I couldn’t resist this new wallpaper collection from Mineheart when it popped up as I was scrolling through products for the weekly interior news page I compile for a newspaper. At a glance, this ‘Back To Nature‘ design by Australian illustrator Courtney Brims feels like a classic flowers and fauna design, but then hang on, is that a snake I see…?
I have a confession to make, and I can’t quite believe that I’m writing this but…. I’ve never been a big fan of house plants. Okay, before you throw your hands up in horror, I’m blaming my childhood for this (of course). Growing up, our home was filled with plants. We had macrame hanging baskets with plants. Spider plants everywhere. And mother-in-law’s tongues looking spiky and defiant alongside the fireplace. I grew up surrounded by plants, and rather than making me appreciate and enjoy all this natural greenery, as soon as I had my own place I made sure that it was a plant-free zone. Too busy, too leafy, too spiky, too green. There was no space in my home for plants.
I’ve been an admirer of Dowsing & Reynolds for some time – we’ve used their matt black switches and sockets at home, and their Trikonasana pendant light hangs in my yoga space, glowing with their beautiful squirrel cage filament bulbs. (And could there be a better-named light for a yoga space!) Deciding to use matt black for the hardware also fitted in with a wider aesthetic: when redesigning the kitchen and shower room – a long term plan once the budget allows – I’m planning to use black taps in both, and a black shower. All with a lovely matt finish, of course, as looks aside, that tactile quality makes these everyday pieces a real pleasure to use.
It’s been a stressful week between work (the least stressful bit as I’ve had some great interiors to write about) and family, plus a small hound who’s been reacting badly (I think) to some anti-anxiety meds, so neither of us have been sleeping. Yes, today requires a steady supply of caffeine and Montezuma’s dark chocolate. So before diving into another interview and another print deadline, I wanted to share this beautiful, serene interior that I happened across on Pinterest, which led me to this post on Krone Kern. This is the home of Elin Kickén, who is one half of the Swedish stylist duo Sundling-Kickén, and the interior was photographed by Mikael Lundblad for Residence Magazine.
One of the main things that made me want to get back here after a break was simply blogging about things that catch my eye. Design I love and houses to get excited about. You know when you see something interesting and just want to write about it? That’s why I blog. And one of my favourite houses that I’ve shared here was back in 2013 when I came across the C/Z House in the Portuguese Azores, designed by SAMI Arquitectos – a minimal and contemporary black timber-clad house with flowing open plan spaces designed for family living, and with large windows and glazed walls creating an indoor-outdoor flow. While simple and graphic, the house also blended with its natural environment, as if hugging the rugged landscape.
When I look at this house, just as a set of photos without any of the accompanying details, I’d…
5th July 2018
I’ve featured Havwoods on Copperline before in this beautiful London apartment from 2016, and I wrote at the time: ‘Every…
29th June 2018
I’ve long been an admirer of Tom Raffield’s lighting designs – indeed, I have my eye on the curvaceous…
27th June 2018
Every so often you come across a project that just connects. Aesthetically, it’s exactly your style. And, for me,…
21st June 2018
It’s been ages since I last posted, and it’s good to be back. A lot has happened in the…
18th June 2018
I’ve interviewed many people over the years who have taken on massive refurbishment projects, and always wondered, how do…
13th April 2018
It has indeed been a while since I’ve been here, and I wasn’t expecting to be taking such a…
4th April 2018
If, like me, you’re already an admirer of the Copenhagen-based Norm Architects – the home of Norm’s co-founder Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen has…
19th January 2018
Hello and welcome to Copperline. My name is Fiona Reid and I'm a freelance journalist specialising in interior design and architecture.
