Curiouser and Curiouser

July 15, 2013

Architectural Follies & Curiosities

Landmark Trust The Pineapple House in Dunmore, Scotland

On this gloriously sunny day when I have a date with a book in the garden I am writing a very quick post in homage to grand follies, which I like to think of as the Alice in Wonderland’s of building design. Nothing delights me more than Victorian and Georgian architectural follies and I think one of my favourite British organisations is The Landmark Trust. The Landmark Trust takes on dilapidated old buildings of special note and restores them sympathetically to their original condition. It then rents them out as holiday lets which funds the restoration of future buildings, we have stayed in one before and it was an amazing experience. Landmark has taken on a truly formidable array of buildings from castles to cottages, follies to railway stations and much in between including The Pineapple House (above) in Dunmore, Scotland.

Here are some of my favourites from their portfolio:Read More

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Lipstick for Walls – Favourite Wallpapers

June 24, 2013

CUSTHOM-_COLUMBIA-ROAD-WALLPAPER-BRONZE MetallicSo, I see wallpaper as the lipstick of home cosmetics. You can be as bold as you like, but I think wallpaper is most effective when used sparingly.  The old mothers truism about make-up transfers rather well to home design I think- paint your eyes or your lips, cleavage or legs, overkill leaves no room to think and nothing to the imagination. With this in mind, having filled downstairs with a bric-a-brac of objects and pictures, we have not ventured into wall lipstick. I am now tentatively turning my attention to the upstairs hallway and  bedroomsRead More

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The Edit

June 20, 2013

Riess White Enamel ladel set skimmer

My favourite things right now: Riess enamelware, Linklater’s latest film Before Midnight, Eton mess in summer, Francoise Sagan’s A Certin Smile.Read More

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The Great Outdoors – Small scale gardening (my attempt at being green fingered)

June 10, 2013

Window Boxes, white geranium, ranunculus, muscari

I will be honest, I am writing this post purely because of the self satisfied joy I felt when the dried ranunculus flower heads I planted began to properly sprout last week. I am not at all green fingered but this year I have tried to start some very small scale gardening with window boxes and the like but my efforts are very much from the lazy girls guide – or as my husband likes to term it survival of the fittest!Read More

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The Edit:

June 6, 2013

memlite_industrial_factory_lighting_tamasyn-gambell_textiles_animal_figurines_cake

My favourite things right now: Memlite 30’s industrial work lamps, Tamasyn Gambell textiles, Lana Del Rey and Apple and Pear cake decorated with Schleich animal figurines in hats.Read More

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