What an amazing weekend! Perfect weather for an impromptu opportunity to take to the skies for a helicopter flight over Sussex. Talk about a different perspective on homes…it was just incredible. Hope the sun shone where you live and that you’d a super time too.
Welcome to Linda Cassidy and to Swedish Style – MW Antiques – thank you for your kind words and likes on Facebook. Also, thanks to @theRandomLights and @The Lady Builder for the Twitter follows.
OK, so it’s nearly the start of a long weekend and the Friday feeling is definitely kicking in here.
In fact, it started earlier this morning when I popped in to see a homeowner and received a huge ‘smile’ from – their Dalmatian! I’d never realised that this breed was partial to baring teeth in a smiley way – slightly disconcerting for the uninitiated but, I’m reliable assured, it’s the sign of a warm welcome.
Final home feature for this week nearly finished and meetings with business folk and architects done and dusted. Time to kick back, chill out and indulge my own passion for interiors by sussing out the next stage of the bedroom makeover project.
Many thanks to Katie Hatton, Martin Brown, Penny SB and Indu Garg plus E-Side, Beautiful Home Furniture, Alternative Flooring and Gant’s Property Maintenance for the Facebook likes.
Also thanks for the new Twitter follows from @AddisHome @OAndDFineArt and @alsohome.
Have fun!
![northern-irish-travel-art-poster-portrush-county-antrim-sea-and-white-rocks-beach-ireland-66-p[ekm]288x201[ekm]-1](https://janetmcmeekin.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/northern-irish-travel-art-poster-portrush-county-antrim-sea-and-white-rocks-beach-ireland-66-pekm288x201ekm-1.jpg)
Delighted to hear this nostalgic poster of the Antrim Coast is now framed and all ready to be hung in a much-loved home in Northern Ireland.
I first discovered Travel Posters Online a couple of months ago while out in Kent on a shoot for Real Homes. A poster of a Devon beach took pride of place in Penny Jackson’s spacious new kitchen. Thanks for that Penny!
While researching the company for the magazine’s stockist panel, I couldn’t resist browsing the wonderful range of old travel posters and this one of Portrush – a favourite childhood holiday destination.
Every year, as we rounded the corner and spotted this view of Portrush with its rolling waves and golden sands, a squeal of delight was followed by the whole family breaking into an enthusiastic chorus of ‘We’re all going on a summer holiday’.
Halcyon days…very happy memories of simple pleasures including donkey rides along the beach, building sandcastles, thrills at Barry’s Amusements (featured recently in James Nesbitt’s Ireland TV series) and a delicious Morelli’s ice cream treat.
I reckoned my Dad would love this poster as a birthday present and, thankfully, he’s thrilled with it.
Travel Posters Online is currently running a competition on their Facebook page with a chance to win two of their lovely retro-feel posters. Click here to visit.
Photograph: Dunluce Castle – just one of many spectacular places to visit on the Antrim Coast
If it’s drizzly where you are too, feast your eyes on this shot to lift the spirits on a Monday morning. Surely, this proves once and for all that grey doesn’t have to be boring – the trick is choosing the right shade – always interesting! I’ve heard so many tales of how homeowners get this delicate subject so right…and, so wrong.
Busy week ahead here filing copy, finalising features, following homes and firming up on a wonderful new project that’s just been confirmed. Exciting times!
Happy Monday all and thanks to everyone for the Twitter and Facebook support – great to be in contact with you. 🙂
OK – it’s time to spill the beans. My home is about to undergo a radical transformation!
For the last couple of days, when I haven’t been at my Mac or out interviewing, I’ve been glancing around the house, furtively eyeing up ‘likely suspect’ pieces of furniture with a view to giving them a whole new look.
Yep, I’ll admit it…after just four hours on a wonderfully inspiring Introduction to Painting Furniture course, I am a changed woman and can’t wait to buy my paint and wax to join the Annie Sloan revolution.
The course, at Caroline Ivory’s fabulous home accessories shop Ivory & Pitch in Westbourne, Hampshire, wasn’t just very professionally run, informative and totally inspiring but also really great fun – the other six ladies and I had such a laugh.
Finally, after interviewing Annie Sloan eons ago while working in Oxford, I had a chance to try out her much-lauded range of chalky paints and was chuffed to bits with both my progress and the results.
Caroline’s enthusiasm for Annie’s paints is contagious and definitely enthused the group. Right from the start, there really was no holding this chatty bunch of have-a-go ladies back. Within a very short space of time, we went from tentatively dabbing with the thick paint and spreading it cautiously onto our sample piece of wood, to confidently brushing away merrily, while supportively admiring each other’s efforts.
Buoyed up by a delicious lunch (including a rather marvellous slice of homemade Dutch Apple Cake!), we couldn’t wait to get stuck in again and practise our new-found skills, even tackling a bit of waxing and sandpapering.
By the end of the session, everyone was itching to sign up for the Annie Sloan Advanced Technique course and there was talk of painting beams, floorboards, tables, chairs – basically anything that didn’t move. Husbands, partners and other family members beware – I reckon you shouldn’t stay too still this weekend or you just may find yourself daubed with a dollop of Annie Sloan Greek Blue, Emperor’s Silk or Scandinavian Pink!
Yippee! Just heading out to the fabulous Ivory & Pitch homewares shop in Westbourne, West Sussex, for an Introduction to Painting Furniture workshop, using lovely chalky Annie Sloan paints. Can’t wait!
Photograph courtesy of Ivory & Pitch
Morning. Hope you had a lovely weekend. Busy week ahead with features to write, deadlines to meet and lots of homes to follow.
I’ve been sent lots of fascinating properties over the last few days, including a charming farmhouse that simply oozes character. Here’s a sneak peek at one of the owner’s recce shots. Pretty intriguing, isn’t it? Can’t wait to find out more.
Fabulous to see Michael Palin receiving the prestigious Bafta Fellowship award last night. At risk of sounding like a complete name-dropper (and I’m not – honestly!), I’ve had a bit of a soft spot for this highly acclaimed actor and presenter for years. In fact, due to a bizarre series of events, Michael was one of the first people I ever interviewed. Despite being very new to journalism (I think I was actually still in the process of learning shorthand!), the interview, in a little side room of a Belfast theatre, seemed to go pretty well. Michael was very patient, incredibly funny and came across as a totally genuine, down-to-earth, extremely kind and trustworthy gentleman. Little wonder he received a standing ovation last night…what a star!
Whistle-stop tour of the Old Town in Hastings yesterday.
Thoroughly enjoyed meandering around the fascinating mix of independent shops, bookstores, galleries and boutiques plus a good rummage through numerous antiques shops where I picked up a couple of bargain finds for under a fiver.
Have to say, I could have spent even longer in Made in Hastings – such a wonderful showcase for the talented makers in and around the area and a shop that often crops up in my interiors features. I hadn’t visited for a few years and was thrilled to discover that it’s still a bustling hotspot with a diverse range of timeless arts and crafts from beautiful hand-bound notebooks, colourful hand-printed textiles and so much more.
Morning. Hope you’d a good weekend. Phew…super one here, including a little progress on our latest bedroom makeover, now dubbed ‘Fifty Shades of Green’.
After much deliberation over the exact shades, the tongue-and-groove panelling and walls have been now painted and these lovely Clay wall lights from Rockett St George (pictured) are in situ and looking great.
Finding the time to track everything down is a bit of a challenge while juggling work, family and life (!) but it’s all coming together – slowly but surely.
Over the years, I’ve found that these projects are so much more rewarding when you take the time to source just the right products instead of simply rushing out and buying on impulse. Mind you, I don’t know whether my husband would necessarily agree! 🙂
So many decisions still to make but I’m really enjoying it! Just wish there were more hours in the day. Now…on with the next feature. Have a great day and, if you’re working on a room makeover, drop me a line or a photograph. I’d love to hear all about it.
Heading to this stunning coastal location today to interview a creative homeowner for a forthcoming feature in Good Homes magazine. What an excellent end to another wonderful week crammed full of gorgeous houses! Hope you all have a lovely weekend. 🙂