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.

Urban Jungle Bloggers Plants and Blooms

Im so happy to be part of this community of Urban Jungle Bloggers, Igor and Judith are very generous in sharing posts and photos and their appeal is worldwide so it's very interesting to see people from other countries following the same challenges.

This month its Plants and Blooms, very appealing to me as there is usually some floral element in my photos, it's the finishing touch, a way to capture forever the beauty of something transient and fragile.  Below are some of my home grown roses, the bushes were planted this year and still giving me lots of fragrant blooms.

My background colour in these two shots is using Annie Sloan Wall Paint in Duck Egg Blue, but as I painted over a green colour this may have effected its hue. Always consider this when painting, colours will change from that on the tin if you are painting over another strong colour. 

I shall be reviewing this new wall paint soon, with full details of how it differs from Annie Sloan's chalk paint.

Above is a new play thing, a notice board from Rose & Grey. It comes with clips and a finish that looks like old wooden pallets. 

I should also mention that a couple of these small planters are hand made. Above the little pale green one is from Katie Robbins (Ceramic Magpie) and below the mug top left is from the online store The Future Kept.

This large round vase is a vintage one by the company Bitossi, a highly collectable retro range.  I really want one of their lions, and am always on the look out for one.

More vintage goodies in this photo, I attended a truly fab event The Bloggers Vintage Jumble and instagram meet. Fellow bloggers from far and wide congregated on a sunny Sunday afternoon for tea cake and shopping in a village hall in Lindfield. It was lovely to see the faces of social media friends, a too rare occurrence in my opinion.

Jessica Trent sold me the embroidered table cloth and this was one of many great items I came home with, I was unable to show any restraint. Heather Young very generously let me snaffle the hydrangeas.  I'm currently growing a lot of the plants but as it's their first year the blooms are still a bit young and floppy to hold any shape when cut. From what I can work out, the hydrangea heads only look like this when they are quite old flowers which almost dry on the bush before picking. So thank's Heather you have saved me doing a midnight raid on a neighbours garden .... :)

My next blogger meet is in Bristol for the Sisterhood Supper with Toast, not toast to eat, silly, but Toast the great label. The food is being cooked by a well known chef and we will be learning calligraphy and wreath making. 

I hope you are all enjoying the Autumn colours, in the UK we have been blessed with such great weather the last few months making this time of year even more special. 

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.

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 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.  

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.

Styling The Seasons June part one

Another month and the challenge moves on to see how to represent the change in seasons. It's only the beginning of June so I feel I may have another Styling The Seasons photo or two in me for later in the month.  For now though, I have a few looks which seem to represent how I feel at the beginning of this month. June.

Every season I have a favourite flower, one that I think, yes, this is my favourite of them all. So when I saw this gigantic foxglove in the hedgerow, I simply had to bring it home. I have always loved foxgloves, there's something fairy like about them, very unconventional in their blossoms.

Very close by were some giant poppies, so they came home too.

For some reason we expect that as soon as June starts the weather should be good. In the UK we never learn. So far, we have had some good days, and we have also had some freakishly bad days too, without any rhyme or reason.

Ive done a bit of decorating and changing things around, so decided to do away with the dark red walls which I painted for Christmas and go back to some neutrals again, using Annie Sloan Chalk Paints of course. 

Styling The Seasons this month of June also has a sponsor, that being the incredibly stylish furniture company Loaf  so a big thank you to them for spurring us on to create some images that represent the month.  As we have actually had a hail storm at the end of May, terrible gail force winds and bright clear hot sun shiney days, all in short succession, I decided to keep the ice skates hanging on their hook next to my sun hat as a joke.  (I actually bought these in a Swedish charity shop just because they are cute despite being a bit heavy to bring back.

This time next week I will have just returned from Blogtacular and Ive also got some fun photos to do featuring cushions and cocktail glasses #lovemyjob !

Styling The Season for May

So many flowers to choose from in the garden at the moment, and also in the hedgerow.  For styling my home with nature I chose to revamp my previous wreath with lilacs and clematis. Its above the bed so that I catch wafts of lilac scent.

Another addition to my room is a beautiful piece of original art from an artist called Anne Marie Butlin.  Her painting of apple blossom touched my heart and so, I hope to feature her in a future blog.

To find out more about Anne Marie Butlin you can find her facebook page here

I found this artist through facebook originally and took the opportunity to visit her during Crouch End Open Studios week.

As an ex-Crouch Ender I felt a soft spot for this lady and her lovely family.  Her studio at the bottom of the garden is gorgeous and oh how I would love to have a whole wall full of her work.

My painting is oil on linen. Im going to try it in a few different rooms but for now its by my bedside and Im totally in love with it. 

May Day Posies for Styling Spring At Mine

So in continuation of my previous post about attending the workshop at Homemade London, we also had the opportunity to make a May Day Posey and were given the cutest jar to put it in which came from the very generous Rose and Grey.  I didn't want to take too many flowers as I was afraid they wouldn't make the train journey home. Knowing that I had bluebells and forget-me-nots in the garden I have added and changed it to make two posies, one for me and one for my neighbour.

my posey in the cute jar from Rose and Grey

There are many traditions around the May bank holiday, all dating back to pagan and Roman times.  The Little Green Shed company told us about how on May the first you should gather spring flowers and hang them on a neighbours door.  And so I did ...

The festival of Flora, the Roman Goddess of flowers, heralds the beginning of summer. Many customs are still observed, however we decided to swap maypole dancing for tea and macaroons.

And heres my neighbours flowers with some of her collection of perfume bottles. I love to add cow-parsley in with the flowers at this time of year but it can be a bit smelly so I also put a few springs of mint in there.

To see how my other compatriots got on with their posies you can find us all on instagram under the #stylingspringatmine hashtag.

If you fancy having a go at Styling The Seasons the topic set by Lobster & Swan for next month is Treasure. 

I shall have to put my thinking cap on for that one. 

Homemade London hosts Styling Spring At Mine

WARNING; this blog post contains a lot of gushing, love and daftness.


Yesterday I actually left the shire! Like a hobbit on a quest I got on a train to the big smoke, how exciting.

And what was my quest? well to find the ring of course! I have heard tell of the perfect Spring wreath, although until now the sight of one has escaped me, I do believe it looks something like this ...

This quest was brought to me via Instagram, a magical covern of special ladies had come up with the idea to run a competition where you take a photo of a styled area within your house that is reflective of the season.

The circle of special ladies then chose their own favourite photo and invited that lucky person to join them at a very stylish location.

And so the journey began.

The location was in a beautiful part of town, Portman Village. Opposite a house of glorious food (Gails) on 21 Seymour Place is Homemade London who host craft parties of all kinds.

The head wizards who had this concept and brought it all together can be found in their virtual worlds called Apartment Apothecary  and Lotts & Lots, their names being Katy and Charlotte. They then went about casting their magical spells to bring along other great and wise creatures.  Providing the expert tuition in how to make a wreath was Caroline Grimble of Wild Rubus and she used the flowers supplied by Bloom & Wild who have a very special concept to their company.

Bloom & Wild deliver flowers in a box! What is this kind of magick I hear you ask, yes they put beautiful blooms in a box and send it flying through the atmosphere and right through your letterbox. You don't even have to be at home to receive it!

And so, chief wizards Katy and Charlotte began to pull their team together, and along came 'At Mine'a new concept in how to view interior design. If you love to decorate your hobbit-hole then this is an online community of other like minded people, posting photos of their real homes and crediting the clever designers and shops from whence they purchased said items.

Emily Quinton
 author of Maker Spaces a book about creative hobbits and their workshops

Charlotte from Lotts & Lots who can also be found making glorious jewels

To see the judges names and who they chose pop to http://www.apartmentapothecary.com/photo/the-winners-2/

The spell had been set, the forces of the universe were in play through the portal Instagram, and so, reaching amazing creative photograph takers far and wide the quest began. 

This is Xanthe who is very akin to Lady Galadriel, one of the greatest in middle earth, surpassing others in beauty knowledge and power 

The incredibly beautiful Tamsyn who weaves pastel dreams at
  The Villa On Mount Pleasant

Really could anyone concentrate, I was too excited to be in the same room as all these fabulous people

my special mentor who chose me, and we bear the same inked marks upon ourselves
 also,Jeska who is is also known as Lobster and Swan

       And so armed with their iphones the creating began. 

There was also cake, and coffee, and pastries. Yes I had died and gone to heaven

It was a glorious day, the rain and cold did not deter us, I cannot thank all the above enough for doing such a wonderful sharing thing. When working in isolation, taking photos at home, creating collages and scenes that please the eye, how great to meet up with people who 'get it'.  My door in Buckinghamshire is open to all of you and I sincerely hope that we have a chance to do this again.