Dirty Weekenders In France

Last week I started watching Dirty Weekenders In France, a new Channel 4 TV programme which follows Richard E Grant and some of his posh buddies as they travel around France in search of battered old stuff to make their own.

It was a good watch and we saw them rummaging around flea markets and rushing around old warehouses to get their hands on unusual items to ‘upcycle’.

One member of the team tracks down a pair of armchairs covered in the ugliest pattern you’ve ever seen. But all it takes some old linen in excellent condition and an upholsterer before the chairs are transformed into something that can be sold on for a good price.

We’re taken to an old industrial warehouse after word has gotten round that they’re selling all the contents. It might not sound as though there’s much to be had in an old factory, but we’re shown that there are actually some unusual pieces that could easily be altered to suit the home.

The whole premise of travelling to find old things got me thinking about various decor possibilities. Obviously the items in the image below are mostly mass produced, but even if you’re after the real deal, it might give you some ideas. Also, don’t get too attached to the items in the Polyvore collage below as they aren’t as affordable as vintage or foreign finds would be if bought naturally – or at least they’re out of my own price range anyway!

If I had my own house, I’d love to have an entire room based on the above look. A giant time capsule of things collected from across the globe. There’s the old Turkish rug, a lantern for those nights exploring in the darkness, tatty suitcases used as tables and mismatched chairs. Maps and old photos can be used as nostalgic wall art.

I’d love to travel the world in search of ‘dead peoples’ stuff’ as Richard calls it. I like the idea of owning something that has a whole history behind it. An old chest of drawers from the early 1900s for example – just think of all the things it has seen! Think of all the different people who have put their clothes in it and placed their mirrors and make up on it.

I feel like I spend so much time hooked up to my laptop and phone that it’s nice to just unplug myself every now and again and immerse myself in loads of old stuff whether its household junk, old magazines, movies or music.

But this programme has made me realise that while I claim to love all things vintage and quirky, the vast majority of my belongings are mass produced and pretty modern. My bedroom may look wacky and is filled with lots of mismatched things, everything is new, and in terms of previous owners, well I guess my Mum owned some of them, but that’s about as far as it goes. So in my next blog post I’m going to look at various items in my room that I can easily replace with something second or preferably third or fourth hand! I’ll keep you updated.

Concrete Garden

The Godmother

I like to paint portraits of people using make up and fake tan

Before I studied for an MA in Journalism, I did an art degree. I’ll be honest, I spent most of my degree either drunk, or watching telly in bed. But in my last year I decided to go all in for a First. After three long years of not really knowing what I was doing, I had finally figured out my own artistic ‘style’ and would spend all my time from 8am until 8pm in the studio.

I’ve always loved portraits and so I knew that this is what I wanted to create. But I decided to do them with a twist and instead of using traditional paint, I ended up painting with make up, fake tan and hair dye instead!

Here I am creating a giant wooden ‘canvas’ for me to work on. When painting with make up, actual canvas is the last thing you want to be using. It’s too rough and textured, making whatever cosmetics you’re working with an absolute nightmare to blend  and paint with.

Here I am during one of my degree shows!

I’ve never been very good as posing for photos.

 

After a while of creating huge paintings I did get a little tired of having to make the wooden canvas’ myself, especially since they were super heavy and a nightmare to lug around the studios. So I started working on a much smaller scale, screen printing hundreds of baby faces before going wild and covering them in cosmetics.

I do miss sitting in front of the telly every night giving hundreds of babies tacky makeovers.

I had so many baby faces that I filled a corridor with them

Apparently this chick looks like me. But it was completely unintentional

Even celebrities weren’t safe when it came to my make up paintings. Here’s Macauley Culkin back when he was cute and before he started on the crack

I’ll leave you with a few other photos…

             

I love stuff with bikes on

I have an obsession with stuff with bikes on. I don’t care what it is or what it looks like. If it has a bike on it, I want it! I do actually love cycling though too and a couple of friends have told me that my love for my bike is a bit much.

A friend recently sent me  the following Snapchat and it made my night :)

I’m pretty low maintenance when it comes to gifts and I don’t have particularly expensive taste. I always say that I’d much rather receive something cheap and meaningful than something expensive that I can’t afford to buy myself. And a few of my friends have cottoned onto this fact. My flatmate Saskia bought me an adorable little card for Valentine’s Day with a tandem bicycle on it. She knows me so well! And my Mum no longer buys me Easter eggs at this time of year. Instead she’ll buy me a cushion or some wall art with a bike on it instead.

On a recent shopping trip to Debenhams, I spotted these handbags, each with one tiny metal bicycle on the side. I bought myself one but after a few days I managed to talk myself into taking it back. I can’t justify spending so much money on a bag purely for one tiny bike logo.

I also spotted this duvet cover in Wilkinsons. I would have bought it too if it weren’t for the colour scheme, that I wasn’t a fan of at all.

I’m always on the lookout for more stuff with bikes on, so if you spot something, whether it’s a cushion, t-shirt or ornament, please link me up! :D

Owl City

I seem to spot owls in almost every home decor shop that I go into these days. So I’ve decided to create a blog post dedicated to the nocturnal creatures. Spotted a gorgeous owl accessory that I’ve missed? Give me a nudge or send me a photo.

Debenhams Dreaming

I absolutely love the Debenhams home department. I recently went for a wander one evening after work and fell in love with so many things there.

The two things at the top of my Debenhams wish list was the above duvet covers. I love the clash of the city scape with the bright floral pattern on the duvet cover on the left. And I think the blue bird pattern on the cover of the right is super nice too. Sadly they’re both a little over my budget, and I don’t think I could justify paying so much for duvet covers at this point in my blogging career!

I’ve noticed that owls are really big right now when it comes to home decor. They’re so big that I’ve started an Owl Watch blog post which I will update every time I spot something with an owl on. I don’t even like owls that much.

I’m a massive fan of the above ornamental buildings. I think they’d look fantastic combined with some bright floral accessories and the duvet cover at the top of this page. Alternatively, I think they’d work well on a shelf against a brightly coloured wall.

 

My love for cushions knows no bounds. I’m particularly keen on the above orange and cream cushion from Debenhams. I’m all for mismatched accessories and patterns, but I do think this is the type of pattern that comes with its limits when it comes to finding other accessories to go with it.  Reckon you know something that would look great with it? Let me know!