Zoe Murphy: Loving what belongs to you

I’m continuing my 2016-fest today with a few photos from my visit to the London Design Festival, where I took these photos of Zoe Murphy, a young designer’s work. I’ve realised that I’m quite a fan of mid-century furniture, especially when it’s had a bit of attention and brought up to date.

In its original state I can admire the furniture, but it’s when it has either simple colour blocking like the unit in our Porto apartment, or the bold designs at this year’s Grand Designs Live. Zoe pieces take a similar approach, but there’s much more detail and colour. She says she takes her inspiration from her seaside hometown of Margate.

She also promotes the idea of ‘loving what belongs to you’ using the shapes and textures inspired by her home town to decorate the furniture, none more so evident than the buildings in the table below.

What do you think? Are you a fan, or do you prefer your mid-century modern furniture unadorned?

Love this #88 The Bonnie Potter

I’ve been meaning to share this for a while, after discovering it in a magazine - I can’t remember which one, but I know seeing Bonnie Scoggins’ work was enough for me to head over to her website to discover more about her and her work, and to drool over more loveliness.

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Trying out a different color combo. This pineapple stitch doily impression has a green base with lots of blue tones. The purple doesn’t come through as I had planned but I still really like it. #chattanoogamarket #doilyimprint #thebonniepotter

A post shared by Bonnie Scoggins (@thebonniepotter) on Jun 7, 2019 at 7:00am PDT

I wasn’t disappointed.

As she says on her website her work “revolves around imprints from her great-grandmother’s handmade doilies” which she inherited in 2012, and she sees these imprints as a way to honour the “artistry that goes into crocheting doilies.”

The process doesn’t damage the crochet and she has used other families’ heirloom doilies to make one-off pieces for those families. The work in her gallery is just stunning, and while the crocheted doilies are lovely, these platters, trinkets and mugs are something else - it’s just as well she’s based in the US, or I’d be creating a wish list right now….

Style at the Sipping Room

Now the weather is starting to turn, autumn’s really on its way isn’t it? I’m sharing some interiors inspiration from The Sipping Room, a bar in London’s Docklands. It’s full of fur, either cushions or throws, and is just the snuggly kind of decor that feels right for now, and for before we put the heating on. You haven’t broken yet, have you?

The bar was the venue, or rather the base, for the launch of Heston’s Everdure range in the UK. The launch took place outside, as it’s hard to launch a barbecue range indoors isn’t it? The day was sunny, but that was deceiving and I’m pretty sure at one point we were quite tempted to head inside. But the food, and oh the food, that was outside, and who was going to turn down food cooked by Heston’s team? Exactly.

I’ve already shared the loos from there, like you do. Or rather, like I do. And they did quite possibly have the prettiest geometry… The bar’s interiors though was quite different and much darker, full of wood, texture and pops of colour. And it worked.

There were spaces for dining and socialising, and in each space there was lighting and comforting throws, or cushions.

The bar, as you’d expect had its own design treatment with clever lighting and inviting high stools, which you couldn’t help but just perch on while your drinks arrived. I’m sure the space has a buzzy and vibey feel on usual days, but being there for a private event meant I got to take photos I wouldn’t usually get to take, and it was great.

There was one similarity with the loos, and that’s the quotes. This one, so true, hey?

Women are made to be loved, not understood.
Oscar Wilde.