Decorate

One of my favourite blogs is Decor8, founder and editor Holly Becker is an American freelance journalist and design consultant who lives in northern Germany. She launched the blog in 2006 which has become an invaluable source of inspiration to over 35,000 readers daily. She has just published a book called 'Decorate: 1000 Professional Design Ideas for Every Room in the House' in the US and it is to be released in the UK on the 25th March. Apparently it's full of creative and quirky advice from the world's best designers including Jonathan Adler, Kelly Hoppen, Amy Butler and Abigail Ahern. Can't wait until it's launched, this will definitely be going on my reading list.

(Image from Decor8)

(Image from Amazon)

Orla on Everything!

As you can probably tell from most of my posts I am a huge lover of anything retro especially Orla Kiely prints. I recently received in the March issue of Living etc a small leaflet for Heal's, and what should be featured on the back, none other than Orla. I never realised her prints had been put on so many products. I particularly love the Jackie O style sunglasses, although I can't warrant spending that much on them as I'd probably just end up sitting on them!

(Image from Heals)

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)

Sweet, Sweet Galaxy by Pip & Pop

I was walking around Bury St Edmunds on Saturday morning and thought I would pop into the local Art Gallery Smith's Row. They currently have an exhibition by Pip & Pop the collaboration alias of Australian artists Tanya Schultz, Nicole Andrijevic and John Kassab. It is their first Major British show and is an installation of a psychedelic landscape, made entirely of sugar, cake decorations, origami and sound. I've never seen such a popular exhibition at this gallery and kids seemed to love it. Even I was loving it, it reminded me of those neon coloured harashuku girls from Japan. The music was a magical mix of electronic and xylophone sounds which created an other world feel. If you want to introduce your children to art I suggest to take them to see this work.

The entire installation took them 14 days to create and the 700kg of sugar used was donated by Silverspoon who have a large sugar factory on the outskirts of Bury St Edmunds. The sugar used in the exhibition was grown an average of 30 miles away, as Silverspoon are the sole produces of homegrown British sugar and supports 1200 East Anglian Beet farmers.

The Ercol Love Seat

This is possibly my favourite piece of furniture ever made. Ercol launched this love seat in 1954 using the same steam-bent wood techniques used on their Windsor range, it was re-launched in 2009 and is available to buy from Barker & Stonehouse, The Lollipop Shop, and Twenty Twenty One. With an Elm seat and Beech legs, it comes in a range of the traditional finishes at Barker and Stonehouse whereas The Lollipop Shop and Twenty Twenty One offer it with a clear or black lacquered finish (as seen below)

(image from gdlaneinteriors)

I already own an Ercol Windsor table and my mum has kindly let me borrow two of her Quaker chairs which all have the clear lacquer which I love, but there is something about the black that is just so appealing on this shape. It would look great as a statement piece in a long wide hallway with a lone brightly retro patterned cushion as shown above.

As part of their 90th anniversary celebrations Ercol have also launched a clear lacquered version with a cobalt blue spray effect.

(Image from Ercol)

Vintage Storage

I was flicking through a Pedlars catalogue last night and it got me thinking about Vintage Storage. I love the idea of having some long slim drawer units with industrial handles, the kind you would find in an old museum or library. Pedlars happen to have a vintage selection on their website which includes these two fantastic industrial drawer units. They would both look great in a hallway, and just think of all the extra space to hide things away!

(Images from Pedlars)

They also have these old American Vintage Shoe Factory Template Storage Boxes, which could make great In trays or even just somewhere to put your post.

(Image from Pedlars)

The Old Cinema, a vintage/retro antiques shop based on Chiswick High Road in London, also has a selection of drawer units. The one below was an old Haberdasher Cabinet, I've previously seen these used in homes as an alternative to a chest of drawers or even as shoe storage. The advantage of using it for shoes would be you can double it up as a display cabinet, making a piece of art out of the everyday!

(Image from The Old Cinema)

John Lewis Seed Head Fabric

My mum is a bit of an ebay fanatic, but her habit does occasionally have its uses. She recently gave me a couple of metres of this wonderful Lucien Day inspired John Lewis Seed Head upholstery fabric, that she had managed to get very cheap. I have an old leather Chesterfield sofa that has two fabric seat cushions, currently covered in a hideous fabric from my student days, what was I thinking! However, this fabric would look perfect on the cushions. The image below shows the fabric made up into a cushion, maybe if I have any left over I could do some of those too!

(Image from Etsy)

Unfortunately this colourway is no longer available from John Lewis but they are doing it in 'Steel' and 'Putty' as seen below respectively.

(Images from John Lewis)