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| coffee table painted with a mixture of Florence and Paris Grey. |
Judith Devlin, who you can see in this months Homes & Antiques, was one of the sellers I met at Village Vintage last week. I bought several pieces from her like the pink enamel coffee pot. I also bought a French Lavabo, ok I didn't know that name until after, but its a hand washing device, fixed to the wall, and if you read about it on Wikipedia, it has religious connections. It also has amazing pink enamel tank and basin but the wooden stand needed some shuzzing,so I delved into my Annie Sloan paint library.
It is a proven fact that colour effects mood, and I think for creative types its more than that, it touches something deep down that cannot be described. Green is relaxing, red increases your heart rate and blue, apparently, actually makes your body produce calming chemicals.
Just recently I have been buying Kantha quilts and Suzanis. Kantha is the name of the stitch used to patchwork vintage saris together to make quilts and blankets in India. The two I have on the floor above are very old and faded, they bridge a gap between ethnic and country perfectly. Suzanis are embroidered pieces from Afghanistan, I have been using them as throws and also recovered some seat cushions.
Since hearing of the death of Jocasta Innes, I thought back to her amazing paint transformations with stencils.
Chalk paints work quite well with stencils as they are thick and don't bleed.
I found that Homebase had a little stand of stencils and just to get my hand in I tried this one on my dresser. I chose it because it matched with my Swedish jars, and the dresser houses my Dala horses and Swedish bits. I will tell you the gorgeous story about Dala horses later in the year.
My dining area is Sweden while my lounge is India. My two favourite countries. So in "Sweden" its Paris Grey and Old White, a very classy combination.
The knitting is no exception to the vibrant colour combinations as I've now knitted my third piece for a book on bright fairisle by Nicki Trench. Its a jumper knitted in the round with a yoke.
The wool above is Debbie Bliss Donegal Tweed Aran and comes in some gorgeous brights.
The cushions above are, not surprisingly, Van Asch, a few more shots for her catalogue before I go to Sweden for the big shoot.
The blue decorated coffee pot just peeking into shot on the dresser was another find last week from Faded Rose vintage
Kantha Quilts and cushions are from The Bohemian Beach Company
and the Suzani throws are from e-bay. For stockists of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint look at her website, I am so lucky to have the wonderful Patricia at Making The Best near where I live.
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