new colour paint for the kitchen and lounge.

The poster calendar has been fixed to the kitchen door as a reminder to not waste time.  

 I don't have great light in my kitchen and the size also makes it tricky to photograph so these photos don't really do justice to the subtlety of the colour I chose from Benjamin Moore's range of high gloss paint. Influenced by the Pantone colours of the year, pale pink and blue I decided to try these, plumping for the blue in the kitchen and mixing my own shade of pink using Chalk Paint by Annie Sloan, for the lounge. 

I feel you have to be quite careful with pink, usually considered 'girly' and quite a bedroom sort of colour, it does act as a great balance to masculine items such as the leather chairs. 

While sorting and re-assessing what I had and what I didn't need any more I realised that some of my father's finds from the Souk of Cairo were deserving of more space and prominence. I took a collection of Zar Amulets (above) and framed them for the chimney breast wall.  

Many of you will not have heard about the Zar Cult religion before, it is practised along the Nile delta but more prominently in Ethiopia. Mostly by women, the Zar Cult deals with spirit possession and a ceremony which involves dancing and drumming, the high priest will make an amulet for the inflicted person to wear at all times to protect them from the spirit.  As this is in conflict with the Islam religion the reverse side of the amulet has a verse from the Koran and this faces outwards. You can't see it in this photo but the engraving on the discs is of figures, animals and plants.  I plan to do a blog specifically about these and some other jewellery I have from that area of the world.

Our topic this month for Urban Jangle Bloggers is to show the plants we have in our kitchens.  The great kitchen window sill has long been considered the place to raise cuttings and grow herbs.  Mine is no exception, the Swiss Cheese plant grew after I cut leaves from one that was straggly, I put them in a vase as it seemed a shame to throw it away and a few of the leaves grew roots.  I popped them in a planter and it is continuing to shoot and thrive.  

January is also the time for bulbs, in our hurry to rush towards Spring, which mother nature has taken upon herself to do for us this year, I love indoor hyacinths and there are pots of them everywhere. Their smell in intoxicating and a great way to make the house smell fresh while it wears it's new coats of paint. 

More of my home improvements will feature soon on Abigail Ahern's Blog, I will keep you up to date with when that will run.  Until then, strap on your apron and get a move on, time waits for no man.