Liam Treanor

2. The second on my list of favourites from the Smiths Row exhibition is Liam Treanor. He creates beautiful hand produced furniture. Each product is designed by Liam and produced in-house at their London based workshops.

I particularly love the Homemaker Bookcase with it's nod to mid-century styling. It's even available in two beautifully cheerful colours, pale blue or primrose yellow.

Mini Moderns for Magpie

Mini Moderns, the creators of fantastic wallpaper inspired by the 1951 Festival of Britain, have teamed up with homeware brand Magpie to create a selection of mugs, plates, and cups and saucers under the same theme. Using lovely mid-century colours the geometric patterns illustrate London landmarks such as the Royal Festival Hall. Mix and match the colours for an fab eclectic look!

Image from Homes and Gardens

I was reading Decor8 recently and noticed this fantastic photo showcasing the talents of interior designer Pippa Jameson. I love the natural shutters against the white walls and wooden floor. I am also in love with the Ercol 2 seat sofa with in-keeping mid-century print cushions. That arm chair in the corner looks very similar to the Bailey sofa from John Lewis which we have selected for out new house, so at least half way there!

Retro Fridges

As we are in the process of buying our first house, I can't help but turn my attention to things I've always lusted after but never had a reason to buy. One of these items is a retro fridge. I absolutely love the Smeg fridges but they are quite pricey. The mint green one below is lovely but I think a nice clean off white version might fit better wit my vast collection of Orla Kiely kitchenware.

(Image origination unknown - if you recognise any let me know and I'll add credit)

I also found these new A+ rated retro fridges by a company called Gorenje which are much cheaper than the Smeg's but don't come in white/cream, it's more of a champagne colour. However might make a good alternative.

The Big 30!

Well it's official as of yesterday I am now officially thirty years or age. I don't feel particularly different but I am going to miss the fact that I am not a girl in my twenties but a woman in my thirties, that sounds far too grown up for me!

I had an absolutely wonderful birthday. Mum and I went to a local spa (Clarice House) for the day where we had a facial, manicure and full body massage each, it was seriously relaxing. The food was fantastic, we both had the venison. I'm hoping my manicure lasts until my party on Saturday but knowing my luck it'll chip before then.

From all the generous cheques my friends and family have sent I will now be able to order the Silhouette machine so I can get crafting A.S.A.P, which I am very excited about. I must not forget to mention my Husband's fabulous gift of a Coral party frock from French Connection, I'll add some photos soon.

But the best news is yet to come..... If you are a regular reader of this blog you have probably realised that I have a slight obsession with Ercol furniture, in particular a certain Love seat. Well to my surprise mum had managed to find one on Ebay at a very decent price and bought it as a 30th present. It was delivered by my brother yesterday and looks sooooooo beautiful, I've spent pretty much most of the time just staring at it. So a big thank you goes out to my wonderful mum for her very generous gift.

My husband has always wanted a bench as part of the seating at for the dining table so I always said it would have to be a love seat, it looks so good with the Ercol table and chairs, and the Eames DSR chair. So now I have just one space to fill, more about that next week.......

Russell Pinch

For a while now I have seen Russell Pinch's designs cropping up in the interiors magazines, in particular his 'Pendel' 2 seat sofa. With it's vivid floral fabric and curvaceous form it is bound to be a classic of the future. After working as Terence Conran's design assistant and Senior Product designer for the Conran group, In 2004 he set up Pinch Design with his wife Oona Bannon. They work from their studio in Clapham, London where they 'aim to create graceful and iconic furniture and lighting'. 

Well as you can see from the images below, they have certainly achieved that. Russell also designs for a number of retailers including SCP, Ercol, Conran and Jamie Oliver's JME home-ware range. 

It is also available in a fantastic curvy chair.

He has also just won a Wallpaper Design award for his Pontus Desk below, I must admit I do love it's little pigeon holes and mix of walnut, oak and white painted finishes. 

His Yves writing desk is also wonderful, made of solid Walnut with a lime green leather top and drawer, there is something very mid-century in it's design. You can see why he has been employed by the likes of Ercol and Conran. He has also won a string of other designs awards including the Grand Design awards in 2009 for this desk.

(All images from Pinch Design)

So if you fancy checking out some more of his designs take a look at his website, he is definitely one to watch in the future.

Fired Earth Mid-Century Paint

Apologies for not posting on Friday I was a tad distracted by the fact my best friend took me to see Dirty Dancing the musical as a surprise for my upcoming birthday. Having not been to many musicals I wasn't sure what to expect but it was fantastic, the sets, costumes and actors were brilliant and by the end I was singing along to all the songs, I didn't realise how much of the dialogue I knew by heart. So that was Friday, then on Saturday we spent all day coming up with designs for my friends wedding stationery, which I think we've finalised. I'll post it once it's completed. Hope you all had a fun weekend!

Anyway down to the topic at hand. Fired Earth one of the best suppliers of paint colours in the UK has developed a Mid-Century range. So now not only can we have the furniture and fabrics that we love so much in lovely retro colours but we can paint the walls to suit. Below are the shades in the order they appear plus examples of room set-ups; Southbank, Race Yellow, Festival Orange, Skylon Grey, Garden City, Flamingo Pink. Notice all the names are inspired by the 1951 festival of Britain. I particularly love the Southbank shade but that might have something to do with the fab chairs and Ercol table in the image.

(Images from Fired Earth)

Ernest Race

I was reading an article in Living Etc about Linear designs that included the wonderful Antelope bench designed by Ernest Race for 'The Festival of Britain' and is still produced today by Race Furniture. I might actually love this as much as the the Ercol Love seat.

(Image from Living Etc)

Here is an excerpt from the All Things Considered website published by St Jude's who were previously asked by Liberty to collaborate with Race Furniture to put their fabrics on the re-issued BA3 Chair.

"Ernest Race was one the most important figures in British post-war design. After studying interior design, Race began his career with the lighting manufacturer Troughton & Young. During World War II Race served with the auxiliary fire service, after which he founded Race Furniture Ltd in Clapham, South London. Race realised that redundant wartime materials could be recycled, so he designed his furniture to utilise discarded aluminium and ex-RAF upholstery fabrics. In 1946 Race showed the BA chair at the ‘Britain Can Make It’ exhibition. Made from recast aluminium, this design epitomised the post-war spirit and set new standards within industrial design. Race established himself at the forefront of the modern design movement, producing some of the most innovative furniture of the 1950s."

Other Race designs include the Antelope chair:

(Image from Race Furniture)

The Heron Chair which was re-issued for the 100% Design Exhibition:

(Image from Race Furniture)

The Rocking Chair seen here in a St Judes Fabric:

(Image from All Things Considered)

And last but not least the beautifully simple BA3 Chair. The first mass produced cast aluminium chair in the world,  available to buy from Rockett St George.

(Image from All Things Considered)

In The 1960's Race was also employed by Isokon to redesign the Penguin Donkey storage unit. You can read about this design in a previous post here.

Benchairs

I recently got an email from a Clare a reader and asking if I knew anything about a mid-century furniture manufacturer called Benchairs Stoe, she had recently bought a lovely chair on ebay, take a look at it on her blog Devon Red Bags. To be honest I hadn't heard of them until this point but tried to find out a little bit more information for her. There are two options, they could be based in Shropshire I found an address based in Whitchurch, but no website, or they were based in Yugoslavia. So if anybody reading knows any more info please get in touch, because frankly I am now intrigued! Below are a few more examples of these lovely chairs I found on ebay. I think I might even have to keep an eye out for them on ebay. Thanks to Clare for pointing them out.

(Image from Devon Red Bags)

(Images from ebay)

Nathan & MissPrint

If you're a regular reader of my blog you'll realise I have a fascination with mid-century furniture especially Ercol. Another fantastic producer of retro furniture is Nathan, established in 1916 and still going as strong today. They have recently teamed up with MissPrint,  a vintage wallpaper and fabric company based in East London. They have upholstered their wonderfully shaped Monty chair in the fantastic Dandelion Mobile fabric in Sunflower Yellow with White. I'm in love with the tapered legs. However, if this chair is not your thing check out the rest of Nathan's wonderful products such as their Citadel21 range.

(images from Nathan)

Illustrated Wallpapers

It's hard not to notice, as you flick through the interiors magazines a trend for illustrated Wallpapers. Harlequin's identity range includes two fantastic designs. The Acacia design is based on famous lighting designs, including the artichoke lamp by Poul Henningsen, in beautiful retro colourways.

The Brighton wallpaper is a wonderful collection of Victorian house fronts, naively illustrated but with the odd punch of colour in retro hues. As you can see both of these wallpapers fit perfectly with the Eames and Sarrinen furniture that I love!

(Images from Harlequin)

Little Greene also produce a wonderful monochrome version called Hampstead shown here in Ink, If you fancy a bit of colour, they also produce it in 4 other shades - Cloister, Cool Grey, James Blue and Yellow.

(Image from Little Greene)

If you're interested, the desk shown in this image happens to be an Ercol for John Lewis design called Treviso created by Matthew Hilton.

If you're interested in modernist architectural illustrations then take a look at Mini Modern's 'Festival' wallpaper shown here in the Concrete colourway, designed as a celebration of the enduring influence of the 1951 Festival of Britain. It features abstract drawings of the The Royal Festival Hall, the iconic Skylon, the Dome of Discovery and the Transport pavilion. It also comes in 'Bunting Blue and Red' and 'Stone' colourways. This wallpaper would add a lovely modernist look to any home.

(images from Mini Moderns)

Laura Ashley Colinton Chair

I previously posted about the Laura Ashley Colinton Chair in a soft white room setting with splashes of citrus. I was flicking through the March issue of Living etc and spotted it again used in this 'High Street Finds' article. It is seen here in the Hortense Zinnia fabric which helps it retain it's wonderful retro feel. The legs can be stained in an Oak or Dark wood colour to match your fabric. Personally I would love it upholstered in the same Lucienne Day inspired fabric as this Dinky armchair from Heals.

(Image from Living Etc)

(Image from Heal's)

Sagaform Retro Kitchenware

I've kept seeing this wonderful retro kitchenware cropping up in various magazines. The storage jars are available to buy from Heal's but the full range is available on Illustrated Living. The colours are fantastically seventies but the dark wooden lids give it a lovely natural contrast.

(Images from Illustrated Living and Sagaform)

Sagaform is a Swedish based gift and kitchenware manufacturer. According to the website 'Sagaform stands for joyful, innovative gifts for the kitchen'. You can access there online catalogue here. As well as the retro design above they have a black and white design which would look perfect in a modern monochrome kitchen.

(Image from Sagaform)