Sisterhood and Mavens

There seems to be a spiritual consciousness in the ether this year, which for me comes at a really good time.  Never has it been easier to meet new people via social media and network with those sharing the same passions and interests.

I believe that women are really coming into their own in this regard, good at socialising and empathising there has never been a better time to find support from other women. Or so I thought.  

Perhaps it's because the changing times find us able to work on our own from home, using the web to connect, and creatives now have more platforms than ever to show their work, that a new generation and style of networking has begun.

Thanks to a few risk taking individuals, those not afraid to say 'hey lets get together", some of us are finding the support that we seriously need. At a time we really need it too.

I was going to talk about a bad experience I had on twitter, but I'm not giving that air time, they can sweat and wait to hear from my solicitor. But it does just go to show that social media is a double-edged sword and it's sharp so use it wisely.

Through this media I have met an enormous amount of great great women, all making a way in their businesses and looking to create opportunities and introductions to others, as together we are stronger.

The two saving graces for me most recently are called Conversational and Sisterhood, both of which have organised face to face events, on different scales, but just as fruitful in their outcomes.

Last weekend I attended one of the Sisterhood events - the winter supper which can be found on instagram with the hashtag #sisterhoodsupperwithtoast.

The event was visually stunning and with workshops which provided me with the chance to try modern calligraphy with Quill London. The venue has just opened and it's called The Forge Bristol. 

After the supper I drove on into Wales to The Welsh House group of cottages for a few days break without wifi or phone signals.  

I think we all need reminding of how life used to be, and how great it feels to try some slow living, simple pleasures.

This house has made me look at a few things differently, a great lesson in dealing with low light which is much needed as the days get darker and I only like to use natural light in photos.

The cottages have a weight, a gravitas to them, visually stunning inside and out, they must be the most beautiful places to stay in the whole of the UK, and trust me I've stayed in a lot of places.

The attention to authentic detail by owner Dorian is second to none, I am usually highly critical about other people's decorations but here I couldn't fault a single thing. In fact, I would happily buy the cottages with all the furniture in them as it was just perfect.

I have so many beautiful shots, I fell in love with the window ledges, is it possible to have a love affair with a window ledge? Perhaps because mine at home are so wimpy and rubbish in comparison. I want to knock the windows out and start again!

I will be talking about this trip quite a bit in the coming weeks and have put together Christmas styling ideas for a visual story illustrating A Child's Christmas In Wales.

The area in Carmarthenshire has stunning hills and valleys and very interesting historical sights, including woolen mills and cheese making. One trip which has been on my hit list for some years was to visit Jane Beck Welsh Blankets, an adorable shop in the middle of nowhere with the largest selection of vintage and new Welsh wool tapestry blankets. 

Jane Beck Welsh Blankets 

If I have enticed you to think about booking The Welsh House go to http://www.thewelshhouse.co.uk/ and see the choice of three cottages along with the history of how Dorian made a dream become reality by building and renovating.

I'm sure by the time you have seen all my photos you will be rushing to book a long weekend for yourself, they can also be found on Air bnb here.  You have a choice of three different style cottages and I will be featuring the two which are next to each other, Bryn Eglur and Ty Unnos.  I didn't get many outside shots of the house as the weather took a turn for the worse, however, I'm sure you will agree that these cottages are so cozy it hardly matters.

The word Maven came about from a meeting with Hayley who sells her own range of clothing and organised Conversational it means : A maven (also mavin) is a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from Hebrew, meaning "one who understands", based on an accumulation of knowledge.

Be a MAVEN and not a TROLL ...

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. 

Country Curtains - Divinely Vintage

This week I had the pleasure to work with a lovely lady called Sue from Divinely Vintage.  

Sue has been specialising in curtains for 20 years and certainly knows her stuff.  The main part of her business is in second-hand designer curtains which originally would have been extremely expensive. We aren't talking flimsy ready mades here, but bespoke heavy curtains made for country homes and manor houses, all at a snip of their original price.

You can find Sue's curtains through a number of different ways, theres a facebook page, website, ebay and etsy shops and also several Antique shops where she sells (Ampthill Emporium and St. Martins Antiques Stamford), all the links are on their website.

There are many big designer names in Sue's stock, Colefax and Fowler, Sanderson, Zofany etc. Most of these curtains are lined and inter-lined, and as the weather is now turning colder this is a perfect time to change over from your Summer lights to some serious draught preventing door and window drapes.

Sue stores much of her stock in a listed barn, which it is hoped will be turned into a showroom.  Amongst the beams are piles of gorgeous vintageness, so we had a rummage and took some of the stock outside. 

As this was probably the last of the beautiful weather we were so happy that the sun shined for us this week, a nip in the air but oh so lovely and much appreciated after the rain.

Recently Sue was commissioned to re-home all the curtains from Toddington Manor and this is another of the services she offers, working on commission to find a good home for a used quality item.

Im sure if you read this blog then you are like minded when it comes to second hand, it's not always perfect and even if it seems dated in some settings, it is possible to re-invent a look for it.  In the 1980s the fashion for floral was to have it everywhere, every surface covered, with extra borders and frills, a bit much Im sure you will agree, but take out some elements from that period, like some lovely Designer Guild curtains and put them in a setting with wooden floors and plain walls and you will create a whole new look.

For all the links to see Sue's curtains and outlets go to her website http://www.divinelyvintage.co.uk/ and give a home some old manor glamour.

1960's to 1970's looks and vibes

Wake up, its the swinging sixties and the groovy seventies and ORANGE has arrived!

There's so much that could be said about these two decades but I'm here to talk about colour and interior ideas so I shall try not to get side tracked and wander off down memory lane.

In 1964 Habitat was born and this was to shape the style of our interiors and create trends and desires for objects that were new and cool. Conran bought us the Duvet, paper lantern lampshades, the wok and the chicken brick. Here in the UK we now had our own trend leaders; Mary Quant gave us legs with her hot pants and mini skirts, modeled by Twiggy, Vidal Sassoon supplied the wedge bob hair style and everyone wanted to drive around in a new Mini car. The Brits were fashion leaders with The Beatles flying the flag for Brit style.

The patterns in wallpapers and fabrics were verging on the psychedelic, large rounded motifs in shades of orange, yellow, mustard and brown. During the 60's the department store Heals were commissioning some iconic designers like Peter Hall and Barbara Brown to produce fabrics with big stylised shapes in rich deep teals and emeralds. But it was orange that really hit big and if you want to replicate this era then its an absolute must to include. 

Habitat, not surprising considering its history, still do the best hues of orange, mustard and green in paint to replicate the sixties to seventies time. And they also still sell beautiful lampshades made of paper and have even reintroduced the chicken brick.

Another great place for getting items that fit the look is IKEA. During the sixties and seventies we began to see Scandinavian influences appear more and more, these shapes can still be found at our favourite Swedish superstore who have built their name on affordable design, primarily using wood which is a large resource in Sweden.   

There were some other colours apart from orange and brown, a sage green, olive is the best description and it was frequently used in excess, almost in saturation in some homes. If you find yourself some vintage Hornsea ware (kitchen jars and cups) then these colours give you the right idea.

A few years ago a friend and I made-over a bachelor pad in north London. The flat was in a building that was a design icon, the architect being Peter Tabori and built in the early seventies. So taking that as an influence we wanted to bring a bit of cosy and warmth to the owners rooms, adding fur rugs, pampas grass and voile curtains in cream and brown, while keeping to the building's era.

As we move into the seventies things tone down a bit, the colours become more muted and a reaction to all the plastic was a fashion for more natural materials like wicker and rattan. Brown and corduroy on clothes and furniture and a back to the earth approach came along with lots of house plants. Hessian even featured as a wall covering, and it was murder to remove!

I've made a pinterest board that features both authentic photos and current products that will help you pull this fab look together (double click for the link direct to the product). Homebase stock Habitat paint and their products are all available on line, some of their furniture is influenced by 70's designs like the Tisno chair. 

Other touches that will help you create an authentic look would be to add macrame either in wall hangings or plant holders. House plants took a real upturn in the seventies, possibly because now the exotic was traveling across borders. Ferns hanging from macrame holders, large Swiss Cheese plants were all essentials in the homes of that era.

As I mentioned before, the seventies also had some revival styles happening, Art Nouveau became popular, with Mucha's ladies appearing on mirrors.  

I shall be back to normal next week with the Styling The Seasons and Urban Jungle Bloggers photos, have a lovely week and keep your fingers crossed for me in the Amara Interior Blog Awards. 

Peace.