Just because...

It's amazing what you find when you go looking. I came across this chair and flower set by chance and immediately swooned. The chair is perfect (I'd be very happy with eight for my dinning room). The lilac roses and the miniature lime hydrangeas are so romantic.

So, because I loved this image and on the off chance there might be more, I went looking for similar chair and flower combinations. More there were and these are my favourites.

The burst of pink and yellow peonies among succulents bring arid surroundings and a rusty chair to life. 

This chair is the perfect no-nonsense canvas for the regal, crown-like protea.





































This could almost be an old milking stool so just right for a country bouquet.

To some, chairs and flowers may seem arbitrary but I loved the idea and was delighted by the images I discovered in no time at all. Simple things can bring such pleasure. 

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(Images: All Style Me Pretty - 1, 2, 3 & 4)

Great advice for a new week

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(Image: Shabby Blogs)

The absolute must-have accessory

You can't pick up a fashion magazine without being told that the right accessory can bring any item in your wardrobe right up-to-date. It seems to me there is one accessory that these days no one should be without - an accessory that's always in fashion, that marks you out as someone with imagination and style, but more importantly a conscience, heart and soul.

That accessory is a shopper. Plastic bags - any bag that a store gives you - are way out of fashion. I can't believe there are still stores that give them out and still shoppers who use them.

I've just been browsing some favourite websites and found a great choice of fun, statement-making and even patriotic, if you happen to be English, shoppers for inspiration.

I hope you already have one (or, like me, two or three). If you don't, I hope you'll get one (or two...). And don't leave home without it.

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(Images: 1 & 4 - Catherine Colebrook 2,3 & 5 Not on the High Street.com, tape generously offered by Pugly Pixel)

A special detail to end the week

It's just a sign for a ballet school. No need for anything special - the signboard says it all.

But why oh why settle for ordinary and functional? Why, when with a little thought, some time and imagination a mere sign can be transformed as this one has.

The ballerina soaring up into the sky captured my attention, made me stop, stare and wonder. And as I walked away with a happier, lighter step made me want to sign up.

It's special details, taking time and care, never settling for ordinary that make life better.

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(Image: PPT)

Hat envy

I'm not typically a hat fan. People often just look slightly ridiculous in hats. But I do love a wide-brimmed, floppy sunhat, so perhaps that's why I love this hat - seen yesterday at Royal Ascot.

Wide-brimmed heaven and floppiness galore! I also love love love the hydrangea and the way it and the bow look as if they're floating. I'd love to try this on...but I'd probably look ridiculous.

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(Image: Telegraph)

Secret gardens

Can't resisit a little more on the subject of special, hideaway places at home. Who isn't tempted by a secret garden? A place to get lost among trees and flowers, with birds and butterflies for company. And a few special people too.

Imagine a perfect day.

It starts with a pre-brunch stroll under the arbour...


























Then you follow a hydrangea-lined path to brunch in your vintage greenhouse...

A late-afternoon snooze in the sunshine...

The day ends with dinner hidden among the trees...

When can you come over?

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(Images: Architectural Digest, l'elegance du herisson, The Secret Garden, Sandy Koepke Interior Design)

Believe in magic

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(Image: Shabby blogs)

A special detail to end the week

It's often the smallest, sometimes overlooked, often not crucial detail that makes something special - be it a table setting, an accessory, the colour of a door. I'm always considering and too often staring at small details that take my fancy and make something interesting for me.

I love this image. It's just paint brushes in pots. But one pot, with its delicately-painted garland, hints of pink and yellow and the rough gluing of the cracked piece, makes this image. 

These details turn simple paint brushes into a still life worthy, I thought, of saving and using for inspiration for how I display things in my home.

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(Image: Jordi Canosa)

Escaping at home

I love the idea of a small space somewhere at home whose main purpose isn't wrapped up in cooking, eating, sleeping, watching or all the doing that goes on at home. A place that's more for just enjoying and being. Maybe it's a place that's just for you. Maybe you share it with others. Either way it's somewhere to escape to - for thinking, reading, hiding, plotting and planning, or all of those with someone special as well as chatting, laughing, tea-drinking, reminiscing and debating.

I've been thinking about spaces and how to use them a lot recently as we're house hunting. These are some of the special spots, which look perfect to escape to, that I've found online.

A view, lots of cushions and it's tea time...

Cozy, sunlit and flowers on the table...

 

My favourite because it's a real nook in the snug sense of the word, it's surrounded by books and the view is, I think, of Paris...



A shady spot in a courtyard...

Most of the spaces I've chosen involve a view or being outdoors and books are an important feature. Clearly some of my must-haves. Could I re-create a space like one of these in a new home somewhere?

And here is one just for fun - we should always be dreaming after all.

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(Images: Perfect Hideaways, Architectural Digest, Unknown, Samode Hotels, Architectural Digest)