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Category Archives: inspiration
Hanging with Andrew McIntosh Patrick
When I come back to the house I usually end up pulling out one of the books or magazines I have on the homes and collections of Andrew McIntosh Patrick. It is my way of taking stock. It allows me … Continue reading
Revisiting paint effects, theatrical and otherwise.
I recently acquired a suite of three elliptical Italianate landscape paintings. They were purchased primarily for their frames, which I mistakenly thought were circular – one of the perils of online purchasing but that is, as they say, another story. … Continue reading
In praise of Candle Power
A good friend of mine, married to a professional fireman, lives without candlelight. Indeed she lives in a house from which all forms of naked flame are exiled. Her husband has, somewhat sadly, seen too much melancholy evidence of what … Continue reading
Posted in inspiration, original surfaces, practical matters, Uncategorized
Tagged candles, firemen, smoke
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How to wallpaper with old book pages
Some time back we came across an old dictionary in a box lot at the local auction house – its cover was missing and it was in pieces but it had great illustrations and great (no longer used) words. There … Continue reading
Posted in inspiration, original surfaces, practical matters
Tagged dressing room walls, wall linings
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Woolen Upholstery Fringe
Lazy blogging? Perhaps? I just wanted to post these Victorian upholstery fringes from the collections held at Hawke’s Bay Museum & Art Gallery. Mostly because of their vibrant colour. They came into the collection decades ago and have been stored … Continue reading
Posted in inspiration, original surfaces
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At the Club
An Edwardian gentleman – or at least those occupying the house of one time Edwardian gentleman artist/farmer – as we do – requires a club. Not a tennis club or bowling club but a gentleman’s club – in which one … Continue reading
Emile Zola and the thyme border.
I’ve talked before about how Gustave Caillebotte (1848 –1894), the French impressionist changed my attitude to Dahlias and how Beverly Nichols’ the English between-the-wars writer turned me onto Heliborous. Well this is another literary reference for the garden – this time … Continue reading
Posted in gardening, inspiration
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Courtyard Envy
Last weekend we ventured into the hills behind Napier. This is a zone that during all the time we’ve lived here we’ve never explored. We were lured by an open home – more than that – an open stately home of … Continue reading
Posted in gardening, inspiration
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How to approach a dressing room
There is something robust and purposeful about this room that I admire. It is more than the architectural severity of the gloss-finished tongue and groove, the emphatic placement of the bank of windows, or the view through to the unquestionably … Continue reading
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Searching for Jasper Green
I have, over the years, got into the habit of buying myself little tokens, (paintings, expensive books, nice watches), to mark a special occasion, especially those that come with a cheque attached – an advance or a nice award. This … Continue reading
Posted in inspiration
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Decor Extremus: 