Add tones of Yellow to your interior decor, to create a happy home.

Looking forward to a brighter future… after Living Coral in 2019 and Classic Blue in 2020, PANTONE® introduces Ultimate Gray + Illuminating Yellow into the mix for 2021, perfect to create a happy home!

2021 PANTONE® Colour of the Year is described as ‘A marriage of colour conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting’.

Soft Grey and Yellow Ochre abstract wall art print - 'Nomad Splash Eclipse' - from £25

Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, the union of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of colour that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.

These tones can be found in our very own Nomad collection, active designs evoking travel nostalgia, holiday happiness and inspiring creativity.

SHOP NOMAD HERE

Autumn Home Decor - Hygge & 'The Nature Table'

I asked my Mum, a creative writer like myself, to write a guest blog post about Autumn. Hopefully it will inspire you as it has me, and will allow us all the draw on the positives of an often tough season for many, especially at this time of year. Thanks Mummy!

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Autumn is my favourite season. by Sue Fletcher

"There is something incredibly nostalgic and significant about the annual cascade of autumn leaves." Joe L Wheeler

For me, Autumn, the transition of Summer into Winter, is when the blankets of green are replaced by reds; yellows; burnt orange; copper and gold. It's when the silhouette of a fallen leaf shows more starkly and thus more beautiful, upon the earth.

As a child I was encouraged to forage and collect. Walking home from Primary school every day I  would bring my Mum a wayside flower; sometimes just its head, plucked with plump little fingers from some crevice. One day I took her a stone because, " today there were no flowers"...

In Autumn however the pickings improved, there were acorns, with or without cups; conkers; empty hazelnut pods; spinning jennys and a plethora of fallen leaves. All lovingly curated on the Hall table that became simply ' The Nature Table', where I would deposit the day's offerings. It was a passage of childhood that I tried to encourage in my own daughter.

Image from Pinterest.

There are many unique joys of Autumn. It's a time of preparation where a jar of jam made, and then opened in Winter, bursts with the mellow smells and tastes of the previous season.

I don't mind the shortening of the days too much. It gives me permission to hunker down with a hot cup of something; light the candles; a good book or a notepad, the Ruth Holly notepads and beautiful linen journals prompt that fresh clean start to capturing the new season and if a log fire is thrown in - heaven! It can be a time of reflection and an opportunity to take forward positive lessons learned and the hope of new beginnings.

I like to 're-fresh my home in Autumn - make it more 'hygge-like' and there's an easy way to do this - I introduce throws and I replace Spring/Summer cushions with the more warm and earthy tones of the Ruth Holly Signature range and the Earth and Wholesome designs. When complimented by the warm light of a matching lampshade, the feeling is complete!

"Fall has always been my favourite season, The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if Nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale"

Laren DeStefano

FRENCH FINDINGS

Early May saw me gallivanting around the South of France, mainly to Tournon d’Agenais, visiting my friend who set up a little tea room in Summer 2018.

Tournon-d'Agenais is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. The royal bastide town stands on a steep hillside overlooking the peaceful countryside.

My main aim of my trip to France, (alongside obviously catching up with Jenny), was to take some time out from my busy schedule, slow down, switch off, get my camera out and really observe and report.

I was only in Tournon for a few days, so switching off in such a short time was a challenge. I was fidgety and anxious at times but it really helped that it was outside of tourist season so nothing was open and no-one was about.

Eerie at first, I began to embrace the empty tiny village streets, the old battered windows and doors, the stunning weathered stone facades, and the communal garden with its idyllic setting and beautiful bird song. I slowly allowed myself to just ‘be’ and absorb the scenes and sounds around me.

Here are a few of my finds, they are raw photos, I haven’t done anything to them as they seem to have an error on the file! - so they are in their most real state.

Hope you enjoy! x

As well as my solo wanderings, Jenny managed to get a little bit of time off from her tea duties and so we ventured to Lauzerte. Listed among the most beautiful villages of France, the hilltop village of Lauzerte overlooks the valleys and hills of Quercy Blanc, where we found a seemingly ‘secret’ gallery called Art Points de Vue .

Working with major contemporary artists, the sculptures by Robert Keramsi where hauntingly exquisite, and the ink drawings really evocative.

The weekend was a whistle stop tour but it really inspired me and took me out of my comfort zone. I’m sure these photos will become part of my next creative adventure. I hope you liked them.

au revoir! x

DERELICT DREAMS

A while ago now my partner and I set off on a derelict adventure.

Running your own business means there is often only the smallest of opportunity for creativity, as a lot of the time is hustle and admin. But one clear Sunday we packed our bags, flask, camera, hats, snacks! and set off to North Yorkshire.

I had already planned the places I wanted to visit courtesy of Google, and Richard methodically plotted each destination for maximum coverage and speed.

There were some false starts ( the website I had used was quite old so some of the ‘derelict’ buildings had new shiny built on top), there was lots of driving and much screeching to a halt if either of us spotted a gem that wasn’t on ‘the route’.

All in, it was a beautiful fun day, and I got some really fab shots I’m happy with, and will use in the future.

Here’s a peek!

DESERTED FARM HOUSE - BRAMHAM

WINDOW FRAME CLOSE UP

NATURE WILL PREVAIL

WAREHOUSE HOME

STANDING PROUD

IVY, BRICK & PEELING PAINT

ART_SCAPEtwo

Ready to escape visually into a world of art and design for 5 mins?

Today I'm looking at the work of several artists using a limited colour palette with refreshingly raw, muted tones. Focusing on form and shape, these artists don’t need to use bright colours to attract their audience, the draw is created from texture, simplicity, shape and style.

Miyuki Shiro’s work reminded me of the recent Giuseppe Penone exhibition I visited at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park recently, though his main exhibition was sculpted trees and large scale wood cuttings, he had a few pencil line drawings that would bend the eye and made the viewer really focus on what he/she was looking at. Emil Berild’s ceramics are full of depth and desire, the charcoal burnt textures and tones make his smoke fired pieces dramatic and dangerous. My own work, ‘Wholesome’ - from the Signature collection, features deep and intense colour combos, broken only slightly by a flicker of light.

This is what I love about art; it isn’t obvious, it isn’t something you easily consume, it makes you think, it challenges and inspires, it grabs and grows you and is never EVER dull.

ART_SCAPE

Here is no.1 of a monthly feature called Art_scape. An arty escape for 5 mins to soak creativity up into your eye balls.

I regularly use Pinterest as a source of inspiration and collection, those of you aware of it will know of it's absorbing power. Those not, here is it's strap line - "Pinterest helps you discover and do what you love. Find recipes, style inspiration, projects for your home and other ideas to try. " 

It also allows creatives access to unlimited visual feasting, hours of procrastination and heart wrenching urges to get paints out and just play. 

This month my focus will be to introduce more colour into my life. Over the last few years I have been drawn to muted tones and this has had a strong impact on my designs. They are subtle, understated and beautiful and don't ask for attention.

(Don't tell everyone), but of late I'm enjoying a quiet revival, I have been looking at gathering colour and how to use it, here's what I found;