Even the catering’s cool – London Transport’s mobile canteen in the Farmiloe Building

Inside the Farmiloe Building – CDW is sponsored by Jaguar

My visit began in the Farmiloe Building at the bottom of St John Street, where I was on time but the organisers were not. Built in 1868 and used until 1999 as a head office and warehouse, it is bursting with character and is the perfect backdrop for the best in contemporary furniture and accessories. The whole place looked like a high-class Ikea, with a strong 1950′s and 60′s influence.

Chairs from VG&P

Emu’s stand

Vases from Shake the Dust

Light by Issey Miyake

The breadth of CDW is extraordinary. It encompasses not just exhibitions, but guided walks, screenings, visits to artists’ studios, pop-up shops – and even lessons in making your own gin infusions – in a number of historic and interesting locations in EC1. Their website has an excellent day-by-day guide to events, and there is also a free app to help you get the best out of your visit. Be prepared for some strange sights – my favourites were the Textile Hut (made from old hot air balloons and tights) and the sheep outside Sedus wearing woolly jumpers!

The Textile Hut in St John Street

Sheep wearing woolly jumpers outside Sedus in St John Street

My next expedition was to Kinnarps, manufacturers and designers of office spaces. Office design isn’t something I give much thought to, but I was blown away by their uber-stylish premises in Turnmill Street – the result of a collaboration with acclaimed Swedish designer Bea Szenfeld. I could have happily lived there, never mind spent a few hours a day scratching a living! They have an artist in residence – Joe McCrae – for CDW.

Here’s what it would be like to work at Kinnarps

Trying not to think about my own woefully inadequate working conditions (battered chair, desk covered with food crumbs, leads trailing…), I set out for the Living Furniture Project‘s exhibition, conveniently sited in a cafe in Farringdon Lane. The LFP is a charity which employs and trains homeless people to restore, up-cycle and create furniture such as this (below) from found and donated goods.

Up-cycled furniture from The Living Furniture Project

Heading towards my final destination in Charterhouse Square, my eye was caught by a stunning necklace in the window of the Lesley Craze Gallery in Clerkenwell Green. I was given a personal tour of their Special Exhibition, featuring imaginative, high-quality and quirky jewellery, and the beautiful ‘cobweb’ adornment by Craig Mcauley (below) – made from resin droplets on strands of nylon monofilament.

Craig Macauley’s ‘cobweb’

The pop-up pavilion in Charterhouse Square is all about walls and floors. I was lucky enough to get talking to the charming people at Muraspec, producers of textured and faux-fabric wall coverings which made me salivate. Less glamorous, but certainly innovative, is their new IdeaPaint which turns any surface into a whiteboard. I learned a lot and left with a strong urge to clad my bathroom walls in sequins…

Get the message across: turn your conference room into an all-over whiteboard

This was but the tip of the iceberg. My plimsolls have a hole in them, I am weak with desire, and my head is spinning with the sheer talent on display. If you can possibly get there, do. Phone in sick or cancel lunch with your best friend if you have to.

Weeks 3-6

I get back from holiday to find that the fireplace is too small to accommodate any wood burning stove on the market. Fortunately the brickwork is only about 4 courses high and this is easily remedied. As the building grows, I also think that the windows are a bit small. In both cases, measuring reveals that the builders have done exactly what the plans specify. I hadn’t realised until then how important the architect’s drawings are. If you think something looks a little bit out of scale on a small drawing it will be exaggerated in the final build.

At least they’re tidy

I pay a very large bill on the eve of our builder’s holiday to Barbados and keep my fingers crossed for his safe return. I also receive 2 invoices from a surveyor, whose involvement in the project I’m rather hazy about. It turns out that the council no longer make site visits to ensure work complies with regulations, and you have to employ a surveyor to do it.

Two bricklayers and an assistant are working in weather conditions raging from Arctic blizzard to Mediterranean summer. They are doing an excellent job of matching the flat pointing to the rest of the house and tell me proudly that they are using a wooden ‘donger’ to achieve this. The bricks are new and handmade (rather than reclaimed) in order to get a good colour and texture match with the existing. My son tells me they look ‘broken’.

Fancy detail to chimney

Joists are positioned, giving us a ceiling and a floor, and our kitchen is plunged into darkness (this is where the extension joins the house). We discuss installing a sun pipe and/or some more lighting.

New dining room looking towards kitchen

My husband makes detailed plans with the electrician. I have to rein him in on some things (such as built-in air conditioning), but agree it’s easier to put more in than you might need at this stage than it is to fit retrospectively. The plumber pops in and makes some gloomy prognostications about timings.

Suddenly there is a spate of deaths in the village (not connected to our building works) – and a wedding. As our drive is shared with the church, we diligently move all materials, sweep up and hose down the dust, cover the skip (which is positioned as discreetly as possible) with a green tarpaulin, and even put out some tubs of flowers. I am thanked, but also told “It was a pity the skip couldn’t have been moved”!

End of week 6

Hitchcock’s Birds

From scary birds to glamorous birds, Timorous Beasties‘ Birds n Bees – not cheep at £150 per metre (excuse the pun), but a great take on a classic with vibrant birds on a monochrome background. Also available as a wallpaper in 6 colourways.

Birds n Bees by Timorous Beasties

An eye-popping graphic print from Jorja Wilkinson Design. Influenced by the clean lines of 1950′s and 1960′s design, there are all manner of quirky birds and beasts rampaging all over her website.

Flamingo in mint, by Jorja Wilkinson Designs

For lovebirds, it has to be Duet, by Swedish firm Almedahls. Available from Hus & Hem.

Duet by Almedahls, available from Hus & Hem

A re-vamped classic – with a pedigree – from the GP & J Baker archive. Pertelote was designed in 1917 and first printed for W & J Sloane of New York whose decorating commissions included the White House and the Vanderbilts’ Mansion in Newport. It has been updated with bold, digital printing and is available as a wallpaper or fabric in 3 colourways.

‘Pertelote’ in original/multi by GP & J Baker
(a GP & J Baker image)

Louise Body‘s subtly beautiful Garden Birds is one of three bird fabrics (and a number of wallpapers) in her current collection. Her wallpapers feature everywhere from the V&A archive to Topshop!

Garden Birds in blue, by Louise Body

You won’t have to migrate to get hold of this Menagerie fabric from Spoonflower in the USA, as they will ship to the UK. The birds have all been drawn from photographs taken by the designer, giving her licence to say that she has “personally met them all”! It can be printed on a choice of 10 different fabrics from basic cotton to silk crepe de chine, and if you want to design and print your own fabric Spoonflower can do that too.

Menagerie, available from Spoonflower

A new fabric for 2013, Laura Ashley‘s Weeping Willow is more willow than birds, but its muted palette will make a pretty backdrop in classic or contemporary settings. Also available as a wallpaper.

Weeping Willow by Laura Ashley

OK, so there are no birds at all in this one, but its pattern of hanging bird cages in lime green on a crisp white background is fresh and up to the minute. Also available featuring hot pink cages on white. Designed by Sarah Waterhouse and printed by hand on sustainable fabrics with chemical free inks.

Bird Cage in green by Sarah Waterhouse Designs

Another Swedish design, with Arts and Crafts influences, from Hanna Werning who trained as a graphic designer at St Martin’s in London. Called Kvitter, which means ‘chirp’ in Swedish, it features finches, butterflies and fruiting vines and is available from Hus & Hem.

Kvitter Blue by Hanna Werning, available from Hus & Hem

A vintage French feel from a great British style icon, Celia Birtwell. Originally a textile designer, she has been back in the limelight in the last few years designing collections for Topshop, among others. Bird Song is available in 3 colourways.

Bird Song by Celia Birtwell

To celebrate their 150th anniversary in 2010, Sanderson rejuvenated this elegant design – originally from the 1930′s – to form part of their Vintage collection. It comes in 3 colourways and as a wallpaper.

Swallows in pebble, by Sanderson

If you have grown out of Ikea, but still love Swedish design, Svenskt Tenn may be what you’re looking for. This interior design company was founded in Stockholm in 1924 and quickly became known for its bold and elegant patterns. It was awarded a royal warrant in 1928, which it still holds today. This is Grona Faglar, designed by Josef Frank, and cheerful enough to see you through the longest, darkest Scandinavian winter.

Grona Faglar by Svenskt Tenn

Mark Hearld’s Dove Flight, available from St Jude’s, is entirely home grown. Mark has a masters degree in natural history illustration and has designed a selection of items for the Tate’s shop. If you like his work but don’t want new curtains, buy a print.

Dove Flight by Mark Hearld, available from St Jude’s

The fresh, summery colours of Klippan Sherwood, created by Swedish design duo Erdholm Ullenius, will bring a little bit of outdoors indoors. Available from Hus & Hem.

Klippan Sherwood, available from Hus & Hem

Vanessa Arbuthnott may be better known for her muted, quintessentially English fabrics and wallpaper but this cheeky Chicken Check is great fun. Also available in oilcloth.

Chicken Check in raspberry, by Vanessa Arbuthnott

Last, but by no means least, for this post is Flight, by Scion. The silhouetted birds in a cloudless summer sky have an uplifting retro seaside feel. Just add ice cream.

Flight in various colours, by Scion

Sofa so good

The real Opium sofa – below – from Ligne Roset, designed by Didier Gomez. Opium “is designed for those who like minimalism” with deep seats and stainless steel legs.

Made of foam, not cake

The finished cake – below – made by Rachel at Pompom Cakes in Putney, London SW15. Rachel’s background is in editing illustrated books; she uncovered her modelling skills by chance when she was at home with young children. Her cake business grew from there and each one is made entirely by hand in her (Poggenpohl) kitchen. She especially enjoys the design process and the pleasure that her creations bring. Click here to see more of her stunning creations, or contact her via her Facebook page to commission your very own work of edible art.

Couch potatoes

]]> http://livelovespace.co.uk/2013/04/23/good-enough-to-eat/feed/ 0 keyboardhousewife Cake sofa Opium sofa by Ligne Roset Ligne Roset sofa made from cake http://livelovespace.co.uk/2013/04/10/the-joy-of-erections/ http://livelovespace.co.uk/2013/04/10/the-joy-of-erections/#comments Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:22:22 +0000 keyboardhousewife http://livelovespace.co.uk/?p=705 ]]> Once upon a time there was a crooked old house with ‘flexible living accommodation’. The new purchasers soon discovered that this was estate-agent-speak for “the property is spectacularly ill-devised for modern living”. The house was also pretty grotty and required major rejuvenation, starting with new wiring and plumbing. Just as it seemed the end might be in sight, the owners decided that they missed living with dust and disruption and set out to add a 2-storey extension which would provide them with an extra bedroom and a dining room. Live the experience with them, in real time, starting here with Weeks 1 and 2:

Weeks 1-2

I get a text from a single girlfriend asking if there are any fit builders on site. There are only 2 so far; one of them is a deadringer for Lindow Man (the prehistoric man who was found in a bog), and they both lack vital aiming skills when using the loo. In other, happier news, we are celebrating a victory for common sense: The Conservation Officer has overturned her previous ruling that we can have double glazed doors, but not double glazed windows in the extension! Work starts apace, with the in-filling of the well and removal of existing paving and large plants.

Ding dong bell, let’s hope pussy wasn’t in the well…

I do my bit by creating a refreshments station in the garage – old kettle, mis-matched mugs, spoons from Poundland, milk, sugar, instant coffee, tea bags and a load of chocolate biscuits.

Topsoil is put in the raised beds I recently created, and they are planted at random with all the plants lying in the path of the digger. Bulbs, shrubs, herbs, lots of straggly lavender, and a whole section of hedging which was removed to give the digger easy access – before deciding to bring it through the gate. This hole in the hedge attracts a steady stream of onlookers.

By the end of week 2

I leave for 10 days’ holiday. The control freak inside me is reluctant to go, but there isn’t much that can go wrong at this stage. Is there??

Easter market stall in Salzburg

Easter eggs, zero calories

Easter bunnies for sale

I could have gone as mad as a March hare, but with steely resolve I bought just one thing – and not the cutest thing I’d seen, but the most intriguing: A pink silicone cup cover with a little white rabbit on top (a little white rabbit with a playful kick if you look closely). I’m not sure whether it’s to keep your drink warm, to keep flies and wasps out, or what. Please illuminate me if you can!

A cup cover

It’s an enviable job, but how does he find his targets?  It’s almost exclusively word of mouth, often from interior designers and kitchen and bathroom companies, but Nick is never off-duty.  Part detective, part truffle-hunter, he sniffs out beautiful homes wherever he goes, walking around town or driving through the countryside.  If he likes the look of a property he will post a letter of introduction through the letterbox and hope to hear from the occupants.  I was intrigued to know how he can tell from the outside whether the house will be suitable on the inside.  “Little details”; he tells me, cryptically.

Make no mistake, to let Nick into your home is to let him into your life.  The camera never lies, but his practiced eye makes light work of getting the best out of it.  The first step is a preview shoot where he spends a couple of hours taking pictures of the house just as it is.  This done, he arranges to come back and spend a whole day shooting all the major rooms with a very wide angled lens.  Each shot is meticulously crafted, moving around the house to catch the best light and re-arranging furniture and objets d’art.  His assistant helps with the moving, maximizing Nick’s time behind the camera.

What then?  When he has pored over the images he will submit them to the magazine he thinks they are most suitable for.  He never quite knows what’s going on in a magazine editor’s mind but his years of experience have taught him what kind of look or feel each one cultivates.  Most publications like some animation – people and/or animals in shot – but what if you don’t want to see yourself grinning from the news-stand?  You can change your name or the location of the property, or you can get friends to stand in for you as models!

Feedback from the homeowners is pretty much unanimously positive – a session with Nick makes them see their house from a new perspective.

Like many of us, Nick owes his success to his parents.  Literally in fact, for his assistant is none other than his father.  They started the business 20 years ago and go on most shoots together.  Dad is an invaluable extra pair of hands and can spend time chatting to the owners while Nick sorts out the technical stuff.  Their executive meetings are held on location over a packed lunch, discussing the work that has been done and planning for the afternoon.  However “It’s not always easy being the boss of your father”, says Nick!

Nick is constantly inspired by the homes he sees and in awe of the work that has gone into them.  When pressed, he confesses that his dream shoot is a Victorian villa restored with a modern twist (and that his most technically challenging is a minimalist space with lots of glass and white walls).  He loves the current trend for “quirky and personalized interiors with a bit of vintage”.

So are there any downsides to working in a succession of beautiful homes and immortalizing them in print?  Nick thinks for a bit and says “no” but that he is frustrated by the lamentable quality of most estate agents’ photography.  Often the most stunning properties are portrayed in unflattering, amateur photographs.

Are you interested in having your property photographed for inclusion in a magazine?  Maybe you’ve restored an old wreck and want to show it off, or maybe you’re the proud owner of a holiday cottage to let or a property for sale which could do with a bit of extra exposure.  It’s completely free.  Contact Nick at: 01252 714957 or 07785 775804 or nick@nickhuggins.co.uk

To see Nick’s work, visit his website at: http://www.nickhuggins.co.uk

The People Stories

The People Stories

The People Stories

We started the project as an overwhelming number of friends were frustrated at the state of the current employment climate and we wanted to do something about it! We spoke to inspirational people about how they achieved their goals to gain an insight into their working lives by visiting their beautiful homes and workspaces. Creative careers advice can be very corporate, which in our minds defeats the object of creativity, so we wanted to communicate with creatives in the medium that they learn best; through photography.

Polly Morgan Taxidermy Artist

Polly Morgan Sculpture

Victoria Murdoch Studio

Laura Reeves – The People Stories

The People Stories documents the creative journey, crafting an educational tour through the homes of creative professionals to help inspire you with a fresh approach to your career. With this concept, we hope to illustrate the everyday and meaningful locations essential to the individuals professional development. Editorials will showcase a glamourous view into a celebrities’ home but we want to share with you the conventional and yet inspirational spaces that make ideas happen.

…..

The People Stories is incredibly excited to be hosting a competition with one of our favourite creatives of the moment, the ultimate domestic goddess; Lisa Comfort, Founder of Sew Over It. With a beautiful cafe in the heart of South London, Sew Over It is a sewing school that has appeared on TV shows such as ‘Kirstie’s Vintage Home’ and ‘The Alan Titchmarsh Show’ for her innovative approach to home creations.

The People Stories

The People Stories

To be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of her new book ‘Sew It, Wear It, Love It’ made out to the winner, just hit like our facebook page and to double your chances follow us on twitter!

We’ve been searching high and low for the finest wall coverings around – here are a few of our favourites:

Morning in Manhattan

Budgies!

Mosaic

Cube

Toilet

Sneakers

Teapots

Typewriters

Now, before we go any further, I should state that we’re not talking about your regular gazebo or summer house here. This is not about the affordable solution for a few summer evenings, this is about permanent structures that add an extra room to your home. Costing about the same as an extension to your house, these creative pods are adaptable spaces that can be made into home offices, lounges, dining rooms, or even self-contained guests units complete with bathrooms.

These innovative garden structures won’t fit into everyone’s budget, but if you do want to extend and fancy something a bit different, consider adding an extra room at the bottom of your garden, instead of on the end of your house.

Space-age style for a quirky addition to your plot:

Roost

Roost UK’s garden pods come in three shapes: the oval, which has one side almost entirely made of glass, to allow lots of light in, and views out; the aluminium rectangle, like a metallic Battenburg, includes a micro-kitchen, shower, loo and living area; and last, but not least, the “stealth”, which echoes the multi-angled surface of a high-tech aircraft. Prices start at £17,630.

Roost UK’s garden pods (clockwise from top): Stealth, Aluminium and Oval.

Ornate Living

Ornate Garden’s wood and glass spheres come in a choice of sizes and fittings. Their range even includes a rotating dining room! Prices start at £6, 759 for a small rotating sphere.

The Deluxe Summer House from Ornate Garden’s garden pod or “G-Pod” range. This is the top-of-the-range model at £16,495.

Archipod

Archipod make sustainable office pods “specifically designed to complement a garden landscape, be efficient, ergonomic, and unusual”. The pod’s domed roof lets lots of light in, and it’s bigger than you imagine on the inside. Standard pods typically cost £15,000 plus VAT.

The Archipod. On the outside, it looks like it should be inhabited by a Womble or a Hobbit. On the inside…

… the Archipod is the perfect 2001-style isolation zone.

The contemporary take on a traditional garden building:

Armadilla

The Armadilla, as featured in our post about Grand Designs Live, is another timber-framed pod. Available as a garden office, garden room or guest bedroom, you also get a choice of layouts and fittings. The “Xtra Room” has space for two to sleep, and can have an ensuite toilet and shower room, kitchenette, music and lighting systems. It’s been added to some B&Bs already! Prices start from £7,450 for a small garden room.

The Armadilla in the “rustic” finish of natural wood cladding. The “urban” option is given a smooth, painted finish in a choice of colours.

Armadilla

Apropos

Apropos produce a range of slightly more conventional, but still strikingly modern, garden structures. The slick wood and glass garden buildings will work in almost any garden. Their Atelier Garden Studios cost from £25,000.

This garden building works equally well at the bottom of the garden, without a swimming pool!

This spacious office-come-conservatory makes for a light, airy workspace.

The ultra-ultra modern (and completely unaffordable) architectural wonders:

dmvA Architects

The Blob VB3 by dmvA Architects is a giant pebble from space that opens to reveal an adaptable living area, complete with a shower and toilet cubicle concealed at one end. Perfect for the sci-fi fan who wants to wake up with the illusion they’re on a spaceship!

The Blob with the hatches down…

Inside the Blob, the flexible storage spaces can also be used as a bunk to sleep in.

Studio Aisslinger

The Fincube by Studio Aisslinger is a stunning piece of architecture and my absolute favourite. Unlikely I’ll have the space or the funds for it, but I can dream! (“Prices on request” generally means “out of my price range”.) The Fincube is not just a garden studio, it’s a complete self-contained, sustainable living unit.

The Fincube – stunning mountainous backdrop not included!

A peek inside The Fincube’s bedroom