Etsy Find: Cassia Beck

One thing I wanted to do when I started this blog was to provide a little bit of inspiration, no matter how big or small, on homewares and interior decoration. Maybe to uncover something you wouldn't normally have found or to show you something in a different light. Hopefully this is something I have achieved with today's post. When browsing the handmade on-line store Etsy, I stumbled across Cassia Beck's photography and I just had to share my findings with you. Cassia's colour-saturated lomography really stood out to me- the blurred edges, subtle scratches and often random subjects are really romantic, and provoke a feeling of nostalgia. Just look at her beautiful prints.

I think these would look great in a kitchen, maybe two or three together.
If the green tones in the lomography are a bit too heavy and you're looking for something softer, try her sister shop Lola's Room for some toned-down girly prints.

Yellow telephones, typewriters accessorized with butterflies and ditzy flower-print wallpaper, bliss! These are perfect for a girls room don't you think? Or maybe framed in some chunky white frames in a bedroom? Either way, I'm fitting them in somewhere! There's so many more prints on her Etsy shop so take half an hour and have a browse. I hope I've inspired at least some of you today!

ON LOCATION: Ideal Home Show 2011, Earls Court

Having not been to one before, I didn't know quite what to expect from the annual Ideal Home Show at Earls Court, London. Adding to this, I had also heard of some 'Ken Barlow chic' going on- what was I going to? However, after overcoming the crowds and old women constantly clipping my heels with their bulging shopping trolley's, I must say I was quite impressed. Split into sections, including Ideal Interiors, Ideal Food, Ideal Woman (complete with catwalk might I add), Ideal Shopping and various others, there was plenty to keep me entertained for a full day.

Prince Charles even stopped by. Image Credit: Ideal Home Show.

Being too excited to do anything else, I headed straight to the Ideal Interiors section and made my way to the room sets. There were some lovely decorating ideas here, my favourite being the girls room set (pictured below) which had walls washed in pale grey and a papered feature wall in Rosabella by Wallpaper Direct. Inside there was a lovely candy striped duvet from BHS, simple white furniture which complemented the pale walls perfectly, and polka dot roller blind. The finishing touches made it a perfect kids room: the 'tree' coat stand covered in fairy lights, the funky leather rocking chair and bold botanical print rug.

Girls room set at the Ideal Home Show

Leather rocker chair available at Dwell

As well as the girls room there were room sets of a kitchen, living room (tribal-inspired), bedroom (boutique-inspired), and bathroom. All of which gave me some great ideas for my flat. Here's a few pics, though I'm afraid my photography 'skills' don't do them much justice.

After I'd ogled the room sets, I queued up to see inside the Open Plan Living House, built by Scandinavian builders Jorntrahus who combine eco-efficiency with comfort and practicality. The house itself looked great, if a little bit cabin-esque. Inside was decorated brightly, showing off sponsor Dulux's new colour range. The rooms were smart, full of clean lines and typically Scandinavian. Below is the open plan living room.

Image Credit: Ideal Home Show

Next up was No. 1 Coronation Street. Yep that's right. I actually went to Ken and Deirdre's house.

Look familiar? The replica of the famous house was good fun, but the real reason for the soap set was that next door architect George Clarke had renovated the exact same living space to show you how to decorate a small space in an eco-friendly way. Even though these houses were exactly the same size, the interiors looked incredibly different. Below is Ken Barlow's kitchen the George Clarke way.

White storage units available at B&Q

After all this excitement I was due a snack break. Luckily there was a floating restaurant nearby. Phew. 
After lunch I had a leisurely stroll through the stalls to see what was on offer. I must say there were some great stands at the exhibition and I found some independent companies I'd not heard of before. For me, the pick of the bunch was Black Bird Creators who are based in West Ealing. Black Bird Creators design and build unique 'art furniture' which is made through a collaboration of different artists over a period of time. This means that every piece of furniture is incredibly different to the next and is of an extremely high quality. Their aim is to 'reinvent one's view of what furniture may convey', and I think they succeed.

Black Bird Creators stall at the Ideal Home Show

Colourful ethnic textiles at Black Bird Creators

Image Credit: Black Bird Creators

Image Credit: Black Bird Creators

Right, well I've rambled on for long enough now, if you like what you've seen get yourself down to Earls Court before it finishes on Sunday. Or check out their website for all the news, pictures and exhibitors.

{Images: Laura Blanksby, except where stated}

Mothers' Day

Eeek! Mothers' day is just around the corner, how did that happen? If you haven't got time to hit the shops before Sunday 3rd April, read on as I've done all the hard work for you! Here are some gift ideas that hopefully she'll love.

Trusty Emma Bridgewater have some lovely mugs on offer.

Elsewhere, here's my pick of the best gifts available on the high street and on-line. Ranging from cute, low-cost tote bags to luxury scented candles.

You can find the lovely lettered bags here, along with the rest of their collection. Keep an eye out for their vintage-style clasp purses too. Try your Smythson store for the latest diaries and notepads or at their website here. Cath Kidston's Stitch! can be found on her website, or at Amazon. The Diptyque candles (which smell divine by the way, you'll have to try one to see what I mean!) can be found here. And finally the pretty Orla Kiely cushions are available on their website here- take a quick look if you have a spare few minutes as they've got some new kitchenware which is fantastic.

If you're still stumped for ideas (or have missed the last postage date!), why not bake a cake? Cath Kidston have some lovely cake tins you could put it in too. Happy shopping guys!

Indie Furniture

Last week was a sad week. It was the week that my trusty Ikea LERBERG shelves finally gave up on me. Therefore it was with deep regret, and a guilty excitement, that I started looking for new ones. And look what I found- Indie Furniture!

Indie Furniture are a Swiss company who manufacture shelving clamps which you use to build your own bespoke storage solution. The idea is that you 'design' the size of shelf you want via their 'configurator' on their website, buy the joining clamps, then visit a local joiner/carpenter/scrapyard for the materials you want and voilà- your very own personal shelf! The man behind the company, designer Nicola Enrico Stäubli, professes that this is an environmentally friendly way to build and design furniture, as well as providing local craftsmen business- a great idea that I fully support. But are they pretty I hear you ask? Well take a look...

That's a 'yes' then.

The great thing about this company is that the end look of the storage unit is completely up to you. You can choose which materials you want it to be made of (though they do strongly recommend wood), which colour you'd like it to be and the size of it. You can also alter it if your tastes change over time. The overall look and feel of the product is quite industrial (remember my trends for the season post?) which is fantastic, but that can dramatically be altered through colour and material, see the salmon pink one above.

An innovative, eco-friendly company focused on local craftsmanship...hats off to you Indie Furniture.

{Images: Indie Furniture}

ON TREND: Birds

Birds, a key trend for Spring, are everywhere at the minute. There are birds in the kitchen at Anthropologie...

Tea towels and plates from a selection at Anthropologie

Birds on your walls and on your curtains at Laura Ashley...

Above left: Nightingale wallpaper. Above right: Summer Palace curtains, both Laura Ashley

And birds in your office at Cox & Cox and notonthehighstreet

Top left: Pink paperweight. Top right: Blackbird gift tags. Above left: Stamped tags, all notonthehighstreet. Above right: Rubber stamps set, Cox & Cox

Pheww, so many birds!

Flowers, trees and butterflies, and generally all things flora and fauna, are also set to be big this season so keep your eyes peeled for key pieces. All we need now is a bit of sunshine and we're all set!

Amy Butler for Graham & Brown

America's answer to Cath Kidston, Amy Butler has been creating a buzz in interior design circles for quite some time now. First there was her bathroom range for John Lewis, involving her signature botanical print on towels and shower curtains, and now there's an exclusive wallpaper collection for Graham & Brown. If you haven't heard of her before, here's what you need to know: Amy is an American print artist based in Ohio. Her work is heavily inspired by the natural world and is characterised by big, bold, colourful prints. Her product range includes fabric, bedding, wallpaper, sewing patterns and more recently, bags and accessories. Her recently launched wallpaper collection for Graham & Brown features six colour palettes (Sunset, Field, Stone, Moss, Midnight and Ocean) and looks a little bit like this.

Temple Tulips from Ocean colour palette

Fountain from Midnight colour palette

Memento from Sunset colour palette

Passion Lily from Field colour palette

Look how good her Lacework wallpaper (from her Moss colour palette) looks in her living room! So pretty!

Image credit: amybutlerdesign.com

If you want to find out more about Amy and what she's up to at the minute check out her website here. Or if you just want to see her wallpaper collection in detail head to Graham & Brown here.

Is it just me or does anyone else think wallpaper is about to have a comeback? Watch this space...

{Images: Graham & Brown, except where stated}

Vintage Homeware on the High Street

If, like me, you find it difficult to get to antique markets, but love vintage homeware then

look no further than today's post! I've scoured the best high street and on-line stores for vintage and vintage-inspired products and can conclude that nobody does it better that Pedlars. Pedlars are a Scottish company who specialise in cool, quirky products. As well as having great modern products they also source real vintage ware from all over the globe, with France, North America and England being the most popular. Although some of these do come with the inevitable hefty price tag, they are most certainly worth it. Take a look at what's currently on offer.

Pedlars are the largest stockists I know of vintage London bus blinds and have such a huge selection. Due to the nature of these vintage products they only have a limited number so if you see something you like, act fast.

Other products they source in bulk are antique globes, lighting (from French street lamps to fishermen's pendants), vintage telephones, tea towels and limited edition posters. Their website is pretty cool too so why not take a look.

As well as Pedlars, other stores to try if you're looking for vintage-inspired pieces would be Graham & Green, Anthropologie, Laura Ashley and Garden Trading. These stores don't have reclaimed and restored originals like Pedlars, but they do have cool modern pieces with a distinctive antique feel. Try Garden Trading for kitchenware, Laura Ashley for bedding and fabric, and Graham & Green and Anthropologie for accessories.

{Images: Pedlars}

Spineless Classics: Alice in Wonderland

Hi guys, just a quick post today as I want to show you a piece of artwork that I've recently discovered.

It's by a company called Spineless Classics who condense a whole book into one gorgeous poster which, with the artfully placed spaces, creates an image relating to the novel. They have a great range including Romeo and Juliet, Gulliver's Travels and Pride and Prejudice, just click on the link to view them. I've also just heard that Spineless Classics will be at the Ideal Home Show this year. I cannot wait to see what new products they have!

{Image: Spineless Classics}

Cox & Cox Spring 2011 Collection

As if I needed an excuse to blog about Cox & Cox, but their Spring 2011 collection is now here so I can show pretty pictures of pretty things to my hearts content! Here's a peek at some of their new products, plus some of their current collection for good measure.

Just look at all those glass bell jars, which, by the way, are really on-trend this season, so pretty! Also in their collection are light garlands, glass votives, barn stars and photo frames.

There's also plenty to keep kids happy with colourful bunting, craft kits, finger puppets, sleeping bags  and apple bookends-there's just something for everyone! To see the full range for yourself click here.

{Images: Cox & Cox}