Our lovely old bungalow has a cool new vibe, the superb ‘Pet Sounds’ wallpaper graces the bathroom wall. Every time I spot it from the hall I feel a little smile come to my lips, it is bright, bold and makes the house feel like ours. The contrast with the blue tiles is just what I was after, not gaudy, just fun. This photograph does not do it justice, I assure you.
Pet Sounds in the Bathroom
Mini Moderns first caught my eye on a trip along the Southbank in London (it was the day that Any Winehouse died, I remember it so clearly). The Southbank Centre had some of the Day-Tripper range that day, and that was that, I was hooked.
Their wares include wallpaper, crockery, textiles and paint, it’s hard to know which of the themes to go for, they are all so funky. They have a pretty eco outlook too, here’s how Mark Hampshire, one of the founders, puts it, ‘ Our design influences range from mid-century British textiles to vintage toys, from literature to childhood memories. Travel also influences our work – and much of our inspiration comes from holidays and field trips, both at home and abroad. We produce as much as possible (and certainly all of our wallpaper, paints and fabrics) in the UK. This is both to support UK industry – in some cases, small factories that are the last UK provider of a service – and also to cut down the number of journeys that a product has to make before it reaches the customer.’
Pet Sounds is just one of the cool designs from the Folk Rock theme, I asked Mark where the inspiration for the design came from, ‘We had been working on 2 separate prints – a woodland creature print and a musical instrument print. On a trip to the West Coast of the U.S, driving along the Big Sur coastline, we suddenly had the idea of bringing the 2 together and injecting a bit of West Coast 60s psychedelia – hence the idea of juxtaposing animals with acoustic instruments.’ It really works for me, that’s for sure.
Teenboy has chosen this for his room, just one section of wall though, don’t want a goth type vibe in there…
Check out the website for the full range at Mini Moderns, there’s something for everyone. The customer service is second to none, we had a hiccup with the wallpaper that was sorted quickly and sympathetically. Thank you.
adventure wallpaper Rob Ryan collaboration
Whitby Linen Fabricdarjeeling teatoweldarjeeling lido wallpaper – second choice for bathroom
Finally, back to Mark who sums up Mini Moderns’ style as, “Conceptually driven illustrative wallpapers and homewares with a nod towards retro styling.” Whatever inspires the team, I wish them great success and I look forward to their next innovative designs.
Pots full of colour are a joy at the moment in my garden. The ranuculus have turned out well, more pale pink ones are coming soon and the margarite were an orange sticker job from a while ago, they’ve got massive now. The peonies are the best £4 I have spent for a long time, this is only half of the bunch, a bargain indeed.
Gumtree vs Ikea
There is a constant dichotomy for me when I am looking for furniture. I love the clean lines and great prices at Ikea, the furniture is good looking, easy to get home and the whole experience is pretty good on a quiet day. I also love the thrill of the chase and the individuality that you get by looking for furniture from Gumtree and second hand shops. The two shopping methods can go hand in hand and result in a really interesting looking home. I am betting most of you have at least the odd thing from Ikea, it is so hard to go there and come out with nothing!
Somehow I feel like I’ve failed a bit when I get something from Ikea. Take the Malm chest of drawers, plain, simple, white and functional – the only thing is I swore I would not buy them again because they fell to bits last time after 9 years of hard labour. The design has been improved since the last ones I had, they now have a bar under the base of each drawer to stop it dropping and I have to say that they really suit my bedroom. I have that little bit of me that feels like I’ve sold out, given up the hunt for unique, and have joined the thousands of regular folk who have these drawers.
ikea malm chest of drawers. simple and unassuming
Gumtree is hard work. You might not be first to see the item if it is highly desirable, you need to carry it down lots of flights of tenement steps if you buy from a flat (not unusual here) and you don’t really know where the item has been – you have to use your gut to decide whether you can cope with that or not. This chest of drawers is a great piece of furniture. After agreeing to buy it, I realised it was actually falling apart a wee bit once it was moved, what do you do? Say no thanks before you battle it down the stairs? Well, I didn’t this time and C has repaired it a bit. L has it in his new room now and he loves it. So does his pal who saw the 3D despicable Me at the weekend hence the glasses. It was a challenge to get it home but I feel like we are extending the life of an interesting item that comes with an unknown history. The little shelf in H’s cupboard is from the same house and it fits perfectly. Another triumph.
gumtree find, well made (once upon a time) character full and unique
So, there you have it, my thoughts for today on furniture buying. Where do you go for furniture? Have you got a favourite place to look? Edinburgh is great for furniture shopping , from specialist mid-century modern items to your traditional antique shoppe. Modern furniture and charity furniture warehouses are here too.
P.S. Great programme on as I write about supermarkets, have a look on bbc i-player, ‘Summer’s Supermarket Secrets’ – fascinating. Boys are loving it.
sneak peak into H’s bedroom cupboardF’s cupboard door handles
Today I’m sharing some of the things I love about our new rooms. Instead of getting bogged down by what I’ve got to do, I am going to enjoy what has been done and what we have gained. The chaos downstairs will get sorted slowly but surely over the next wee while. These things take time (good line for a song).
view from my bed – shutters are fabupstairs bathroomhow long have I loved these radiators? now I have one in my bedroom
Other Stuff
Instagram is something I’ve been aware of for some time but have never really got into, I’m wary of it I guess. This post from Tales from a Happy House Instagram has changed my mind, now I’m keen to get on and use it. My goal is a photo a day for the whole of the school holidays. I will let you know once I’ve got organised with a name and so on, technoteenboy will be on hand if I get stuck
Daisies cannot be beaten – look at these super hair accessories being modelled by the gorgeous H. Wish I’d got myself some now.
love a daisy
The Glasonbury father returned eventually last night. Tired, brown and happy that he was home after a super-long bus journey. The kids all have their very own Glasto t-shirts now, H and F have all the bands that played on their backs – one is not that great for a 5 year old to notice. Never mind. L has a Rolling Stones one which he absolutely loves. It’s good to have C back xx
Regeneration 