Kick back and relax, in style

There are surely few things that shout British holiday as loudly as the deck chair and whilst we are enjoying a wonderful summer, now is the perfect time to invest in the classiest seating you can lay your hands on for use in the great outdoors. Here are just a few of my favourite finds.

I love all the designs from Thornback and Peel but this turquoise sardine tin seems to work perfectly on a deckchair – don’t forget the matching cushion!

House of Hackney‘s fab fabrics give their deckchairs a decided air of cool, and I love the Edwardian version with shade cover and stool for the perfect feet-up experience.

This double deck chair from Cox and Cox is extra wide for communal relaxing – there is room for two, or more, so bag your place quickly.

Liberty has joined forces with deckchair experts Southsea Deckchairs to produce these limited edition deckchairs in classic Liberty print. Available for one season only, so buy now to avoid disappointment!

You get a little piece of history with these deckchairs from Plum and Ashby as each frame used to be used on the sea front at Weston-Super-Mare and has now been given an overhaul with a new seat in their charming Bertie print.

Life is indeed beautiful with these chairs from Rockett St George with their upbeat messages. You Are My Sunshine and Life is Beautiful – but which will you choose? – I recommend both to be on the safe side.

And finally whilst this is not a deckchair, I couldn’t resist tempting you with this wonderful covered Rocker Swinging Seat from House of Hackney. Couldn’t you just snooze on that until the Autumn?

Read Full Post »

Sunbeam Jackie’s enchanting parasols

UK Company, Sunbeam Jackie, make the most wonderful, bespoke parasols and canopies. Their elegant and bohemian designs make for a beautiful garden setting, and their enchanting collection are already making me dream of long afternoons spent outdoors.

Their design success is in part down to their fantastic fabric archive, which is ever evolving and which they use to make all their pieces. Handpicked from their select network of textile collectors and dealers, their inspiring collection is definitely something to brag about, including fabrics from Liberty prints, William Morris, Barbara Brown, Sanderson, Marimekko, Designers Guild to name a few. What a fine way to make use of these gorgeous antique and designer fabrics!

Read Full Post »

‘Painting with scissors’

I have to admit that until recently I had a rather narrow minded view of decoupage and collage, putting it down as a bit unsophisticated. However, the recent work of a variety of artists has definitely proved me wrong about this, and exemplified how collage is a technique that can produce very beautiful design. I have brought together some examples of the work that have given me this renewed high regard for collage, a craft that Matisse once so elegantly called ‘Painting with Scissors’.

Petra Borner

Much of Petra Borner’s work is originally made by cutting and layering paper. Her versatile technique allows her to create beautiful and bold compositions. Her designs are then used for prints, fabrics and book illustrations. She has many examples of these cut out paper designs online, some of which are available to purchase.

Borner designed the cover for Jayne Austin’s Emma, published by Bonnier.

Petra Borner, Autumn Red Print. £225.00.

Petra Borner, Play 1 Print. £120.00.

Petra Borner, Winter Green Print. £225.00.

John Derian

John Derian has a charming collection of decoupage work. For his designs, Derian takes from his own vast collection of antique and vintage prints, and artisans then cut and collage onto hand blown glass using these designs. As a result many of the items have a wonderfully historic and bespoke feel.

John Derian, Ladyhill Round Plate, Special Edition at the Conran shop. £45.

John Derian, Green Apple Glass Dome Paperweight at Liberty. £59.95.

John Derian, British Seaweeds Red at Pentreath & Hall. £45.

John Derian, Elephant Tiny Glass Tray at Liberty. £45.00.

John Derian, Butterflies Rectangular Glass Tray at Liberty. £79.95.

John Derian, Baines Florist Mini Tray – Special Edition at the Conran Shop. £55.

Let’s hope that artists keep painting with scissors!

This blog first appeared in the Cambridge Evening News website.

Read Full Post »

Gifts for home loving Mums

Mother’s Day is fast approaching (this Sunday, eek!) and if you are stuck for inspiration, we may just have a few ideas for your Mum and her home.

I love this grey ceramic owl vase – perfect for a wise Mum! Graham and Green £12.95

These drawer liners from The White Company are fragranced with cedarwood, geranium and white rose so they give your clothes and linen a lovely delicate scent. £15 for 4

Clever Rockett St George have found yet another winner with the gorgeous pale pink and blue grey velvet cushion – what Mum wouldn’t love another cushion! £30

In recommending these fab tea towels, I am in no way saying that drying up is a womans job – these are to be hung on the Aga for Mum to enjoy from a distance! Lewis and Wood £5 each

I can’t think of a nicer present than this delightful cake stand and dome – and if you include the cake in the present, you will definitely get extra brownie points! Baileys Home and Garden £48 (excluding cake)

This super smart limited edition brolley is from one of our favourite fabric suppliers and features a design called Kayyam from their new Spring collection. Rain suddenly isn’t such a bad thing! Osborne and Little £27.

This delightful jewellery frame is not only really useful but also makes your trinkets and gems into your own evolving work of art. Cox and Cox £32

Finally, if your Mum loves her Kindle, she will love it even more with this stylish Liberty print cover wrapped around it. Covercraft at Not on the High Street £36.50

I am for once, ahead of the game this year and have already secured my present for my Mum from this list – I hope I have picked the right one!

Read Full Post »

Liberty and Angie Lewin team up for Red Nose Day

You can’t beat a good Liberty fabric so we were really excited to get a sneak preview of the exclusive design created especially by Liberty for Red Nose Day 2011. The design is called ‘Winter Stem’ – a geometric pattern of flowers in diagonal wavy lines – and was designed by the artist Angie Lewin (another favourite designer of ours).

This is the first time that classic Liberty prints have been developed into a product exclusively for charity, with all profits from the sales going direct to Comic Relief. What better excuse do you need to buy yourself a little bit of Liberty style? The print has been made into a canvas shopper which is available exclusively at Homesense, so pop down to your nearest store now to snap one up.

Read Full Post »