Pretty things

I've been in a rather sombre mood lately...a variety of reasons that I won't go into right now. So I thought it high time that I talked about things that make me happy.

I'm generally a happyish kind of person. Yes, politics and the London underground always seem to have the ability to annoy me and get my blood pressure up, but the list of people/things/events that make me smile is far far greater.

Anyone that knows me will be able to immediately pick on my love of traditional Islamic/South Asian/Arab art. I enjoy the ability to lose myself in the geometric symmetry that is so perfect in an imperfect world. I love the swirls of floral patterns from Mughal architecture that capture the beauty of nature in stone and marble as well as through paintings. I could very easily spend hours in the V and A taking random photos or copying designs for no reason in particular other than they give me joy whenever I go back to look over them.

Our home is a mish mash of different influences. I have religious art on the walls, mosaiced mirrors and candle holders, floral ceramics and glassware from Turkey, Morocco and India. If I had the money I'd completely 'redo' the house and garden, but since I don't, it's the pretty little things I have that make the house our home. I still have a bare wall awaiting its guest; A Kashmiri wall hanging of 'the tree of life'. I want to have one especially made, or find something that I think will fit into the general look I'm going for. I haven't yet succumbed to ordering something from the internet as you never quite know what you're going to end up with until you physically see it. So the wall remains bare as it has been for the last three years. When I do eventually find what I'm looking for, it will hopefully be well worth the wait:)

I recently came across a few really pretty things that I'd love to have, although I need to make a bit of room in the kitchen/cupboards before I purchase any other nick nacks


This pretty cake stand is from Watts London and I love the rest of the 'Kinnersley' collection. I've been looking for a cake stand for a while now and this one ticks all the boxes.

I was also watching a programme about the Mosque in Granada, Spain where Munira Mendonca, a local artisan was being interviewed


Again her work is all the more lovely for being hand made and not mass produced. I may just contact her to ask if she runs art classes..

If any of you managed to visit the Hiroshi Suzuki exhibition, you lucky things! The closest I got, was staring longingly at the posters lining the walls of the underground. If only I had a few thousand pounds to spare on his work :)







To help you create a more boudoir look to your room, you can't go wrong with this over the top chair from 'Belle Interiors'



More pretty things coming soon