Available Light - My Cottage

When I am doing a photoshoot for Ghost Furniture I always use the available light setting on the camera. It gives me dark, medium and light images to choose from.

Yesterday the sun was shining on a vase of multi-coloured tulips on my dining table so I photographed them wth the same format. I love the results.

Confessions of a Design Snob

Up until recently I had no idea what an Ultrabook was or what it would do. To be honest I thought it was something that was just very slim, chic and stylish a bit like a supermodel.

Then Intel asked me if I would like to try one. Being always up for a challenge I said 'yes please' and promptly had an Asus Zenbook delivered to me.
OK a packing box is a packing box and I duly opened it on it's arrival and pulled out the most stylish box ever containing

the most stylish laptop ever, from now on I will refer to it not as a laptop but an Ultrabook. I was so impressed I took these photographs before I even activated it.

The accessories are so cool, look at that carrying envelope and matching accessories case. How could you not be impressed? Even the instruction book makes you not want to put it back in the box.

It is aluminium so no nasty finger marks all over it. I took my laptop off my desk and replaced it with my Ultrabook and instantly created more space not only that but it looked so elegant. It was like placing a piece of art it was so satisfying.

I am a designer and I blog about great design so I need to be seen to practise what I preach and armed with my new Ultrabook I am set to impress.

So this was the designer in me approving of the look and feel of the gift bestowed upon me. Intel have added the magic inside so my next installment will be about my love affair with my Ultrabook and how it has changed my working life. Watch this space.

Thinking of Spring

At 9am this morning our power went off as the electricity supplier was doing maintenance on the power lines, it stayed off for 6 hours. Living in an ancient cottage means low beamed ceilings and deep set windows so today the sun decided not to shine into our home and it was DARK! I have spent the day dreaming of Spring and these images kept floating through my mind. Via Skonahem

Confessions of a Designer

Oh, how many times did I want to say these things to clients when I owned an advertising agency. Found at Taxi

WANTED!

the ability to keep my white floor as clean as this one. Found at Interieurs France

Stayin' Alive

I have long thought that I should learn how to do CPR but never fancied giving the kiss of life to anyone. How awful is that? However here in the UK we have a new ad from The Heart Foundation which will enable even the most squeamish of us to do it.

Vinnie Jones plays the role of hard man and tells us all to not kiss the person (you just do that to the wife) and press on the sovereign to the tune of Stayin' Alive. BRILLIANT! This is such clever advertising. Take a look at the video on YouTube.

Learning New Tricks From Old Dogs

I include myself in this title but the person this post is written about is

Barbara Chandler. Now here is one woman that has her finger on the pulse of the design world in fact it's literally stuck to it. She, like me is no Spring chicken but we both believe, I know this as I have had telephone conversations with her on the subject, that we can impart a plethora of information because we have been there, done that and both of us have the tshirt.

God, we were both there when Biba first started.

I get so annoyed when people my age think it's clever to not embrace new technology, the term Luddite
springs to mind. Things have changed, it's the new industrial revolution and if you don't keep up you will
be left behind. OK so everything isn't perfect and technologies such as automated answer machines and
not speaking to a human being is BAD but unless we are involved and informed we will never have the tools
to try and put it right. It's like arguing with a gag on.

Barbara Chandler moves with the times, she changes direction because she recognises her own capabilities
and basis all her moves on the fact that she is deep down a journalist and always will be and she knows
which path to follow instinctively.

Take a look at the fabulous pieces that are being developed using her amazing pictures of London which she has been taking for many years.

She has also had a book published, Love London, containing 180 photographs from the collection.

Barbara did a fabulous interview over at PopArtRockGirl which is a must read especially for younger
designers who are looking for a direction in which to go. Barbara like myself has had knocks on the way but
we both got back up, dusted ourselves off and started all over again and what we both have in common is
that we are more than happy to share our lessons learned with others. One of the things that amazes me
about Barbara is how she makes every Tweet interesting even with the limited amount of characters
available, she has one up on me there. Is that the journalist in her?

As a footnote: we both agree that we also learn from the young!

Meet My New Best Friend - The Samsung G Series 3 Door Fridge Freezer

I was recently asked by Samsung if I would review their new 3 door American fridge/freezer from their G Series. They asked that I live with it for a while and report back on it. Live with it? I would sleep with it now even though we have been together for only 2 months. As most of you may already know I live in a very remote place, beautiful but remote. A 20 mile round trip to the nearest shop.

This beauty has changed my life and saved me time and money. My petrol costs have reduced dramatically and my shopping bills have also reduced as I can now take advantage of those deals such as 3 for the price of 2, buy one get one free etc. etc. and I don't throw the huge amount away that I used to with my last fridge/freezer.

This baby is like having a huge built in pantry but the thing that amazes me more than anything else is how it just blends into the room. We have a huge open plan ground floor so the kitchen is constantly on show. This fridge/freezer is huge inside and has fold back and moveable shelves, more features for storage in the doors than you can shake a stick at. It has a huge deli drawer that has 3 different settings, it has 2 salad/vegetable drawers both with humidity controls and they actually work. I haven't had to throw a soft vegetable away since I got it.

Maybe it's because it is reflective that it fits in without shouting at you 'hey I'm a fridge freezer'! I love that the sides are finished in a textured finish. I love that

the freezer is a big drawer with 3 separate compartments and I can easily find things as I am looking down on it and not straight on, now that's clever. I love that it has a filtered water dispenser, ice maker (crushed or this really cool shape which could never be called a cube) and it takes a jug not just a glass. I love that

when I come in that stable door with my shopping I can put everything away neatly in next to no time.

I wanted to write a very honest review and to be very honest there is absolutely nothing negative I can say about my new best friend. It has been life changing owning this fridge/freezer and I just hope it is as happy living with me as I am living with it. Thank you Samsung you have made me very happy.

My Family Tree By Charlie's Hand

One of our daughters, Rebecca, gave us this gorgeous framed paper cut Family Tree for Christmas. We were both beyond delighted with it. It was made by a very clever woman called Charlie and her company is By Charlie's Hand. What amazes me is that she does it without the assistance of a laser cutter, just a scalpel and a steady hand. Go and take a look at her Facebook page where you can order one for yourself.

This is it inside the frame. Notice that our tree is heavy with fruit, any more additions to our family and we will have a forest.

This is a work in progress image I found on her Facebook page, not ours but it's interesting to see the process.

GHOST FURNITURE IN 2012 - PLANS ARE AFOOT

I have never known a year like 2011. Apart from some awful personal stuff going on in our lives business has been dire. I don't believe anyone who says it hasn't been for them. I have never seen so many sales before Christmas, it was certainly a buyers market.


Onto 2012 with new plans to beat the recession. Ghost Furniture will be spending longer periods of time in France scouring those fabulous brocantes to not only bring back pieces and breath new life into them but we are going to start to bring back those pieces we have spent years bypassing, those pieces that need to stay just as they are. We are determined to put the chic back into shabby in 2012.


We are also in the throes of organising Furniture Workshops for 2012 to be held in this gorgeous place I call home - The Northumberland National Park. They will be 3 day courses with the most amazing accommodations available which include - luxury apartments, traditional country inns and even luxury yurts and Indian tepees. Our guests will be treated to wonderful local fayre and will be taken to the places that inspire us and will have a tour of our cottage that sits in a tiny hamlet overlooking the Tyne Valley. All our guests have to do is turn up with a small piece of furniture they want to restyle and the rest will be provided by us.

We will be appearing at Vintage Fairs all over the UK. All that's left to say is WATCH THIS SPACE.

The Simplest and Tasiest Bread Ever

I actually made this bread the other day for the first time and it is FABULOUS. The recipe is from Lorraine Pascal and the best thing is - no yeast, no kneading and no proving. Just mix with one hand cut a cross on it, pop it on a baking tray and cook it. I mean how simple is that. The addition of black treacle gives it a crispy crust but a moist inside. If I can do it anyone can. I also had no wholemeal flour so used all white and it was still delicious.

• 370g/13oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• 130g/4½oz wholemeal flour

• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 40g/1½oz butter, melted

• 1 tbsp black treacle

• 300–340ml/11–12fl oz buttermilk (or alternatively use warm milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice)

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and ensure the top shelf in the oven is in position.

2. Place the flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and stir together. Make a large hole in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the melted butter and treacle, plus enough of the buttermilk to make a loose sticky dough.

3. Tip the dough onto a lightly dusted work surface. The dough will be quite sticky. Knead the dough for one minute, then shape it into a large ball with a taut, smooth top. Place the dough on a baking tray and flatten it a bit - I find the easiest way to do this is with a rolling pin.

4. Take a wooden spoon, put some flour over the whole handle, then hold it horizontally over the bread. Put the wooden spoon handle on top of the bread then push it down until you feel the baking tray at the bottom. This mark is the first half of the trademark soda bread cross. Repeat with a line at right angles to this.

5. Dust with some flour then bake in the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the bread is brown, has risen nicely and the dough inside where the cross was made is not damp.

6. Serve fresh from the oven with butter and jam. This bread does not keep well, so is best eaten on the day that it is baked – but if you have any left, it does make good toast.

WANTED!

a dark, quiet corner such as this. Found at Art Decoration

WHITE

I know that white in the home might not appeal to everyone but it's hard to understand how anybody wouldn't be drawn to these rooms. I have used this method on my dining/kitchen area (see bottom image) and IT WORKS. It's calming but at the same time wants to make you jump for joy, this is all down to using blocks of bright colours - white for calm colours for joy. Simple!
Other images found at Campagne Decoration