Marni on my mind...

Picture courtesy of Marni

I know that these chairs by Marni have already been around the block but, for me, they were perhaps the standout pieces at Milan this year. Firstly because of the worthy back story, which is as brilliant as it is unusual (woven by Colombian ex-cons by way of rehabilitation and sold to raise money to support the children of imprisoned mothers). It's great to see high-end designers putting something back. Then there's the total lack of glitz or pretension about the chairs themselves - just simple materials: PVC tubing threaded onto metal frames. But most of all, being Marni, it's about the colourways. I keep scrapbooks of inspiring images that help me distil what I'm into and, after years of cool tones, more recently it's been warm, warm, warm. In particular pinks, reds, oranges and the curious shades in between. These chairs, especially the ones shown here, are a perfect example of that. I only wish I could have snapped one up myself.

Picture courtesy of Marni

Picture courtesy of Marni

A soft launch for Soda...

Picture courtesy of Ben Anders / Soda

A sneak preview of a new interiors company here. Planning to launch in the Autumn, Soda is the work of husband and wife duo Vanessa Leigh Anders and Ben Anders. She's worked for numerous interiors magazines (we met while working on supplements for Elle Deco) while I've also shot house stories with Ben, a top interiors photographer. Both have a brilliant eye so I knew Soda would be great but even so I was really impressed by the first pieces on show in their very lovely East Dulwich home during the recent Dulwich Artists' Open House Weekend. The idea with Soda is to give simple, functional vintage pieces a shot in the arm with a judicious dash of eye-poppingly bright colour. I loved the charming  original objects, the happy-making palette (expect new colourways as the collections roll out) and best of all, the quality of the finishes. This is no weekend-with-a-paintpot project, the duo have gone to great lengths to find the right professionals to help deliver the high-end finishes they insist upon. Shabby chic it most certainly is not.


*Soda

Picture courtesy of Ben Anders / Soda

Picture courtesy of Ben Anders / Soda

Picture courtesy of Ben Anders / Soda

Picture courtesy of Ben Anders / Soda

The project that's been keeping me busy...

Picture copyright of Kate Jacobs

Over the last year, I've been working on this small project. And being an interiors nut, motherhood (even second - and final - time around) has sent me into nesting overdrive. To accommodate the thousands of tiny things that tiny people seem to need, I've been asking myself searching questions about the efficiency of every drawer and cupboard in the whole house, then re-organising everything from nursery to garden shed. I even found it necessary to renovate a massive dolls' house (don't ask), even as they were dragging me into hospital. So, although there's been no shortage of blog ideas buzzing around my head, there has been a distinct lack of time. Now that things are calmer,  I hope to start picking up the reins again. To quote Jack Torrance in The Shining, "Been away! Now I'm back."