decorating teenage bedrooms and watchings kids create

There are few things I find as mesmerising as watching someone paint or draw, and when that person is a child, then I think I love it even more.

This week, one of the tasks on the agenda was renovating my teenage son's bedroom.  That delicate moment , at 15 years old, when he is ready to leave behind his child's room and assume a style that says ME!

What to put on the walls came under discussion, and I mentioned how much I liked his charcoal portraits he had done at school last term.  We found a couple of black frames, liked the way they looked, and from there he decided to draw  a few more.

I left him in peace, and by the end of an afternoon, we found ourselves with a little portrait gallery.  I love it!

This would work very well with any children's (or adult's!) drawings.  What brings it together is the uniform style, and the simple frames.

Its like most of the stuff I show here.  No bling bling, just a simple idea, put together  with care.

Tomorrow I bring you the second giveaway of the month, so don't forget to stop by and try your luck!

my dinner table last weekend

Today I bring you pictures of my table laid for dinner with friends this weekend.

Country life is pretty busy at this time of year and I'm afraid that time is running away with me .  I get a day planned out then something unexpected happens.  

 I'm trying to source the hay supply for the horses for next winter, and the wet weather most certainly isn't helping with that one.  Quick is needing much attention during his stable rest, and last night I was even called in to help when a stallion frayed his way into a field of brood mares nearby - UGH , that was not pretty, believe me, and I'm pleased I won't have to cover the subsequent vets fees!

 Apart from that I have children coming and going at home, so fluctuating numbers for meals, which of course I enjoy. 

 So many totally charming and such interesting guests to our cottage, and it's hard to resist stopping to chat.

So all of this is my way of saying that all I can bring you today are pictures of my dinner table last Friday.  Lovely friends invited, lively conversation, good wine.   And on the menu?    Home made gazpacho,  followed by veal in lemon and a creamy risotto, delicious local cheese and peaches in wine with rosemary for dessert.

Down the centre of the table, I tried out a new idea:  little pots filled with moss and with candles,  lined out on a long plate and surrounded by sprigs from the rose climbing over our gate.  Seemed to work quite well, I'll be trying variations on that one.

Hope that your week is getting off to a good start, thank you for finding the time to stop by here.

lunch with new friends

Had fun preparing lunch for Trinidad and Johan from Atelier de Cmpagne to arrive today, these boys have been on the road for a little while now, so I thought they needed some home cooking and vitamins.

I'm so glad the sun has come out too!

I'll let you know how it goes

OK  So here's the update,: it's official -  Trinidad and Johann are totally charming, and it was a delight to meet them and spend a couple of hours over lunch together.

What you are not going to believe is that I forgot to take any pictures of them here - no really!!!  I was so caught up chatting, questions flying back and forth, "and have you seen ...?";   "and do you know ...?"; and "don't you love it when ...?"  

Such a shame they couldn't stay for longer

Next time they come I shall definitely take pics, I promise!

books on shelves

I started a little debate on my facebook page this week, but still feel the need for more ideas and input ... if you don't mind! :)

We read a lot in this house, we love to read, we love to be able to reach a familiar volume easily, we love to have books close to hand.  We have a lot of books.

I've been looking at ways of displaying books and using the shelves without it all looking too busy.   Delving into pinterest I found many photos of books recovered in white paper or kraft paper, and the name re-written onto the spine.  I am sort  of liking this idea.

When I mooted the notion on fb I was shouted down, with comments like:

 "what's the point of having the books if you can't find them"

"I really don't care for that look. When I go into friends' homes, I want to see what they are reading"

" You want to read them or just look at them? "

 "Leave them as they are...much more interesting, intriguing and honest. 

Otherwise they  look like a bad decorator's trick!"

Hmmm....  but I still sort of like the idea .....

 People suggest blocks of colour, but I'm not wild about that, because our books are sorted into sections: history, fiction, practical, french, english..... 

So here are a few pics I am using to help my thinking process.   If you have a moment, I would love to hear what you think, thank you!

First of all the extreme, bookshelves without books.  No, I don't think I'm going down that road although I think this is a great picture and I adore that rug, but that's  a whole other subject.

I like this shot, I believe it's taken in India Hicks  house somewhere sunny.  Liking the kraft, cream and turquoise books, but I know that it looks like books have been bought to fill space by a decorator, rather than being enjoyed as reading material.

Here are two pictures where the books are broken up with objects and spaces.  This looks a little sterile to me, and anyway we have w-a-y too many books for that.

This I am liking, but I think the picture has been brightened to tone down the busy colour scheme.

 and the next two I love, but even in the picture below, there has been some very careful colour staging.

Definitely a step too far...

probably too neutral too

and finally to my favourite, which sort of brings me full circle, because the books here aren't covered or colour blocked,  except for one shelf of white books.  This really looks like a personal collection.

Right, so I am still in the same muddle, wanting shelves to looks less busy, without looking sterile.

I am sure you will have the answer, please tell!

all photos sourced on pinterest

my tiny new showroom

This has been a busy week.   I have had my hands full transforming a small storeroom in to  a very small showroom!

Guests here often ask to see my linens, or books or china that is available in the store.  And up to now I have had to rush around the house, retrieving stuff from various hiding places, but this year, with so many guests expected, I decided to centralise everything and create a space where I could show my brocante pieces more easily.

Up to last week, this room was a very useful storeroom, so I maintained a wall of shallow shelving for things I really needed to keep to hand.  To disguise the shelves I hung linen curtains from the ceiling and stood an old armoire in front.  That way I have easy access, but there is no distraction in the room.

It's a good  exercise to sort and reposition, there are often nice suprises.  Like  having to find a way to carry these little terrines; it wasn't until I lined them in the shallow wooden box that I realised how good they looked together.

 

For once, sorting and organising proved to be more fun than I expected!

kitchen design and curtains - your ideas please

Thank you for all your comments this week - amazing!  The past couple of days have been pretty rich in emotion on the blog so today I want to lighten up a bit and simply talk to you about  curtains in the kitchen!

So here's the thing.   I shall be reworking my kitchen in a couple of months time, it's only about 10 years overdue, so there's no real rush, and I keep being drawn to curtains instead of doors beneath a worktop.

Every practical ounce of me is screaming "don't do it" ... "this way lies madness"  , but it just looks so pretty.

Now I am sure that you have an opinion on this one, maybe you have curtains in your kitchen, maybe you have had and have sworn never again ... please tell me.

thank you for your help and bon weekend!


PS  Is anyone else having trouble adding new blogs to their blogroll?

all photos from pinterest