The good side of Pink: Shocking

I probably would have fought this idea a decade or so back but I have come to the realisation that every girl truly does have a soft spot for pink. For some, any shade is fine but for me it has to be either end of the spectrum, a true, light, feminine baby pink or a super bright, hot, Shocking Pink!

At one point in time this tone would have shocked [hence the name, named after the pink lettering used on the Leonor Fini perfume ‘Shocking’ in 1937] and certainly now I still think it raises eyebrows but I think it’s for all the right reasons. A little or a lot of Shocking pink in your interior or even in your fashion shows a bold lust for life and seriously does it not make you smile?

A great pink colour combo, indigo blue + shocking pink

Real Living Magazine Cover 2012, Love this dyed, gradated quilt and that canvas, yes please!

This is hands down my favourite pink colour combo, works every time, shocking pink + tangerine. This is just too cute!

Just a little adds a punch!

Kelly Wearstler Interior, where was your eye drawn to straight away?

This interior image has a bit of a trick to it I think, first time you look you think the pink chaise is the statement in the sea of white then you look closely and the detail is fabulous! The graffiti artwork in the dining, the black piping around the footstool, the floral upholstered lounge, the deep buttoning, love it!

Now that looks fluffy and inviting!

Not crash on the gloss white woodwork but love the obvious tie to the rug.

When you start looking there are a million and one ways to incorporate a little Shocking Pink into your home and make a true statement! For more ideas visit my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/the-good-side-shockng-pink/

New Collections: Sanderson

We all know Sanderson, the traditionally English fabric house renowned for its linens, printed floral chintz linens that is, people still to this day request Sanderson linen when having there sofa’s re-upholstered ‘do you have any Sanderson Linens,  I had this sofa upholstered in Sanderson linen 20 years ago now and look how good it is”.

No longer is Sanderson only the home of printed chintz, the company originally started in 1860 manufacturing wallpaper is now an internationally recognised fabric, wallpaper, paint, bed linen and tableware company. There latest collection ‘Colour for Living’ is fun, vibrant and youthful with modern takes on traditional floral and a unique combination of patterns and colour that could cater for myself as a nearly 30 year old or no doubt by mother or grandmother.  I suppose that sort of talent in catering for the majority comes from over 150 years in the industry!

Sanderson Rainforest I love this colour pop!

I love it! Dramatic and pow and true to the collection name 'Colour for Living'

Sanderson Calico Ducks - too cute!

Sanderson Block Leaf

Sanderson Ooti - My Favourite! Also looks great in the pink.



Sanderson St Ives

There's Ooti! Looks great doesn't it!

Sanderson Bellflower, looks great in all colourways!

Sanderson Deer Park - too cute!

To view this collection in use in interiors and previous Sanderson collections, visit my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/designer-sanderson/

A little birdy told me....

Have we always liked birds? I don’t know what has happened, maybe it’s like when you buy a particular car and then you see that car everywhere, maybe I have gotten on the bird bandwagon and now I see them everywhere? I don’t know, I have loved birds for ages but I don’t think I have ever noticed as many fabrics on the market featuring these beautiful little creatures as I do now. Maybe it’s their beautiful colour spectrum that we are drawn to or maybe it’s that flighty ‘I can fly away anytime I like’ thing that draws us to them. Either way birds are featured on textiles in every colour spectrum and in just about every species and add an elegant, whimsical touch to interiors.



You already know I am a sucker for a matching wallpaper and fabric, isn't this colour punch spectacular! And the gorgeous birds a little surprise for the one who takes a closer look.

 


Michael Miller Fabric, Design Wing Song - stunning colour!

Katie Leede Interior

Nina Campbell Perroquet





Stunning detail in the Robert Allen Etched Aviary

Thibaut matched upholstery and wallpaper. This has me thinking, do I love the bird or the birdcage more?

Dining Chairs featuring Robert Allen Vintage Plumes fabric.



Michael Miller Wing Study

Nina Campbell Paradiso

Zoffany, chinoiserie inspired bird print on silk drape - stunning with the duck egg upholstery!

For more ideas on how to incorporate birds or birdcage embellished fabrics and wallpapers into your home, check out my Pinterest page http://pinterest.com/bobbinscissors/style-a-little-birdy/



'You know that chair on Revenge......'

If you have no idea what I am talking about when I say ‘that chair on Revenge’ well you have been living under a rock just as I have been, till now. The first time, and I say the first time because I have been asked way more than just once, I had no idea what anyone was talking about. Having looked into it, turns out that this chair has created quite some conversation not only for its size and scale but for its fabric.

Now this isn’t my cup of tea but with all the references I have had to it and the number of local retailers importing similar chairs I thought it might be a good idea to have a look at what other handwriting fabrics are on the market, just to stay on trend!

Waverly Pen Pal Fabric

Michael Miller Antiquity Old Script

Hertex Il Scripto

Michael Miller Memoir

A different twist ans much more down my alley! Andrew Martin America

Robert Allen Love Notes

Monday's Lesson: Silk 101

I feel as though my Monday Lesson 101’s are a little few and far between so to get back into the swing of it, tonight is a big one on my favourite raw material, silk!

I don’t know if I was sick or just don’t remember the week at school that I think every kid is meant to have, where you go in search of a mulberry tree, steal the leaves and shove them in a box with some worms and that is supposed to teach you about evolution and the making of silk? It doesn’t resinate with me so I thought we should start right from the beginning just in case you missed that week in primary school too!

Silkworm Eating Trays

Silkworms seperated ready to make their cocoon. 

Silkworm cocoons.

Cocoons are boiled to soften the thread and remove the gum like mucus as well as kill the remaining worm/moth. 

The softened cocoons are then pulled into a twine.

The twine is then cleaned and bleached ready for dying.

Spinning wheels are used to pull the silk twine thinner into a shinny thread ready for weaving.

  Silk bobbins.

Silk being woven onto the loom.

Weaving process. All silk making images courtesy of designboom.com

It’s a long process with supposedly very simple beginnings. Supposedly discovered in 3000 BC by the Chinese empress Hsi Ling Shi who when one day enjoying her tea under a Mulberry tree had a cocoon fall into her cup, noticed that the cocoon unwound with the heat, and upon pulling the cocoon out of the cup noticed it formed a thread, the rest is history!

Thought to be a delicate fibre due to its origins, silk is surprisingly strong and can be used in upholstery, accessories and drapery. Used as a plain fabric or as a base cloth for delicate embroidery or printing or as a thread to make silk velvet [the most sensational, luminous, fragile velvet], silk provides an interesting textural addition to interiors due to its slubs [a natural characteristic caused by the joining of the threads]. An important note to remember through is that direct sunlight will deteriorate silk thread so always consider lining silk drapes and using in areas that are not flooded by natural light.

Stunning striped silk upholstery on what looks to be feather/fibre fill cushion, good choice!

Nina Campbell Farfalla Embroidered Silk

The most stunning navy raw silk drapes, I love the volume!

Again all that volume, silk drapes almost have a crunch to them.

Lorca Painted Silk Radjada

Super cute silk upholstered occasional chair, see the slubs and the natural colour variation.

Designers Guild NEW Jacaranda painted Silk in colour Willow

Absolutely stunning bedroom, the wallaper and that bamboo steel bedframe! Love the complement in the coral pink silk bedspread and cushions.

Designers Guild NEW Mararhi painted silk in colour Ocean.

There is that crunch again!

And just to add to your appreciation of silk the last little tid bit, each cocoon can produce anywhere from 300-900 meters of thread, each cocoon!