My London antiques market trail...!

I bought a fab book the other day - The London Market Guide and I just can't put it down! So I thought I would plan out a week at London antiques markets... there are so many that you can visit one every day! Some are only on on certain days, so I know I for one will find this useful to look up if I ever happen to have a free Tuesday afternoon and want to hit a market...!

Monday - Covent Garden
I never realised there was an antiques day at Covent Garden! stall holders include Malcolms Musical Emporium.

and Covent Garden Bottles

Tuesday - Alfies Antique Market - closest tube: Marylebone - Open Tues-Sat. Another one I have to admit I am yet to visit, but have a plan to go this weekend, and I am just TOO excited!




Wednesday - Camden Passage - closest tube: Angel - Open: Wed & Sat.
This is one of my favourites, and although I have only ever visited on a Sat even then it is not too busy and you can stroll around & browse leisurely... be sure to explore every nook and corner as there lots of gems to be found!


Thursday - Greenwich Market - There are 3 parts to Greenwich market, and a browse round the the Village market used to be my favourite weekend pastime, until they recently closed it down to make way for another development of offices or apartments.... I am absolutely gutted, but apparantely one of the remaning parts of the market sells antiques and collectables on a Thursday, so all is not lost. Also on the weekends, the part of the market next to the cinema is worth a look.... I picked up my clock from here for £15.

flickr

Friday - Bermondsey Market - 4am - 1pm - you have to be up early for this one! This is another I plan to visit very soon, it is quite near me so I am ashamed to say I have not made it there yet!
The area has been given a bit of a revamp but luckily the market has stayed put, and it a weekly haunt for serious antiques dealers.

Virtual Tourist

Saturday - Portobello Market - no market trail would be complete without a visit to Portobello! Yes, it is a bit crazy on a Saturday, but it has a great buzz, and you can literally spend all day rooting through things and exploring. I do find it slightly more expensive than some of the others so be sure to be pushy and haggle!

flickr

flickr

Sunday - Columbia Road/Brick Lane - surprisingly a relatively quiet day for antique markets... but Columbia Road flower market is such a great day out, and is lined with some lovely little shops and a few stalls are lurking around too.

flickr

So if you are in London, you will know there is always somewhere to go in search of some treasures!

xxx

hallway happiness...

Today i came across a really inspiring image of a hallway on the seventy tree blog... this part of the house often gets neglected and forgotton, but I think I really want mine to have impact... although being long and thin I was worried how to do this, but this image has restored confidence! It is still light and bright without being boring plain white... love it.

although... in the same breath, as much as I love it, I'm not sure if I could live with it every day, especially if I had a bit of a headache! I think perhaps it would need to be slightly more calming to welcome me home every day!

housetohome

Living Etc

Living Etc

Living Etc

Notebook Magazine

stunning shots by Sussie Bell

As I mentioned in a previous post I wanted to give a nod to some of the great interiors photographers I have come across...

These are a few images from the work of Sussie Bell....

all pics ©Sussie Bell

xxx

'sew' sweet!

I just came across this pic of a beautiful sewing/craft room... it is so colourful and organised! If I ever had a sewing room I would want it to look this, but know I could never keep it this tidy!! :)

flickr

The owner is a talented childrens illustrator called Jenny - she also has a delightful blog.... and an etsy shop.

And her studio is so sweet! .....


These gorgeous things have definitely left a smile on my face for the weekend! :)

xxx

a 'flickr' of an idea....

Flickr has been around for a while now, but i think it seems to be one of those social networking sites that seems to be standing the test of time... I think it is great for if I'm going on holiday somewhere I've never been before.... I can go check out some real peoples pics and see what it is really like, rather than your glossed over holiday brochure images....!

(it might not be what you expected.... tee hee!)

flickr

Its also a great source for pics to post on your blog... As a picture editor by trade I am fully aware of copyright issues with photography, and have even asked some of the picture agencies that I use in my work if I can use their pics for free on my blog, and it is a no-go.... but with flickr it seems as long as you link to the photographers page from your blog it is acceptable. I know I would not mind it myself as it means more people get to see my 'stunning' holiday pics! :)

Anyway, getting to the point of this post.... I had an idea of creating a flickr page for Patchwork Harmony and that I could get customers who purchase products from my store to send me a picture of what they have bought in situ of their own home, which I could then add to the flickr page.... I thought it would be really interesting to see how people incorporate the accessories they buy into their own interior....

I would really love to hear what you think? Would you send a pic in of something you'd bought? Or am i being mad?! :)

xxx

lace curtains with a modern twist...

While house hunting recently we noticed how lots of the houses we seen felt overlooked and we talked about how we could remedy this.... with large sash windows you want to let the light in, but don't want you nosy neighbours peering over at you while you read the sunday papers in bed!

Now maybe I'm a bit slow on the uptake here, as Emma Jeffs seems to have had lots of publicity for her work... but I just came across it and think it is a fab concept! Adhesive window coverings that look like lace! So in keeping with a vintage inspired interior but gives you that little bit of privacy! sweet, don't you think?! Check out her website here ...and her blog.

xxx

Style by Selina Lake

I really love the work of interiors stylist Selina Lake, her book Bazaar Style is one of my faves...
I recently came across her flickr page which I could scroll through for ages!

Her style looks so effortless and unique with lots of injections of colour... these shots by talented photographer Debi Treloar are from the Bazaar Style book....

©Ryland Peters & Small

And some of Selina's other work from magazine shoots....




Check out some of the photographers Selina has worked with on these.... I may have to do a separate post for these as their work is gorgeous!

Sussie Bell
David Giles
Andrew Boyd

PS... I couldn't resist posting pics of the lemon cupcakes I made this weekend! I am not really known for my cooking/baking skills... so I am very proud of these! Recipe was in this months Country Living magazine.

xxx

A big thank you! ... and some nice chairs!

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments on my FT article! They really have made my day! and thanks for the posts from some of you who had a mention - Inspiration Bubble
Country Cottage Chic and Cowboys & Custard! Its been so much fun! If you want to see the article it is online here

Keeping on the theme, if you did see the FT today you may have also had a flick through the How to Spend It magazine, It was a Superior Interiors edition.... and what caught my eye was the piece by Lucia van der Post titled Remaking History. She is highlighting the reintroduction of nostalgic charm into furniture design.... and I love that Vitra are now reproducing some of Jean Prouvé's designs - and while still way out of my budget at £510 I do love these chairs...

I will take inspiration from these, and look out for something similar at flea markets and paint them these gorgeous pastels colours! But it is nice to see that modern designers are currently championing craftsmanship and classic design, I don't know about you, but I find some of the really high end, cutting edge design just leaves me cold.....

So, inspired, I'm off to Battersea Car Boot Sale tomorrow to see what I can find! :)

xxx

published in print!

If you happen to be in your local newsagents tomorrow or Sunday I urge you to pick a copy of the FT Weekend newspaper!
Its a fab paper, but its even better this weekend, as I have written an article for the House & Home section about the wonderful world of blogging! In particular design & interiors blogs.
It features various of you lovely bloggers out there and I hope you will enjoy my take on the impact of blogging on our lives.

It will also be online at www.ft.com/arts/house

Would love to hear what you think!

Love Caroline x

Receive a gift... and pay it forward.

I'm a strong believer in karma, what goes around comes around and all that kind of thing, so I loved it when I saw Debbie who writes the Country Heart & Home blog had carried on a 'paying it forward' - its so nice to be nice! So as I was lucky enough to win one of her gifts, I am now giving 3 lucky readers the chance to receive a lovely present from me!


The first 3 people to leave a comment on this post will receive a surprise gift, and all you have to do is then do your own 'pay it forward' post and give a gift to your some of your readers!

xxx