Little drawers

Are what I wear on a Friday night…

I’m actually talking about apothecary chests. Or haberdashery shop storage units. Teeny tiny drawers all labelled and vintage and LOVELY. I spotted the huge one above on my travels recently – complete with original German labels. ‘Watte’ apparently means cotton wool, so I presume this was originally in a chemist’s shop, but it’s being used to store tea nowadays. ‘Oh, where can one buy such a thing?’, I hear you cry…

You can find beautiful antique originals at The Old Cinema – the top one shown here is a vintage 1930s treasure. Beautiful. But, how can you ‘get the look’ when your budget is, well, less than £2000? You could head to John Lewis (bottom right) for cute numbered drawers with a galvanised zinc case for £60, or to your local HomeSense (bottom left), where little four-drawer units start at just £14.99 each! Here’s my lovely new HomeSense one, with labels I made using a Muji stamp set:

This brings me conveniently on to my next post, entitled: The Joy of HomeSense (OR, Where To Find An Angora Throw For Eight English Pounds, No, Really).  – Ellie

The patchwork bedspread of my DREAMS

When the new John Lewis autumn/winter look book came out, I fell in love at first sight with the stunning ‘Alegra’ patchwork bedspread. Then I saw this liddle beauty in the flesh at the John Lewis press show and, in the words of Wayne Campbell of Wayne’s World fame (apologies if you’re too old/young/cool to pick up on these crass early 90s references), I whispered: “It will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.”

It’s so beautiful – and it’s a very reasonable £60, which seems extremely good value for a double (200cm x 220cm) size bedspread. I’d mix it with souk-style accessories for a full-on colour fest. Keep your eyes peeled – it’s due in-store and online this autumn. – Ellie

NEW Orla Kiely range

Oooh la la! Here’s a little peek at the new Orla Kiely kitchenware range, due to be stocked at the likes of BlissHome and John Lewis later this summer…

If you’re an Orla fan like me, this could all prove a little bit too exciting…

Don’t you just love that yellow storage pot? I’d like three for tea, coffee and sugar. SIGH. – Ellie

Anglepoise lamp: GIVE-AWAY

SO. Would you like to get your sticky little mitts on a silver Anglepoise Type75 lamp? HomeShoppingSpy has exploited contacts, pleaded and BEGGED. And the good news is, we’ve got hold of this lamp from the lovely lighting experts at John Lewis. I told them it would be going to a good home and, in fact, it COULD be winging it’s way to YOUR home!

I thought about organising some sort of mammoth competition with complicated questions relating to the history of the Anglepoise. I considered asking something mind-boggling such as: Who designed the Type75? (Kenneth Grange). When was Herbert Terry’s iconic brand born? (1855). What else has Kenneth Grange designed? (The London black cab, the Kenwood food mixer, and the Kodak Instamatic.) BUT. What with the power of Google etc, as I’ve just demonstrated, it all seemed rather pointless. So, this is a good ol’ fashioned give-away, folks. To enter, just leave me a comment on the end of this post with your name and email address. On Wednesday 28th July 2010, I’ll put all the names in a hat and pull out a winner – and then I’ll send that lucky person a gorgeous, brand new, silver Anglepoise Type75 desk lamp. Remember, as my PE teacher used to say: You’ve got to be in it, to win it. – Ellie

(Click here to see the Terms and Conditions)

Clarissa Hulse’s studio

I’ve just got back from interviewing the lovely Clarissa Hulse over in East London– you’ll have to buy our gorgeous November issue (out in October) to hear all her gossip and see her stunning new collections. But for now, check out these snaps Clarissa kindly let me take of her studio. It’s a riot of colour – there were pretty patterns everywhere, and I left feeling very inspired!

 

I loved the vintage pieces that Clarissa re-upholsters in her fabulous fabrics and, weirdly, I really liked the splashes of paint and pattern remnants on her huge work table – beautiful!

Clarissa’s got a lot of exciting projects in the pipeline, so don’t miss our November issue later this autumn. Here’s a clue though – Clarissa with two John Lewis sales assistants wearing rather fetching ties…  – Ellie

FOLK hits the high street

It’s been on the radar for a while now. Owls, squirrels, acorns, leaves… the folklore woodland trend has trickled slowly down, leaving a trail of toadstools in it’s wake, and now it’s ready to invade the nation. 2010 is set to be the year of all things Sylvan – check out this lovely bedroom image from the hot-off-the-press John Lewis spring/summer collection…

It could be a room from Snow White’s cottage! I love the 1970s-style birdy bed linen (the pattern, incidentally, looks exactly like a retro tea tray my parents own, and still use…!) – it looks fabulous with the raw timber bedside table – folky but fresh. On our rounds, we’ve spotted a massive, quirky acorn ornament and owl accessories galore at John Lewis, cute china woodland creatures including owls, rabbits and birds at Habitat, and even Tesco is getting in on the act with it’s uber-cool woodland cuckoo clock. It looks as though we’ll be seeing a lot more folk, folks. – Ellie

New rugs from John Lewis

Check out these gorgeous rugs from the new John Lewis rugs collection.

Harlequin Eloni Rug, Pink, W170 x L240cm, £525

Harlequin Inspire Rug, Black, H240 x W170cm, £595

Sanderson Etchings and Roses Rugs, Citron, W120 x L180cm, £318

 There are so many beautiful designs, it’s hard to choose a favourite, but the yellow Sanderson Etchings and Roses one would look fabulous in my living room! – Ellie

New launch of bed designs…

We’ve just heard that British bed designer Vi-Spring has introduced ten new bed/mattress designs at John Lewis and here’s a look at a couple. You can team the designs with ten new headboard fabrics too from a selection of linens from ROMO.  Choose from soft beige, creams and dusky pinks, through to darker shades including elderberry (shown, below), chocolate, and charcoal grey. 

 

 

For the first time at John Lewis, selected mattresses will include bamboo fibre too – a material that’s sustainable, has great anti-bacterial qualities (so bed bugs stay away!) and  has a silk-life softness. Prices start at £1,200, with a lifelong guarantee, so head down to John Lewis for a snooze! If you can’t find the new designs in store, ask the experts, as we’re told that they’ll all be on display by the end of the month – Emily