Amara Interior Blog Awards #IBA15

I can't quite believe that Ive got through to the next round of voting for an #IBA15 in the colour inspiration category. This journey of blogging came quite by accident and at a time when I really didn't think it would lead to anything.

Initially I started blogging as a place to put my photos both of my home improvements and places discovered around where I had just moved to.

It seems that whilst all around are favouring the black and white, or all white minimal home styling (which I do love and admire), I simply can't do it myself. I love collecting, family heirlooms, bits of memorabilia, just lovely stuff. I find it comforting and inspiring, my brain just seems to respond to colour and maximalism. 

So this is me asking please, that if you like any part of what I do, to vote for me in the Amara Interior Blog Awards. Im pleased that this company are sponsoring such a thing as I often purchase from them.  While I like old, there are some things that just have to be new like bedding, kitchen stuff etc.  Also its good to support clever new designers like Pip Studio and the more established companies who respond to current trends and styles (Im so pleased the fashion for white 'white goods' is over, all hail the retro styles and colours of kitchen appliances. 

Voting in the Awards starts on Monday 10th August at http://www.interiorblogawards.com/ 

This weekend Im travelling along the coast, my previous post just got me in the mood, so I told the other half, I want to see the coast and I want to see it now. 

We are fitting in some cultural stuff too, like Virginia Woolfs house, (Monks House) which I will talk more about soon. But to my surprise the lounge had walls the same colour as Ive just been painting in my kitchen. I was told that Farrow & Ball had mixed this colour especially, it is called Monks House or something similar, I will look into it more. 

Also the seaside heralded some great colours and atmosphere, the sky was so blue, it was a really hot day, the first for ages, so it made the rather horrendous car journey all worthwhile. 

All the best for now, love Janice. 

Seaside colours - DIY Kitchen ideas

Where I live in Buckinghamshire is about as far from the coast as anywhere you can get. Is it any wonder then, that during August I long for the seaside, maybe because as a youngster my Dad would pack me and Mum off to Broadstairs for the school holidays to stay in his Uncle Toms guest house, right next door to Oliver Postgate's house on Chandos Square.  Yes, it was the sixties, ice cream parlours in shades of pastel, donkey rides, sand castles and the gift shops, with things made from shells.

So this week, when it seems like the world and his wife have gone to Cornwall, or some other cool resort in the UK or abroad, I've been hankering for the colours of the seaside.

This is also my birthday month and so often August treats are trips to the coast and a few extravagant purchases. These often take the form of something for the home, the first time I did this was my fridge freezer ..... the pale blue SMEG

When we moved to this house a lot needed doing to update it. As Im not much of a cook and neither is the other half, the kitchen was a dilema, I didn't want to spend lots of money on it, also the units were wood and it seemed a shame to rip them out. The kitchen isn't very big but for us its totally sufficient, and, at the end of the day, it really is just a home for pretty kitchenalia.  Oh yes, not being able to cook doesn't damper the spirit for collecting associated objects.

Actually, I think that the lack of ability to create gourmet food can be balanced with presentation, its smoke and mirrors at my dinner parties.

Last month my kettle broke, and I was getting fed up with our cheapish toaster which looked nice, but took forever to toast the bread for some reason. 

I had a look around for a nice kettle only to discover that SMEG do beautiful ones, and, of course, I also learnt they do gorgeous toasters too.  

Why is it that whenever you get something new and shiny it shows up how tired its surroundings are.  We had painted the kitchen cupboards in a few different colours, quite muted but with different coloured knobs on each cupboard. The top cupboards in a classic Farrow and Ball white (Pointing I think), still looked good and throws the light around the room but the bottom units were a bit dull in comparison to the new appliances so I mixed up a few different paints to zshusch them up.

Since working with Annie Sloan Chalk Paints as a Painter In Residence, I find that barely a day goes by without me painting something.  Often a backdrop for photos where I like to see how different colours work together, and sometimes on walls and furniture.

On one side of the kitchen where I now have my swanky new Nutribullet in purple, I have painted the bottom units with red details and stencils for a folk look. Choosing some different knobs from Anthropolgie to add the finishing details.

On the other side of the kitchen where the new SMEG kettle and toaster sit, I brightened up the units with a variation of paints that I mixed myself. Using up leftovers and tester pots. 

While I was painting the kitchen one morning over breakfast, I was taken to thinking about Vanessa Bell, having just watched the new tv show about the Bloomsbury Set "Life In Squares". 

I spend a lot of time on instagram, posting photos of colourful inspiration, and as it has a square format I started to think that my life is in squares too. Annie Sloan was kind enough to say that my style was reminiscent of The Bloomsbury Painters, in that every surface of my home is painted and decorated. As these were the first true bohemians I can see why my style is considered Bohemian Chic.

I snapped this through the window at Charleston House, home of Vanessa Bell

The other half bought me a Nutribullet and I started to use it this week.  I was sceptical but a few friends raved about it so, Im giving it a go and so far so good, I feel slimmer, less bloated and have a bit more energy.  

Nothing adds a splash of colour to the kitchen like a fruit bowl full to the brim. 

I may try to post a few of my favourite nutribullet drink combinations, so far I definitely like to add almond milk in the morning with some porridge oats and dates. 

If your kitchen needs a spruce up and the kitchen cupboard doors are wood, or wood veneer, then perhaps think about painting them. I find that Farrow & Ball paint lasts very well and can be wiped down, but you will need to prime and undercoat well before using it. 

Chalk Paint is a quicker fix but has to be well waxed to protect it from splashes and spills. If you clean a lot then the chalk paint may not be the best if you want to scrub it regularly.

I'm now looking at the Amara site for ideas about what else would look good, perhaps a Delonghi Espresso maker in pale blue ... mmm
also some new linens like the animal prints from Thornback & Peel.

I have a pinterest board for Bloomsbury Painters and styles over at https://www.pinterest.com/JaniceIssitt/bloomsbury-art-styles/

Here you can see the work of Vanessa Bell and the home where she lived called Charleston House. 

Next week I may not be blogging as its my birthday and Im going to Amsterdam.  I will of course be taking lots of photos there and Im keeping an open mind about what I will find to report back on, but I have a suspicion there will be some tattoos and flea markets covered.

Ink

Well I suppose it's been a long time coming and Im not sure why I haven't talked much about it before but some things just hinted at me this week to talk about Tattoos and my personal story with them.

I only started to get tattoos a few years ago and I have no plans whatsoever to "stop there" as people say, I'm simply going to get what I want, where I want and when I want.

My first tattoo was on my 54th birthday, I just woke up that morning and thought 'its time to throw caution to the wind' and having made it into my fifties being a privilege that some are deprived of, I wanted to celebrate life by growing old disgracefully. In some respects the first tattoo just needs to be gotten out of the way otherwise you pontificate for too long.

The first one was not good, I won't say I regretted it because I never think you should say that about a tattoo, whether its good or bad it does say something.  Anyway I did everything that you read not to do and went to some dodgy bloke at the seaside who had no bookings (not surprisingly), but I thought that if I got him to do a bit of flash (what they call the designs on the wall or in a book) that we couldn't go wrong.  His work was shoddy and he only had four colours so it wasn't great and within a month I had researched and researched until I was blue in the face, to find what I wanted to do next and with whom.

I was going to just post photos of my tattoos but as it's quite hard to photograph them, let alone photograph your own, I decided to incorporate them in artwork, as they are works of art, so as a photographer I made these pictures using an overlay of two photos taken by me.

It was by complete luck that I found Amy Williams on Pinterest, I saw a piece of her work, tracked her down in Sheffield, and discovered that she worked in a style that completely suited me.

So heres rule number one : no matter how far you have to travel, even if its to another country, make the travel part of the plan for working with the right tattooist. It's not a cheap hobby, nor should it be, you are paying a skilled artist, one who has worked an apprenticeship and takes their work very seriously. 

Because of the distance between us we talked via email about what I wanted and I sent Amy photos and ideas for her to vibe on. I knew this was going to be a memorial to my father and a story of our lives together, showing all the opportunities he gave me of learning, knowledge and travel.

Starting with a pocket watch and watch key because my father collected them, (he repaired and rebuilt beautiful watches and clocks throughout his life, taking me to Camden Market before it was fashionable to look for old broken watches that could be returned to their former glory. I also like Victoriana and antiques so this seemed a good idea.

During my visits with Amy we talked about where to go next with the design, and I would give her a theme and tell her all the things I thought should be shown, travels to India being high on the list. We represented these travels to the sub-continent with peacock feathers.

By the time I returned for my next appointment Amy would have drawn the designs and we would play around with the placement and size. 

This Dala Horse is quite small and we squeezed it in to show my love of Sweden and because I have a collection of the wooden painted folk art horses.

During this time I did start to think more about what I was doing and to be perfectly honest it is a midlife crisis kinda thing, I can't say Im particularly enamoured with the ageing process, so rather than looking at my once lovely body and wondering where it all went wrong, I decided to re-invent myself with art and ink.

Lesson Two: it depends on your age. Im glad I didn't get inked when I was younger because I probably would have chosen themes that weren't so relevant and also because the tattoos themselves become blury with time, however, the tattooist can refresh and cover up old ones with such skill these days and I really don't judge anyone's choice for ink. So lesson Two is about choosing the right person again, it's my experience that the best tattooists are those that say 'no' to requests and stick to it. I think this level of responsibility is key.  They may say no for many reasons, because the design won't look good, may fade quickly or wear off, or perhaps because they just don't think its a good idea to get your boyfriends name on your face! Their advice is imperative for a good design and if you have a good relationship with them then you will know they are right.

I have several birds, I know a lot of other people who do as well, birds just look lovely so why not. The significance of the Swallow on sailors was to show their sailing experience, for me it was my years of travel by air in both my job in the music business which took me around the world, and with my parents, who from an early age took me to very interesting places. We rarely had conventional holidays, instead we explored Europe in the car and the most memorable of all my lifetime trips with my Dad was to the USSR in 1978.

Amy Williams now works in Newcastle despite me trying to bribe her to move closer to me!  After reading Things & Ink magazine I came across my next tattooist Tracy D at Kings Cross Tattoo Parlour. A little closer to home this time.  

Tracy has such incredible skills and loves a challenge so I knew she wouldn't let me down when I went to her with the idea to draw for me Russian dolls holding cameras, cats, squirrels and with folk art flowers. We have tied these all together with Rosary beads, butterflies and swallows. The Rosary beads being a nod towards my Convent school education and the butterflies, like my birdcage with open door, are my freedom to fly free with no ties. 

I really like working with lady tattooists, as I find it easier to communicate my ideas with them. Tracy D just seems to love her job and her enthusiasm is infectious for trying out ideas combining her clients interests and style. At the moment we are talking about some Indian patterns onto my hand maybe and perhaps an art nouveau stained glass window on my thigh. 

Im also making a pilgrimage to Salon Serpent in Amsterdam where Guen Douglas once worked (she has inked a little cottage on my leg which looks like my house). Salon Serpent is owned by the legendary Angelique Houtcamp. It will be on a walk-in day which means you don't get to pre-plan, however, if you have done your research right then you will have a good idea of the type of work they will have drawn up for the 'on the spot' walk-ins. Angelique has done so many things I love but just lately Ive seen some tribal and line-work hearts which would fit in a little space somewhere.

I feel rather like I did in the Brownies where you collect badges for doing things. After Amsterdam I wonder where next? 

this is a piece of art nouveau jewellery that I own, given to me by my Dad

I find a great place to look at tattoo art and artists is on Instagram, there you can find the style that suits your personality and track down the perfect partnership for your tattoo journey. I get a lot of strangers talking to me about my ink, marvelling at the colours and the workmanship and asking where they can go to get it. Then sometimes people say, "I don't like mine, I asked the bloke to do this and he did that", on further investigation its often been that they have just gone to the nearest tattoo parlour. What you need to remember is that like all artists, tattooists specialise in a certain style, don't assume, like I did for my first tattoo, that every tattooist will carry the full range of colours for instance.

Basically, do your homework and you won't be disappointed. If you feel intimidated then walk away and find someone else.  

Styling The Season for July

At the beginning of the month I was taking the inside out, but mostly I've been bringing the outside in.  Partly due to the fact that I love weathered patina on metal and wood, the rust and peeling paint being an attractive quality to me.  Also flowers, my word, I have so many in the home at the moment, either picked from the garden or simply ones that Ive fallen in love with at the florist. A friend came round yesterday with her daughter who described my home as like a fairy house, full of little vases of flowers. They couldn't believe the giant alliums were real.

The wrapping paper above is printed from my own photos by Wrap Me.

My enormous bag from The Future Kept comes in very handy for picnics as you can fit so much in it and I do like my home comforts. For me summer styling always has to has hints of Morocco and India too.

This table was bought with the french metal chairs and despite being re-painted by myself a few times in rust proof enamel paint, the layers have chipped and lifted. I will probably have to rub it down to protect it from the rust, another garden related job to add to the every growing list.  It's so hard keeping up with the gardening, I wish we were as successful with plants as we are with weeds.

The other piece of furniture that has lived outside but is now inside again is my coffee table. We found this in a skip with its legs broken and so fixed it up and painted it. However the paint peeled off after being outside and I love it even more now. 

As someone who can't cook Im most happy in warm weather as I enjoy raw food so much more.

If you like some of the lovely things in these photos you can find them as follows : Big bag on hook - The Future Kept. Antique suzani embroidered throw is from Holy Cow Home, together with the distressed blue hook rack, Moroccan light shade, Umbrella, candlestick and photo frames. The green plate is Anthropologie and the brass handled knife from West Elm. Flowers from my local florist Wild Orchid in Leighton Buzzard. 

Im looking forward to August as it's my birthday and also because Im visiting Amsterdam to see my old friend Rosey, but I would say that July has been a strange and beautiful month for many reasons. I have taken part in a fun present swap organised by Capture By Lucy and we all open our Summer Time Surprise gifts on the 26th, the contents of which are sure to be shared here and instagram. See you next week.  

Pinterest

This week I watched an amazing tutorial about Pinterest (by Melanie Duncan), It's something I don't do very often but I particularly wanted to know more about the this particular site as it has become such a valuable tool for me.

If you haven't signed up for Pinterest it really is worth doing. There is so much that can be done and so much inspiration there. 

Without going into a too long winded ramble I will try to give some examples here of how I use it. 

Planning a project, whether its a room in your own home or something like a photo shoot you are doing with a few other people you can use a board as a reminder of things you would like. So whether you are planning a new kitchen or a photo shoot or a wedding, you can make a mood board of all the elements you would like to include. I even do mood boards with my tattooist TracyD.

Information ; there are lots of tutorial photos with links to the sites they came from, also recipes for food and drink.  I have just learnt to weave so Im searching for both inspiration from weavers and some photos of techniques I can use. 

My most pinned photo is of my lounge wall which was seen by Annie Sloan and has become my most recognised image.

You can easily install a 'pin it' button to your bookmarks so that when you are researching or browsing you can pin images.  Sometimes its just like making a visual shopping list.

So now onto collaborations.  Many of us are sole traders, bloggers, photographers and stylists and could do with a bit of networking support. So I have a cunning plan.....

I would like to form a Pinterest group with you lot, so whether you are doing it for personal or business you can still give a leg up to your friends.  Its a bit like shopping locally, its about supporting the people you know and like.

Pinterest is bigger in the States than Europe I do believe. They are having enormous success with Pinterest as a buying and linking platform.  So if you need traffic to your blog, shop, website or business then its worth linking up with others.  This could work in two ways, either pinning directly from the site you want to support or by pinning from the boards on Pinterest. By double clicking on a pin it will take you to the source immediately.  

You don't all need to be fans of the same style. Actually by mixing the group and making boards which crossover you are likely to see things you would never have searched for originally.  Heres an example ; you like black and white and minimal in your home, so you search in all your usual places for a cushion.  But heres the thing, Van Asch the designer (who became famous for her skulls and roses) has a new collection of black and white cushions which fit your ethos perfectly. 

Let's be honest, great interior design is about mixing it up, if you just buy from one place all the time you will simply be emulating their catalogue photos. So this, I hope, will be a group that helps each other to expand their knowledge and taste.  Its a win win situation to benefit everyone who joins.

To join up you need to follow me Janice Issitt Life Style and the others in the group on Pinterest as we can't invite you to pin otherwise. Ive created a board on my own page called Collaborate so if you want to be in the group then pin something there, like a picture of your shop or face so we know where to find each other, the link is https://www.pinterest.com/JaniceIssitt/collaborate/

So far participating members are Van Asch, Holy Cow Home, myself, Serendipity Reclamation, The Cabinet Makers Love Tale, Wanderlust Wares

Now that we all work from our laptops at home its vital to find some connections, hey, Im sitting here in bed with coffee stained pj's on, who would want to meet me?!!

Please message me if you have any questions, we want this to be a like minded group and not too many rules, so let's all be cool and spread some love around.  

Inside Out

Yay, we have some summer here in the UK, at least a whole weeks worth so far! It takes a lot to get me out of the house, so when I venture forth I like to take a few luxuries with me, even if its only into my own garden.  I have a lot of old furniture thats been used as props for photos, or projects and such. Some of it ends up in the garden shed as we can't bear to part with it, one such item being a single wooden bed that I bought on e-bay.

This was such a good purchase as it's assembled in minutes, just slotting pieces of wood together and laying the slats down, when it's taken apart it hardly takes up any space. And so, we set it up in a cool spot in the garden.

cushions and scarves are from Van Asch

We had some old foam in the shed as well so used that as the mattress and then took a lovely Kantha quilt and cushions out from the house.

Another old prop was the screen which I use as backdrops in photos, painting it different colours, this one has some stencilling on that I did a while back. 

I also made a wig-wam for myself, to keep the sun off and for my blind cat Coco to get cool in. I started off by pegging Kantha quilts to the washing line and then giving structure with bamboo poles and bits of wood we had lying around.  We keep a couple of old rugs in the shed as well for a ground covering.

By the evening we had got quite into the spirit of things, and took some chairs out to the paddock at the end of the garden.  To add to the fun my other half took some light shades out and hung them in the trees.

There are alpacas at the bottom of the garden, I think you can just see them, they are very curious creatures. We sat and watched them from our garden palace.

Another favourite spot for us is the lavender farm at Hitchin. We took half the house with us and bought food from their cafe as they do such nice platters.

All these items are from Holy Cow Home 

enormous bag from The Future Kept

All items from Holy Cow Home

cushions from Van Asch, quilt mug and plates from Holy Cow Home

At Hitchen Lavender you pay 4.50 each to go into the lavender fields and pick your own, the sound of buzzing bees is hypnotic. 

There are open air film showings in August so we shall hopefully return, maybe for my birthday.

Have a lovely time wherever you are. 

Colour Inspiration in Nature

I was wandering around the garden snipping at some flowers for vases when I had the thought that often the word 'natural' is used to describe an off white, pale beige sort of colour.  Actually, when you look at natural plant life every colour is there and in such vibrancy, particularly in countries like India where the Bouganvillea is the most dazzling pink you have ever seen.

Colour combinations are my passion, I try to find clashing colours to see how they make me feel, I constantly push the limit of experimentation to experience the emotions in colours. Does that sound a bit hippy drippy, sorry. 

Sorry about the deceased bird, and without launching into the dead parrot sketch from Monty Python, let me explain. I have four cats and live in the countryside so mice and birds are sadly par for the course. We do try to re-dress the balance by rescuing wildlife for a hospital and do our best to liberate them if they still have life.

This bird was so beautiful I just wanted to photograph it. 

The colour of these yellow and pink roses is almost sherbet like. 

This colour combination makes my mouth water, the pink rose, blue delphinium, offset by the pale turquoise/aqua of the plate. Looking at this I could see it working on a wall, the main colour being the dreamy plate colour with a stencil or wash containing the darker blue, violet, green and pinks.

All the background colours here are using Annie Sloan chalk paint which I have mixed myself and worked several colours together with water.                                                  

I would love to hear about your favourite colour combinations, I have a pinterest board called Paint Passion where I've invited some guest pinners to join me and we are picking interesting textures and moods created with paint. 

Individuality is about stepping to one side of what everyone else is doing, not playing it safe and definitely not playing by the rules, do that and you will look and become one of the sheep.  Me I'd rather be a Lion, one that wears a big purple hat. 

Great artists the world over have contributed many theories about paint, colour and nature affecting the human soul. Jeff Koons said that his father taught him to think - how do turquoise and gold make you feel, now think of how black and red make you feel. It's different right?  Hundertwasser actually believed that "The straight line leads to the downfall of humanity", that there are no straight lines in nature, only those created by man, therefore the straight line is ungodly.

So heres my advice, colour outside the lines, be a Lion not a sheep.   

Warning - by Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired
And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the public railings
And make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
And pick flowers in other people's gardens
And learn to spit.