Stoneywell: a magical Arts and Craft home

Last year when we went off for a little holiday down in the South East, we joined the National Trust. It's a year long membership, so we're on a mission to see as much as we can in that time.

Today we visited the most wonderful house; Stoneywell, an Arts and Crafts gem, designed by the architect Ernest Gimson for his brother. I love residences which are on a really domestic scale. It's much easier to see how people lived than in a great stately home.

This one is in the perfect location, set in the middle of the plot, with nobody else around.

Chanelling Fragonard's The Swing.

A swing from a tree is just so romantic, my dream house would definitely have one.

This was their summerhouse, where the family would decamp for the warm months, and the overwhelming feeling is that this is a house in which to have fun. The garden has tennis courts, a woodland for the children to run wild in and a garden which is the antithesis of formal.

Window seats, that's another one for the dream house. Add in open fires, and beautiful wooden floors and we're making some nice progress.

The house is build in a valley, on bedrock. The steps are hewn out of the rock. Everything about the house feels so organic. It's the lack of straight lines and the use of natural materials. All the walls are white as decreed by the architect, and there is lots of oak and stone from the nearby quarry.

The architect also designed a lot of the furniture. Everything fits together so well. I have a new found affection for this movement, the furniture is so simple in its lines, but beautiful in its handmade construction. Kind of reminds me of the mid century stuff which is so popular at the moment.

Imagine walking up those stairs to bed if you were a little bit tipsy! I love the red velvet cushions with the mossy green candlewick bedspread.

The front door. All the doors are made from beautiful pieces of wood and have so much character. That second door leads down into a pantry. You know that's going on the ideal home list.

This was a house built with children in mind. There are so many child sized nooks and crannies, there is so much room to run around in and, one of my favourite things; there are so many sets of stairs, that you could go up one set, run around and then come down another. As the house is built into the landscape, it ends up on different levels. In the master bedroom, you can climb out of the window into the garden.

Books arranged in nooks and crannies, and chairs everywhere for the family to sit down and get absorbed in them. I've never been much of a fan of William Morris textiles, but they fitted in well here. 

The eponymous stoney well. Prospective brides marrying into the family had to jump that well as a kind of initiation. Unless they were Olympians with the legs of Serena Williams, I suggest they all ended up wet. That little round building reminds me of buildings in France.

Vintage Austrian dirndl found on a day charity shopping in Bristol with my friends Helen and Sian. Clogs bought in Stockholm, neon pink tights from the market, stripy top and cardi from the chazza, bag from Em, gloves from Curtise

The inspiration for my outfit today was Truly Scrumptious in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, when she was prentending to be a marionette. 

What do you see? You people staring at me?

Car picnic! We could have gone to the tea shop and had some cake, but instead we took our packed lunch and found some woodland to park up in. Flask coffee, one of my true loves. If you ever want to see me smile, simply offer me food.

I often think of houses as characters in their own right, with their own personalities. When I watch films, I pay as much attention to the setting as the characters and plot. This house was happy, fun-loving and very relaxed. 

How about you? I'd love to hear, what's on the list for your dream house?

Andalucia part 2

Alhama de Granada, set high up in the mountains. Such was its desirability that when the Moors lost it to the Spanish in 1482,  Abu Al-Hacen famously let out a lament of sorrow '¡Ay de mi Alhama!'  I felt a bit the same when it was time to leave.

Hibiscus in the grounds of the Hotel Vinuela where we went for a posh lunch.

In the afternoons, the first clue would be the sound of bells, and then they would appear, led by a goatherd. They are quite playful, fighting each other, bleating and occasionally almost jumping. Goat's cheese is a speciality in the area.

Beautiful ceramics. If I was coming back by car, I would be laden down with them.

Seems it's not just mad dogs and Englishmen out in the midday sun

The sun setting over our olive groves

Time for a trip indoors I think. Want a peek?

Lovely link up

I like nothing better than a peek around other people's homes to see how they have decorated them. The perfect opportunity has come my way!

Kylie and Donna are doing a 'Show us a retro/vintage corner of your home' link up.

I'm in! Are you?

Go on, you know you want to...

No sign of the Easter Bunny yet

Well, I can tell you, my last post proved educational for me. Robin Asquith, Russ Meyer, there's been talk of milkmen and naughty neighbours. The man of the house apparently knew these names already as they were met with snorts of laughter. Fancy.

Well, this weekend, I have been seedy in a different way.

The annual seed planting is underway. We started with crops: sweet corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes, french beans. He commented on my sowing technique. Said Monty Don wouldn't have me in his garden. A lively and frank discussion ensued.

But I can't complain because he has been working his socks off scraping floorboards in our bedroom. An unenviable task. He uses broken glass to scrape old varnish off and wire wool to scrub. I think I might need to make some tasty tea tonight.

I have been on painting duty. Pimped up this mirror. I did have before pictures but they have mysteriously vanished. It was metal.

This 1930's children's cupboard is going to get the treatment too.

These handles may be involved.

I also cracked and went to the chazzas. It's been weeks, people! These brooches were a highlight of my trip, found in the same shop as the mirror and this little pixie who has settled in with the Hula Honey twins.

We also watched Withnail and I and an Argentinian film called The Secret in their eyes. I really love foreign films.

What have you all been up to then? Chocfest or virtuous? Home alone or out on the town?

Serena's house part 2

When you get to the front door, you pull a little string to activate this really charming little bell. I love the vintage lace curtains and potted hebes on the front windows.Serena is a wonderfully talented painter. Here is her painting of Karikari bay in New Zealand, a place which is very special to her. It was the beach used for the filming of The Piano.

I love the use of textiles to add texture and colour.

She also made this gorgeous bird lamp with her own fair hands. Everywhere you look there is evidence of her creativity and love of making things. I find S and her home very inspiring.

A wood burning stove in the sitting room creates a really cosy ambience. Soft stripes in blue and white give a French country feel. Thanks for letting me visit Serena. xx

If you want to see some other house visits, have a peek here, here or here.

Serena's house part 1

Last week I was lucky enough to go and visit my friend Serena in her adorable little house in Nottingham. She lives on the cutest street, not far from all the buzz of the city but tucked away and has created a real feeling of peace and calm. Serena by name, serener by nature.

Her little pussy cat loves water. Coincidentally he is called Otter. So sweet.

Talk about domestic goddess, she knocked up this batch of cakes while I was talking her head off. Lemon and poppyseed friands. They were as light as air and still warm, she served them with natural yoghurt and fresh raspberries. Watch out Nigella, there's a new kid on the block.

At any time of the year you will see flowers in vases dotted round the house. I love her creative use of wooden fruit crates. This eau de nil colour is a favourite of hers, which she has used to paint various pieces of rescued furniture.

Another gorgeous pussy cat, painted furniture and a lovely bevelled mirror.

There's more tomorrow!

Apartment tour: Sweden

We visited our friend A in Sweden last year and stayed in her adorable little apartment which she shares with her Maine Coon cat, Osheri and her man.

She bought the apartment from a man she worked for. Initially, when she first moved to the city, she drove a tractor for him but then he asked her to clear out this apartment which had been in his family since it was built in the 1940s. It had been full to the brim of stuff, apparently you couldn't even get in the front door without having to get rid of things. I think she said she spent about two weeks just getting rid of telephone directories. Once it was cleared he asked her if she wanted to buy it. 

 A is the kind of person who things happen to, because she has the most open attitude of anyone I know. Adventures and people gravitate towards her. She has been globe-trotting since she was 16, working on a farm in India, singing in a karaoke bar in Japan (most popular request: Abba), walking through the desert in Morocco, learning Hebrew in Israel. Now she runs a healing school.

Some of her treasures were inherited from her Grandmother. 

She tells you the most amazing stories in quite a matter of fact way.  I love to be around her, she has such good energy. 

Barn conversion

I love this barn conversion by Josephine Gintzburger. It's a great mix of modern and traditional with a lovely range of textures and materials. Metal, concrete, wood and crystal.

It's much more modern than I would create for myself, but I could definitely live there.

I think my taste is changing all the time.