new in store! cabbage and roses cushions and very very cute gift tags

Image from here

For a while now I have been quite a fan of Cabbages and Roses, an English based clothing, homewares and fabric store.  I am particularly drawn to their famous range of floral fabrics, usually depicting roses.  I think it is the muted tones and the country look that I like, they suit both formal and more relaxed settings. 

Image from here

The English fabric works so well on Louis French chairs as well as with shabby chairs such as these.  

Image from here

These cushions are available on the Cabbages and Roses website, and they also have a blog too! 

Whilst in a homewares store in Surrey, I happened upon a piece of Cabbage and Roses fabric in their roses and tulips design.  I couldn't resist bringing it home in my luggage to make cushions for the store!

The resulting cushions are now on a pair of French armchairs in our soft furnishings room.  There are two retangular and two square cushions available at the moment. 

The colours are beautiful, I love the soft blue colour of the background.  We have teamed it with a neutral linen and vintage buttons. 

And whilst I was away, Rachel was busy printing more gift tags and adding to our current range...

 

I adore her new butterfly gift tag, it is beautiful!

As is this cheeky squirrel eating a nut on a branch.  How cute! 

Rachel has also been busy creating these little gift cards including an envelope of hearts "lots of...love"

And "hugs and kisses" and "with love xxx" gift cards for loved ones. 

These are all hand pressed using our Adana letterpress machine.  There is definitely a lot of love in each card...

new in store...french grain sack, mercury bottle lamps, log basket, painted trunk and more!

We have only just had these French mercurised bottles converted to table lamps, I think they are fantastic and very unique.

They are silvered on the interior of the bottle and have muted gold French lettering. There are only 2 of these in the store.

Also new in this week is this decorative French grain sack, again with French lettering. This would date to the early 1900s.

This pine French orchard ladder arrived with our last shipment but we have only just had a chance to wax it. It has heaps of character.

This sea grass verandah chair has also just arrived. It is in such good condition for its age, and extremely comfortable. Lemonade, anyone?

I was excited to find this large wicker basket in Hobart during the week. It has rope handles and would make a great log basket. It has a wonderful weathered look to it, too. Baskets of this proportion are becoming increasingly hard to find.

A collection of tin buckets...

Some of which have maker's names impressed into them.

And last but not least we have all fallen in love with this 19th century trunk with original grey painted finish. The top is unpainted and makes a good contrast. It has a name lettered on the front...

I am not sure why this particular gentleman was "wanted". . . any ideas?

all my favourite things in Jeanne d'Arc Living

I was jumping with joy like a child when these two Jeanne d'Arc Living magazines arrived all the way from The Netherlands, sent by the wonderful Ria of It's Me (thanks Ria! I love them!). But the gorgeously styled covers were only the beginning. Inside were the most beautiful European homes, all looking lived in and comfortable...and filled with my favourite things.

Slip-covered arm chairs with heavy linen cushions. Just the relaxed look our store is going for at the moment. Nice pale floors as well, very Gustavian.

I love French iron day beds and this one is no exception. Again, nice comfy looking linen covered cushions.

This dining room looks functional but still relaxed, particularly with the mismatched chairs. The glazed top dresser fills the wall really well and is perfect to display glass and china. As much as I am a fan of open shelving, glass doors keep things dust free which ultimately means more time to play and display!

I adore this chequered painted floor! Especially with the grey and white as opposed to the more commonly used black and white. It has a really soft look.

Brrr! Sometimes it is easy to forget that it is snowing on the other side of the world. I would definitely be underneath that fur, not sitting on top of it! I couldn't help but notice how similar the iron garden or bistro table is to the one we have in store at the moment. Ours is quite free from snow, however.

Another of my favourite styles of day beds...a Swedish painted daybed. I love the French basket chandelier as well. So many lovely muted colours in this room with natural light coming onto the table.

This is probably the image that struck me the most with the quote written on the wall (not to mention the table and chairs...). "RISK more than others think is safe, CARE more than others think is wise, DREAM more than others think is practical, EXPECT more than others think is possible" (Claude Bissell). I could definitely take a little of this advice.

The magazine uses vintage and often unexpected objects in its styling. And they would have pages of vintage items with prices and where to find them. Very useful for those living in Europe. I could dream a little.

And last of all, a very comfortable leather chair and footstool. The perfect spot to enjoy inspiring magazines such as Jeane d'Arc Living.

new in store...linen arm chair and an amazing trestle table!

We have just had this arm chair upholstered in a neutral linen slip cover. The chair itself dates to around c.1900 and has lovely little porcelain castors. I particularly like the small proportions and also the "wings". The ties on the back make for easy removal. Linen arm chairs can fit into any setting. In fact, I would go so far as to say a nice looking arm chair can really make a room. These are rooms by the iconic designer Axel Vervoordt, from whom I take a lot of inspiration. I like the fact that he doesn't mind mismatched chairs and sofas. His rooms are very earthy and textural.

And speaking of earthy and textural, check out this early rustic trestle table that came into the store this week. It comes apart into three pieces which is probably a good thing as each piece is very, very heavy. The top is thick and has loads of character, even holes in places. This is definitely one of my favourite pieces at the moment...