Art Attack: Black and White Abstract Paintings

First, I just wanted to say thank you for everyone who offered opinions on where I should concentrate my 'efforts' (or wallet, more appropriately) when it came to my living room.  Your comments and opinions were pretty varied which just goes to show there's never any hard and fast rules and certainly no 'right way' to decorate a room!  It was great reading everyone's ideas!

A couple of you did suggest in terms of the artwork to just grab a canvas and go to town instead of considering pricier options. 

I used to paint quite a lot when I was in High School (so many many moons ago) and always quite enjoyed it but the problem is not in the process, the problem is in my own attitude.  I am so incredibly hyper-critical of my own work that it just never seems good enough.* Alas, I have attempted to ignore the voice in me that says I'm rubbish and have pressed on, the results of which I'll be sharing with you soon.

*In fact, it's one of the reasons I won't attempt to create a headboard myself for the bedroom - because I know that no matter how 'perfectly' it is crafted, it will always and forever look like a DIY job to me and I will pick apart every single little flaw until I end up hating it.  True story.

For all intents and purposes and ignoring my own attempts at this for now, let's look at some of the images I have been inspired by.

Now I have said for a very very long time that every room needs a little bit of black and white to bring it up a notch.

Now, there are soooo many elements that I adore in this room (the coffee table, the gorgeous huge gold mirror, the leopard print stool, those black velvet tufted chairs) but it's really the artwork that MAKES it, don't you think?

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I especially love the juxtaposition of the very modern painting with classically elegant antiques.  Is it that it adds that bit of 'tension' that I read from interior designers that every room needs a little of?

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And I love that the styles in the images I collected are all really different but each one of them carries a large black and white abstract painting and in each instance, it just kinda works. 

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Want to see more?  Oh ok then.

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I've shown you this one before but I thought I'd throw it in again as I love it.

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Now I think all the red is a bit over-powering in this next room in my opinion but there's no doubt that the abstract painting really just is the show-stopper here.

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It most certainly steals the show in this very white room with warm, textural accents too.  See how versatile this style is?  Is it any wonder I love it?  What about you? 

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So now that you've seen the inspiration, I'll soon be sharing the results of it, namely my own attempt at some modern abstract black and white art.   Gulp!  Stay tuned...

One Long Weekend of Jubilation: Top Tips for Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee

I've got a lovely new sponsor here at Swoon Worthy that I'm very exicted to share with you.  Urbanara make the most gorgeous textiles and home accessories and they are sharing their tips today on having an utterly glamorous Jubilee party with a couple of rather lovely looking recipes perfect for your party, whether the weather holds or not!

Best of all,  all the textiles you see in the images below are available on their website and for the month of June, Urbanara is offering readers of Swoon Worthy a £15 discount* off all orders over £50 at www.urbanara.co.uk.  Just use the voucher code: DFGHJ258.


Now that's what I call an occasion to celebrate.


Take it away, Urbanara...


Whether or not you have openly pledged your allegiance to the Queen, the Diamond Jubilee is undeniably worth celebrating. Let’s be honest, when else do you get the chance to celebrate with friends over a four-day-long weekend?

For those plotting an escape from the busy bunting-lined streets, we suggest a sophisticated dinner party at home to enjoy the big day. Here are a few tips on how to bring creative flair to your festivities.

THE DETAILS

As stormy weather is predicted over the weekend, an outdoor garden party might be out of the question. Bring the garden to you instead by dressing up your dinner table and placing flowers at each table setting.

Lavender and nasturtiums are in season, and both are edible options that can be tied into your menu – we suggest a lavender tea cake or nasturtium salad. Use individual sprigs and blooms as decorations by laying these on each napkin, or attach to personalised place cards to suggest where your friends might like to sit.

Set the mood while guests arrive with some appropriately patriotic tunes. PJ Harvey, Kate Bush and The Clash are all good options – check out your record collection and create your playlist in advance to avoid any music mishaps over the evening. Be sure to add something upbeat to the list too to encourage some dancing after dinner.

THE DRINK

As the evening progresses and it comes time to toast, one can’t go past raising a glass in her Majesty’s honour. Since a garland of roses appear on the personal flag of Queen Elizabeth II, it seems only fitting to toast with a rosewater gin cocktail. Here’s how it’s done…

You will need:


Fine quality gin
Rose water
Elderflower syrup
Crushed ice
Strawberry (to garnish)
Small sprig of mint leaves (to garnish)
Cocktail shaker
Martini glass

What to do:

1. Fill your cocktail shaker hall full with crushed ice, adding one drops of rose water and ten millilitres of elderflower syrup.
2. Swizzle the mixture in the shaker before adding 30 millilitres of gin.
3. Shake the cocktail and pour into a Martini glass.
4. Garnish your royal beverage with a sprig of mint and a fresh strawberry on the side.

We recommend serving on a rose motif tray, with harlequin print straws or diamond shaped ice cubes to boot.



THE DESSERT

Though its origins are disputed, the pavlova is counted among one of the UK’s most loved treasured sweets. With some crafty placement of blueberries and strawberries, you can fashion your pav into an edible Union Jack flag.

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You will need:

4 organic egg whites
200 grams caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon white vinegar
¼ vanilla bean pod
300 ml whipped cream
1 punnet strawberries, washed and chopped into halves
1 punnet blueberries, washed
Rectangular baking tray
Baking paper

What to do:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°c. Line a rectangular baking tray with baking paper and set the tray aside.
2. Crack the egg whites into a sparkling clean bowl and whisk with an electric beater until they form glossy peaks. Slowly add in the sugar teaspoon by teaspoon, whisking well between every spoonful.
3. Keep whisking for another five minutes after all sugar is added. The meringue should start to take shape, becoming solid and shiny. When the meringue is able to form peaks in the bowl it is time to pour in the vinegar and sprinkle in the cornflour. Continue whisking until the ingredients are fully combined.
4. Scoop the meringue onto the baking paper, using a spatula to form a rectangle. Once the rectangle shape is formed, use your spatula to form minor indents on top of the meringue in the shape of the Union Jack. These indents will create a space for your blueberries and strawberries to be placed to create the flag, so we suggest following the lines of the cross to mark your indents.
5. Reduce the oven temperature to 100 °c. Carefully place the meringue inside the oven, and bake for one hour, or until meringue begins to brown.
6. Once baked, switch oven off with the meringue inside until completely cooled. Once cold and ready to serve, remove from oven and place on a serving dish.
7. Run a knife along the inside of the vanilla bean pod to extract the contents. Mix the vanilla bean with the whipped cream, then spoon the cream onto the meringue.
8. Once the meringue is evenly covered in cream, take your berries and strategically place the blueberries and strawberries in the form of the Union Jack. Remember to leave some white space showing between the crosses so the design really shines!

URBANARA is an online retailer of beautiful, high quality homewares without the sky-high price tag. View the full range of URBANARA products online. 


*discount can not be combined with any other offer.

Bloomin' Lovely: Why It's Been Quiet on Swoon Worthy

I have to apologise for the radio silence of late.  See, what I need to explain is that we've had a pretty rubbish Spring so far.

Aside from a single glorious week in March where temperatures hit the 20's, we've pretty much had nothing but cloud, rain and ridiculously cold weather.  To the point where the rain and the cold actually broke 100 year old records.  It's been that bad.  We actually had warmer weather in December.  Seriously.

So, when a week ago, the sun came out and actually STAYED out and not only that, brought with it temperatures at 25-26-27 degrees (around 80 degrees Fahrenheit), well, let me just say that you've never seen so much white pasty flesh reveal itself in Manchester before.

As I work full time, I blog in the evenings and weekends.  With the sun not even going down until nearly 10pm now, there was no way I was going to squander that lovely weather and those warm, sunny evenings sat indoors on my laptop (or working on projects!).

We've been sat outside in the evenings most every night, sometimes taking dinner on the deck and certainly enjoying a drink or two, just relaxing and enjoying our little garden.  At the weekend, we whiled away the hours with leisurely walks to a local beer garden and finally brought out the barbeque for the first time all year.

See that dappled sunlight?  That was at 7:30pm in the evening.  Sometimes it's nice living this far north.

It's been like the grand opening of Summer and I just couldn't miss it.

Coming soon... PEONIES.  I'm so friggin' excited!!

Can you spot the Jungle Kitty?

The cats certainly enjoyed being outside again as well, hiding amongst all the plant life that has grown like crazy.

Senna says, 'Leave me alone unless you are planning on feeding me.'

Or just chilling out on the walkway that's been warmed by the sun all day.

Pablo as Catloaf.

So I do apologise if you haven't seen me around much lately.  Sometimes life presents little opportunities to just relax and enjoy and you need to take those opportunities and run with them.  Especially when that opportunity is sunny warm weather in Manchester, England.

It's supposed to cool down again this week, unfortunately and get back to the normal temperatures for this time of year but at least I can say I took advantage to soak in every single ray I possibly could.  Can ya blame me?

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In other news, the rather fabulous Michele of Hello Lovely featured my living and dining room on her blog this week.   Not only is she brilliantly funny with self-deprecating humour and a warm, generous heart that overflows on her pages, but she's got an eye for finding some incredibly gorgeous things on her blog that she willingly shares with those that flock there daily (including myself).  Go over and show her some lovin', will you?


Oooh one more thing... she's also got an Etsy shop selling vintage finds which you really shouldn't miss either.  I have a few pieces from her shop and I always feel rather fancy responding with 'Ooooh it's vintage, darling' when someone asks where I got one of her pieces.  Ooooh aaand her mixed media pieces are fabulous.  I featured one of her pieces here, it's amazing.

Ok, I'll stop gushing now.  Just go and see for yourself.

Stuff Lust: Living Room Wish List & Opinions Needed!

As the living room is probably our 'most done' room in the house, what's left to do?  I thought I'd do a little list of things that I'm thinking about and maybe get some feedback from you folks to find out what you think I should prioritise, what you think of my choices or if I'm missing anything because I'll be honest, I'm a little at a stand still where I'm not entirely sure which direction to go on a few of the items.

So, as you probably recall, here's what my living room currently looks like...

I just added this lovely vintage glass lamp which will replace the current one I've had for years and years that's sat on the wallpapered chest of drawers.  I've combined it with the black lampshade for - what I'm hoping - is an elegant look. This pic is from the eBay listing but once the area is styled up, I'll share it!

I still need curtains - I'd been considering something patterned but now I'm starting to lean towards something that will stand the test of time, however I'm still not sure.  Almost two years of living in this house and I still have nothing on my curtain rods because I can't make a decision!

As the sofa is something I'm intending to keep for a very long time, I thought a soft olive green colour might work, perhaps in a shimmery Silk Dupioni as shown in the image below...  Not enamoured by the froo-froo gathering but I do like the colour and the drape of these.

But perhaps closer in style to these from Pottery Barn (we do not have Pottery Barn in the UK so I don't even know where to buy them) but not dragging on the floor because that does my head in.  I'm not 100% sure about it yet though and I'm not entirely sure where I would get them that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg.

Despite this entirely practical line of thought of having something to 'go' with the sofa that I can use for a long time, I can't help but be enamoured by something with a bit of pattern...

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But with the patterned wallpaper, I fear it might be too much... Decisions, decisions.  I just don't know what I prefer so welcome your opinion if you want to share!

I also need some artwork for the wallpapered wall and I'd like something else for the wall where the radiator is.  Not sure whether to go with something like a colourful painting...

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Or a strong monochromatic statement piece... 

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Or something completely different.

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I think a ceiling rose would look nice in here too (and if I do get a ceiling rose, then I may want to paint the ceiling as well although not this dark as gorgeous as it is)...

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As promised to W for compromising with the coffee table, a small stool...  I'm thinking one of these chinese garden stools I see around the blogosphere:

or maybe this one from An Angel At My Table...

I quite like this owl one from Graham and Greene as well.

However, what I would really love is an X-bench or two.  Problem? No idea where I would get these from for a reasonable price as I can't seem to find them in the UK.  If anyone knows where I can get a couple for not stupid amounts of money, please feel free to leave a comment or email me!

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Additional seating is required as well but this would mean getting rid of the swivel chair which I've contemplated for a while but W still needs convincing...  I've got a bit of a love-hate relationship with that thing... it's so big and unwieldy and it takes up a lot of space but EVERYONE seems to love it when they come around.  I don't even think I like it.  What do you think? (You won't hurt my feelings, I promise.)

I would like to get an additional 2 chairs, smaller, perhaps tufted, maybe nail heads... The room at the moment seats 4 at a push (3 on the sofa and 1 in the swivel chair) and I need to rectify that.  So if I bring in an additional 2 chairs you are looking at seating 5 which isn't too bad.  And if I get the X-benches then that can always be utilised for extra seating and suddenly you have seating for 6-7 which would be ideal.

I'm dreaming of something like these...

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 Or maybe something all tufted, delicate and pretty...

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 Or even maybe something a bit crazy and edgy (and DIY?!) like classic Louis style with updated fabric...

And of course, I would absolutely LOVE to reinstate the fireplace... and if I'm totally dreaming, something with fantastic architectural details would be amazing...

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So those are all the things mulling around in my brain!  What do you think of my ideas?  What do you think I should prioritise?

I need to create some kind of mood board but I'm pretty shit at those if I'm honest because I don't have MAD SKILLZ INNIT on Photoshop and it always turns out a bit crap looking...  (If anyone wants to share their own mad skillz and do that for me, I wouldn't refuse ;)).  So yeah, I'm all kinds of up in the air with where to take the living room next but there ya go.

Hope you enjoyed the wander through my brain today and if you could assist in unravelling in the mess, that would be cool too.

Top Tips for Pretty On the Cheap at Florence Finds

Hello again - I know, I know, two posts in one day, it's pretty impressive for me.

Thing is, I just wanted to let you know that I'm guest posting over at Florence Finds today whilst Rebecca is galavanting around California on her holibobs!

Find out how I created this tablescape for free...

I'm sharing one of my biggest eBay secrets along with a few things that you can do right now to decorate your home on a small budget.  Because, as the Swoon Worthy tagline says, it's all about getting pretty on the cheap.

Come visit me there if you can and leave a comment to keep Rebecca's blog warm whilst she's away!