Mix Classic, Contemporary and Rustic it works!

Although I love French interiors and clean whites, I also love eclecticism and after living as an expat in various continents you end up with quite a mix of furnishing. I'd love to have my whole house with a French feel to it, but this would mean I'd have to part with pieces I've collected and cherished for years. So for now my own living area is a mix of periods, styles, fabrics and textures not dissimilar to the image above.

The room above is an eclectic mix of contemporary, antique and rustic. The contemporary clean lines of the sofa and the stark contrast of the rustic table are balanced by the elegant wooden antique side table. The dark grey silk lampshades of the side lamps are striking and draw the eye... (Gosh the artist in me wants to go and straighten up that lampshade on the left ☺). The beautiful fretwork screen seen in the second image balances the dark tone of the lampshades. To soften the overall appearance of the room, cushions have been introduced in muted tones. I think the silver cushion enhances the silver lamp stands, personally, however, I would have brought in another silver cushion instead of the green one as I am a bit of stickler for balance. There is a lot of texture going on in this room (so important), from the velvet of the cushions, slubby linen of the sofa to the rustic wood grain of the coffee table with it's heavy studs around its perimeter.

Overall I think this room is inviting and comfortable. I love the original shutters framing the exterior view of perfectly clipped hedges and topiary. I like that the owners are not afraid to display their collection of interesting ornaments. Sometimes we are looking for the "perfect look" and get rid of our ornaments but this is the difference between a "home" and a "showhome". I also enjoy the brave way they have introduced an assortment of cushions in differing sizes, colours and textures.  

I wonder what you think about this room, I love to read your comments.

 Images are reproduced with permission from jj Locations

The image is the living room of a Regency ground floor apartment in Battersea, London. The apartment is available for film and photo shoots, please visit jj Locations if you wish to see more of this apartment or contact jj Location them with regards to this property.  

I've been inspired and definitely

heading to Laura Ashley's sale this weekend  to

check out their cushions.

Lee oxo

&

Poppy

Roses - Nancy Steen garden and Laura Ashley

A couple of weekends ago was the Parnell Rose Festival at the Dove Myer Robins Park, unfortunately the sun decided to hide it's face and it was wet and miserable. I stayed home telling myself I would pop up there at the first chance of the sun appearing to take some shots before the first flush of roses began to wither and last Monday was the perfect chance, a glorious day!

I'm a great believer in being in the right place at the right time and meeting people for a purpose.  Within the Rose Gardens is a smaller garden called "Nancy Steen", while wandering through this garden I was approached by a lovely woman called Sarah who was delicately attending to her job of  deadheading the first flush of roses. Sarah informed me that Nancy Steen was actually her grandmother and the Nancy Steen gardens had been dedicated to her grandmother by Mrs Toni Silvester who originally formed "Heritage Roses" in 1980 with the late Mr Ken Nobbs.  

Nancy adored old fashioned roses, they were her passion and her own garden was a dedication to this love.  Albertine, Cecile Brunner (known as the button hole rose), Madame Alfred Carriere, the list goes on, truly heritage roses. Nancy even went to the trouble of importing some of the roses for her garden that weren't available in NZ at that time.  Nancy went on to publish her book, "The Charm of Old Roses" and Sarah informed me she also enjoyed painting Roses.  We even have a Rose in New Zealand dedicated to Nancy, appropriately named the Nancy Steen Rose, as seen below.

Thank you Susan for allowing me to use this photograph - Just our Pictures  (A site full of rose photography)

The Nancy Steen Rose garden has been lovingly maintained by a group of volunteers including Sarah, for the past 30 years. Below are some photos I took while visiting the garden this week, I have also sourced some gorgeous floral items from Laura Ashley's new range to appropriately tie in with floral theme of today.

Not a Rose, however I love the light peeking through in this shot and the pretty Queen Anne's lace below.

When we hear the words "Laura Ashley," we think romance and envision little floral prints in soft pinks and baby blues, Laura Ashley started her business designing floral prints on her kitchen table inspired by English gardens and soon her little home business grew quickly into a worldwide trend which is as popular today as ever.  Laura Ashley's designs today are not only traditional, they also include contemporary fashion and beautiful homeware and as always the brand is defined by quality.

I visited Laura Ashley's shop in Newmarket a few weeks ago which has a great range of their fashion and homeware. I love the layout of the shop, especially the colour blocking. Duck egg blue, Amethyst, Beige, gold and Grey are just some of the choice of colours available in their homeware.  Cushions, throws, accessories and gorgeous fashion is what Laura Ashley is about today and the quality and choice of  products is excellent.  With the current trend for floral both in fashion and the home, I am sharing some of Laura Ashley's new and archive designs available this season.

Garden Rose Quilt set - Queen size NZ$489.00, King size - NZ$529.00

Rose T Shirt - NZ$49.00

Dress - NZ$249

Floral cardigan - NZ$169.00

Gorgeous embroidered cushions from NZ$199.00 (currently there is a sale on in Newmarket and the cushion with lavender embroidery is on sale for NZ$59.00 and available in other colours)

A link to Laura Ashley's Australasian website is "here", although purchase on line within New Zealand is not yet available.


UK website is "here" 

This beautiful photo was taken by Robin Stubbert a fabulous photographer who has kindly allowed me to share her work on LCA. Copyright is owned by Robin.

Treat yourself to a bunch of Roses to display in your home, they will always bring a smile to your face

Lee xox