Decoration progress

5% of all sales for the second half of March will be donated to humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine here).

Earlier this month I was in London, dipping my toes slowly into the idea of travelling. It was wonderful to have a reminder of how life was pre-pandemic, and hopefully we can all fully return to it soon. The chairs I've been eyeing for the showroom turned out to be as beautiful and comfortable as I'd imagined, and after finalising all the details there is nothing more to do but wait for them to be made (they will be featured on the blog of course).  

In the end, I didn't decide on either of the fabrics we discussed in a post a few months ago (here). The participation in the comment section was absolutely outstanding, thanks so much to all who voted and commented! The discussion carried over to Instagram and Facebook and while the final results among the blog readers produced a close tie between green and pink (23 for green, 10 for beige, and 20 for pink), the social media votes put pink far ahead with a total score of 185 votes (vs 103 votes for green). 

Like so many of you, I was torn between pink and green, so when I found  Kit Kemp's Hedgerow fabric for Andrew Martin (links at the bottom of the post) it was love at first sight: The Cerise colourway does not only combine pink and green but also has a blue accent colour as an added bonus. The drawings of dragons, tigers, unicorns and foxes under berry-bearing trees are by artist Melissa White, who I had the good fortune to meet at a Kit Kemp Design Thread workshop in London's Ham Yard Hotel last October (links at bottom). The collaboration between Kit Kemp and Melissa White has produced stunning fabrics, wallpapers and china, and I am so thrilled to cover my chairs in one of them.

The mythical creatures look as if they've hopped from the wall right onto the chair, don't you think? For the chairs, I decided on a carver (with arms and buttoned back and sides) with similar dimensions to the stand-in chair below.

With spring around the corner, I'm picking up on the pink and blue scheme and accessorizing jeans and a tweed jacket with a Les Plaisiers du Froid 90 Carré in a Bib knot

My long-awaited console and round meeting table have arrived in the meantime and I'm over the moon with them! I've had my eye on the console for many years, but never had a place for it. With the beautifully carved animals and leaf details, it could not be more perfect against the forest backdrop, and I think that it looks fabulous with the Hedgerow upholstery fabric too.

The blue gathered lampshades are by Fermoie. They appear a little bit too light in the picture,  but in real life, the colour is a fresh and happy medium blue. 

Console detail:

Variation ...  as in the first picture, but with a dark blue blazer instead of the pink jacket

I love the fabric and pattern of my new Fermoie lampshades so much that I decided to make inserts in the same design but in a light pink colour. I am so thrilled with how pretty they look! You can find out more about Fermoie's Rabanna fabric here  or click here to view the inserts

On walks with the dogs, I like to gather branches, flowers, and weeds ...  they make such lovely "bouquets". Here's a wintery one, but I'm already looking forward to the new versions that spring will bring.

Before

The new showroom space used to be an empty barn where we parked our cars. It looks small in the picture, but it is really quite big. The wall that is under construction (straight ahead) divides the entrance from the new garage (now behind the wall). The narrow, vertical wall to the right is part of a lift cage where now the large mirror I featured on Instagram (here) will hang. The space to the left of the lift cage became the new powder room, featured here.

In case the picture above leaves you wondering how to access the new garage ...

Completed garage with clean walls exposing the old stones and a plug to charge the car, powered by solar.

Back to the entrance! It felt such huge progress to see the wall standing, insulated and plastered, ready for some wallpaper and paint.

Interiors are incredibly hard to photograph. There always seems to be light and shadow coming from the wrong directions, hereby distorting colours and shapes.  In the picture below the ceiling and surrounding walls seem light beige, whereas in reality, they are a saturated medium/dark brown colour. It was a very exciting moment to see the first panels of the panoramic wallpaper hung!

Furniture delivery

These gorgeous, tall table lamps were a find on a previous trip to England, and I love their organic, irregular form. 

Amélie (all my mannequins have names) seems to be very happy in her new surroundings wearing a Photo Finish 90 carré by Dimitri Rybaltchenko.

In the night-time picture (further above) the linen lampshades seem to work well ...  the atmosphere had contrast and interest. In daylight, however, the whole look has become a little bit bland and too much tone-on-tone:

A change of lampshades and flowers instantly created a warm, happy, and vibrant vibe. The power of colour and accessories applies to a room in the same way as to a wardrobe!

Links for the details mentioned today (not sponsored by or affiliated with)

Kit Kemp's Instagram (here), website (here) and shop (here)

Melissa White's Instagram (here) and website (here)

Fabric by Andrew Martin (Hedgerow Cerise) here

Console table by William Yeoward  (Godwyn) here

Lamps by Oka (Frond table lamp)  here

Lampshades by Fermoie (Rabanna Blue) here

Paint: Mouses' Back by Farrow and Ball here

Table by William Yeoward (Longwood, greyed oak)  here

Wallpaper: Italian Panoramic by IKSEL here

MaiTai Collection Rabanna bag inserts here

Another zero cost posy, courtesy of Mother Nature: