• Posts Tagged ‘inspiration’

    Country buy: Great Gatsby style

    by  • May 17, 2013 • Out and About, Shopping • 0 Comments

    “And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” – F.Scott Fitzgerald

    It’s finally here… the hotly anticipated film The Great Gatsby. Here at Country Homes & Interiors we’re rather excited! We’ve come over all inspired by the glamourous costumes and the elegant interiors of the era.

    Enter into the spirit with our fabulous moodboard below, or better still design your own Gatsby-esque creation and share with us on house to home.

    Our moodboard inspired by The Great Gatsby.

    Our moodboard inspired by The Great Gatsby.

    Read more →

    Country make: flower holder

    by  • May 5, 2013 • Crafting, Gardening • 0 Comments

    Flower Holder

    Decorative card and green ribbon from a selection at Hobbycraft . Purple ribbon from Raffit Ribbons.

    Celebrate May Day and wrap and give flowers in a pretty homemade holder.

    You will need

    Decorative card

    Ribbon

    Hole punch

    Scissors

    Flowers of your choice

     

    To make draw and cut out a kite shape from your card – ours measures about 45cm x 30cm. With the narrowest ‘V’ facing downwards, fold this up towards the centre by about 7cm. Next fold in each of the sides of the card so they meet in the middle. Press down firm. Punch holes in both of the sides and thread with decorative ribbon. The holder is now ready for the flowers, but as an added extra why not trim the bouquet to fit the holder then cover and keep the stems together by wrapping in ribbon for a neat finish.

    If you like this idea we have lots more easy craft projects for you to try. Or, for more country crafts, recipes and room ideas, take a look at our new Country Home Ideas app.

    Read more →

    Introducing Cloth & Clover

    by  • April 26, 2013 • Shopping • 1 Comment

    Cloth & Clover are the new fabric brand on our radar thanks to a debut collection of four gorgeous designs, all printed on rustic linen in a variety of jolly spring colours from mellow pastels to rich earthy tones. The talent behind the designs is Tania McIvor who, with a background in designing home furnishings, decided to put a passion for print and textiles into action by creating her own collection.

    Reflecting Tania’s love of the English countryside the designs are all named after villages around Worcestershire where she grew up – what a lovely idea.

    Dormston is a garden inspired trailing floral; Pixley is an on-trend small scale geometric; The Littletons is a classic polka dot, that again is very on-trend for this season; and last but not least my personal favourite Peopleton, a playful figurative print of Mr Farmer and his animal friends – so cute!

    Fabrics from left, Peopleton, £68 a metre; Dormston, £68 a metre, by Cloth & Clover.

    Fabrics from left, Peopleton, £68 a metre; Dormston, £68 a metre, by Cloth & Clover.

    Cloth & Clover will be adding wallpapers and home accessories to the collection later this year, be sure to look out for them.

    The beautiful new collection by Cloth & Clover.

    The beautiful new collection by Cloth & Clover.

     

    Read more →

    Country garden inspiration

    by  • April 19, 2013 • Gardening, Shopping • 0 Comments

    It looks set to be a lovely weekend, which has made gardening a hot talking point here at Country Homes & Interiors. After the long winter months we’ve been waiting for some sunshine to warm the soil and give us a chance to get out in the garden – whether it’s prepping, potting, painting (the shed) or just relaxing…we say let’s get out there and enjoy it!

    Be inspired by our Garden Chic moodboard, with bright buys that are sure to add a further touch of sunny cheer.

    Give your garden a lift with these colourful buys

    Give your garden a lift with a splash of colour

    Read more →

    Sunday morning make…Easter cards

    by  • March 24, 2013 • Crafting • 0 Comments

    Get ahead with Easter crafting and make these delightful handmade cards to give to loved ones.

    Easter cards

    Homemade Easter card made with A6 card and envelope pack, handmade paper, alphabet beads, coloured washi tape, readymade ribbon bows, buttons all from a selection at Paperchase

    You will need

    An A6 card and envelope pack

    Handmade paper – 2 complimentary colourways

    Alphabet beads

    Coloured washi tape – 2 complimentary colourways

    Readymade ribbon bows

    Buttons

    Glue stick

    Quick dry tacky adhesive

    Newspaper

    Scissors

    To make, draw 2 egg shaped templates onto a newspaper and cut out – ours measured about 9 and 10cm’s in height. Position each template onto one of the handmade papers. Draw around and cut out the egg shapes to make one large and one small paper egg. Position and glue the smaller paper egg on top of the larger paper egg then glue both down on to the centre of the card using the glue stick. Cut a length of washi tape to fit the widest part of the egg. Stick across, neating off the edges with scissors. Using the quick dry adhesive, centrally position and glue a button onto the washi tape, then glue a readymade ribbon top. Finally spell out your Easter messages with the alphabet beads and glue these onto your card with the quick dry adhesive.

    If you like this idea we have lots more easy craft projects for you to try. And for more country recipes, crafts and room ideas, why not buy our new Country Home Ideas app?

    Read more →

    Sunday morning make….Doily rosette

    by  • March 17, 2013 • Crafting • 0 Comments

    Celebrate St Patrick’s Day and pin a colourful homemade rosette to clothing, bags and accessories to mark the day.

    Doily Rosette

    Doily Rosette, featuring doilies, buttons, ribbons and fabrics all from a selection at Hobbycraft

    You will need

    3 small green doilies

    2 cupcake cases

    1 green button

    Green ribbons – we used 3 (check!)

    Glue stick

    Scissors

    Brooch pin

    Hot melt glue

    Needle and matching green thread

    To make layer and glue the centre of the doilies and cupcake cases together, starting and finishing with a doily at the top and bottom. Taking a length of thin ribbon make a four-looped bow (a normal bow, tied twice). Cut the ends of the ribbon so the bow fits neatly into the centre of the doily and glue in place. Glue a button on top to cover the knot. Gather the remaining ribbons, fold in half and secure together at the loop end with a couple of stitches. Cut the ends of the ribbon to the desired length. Using the hot melt glue, stick the ribbons onto the back of the rosette, followed by the brooch pin. Leave to dry.

     

    If you like this idea we have lots more easy craft projects for you to try. And for more country recipes, crafts and room ideas, why not buy our new Country Home Ideas app?

     

    Read more →

    Wool House Exhibition

    by  • March 6, 2013 • Crafting, Living, Out and About, Shopping • 1 Comment

    If you love wool as much as we do, you’ll be delighted to hear about Wool House which opens from 13th – 24th March. Heralded as the biggest ever wool exhibition, it is launched by the Campaign for Wool to profile the wonderful range and use of wool and woollen products.

    Occupying the west wing of Somerset House in London, it offers a truly inspiring insight into the wonderful world of wool with stunning displays of fashion, art, textiles, home wares, flooring, furnishing, and wool crafts. There are stylish room sets to see by designer names including Ashley Hicks, Josephine Ryan and Kit Kemp, as well as a series of wool-led designer talks, events and a programme of activities including our fantastic crochet workshop held in association with Rowan on the 15th March. Normal opening hours are 10am till 6pm but on craft days the exhibition will be open till 7pm.

    Woollen knits from the Wool House Exhibition. Photography by Chris Everard, styling by Arabella McNie.

    Woollen knits from the Wool House Exhibition. Photography by Chris Everard, styling by Arabella McNie.

     

    Read more →

    Shop of the Month… Aston Pottery

    by  • March 2, 2013 • Out and About • 0 Comments

    There’s nothing like a leisurely amble around a Cotswold market town with inspirational art galleries, tempting restaurants and wonderful independent shops to offer. I recently had the pleasure of discovering all of these in Woodstock…

    Woodstock Oxfordshire

    Close by, I recommend the wonderful Aston Pottery - a showcase of fine English pottery and gift shopping with a garden and country-style café too. Look out for Mother’s Day treats next week or make plans to visit the lofty Auricula Theatre from 11th April to 31st May featuring more than 200 hand-stencilled jugs displayed on stepped shelves…

    Be sure to explore the surrounding area too; Blenheim Palace nestles at the gateway to the town with its magnificent Baroque-style architecture and Capability Brown gardens. Or enjoy country drives in this beautiful region, guaranteed to bring the feel-good-factor any time of year…

     

    Read more about Woodstock in our April issue, on sale next Thursday!

     

    Read more →

    Handmade by Oyster Bridge & Co

    by  • February 15, 2013 • Shopping • 3 Comments

    The object of my affections this week is the beautiful work of Kate Nicole at Oyster Bridge & Co, with her assortment of handmade treats for the country home.

    I adore her stunning hydrangea pictures. Kate tells me she originally made one as a gift for her mum a few years ago – it was so popular she began to take commissions. The flower and botanical paintings are drawn on hand-dyed paper with pencil, worked on with layers of ink, watercolour and hand-stitched detailing, then perfectly finished in gilded  frames.

    Kate’s creativity was nurtured from a young age since her parents were always sourcing beautiful things from France for the family-run business Rosehip in the Country. Now Kate’s own collection of artwork and delicate paper heart garlands take pride of place in their homewares shop Rosehip, located at Long Melford in Suffolk.

    Heart wreath made with dried hydrangeas & roses, £29; 'Always kiss me goodnight' sign written on old French shutter, £48; Paper heart garland, £xx, all Oyster Bridge.

    Heart wreath made with dried hydrangeas & roses, £29; ‘Always kiss me goodnight’ sign written on old French shutter, £48; Paper heart garland, £5 for 2m, all Oyster Bridge & Co.

    Oyster Bridge

    Handmade Hydrangea pictures, from a selection at Oyster Bridge & Co.

    Read more →