Palm Springs tea towel

 I designed this Palm Springs print for my Spoonflower shop a while ago, and it looks great on this tea towel. It's made from a linen cotton canvas fabric and would make a great addition to the kitchen. Use it for drying up, or hang it on the wall as a piece of artwork.

When I was designing this Palm Springs print I tapped into the retro 1950s/mid-century vibe that Palm Springs evokes. I included a modernist house and a turquoise blue car, surrounded by cacti and palm trees with a rust-coloured sunset.

Palm Springs

 A while ago I designed a print for one of the Spoonflower design challenges. The prompt for the challenge was 'Palm Springs' and I designed a 1950s/Mid Century modern print in shades of coral pink and turquoise. Since then, I have cerated a more simple version of the print where I have kept the main images and spaced them out.

The print includes a fabulous 1950s-inspired turquoise car as a well as a modern house, surrounded by cacti and palm trees. The coral pink bakckground gives it a fun, fresh vibe.

This would make a great print as a wallpaper. It comes in many different finishes and has easy-to-use options such as pre-pasted or peel-and-stick. The vinyl wallpaper is great for using in high traffic areas such as the kitchen or hallway.

This print would make great bedding and is a way of adding a splsh of colour to the bedroom. I love the Palm Springs duvet cover made from a cotton sateen fabric. Match it with a soft coral pink paint colour on the walls.

There is also a Palm Springs sheet set available that comes in a variety of sizes and includes a fitted sheet, a loose sheet and two pillow cases.

Another way of adding colour to the home is with this Palm Springs cushion cover. It comes in a variety of shapes and sizes and a cushion pad can be added if needed.

Mid-Century modern florals

 One of the recent Spoonflower Design Challenges was to design a print using three colours from their cotton solids range - navy, fog and desert sun. I had a lot of fun designing a floral print for this challenge, inspired by mid-century modern florals.

The print looks great on a cushion cover that can be bought in my Spoonflower shop.

I liked the print so much I decided to try it in another colour palette using pink, blue and mustard with a hint of green.

This would look great on a duvet cover.

I used the same colour palette but tried it on a cream background.

It looks great as a minky throw, perfect for keeping warm and smart on long winter nights.

Spoonflower shop

New home

I finally feel like I am now happily settled into my new home after a few weeks of nesting! This included having the whole apartment repainted, in a fresh white, with a soft grey for the bedroom. I even got the kitchen cupboards repainted in a very light grey colour. They were a wood laminate before and had a slightly dated feel to them. It really lifts the feel of the kitchen and I'm so glad I chose to have it done.

In the living room I have a lovely charcoal grey three seater sofa and instead of getting a matching two seater sofa, I decided to use two armchairs in a light grey. These two were from Ikea! I love the symmetry, with the chair artwork above to match.

All the Japanese items I gathered over my time living in Tokyo have fitted into my new home very comfortably. The kokeshi dolls above sit on a red lacquer tray, and the Japanese chest below works wonderfully with my modern lamp. 

I managed to gather a small collection of fans when I was in Tokyo.

The red and white one below has been framed and fits beautifully above my white lamp.

I chose grey for the walls in the bedroom as it has a very calming feeling.

My pretty Japanese scenic print looks perfect above the bed.

I even have a spare bedroom! And it's all ready for guests, with a  fresh blue and white ikat-inspired duvet cover. I'm looking forward to covering the bedhead in a similar blue and white ikat fabric. Maybe a little project for when I have a bit more time?!

I haven't shown any pictures of my studio yet as it is in a bit of a state! I didn't quite realise how many fabrics I had until I had to schlep them into my new place.

They will all eventually find a home and then I will post some pictures.

The Vintage Supply Co

The Vintage Supply Co was created in 2005 to offer "all kinds of vintage items for a vintage life". They specialise in 1940s to 1970s clothing, accessories and household items and are based in Florida. I love the choice of items on offer, but also the way that each piece has been styled. I'm loving the tulip chair duo against the teal blue wall, and who could resist a bright orange retro rotary phone?! You can check out more of their beautiful wares here or on my Pinterest page here.

Off Your Rocker!

I love these posters by Jan Skacelik, depicting iconic images of Scandinavian mid century modern design such as the Eames rocking chair and the La Chaise chair. The colours are bold and strong and I love the quirky quotes that accompany them. Jan is a graphic designer based in the Czech Republic and you can check out more of his gorgeous work here.