things going on

Things going on with me right now -

Rain - what footwear do you put on for warm weather interspersed with downpours that is smart, on-trend and comfortable?

The Big Society - or the big con. Working in the third sector I will be digesting the Cameron speech this evening.

Lip stain by Laura Mercier - my attempt to move towards being able to wear lipstick.

Burkha banning - seriously, empowering women by telling them what to wear?!

Oloroso roof terrace - gin and tonic with Michelle on Saturday and despite the cold loved the views. Not so much of the hen night groups though...


Playing Rock Band - the only computer game I can play for more than ten minutes without lashing out in frustration.

old skool

I am always on the look out for cool desks - and this isn't the picture I had in my head - but while browsing the pedlars website I spotted these. They are American school desks from the 1950s/60s and I think they are too cool for skool. They have beautiful curved lines and I think would be great as an alternative to a full desk - perhaps I could fit one of these and a squidgy lounge-y sofa in my bit of the mezzanine area?


Like the shop owners say, the best bit is the space to keep books.

coffee sack chair

I love it when traditional furnishings combine with industrial styling - like this Simon chair from John Lewis which is upholsered in a coffee sack material. I like the ruggedness of the material plus it plays to my love of coffee.

lighting

I haven't blogged for a while mainly because we have been caught up in sorting out the old place and also I have been away with work a fair bit. But now we have the floor plans away and the paperwork sorted I am starting to think more about the interior. One issue I am keen to get right is the lighting. We prefer minimalist wall coverings - paint not wallpaper and pattern isn't something we go in for - so the lighting is a way to express more of a design element.

With a double height space in the kitchen/dining/lounge area I have been looking for some statement pendants that will really set off the kitchen and the airiness (is that even a word?) of the open plan 1st floor. I also want something that is modern in its aesthetic but fits in with the history of the building as a working public space.

I have discovered a company based in London called Skinflint Design who do reclaimed lights mainly from industry. They have revamped M.O.D. lights tank signal lights which I think look great - chunky and sturdy - and although they come from tanks they remind me of marine-esque fittings on submarines and working ships.


I love this unique wee lamp too - it is a 1930s GEC lamp and I think would be cool in the mezzanine. I like the large face of the lamp.


I have also been browsing the Glasgow Architectural Salvage website - they have some amazing lights salvaged from the Glasgow synagogue - which would make an interesting choice for what was once a Free Church. But they are huge and not really the right style for our place.


Half the fun though is in the search - and finding out what you like and dislike - and even if you like it whether or not it is right for the style of place you have.

thomas chalmers

In a previous post I mentioned I had been doing a wee bit of research on the church but hadn't managed to find out who Thomas Chalmers was. Well, I kindly received a comment from Simon Wells who posted this link which provides a background to Thomas Chalmers.

He certainly seems to have been a focused and driven individual - and took his religious belief and applied it in very practical ways. I am not particularly in favour of organised religion and struggle often with the zeal in which it is pursued - and my own reading is that Thomas may have had some of this as a characteristic - but I do admire the way on which he saw his faith as an active one, and where those with support those without through schooling, public buildings and activities and adding concrete action alongside preaching.

I don't know enough theology etc to really grasp all that the article discusses - although I see that a territorial approach does ensure that the Free Church maintained a close grassroots link with the people a particular parish covered, and this to my mind is better than an approach that is about holding the church apart and somehow aloof from the people it is meant to house.

It has made me want to do a bit more research around the Free Church and Thomas Chalmers so thanks to Simon Wells for sending on the link.

garden

We won't have a huge garden in the new place, but it will be big enough for what we need - namely a place to sit and savour a gin and tonic after work! It does mean that for the first time we will need to consider garden furniture. I have no idea what we should go for - traditional because it is a church? Ultra modern to juxtapose with the history of the building?

As I haven't a clue yet, I think I will just collect up stuff I see that I like then figure the details out later.

I do like furniture that has a bit of humour to it so I appreciated the Big Scrubber garden stool that Ben Baker designed - and you can get it from Hen and Hammock


I also like a rocking chair - lovely for whiling away the time reading a book and chilling out. The Rhode Island rocker from The Contemporary Home takes the rocking chair and makes it a bit more modern.


Of course, a hammock would be excellent - snoozing on a Sunday afternoon in the garden is a favourite pastime in between reading the Sunday papers and snacking on bacon sandwiches. There is a lovely one from Living it Up but I can't get the pic to show up here so you will need to click through instead.