Keeping it Realtor

Lampshade in aluminium and red. What a great idea!

If you've chosen an accent colour for a room and just have one accessory in that colour then it can look a bit odd.  Add a couple of accessories in your chosen colour to balance the room.  Team artwork with cushions, and you could also try  some fresh flowers as a nice way of adding a splash of colour.  Little flashes of colour can add to the overall effect too.

 Take this fab lampshade.  This really cool lampshade is  made of aluminium with a red inside. 

The cut out slash in the side allows you to pop the shade over a lightbulb and at the same time it reveals a flash of colour.  Very subtle, very versatile.  I really like this idea. 

Driftwood Chandelier

I've  been looking for beach themed accessories because I have a longing, as you may know, to live by the sea.  I don't think this is going to happen anytime soon so I though if maybe I had a couple of beach themed accessories around it would keep me happy.  Driftwood seemed to be an obvious first choice (a) because I love the unusual colours and shapes and (b) because it's cheap. Well it's practically free if you've got some time to search the beach!   I found this driftwood chandelier which is really lovely and it's a lot more delicate than a lot of driftwood chandeliers I looked at but at $2,596,00 it's not cheap.  Memo to self; driftwood's not cheap!   I'm going to have to go and walk some beaches and try and find some driftwood and maybe use it as a table centrepiece or dress up a mantle or coffee table with it.  Having said that although this metal and driftwood chandelier  is expensive it really is beautiful and I love the shape.  

Waspinator to help you enjoy outdoor meals in peace.

Because it's been wall to wall rain here we haven't eaten out of doors this year at all.  On the one hand I'm annoyed about that because I really like having a long leisurely dinner outdoors but on the other hand there's the wasp menace.  Every year any outdoor meal that we've managed to have has been ruined by wasps.  I've thought about buying a canvas gazebo with netting sides but that kind of spoils the alfresco feeling.  Also we don't want any harm to come to the wasps, or to trap them, we just don't want them buzzing around the food.  However I've found this Waspinator which is practically guaranteed to keep those pesky wasps at least 36 feet away from you.  It's easy to use, portable, durable, ecologically friendly, and maintenance free.  It's not pretty though but who cares as long as it creates a wasp free zone whilst I'm having dinner.  Bring on the sunshine.   

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Coat Rack or Wall Art, you decide.

This is not only a coat rack it's a piece of wall art don't you think? 

 I love the idea that this powder coated steel coat rack, which looks like a ribbon thrown against a wall, has an unexpected practical use   

 This is seriously nice and I love the free form design which means that no two coat racks are the same.  Think how surprised your friends will be when you hang their jacket or scarf on your wall art!

Something to throw the barbie on!

Disposable barbecues have been around for a while now and they're so handy to throw in the car when you're going on a picnic.  Well, if you're planning a barbecue anytime soon here's something that will make cooking on that disposable barbecue a whole lot easier.  It's a disposable barbecue stand and I don't know why it's taken so long for somebody to come up with this great idea.                                                                                                                                                    Also,  if you're taking the stylish barbecue stand with you on that picnic you might want take this great   picnic wine bottle holder too. 

It'll stop the wine bottle from falling over. 

 You are taking wine aren't you? 

Thought so.

Morph Bookends, be amazed and amused.

The minute I saw these quirky Morph  bookends I had to smile.  Morph brings back so many happy memories of watching t.v. with my brother when we were small.  We both liked to draw and Tony Hart had a gallery that you could submit your pictures to.   Although we never submitted any of our drawings we loved that programme and we loved it all the more when it would cut to a little plasticine man called Morph.  Morph had a little chum called Chas and they would have really simple little adventures which amazed and amused us.  Yep, we were easily amused and amazed back then.  That's why I was so happy when I saw that Urban Outfitters had these little characters as bookends,  So happy too to see that Morph was still in his own little world and was still managing to frustrate Chas without realising it.  I love them! 

Object of Desire, Striped Cuckoo Clock.

Don't you think that this striped cuckoo clock by Italian designers Diamantini and Domeniconi is super cool? 

I've always liked the idea of a cuckoo clock but they do tend to look a bit dated. 

However this design is so fresh and modern that it's going straight into my object of desire list. 

For those of you who may prefer the little white cuckoo to remain silent (you know who you are) the cuckoo can be turned off. 

This object of desire is hand made of coloured resin and I'm lovin' it. 

It's available at Rockett St George and it costs £165.  

Re-vamp a lamp.

Do you have neutral interior decor? 

Do you have an old lamp that needs re-vamping? 

If you have an old lamp that needs re-vamping do you think it could be pining for a new skirt? 

Yep, a new skirt is all that's needed to re-vamp a lamp!   This lamp skirt is made  from a slubby linen based material in a donkey brown colour and all you do is pop it over your old shade. 

Job done, ra ra skirt on lamp,  lamp re-vamped. 

Very pretty and easy peasy. 

Toby Sanders Beach Ball Lamps. Nostalga trip.

 

Toby Sanders Beach Ball Lamps are a huge hit this year at the 2009 Milan Furniture Fair.  Just take a look at them here and I promise you a  nostalga overdose.  They make you think of all those fun days at the beach when you were little.  So many memories;  the small shop stuffed full of beach toys, the heady smell of plastic, those precious  few throws and catches made just before the wind makes its claim. The chase.  And then, the  last sighting of the little ball bobbing just  out of reach on that cold grey sea,(Scottish beach remember) never to be seen again.   Ah happy days. 

Look no need to be sad, it's a happy ending,  Toby Sanders has recycled beach balls heading for landfill, and we all know you don't ever want to end up in landfill!   

Wellie Holder not Noddy Holder

Get ready for the great British summer. 

I'm not kidding.  Trust me you'll need  this great  Wellie Holder  (not to be confused with Noddy Holder) at some point. 

 Let's just hope it won't last long.  The rain, I mean the rain!   Please don't let me have jinxed summer! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

               Wellie Holder                                      Noddy Holder