Image: Design Soda
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William Morris, as well as being a famous artist and producer of artisan arts and crafts wares, once said “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful” and for this he has been remembered in modern times on everything from tea towels to posters which probably would have given him a complete apoplasm, but that’s a topic for another article. Happily, I am not here to discuss the modern vogue for slogan-ed soundbite mottos, but instead to focus on something which is both useful and beautiful. The pretty yellow Silver Birch pattern you see in this post is the work of artist Anne McKenzie. Anne works on Perspex panels (to order, in bespoke designs and colours) to create botanical inspired patterns, in what she describes as a calligraphic style.
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Images: Design Soda
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There are a few uses for these screens. Firstly for decoration, as a pretty backdrop used in their linear form to add texture and interest to a space. Being a great lover of blue mixed with Spring yellows, I currently have my screen propped up on my cocktail trolley (below) and it’s bringing a little bit of added joy to that corner of the room.
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Images: Design Soda
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But these screens were developed to also solve a specific design problem. When you need to screen something off but don’t want a heavy and intrusive divider this is a pretty perfect solution. The panels come in several pieces which can be arranged to fit your needs with great versatility. I love the illusion that they create, shielding things from view but with such delicacy of touch and allowance for maximum light often lost in traditional screens.
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Images: Design Soda
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And then there’s the stunning effects created between light and shadow when you layer the panels and allow the reflection of the pattern to bounce off each other. I love this, it would be a perfect solution for you if your view is less than pretty, but actually it’s also really lovely whatever your view. We have really scenic views from our bedroom window of other people’s gardens side on, which means that from my bed in the morning (if I ever get more than 5 seconds to contemplate it before a certain little person starts insisting that it’s playtime) I can see many varied tall trees which have been growing for the last hundred years, the best of which is a particularly majestic, almost monolithic, fir tree. With these screens on our bedroom windows I can still see the trees in the background but the panels add an extra layer of interest and really light up the view for me. They also quite handily obscure the only bricks and mortar house within view. There you go, you see, useful and beautiful!
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Image: Design Soda
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If you’d like to see more of Anne’s work, take a look at her website here and her Instagram account.
This post is a collaboration with Anne McKenzie & In The Window. As ever, I only choose to work with carefully selected brands that I like and think you will find interesting, all opinions are honest and my own. Thank you for continuing to support the brands that support me.
