3 things…

3 Things

[1] Kotte decoration wreath £7.99, Ikea [2] Champagne coupe £5.90 for 4, Zara Home [3] Caramelised almond chocolate bar £3.25, Curious Chocolate

A soft touch

Le Souk

Adorable nature inspired cloth Christmas decorations from Le Souk.

Le Souk

A fine view

Surface View

I have just discovered Surface View…

Using image libraries and archives from galleries such as the V&A, The National Gallery, Getty and new talent like Ella Doran and Rana Salam, they can create for you, a blind, a mural or a print to be displayed in any environment in your home.

The collections comprise of intricate details of lace from the V&A’s collection that can adorn the full width and height of your wall, or archived patterns from William Morris. Impressionist figures may stroll across your bedroom wall and cracked hands of old masters may sit folded at your dinner table.

Surface View

Don’t expect to find over exposed Warhols or Lichinstiens and tired impressionists works, but a carefully sourced eclectic mix of imagery that take on a new life when transformed into a large-format interior graphic.

The murals can be used inside and outside and applied to any wall surface, from bare brick to painted whilst the high resolution of the images allow the patinas and winkles of the original work to be visible.

Every product has the option to be unique with custom colourways, repeats and cropping available – William Morris prints can go neon and period etchings can be cloned.

Limitless possibilities…

Surface View

Surface View

supper-for-a-song

This week I delved into some of my favourite cookbooks of the moment. I’m a real sucker for them; from the cherished, well-thumbed books that I refer to on a regular basis to the latest releases with their perfectly stylised pictures that allow you a peek into the author’s kitchen.

One of the newest additions to my cookbook shelf is ‘Supper for a song’ by Tamasin Day-Lewis. It’s a fantastic book  – very ‘now’. The sub-title reads ‘for the clever cook in the cost-conscious kitchen’. It is creative common sense cooking. As a busy mum, I really appreciate the good base recipes that can be added to and tweaked to deliver several meals in various guises for the entire week. I love the recipes that help create delicious meals from the lonely ingredients that live at the back of my food cupboards or the leftovers that linger in my fridge.

The book is filled with comfort food to satisfy anyone with a liking for creamy risottos, robust pasta dishes and slow-cooked stews and for those with a sweet tooth there is the very inviting chapter titled ‘The Saturday bake’ – ‘Bay, honey and lemon cake’ or ‘Earl Grey fruit tea loaf ‘ anyone?
Continue Reading…

The Collector

Elvis Pompilio

This house is crazy as a coconut!

A former warehouse in the heart of Brussels, this home belongs to hat designer Elvis Pompilio. It is literally a haven of collections. Hundreds of miniature wedding toppers crowd together in glass cabinets, a cluster of mounted antlers adorn expanses of walls, giant Murano glass vessels stand to attention in the centre of a room.

The house is divided up into an eclectic ensemble of styles. One room is decorated like a 18th century chateau, another like a Western ranch. The dining room has a more sober, fifties modern Scandinavian look, whilst the adjacent room is filled with an incredible mixture of things.

I love this idea – why should we stick to one mood and one style? Flit from room to room, depending on where your mood takes you!

elvis pompilio

Images courtesy of Office for Word and Image, photographed by Verne