Dear Bubby...It Takes Boules

I am currently bidding on this lot of antique English lawn bowling balls and have had to explain to Bubby, that no, I have not lost all leave of my avian senses!

Apparently he was under the misguided impression that there was some kind of design strategy happening with the flat, and has now come to the realisation that, instead, the theme is just plain random 'I like-y, therefore, I want-y', with the belief that it will all tie in somehow in the end!

At my first car boot sale a few weeks back I saw a woman selling these for £8 each. She had them stacked in a big bowl, like below. They looked lovely.

image via Shepton's Antiques

Here are some more basket shots:

What a fantastically styled flea market stand! Yum.

They do seem to look better in a basket/bowl when you have enough to pile up on each other. This display below looks a little lonely.

images above via Velvet and Linen 

Here are a bunch of mixed balls in a grouping.

image via Graham Atkins Hughes
 

If you only have a few, this minimal kind of display is more effective. The row of three looks quite nice.

A solitary minimalist one?

Or maybe a pair, like these two 'nailed' (or cloutées) antique French boules. 

image via Home and Design

During my research on the different kinds of lawn bowling, from country to country, I discovered something interesting. The French balls are a little smaller than the English, and they frequently covered them in metal nails to make them stronger and also to repair cracks.

They developed an amazing array of techniques with different nails to cover them, some looking like fish scales, other like hob nailed little wonders. Of course, decorations began popping up and everything from numbers to initials were worked into the designs.

Here is a gorgeous old sign from a French Boules manufacturer in Paris via website on the history of boules, Les Boule Cloutées. You can see the star and circle designs that they would have done in the illustration.

The workmanship is absolutely stunning. Here is an real example of the star design:

An example of the overlapping 'fish scale' method:

It is pretty amazing to see the difference in before and after restoration of the boules.

Here is the rusted, neglected before:

And the carefully polished after:

images above via Les Boules Cloutées

How satisfying a project would that be?! Below are some boxes awaiting restoration. Would love to get my claws on these.

Some lovingly restored examples.

images above via Joy of Bocce

images above via Ruby Lane

What beautiful objects, with such a rich history!

It makes you wonder what will happen to this sport over the next few years as the few, older people still playing the game trundle off to aviaries in the sky.

Maybe it is time to take up a new, gentle on the joints, sport as we creep into our own old age?

Boules, anyone?

Gnomey Bedrooms

I never thought I would say this, but lately I have been really drawn towards slightly granny-ish rooms!

Maybe it is the contrast with the lifeless rooms we have been looking at in interiors shots for years, but a little bit of homey, gnome-ness (slightly kitsch/crafty) really cozies up a room.

Little details like embroidered, crocheted or knitted bed linen or throws and folksy patterns seem cozy and warm at the moment. Even when done in a crisp scandi-style room like below.

The patterns in this bed linen borrow from chintzy patterns, that have been reinterpreted by being blown up. The feel retains that granny-ish warmth, but takes away the cloying frilly-ness.

  images above via vt wonen

This below room really borders on too gnomey for me, but something about the mix of pattern and colour works. It is an inviting little room that calls out to be roosted in.

The mustard colour in this room screams of an earlier time, but really warms up the wood floor and white linens beautifully.

This combination of busy painting and busier throw shouldn't be calming, but somehow, with the matching hues, it is!

This room. Well. What can you say? Crazy bird paintings hung un-level, mis-matching patterns and colours galore, but the blues tie it together and create a room that invites you to linger.

This room below by The Sleep Room is a perfect mix of retro styling - the 1950s detailing to their apt and simply named 'retro bed' with the subtly curving headboard, the patterns in the throw and rug. 

I doubt any of the elements are truly vintage, and are likely new imitations, but the feel takes me back the the nest days and screams 'shag rug in the hallway'...but in a good way!

A little bit of nostalgia can be comforting, as long as it is just a hint.

VT Wonen Magazine

Thanks to Leah Moss's recent post at Apartment Therapy, I have recently discovered an interiors mag from the Netherlands, VT Wonen, which is now my second favourite 'shelter' mag, after Living Etc. (which Bubby the house elf announces loudly as my 'house porn' with the arrival of every new issue!).

It is a fantastic magazine, with a huge backlog of past issues available to view online.  They are worth taking the time to troll through.

The aesthetic is that clean, crisp, fresh one that the Dutch excel at, but with a heavy emphasis on vintage details. Gorgeous - and right up this owl's alley!

Here are a couple of my favourites.

From what I can piece together with my lack of Dutch, this is 'Derk's' cosy home in Amsterdam:

There is a warm mix of ethnic and fun details like the monster pillow below.

The following is Marianne Brandi's home in Copenhagen, which has a silvery-glamorous, French feel mixed in with the clean Dutch vibe. Click on the image for a closer look at the collection of sculptural antlers on the desk.

Shiny grouped treasures, a textural throw and a sumptuous tufted headboard give a subtle elegance to the bedroom.

A unique idea for framing a small piece of art in a casual and fun way.

Watch for more VT Wonen images in future. This publication is a keeper. (Guess now I have to learn Dutch as well as Swedish. Eep.)

Collections 2

A continuation of my previous collections post, here are more shots of glorious collections to ogle:

Vintage french home numbers.

If you were well monied you could replicate the look with similar signs from Ramsign in Denmark, who make vintage looking enamel signs...though it wouldn't be quite the same with new signs.

To go off track for a second, my favourite of Ramsign's line is the 'Engelhardt' range with the round, slightly convex numbers that would look amazing on a wall or part of a display. (Sorry for the tiny image. It is the only one they had!)

Each one is €49, though! Ouch.

Back to collections. I saw a lot of these Fulham pottery vases at the Antiques and Decorative Fair the other day. They look quite striking in multiples, no?

 

Beautifully patina-ed antique milk bottles.

images from Decorative Collective

An insanely enviable collection of real crowns!

Oh, how the magpie in me covets these sparklies.

Crown images from Paris Hotel Boutique

These little cousins have the right idea! 

image via E-magDECO

T'woold suit me, don't you think?

  

For Love of...Industrial Storage

Is anyone else loving the industrial fleamarket style that is rampant at the moment?

Here is some French fleamarket treasures from a company called Les Nouveaux Brocanteurs in Paris.

images above found courtesy of Urban Lifestyle Decor

images above found courtesy of vtwonen

This mortician's table upcycle as a coffee table is something else. Talk about taking something utilitarian and seeing the potential for beauty!

images above via Paris Hotel Boutique

Now that is being able to see past an object's use to it's sculptural lines!

Antiques & Decorative Fair 3

Here are the rest of the images from the Antiques & Decorative Fair that I attended Friday night.

Posing with some immaculate Victorian vellum suitcases from Victoria Harvey. How I would love these!

This shop had some truly beautiful things. The following is an antique wooden processional figure or mannequin.

 More wooden figures...without arms!

These millinery displays below were quite popular in the fair. They remind me of mexican folk art.

 Here is a similar head from another shop on Church Street, Raffles.

More body parts.

It was interesting to note how differently the booths were styled, according to their wares.

There were a lot of examples of the 'country french' aesthetic, with many chairs reupholstered in crisp natural linens and distressed white furniture.

This was a particularly striking display by the charming gent at Martin D. Johnson Antiques, with antique paperbacks, apothecary bottles, fresh cherry boughs and antique french lithography blocks.

Here is a detail of the stunning cast iron devil doorstops:

This little lovely was one of the most precious things I saw in the fair..the only thing I really wished could come home with me. It is approx 6 x 5 inches.

The photo doesn't do it justice. The artist was obviously a Rembrandt fan, and they did a good job of mimicking his luminescent style.

I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this fair. I went expecting it to be somewhat high brow and stuffy, especially considering its Chelsea location. Instead, I found it relaxed with tons of knowledgeable dealers, passionate about their wares and willing to share what they knew. Good fun.