LOVELY HELLEBORES

The weather has been awful here for days, grey sky, rain and mist rolling over the top of the moor, so in need of a bit of colour I threw on my wellies and ventured into the garden. 

Obviously there isn't too much going on outside at present a few bulbs reluctantly peeping their heads through the soil here and there and obviously the 'crazy' little snowdrops who love a bit of cold!!

I headed off to a little spot in the garden where the Hellebores grow, and never to disappoint there they were, their hardy little flowery faces nodding in the wind. 

There are so many varieties of Hellebore and I'm not even sure what type mine are, but the damson coloured flowers are there year after year.

They are most deffinately an outside plant but at this time of year I often buy a new plant just to keep inside the house for a couple of weeks and when it's time and you can really tell when it's time I pop it back outside into the garden.

So, in need of the colour I decided to cut one of the flowers and put it in this lovely vase, I actually bought this vase at this time last year in Le Marais and knew it would be perfect for a Hellebore bloom!

I took this photograph last year on the same trip to Paris, unfortunately I only had my phone to take a picture with so my mission is to go back and take one with the SLR! 

Lovely Hellebores in pots!

And just for you Lesley if you're reading..."Oooooh I love Paris!!!" X

JANET'S RAG RUG!

Being a designer means that you seem to attract similar like minded people as friends and you become a magnet for 'designer types' !


These 'designer types' always have a new idea or a new project that they are working on and in this section of the blog we are going to show you what they have been up to! 
A showcase for us to champion their talents and creativity!


It appears that there are craft classes popping up all over the country, everything from 'knit and natter' to quilting, rag rugging and stained glass making to name but a few. 
A friend of ours decided to join one of these very classes, two hours a week on a Friday afternoon and only £8.00 a year to learn a craft and drink tea! Perfect!!


So, Janet wanted to make a rag rug! Most people undertaking a new skill or craft would probably start on a small scale but not Janet she had a very specific mission to replace the old rug in her lovely bathroom, the thing was that this rug measured 115cm x 160cm...and so the labour of love began!...

Janet's rag rug...it started it's life back in September 2011 and this basket is where it lives until it is completed and reaches its final destination on the bathroom floor!

The hessian areas are the bits that need to be completed...

It all starts here with hessian which you can get for about £2.50 a meter from a fent shop or local market. To calculate how much hessian you need decide on your finished size of rag rug and then add about 5cm all the way around for turning and finishing.

Then your chosen colours of scrap fabrics, these can be old t-shirts, scarves or basically any old clothes or fabric that is non fraying.

Then all you do is chop them up into strips 2cm x 6.5cm and then you are ready to go! 

Oh, and you will need one of these... 'Rag Rugger' tools.

The technique is quite simple, you push the tip of the tool through the hessian

and clip it to one of your strips...

Then you pull the strip back through the loop of hessian and centralise it, this process is repeated in lines around your rug.

The picture below shows what the reverse of the rag rug should look like!

So, we will end this post with a picture of this lovely rag rug now it has been thrown into the limelight the pressure is on for Janet to push on and complete

it...don't worry though we are going to keep an eye on its progress and report back on how it is coming along!!! X

JANET'S LOVELY RAG RUG!

GREY - GET THE LOOK

Sometimes it helps when things are put together for you so we thought that we would bring all the information together from our 'Going All Dutch' post and help you to recreate the look for yourself!

One of the hardest things is deciding on the right colours and the right finish so we have chosen a palette from Farrow & Ball

Farrow & Ball paints are perfect to recreate this grey colour scheme, the paints are manufactured using quality and naturally occurring pigments that  give a real depth to the overall finish, their paints still contain chalk, Lime Putty and Clay and are also eco friendly.

*CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE

SHOPPING LIST:


1. Candle sticks - by Little Red Heart available from Not On The Highstreet.com

2. lighting - Chandelier - India Jane . Rustic lantern - Re-found Objects

3. Throws - Bronte
4. Furniture & general accessories - Eastburn Country Furniture

5. Floor tiles - Fired Earth

6. Paint - Farrow & Ball

*CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE




Happy decorating! X

BRINGING THE OUTSIDE IN!

A little 'Green Fingers' weekend project for you...

Another little treat from our friends in Holland! This simple but beautiful table arrangement has been made using moss, twigs, tealight holders and Amaryllis bulbs.

This is such a different idea from the normal floral display and would make an eye catching centerpiece for your coffee table.

Occasionally spray the bulbs with water to keep them fresh!

Go on give it a go!! X

 

NEW BOOKSTORE!

A very exciting day indeed!!


There are so many lovely books we want to share with you so we thought that we would give you the chance to step inside and have a browse around our new bookstore!


It's easy...if you are from the UK click on the gilt picture frame on the left and step inside, if you are from the US click on the books!


More books to be added soon X

GOING ALL DUTCH...

As I mentioned in a previous post I have recently been to Holland, Ede to be precise. 
We have some friends that live there on the outskirts of the town in a village called Ederveen, they live in a beautiful thatched farm house. 
Although Ederveen is mostly a farming community the houses are so neat and tidy and the land and gardens are all so well manicured to complement the houses and even the trees are kept pruned and are all practically the same height!
Loving tidiness and order this suits me just fine and I think I have fallen in love with Holland! 
The people are all so lovely too!!


I want to share with you some of the photographs I took inside our friends farm house, these are mostly styling shots but show perfectly how beautiful grey and neutral tones can create a peaceful and calming environment.


One other thing I noticed about Dutch interior design is that they have a great knack of bringing the outside 'in' using twigs, wood, flowers and bulbs to create calming displays around the house.

These earthenware pots make a lovely display in the kitchen.

I think these old French cutting boards are fantastic, I have some at home too, they are great for doing foodie platters on when you have friends round and look great leaning against the wall like these or I actually have mine hanging.

Beautiful grey!!

See what I mean about the twiggy things!

This grey bannister looks so good against the sisal stair runner!

Mixing up styles is a great idea, the two pictures of lighting above are quite contrasting designs but both work beautifully!

Be brave and mix it up!

I want these tiles for my own kitchen, they were imported to Holland from France.

The house is painted with colours from the Carte Colori range, these are traditional lime paints which give the most beautiful chalky matte finish.

I hope this post has inspired you to see grey in a different light!!! X

VINTAGE PEONY

It was time to say goodbye to our lovely Valentine rosy wallpaper and move on!
So reverting back to February's mood board we have gone all grey and pink...hope you like our lovely vintage peony, it's here to stay till March!

More posts on the way X