Spring changes

This week the brilliant sunshine has awakened in me the need for 
change so I started with the window display in my shop.

Like many crafty/artistic people out there I couldn't ease colour in gently. After all, we overdosed on the grey and dull murkiness for far too long now.

These rustic kitchen chairs and side table are from Hungary. They date from about 1900's and still have the original paint in all its distressed beauty.

I wanted to bring a little bit of fresh air inside.

This is a very international table. 

The table cloth is a Hungarian antique mangle cloth with the family initials monogrammed at one end,just by the spoons. The crockery came from a house clearance in Belgium.Its by the Boch Brothers and is about 70 years old.It looks good on the vintage English Penny Pine plate rack.

The chunky spoons are from France and are carved from a single piece of wood.They've seen some living that's for sure.

I find that enamel has a timeless appeal which spreads across the board of interior styles. These old French water/milk pitchers look great filled with an abundance of fresh flowers, especially Cow Parsley and Delphiniums, or with Corkscrew Hazel twigs for a more contemporary twist,excuse the pun.

 Sometimes,cleverly positioned, they give that much needed understated splash of colour.

Inspired by Julie from THE CLOTH SHED blog(sorry, still haven't worked out how to insert the links properly) I arranged these old moulds on top of a not-so-old painted egg rack.

 I'm sure that the stoneware bottles/jars had a useful purpose but I'm none the wiser. They are cute though. 

Talking of cute...

I could not resist this Bavarian 'baby' kettle. The colour is lovely; a chalky shade of grey with a soft white marbling  effect on the enamel.Its the first of its kind I've come across.

We all like to have some sort of order in the kitchen so these labeled vintage French hooks will definitely help with that.There's a hook for a hand cloth,cutlery cloth,glass cloth and pan cloth. What more would you want?!

My enthusiasm had later spread to a much neglected part of our house and, since it is now the tidiest part of our house, I feel brave enough to show you a glimpse.Its our downstairs loo and its quite an awkward space to photograph in so apologies in advance.

We've been doing quite a lot to this house since we moved 2 years ago and its still nowhere near finished. Being such a small space we started with this room but only now are almost done, just awaiting the blind.

I tried to source most of the stuff from auctions,antique fairs and even a local tip had my attention.

This is my little collection of vintage evening bags. All beautifully made and of all ages.I guess there are some things that I WILL NOT SELL.

The Ostrich feather came from a costume sale in Drury Lane years ago, when I had another life.

The collage of water colours and ink drawings are of my home town of Gdansk and the street I grew up on, the most beautiful and historic street with cobbled stones and fabulous architecture heavily influenced by the Dutch trade routs.

I always knew I'd find use for that vintage 'Washing Dolly', the long wooden handle is perfect for stacking the loo rolls.

We've had this sign for years because it spells out what is sometimes hard to say.

I had to buy this antique French clock face. The beautiful detail on the enamel makes it simply charming.

The cat is an art piece by a Polish ceramic artist who likes to use mixed materials in her work; this one features a perforated copper mask.

There is something extremely tactile about these pots. Their bulbous,portly shape just makes one want to hold them. They were originally used to melt Mercury back in the 1900's and now they give a softness to my loo!

Anyway, enough for one post. Time to have a cup of tea and read up on some of your wonderful posts.

Till next time.

Enjoy the forthcoming sunshine, they say its going to be a lovely week.

 xxx