my life

My home style: The flat 2013

| blueskygirlie

Back in 2013 my flat was featured in the book ‘Style Your Modern Vintage Home’ by Kate Beavis which I was also the stylist on.  It is a fantastic book featuring peoples vintage inspired homes from the 1920’s look through to the 1980’s/90’s look and also includes advice on collecting vintage plus lots of styling tips in how to display your finds.  

I thought today I would share it with you to give you a taste of my personal home and interiors style…

All images courtesy of Simon Whitmore via F&W Media International Ltd.

I love to mix vintage and modern together so my home fitted the books brief perfectly.  As an ex window dresser and now stylist and style blogger how things look are so important to me. Am I fussy?  Maybe!  

I also wanted to show what could be done in a rented flat as so often interior books and magazines only show the most amazing, huge older houses – totally unrealistic for the majority of us.  Real life can still look fabulous. So take a look at the flat I lived in then…

The lounge – a fun mix of pop art, flashes of red and orange and retro 60’s styling.   

Table – original 1960’s Arkana, Artwork – John Lewis, M&S, Sofa – Harveys, Cushions – Matalan, Primark, Lamp – M&S, China Cats – Villeroy & Boch, Rug – vintage.

The kitchen/diner – a rented flats modern kitchen styled to feel different & quirky with a dining area designed to maximise a small space.

   

Table & chairs – original 1960’s Arkana, Artwork – vintage 1980’s, John Lewis, Fridge – Smeg, Glassware – vintage 1960’s, Kettle & Toaster – Breville, Clock – M&S, Accessories – Alessi, Matalan, Vintage

The hall – Fun vibes with a practical need.

Side table – original 1960’s Arkana, Lamp – Dwell, Clock – vintage 1990’s Swatch, Chair (just seen) – original 1960’s Arkana, Trimphone telephone & telephone book – vintage 1970’s

And finally some of the styling details – 

        

It was a great exerience having my home, as it looked in that moment in time, immortalised in a book! 

I have since moved to a new house that needs work, so look out for blog posts showing my home styling there. A bigger space will be much more fun and now thst we are not renting anymore, we can change what we want!

‘Style your Vintage Modern Home’ by Kate Beavis is available from Amazon – here 

All images courtesy of Simon Whitmore via F&W Media International Ltd.

10 questions you ask yourself when you’re 40+ & wearing vintage.

| blueskygirlie

I’ve blogged a bit about my journey to embrace vintage (see here), but still have the odd wobble.  Once you are of an *ahem* certain age (OK, I’m 42), some fashion choices can get mixed up with just looking odd or people ‘not getting it’ and sometimes you find yourself standing in front of the mirror and asking some bizarre questions!

1) The item looked ‘hipster’ in the vintage store but does it look more ‘crazy cat lady’ on me? featuring a 1980’s original sweatshirt

2) Will people get this necklace is a in joke for my love of Instagram and not just a random strange charm? featuring a vintage brass camera necklace

 3) Can an original Ra-Ra dress work when its not 1985?  I did dream of being in Bucks Fizz… featuring a batwing 1980s ra-ra dress

4) Being a hippy is still cool, especially in the summer, right? featuring a 1970s mint cheesecloth skirt

5)  Is a patterned silk scarf too ‘air hostess’ tied at your neck – it is such a gorgeous print though…? featuring a 1960s psychedelic print scarf 

6)  Is this batwing blouse more ‘Stand and Deliver’ than ‘Stand up and be counted’? featuring a 1980s Alexon high necked batwing blouse 

7)  Did I buy the dress because I like it, or because the label made me feel nostalgic? featuring a 1970s C&A fit and flare dress  

8) Does that original Disneyland vest now making me look like I’m auditioning for an middle-aged version of the Mickey Mouse Club? And is 90’s fashion even vintage, I wore it the first time around?!? featuring a 1990’s Disneyland souvenir vest 

9)  Does having a coat with a OTT stand-up collar make you look like a super villian? featuring a vintage Cacharel tweed coat (thanks mum!) 

And finally…

10)  Is it ok you have no money but the contents of your jewellery drawers (yes, a mere jewellery box is too small) are worth thousands? featuring many years worth of vintage jewellery buys

All items pictured are various vintage pieces I have picked upon my travels…

So do you embrace vintage like me regardless of your age?

All photos are via my Instagram, follow me for more here

Ripleys Believe it or Not – London

| blueskygirlie

As you may know, in our family there are 6 of us. Myself, my partner, my 8yo son and my partners three sons of 23, 8 and 3). Being in a blended family has its challenges, but also can be wonderful too. My ‘stepson’ Cam’s (although we are not married I refer to my partners younger children as my stepsons as I bring them up 50% of the time) birthday was last month and we looked to organise a fun day out in London he would enjoy.

IMG_9130 We settled on Ripleys Believe it or Not in Piccadilly and booked tickets for the Saturday. I’d been past it so many times as its in such a busy part of London but never really found out what it was. Well I think it’s a hidden gem for families! Due to the type of attraction it is we choose to not take our youngest as at three he wouldn’t really understand what he was seeing, so a family ticket for two adults and two children’s was all we needed. Now, tickets for Ripleys are not cheap – the family ticket bought online is the cheapest option at £67.96 and you can also use Tesco Clubcard tokens too. After a quick search on the internet though I found a buy one get one free offer so all together for the four of us it cost £45.82 – not bad for a central London attraction. Ripleys is in a fantastic building just off of Leicester Square and the attraction has over 700 artefacts spanning six floors, 19 themed galleries, plus an additional Laser Race area which certain entrance tickets cover.

IMG_1445 Inside it really is a mass of things to look at – mostly totally random but lots of fun. I didnt realise that Ripley has been a real person who spent his life collecting the unusual and the rare for people to then visit – there is information about him all through the tour – he must of been an amazing character. Some of it is probably a bit silly for older kids (knitted car, giant chair, upside down room) but for two 8 year olds it was perfect! There are crazy objects, models of record breaking things such as the worlds tallest man, the smallest piece of art, ornate coffins, animal skeletons and bits of meteor to name but a few…

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IMG_9133 Parts of it are more like a traditional museum whereas other parts are much more interactive. You can walk through a medieval dungeon with all its torture equipment, see Olympic Torches from throughout the years and look at crazy optical effects like walking through a tunnel of moving light that makes you think you are moving upside down.

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IMG_1444 I have to say I loved it! I loved seeing all the different art made from crazy things, part of the Berlin Wall and walking through a hall of mirrors. The boys loved the interactive parts such as the light tunnel, creating virtual graffiti as the Berlin Wall and feeling how cold the water was when the Titanic sank.

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IMG_9144 The Laser Race Attraction at the end of the tour had long queues when we got to it, but to be fair we moved to the front quite quickly. You go in as a family and then have to navigate through to rob the bank vault without setting off the alarm via the laser sensors. The boys loved the idea and did really well but be warned you do have to wiggle all over the floor like a cat burglar!!! No good if you’re wearing a dress!

There were a few parts I found a bit ‘too’ weird – there was a whole section on real life freaks and some of the real shrunken heads (including a film on how they were made) were quite macabre! At the end of the journey there is of course a gift shop which is over priced and mainly full of sweets and a hard sell if the £25 posed photo books of you in Ripley style pith helmets they encourage you to pose for. However you can leave via the Laser Race route, which we did to avoid the cries of “Mum/Dad can I have…” We had a great day and I’d definitely recommend it. Book the tickets in advance and definitely don’t pay the price on the door and avoid the gift shop. But if you have kids under 12 I think its a great day out that will keep them talking (and thinking) for long after they leave. Find out more on the Ripleys website here. Photo sources my own or via the link above.