Camden Road

Camden Road leads off busy Camden Town. I walk now, I can't ride my bike. The other day walking back from the subway or tube with iPhone in hand, I noticed the different road markings and the different materials making the different patterns. Concrete, granite, steel, tarmac and aggregates and strong paint. It gives a new look at pounding the pavement.

London in the Rain

With some of the worst weather, rain, sleet and snow, I was in the City of London, the square mile, this week and dashed into St. Paul's to escape some the rain.

I was reminded again of how Sir Christopher Wren designed the most stunning spaces. And while I was told photographs are not allowed, I managed to get some of the ceiling from the side aisle.

The way the light from the clerestory windows filled the space and even on a rainy day. The carving and patterns on the ceiling, just beautiful. I escaped the rain but came into a marvelous building....

A London Garden

Today is a holiday in London, it is very quiet in the city. I will be with friends in this lovely garden....

Maps

Something Nice Today is a blog by Ellie Parker, a friend from the Design Blog Collective.  She posts all the fun and funky things made in Britain by the many and talented designer / makers. Today on her blog you can find here a competition to win an original drawing of a map of the world or your favorite city by Alice Tait. If you like her Facebook page and comment on Ellie's blog, you have entered.

I love maps, and have spent hours studying them, old ones, new ones and illustrated ones like these from Alice. They give you a sense of place and most important they will give you directions, I think I would go for the London map, New York is so easy to find your way, uptown or downtown. Paris is the Right bank or Left Bank, but London is a challenge to know, you need a map.

Enjoy these maps and choose which you would like for your wall to find your direction. The competition is on till 21st July.

 

Ellie is the editor of Something Nice Today and a member of the Heart Home magazine family and she is very pretty and has a lovely smile.

And you can like Alice's Facebook page here

Autumn in London

 

A local park, London in autumn colors and golden. It has been warm and mild.

Paper and Glass

Last night my friend Jane Moriarty, showroom manager for Neville Johnson hosted an evening event for a few designer makers of paper and glass. The featured work was by Carol Farrow who makes comtemporary hangings of paper and pots of paper and clay, Gillies Jones who makes glass bowls and The London Glassblowing Studio making colorful vases and plates.

With champagne and canapes Jane warmly greeted us and introduced us to the makers of these very beautiful objects.

 

 

The selection of work is represented Design Nation, a group to help promote the many and very good designer makers in Britain.  I am always amazed by the quality of beautiful 3d design and applied arts that are made here. Some more views of the paper hanging and pots Carol Farrow and bowls of Gillies Jones:

And many thanks to Jane, who so frequently opens her showroom to many, always gracious, with a smile and a little gossip.

 

Heart Home Magazine

Source: hearthomemag.co.uk via Kelly on Pinterest

Heart Home Magazine was launched yesterday in London.

Last night we all enjoyed a glass of wine in toast to Carole King, Daniel Nelson and Ariana Trapani for their fantastic 1st issue of Heart Home Magazine. It is a online lifestyle magazine, much needed from London, full of articles and features of homes, fashion and food in Britain.

Source: hearthomemag.co.uk via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: hearthomemag.co.uk via Kelly on Pinterest

Reading through the magazine with coffee this morning, there are articles about designers and stylists working in Britain, a good guide to the upcoming London Design Week and (very important) what to wear in each part of town.

There are features of homes, flats and lofts that show us eclectic styles from vintage to modern and articles about the great and influential design movements of Britain; the Arts and Crafts Movement to the Festival of Britain.

An interview with Terrence Conran who states that as a designer, one should not be a disciple but be in service to help people improve and enjoy their lives. I couldn't agree more.

Source: hearthomemag.co.uk via Kelly on Pinterest

Please read, share and enjoy Heart Home Magazine, the next issue is December 8th.

Green and Black

London Town House,  House and Garden Oct 2011, photo by Elsa Young

London Town House, House and Garden, Oct 2011, Photos by Elsa Young

London Town House, House and Garden, Oct 2011, Photos by Elsa Young

Source: huamao.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

The latest edition of House and Garden has an article on a refurbishment of a town house, and it looks a dream. Blending modern touches with respect to the original Georgian structure the team created a sophisticated family home.

The color scheme blends through the house where the photographer Elsa Young caught some striking modern images, like an Elsworth Kelly painting or this other modern green, black and gray arrangement I saw recently. And I like the chocolate as well.

Clouds

Source: howtodrawa.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: howtodrawa.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: christophervolpe.blogspot.com via Kelly on Pinterest

I ride my bike all over London, so I always check the weather, a serious past time in London. I dodge the rain and plan appointments around the weather. I love it when the skies are clear and sunny all day, most days it is cloudy, like today, no rain forecast, just partly cloudy; nebulous, hazy, muggy.

See  How to Draw for more images of clouds.

Some Details

Source: flickr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

As much as I like the clean lines and unadorned materials of minimalism, the embellishments of the last century in architecture and furniture are beautiful.

Fireplaces with Robert Adam elegance or scrolls along the cornice, covings with patterns along the outer edge of the ceilings give rooms style and what many love in these spaces, character.

I have to admit, the decorations are pretty. In London and New York where so much of the housing stock is from the 19th century and early 20th, there is much of these lovely decorations in the old buildings. I find it a treat to work with these details and blend them with contemporary colors and lighting schemes. Above are some details.

Brown, White and Gold

 

 Sir Christopher Wren was responsible for the design and building of 51 churches in the City of London after the Great Fire in 1669. There is another church he designed, St. James's on Picadilly, now a major thoroughfare and at the heart of the theatre and entertainment district. When this church was built in 1672, it was the outskirts of London. 

I went into this church on my way to see friends in the Design Blog Collective this week and had to take a few minutes to admire the building. When I walked in and saw the light and space, then the beautiful decoration in brown, white and gold I was uplifted and reminded of how satisfying Classicism can be: Proportion, balance, symmetry. And the color, wow, Sir Christopher Wren always amazes me.

Shady London

Green, dark, shady, leafy, this London summer the tree lined streets are like canopies, the layers of greens go from light to mid tone to dark, layers and layers of green:

Source: flickr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: flickr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

Source: google.co.uk via Kelly on Pinterest