Magazine racks with style...

Are magazine racks a thing of the past? Some how when you even say magazine rack it seams dated... but people still buy magazines... what do they do with them? Leave them in a pile next to the sofa? Read them and chuck them away?

I am one of those sad people who keeps my living etc magazines all stacked up with their white spines on a shelf... looking pretty and full of inspiration ready for future flats and my dream home...

But magazine racks seam to have had a bust of excitement in the design world, a fresh take of inspiration...

This design is clear and functional but I think the little man reading the paper isn't needed, I'm guessing if the rack was full then you wouldn't see him anyway. A cute and fun design though...

Designed by Ramon Middlekoop and Chris Koen.

This is definitely a taking point... I think it would be great in the right minimal home. I like the way that you could add in extra 'shelves' and new layers. The leather straps give it an almost industrial look. The chunky straps would hold a huge amount of weight, the issue would be having the right wall fixing. I think its a fab design...could be quiet easy to make yourself.

From Rockett St.George

This is a contemporary style design,  I like the way that you can keep your page you were have way through reading a article. I wonder how many magazines that you could hang on the rack till it fell?

coolmaterial.com

How fun is this cute shelf and magazine/book holder... definitely a great piece for any kids room or living room with style. I love the chunkiness of the wood and the mix and match colours, it almost 

gives the dog character.

casasugar.com

This has to be my favourite design by far, fun and functional... just what good design should be. This could be a spare set of guests and gives a easy way of displaying magazines...imagine all the white spines of the living etc magazines stacked up looking pretty. Also they wouldn't get half as dusty being stacked up here as they would on a shelf! Love this... a stool that grows with inspiration.

'hockheimer' from sutkutusu

Over the weekend I was debating getting rid of all my magazines...

 but I think now I will keep them and make a stool!

A trip to the reclamation yard...

 On my last weekend up in the midlands, Saturday morning I was at a bit of a loss... so I went for a snoop around the local reclamation yard which was literally 5miles up the road. I secretly love reclamation yards, not the showy fake clean ones where everything thing is in place and all displayed nicely with gift tags... but the ones where there are massive spiders crawling between the old doors and you have to wipe the dust off the furniture to see what is hiding beneath!... real reclamation yards where the things have charcter and are not quiet perfect... surly this is half the fun of discovering things?

These are just a tiny tiny amount of the doors and arches all stacked up... look at the amazing cream arch stacked at the back!

If you need a fireplace to add colour and character to a room, why would you look anywhere else... this place must have had at least 20 different fireplaces alone... all completly different in both size and colouring of tiles. 

Tiles, knobs and knockers... boxes full of dusty handles.

I love this... the rust flaking off, the fact that most of the glass is missing... I love the almost industrial look of the window. Im sure propped up in a hallway or at the side of a room it would add grander to a area. I wonder where it came from? Maybe a church or large house?

These have to be my best find... look at the layers of thick dust. Theses pictures don't do them justice!

I purchased 4 different bottles all which would sit well against my orange Le creuset hehe

All washed and ready to dry...

Not the best picture, but they look lovely with the sun shinning through them.

Glass cups with style

I have recently just finished a contract designing boyswear for a large value supermarket chain. The role was a maternity contract and on my last day as part of my leaving gift I recieved a couple of these...

Rob Brandt glasses, arn't they fab they. They are taken off the orginal paper cups that get crushed and chucked away. The cups fit so well in to the palm of your hand and look pretty stylish to...maybe I will keep an eye out for a few more.

Don't they look fab all stacked up...

I think its always nice to have design pieces around the house that can be used and not just put on the side to be looked at... design is just as much about function as it is form.

These glasses are also produced in white, these look more like the real white plasic cups but I think the glass ones have more style.

Its funny how a everyday simple dispossable object can become the next thing in the design world and be listed in the New York times gift guide!

Mix and match tiles

A little while ago I came across a image of a kitchen wall... full of mix and match tiles. Ever since I have seen them popping up all over the place... especially after my trip out to the reclamation yard when I discovered boxes and boxes full of random tiles!

I love the way that the different patterns on the tiles sit so well together. As long as the colour pallets are tight, they seam to work well together. All the titles having come from different places, all with differnet stories to tell... but when brought together, for a new chapter... a new home... they create a whole new look.

How fab is this kitchen above... due to the bright colours within the tiles, they would need to be limited to feature walls. The yellow and bright turquoise sit so well together against the fresh white of the walls. I wonder if alot of these tiles have been painted especially for this new room, or the owner just hit very lucky. The chandelier sets the whole look off and brings the dated tiles to life! Maybe this isn't a kitchen that you would enjoy with a hangover but it is definitely a sunny and happy room.

In contrast the bold solid patterns on these tiles clash and give off a retro vibe.  The black of the oven seam to bring the room together and the small area of tiles shout without taking over the room. This would be a very easy look to achieve with the right simple cupboards and light bright walls.

Nothing beats the classic look of these blue and white tiles, all re cut to the same size. The trimmed tiles allow the patterns to fall off the edges and create one large mix and match print. The clean look of the blue and white does not jar on the eyes, but brings back memories of blue and white china and fresh white sheets hanging on the line.  This is a very preety look.. but could easily look dated and fussy. The room decor would need to be mondern, bright and airy... allowing the tiles to be the focal point of the room.

This has to be my favourite of all the mixed tiles images I have spotted... the modern bath and white walls and wooden floor boards against the fun bold and unplanned wall tiles. I love the contrast in sizes and the bright jades against the grass the green.... this look is nothing but fab! It may not be the easiest to clean but they have actually only used 5 differnet types of vinage/retro tiles with the rest being made up of modern tiles. This in turn would possibly allow the look to be achieved at a cheaper cost rather than sourcing every individual tile at reclamation yards.

Amazing intricate patterns painted on to the tiles. The top left image is lovely how the petrol blue walls almost give the tiles a second burst of life!

I love...

Okay so I love chairs.... Yes the more battered and warn the better, the older and nore tales they have to tell the better... I like chairs with character.

I am currently on the big deposit at the moment for my own house... but I still find my self looking in junk shops and on eBay for fab old chairs!

 I love both of these sets, they are both completly different but speak volumes. When I have my own home I would love to have a place full of mix and match chairs... There are way to many fab chairs out there to have matching ones!

 Look at this fab leather set... its super cheap to! I love the way that the leather is all warn and probably has loads of tales to tell...

How fab is this! Definetly a star piece for any room... could be a funny colour to fit into a room though.

Love this! A lady in my Gran's flats has exactly the same one!! Wouldnt it be fab in a clean fresh white kichen with fun pops of colour.

Cinema chairs... they definely need to sit in a big tiled hall... one can dream!

These are a real style piece but I worry that when they are all sat round a table 

that they may loose their impact? Pretty cool though...

Good old school chair with the desk arm, we used to have these in drama. I remember at the time thinking they were pretty cool but now I would love to own one of my own. How fab would it be as a old fashioned telephone chair... do people even sit on the stairs anymore on the house phone playing with the curly wire?

All these fab chairs all within a 30mile radis of where I am currently living!!

eBay is fab for chairs...

She's got style...

 For this weeks she's got style, I have decided to look at Kate Hudson. Mainly due to her fab relaxed style. Her outfits seam to come together with ease and her palettes are kept very simple.

For a mum of two little ones she always looks great... yes I know she probably has loads of people around her helping her out with everything but I like her style...

Easy plaid shirts... fab maxi crocheted dress... it all looks so thrown together with ease

Chilling in white in the summer sun...  I have to say I am a bit of a fan of a white shirt and jeans, it just works so well for any occasion... I love love love her white dress on the left, definitely a holiday dress!

Easy outfit building with simple natural palettes... natural colours always look timeless and classic

Rocking the yummy look with style in the black...

This really isn't my kinda jacket but Kate seams to carry it off with style.

I love this white backless dress all I need now is a ball to go to... oh and a hot guy to go with...

Looking pretty in yellow, after the flim 'How to loose a guy in 10 days'... I  wanted a yellow dinner dress, Kate even looks great in the middle picture when heavily pregnant!

'How to loose a guy in 10 days'... this dress is dreamy.

Well the girl has style... either casual and laid back, little make up and relaxed stunning hair... or... dolled up to the max!

Cool places Sunday... Hammet House, Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Place...


Hammet House
Llechryd,
Cardigan,
Pembrokeshire,
Wales
SA43 2QA

www.hammethouse.co.uk

This weeks cool places, is a beautifuly modern hotel in Pembrokeshire. This place is a stunning old house that has been very carefully filled with contempary furniture...every detail has been thought about and this has resulted in a stunning hotel! I would definetly love to go and stay there.

I know the owners havn't quite finished restoring every room yet, but it is definetly a project that is worth every wait. I love the use of grey and the contrasting bold bright furniture... the cardboard stags, the crisp white sheets and the red flex on the lights! God help if any guy did ever take me there I would spend the entire time commenting on the cool decor rather than there company hehe.

Dosn't it look like a fairy tale house...

 The amazing decor in the bar area... I'm sure a few glasses of merlot would go down nicely sat here.

Get the look with these cool light blubs... www.rocketstgeorge.co.uk

Look at the stunning floor... I love the approch they have taken to this.

Don't the bedrooms look dreamy, you could sleep for hours in these crisp white sheets.

Fancy a corner to curl up with a book and a liquer coffee?

Ghost chairs... www.conranshop.co.uk

Fresh, bright and bold dinning room. Every part of this hotel has been thought about and designed with style. I'm sure it will be come the 'it' venue of Pembrokeshire and be a huge success. Good luck to them x 

They've got style...

This week I decided to pick out two little pretty ladies to blog out. Sarah Jessica Parker's 3 year old twin girls... Marion and Tabitha.

They definitely have inherited their Mum's stylish ways with every outfit coordinated and often coordinating as a pair. Maybe its the fact that they are growing up on the west side of New York, maybe it is who there mum is. I bet they have boutiques and brands desperate for these little ladies to wear their brand...these to girls are bound to be ladies to watch in the future.

Generally I am not a fan of twins wearing matching out fits but these to little ladies do it so well with just the one item...like the fab coats below.

This is a really nice winter pallet that you often don't see on girls, but it is girly, pretty and almost warm with the creamy peaches and pink highlights. Sarah and the girls clearly love this look to rocking it out in three separate looks and seasons...When you know what look works stick to it... especially when this proves it works for all ages.

Just chilling out with Mum rocking the classic look.

These colours are adorable! I love the fact that they have such bright fun happy coloured coats that both clash and work so well together... Good choice Sarah Jessica Parker, you were not cast as Carrie for no reason. It's is nice to see celeb children in real play clothes rather than silly unpractical posh things.

How cosy do they all look in their knitted cardigans, grey is such a practical colour as it goes with everything and gives a softer look than navy or black.

Mummy cardigan... www.celticandco.co.uk (quick as it is in sale)

Little girls cardigan... www.cheekymonkeyskids.co.uk   

Mum and her mini biker girls.

I love this picture! How cute is this?! Maybe its because I was a dolly girl, I even had dolly twins... (they were exactly the same dolly, except one was white and one was black... I got one one Christmas and one the next!) My mum even made me matching pjs to my dolly's, and I took them everywhere with me.