Catherine

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So far Catherine has created 410 blog entries.

Restoring a Vintage Table

Robbie Burns said, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. We flew down just before Christmas discussing paint colours, cushion covers and candlesticks. One small delivery of furniture had happened and we were looking forward to the main delivery and sleeping on a real bed. It didn't happen. Our removalist was unusually silent and we finally received a text that he had suffered a heart attack and was in hospital with three stents! We reassured him that it was just furniture and went back to our empty space and inflatable mattress. Vintage Furniture We had

2023-08-23T13:22:31+00:00January 5th, 2020|Interiors|Comments Off on Restoring a Vintage Table

Happy Holidays

Happy Christmas, Hanukkah and holidays! Whatever you are celebrating, let’s offer a little kindness to each other and to ourselves.

2023-08-23T13:21:30+00:00December 22nd, 2019|Photo of the Week|Comments Off on Happy Holidays

Feng Shui Colour – Green

Green is an amazing Feng Shui colour to use. In Feng Shui, this colour represents nature, trees and plants. In the Bagua Map, green represents the Wood element and naturally, symbolises growth, new beginnings, healing and good health. It can be used as a dominant colour, or touches in cushions and accessories can be enough. Just a note, if you over-use it or use it in the wrong sector, it can unbalance the Chi and give a sense of too much activity, too much growth and over-commitment. This can easily be balanced with other elements.   We used green

2023-08-23T13:21:06+00:00December 15th, 2019|Feng Shui|Comments Off on Feng Shui Colour – Green

The Colour Green

Green is a colour that resonates with nature, freshness, new life and a sense of calm. It comes in a range of shades and you need to decide, carefully, if you go for a yellow-based green which produces happy apple green and citrus lime. If you are considering blue-based shades there is a wide range of turquoise and emerald. It is important to remember the base, otherwise you might end up with different greens that clash. You can now by from paint companies such as Farrow & Ball, hints of green but be careful as they can give the

2023-08-23T13:19:30+00:00December 15th, 2019|Interiors|Comments Off on The Colour Green

Feng Shui Christmas – Silver Bells and Decorations

I love silver, there is something chic and elegant about the metal. Let's look at what Silver means in Feng Shui. Silver represents the Metal element which is all about cutting through for clarity, structure and decisions, representing focus and honesty and on the negative side, bluntness and coldness. This element is nourished by Earth - think crystals and sand as metallic and Metal nourishes the Water element. On the negative side, Metal is melted by Fire so be careful where you mix these elements. The colours for Metal range from whites, to pale greys to silver. So we

2023-08-23T13:17:38+00:00December 8th, 2019|Feng Shui, Interiors|Comments Off on Feng Shui Christmas – Silver Bells and Decorations

Have A Stylish Christmas!

Deck the halls with boughs of holly! It is that time of year where trees, decorations and lights come out. Trouble is, I don't like the traditional Victorian style decor of Father Christmas, chubby angels and general red and green shiny baubles. Fortunately, there are now lots of different styles of decor you can consider. Traditional Victoriana This is where it all started commercially . Queen Victoria's German husband, Prince Albert, brought over some of his family traditions of candles, cake and small gifts opened on Christmas Eve. Along with sugared almonds, Christmas pudding with charms inside to find,

2023-08-23T13:15:48+00:00December 1st, 2019|Interiors|Comments Off on Have A Stylish Christmas!

Feng Shui Tips – Christmas Decor

It is that time of year when Christmas markets open, lights go on, parcels are wrapped and then there are the decorations. Let's talk about the tree first. It always saddens me when you see pieces of fir trees thrown out on the curb/sidewalk after the holidays. If you can manage, buy a tree and put it in the garden in a pot until next year. Or as we will do, buy an artificial tree - the new ones look real and you can use them year after year. We haven't had one for years as our two cats

2019-12-01T17:53:01+00:00December 1st, 2019|Feng Shui|Comments Off on Feng Shui Tips – Christmas Decor

Feng Shui Conversations – Bathroom Remedies

The bathroom is one of the key rooms in Feng Shui as you will have read in previous posts. It is all about the Water element and we need to recall that Chinese toilets were less than desirable. Fast forward to now and we treat bathrooms like spas. You will recall that were the bathroom is placed in the Bagua map tells you colours and elements to manage. Let's start with some key aspects. Where your bathroom is will tell you what you need to balance in the different elements and you can also do this with different colours.

2023-08-23T13:13:54+00:00November 18th, 2019|Feng Shui|Comments Off on Feng Shui Conversations – Bathroom Remedies

A Lesson in Patience

There is that wonderful jazz song that says to, accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with mister in-between. It was one of those weeks where it was necessary to remind yourself about perspective and what is important and to look for the positive. It started with a small operation that didn't happen, continued with a furniture delivery that wasn't possible and snowballed with various minor disappointments. We had organised a weekend to start some work on our Antibes French apartment which required some organisation and planning. As with all good plans,

2023-08-23T13:11:48+00:00November 18th, 2019|Interiors|Comments Off on A Lesson in Patience

Decor Inspiration

We were about to embark on decorating our Antibes apartment pre-Covid and as I reword posts in a different French apartment, it seems like a life time away. The space has been renovated but left at a raw state with a soft grey putty paint colour and lots of light. We needed to think about style, colour and furniture! After using Feng Shui practices, we took a step back and decided that we still wanted an Art Deco feel with modern furniture and a welcoming atmosphere. For us, this means clean lines, soft curves and fun decor. The Entrance

2023-08-23T13:09:41+00:00November 10th, 2019|Interiors|Comments Off on Decor Inspiration
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