Gatsby Fever!

Hi everyone, and thank you all for your comments.  Welcome to new followers, thank you for joining me!

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The new Gatsby film is out with mixed reviews it seems and while it remains to be seen whether this new film will outshine previous versions, whichever way you look at it, Gatsby fever seems to have taken over.  There's an opulence and decadence to Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby that is both enthralling and disturbing.  The 1920s fashions are absolutely gorgeous and the decor dripping with great art deco pieces.  Personally I can't wait to see the movie, just so I can catch a glimpse of the interiors!

Art Deco originated in France during the 1920s, and it was Le Corbusier who penned the term in a 1925 exhibition... it then became very popular  internationally, the USA really embraced the art deco style which is evident in so many of their buildings.  Due to world war II austerity measures, its popularity declined.  Art deco design is characterised by bold geometric shapes, rich colour and extravagant ornamentation all of which the film has in bucket loads!

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Jay Gatsby's glamourous ballroom

The Buchanan's sitting room - a mixture of European Art Deco and Regency pieces

Gatsby's stunning Art Deco bedroom

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21st century's interpretation of flapper chic

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Do you like Art Deco design, could you live in a home decorated in this style and are you going to see the film?

Until next time
Sharon
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Shelving

Hi everyone, hope you're having a great week!

I just wish the weather would remember it's supposed to be spring...

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I spent some of the weekend pruning my lavender bushes of old dry stalks.  I know I've left it really late, but better late than never.  The stems have gone all woody so I'm thinking after summer I'll pull them out and plant new lavender or even white ice berg roses, which are my favourite flower!

I've also been looking for a bookcase for one of my walls.  My books are multiplying as I type and I've no more shelving left.  I usually like to look in charity stores and Ebay first and then if I can't find what I'm looking for then I'll go hunting online.  

At the moment I've got books under console tables trying to look ever so chic, but I'm not loving the look at all.  I need a bookcase!

As you can see I like the slightly dishevelled casual look, nothing too uptight and neat!

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Ikea

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Have a happy week!

Sharon

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Eye can see you...

Hi everyone, did you all enjoy the bank holiday weekend?

  Monday was the most beautiful sunny day!

I've had a couple of really good cycle rides lately.  There's nothing quite like feeling the wind in your hair and smelling the sea breeze as you ride along, pure bliss!  My aching muscles are testimony of my eagerness to cycle thrice weekly, if not daily!  Nothing too strenuous mind, just enough to get my heart racing and thighs stinging!

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On a trip to Malaga a few years ago, I bought this lovely little card from the Picasso museum.  I knew at the time it would look great framed, but it lay in my card drawer unnoticed until I came across it recently and decided it was time for him to go up on the wall.  I found an Ikea frame with a mount board the exact size of the card.  He's intense, I can tell you that...his stare seems to follow you around the room, but I love that about Picasso...

Art doesn't have to be expensive to be effective.  A stunning card can be framed and made to look like an original drawing or painting.

Have a great week!

Sharon

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A Sunny spot

Happy Monday everyone!

 Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Sunshine came to grace our shores but the wind was still chilly. 

My favourite time of day is early morning when everyone else is still sleeping or enjoying a lie in after a hectic week.  The roads are quiet, and the promenade peaceful and empty. A brisk walk along a pebbled beach and a lunch with loved ones is a great way to end a busy week.

My mind is on warmer weather, BBQs, picnics, sunning in the garden, lazy days spent lounging at the beach and bike rides in warm wind.  However small your garden, they can be transformed by the power of plants, seating, cushions and even rugs.  Dare to take your dining table outside and have lunch under the sun.  

A tiny balcony garden

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bright and bold

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a cosy corner

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plenty of shade and lush foliage

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Have a great week!

Sharon

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Flowers everywhere

We woke up to a thick mist and fog horns blaring in the distance and I'm making excuses not to go for a cycle.  I've yet to take my first ride this Spring, blaming the weather for my reluctance.

So today I'm indoors and I can't wait to share my latest buy with you all.  

Some people love them, others would be mortified to use them in their home.  I LOVE them and always have, especially when they are superior quality!

  

Remember this pic?  

I bought it online from Abigail Ahern Interiors   here  Such stunning faux flowers are hard to come across, called the Chanel of Faux Flowers you cannot go wrong with any of her amazing flowers (and no I did not get sponsored to say that!)  For years I've been a friend of faux blooms, but never before have they looked quite so real as they do now. These blooms are in a completely different class to those I've come across in the past and don't you just love the vase?

(my iphone pics so please forgive the quality)

So what do you think?

Have you changed your mind about Faux blooms?

I bet you have!

Have a lovely day!

Sharon

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Dark versus light

I'm so happy the sun is finally shining and it's getting warmer, which means bicycle weather for me and beach rides yay!

For a while now I've been inspired by dark interiors, but I'm equally drawn to the vibrant colours in Jonathan Adler's interiors.  In the 1990s I painted a very large lounge in mediterranean blue, which was quite a dark blue grey, on the swatches it looked really good but on the walls the corners of the room disappeared and it made me feel really  depressed, and I felt the colour oppressive almost, so within weeks I painted it all out, a beautiful (at the time!) buttery yellow and instantly I felt uplifted and happy.  I realised then that the colours I live with affect me in a BIG way.  For years I didn't go near dark colours, because I knew it would make me feel down.  In 2011 I painted my hallway the equivalent of F&B railings, and I instantly loved it! (It might also be that most people do not live in hallways!)   So now I'm ready to take the plunge in another room...but that the moment, the tin of paint remains unopened...

I've been dreaming of interiors like these...

Does colour influence your mood, could you live in a dark home or do you prefer light and airy?

Hoping your week is a great one!

Sharon

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Are they for real?

Hi everyone, did you have a good weekend?

What happened to our sunshine the weatherman promised us?

Flowers are an instant pick me up in my books, they lighten and brighten a room and bring a little bit of spring inside, even though it's dull grey and wet outside!

This week I went to Ikea for a walkabout.   I was on my own and had time to spend wandering around.   Now Ikea's faux flowers are not what you would call amazing faux...quite the opposite in fact but sometimes in among some really bad imitations, you come across something that looks like it was growing in a garden a few minutes before...I found some really good looking chrysanthemums which were just the right shade of red and orange and as I bunched them together I knew they would make a great little posy after I had cut them down to size.  There is nothing more beautiful than fresh scented flowers, but these looked too good to leave, so they came home with me and the best thing is they will last longer than a week!

Have a great week!

Sharon