La vie est belle

“Journalist abandons city in favour of tumbledown French farmhouse.”

One day – please god – let someone write those words about me!

Just imagine cooking in a kitchen flooded with as much light as this! Despite the basic concrete floor this rooms looks so welcoming and warm. Who wouldn’t want to fling open those doors and sit down and tuck into a stack of brioche here?

I must admit that I still think the French do relaxed country style better than anyone. There’s not much going on in this room but it has exactly the right balance of simplicity and interest for me. The stack of nude paintings in the corner is my favourite touch.

{El Meuble via Graine & Ficelle / Poppytalk}

When Isabella took on her new home it was nothing more than a weedy wasteland – today though she lives the good life doing B&B and running cookery lessons where guests can pick their vegetable and gather their eggs from the (now cultivated) surrounding farmland, while the kids can get back to nature and help out with feeding time. Even the name of the farm is perfect… Graine & Ficelle – Grain & Twine.

15-minute make: twiggy plant markers

Here’s a lemon squeezy little craft project for you to try out over the weekend. Spring is just around the corner so I’ll be adding a few green-fingered ideas over the coming months in celebration (anticipation).

Twig Plant Markers

Twigs about 20cm long and a little thicker than a pencil

Sharp craft knife and cutting mat

Alphabet stamps

Coloured ink pads or acrylic paint

1) Whittle one end of each stick into a point. At the other end, slice away the bark on one side of each twig, exposing about 6cm of the wood beneath.

2) Dab your alphabet stamps into the ink or paint being careful not to load the stamp too heavily. Stamp your chosen plant names onto the bare wood.

3) Leave to dry the pop into the pots. Standard craft ink isn’t waterproof so remove the markers before watering!

{both via Etsy}

Possibly the best mug ever

I love Toot as in Foot. Not only does it have one of the best blog names ever, author Jo always makes me laugh with her quirky tales and apparently fathomless vintage knowledge. If you’ve never seen a human jumble sale or you don’t yet know the weird and wonderful tale of Resusci Annie, you need to add this blog to your reading list.

{Jo Waterhouse / Toot as in Foot}

I also think that Jo shares my compulsion to have a stab at new crafts… while I’ve been trying out screenprinting, she’s been playing around on the potters wheel. These wonderfully wobbly mugs are the fruits of her endeavours and they’re all so lovely I hope she won’t mind me sharing them. The one on the bottom right is captioned ‘possibly the worst mug ever’… and it’s absolutely my favourite.

Have you mastered any new skills during 2012 and what would you like to try in 2013?

Put another log on the fire for me

Brrrrrrr, it’s getting nippy out!

{via Bonytt / Planete Deco / Devon Fires / Living Agency}

Every house I grew up in had a roaring open fire, so when the weather turns, central heating just doesn’t do it for me. Nothing feels cosier than gathering around the hearth on a chilly evening and to my mind, living rooms just don’t have a natural focal point without one.

{via HK Living / Keltainen Talo Rannalla / Oh, Pioneer / Bo Bedre}

Looking at these welcoming open fires makes me feel that a working fireplace has to be on the ‘must haves’ list for my next home. In the meantime, I’ll have to make the most of the woodburner at my parent’s house while I’m home for Christmas… if I can wrestle the dog out of prime position on the rug that is!

Stay warm peeps xxx

Festive foliage au naturel

After many years of studying Christmas decorating behaviour, it is my theory that we all fall into two camps: magpies and purists. If you’ve been reading my blog for any time at all it won’t come as a surprise to learn I’m the latter. Give me armfuls of holly and pine, a box of candles and the odd plain glass bauble and I’ll happily get to work creating a pared-back festive haven.

{via Greige Design, Blomsterverkstad, Toast, Johanna Vintage, Karen Mordechai, La Petite Cuisine, The Gifts of Life}

Are you a purist or a magpie?

Silkscreen printing snippets

I mentioned a little while back that I enrolled on an eight week evening class to learn the basics of silkscreen printing. I’ve only got a few weeks to go so I thought I’d share a couple of the designs I’ve printed so far.

{Decorator’s Notebook}

We’ve been working on two techniques. The pomegranate (I’ve been variously complimented by my classmates on my onions and pumpkins!) were done using simple cut paper stencils. These are easy to make but tear easily too, so you can only get a few prints from each one. The fern is done using photo silkscreen, where you expose a screen coated with a light sensitive emulsion to UV. If I carried on, I think this is the method I’d use as the image can be quite detailed and the screen can be used many times before it wears out. The photo on the bottom left is the screen itself.

Picking myself up to go to a three hour long class after a full day at work has been tough, but once I’m there the time goes so quickly and I wish I’d been able to work on more designs. There’s nothing like thinking creatively and doing something new to treat the winter blues!

DIY: quick autumn garland

Wasn’t Sunday the most gorgeous autumn day? I took a walk through Crystal Palace Park in the warm sunshine and gathered a few handfuls of turning leaves, hips and berries to make an simple garland to bring some of that autumn beauty into my home.

This autumn garland is so easy it’s a bit of a stretch to call it a DIY really. All you need are a length of ribbon or twine, some mini wooden pegs and the pick of nature’s bounty!

{all Decorator’s Notebook}

I choose some vibrant red and yellow just-fallen leaves and berries so I don’t think the colours will last long, but they’ve really cheered up my living room. You could try pressing the leaves or using completely dry ones and it would last all winter.

Join The Room Debate!

Morning all! I can’t believe it’s already two weeks since the last Room Debate – time is flying so fast at the moment. Is it for you too?

It’s been a while since we chatted about kitchen design so I thought this would be a good candidate for today’s discussion. As always, it’s easy to get involved. Just have a good look at the room photo below and leave a comment with your answers to these two questions:

One thing I like most about this room is…

One thing I like least about this room is…

{via The Style Files}

It seems an unusual mix of elements in some ways so I’m looking forward to hearing what you think works and what doesn’t.

Have a lovely weekend!

Simple pleasures: blue and white china

It’s a funny feeling when you catch your own tastes changing.

I used to be a white bedding and white china only girl but recently I’ve found worn striped and floral bedlinen calling me and a taste for fussy willow pattern crockery has been creeping up on me for a while now. I think it was Lobster & Swan‘s lunch photos that started it and now Michelle’s car boot stash has got my vintage-hunter’s fingers itching again.

{both Michelle Young / MYCreative}

I really like how Michelle’s styled the simple blue and white china on such a boldly patterned and contrasting fabric – not an obvious choice, but there’s something rather appealing in the clash!

Check out MY Creative for more photographic goodness – this recent farm shop jaunt is one of my favourites.

October is the finest month

{by Danielle Kroll}

Woodsmoke drifting on frosted air

Fingers red with blackberry juice

The first crumble of the year

Homemade sloe gin – waiting, waiting, waiting

Hot chocolate with cinnamon and chilli

Copper beech leaves shiny with overnight rain

Knitted socks over knitted tights

Casseroles and dumplings scented with thyme

My annual escape to the Lake District

…………………………………………………………………………….

What do you love about October?