Colour the world...

Colour Schemes…Inspiration is everywhere! In nature, food, clothes and buildings:

And there are so many ways to use colour to make a room/space/wedding reception have the atmosphere you want it to have. Through rhythm and repetition of just three key colours you can effortlessly make a room tie together and give a feeling of harmony, if your subtle about it people will know it feels harmonious but won’t even know why!

When I think about a colour scheme for our wedding I need to make it fit with the venue. As we are dining in an old stone barn the colours need to work, for example a chic monochromatic mix of black and white wouldn’t fit - the palette needs to be quirky, rustic and bright.

I’m always on the look out for inspiration and recently I’ve loved the idea of peacock feathers.

maybe a bit much???

The combination of teal, deep purple and burnt orange is the perfect mix of earthy and bright. The deeper colours could be used as background i.e. table runners, bunting and place cards/menus; whilst the burnt orange can be mixed with acid orange and spread across the room intermittently providing hot accents throughout. Orange is a perfect colour for the big flower arrangements as it is warm and intimate and will create a cosy country feel.

Another colour palette that caught my eye recently is based on fruit- namely blueberries, raspberries and strawberries – giving a scheme of navy, red and cream.

The very thought of these berries makes you feel homely and natural. I love that they tie in well with the farm venue but also make me think of a cheeky nautical theme- a nod to the seaside town of North Berwick where I’m from. I love the idea of incorporating fruit, nuts, leaves and anything slightly unexpected in the table centre pieces and using the berries across the reception will also create a rhythm and tie things in together. Asparagus anyone??

To keep the theme rustic and to shy away from anything to prissy or perfect I think it’s important to employ a little ‘shabby chic’ and spread around some hessian, wood and lots of different coloured glass jars/jugs/vessels.

Mismatch is the new black.

Love Alice xx

Wedding Decor Fever...Lighting

Well it has been many months since my last blog...this may be because I have become engaged and am too obsessed with researching weddings!

I thought it was about time for me to put down some of my thoughts and share my random ideas for the interior décor for the reception…

SO FIRST UP- LIGHTING!

I’m thinking along the lines of a rustic barn wedding- i.e. fairy lights, candles, old tins/jars and loads of flowers. I want the theme to be vintage, quirky and above all relaxed – nothing too stuffy. The sort of things catching my eye are these gorgeous receptions:

Lighting is paramount. I love the use of low level lighting and candle light to create ambiance- fairy lights make for such a romantic, warm atmosphere. I’ve stumbled across these awesome light bulbs hung sans lamp shade hung at different heights- they’re so original and eye catching.

I want to fill the tables with candles – displayed in jars of all shaped and sizes, vintage tea cups- I especially love candles displayed on mirrors, the reflection is mesmerising.

Candles and leaves/berries curtesy of ‘Planet Flowers’ in Edinburgh!

As the reception will be an evening event in the late UK summer it would be nice to be able to incorporate some natural lighting too…it would be beautiful to find a venue like this:

The shafts of natural light shining in create texture and interest by crafting angled shadows. If you were using a marquee you could tie up the sides to let the sunlight in, if you wanted to play with the light you could hire some wooden folding screens that had patterns cut out and place them in West facing open wall to let the sunset break through and create patterns on the floor.

 Love this natural room divider!

It is important to remember not to leave the lighting too sparse though, a good balance between intimate lighting and the room being too dark is essential. You don’t want the guests unable to see their food! Task lighting at the table will allow for easy conversation/eating during the dinner which you could always dim post dinner to rev up the romance!

Well that about wraps up my lighting inspiration for now, I’ll try and cover a new aspect of wedding interiors every few weeks from now on! I’ve certainly done the research haha!

Love Alice xx

Print Project:

Apologies for lengthy silence- my trip home and all its excitements switched up my schedule a little! I had a fantastic time though- there’s no place like home…

• Friends, family and a few too many beverages – check.
• Glorious scenery, open hills and “The month of Augusts’ entire predicted rainfall in 2 days”- check.

Bless you Scotland.

So I became inspired whilst home to get creative…I found a little book on hand-printing techniques and seeing as I’m working on textiles at the moment I felt like trying out some patterns/prints. As I didn’t have the time to rush out and buy all the necessary inks and sponges I reached for the old faithful- Mr Potato. How very Primary 5…

I had a few blank canvases and decided to print a child like image that toyed with the theme of ‘Migration’ – I guess I was thinking about my own situation living so far from home in Aus!

I cut a few potatoes in half and etched out some simple patterns- obviously can’t get to intricate on these tats.

 Then it got messy...

My clouds had string added in a criss-cross pattern to add texture:

Et voila, "Migration":

 And i was having fun so i kept going a little!

Love it or hate it – it’s a lot of fun and you should try it yourself!

I’m looking to go on a proper printing course soon, more to do with fabrics, upholstery etc but this is a start!

I was also motivated into project-mode whilst I was back home by the very tartan fabric I spoke of in my last blog! Some left over material that had been used to upholster a chair in the in-laws renovation of ‘Denmuir Arches’ (a gorgeous natural green) was crying out to be used. As the renovation is primarily for a luxury holiday let I felt it needed some leaflets/maps/info on the gorgeous surrounding areas and, of course, a stylish book/folder to present them! I knew I’d use that material somehow:

Anyway I best be off, I’m supposed to be writing essays for my latest assignment on curtain weight fabric…a little hard to get started sometimes!

Love Alice xx

PS Has anyone else done any printing classes?



Tartan textiles...

Well i am very excited today because I am going back home to bonny Scotland to visit my friends and family whom I haven't seen for a year! There's going to be lots going on so there'll be a distinct lack of bloggage for a few weeks, just giving you a heads up!

I'm researching fabrics, textiles etc at the moment and have rediscovered my love for wool, flannel and felt for upholstery, rugs, throws etc...I have a special soft spot for tartan wools, can you tell i'm homesick!? This is close to my heart- the Dress Campbell tartan in soft lambswool....I love the blues and greens with a simple streak if yellow accent...

My love for grey in a room - which is then punctuated with bright splashes of colour in the form of accessories - means I like to use basic furniture which i can 'dress-up'. This means the space can always be kept vibrant and has room to change through new accessorizing and colours whilst maintaining the basics. I love a wool base for upholstery, it withstands daily use well and can be soft/perfect to relax into... for example this beautiful grey wool armchair gives a sophisticated but also relaxed/country feel to a room:

Teamed with a splash of colour from a bright silk thai pillowcase would give a nice contrast in texture and colour...

Or instead of contrasting - using a beautiful soft woollen rug or throw to add colour and cosiness brings back thoughts of a warm farmhouse living room:

I especially love the injection of aqua marine blue into the grey, adding a coolth to the soft/warm texture...

I cannot wait to head home and wrap myself up in a gorgeous throw infront of the fire (even thogh it is Summer in Scotland this could still be potentially neccessary!!)

There's certainly no room for woollen rugs in the Aussie hot hot heat!

Well I'm off to finish packing,

Have a lovely 2 weeks!

Alice xx

Centre of attention...

"Table Centre pieces"

I hosted a Mexican themed dinner this weekend for some friends and as well as putting on a spread of Mexican inspired dishes/drinks- (nachos, chilli con carne tacos, vegetable/cabbage salads and of course magaritas!!) - I wanted to get a bit of a Mexican atmosphere in our dining area to try and bring it all together.

I didn't have much time to go all out but I decided upon a sombrero as my perfect 'table centerpiece' and jazzed it up a little by using vibrant, colourful foods- chilli's especially inspire thoughts of Mexico, spice and heat! I wished I had time to get a proper Mexican rug/tablecloth as I love those classic striped materials that are so well recognised and just provide a colour explosion that would energise any table setting...like so:

But as a last mintue thing Iwas still pleased with what I produced

 (even if my tablecloth is Asian inspired... red/green=Mexico??)

So then I got to thinking about place settings, table centrepieces and possibilities for other themed dinners, intimate dinners, vintage inspired parties and even weddings as it is always something I take note of and see as an important factor to creating the atmosphere you want...

For example a romantic Italian dinner - good wine, antipasto, rich pastas and all enjoyed over an entire evening - the Italian's really like to taste their food, eat and drink slowly- and dinners will last hours. So thoughts if intamacy, warmth and ambiance spring to mind- I love used wine bottles as makeshift candle holders, clustered together. Red and white candles - and as the wax drips down it builds up in a beautiful textured pattern- when one candle runs out it can be nice to replace it with a different coloured candle making the wax droplets mix and adding more layers/interest...

Check out these fun 'faux cork' candles- they'll provide a bit of an illusion/talking point but by all accounts will only burn for 1-2 hours as they are quite short...pros and cons!
I'm sure you can find these in many places but I spottd some at http://www.beau-coup.com/

Asian inspired dinner parties can be simple, monochromatic and classy; or rich, colourful and lavish. A silk table runner is well recognised and easy to make if you don't want to buy one- choose your favourite material from a habidashery (take measurements of your table before you go! You want it to hang around 20-30cm off the end of your table), choose a matching or contrasting ribbon to stich around the edges to prevent fraying and a bold tassel for either end (which helps weigh the cloth down - curtain tassels are big and eye catching)...you could cut the ends of the material to a classic 'point' or leave then square and use a 'fringe' instead of a 'tassel'- choices are endless!

To draw the eye to the centre and create a focal point beautiful Asian flowers floating in a bowl of water amongst floating candles is an easy, classy and topical way to decorate the table. You can choose pale flowers with a big white lily as the central flowers or go multi coloured- up to you!

A gorgeous idea for an African theme was used at a charity ball I went to last year to raise money for a non profit organisation called 'Farm Africa' http://www.farmafrica.org.uk/ (they also have a facebook page) The charity provides education and training for rural farmers in poverty stricken areas of Africa so they can improve the ways they manage their crops, livestock and access to water- working their own way out of poverty.

Amongst animal print and lots of wooden and woven decor there were stunning hand carved, solid wood, animal shaped napkin holders:

Coming away from themed dinners I also love vintage or recycled centre pieces such as flowers and candles in jam jars, old tins and boxes- try stamping your own originality on them with ribbons, glued on sequins and buttons, or with glass paint....arranging them in a cluster with wild flowers spilling out over the edges is such a pretty, rustic way to decorate a table:

Well I could go onto place settings and name tags...but I don't want to be here all day and i don't want to bore you! Hope this is inspirational in some way and next time you have people over for dinner you dress up your table as well as yourself ;)

Has anyone any other centre pieces they find easy/fun to make and look beautiful too?? Please comment away!

Love Alice xx