Styling Summer with Baskets

This summer baskets are hot.  They have been creeping their way back into our hearts for some time now and a feature wall of hand woven baskets is a key feature for the Bohemian Jungalow look this year. If you don't have space on the wall then stand your planters in one or use them for logs or blankets.

I've made a Pinterest board which you can find here and also a style story on At Mine which beautifully demonstrate all the different variations on the theme and you can see some wonderful inspiration from both of these.  But here are some of my interpretations.

I've been collecting baskets for some time now, mostly English willow ones with handles and vintage shopping baskets. This year the one's that really caught my eye were from Africa in two tones and quite shallow, dish like, perfect as fruit bowls and as wall decoation. 

The distinctive baskets from Zambia are made by the Tonga women to keep them in employment and help to feed their families. I'm always happy to find this sort of enterprise, and keen to support by being a customer but I wish the postage from Africa wasn't so damn expensive.  The Tonga craft centre in Binga Village is funded by the Danish government and exports these all over the world, however I'm having trouble tracking any down in the UK. When I was putting the Style Story together for At Mine I spotted one tagged in a photo of someone's home and this lead me to discover the great store Couleur Locale from Belgium. I'm so in love with their styling and photos that a visit may be on the cards, however, as if to prove my point, they have sold out!

The Tonga Binga baskets are made from a palm which is grown specifically for the basket making and in style they can be identified by it's square bottom. Always in the two tones of natural and black the variation in pattern is immense. 

Here are some of the other baskets I have on display.

The two black and white baskets are from Southwood Stores who will be giving away a rather special basket in August.

this basket came from a man on a market in Amsterdam, the street markets there often have this kind of cool thing.

Adding some natural texture and feel to a room is a good balancer to technology and I think these kind of baskets work in many different looks, they blend with country, rustic, scandi and boho. 

I don't know what you think about Feng Shui, was it just a fad taken on by the West a few years ago or is there really something to it? When I'm adding textures and natural fibres to a room I often think it's got to be a good Feng Shui balancer.

This Chinese practice first came to light in the UK, probably about twenty plus years ago, I really was mesmerised with the idea of this philosophy and bought a couple of books on the subject. I had a compass and went around all my friends homes telling them where their 'wealth corner' was and stuff like that.  While I don't remember a great deal, there is still some parts that have remained in the back of my mind.  Don't get me wrong, I'm quite a pragmatist and try to keep my feet on the ground about most things but life is all about balance, hey Feng Shui is about balance, and having a balance of reality and spirituality is quite essential.

The world is pretty small now and the belief system of a whole continent that goes back thousands of years can't be dismissed as poppycock. As I am so passionate about interior style, I find this art really fascinating because it does make so much common sense.

Colour plays a big part in Feng Shui and again, I do believe very much that colour affects mood.  I'm not sure it's really possible to do an 'in a nutshell' blogpost about it as it's quite complex but I may talk about it some more at another point.  

Until then, I'm getting out and about a lot over the summer, so expect some outdoor photos and reviews soon. 

Styling The Seasons - June

It's June already! seriously how did that happen? 

Pink has made it into the nature spectrum after the yellow and blues of spring. Lilac and blush are all appearing as the start of summer, with the more vibrant colours following closely behind.

You may remember a couple of posts ago I visited some artists in their studios and this week I popped back to see Wendy Johnson at Orchard Studios for her preview evening before Bucks Open Studios opens. 

Wendy is exhibiting with several other artists at her home studio, all of whom are very skilled in ceramics.

Some of the work exhibited is Raku - a Japanese firing technique, and my prediction that in interiors there is an increasing feel for Japanese style. Wabi Sabi is definitely the order of the day for the current zeitgeist.

The beautiful organic shapes of the vases and mugs are perfect for the cuttings from the garden.

I have never tried making ceramics, it is the one area where I prefer to just buy from those skilled in this area, I have visions of a coil pot made in junior school and feel that this is probably the peak of my pottery career.

If I'm being totally honest I also don't like getting my hands mucky, as soon as I get stuff stuck to me I can't concentrate on anything else, must be some version of OCD, which I believe is inherent in all artists. Sometimes you just know when something is for you or not and while I have a yearning to learn how to make everything on the planet, I may have to draw the line at ceramics.

My curiosity into how to make and create must stem from my father who had many hobbies, all of which he became brilliant at, and also he was an engineer so just had to take everything apart to see how it worked.

When Wendy went into great detail about the scientific processes behind her work I was just mesmerised, it is so interesting how the finished product comes into being, when there are so many things that could go wrong along the way.

The gallery for #BeHomeFree (my hashtag), is looking so beautiful, please check my previous posts for details of this months sponsors and the prizes on offer for those joining the photo challenge. Your home stylings are very uplifting, and I hope that here you get the same from me in return.

Dark Walls and Styling The Seasons

I simply couldn't resist painting more walls, well it's been a few weeks after all!  You may remember that I painted my upper hall landing white which lasted less than one day, I then painted half of it in graphite chalk paint, which is very matt and black.  I loved it so much I have now continued the colour around the sides, and despite protests from him indoors, that it will make the area seem dark and gloomy, I don't get that vibe at all.

The upper hall landing doesn't get much natural light but it is an area that gets walked through a lot and so I think this is a great place to display pictures and art, as you come up the stairs you can view the walls from the bottom up and it's the perfect area to play with dramatic looks.  

I'm collecting works of art connected to tattoos.  Either by tattooists like Amy Williams and Angelique Houtkamp, or of tattooed women.  The frames are all old ones from ebay.

I find that the drama of the dark walls showcases everything you put in front of it, either pictures, furniture or flowers.

Metallics work well with black, as it can tone down the gaudiness.  My favourite kinds of frames are old gilt gesso ones and Im always looking out for them as they work very well grouped together on picture walls. The continuation of deep rich colour holds the smaller objects together so that it doesn't look bitty.

So far I'm not feeling that the dark walls are making this small area feel smaller, but instead I'm noticing the light and how it falls.  I particularly like it with my new seagrass flooring.

I have been making posies for May Day, an old tradition is to hang them on your neighbors front door but I will probably be selfish and keep them for myself this year as the fragrance from the sweet peas and blue bells is intoxicating.

May holiday was originally a Roman festival for Floralia, the goddess of flowers so it would only be appropriate to have little floral arrangements around the home. 

Happy May Day.

Chalk paint by Annie Sloan, woven basket by Southwood Stores, limited edition prints by Angelique Houtkamp from Salon Serpent Tattoo Parlour.

Styling the Seasons April Blooms and Wilds

Well, I hope your Easter holiday break has been fun, the showers of April are in full force here in the UK, I think of it as rainbow weather.  Sunshine often appearing moments after the rain creates magical coloured arcs in the sky, and I always try to work out where it ends ... It's also the time for baby wildlife to be born, something Im very close to.

One of my favourite discoveries over the last year are the candles of The Botanical Candle company.  A one woman operation, with the added twist being the lovely vintage containers that Amalia finds to pour her fragranced soy wax into.  From tins, to jelly moulds, it is hard to choose. Amalia Apothecary lives in Shaftesbury and often sells at the Frome market, which Im hoping to check out as I really want to have a look around that town.  

The vase above is from a small collection of Chippendale Art Deco glass that we have at home, recognisable by the weight and the trophy style handles. 

April brings more light, longer days and, of course, more blooms in the garden, little vases are all over the house with snippets of forsythia, grape hyacinth, daffodils and forget-me-nots.   It will soon be time to visit the bluebell woods near my home, always such a feast for the senses.
  

My two personal favourite candle containers are the old blue glass Ball jars and the ceramic marmalade containers.  

Ive started collecting the last scraps of soy wax candles and I then melt them down in an attempt to make a whole new one. I bought some wicks and, inspired by Amalias inventiveness with containers, made a candle in a victorian jelly mould.

For the last three months I have been receiving flowers from Bloom & Wild, a postal delivery service.  While waiting for my own garden to supply me with blooms this has been lovely. I've been stuck in the house quite a bit as currently I have some foster baby squirrels to look after so having flowers around the house has kept me happy.

Some of you may know that Im a volunteer for a wildlife hospital called St. Tiggywinkles.  One of my areas of voluntary work involves feeding orphaned baby animals who require care every few hours.  The hospital have trained me so that I can bring the orphans home where I have set up a room where my cats can't go.  Here I have a cage with heat pads inside as it is vitally important to keep small baby animals warm.  I mix up a warm milk and feed it to them from a pipette, not always very easily I must say, some take to it better than others. So right now I have four little squirrels a few weeks old, still with their eyes closed but cheeky as you would expect.
Tiggywinkles has started to fill up with orphaned rabbits, foxes and such, and before we know it the hedgehog season will be upon us. 

Styling The Seasons is a concept from Katy at Apartment Apothecary and Charlotte at Lotts and Lots.  Many bloggers join with the theme and so to search for it use the hashtag StylingTheSeasons and hopefully you can find some inspirational ideas. 

Similary if you go to At Mine, you can also search for Styling The Seasons and perhaps while you are there look at the blog post I wrote for them about how to gold leaf items around the home. You can find it http://blog.atmine.com/  

February Styling The Seasons

So February is drawing to a close and this year seems to be flying by.  Such a mild year seems to be increasing that feeling as Spring comes earlier than normal and even the babies at the wildlife hospital are being born before their normal time.  The little welcome pops of flowers and colours are so encouraging and uplifting. I'm a bit sad that I had to refuse some orphaned squirrels this week, don't worry someone else will look after them, but my house is in upheaval and I just didn't feel that I could devote enough time to the premature babies. I expect that from mid March there will be lots of abandoned baby squirrels for me to mummy, and I can't wait.

I thought I would just post a selection of my favourite photos from this month as my Styling The Seasons post.  Blossom picked from the roadside, Eucalyptus from the florist and spring blooms from my garden.

I've just read (listened to actually as Im a massive Audible fan) the book called The Year Of Living Danishly.  It rang true for a number of reasons, my good friend in the UK is from Denmark and she has a very unusual and refreshing take on life. Also, as you may know, I travel to Sweden a lot and there are certainly similarities. Actually, I've just got an App to teach me Swedish, it's really quite hard for an old bird like me, but maybe I will have a few phrases for the next time I visit.  Myself and Van Asch are longing for a road trip with my god-daughters through the Swedish countryside and off the beaten track.  Fingers crossed for that. 

A word that has become very used outside of Denmark is Hygge - a word that describes being cozy, make tea, light a candle and eat a nice pastry, while tucked up in the warm.  This I'm very happy to do with the aid of some lovely tea from The Teashed and a candle from Clement & Claude.  Teashed teas are remarkably fresh tasting, I like breakfast tea and you can taste the difference from the normal major brands.

There is a magazine coming to photograph the house in two weeks so Im using it as the catalyst to make some changes that I've been thinking about for a while.  One of which is painting the wooden floor.  I've lived with it's natural wood colour for a few years now and bravely decided to see if we could cope with white floors! Four cats muddy footprints ! The other half is under strict instructions "no more shoes in the house".

I hope to show you the completed looks soon. Have a nice cozy time with some Hygge if you can, lots of love. Jx

Styling The Seasons December

Styling the seasons for December couldn't be easier really, it's something we all do, although some of us tend to continue the idea for the rest of the year in some form or another!  Set up by Katy and Charlotte it's been such a great community to be involved with and another thing that I have Instagram to thank for bringing us together. 

Luckily for me as I live in the countryside there is enough greenery in my garden and around where I live to supply me with some seasonal essentials - holly with berries and pine cones. 

So here's what Ive done to decorate the house this Christmas.

I like to group the mercury glass on this old over mantle. The mirror back is great at throwing the candle light back around the room for a soft mood.

I treated myself to some beeswax candles.  I have become a bit candle obsessed and along with a real fire, I like to have some nice smelling ones burning during the day. My absolute favourites this year came from Amalia who writes the blog "these small finds" and can be found on instagram as _apothecary_ .  Amalia found some beautiful blue bell jars from the USA and filled them with soy wax candles, she finds the most lovely containers including the little cake tin ones on my mantlepiece. 

These cookie hearts came from a supermarket in Sweden.  I added a bit of icing to them.  They are called Pepparkakkor and have a lovely gingerbread smell. I included them into my banister arrangement.  Im so happy to finally have a house with open wooden banisters on the staircase, for no other reason than to decorate it in December.

Some of my Swedish lights for the front window combined with the paper stars, bringing a bit of that beautiful place back home with me.

I didn't decorate this gingerbread heart myself, it was already iced with Kurbits decoration from the Swedish supermarket and luckily made it home in one piece.  The top garland is from an online dried flower company and made from cotton pods, I've never seen one before but I absolutely love it.

The design motif called Kurbits is traditional in Sweden and can be found on many things. It is a style of painting normally, based on vegetables and floral organic shapes, it was originally a fertility symbol.  You can find it on the little wooden Dala Horses, embroidered onto clothing and painted onto furniture.

In a nearby village there is a Christmas barn which opens at weekends in December, it is the most stunning Tythe barn you have ever seen and is full to bursting with decorations and presents.  I topped up on a few new pieces like the string of bells and the metal birds.  They also have candles from the candle makers St Eval which are great quality.  The Tythe barn in Haddenham is the perfect place to get you in the spirit and mood for a time of cozy evenings with friends and family, a sparkly and fairy like grotto which can be recreated at home. 

I wish you all a healthy happy holiday with good food and warm drinks to help you relax and have a few days of nesting in your very own grotto. Sending you love and peace from my little village in Buckinghamshire. 

Styling The Seasons with Annie Sloan Wall Paint

Last year I was a 'painter in residence' for the chalk paint by Annie Sloan, before being chosen I had been using it for some time on walls, despite the fact that it was originally intended for furniture. For me it was a welcome change to traditional emulsion paint, giving a velvety matt surface.  The lack of sheen on the surface gives the colour more depth which changes throughout the day depending on the light. 

This however is not for everyone and is probably not ideal for areas of high wear or where water might splash. So now to fill that gap, Annie Sloan has developed a specific wall paint and this week I got to try it out.

My studio has wooden 'tongue & groove' panel walls, so in actuality I was painting over a standard emulsion on wood. This made the roller slip a bit so there is some slight patching, this would only take a few minutes to rectify and was down to the roller and not the paint.

I'm so familiar with the original chalk paint I find normal major brand paints very weird. Firstly, emulsion wall paint is so thin and splattery, needing several coats very often and the cheaper the paint the worse it is.  Secondly with wood paint Im allergic to the fumes and this was the major reason I changed to chalk paint in the first place.

The colour I've used here is Versailles, but please don't take these photos as a good representation of it, I was shooting in quite strange light and depending on your computer screen settings, the colour will not be precise.  For a truer colour look at the Annie Sloan site  and get tester pots, paint large areas of the walls you want and see how it looks in situ. I have seen Versailles look quite yellow in some light but in my studio it is a pale coffee beige. I wanted a neutral that seemed quite seasonal, matching the tones of changing leaves in nature. 

So how is this paint in comparison? Well, firstly I was really surprised with how thick it is, it must be the thickest wall paint on the market.  This I think would be particularly useful if you are painting a light colour over a dark colour, on the last photo I painted over a very dark blue chalk paint on the chimney breast and it covered it just fine. Also as I was painting onto a wall there was no slipping with the roller so its incredibly flat there.

I used a very cheap and very rubbish roller to apply the paint, just to put it through its paces.  It went on the wall a treat and while it didn't look 'even' when wet, it dried all one colour. 

The paint has a very slight silk finish so is suitable for wiping down or splashes of water but still matt enough not to be shiny.  

  

You can see the range here.  The coverage was good for a thick paint too and so if you are using the furniture paint you can find a wall colour that will work with it as Annie's paints sit very well together and she gives excellent tips about which ones sit alongside each other. 

While I'm here I would like to say a thank you also to stockist Dawn at Halcyon Days in Rye who very kindly gave me a tester of the wall paint in Duck Egg Blue, which I've used in a few photos now. I wandered into her shop when on holiday this year and we spent lots of time there chatting and laughing, she has some great vintage items too. 

The wreath on the chimney breast is now on its third or fourth incarnation. It was the one that I was given when we went to the 'Styling Spring At Mine" workshop.  It is now resplendent with dry hydrangea heads and I expect will get a bit of ivy and maybe even some holly nearer to Christmas.   

This wall paint has given me the bug again, I'm thinking about some other lighter colours now the natural daylight is disappearing. Also time soon to dig out the furry rugs and woolen throws. I've already started to light fires as there is a distinct nip in the air, and yet there are still roses on the bushes outside so it's an odd time to be sure.

Janice. 

Styling The Seasons Autumn tables

So I thought I would just show a few images from earlier this year of how I decorated tables and some new ones done for our monthly Styling The Seasons, I hope these inspire you to think outside of the box when it comes to choosing containers. 

I often use Moroccan tea glasses, and hope to boost my collection when I visit that country again next year. Lucky for me though, my local lifestyle store "Holy Cow Home" has stocked some beauties. The ones above have a lovely silver sleeve around the glass, making it easier to hold when full of hot mint tea. Having a few of these in your cupboard will always prove to be handy as either tea glasses, mini vases, or you can even put a candle in them.

To be honest, most regular kitchen utensils end up being used as something else, a boyfriend once had a rummage in my cupboards (as they do) to find some cooking pots, as he pulled one out at a time I pronounced "no thats the one I melt candle wax in", "no thats the one I use for acid baths in jewellery making"  ... and so on, you get the idea.  So, not surprising, my collection of enamel coffee pots are used mostly for flowers, spoons are used to stir and mix paint and baking trays to dry pot pourri in the oven. 

My personal style with flora is very unstructured and wild. I like to mix them up with foraged hedgerow, and even the weeds get used.As I drive around the countryside where I live, my eyes are always out on stalks looking for something interesting to snip and take home.

We all know that presentation of food is an important factor, and the table setting should be too, perhaps using one central centre piece or little individual place settings. Even a buffet wall can be made to look seasonal by hanging up some ivy or creeper.

Colours around food are as important to making the food apetising as the edibles themselves. As a colour lover Im besotted with the psychology of what it does to our brains. Wall colours in rooms can make you calm or hungry, vibrant or rested. It's the same with food presentation, nothing is less appealing that grey food, so what are the colours that make us hungry and get our mouths watering?

Green is associated with health and abundance. Yellow makes you happy and orange stimulates the brain, gets you excited and is also considered healthy and comforting, like Pumpkins, carrots and squash.

Top of the list for stimulating colour is Red, the most commonly used colour in restaurants as it pushes your hunger levels to max.

So here's a thought, why not use food as the container? Hollowed out pumpkin would give you a hit of orange, place it on a circle of autumn fall leaves maybe, the perfect centre piece for a Halloween buffet filled with flowers. I placed a glass inside to hold water and depending on how long you use it as a vase for, you may still be able to use the pumpkin in soup or pie.

So here's my looks for the start of the Autumn, still in transition as there are a few summer flowers around like the hydrangea and rose. The leaves are now turning so we shall have to be more inventive as we head towards winter. 

If you can't get out and about to find flowers or rummage the hedgerow here's a couple of great places where you can organize delivery from;

IN THE USA; https://www.bloomnation.com/

IN THE UK ; https://www.bloomandwild.com/

IN EUROPE ; https://www.euroflorist.com/

Styling The Seasons - August

Funny old month eh? usual weird weather, hot then cold then rain then sunsets.  Still it doesn't stop us Brits getting out and about, we are made of stronger stuff.  Nothing is going to scupper our holiday plans.

As per usual, I try to make my birthday celebrations last as long as possible, every year I use it as an excuse to spend loads on trips away and presents for me and home. 

Since loosing my parents I've taken it upon myself to take control and mostly I do stuff as a distraction to the fact that they aren't around to spoil me anymore. I'm very spontaneous these days so our trip to the coast was rather last minute. Having now also been reminded how quick and easy it is to fly to Amsterdam, this too is something I need to do more often.

My styling the seasons this month is to feature all my new purchases from the UK and Amsterdam, combining the finds from The Firle Vintage Fair, various shops around Hastings like Butlers Emporium and the enormous flea market in Amsterdam.

My photos are a reflection of the different moods that this August has provided us with, dark and light.

Almost autumnal in parts.  Above is a lovely vintage picture from the East Sussex Firle Vintage Fair held in the grounds of Firle place. I thought it had overtones of being Chinese and put me in the mind set of things from the Orient, Im definitely on a trip with Japan and China at the  moment, this was to come to a head in Amsterdam, when my host showed me her Japanese textile collection.

The cone of wool was from the flea market in Amsterdam and I will use it in weaving, I couldn't help popping those feathers in the top. They are from Eagle Owls and Hawks. Im going to hang them from the wall hanging I think. 

Above here, in a more pastel mood are two more purchases from Firle, the blue glass 'milk of magnesia' bottle and the green glass dish with lid.  The tray was also from there and has mother of pearl set in with bright reds and greens.  Look out for that tray again in photos as I haven't featured its full glory yet. The flask was from the Amsterdam flea and was only 5 euros. I photographed these against my work area cupboards which Ive painted in Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, mixing up green and white and grey.

The book above is clearly from Holland, its about house plants and the pictures inside I think are cards stuck in from tea or cigarette packets maybe. This again is sure to feature in future so that I can show you the inside. I may need help with translation but Im sure that my Urban Jungle Blogger friends will help if need be. The wooden spoon is the best priced hand carved spoon Ive yet to find and this was from Butlers in Hastings.

The highlight of my trip to the coast was to meet up with Jeska and Dean from the online store The Future Kept. I'd arranged to collect my little hand thrown ceramic mug from them (above). They sell out of these super fast so you may need to message them.  

And my  last picture is the fruits from my trees. The apple and plum trees were already in the garden at our house when we bought it. We struggle to make use of the fruit, Ive tried cider, chutney, jam .. you name it. But this year we are on our Nutribullet diet so this lot will end up in the juicer.  I photographed them on the dark wall with rust and galvanised iron because I thought the colours of the fruits shone out more this way. Its a good example of how to work with a dark wall, using natural bright pops like apple green. The colours in the plums are so beautiful a perfect example of how to mix shades of pink and green.

Lots of my friends, along with myself, have been nominated in different categories in the Amara Interior Blog Awards so please do look out for Lobster & Swan, A Quiet Style, Capture by Lucy, The Cabinet Makers Lovetale, At Mine, Apartment Apothecary, Breath Happiness, Make, Joelix, Happy Interior, Lotts & Lots,  oh and so many other great ones, Ive mentioned just a few of the 589 blogs nominated just to help you maybe find some new ones. 

If you have a look on the right hand side of this blog you can click on the Amara IBA15 badge and it will take you straight to the voting page for me.  I would love to be shortlisted. 

Thanks for reading as usual, see you next week.