Paisley patterns in the Library

This weekend we’re not going to Devon. It’s how life is right now, but thankfully we have been to Devon many a time, and so instead I’m sharing some photos from a previous visit. This visit was from a visit in 2016, and while MOH and my SIL and her husband went for for a walk over the Moor, I opted for what turned out to be a more sensible trip to Killerton.

The plan was to meet in the pub for lunch, which still happened, though my morning was spent much more relaxed than theirs. I explored the house, spent time reading the books in the library - yes, the actual books, sitting on the actual chairs and actually pretending it was where I lived.

NOT A BAD SETTING

In fact I probably got a little too comfortable, but in my defence it was a great book, and there was no better setting for it. But what about the paisley?

I’ve never really given them much thought, well apart from avoiding them on Liberty fabrics as I grew up, not something I’m sure I’d do now. The origins of the motif, that is instantly recognisable, can be found in the ancient civilisation of Babylon under the rule of kings such as Nebuchadnezzar. Paisley, is of course a small Scottish textile town, and had I had more time I would have read the whole story of its connection with this instantly recognisable design.

I left realising that there’s much, much more to Paisley, and you just thought I was browsing books in the Library didn’t you?

I did finally manage to tear myself away, and I was hooked. There is of course plenty more to see, including a tour around the gardens, which I also love. While in the gardens, the skies grew black, I knew I was too far away from the house to make it back as it started spitting so sheltered under a large tree. The weather quickly passed and off I headed to the pub, only to sit there alone, for longer than I’d like.

They arrived eventually. They’d been caught in the rain, and got soaked through, so had headed back to get changed and then set out to meet me for lunch. The mobile signal is bad in Devon, but they’d not thought to call to change the venue to save their mileage, clearly soggy brains!

A photo of mine on the wall with help from Photowall

*This post contains an item gifted by Photowall

Every now and then I surprise myself and take a photo, or a series of photos that I’m incredibly proud of. And this is one of those times. Or rather, this is five and a half years after one of those times.

Since our holiday in Cornwall back in 2014 (yes, really) I’ve been thinking about framing one of the pictures from our holiday, but never got around to doing it anything about it. I haven’t even got as far as sharing the pictures here either. Sometimes that happens.

So when Photowall got in touch I spied the push into action I needed. And I think it’s turned out rather well.

The thing is, I even knew where the picture would go. On the gallery wall in the study-come-craft-room, which after a strong start was stalling. It’s a wall that I’ve been keen on creating for a while, and my plan to use black frames to unify the small space was working well. Of course, me being me and our house being our house, it wasn’t quite that straightforward. The gallery wall is actually on a sloping wall, which means adding some additional fixtures to the frame, so the top and bottom are attached to the wall.

MOH is used to this now, and I like to think enjoys the challenge! Or that’s what I tell myself anyway.

And it did turn out really well.

In fact the whole process was super easy. From uploading my picture on the Photowall site, choosing the size and cropping the image to work properly. My image was actually a colour image, and I converted it to black and white on the site too - it looks so much more dramatic doesn’t it?

My biggest dilemma was which size to choose - this is 50cm x 40cm - and the site guides you through creating your masterpiece, and if you’re not after framing one of your own masterpieces then there’s plenty of wall murals or wallpapers to choose from too.

It was quick to arrive too, the order was with me within a couple of days. If only I’d know that after our holiday in 2014, I could have been enjoying my picture on the wall for much, much longer already.

Try it for yourself with a 25% discount

Photowall have offered you a 25% discount, so you can try it for yourself. Just enter the code lifeat2021 when prompted, and you can use the code as many times as you want for a month after the date of this post. And you know what, I can’t wait to see what you create.

* With thanks to Photowall for transforming my photo into a stunning picture for my wall for the purposes of this review.

A shower over the tub

After the last post, from the dining room, you’ll know that the bathroom was MOH’s favourite room. It’s the last room in the ‘house’ and it was pretty spectacular. It was also hard to photograph, but that didn’t influence my decision, the dining room was my favourite. After seeing each of the rooms we dutifully dropped our tokens into the respective perspex boxes (a bit like you do in Waitrose).

It’ll be interesting to hear which room is overall most popular, I suspect it might be this one as it did have the wow factor. And it’s the last room of the Giant Houseplant Takeover.

As soon as you enter this room, you know it’s going to be special. Not only as the bathroom sink is the first glimpse you get, but also because people are reluctant to move on and vacate their viewing position. It’s understandable, but frustrating though I’m sure I did exactly that too.

I was surprised that MOH opted for this room as his favourite as he’s really not a fan of Mind Your Own Business, which I’m cultivating very happily in our garden to soften the edges of the slate and paving, and the edges of the sleeper raised beds. He’s all for ripping it up, and I’m sure is more enthusiastic about any ‘pruning’ that I authorise than I intend him to be. I’ll be able to remind him that he was a fan, next time he rolls his eyes at the MYOB though, won’t I?

The shower over the tub, as I’ve titled this post, was the main and spectacular centrepiece for this room. But it’s not just about the cascading water, which is pretty cool, look at the detail of the shower head, and how the plants behind the cascade echo the downward movement. It’s very clever, and not something that’s been thrown together.

I was fascinating by the bath structure too, and as you can see from the photo above it’s supported by a couple of posts, which gives it that ‘floating’ feeling. The blue also helps it both stand out and blend in to its surroundings. The plants throughout the exhibition were fantastic, but it was here (along with the leaves on the bureau in the living room) that my interest was really piqued.

A BIRD’S NEST FERN

I’ve not seen plants like the Bird’s Nest fern above before (it’s ‘Crispy Wave’ if you want to know more) but I’d very happily see much more of this, and seeing it closer to home (i.e. in my back garden) would also be welcome. Though the fact that it was in the hot houses at Wisley, probably means it won’t be so happy out side in all weathers.

Once again it pays to look up, as there were these quite large plants and their bound root balls above our heads. These reminded me of the snitch (or ball) used in the quidditch games in Harry Potter. I’m sure they’re probably supposed to represent something else, but that’s the first thing that came to my mind. I’m not quite sure what that says about my mind though…

It was good to end the tour of the house with a pop of colour from these Birds of Paradise-like plants, especially for me, you know how much I love colour. You already know which rooms were mine and MOH’s favourites, but which is yours?