Sometimes...

...architects are interior design legends...sometimes...

House 'O', Bodrum, Turkey, Erginoğlu & Çalışlar

Handwritten Table Plan

I was so delighted to be asked to write the table plan and place cards for our friends' wedding at the beginning of the August! It was a brilliant weekend in the Scottish Borders...a smorgesboard of Danish, Sri Lankan and Scottish influences...and plenty of cocktails of course!

They moved to Copenhagen from Scotland a few years ago and opened the award winning bar Ruby ...check it out

P.S A massive thank you to Design Studio B for including Yeah...Ok...Bye in their top 5 design blogs (as their 'favourite by far')!!
P.P.S. Follow my blog with bloglovin

Caroline Swift Breakables

I get my love for tableware and ceramics from my mum...who incidentally has a thing for spoons too. She has a little table of pretty spoons in the dining room and her collection of unusual ceramic crockery, mostly from degree shows by new designers, is growing nicely too.
Reading this back she sounds a bit like a crazy lady with weird ornaments everywhere but her taste is more akin to the work of former benetton knitwear designer, Caroline Swift's paper thin bone china bowls, pretty spoons and these amazing, intricate, stoneware flowers...i'd be afraid to hold those beautiful bowls too tight!

Made in England and available here...any guesses what mum's getting for Christmas??!

Paper Gifts

For our first wedding anniversary we got each other paper gifts.
As we were visiting Paris, my grand plan was to take my husband to the comic book artist, Moebius' shop where he could choose a limited edition print and hopefully have it signed. However, after an expensive taxi ride to the opposite side of the French capital, in a month when Parisiennes generally vacate the city...the shop was closed.
Fortunately, on our last day we took the Metro out to La Defense, home to La Grande Arche and many more futuristic, architectural phenomenons on the outskirts of the city where we happened upon an awesome art store called, Arteum. Needless to say we were there for quite some time exploring the shelves.
I eventually found my 36 year old husband in the 'Petits Artiste' section where he proclaimed, with much excitement, that he had found what he wanted, from me, for our anniversary....a large model cardboard robot by Calafant...
My husband got me 'Sundays Are For Lovers'; a lovely book curated by Maria Alexandra Vettese, by independant American publishers, Lines & Shapes, in which artists express what they like to get up to on a Sunday...I love it.
How do you spend your Sunday?

Book images courtesy of Lines & Shapes via Daily Candy
Robot available from here

Where Chocolate gets Creative

Spanish textile designer, blogger and fellow Mydeco* award nominee, Margarita Lorenzo's London home has been featured in Spanish Elle Deco. A, small but perfectly styled apartment; she obviously keeps the objects that inspire her close at hand...there are some gorgeous details and beautiful furniture. I love the art work hanging over the table.Head to Chocolate Creative for a look at some of Margarita's designs...these vintage paper doll cushions are soooo cute...especially the little detail on the back!

*If you've already voted for me you can still vote for Chocolate Creative as it's in a different category!

Cath Kidston flooring

Just when you thought there couldn't possibly be an object left in the world that there could be a Cath Kidston print applied to, I bring you...vinyl floor tiles...

Are your chintz dreams now fulfilled?

Available here

Laura Barnard

Check out these illustrations by Laura Barnard...i'm a sucker for architectural line drawings, cityscapes and looking up at the sky...
laurabarnard.co.uk

Ovale

If there's one thing the Parisiennes can do well (apart from architecture, food, style, baking, etc etc) it's retail display. Whilst window shopping (much cheaper than real shopping) in St Germaine one evening (best time to see window displays) on our recent trip, we came across this baby shop full of sleeping polar bears...



photographs by me

Pretty sitting...

This Philip Stanhope Chesterfield sofa wants my bum to nestle on its fine leather, foam-filled cushions...but i've told it, it'll have to loose a few pounds (sterling) first...
Chesterfield 1780

I'll take...that one...

After the obligatory morning at the very impressive, Eiffel Tower, we boarded the Bateaux Mouche one sunny afternoon and settled down for 1hr and 10 minutes of learning. Rather than looking starboard and port, when instructed, to see yet another monument France was gifted, I found myself snapping the Paris apartments I would most like to live in...check these out...
It seems, a view of Paris through large windows is a must on my fantasy property wishlist...fancy that?!

photography by me

Merci

One of the shops on my list for our trip was Merci, a favourite amongst bloggers and designers, so I couldn't have passed it up...
Merci is a charity shop with a difference; Designers donate peices to be sold and all proceeds go to help children, mainly in Madagascar. A concept put into practice by the founders, of childrens store, Bonpoint, Marie-France and Bernard Cohen.
It still puzzles me though. There were designers there assembling displays, staff, serving coffee and assisting shop and the property itself must have been extortionate!
Either way, what a place!
Jewellery, accessories (including a separate Mulberry bag 'zone') and a beautiful Annick Goutal, D-I-Y perfume bar greet you upon entering the bright, airy shop through the courtyard set back from the busy, Boulevard Beaumarchais. Then you make your way up a couple of steps to the stationery and baby merchandise, and through the huge furniture, clothing (designer & vintage) and homeware section. Then downstairs to lighting (see the Foscarini for Diesel pendants below) and kitchenware, complete with a restaurant and courtyard.
You end up with the irresistible option to exit through the 'used book café' where you can sit on an array of upcycled furniture, (all with price tags) and sip a café creme, whilst perusing the floor-to-ceiling book shelves...

all photography by me

We're back!

So we're back from Paris and are now off to a 2-day wedding in the Scottish borders so apologies for the lack of blog posts this week. I do have a couple of goodies lined up from the trip...if my photos are up to grade...
We had a lovely time; saw some sites, walked a fair bit, shopped a little and ate a lot!
We tried not to spend too much but Paris is expensive and the Euro is strong (against the pound) so I thought it best to leave this dress in the good hands of Givenchy, for now...it wouldn't have fit into our Ryanair, 10kg limit, hand luggage anyway...

oh...and ...if you've got a minute, you could vote for me here if you like...Thanks x