Bad to the Bone

It’s always fun to have a look at themes and trends that are making the rounds in the world of interior design. Our general rule of thumb here at Angel + Blume is to go with the style you most like over what’s hot right now, but it’s sometimes worth looking a little outside your comfort zone, you never know you may discover something new to take you fancy. Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of skull and bone like accessories that are perfect for anyone who wants something a little unusual and quirky. I’ve picked out a few fun and diverse products that all follow the bone theme for you to take a look at.

Not all bone themed pieces have to be obvious, in fact if you want to find pieces of furniture that make a statement, getting ones that ask a few questions is always a smart move. I find this whale bone chair from Anthropologie so interesting, it’s from eucalyptus wood by artist Adam Birch. At first glance, the chair looks like an abstract, Avant-Garde piece, but on closer inspection you can see the bone-like structure, making the whole thing even better. It’s a great occasional chair for a contemporary setting.

‘Whale Bone Chair’ from Anthropologie

If you feel like starting off slowly, a few simple home accessories are an easy way to work with the theme without going the whole nine yards. I love this picture frame from Graham & Green, it will beautifully mount a treasured photo without stealing focus, but without being dull either and will fit nicely into an already existing collection of picture frames.

‘Indigo Printed Bone Frame’ from Graham & Green

Another little gem from Graham and Green are these fantastic salad servers, they’ll be decorative both when in use and when on display, plus they incorporate both bone and colourfulness to make a wonderful combo.

‘Multi Coloured Salad Servers’ from Graham & Green

For anyone that favours the suave and sophisticated look in their home, and wants to keep this theme running, this reeded bone ice bucket from Oka is the perfect balance of vintage and sophisticated style, it’ll look charming on display and can be whipped out just in time for cocktail hour!

‘Reeded Bone Ice Bucket’ from Oka

Inlaid bone as a decorative form dates back to as early as ancient Egypt, and if you’re looking for a bit of bohemian luxury it’s a great way to get started. This four poster bed from Anthropologie is absolutely dream-like, ideal for helping create a fairy tale bedroom.

‘Bone Inlay Four Poster Bed’ from Anthropologie

If you want to take a more light-hearted leap into the bone theme why not try something cute and dainty? These star carved doorknobs from Rockett St George are just adorable. They’ll make a wonderful decoration to a cupboard door, anywhere in the house be it a kitchen, bathroom or bedroom.

‘Star Carved Knob’ from Rockett St George

Adorning your home with trinkets and treasures is a sure fire way to add character to the place. I really like these plaster cast shells, fossils, coral pieces from Pale and Interesting. Filling up a bowl with them is a great way to decorate a bathroom.

‘Bag o’ Bones’ from Pale and Interesting

These skeleton paper lanterns from Rockett St George are a kooky (and spooky) way to include the bone theme in an unusual way. They’re superb if you need them to make a party that extra bit special, but will also work well for everyday use if you want to create a playful interior.

‘Skeleton Crew Paper Lanterns’ from Rockett St George

If you want to bring your bones to the table, check out this set of six skeleton plates from Re-found Objects. Perfect for a dinner party where you want to impress and entertain the crowd, they’ll look amazing up on the table and will turn into a piece of art when on display.

‘Bone China Skeleton Plates’ from Re-found Objects

For the grand finale, a real showstopper, and something that’s probably not for the faint-hearted, is this glorious embellished buffalo skull from Rockett St George. Mounted animal heads on the wall may seem like a thing of the past, but there are loads of similar but alternative products floating around at the moment, from paper and felt animal heads to bedazzled skulls like this one. If you’ve got the guts it’ll look fab hung over a fireplace, bed or even placed amongst many strange and beautiful pieces running up a stairway.

‘Embellished Buffalo Skull’ from Rockett St George

From the adorable to the pretty to the slightly odd, there are all kinds of ways to experiment with the bone trend and so many ways to get inspired.

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All Things Bright and Beautiful

A couple of weeks ago I looked at the fabulous book COLOUR by Abigail Ahern for our monthly Book Club. Since then I have been intrigued by all things colourful in the world of interiors. It’s a fun and easy task to turn your home from a neutral setting to fabulously colourful! A bold paint choice, or wild decorative piece may be exactly what you need to create an enviable rainbow-esque room, but if you’re not ready to dive straight in there are small injections of colour to be made by the addition of bright home accessories.

So starting off slow, I’ve got together a collection of exciting, sophisticated and most importantly brightly coloured accessories and furnishings to show you how much fun there is to be had with the bold and beautiful.

If you feel like you might need easing into the idea of eccentric and bright interiors, it’s best to go easy and introduce colour step by step with a few gleaming home accessories. These glass candle holders from Rockett St George are a great way to spice up a window sill or bare surface. The interaction between the gold and the colourful exteriors will create a warm and inviting setting in any home.

‘Glass Globe Candle Holders’ from Rockett St George

Before you go in bright and beaming, opting for a more muted colourful tone is a good way to get acquainted with colour, something like these crackled, antiqued plant pots from Graham & Green will jazz up a patio area or conservatory without being too overbearing, plus they’ll make a strong canvas to continue to add colour to in the future.

’Turquoise Plant Pots’ from Graham & Green

I’m finding it ever increasingly harder and harder to resist a bit of trim these days, so this blanket is absolutely perfect. The lovely blue tones with make a bright impact, and will be easily adapted into all sorts of colour and style schemes.

‘Pom Pom Blanket’ from Holly’s House

 

Not all bold colour interiors need to consist of the bright primary colours, take a cooler, more relaxed journey with some sophisticated metallics, like this bronze Barabra chair from Sweetpea and Willow. It’s has a fantastic retro vibe going on, and will transform a simple front room into a plush cocktail lounge.

‘Barabra Bronze Chair’ from Sweetpea and Willow

When it comes to a large piece of furniture such as a dining room table, there is always an urge to stick to the status quo and go for something conventional. But if you’re interested in adding a little colour to your palette, there’s no need to go to extremes and end up with a tomato red shiny table. Find your middle ground with something like this stylish piece from Houseology. The traditional wood top combined with the playful painted legs makes a wonderful contemporary statement.

‘Moooi Paper Table Patchwork’ from Houseology

When you get more comfortable with the idea of bright, colourful interiors you can really start to have some fun with the concept, from small and big ideas. If you’re thinking big, you can’t get more bright, colourful and stylish than this iconic design by Missoni from Roche Bobois. Whether you want to make a big statement or have just fallen in love with the design, it’s every colour lover’s dream.

‘Mah Jong Composition Missoni Home’ from Roche Bobois

This Zulu girl cushion from Graham & Green brings a lovely regal side to the world of bright interiors, it makes the perfect scatter cushion, either in a collection of equally bold cushions or as a statement piece against a sea of neutral cushions as its backdrop.

‘Zulu Girl Cushion’ from Graham & Green

There is always something to be found from the colourful section of home accessories if you want to add a sense of humour into your interior settings. Although they might be a little too quirky for some people’s taste, this set of winking eyes is rather fun. They’re perfect for a den or bedroom and are a great way to put a smile on people’s faces.

‘Winking Eye Cushions’ from Rockett St George

To give your table a quick fix of colourful fun, these Magritte inspired plates are a must. They’re so fabulous that they’ll even distract the guests if the dinner all goes wrong!

‘Magritte Melamine Plates’ from Rockett St George

And finally if you ever need a little colourful pick me up, this pink budgie is marvellous, hide it away in some plants or up on a shelf so that it’ll catch anyone who spots it by surprise as they walk past.

‘Pink Budgie’ from Rockett St George

Whatever your budget and whatever your taste or space requirements there is always a way to add a little brightness into your interiors and a little joy into your life!

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Bring love into your home

I am generally a bit of a cold shower where Valentine’s Day is concerned (sorry) but on the upside, I am massively in favour of a little bit of love for your home. There are some delightful and thankfully subtle home accessories that add a little bit of joyful romanticism into your personal space, which will still be welcome once February 14th is done and dusted, and I am a very big fan of these. Here are some of my current favourites.

Made up of lots of gold foil hearts on a midnight blue background, this fab collage from Hello Geronimo makes a big loving statement without a trace of schmaltz.

Neon is very in at the moment (we have finally got the idea Tracey) and the LOVE sign from Rockett St George looks great against a dark wall. You can also buy KISS and LUCKY – so take your pick!

Angelic and useful, these two heart stools from Cox and Cox are made from limed Mango wood and are perfect for children.

This delightful bone china tea set made from Nina Campbell was originally produced in the 70s and has recently been relaunched. You can buy the whole set or individual pieces.

Really useful and elegant as well, these lovely heart shaped bowls from Bloom and Bliss have a flavour of France about them, which is always appropriate on Valentine’s day!

Hearts seem to work so well in traditional ironmongery and I love these Tau heart hooks from Willow and Stone

And finally this delicate and delightful heart backed chair from Graham and Green makes a wonderful occasional chair or in rows around your dining table.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all, and may love be present in your homes.

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Second hand style from Retrouvius

I am a self confessed sucker for salvage and one of my favourite ports of call is the London based company Retrouvius which sells a range of architectural salvage – windows, doors, flooring, panelling – and also furniture, lighting and lots more bedsides. They have a wonderful warehouse in Kensal Green where you can view their stock but they also have a very good website which is regularly updated and has good information about items for sale. There are a number of Retrouvius items in the Angel and Blume office that I found when we moved in last year and having just received their email with new stock, there may be one or two new editions in the not too distant future. Here are just a few of the tasty pieces that are currently on their website.

Mahogany plan chest with hinged doors, salvaged from a Kensington museum

Desk chair with painted metal frame and original vinyl upholstery

1950s Italian cocktail cabinet

Eighteenth century cast iron hob grate and fireback

1950s Italian armchair with curved wing arms and tapered legs

Double antler hooks mounted on new back plate

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March Hares (and rabbits!)

Until I started thinking about this blog, I had no idea quite how popular hares had become.  See below a wonderful selection of whimsical designs.  This is a modern rustic look in fresh, leafy greens and warm, earthy tones.

 

 Jane Churchill March Hare Wallpaper in red £42 roll

 Dashing Red March Hares give playful touch to a country scheme.  Particularly suitable in a kitchen, study, nursery or cloakroom.  Several other colours available.

I have just come across an interesting website called Peony & Sage.  They sell a great selection of fabrics and accessories in pastels and florals, including this fabulous Hare print.

Their Fudge Hare Cushion is beautifully handmade, piped and finished with covered buttons.  Available with or without a feather pad.  £39.95-£49.95

 

 Also from Peony & Sage, these lovely lavender filled bunnies have matching gingham and button collars and come in a variety of colours.  Would make great alternative Easter gift.  £9.95 each

 

For a nature loving child’s bedroom these Drum Shades in Mini Hares are just perfect.  They are available in large and small sizes and in a great selection of colours.  They are made by Lolly and Boo and you need to contact Louise at this website if you would like to order one.

I recently came across a great website called Thornback & Peel.  They sell a wonderful selection of intricate screen printed pieces for the home. These include cushions, deck chairs, aprons and lampshades and I just love this cream cotton cushion with chocolate brown rabbits and green cabbages.  Their designs are inspired by artistic traditions from Mrs Beeton’s household management to Mr McGregor’s garden. 

 

Rabbit and Cabbage on Cotton Cushion 45x45cm £60

Then, flicking through Country Living Magazine I noticed a picture of the chair below, and read that Thornback & Peel have recently collaborated with ‘the design lab’ at Sofa.com.  A small, exclusive range of their fabrics is available to order on all sofa.com products. I think this chair is fabulous and would sit perfectly in a corner of the kitchen.

Alderney Armchair in Grey/Green Rabbit and Cabbage £840

This blog first appeared on the Cambridge News website

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