Hygge Nook

V&A "Cherry on the Cake" prints

I'm always on the look out for new artwork and the V&A is currently selling a great range of the latest and greatest with artworks by the likes of Rob Ryan and Fred Butler. The 'Cherry on the Cake' range is their designer collection. Now in its third year, its focus is paper and uses media such as typography and laser-cut. I really like the Nina Chakrabarti print that looks like a patchwork and the James Brown print that utilises that motto many decor bloggers know and love. The prints are limited edition, unframed and cost from £15. Take a look...

Images: V&A

From top left: Nina Chakrabarti, James Brown, Rob Ryan, Lisa Jones Studio

Here's looking at you London

I've lived in my adopted home city London for almost seven years now and I still haven't seen enough of it. There's always some new area to explore or some new thing to do and see. What has been particularly great about London is the growth of iconic structures that translate really well to drawings and skyline-style depictions. There is a great juxtaposition between terrifically old - St Paul's, Big Ben etc - and the new - the London Eye, the 'Gherkin'.

 

London poster from a set of city scenescapes by I Love Dust [via Smitten] 

London Love II Gocco art print by ArtSharkDesigns, $15 on Etsy. 

London map in turquoise, red or grey by Famille Summerbelle, £45 at Bodie and Fou.

 
Limited edition London print by Jim Datz, £185 at Pedlars.

See what I mean?

Often when I go away somewhere I'll pick up something that will remind me of that place. A little 1Euro Eiffel Tower or sand art from the Grand Canyon being just two examples. Perhaps I need to think of momentos from closer to home?

Do you have anything representing your home town, city or country in your house?

Animal wallpaper

 

Is this space beautiful or what? Did you look closely at the wallpaper? Ostriches! I know if I had seen a roll of ostrich wallpaper in a store, I don't think I would have envisaged that it could look quite like this. This living room is in the apartment of Michelle Adams, former Domino editor turned Lonny magazine editor. Adams says she, "ended up falling in love with a quirky Ostrich-print paper that is equal parts delicate and bold" then applying it to only one wall to "create a strong focal point for the room."

How about some more animal prints? Where would you use them in your home?

 

Fairytales by Elle Decoration

 

Giraffe wallpaper silhouette from Inke

Judit Gueth Designs peacock wallpaper

 

ISAK owls wallpaper

 

Farrow and Balls bumble bees

The mirror found a new home

Remember the mirror I mentioned way back? The one I had big plans for? The one I thought, hey, I could paint it, I could add some pretty trim and make it look a whole  lot nicer? Yup, that one. You know what happened to it?

Yeee-ah...You guessed it. Nothing.

Oops.

But, the story has a happy end as it found a new home, within our home, this weekend. I got my little kit of nails and picture hooks out, armed myself with a hammer and knocked a hook into the wall of our Liliputian-sized hallway. Until now, if I wanted to check my hair before heading out, or touch up my makeup before a night out, I'd have to take off my shoes and head back upstairs and into one of the bedrooms (the bathroom is pointless, whoever put in the mirrored cabinet fixture was a great deal taller than me so I can only see the top of my head), such a waste of time.

Now, I have a mirror by the door that cost me nought pence and was up in minutes. A job well done, I say and I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier.

Have you done any costless switcheroos lately?

Posh Graffiti letters

Do excuse the week long absence. I've been on a press trip to DisneyWorld where they stuffed us with food and let us go on all the fun rides. It's been a fab week and I'll be writing it up for Have A Lovely Time soon.

Before I went I was looking for something else to go on the wall in my daughter's room as the gap between her headboard and the DIY alphabet picture is quite large. After mucho searching, I've settled on a big silver letter 'S' from the Old English range at Posh Graffiti. I'm also going to order a matching 'G' to go over Gabriel's bed. They're £10 each and made from a fast growing albizia wood. I'm only going for their first initial otherwise it gets a bit costly to do full names, don't you think?

Apparently the letters can be stuck to the wall with double sided sticky pads but as the website doesn't sell these too (why not?) I'll have to find some. Let me know if you know where!

Paperboy wallpaper - grown up fun for boys

Boys rooms normally don't get much of a look in do they? On the whole I think it's easier to design for girls rooms and they can certainly be visually more rewarding with brighter colours and wider ranges of ideas.

Anyway, back to boys rooms. Paperboy, a new start-up designing wallpaper (fabric coming soon) have focused on the boys market with a small range of wallpapers including the 'Dya-think-e-saurus’. It comes in three colours, green, blue and purple and I love the little boy that you see popping up throughout the print. each roll costs £78 and you can also snag samples for £3.90 which I think would look fab framed. other patterns include Animal Magic with repeats of rabbits, dogs and turtles with skeletel detailing and Hand Made featuring shadow shapes. 

Find their store online at NotOnTheHighStreet here.

 

Bargain alert! Store's photo coat hooks

You can't get much accessories much cheaper for your home than these £2.50 coat hooks. They're in red, black or grey (how I wish for yellow, blue and a pure white) and each has a slot through which you can slide a photo. Great if you want to keep the kids organised or just want to rotate some inspiring snaps. Find them at Store.

Mine! Jennifer Ramos print

Remember MadeByGirl's gorgeous home I mentioned earlier in the week? Well, I just couldn't help myself. I had to buy her 'I love you, blogs & tea' print. At $15, including shipping, it was super bargainous and I can't wait to get it framed to go in my eventual work space at home (still working on that!)

New trend: Silhouette pictures

Have you noticed lots of silhouettes popping up in magazines? I think it's a trend that is rapidly growing. They were hugely popular a couple of hundred years ago so it's about time for a resurgence. I like the classic blue and white Wedgwood look but think the colourful pop art style silhouettes and even the animal cameos would look great in a contemporary styled home. Do you like silhouettes?

Customisable print with different silhouettes and your names. I think it would make a nice wedding gift. $24 from Le Papier Studio.

I think this comical child's silhouette is really sweet, £15 by Lucas & Hayley at Keep Calm Gallery.

 

Porcelain cameo cups by LoucheLab, $25.

AllPopArt takes your photos and turns them into customised prints. There's tons of options to create a really unique piece.

Do this! Frame an Eiffel Tower tea towel

Even functional things should be beautiful, shouldn't they? This tea towel is so pretty that one blogger has even popped it in an Ikea frame for a super cute picture update at Her Little Place.

Want it? £8.50 at What A Girl Needs.