Boatshed Bliss - at Last

I don't know how I managed it, but I've managed to squeeze in the last of my new chairs. Not a bad effort. But that is absolutely the last piece of furniture I'm buying (Apart from the white wicker two-seater I've got on lay-by. A bit of a problem, that one).

Serendipity

Towards the end of 2006, about a year before I began this blog, I discovered this article in the Sydney Morning Herald (Sorry, but I can't remember the exact date).

The photo appeared to be uncredited so I had no way of knowing the room it depicted, but I loved it so much that I stuck it in my scrapbook (This was before I knew what a tear sheet was). Imagine my happiness three days ago when I found the following photo spread in the March 08 edition of Home Beautiful. It appears that the images are of a converted factory belonging to Lyn Gardener, owner of Empire III vintage store in Melbourne. I love the fact that everything is old, even chipped and peeling. I think her aesthetic is just right, particularly the predominantly white palette and French chairs.

Eye Candy

These are some lovely images of a house in U. K. Country Living from August 2007. I love the china, the colours, the mismatched furniture, and the way the owner doesn't let the house become too flowery or chintzy. He balances florals with metal beds, tables and chairs, as well as a stone floor, in order to restrain and refine the look. As part of this restraint, he has also mixed in some mid-century pieces.

Grandma Chic Deconstructed

Now, if I understand it, vintage laminex benchtops, silver spoons and bone-handled knives,

Etched glasses and vintage plates,

Mismatched cups and saucers,

A floral curtain across a cupboard,

A patchwork quilt,

A vintage tablecloth made into a cushion,

A chair cushion made out of vintage fabric,

Mismatched florals on the cushions and sofa,

A floral teacup and saucer, and a rolled up pink and white crocheted rug,

should all add up to one chic grandma.

Musing on Grandma Chic

Something I'm interested in right now is 'Grandma Chic'. Girl Meets Glamour alerted me to its existence in her excellent post at http://girlmeetsglamour.blogspot.com/2008/01/its-friday-im-in-love.html, in which she used the beautiful photo above, from U.K. Elle Decoration January '08. M.A. Belle also used the term in her recent post about Cath Kidston at http://m-a-belle.blogspot.com/2008/02/oversized-florals-granny-chic.html. Given that many grandmothers of today are sitting on 1980s apricot vinyl couches in rooms with teddy bear collections, folk art and teaspoons in glass-fronted wall-cabinets, this is a far cry from the loveliness encapsulated by the aesthetics of both the photo and Cath Kidston's designs. I guess Grandma Chic harks back to an earlier time, maybe the 40s, with knitted tea cosies, cup and saucer sets, crocheted rugs, patchwork quilts, art deco mirrors, sherry glasses, glass pie plates, butter dishes, cake tins, sewing baskets, wallpaper. If we can take these things and forgo the tat from that time, such as too many doilies, antimacassars, smoker's stands etc, then I'm all for it. And the best thing of all is that having these tea cosies, butter dishes, quilts etc doesn't have to signify domestic drudgery any more. We can combine them, in moderation, with pieces from a diverse range of periods in order to achieve an eclectic look. I'm on the hunt now for some images of 'Grandma Chic' to post.

Chic Retreat II

While I'm on the subject of great places to stay, I've also recently been reading about High Road House in Chiswick, London. I've got to say that it's probably due to the fact that it has a similar aesthetic to Olive Grove Retreat, with its use of a predominately white palette. The other feature these two destinations have in common is a bath in the bedroom. I have previously extolled the virtues of this arrangement on this blog, it being a central item on my fantasy-decor list, along with a wall full of plates and a library ladder. But I digress. The hotel has a website www.highroadhouse.co.uk, which once again I was unable to access. These images are from http://www.concierge.com/bestof/hotlist/2007/london/detail?id=11415&lastUrl=/bestof/hotlist/2007/london. Love the floor tiles in the attached brasserie as well.

Chic Retreat

Looking for somewhere beautiful to get away from it all? I found some images of Olive Grove Retreat in Heathcote in country Victoria. According to the Sydney Morning Herald Good Weekend dated October 27, 2007, it was recently listed in U. S. Vogue's Top Five romantic retreats in the world. There is a website entitled www.olivegroveretreat.com but I couldn't access it. I found these gorgeous photos on www.chicretreats.com. For those of you who, like me, love French furniture, a white palette and chandeliers, it's got it all.

Phew! Problem Solved

Wicker lounge now out back, Louis settee moved where wicker lounge was, boatshed no longer crowded. Boatshed bliss!

Just a Slight Problem

My lovely new settee's arrived, but I'm faced with a teeny-weeny problem i.e. where to put it. At the moment, it's flush up against the foot of the bed with a small corridor to negotiate between it and other stuff. I'm still in the throes of gazing longingly at it. But after a few days when infatuation wears off and I start to see the impractical combination of boatshed plus Louis chairs, things may get a little tricky around here. And there's still another one to come (Yikes!) They looked so compact in the shop.

Objets Trouves

Just thought I'd show some beautiful objects I found at the local Op Shop two weeks ago for a total of $4.00. The top image shows the cake/cheese dome (not the stand - bought that from Ikea) and the cute vintage-looking glass with yellow and blue diamond pattern that I'm using as a vase. The bottom image is of the little pink and green embroidered cushion I got for my lovely new Louis chair.

A Quiltful of Memories

Contrary to the image of the boatshed that's apparent in most of the photos on this blog, the weather over the last few days has been abysmal. This has resulted in a) a boatshed cleanup and b) an unwillingness to venture outside into the torrential rain. This combination proved quite serendipitous, because in cleaning out the small amount of storage here, I found my bag of old fabrics and decided to make a (small) patchwork quilt for a throw. I call it my 'op shop' quilt, because it's almost entirely made up of patches cut from old dresses and tablecloths from the local op shop, such as the blue Liberty tana lawn and pinkish faux-Liberty floral. The 70s blue and white is from a tablecloth and the olive and orange print from a child's dress. You can also make out a faded green satiny stripe and a pale rose pink satin. These are quite old and come from the two under layers of one of the chairs I restored a few weeks ago. I pulled it all together with the rhubarb-pink leftovers from a cushion I made recently.

The Library

This post is for all my all librarian friends (you know who you are) and arose out of two seemingly disparate events which occurred on the same day earlier this week - seeing the film 'Atonement' and researching a trip to Thailand. The film's library scene, top image, prompted me to muse on how much I love libraries. Lo and behold, later that day, I found a resort on the internet at Koh Samui, Thailand, called The Library, which has sculptures of reading figures dotted around the grounds, and a restaurant called The Page (second two images). I do think a ladder should be an essential ingredient in a library, so the next two images, from Domicilium Decoratus and Elle Decoration January 2008 edition, illustrate this perfectly. Below this is possibly my favourite library image from my most favourite house in the world - Janet de Botton's house in Provence, from Vogue Living: Houses, Gardens People. The bottom image, also from January Elle Decoration, combines two of my favourite things - books and plates on shelves.