It seems only right to post these pictures today given the almost arctic weather conditions we’ve been experiencing these past few days. Candy stripes at the good old British seaside. Styled and art directed by yours truly and photographed by Emma Lee.
Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas! This is from the December issue of Red magazine which I did the prop styling for. Photographs by William Garrett and fashion by Nicola Rose.
All photographs by Emma Lee. Judging by the last blog post it seems we’ve got a bit of thing about blue and the moment.
I’m not going to say much about these pictures except that they are from a feature I styled for the October issue of Coast magazine which is out now. I have to admit I’m seriously happy with the results. No random cropping and dodgy layout, just beautiful full bleed pictures taken by my super talented pal Emma Lee.
When I found out that Helena Christensen was the model for the Boden shoot I’d been asked to prop style for, I can’t pretend that I wasn’t just a little bit excited. Partly it was the chance to meet one of the original ‘supers’. She had often graced my bedroom wall as a teenager (To say I was a little bit obssessed with Vogue magazine back then would be an understatement), but mainly it was because I just really like her style. Sort of relaxed, vintage bohemian flung together chic which applies as much to her clothes as it does to her home. My brief for the story was pretty much that so I gathered together old leather armchairs, faded velvet cushions, and aged glass mirrors together with a mis mash of pretty flowers. Basically everything just needed to fit in with the clothes and the location so that nothing particularly stood out.
The shoot went brilliantly and she was every bit as ‘super’ as you would imagine. Not in a mobile phone throwing way, just in a very beautiful, very funny way. Like I said I like her and I like her style so when she walked past me at the end of the shoot and commented on my slouchy brown bashed in old Toast boots, that I hadn’t obviously worn on purpose thinking she might like them, and claimed them to be ‘so cool’, I didn’t tell anyone at all…….
All clothes available from Boden’s AW12 collection.
Sometimes shops have a moment. For one season they just seem to really nail it and you want to buy everything. For me, Zara Home Kids seems to have a permanent ‘moment’, I never visit and come away empty handed. So, for this long overdue blog post (sorry been manic shooting – more of that later) I have put together a selection of my favourite gifts – perfect for baby showers and new born baby presents. On the other hand if you’re anything like me you’ll buy this mouse and his matching mrs for yourself, just because……
Kids Piernaslargas Soft Toy, £19.99, Zara Home Kids
New Born Doggie Baby Set, £25.99, Zara Home Kids
Kids Weekly Boy Box of Socks, £19.99, Zara Home Kids
Kids Toquilla Blanket, £29.99, Zara Home Kids
New Born Rabbit Romper Suit, £19.99, Zara Home Kids
KIds Floral Cushion, £19.99, Zara Home
Kids Flor Lila Bib, £4.99, Zara Home Kids
This weekend Aurelie had her 5 and a half birthday party. Strange you may think but not when you do your maths and realise that she was born on Christmas Day. So, every year we have promised to have a half birthday party so that she can celebrate with her friends. She chose Alice in Wonderland as her theme and we spent the whole party singing ‘A very very Un Birthday to you, to you’. Perfect.
I guess with bathrooms the default setting is to paint them some sort of blue and add a ‘sea shore’ element. Although I’ve seen many a lovely bathroom decorated in that way when it came to re-doing mine I wanted to try something a bit different. So here is what I eventually came up with. A sort of dirty lilac colour with grey wood work and soft green tiles. All finished off with some dull sparkle in the form of old brass taps and antique wall sconces. I’ve always been inspired by the way the French do their bathrooms. There’s no ordering a 3 piece suite from a catalogue with them. It seems that everything is chosen individually. Admittedly it’s more about looks than function. My vintage apple ladder makes a very handsome towel rail but it’s certainly not heated. It takes more time and effort to decorate this way but I’m so pleased I put the hours in. It’s genuinely my favourite room in the house – definitely never happier than soaking in bath with a good book and a G&T!
The sink unit was made up by our builder from a cupboard I brought at an antiques market and a kitchen tap from a reclamation yard.
I love the dark accent colours of the brown bottle and violet sweet peas.
There’s a French lace curtain panel at the window and a linen cupboard made with reclaimed doors.
They’re even beautiful on the inside.
An old gilt frame for a loo still life!
I treated the floor with a grey wash but didn’t vanish it to keep it looking nice and matt.
Floor board shelf and the only nod to the seashore – a few shells and a star fish.
When I was I told that Caramel Baby & Child were designing a home range I literally squealed with delight. So last week with great anticipation I went to check it out. Needless to say it did not disappoint. It’s everything that you would expect from Caramel. Beautiful fine textured fabrics in pretty floral scatter prints and tiny ticking stripes. Muted coloured wool and cashmere blankets, and my favourite, mini silk eiderdowns.
Such loveliness doesn’t come cheap with prices starting from £28 for a baby pillow, but these are forever purchases that I’d be thrilled to pass on to any future grandchildren I might be lucky enough to have – just think how chic a nursery decked out in ‘vintage’ Caramel would be!
It’s also the ideal place to pick up a little birthday present. Cute hair clips, toys, a paper garland. You can guarentee that it will be super stylish and often most excitingly of all, beautifully packaged.
My current must have purchase are these fabric bags. Perfect for the beach or round town this summer. I want one in every colour.
Prices range from £12-15.
The new home range is currently available from the Caramel Baby & Child store in Notting Hill, 77 Ledbury Road, London, W11.
I wouldn’t normally feature the same designer twice in a row but on this occassion it just seems crazy not to. So this Barbara Coupe – Part 2. After this shoot I got a bit obsessed with covering everything in Financial Times newspaper so if you find yourself with time on your hands over the weekend, you know what to do. Happy Jubilee!
Cushions by Barbara Coupe. All photographs by Emma Lee.
