Jennifer Dumet ceramics

My new bowl - love it. I have the large one in white.   It is a very thin delicate bowl with a twist. The teeth or tentacles or spikes - whatever you would like to call them - grimace at you saying delicate ? As if.

Image: Jennifer Dumet

A touch of green from Moooi

Here is a subtle little splash of green for St. Patricks day.   Marcel Wanders designed a collection of ceramic vases for Moooi.  In typical Moooi fashion classics are reinterpreted.  The vases are produced and decorated at 'Royal Delft', a Dutch company dating back to 1653 and the original producer of the beautiful Delft Blue ceramics. 

Image: Moooi

Bonnie and Nell

The Design Files Open House project has so many lovely things in the directory I am sure the Open House will be absolutely packed every day. 

Image: Bonnie and Nell via TDF

The one large cushion idea

This New York apartment was the subject of an interesting post on Little Green Notebook about how much a decorator should be paid. I think the designer did a good job - you can see the before and after shots here. I'm clipping it in to Folder of Ideas because I really like the one big cushion idea. Especially in small spaces and if you have a compact elegant piece of furniture like that little cream sofa less is definitely more. Here is an earlier version of the one big cushion idea in a bedroom.

Image: via LGN

Battersea book ends

Off to bookclub again this evening - the first Tuesday of the month rolls around fast and brings me to posts relating to books. I check in at Paul Smith's online store regularly as I have a small obsession with his signature stripes. The London landmark bookends made me smile. My first flat in London was in Battersea beside the park and I passed the power station daily for many years. I quite fancy a flick through Paul's book too.

Images: Paul Smith

Pocket litter

I heard this term 'pocket litter' for the first time yesterday and how true it is in our house. In addition to keys, phones and sunnies I find little piles of change, cufflinks, collar stiffeners, headphones this list goes on. I think the only strategy is to embrace the pocket litter and buy it a beautiful tray like this one from By nord.

Images: By nord

I could do that . . .

Recently I actually made something with a sewing machine - not a big thing for most people but a first for me and I was very proud of myself. A friend kindly trusted me with her machine and with some practice runs and a lot of referring to the troubleshooting section of the handbook I made a blind for my kitchen door.

So, now I have new category in my folder of ideas - the 'I could do that' category, all of which so far are rectangular because of current level of sewing skills. I think I might be able to manage a cool cushion like this one - and so much more practical than pile of different sized pillows.

Image: Lucy Berridge via Desire to Inspire

Country Road baskets

Ducked in to Country Road yesterday to look at new stock. I love when the sales are over and the Christmas stuff is finally removed from the shops. CR homewares has lots of attractive black and smoked black glass homewares in store. These are Vara baskets and they are very nice indeed. Although lovely as a purely decorative item I was trying to think of storage applications. The smaller one could be used in a powder room to store little guest towels - maybe one would need two - one for clean and one for used.

Image: CR

Samantha Robinson

My favourite find on my trip away was Samantha Robinsons porcelain bowls and vases which I saw in a lovely homewares shop in Huskisson. These photos really do her work no justice at all - they are so delicate in real life and the colours are beautiful. I'm still reluctant to display such treasures while co-habiting with two small boys but soon they'll be older and I'll be able to invest. Her website is beautifully designed also - well worth checking out.

Images: Samantha Robinson

Ribbons

Love this 'ribbons' cushion by Ponyrider. The fabric design is so clever. I'm thinking, why don't people buy beautiful homewares for people as gifts more often - especially something like this which would go with most decors and many rooms. I for one would be delighted if someone turned up with a lovely cushion as a gift.

Image: Ponyrider

One Thread

Beautiful fair trade pillows from One Thread. These are made in India and come in jewel colours and silver and gold if you look through the site. One Thread's aim is to help marginalised artisan workers take their products to market in a way that is beneficial to the individuals .

Image: via BLTD

Texture in pink

As I lived in London for many lovely years I am still on Habitat's mailing list and they have definitely increased their digital marketing as they are sending out lots of inspiring emails. Always into a splash of pink (I grew up with all boys and now live with all boys so I have to make some mark in the house) I spotted the Tempe throw folded on the sofa here. It's well priced and I like the colours and pixellated look which makes it quite a masculine pink throw.

Images: habitat

The China Syndrome

I can't really explain it but I get a great kick out of all the recent projects reusing china and plates like the immense wall of plates at Milan Design Week and the 're-purposed' plates and cutlery at Eat Green Design. The recycled old saucer butterflies by Lightly are so more-ish I just want to buy them all whenever I see them.

So this photo caught my eye as I am a committed utensil rail person and what better way to get with the trend than to hang some pretty china from my existing rails ? I could actually do with a nice sauce boat as last weekend we ended up serving a sauce directly from the pyrex jug it was made in due to lack of suitable equipment . . .

Images: Emma Mitchell via Desire to Inspire, Lightly, Megan Morton via the Design Files

Burnt Orange: Avoca comes to Sydney

Happy day !- Burnt Orange opened on Middle Head Road in Sydney a couple of weeks ago and they are bringing one of my favourite brands and concepts in from Ireland - Avoca. Originally wool handweavers in Wicklow in Ireland, but now a lifestyle brand Avoca's stores and restaurants are hugely popular in Ireland with locals and visitors alike - and now Burnt Orange has brought their products to Sydney !! Avoca make beautiful wool throws and rugs - including baby rugs and their fashion label is now available here too. Food and setting was lovely and I have not heard so many Irish accents in one spot since I moved to Sydney. I reckon it will be a big hit. Read about Burnt Orange here and Avoca here

Images: Harbour Trust, Avoca

For a song

Work has been hotting up on my interior design course and I was in Spotlight at the weekend buying bits and pieces for a 3D model we had to build. We presented them today and I'll see how the photos come out - if they are any good I will post some mini rooms here. Anyway - always love a bargain so while at Spotlight I snapped up a few of these Songbird tea towels by Ladelle in grey for $4.99 each.

Image: Ladelle

Clever

Occasionally I include a post about a decorative item or homewares - usually when they strike me as so innovative or special that I can't pass them by without saving a photo. So here is the Four Vase by Muuto.

How many times have you found that your flowers are just too long, or too short, or you have too many or too few for the vases you own. I find this happens alot with tulips - you need lots for impact but they are quite fat and short so display can be a challenge. Enter the Four Vase which increases your chances four fold of having a suitable container. It comes in about five colours including clear and white inners. Muuto products are widely available here is Australia, see www.muuto.com for stockists.

Image: Muuto

Pale and interesting

Came across this UK based site which delivers on it's title admirably. Pale and Interesting does what it says on the tin and have a range of muted furniture, homewares and vintage finds to delight the white lover. The mirrors below are all antiques and I especially like the fluted pie crust mirror. It's inspired me to go to the next antiques and collectables fair I see advertised to pick through the old mirrors.

Images: Pale and Interesting

Paper Boat Press

I am a big fan of Paper Boat Press - Kylie Johnson's ceramics and poetry. This is her gorgeous range of kitchen labels. The other news from her newsletter is that she is taking orders for personalised Christmas stars and that she is having a winter sale offering 25% of if you put WINTER in the discount box. So I'd better get on with clicking that buy button.

Images: Paper Boat Press

Country Road, take me home

Country Road cushions were made for my living room. I inherited lots of roman blinds made from a narrow striped dark blue and white ticking-ish fabric and I have an armchair in white, a brown leather sofa, a big red bean bag for the kids and another white slip covered sofa going in soon. So to draw it all together I throw a selection of different textured red, white and blue cushions around the place - many of which come from Country Road.

As my kids sit, jump and play on these every day, they don't last for ever but thankfully Country Road change their range all the time. The important thing for me is that the core colours seem to stay and most have removable washable covers !!

Images: Country Road

Two hundred

This is my two hundreth post. I had wanted to celebrate by organising a giveaway but life has been a bit hectic recently and the blog has had to take a bit of a back seat. I started in September last year so I am now resolving to get myself sorted and do something on that milestone. So a big thank you to all of you who have joined me here so far and for your encouraging comments and for now, here are some suitably numbered Day Birger et Mikkelson cushions in a gorgeous hallway.

Images: Day Birger et Mikkelson