Typography

Text and typography has been a big homes trend for the past 18 months or so. It can work well around the home, although I can't help but think it's starting to feel a little bit tired...

I do love the packaging typography examples I saw on the Green Dump blog though.  I've pasted some of my favourites below - and the original article is here.


Beautiful skincare packaging

Image from Graphic Dirt

Gorgeous Organic Farm products by Lindsay Perkins

Image from Packaging of the World

Tempting Chocolate Cut-outs from Niamh Richardson

(image from lovelypackage)

Pedlars

For those of us who don't have the time to scour their local antiques market or junk shops, Pedlars is a dream. Set-up by Charles Gladstone and his partner, Pedlars features vintage finds sourced from all over the world by Gladstone - from reconditioned 1950s telephones, to 1960s globes, school signs, and original London bus blinds. With the vintage look going from strength to strength at the moment, Pedlars offers authentic pieces, at reasonable prices - and there's not a Keep Calm and Carry On to be found (phew)!

This gorgeous reclaimed French Industrial Cabinet which has been lovingly stripped and waxed by the Pedlars team - it would make a lovely side table.

Medium French Industrial Cabinet, Pedlars, £625

And there's a wide selection of globes on the site is - all individual and original - such as this American globe, set on a pressed steel base with hammered gold finish. A real treat for cartography enthusiasts, the collection of globes shows the changes in the world map over the past half century, with now defunct country names taking pride of place.

1960 George F Cram 12' Imperial Globe, Pedlars, £575

There's also a haul of Hovis tins from the original Hovis factory - perfect for adding a touch of kitsch into a modern or classic kitchen - for use as a planter, or for er baking bread...

Small Hovis Tin, Pedlars, £32.50

I love these old music stands - although I can't think of a practical use for them at the moment (and I'm not about to dust off my clarinet!) - will have to work on that one!

Vintage Music Stands, Pedlars

Previously available online and at Selfridges, John Lewis is also spreading the good word by stocking a selection of Pedlars goodies in its new Stratford City store.

Achica

Group-buying sites such as Living Social or Group On may be de rigeur at the moment, but how many bikini waxes, falconry days, or pilates courses can a girl really use? Although I feel compelled to keep looking at the offers emails that come through each day, I've never actually taken the plunge to purchase.

How refreshing then, to find Achica. This members-only discount site revolves around all-things-home, featuring designer names, boutique shops, and iconic design - all at a meaty discount of up to 70%, with the deals lasting a couple of days at a time. I've been signed up for just over a month, and reading the email has become a daily morning ritual, with rarely a day going by without something that tempts me to reach for my credit card.

Brands featured on the site have included Jan Constantine, Innermost, Anglepoise, and Tefal, amongst others.

A recent purchase from the site for Dixies was some lovely vintage-inspired lighting from Garden Trading. I've been looking for some contemporary wall lights to replace the pair currently in our hallway since we moved in, but finding wall lights that don't look like something your Gran would choose has proven quite difficult, so as soon as I saw the Asthall Lamps, discounted from £60 to £39, I snapped them up. Also perfect timing for Dixies was the Belfast Lamp, discounted from £75 to £49.

Asthall Lamp - Clay, Garden Trading

Belfast Lamp - Clay, Garden Trading

Lavender

Everywhere I look at the moment I'm seeing lavender. I think it must be harvesting season at the moment, but all the magazines I'm reading and shops I'm going to seem to be featuring it in abundance. I've always loved it - the colour, the way it moves in the breeze, but most of all the smell - and the irresistible way its flower stems call out to be crushed into your hand to reveal their scent as you walk past.

Lavender Fields, taken at Young Living Lavender Farms in Mona, Utah, courtesy of Tom Kelly 

I've seen it used formally and informally in gardens, and I'm hankering after some for the front garden at Dixies for next year. I'd love to line a few plants along the front path to frame the walkway, and add their perfume to the air as people pass by.

Basket of Lavender, courtesy of Scot2342

Gallery Bobbin

The perfect way to support up-and-coming contemporary artists, and find more unusual home accessories,  Gallery Bobbin features a wide array of art, accessories, and textiles with a contemporary feel. The site specialises in sourcing new artists to showcase their personal work and make it easier to available to purchase.


The site and products on it have a home-spun, authentic feel, without being too Etsy, and although the overall feel is re-worked mid-century, there's something to suit all tastes. 


I love the Emerald Whale Cushion, by Maria Hatling; quirky, colourful, and playful.

Emerald Whale Cushion, £55, Gallery Bobbin

I've also got the perfect place at Dixies for these three prints - each a limited edition run of 300 - also by artist Maria Hatling - firmly added to my 'to buy' list!

The Way I See The World, Maria Hatling, £125

Paper Clips, Maria Hatling, £125

Swan, Maria Hatling, £125

Home is where the hearth is

The most exciting development this week has got to be the arrival of our lovely new fireplace.

After painstakingly working out the measurements and calculations based on the stove size and fire regulations, my (very) rough drawing of a fireplace has miraculously been turned into reality.


The colours and textures of the materials fit perfectly with the planned look and feel for the house, and they've all been up-cycled from the old house so we have a lovely juxtaposition of old with new. Bricks from the old conservatory have been used to construct the lower half of the fireplace, with the lintel made from a sawn-down beam that used to be in the kitchen.


We may have to wait a little while to get the fire to go inside, but for the moment it looks great just the way it is!

Top tiles

Day 70

Well the builders are keeping busy, moving swiftly along in the new bathroom this week - my latest obsession with the house...

The tiles have been chosen for a natural, rustic look, and I love the way the textures and colours work together. Even though we've used a dark slate for the shower tiles, the slight luminescence of the white textured floor tiles helps to reflect the light from the velux window around the room.

The tiles actually proved a bit of a nightmare for both us and the builder, with a combined total of around 8 hours spent in various different local B&Qs searching and buying the correct tiles. I think it's been worth it (although I'm not sure our builder would agree!).

Wall tiles

Floor tiles

Shower tiles, showing main wall tiles and
inset tiles

Now we just need to find some lights, shelves, and decide on the paint colour.

Tiles include: Shower - Porcelain wall and floor tiles in Energy Black from AG Ceramics, inset with square Natural Stone 100mm tiles from B&Q's natural tile selection; Wall - Natural Slate in Oyster; Floor - Ceramic Metallic floor tiles in White Field (both B&Q).

Update part two!

Day 65
So a slight delay to post number two from Sunday night... anyway, here's an update of what else has been going on at Dixies.

Upstairs is coming along swimmingly - we now have real plastered walls in the spare bedroom (albeit a patchy salmon colour). Our fake beams are just how I imagined - rather than creating the pretense of a full exposed oak frame, instead the beams give the extension a rustic feel, and (I like to imagine) provide a visual  link back to the beam structure that features heavily in the original part of the cottage.

Master bedroom taken from doorway

Spare room taken from doorway

Sourced from sawmill and joinery Ternex, the beams are actually new wood, kiln dried to an age of ten years. This means they look older - which was the plan - but the other benefit is that we should get slightly less separation which is apparently a problem when plaster and new oak dry side-by-side at different rates.

 In other news, the shower tray has also been fitted in the en-suite. A slight cause for concern - whilst the shape and size fits perfectly in the room, complementing the angle of the bathroom door, first impressions are that the shower cubicle is going to be very small. Maybe in this instance practicality has been sacrificed for aesthetics. The proof will be in the pudding, once the remainder of the bathroom has been fitted.

Outside view of master en-suite

It's good to be back

Day 61
A much belated update for the blog!

We've been back from holiday for two weeks now, but aside from getting over the jet-lag, the remainder of our spare time has been absorbed by catching up on decisions for the house. Our evenings have been filled with research, measuring, ordering (and of course microwave meals).

The project has been hurtling along since we've been away, and indeed, since we've been back. So much so that I've decided to split today's update into two posts - one to bring the project up to date to last week, with a real-time update to follow.

So, in the space of time whilst we were away, the builders were busy working to give us ... (drum roll)... a roof, wiring, plumbing, and plaster-board upstairs.

New en-suite: plumbing and velux

Plumbing and wiring - view is of new
upstairs landing

Plasterboard and our fake beams in the
master bedroom

 And it's starting to look more like a house from the outside too, with the first layer of rendering up.

First layer of rendering to ground floor

A room of one's own

Day 47
I have a slightly different view as I write this blog - from the balcony of our apartment in Florida! Jet lag has made us get up before sunrise for the last two mornings, so it seems like a good opportunity to catch up with the house diary by posting the pics I took of the house before we left.

It's very strange to think that the house is still growing whilst we're on holiday, but after a two hour meeting with the builder on Tuesday night before we left for the airport, we feel confident with the work they've got planned for the next ten days.

So here's where we are - we now have rooms! Before now, the build has concentrated on the outside shell of the house, but the wooden frame for internal walls has now gone up, so we can finally get a real feel for the sizes of the different rooms. Positives: the master bedroom is a lovely size, and the height given to the room by going up into the eaves is just lovely; the second bedroom upstairs is also a great size. Downsides: the master en-suite is smaller than we thought, which means we're going to have to be clever when it comes to the design and type of furniture; the utility room is also a bit smaller than we thought after we borrowed some more room for the kitchen, but there's still plenty of room for my cross-trainer, appliances, and most importantly the cats!

Spare room - who wants to come and stay?

Master en-suite.
In this picture you can also see the old wall of
the house where the extension joins on. 

Master bedroom view

Snug (shot taken from the kitchen)

Utility room (top)
Downstairs cloakroom (left)

Whilst we're away the builders are putting on the roof, the electrician will be completing the first stage of the wiring, and they may even get to laying some of the plumbing - should help with the back-from-holiday-blues!

The little green house

Day 37
It's been another busy week on the build-project front, but nothing that has made for very interesting images, hence the dearth of updates on the blog this week.

In summary, we have the roof joints, rafters, and eaves in place, and the builders have erected the scaffolding on Friday which will allow them to begin work on the exterior of the roof this week. You'll also see from the image that the whole structure is now covered in what I can only describe as a green felt-like meshing, ready to be rendered at some point over the coming weeks. We also ordered the windows this week, so they are now in production! In short - things are coming along swimmingly.

Our new cosy corner

We (Jodes) finished off another job in this afternoon's sunshine.

The area to the front left-hand-side of the house was a messy space, with old paving that had given way to weeds, with an ugly concrete wall to divide it from the front garden. After some carpentry-based help from Dad last weekend, we now have some neat wooden boards instead of the concrete wall, which we've finished off by painting it a smart black.

Finally, we re-planted some box hedging that was in the back garden, to give us a neat divider for the garden, and finished off the project with some golden shingle. We think it looks rather smart, and the area will certainly come into use for eating in the evenings now that the evenings are lighter, until we get our back patio back in working order.

Day 32
It's been another storming week on the building front this week. We now have a first floor, complete with eaves, and they've insulated and boarded approx 3/4 of the outside walls. Will let the pictures do the talking - all very exciting!

A touch of frost

Our first big disappointment of the project hit this week. After a day of back-breaking work, and meticulous-bordering-on-obsessive watering by Jodes, our newly planted hedge has been beset by frost. The black leaves cut a decidedly unpalatable picture and we are (without wishing to exaggerate) verging on heartbroken.

General opinion was that this was the wrong time of year to plant the hedge because the recent warm weather would make us a slave to the hose, but we failed to consider the silent killer around the corner that came in the shape of a ground frost on Tuesday night.

We're hoping the plants are fighting for life underneath the morbid leaves, and we will continue to look after them in the vain hope that some TLC will restore them to their previous (albeit 1 foot) glory. 

I'm sure your thoughts are with us - will keep you posted on the patients' progress...

Mr McGregor's row of cabbages

Having decided on a spotted laurel as the shrub for our hedge, we spent most of Friday putting 150 plants into the ground. It didn't take quite as much time as I had imagined - primarily because the 'trees' were only a foot high, and also due to the ground being so dry it was like planting in sand - no digging required.

So we now have what can only be described as a row of cabbages along the dividing line between our garden and the field next door - I'm expecting Peter Rabbit to hop along and swipe them all any minute...

A picture for comedy purposes:

Feeling chipper!

Day 28
It may only have been a three day week this week, but that didn't hold the chippies back. In the last three days we've seen the most physical change in the build to date (apart from the destruction phase). The builders have worked hard, and seem to have performed a small miracle. We now have an exterior wood frame for the whole of the ground floor of the house, and the same for the guest room to the left of the first floor. It's very exciting, and although we don't have the actual walls in place, the build now feels more like a house, and less like a 'project'.

The wood frame makes it easier to get a feel for the space of the rooms, and how they flow together - everything just seems more tangible now we have more of an idea of the parameters. We've also agreed the dimensions for the doors and windows, which you can see marked by the wood sections if you look closely.

We literally can't wait for next week now, to see the walls of the master bedroom (to the right) take place - it looks like a big room looking from below - although we need to fit an ensuite and the upstairs corridor into the space too.

Fully grounded

Day 25
After 25 (working) days since the start of the build, we are finally at ground level. It's a very satisfying feeling - not that I've done any of the hard graft myself - and it now feels like we're getting somewhere. Now that we've gone through the destruction and foundation-laying phases, we're hoping the actual build will feel quick - and I should have lots more progress to share.

The builders actually got to this stage on Tuesday, and then abandoned the build temporarily to allow the concrete to dry. I got around to taking an update photo this evening, and managed to capture the glorious promise of the build at floor level, illuminated in the last warm rays of what has been a glorious Easter weekend.

Onwards and upwards this week (literally!). We need to make a fairly quick decision this week about the windows/exterior doors, and we have 130 trees arriving for the hedge, so we need to arrange a meeting with the farmer who owns the field next door so we can agree a boundary line before we get planting. Am exhausted already... best get back to some planning - over a celebratory glass of Easter wine.

Anton & K

We found the most gorgeous vintage French-style interiors shop whilst in the Cotswolds this weekend. Nestled in the pretty town of Winchcombe, Anton & K features a selection of simply beautiful antique French country style furniture - faded, distressed and antique pieces that makes me want to move to France!

The antique, weathered-looking greys, taupes, and blues are set against the perfect plain warm-slate grey backdrop in the shop, with everything brought to life by textures of antique ceramics, vintage linens, and lustrous mirrors and chandeliers.

There's also accessories by Kate Forman, True Grace and Prey.





Pair of French louvred shutters, Anton & K

Pair of cast iron decorative urns, Anton & K



Anton & K Shop in Winchcombe





http://www.antonandk.co.uk/

A kitchen in the Costwolds

Celebrations were in order this weekend - the hubby and I had our first year anniversary. We stayed in the Cotswolds in a lovely hotel just outside of Cheltenham - Ellenborough Park - it's recently undergone a substantial refurbishment, and we would absolutely recommend it!

We were inspired by the formal but un-stuffy interiors, and the feeling of lightness they've managed to breathe into the old castle.

Ellenborough Park

We were supposed to be going to Norfolk, the venue for our honeymoon, but we ended up in the Cotswolds because we wanted to go to see a potential kitchen supplier, based in Swindon - Neptune.

We had a very exciting meeting - the kitchens are all beautifully made, solid wood with the cabinets and panels made of a mix of Ash, Poplar, Oak and Birch, with an in-frame design, and dovetail jointed drawers. I love the Suffolk kitchen - it's a simple shaker style, and just what we've been hankering after in terms of quality and design. Now we just need to get the layout right! We talked to the designer whilst we were there, and should be getting some CAD drawings through this week - will keep you posted.

Suffolk Kitchen, Neptune