Snooker Loopy

I've certainly never made a secret of the fact I love retro and reclaimed chairs. 

The Internet is full of beautiful treasures and if I had the money, well let's just say, food, heating and water would be low down on the list of necessities... 

This chair is simply divine and is covered from none other than the cloth that is traditionally used for snooker tables. 

It comes from the ever-expanding stock at Retrouvius, where you'll find beautiful and carefully sourced furniture nestling among clocks, mirrors and lighting. 

Danish Pastry or Danish Chair...

Tough call, right? But I know what one gets my vote and it's not a flaky, sweet treat. 

I've blogged before about loving Danish furniture. Let's just say it's an obsession of mine. 

In fact, it's probably a good thing I don't live in Denmark because I have a sneaky suspicion I would have snaffled up all the good stuff and not left much behind. 

Which would be a shame because then people wouldn't be able to find little treasures like this. 

This particular specimen comes courtesy of Fragile Design, a Birmingham-based vintage furniture shop. 

And as well as some beautiful 20th century furniture, they also have great range of vintage fabrics, glassware and ceramics. 

So, yet again, it's breakfast 0 - bloody lovely furniture 1 - well, I can always have a croissant...

Big Boned

Graham & Green is fast becoming one of my favourite destinations for on line, virtual chair shopping. 

Comfortable, beautifully designed pieces mingle with 20th century classics from Kartell. 

My latest discovery from their extensive catalogue is this Rams Head chair which is made from inlaying bone into wood. 

It makes for a very pretty occasional chair which would be perfect for a bedroom or hallway. 

The Midas Touch

Oh sod the recession, I mean it. 2m people unemployed, companies collapsing all around us and a whole new generation of graduates facing a scary end to their degrees in a couple of months (jeez, it was hard enough to find work in 2000...) it's just way too depressing. 

So, in a bid to cheer myself up yesterday, I set about trying to find a ridiculously expensive and decadent chair. A sort of cathartic sticking two-fingers up to the economy. 

I DID find one of the most expensive chairs ever sold, it was Yves Saint Laurent's Dragons Chair by Eileen Grey which was sold for a whopping £19m but I have to say I don't really like it and even in my "bugger the recession" frame of mind, it is a ridiculous price tag. 

So, instead I've settled for this gold chair by Fredrik Mattson for Swedish design company Bla Station. 

Its covered in 24-carat gold leaf but I think it's anything but bling. In fact, I really rather love it and its sleekness while be  an unashamed show off. 

Right, that's me cheered up (well until I hear the news again), how about you? 

Dear Jim, Will You Fix It For Me...

...to be the designer of fabulous restaurants?

I know it's a bit far fetched but seeing though I never actually wrote in asking to be Kate Adie when I was 7 (always thought she might not want a small, inquisitive child following her round Gaza, Tiananmen Square et al) maybe I stand a chance of getting this "fix it"

The reason? On Friday I was whisked around London for a fabulous and planned-within-an-inch of its life Magical Mystery Birthday Tour. 

It included an amazing lunch at Skylon. Next to design, food is my other passion and knowing this my boyfriend had carefully selected a Conran & Partners designed restaurant. 

"This is the type of restaurant I would design" I gushed during my Bellini "look at the lights, the tables, ooh look at the chairs"



And just look at them. Sleek, show-stopping, beautiful and elegant. It's amazing how wrong people designing restaurants and bars get it sometimes. 

They should all take a leaf out of Skylon's book...

Fares Please!

I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried on the day the last Routemasters made their journeys round London. 

Ok, I'd been to a press show and had a little champagne but as I boarded the last ever southbound 159 (Marble Arch - Streatham Bus Garage) I felt incredibly sad. 

The Routemaster was iconic feature of London, as much as Buck Palace or 10 Downing St, so much so that on my boyfriend's first trip to central London, he insisted on jumping on one going down the Strand, just for the hell of it. 

But the Routemaster meant a lot more to me than just being another tourist attraction. 

As a lowly and very badly paid editorial assistant, it was my main way to get into central London. I couldn't afford the tube or train, so instead would board the 159 at some ungodly hour and travel on this rickety, freezing or boiling vehicle (the temperature controls it seemed had never worked) and make my way from seemingly-suburban Streatham to the flashing lights and glamour of Piccadilly Circus. 

Please forgive me my indulgent trip down memory lane, there is a reason for it. 

That being, I adore, love and immediately had a nostalgic yearning for this deckchair. 

It's from fabulous interiors site Pedlars and designed by Tony Davis. It's made from a selection of original Routemaster destination blinds which actually rotate on the chair so you can choose what destinations you display. 

What a piece of genius and a wonderful way to remember these iconic friends of London. 

Urban Myth?

Someone once told me that if you stand at the Eros statue in London's Piccadilly Circus for 45 minutes, you'll see someone you know. 

I'm not sure if that's true (and I've never had the time to hover for long enough) but I quite like the idea of this urban myth and have often wondered if I did have time to spare who I'd meet. 

What I really like and have since I started working in interiors, is the Eros chair by Philippe Starck for Kartell. 

It's available in a wide range of jewel-like colours - although my particular favourite is this dramatic red - strange seeing though it would go with nothing in my flat and I also recently talked some friends out of having a bright red kitchen. 

I love the way it looks and feels and how simple it is and of course being designed by Monsieur Starck it's bound to be in my favourites list. 

All You Need Is Love

I know Valentine's Day is well and truly behind us but I just had to show off this chair from One Eco Home. 

The Senna Love Seat by Ami McKay is the perfect antidote to all the tales of doom and gloom that fill all our news outlets. 

After all, you might not have loads of spare cash at the moment, possibly you've lost your job but what does a bit of love cost? 

Ok, shocked myself a bit there with my over sentimental statements so let's look at the design nitty gritty of this chair. 

It's so deliciously vintage looking with ruched back and carefully turned slender legs but best of all, there's room for two - great if you're so in love you aren't even paying attention to the recession and even better if you can't afford two chairs...

Glam It Up

Wanna put some glamour back in your life? 

Well, look no further than Jimmie Martin's pimped-up chairs. 

I must admit, at first I wasn't too sure about designers Jimmie and Martin's  treatment of antique furniture but I've come round to them and find them both stylish and amusing. 

I particularly like this chandelier one, although Jimmie and Martin also put images of dogs and birds on the backs of chairs. 

Has Spring Sprung?

In contrast to the snow of a few weeks ago, it has felt positively Spring-like these last couple of days. 

And what a difference it seems to make in everyone. Smiling faces. Doors being held open. Although I have to admit the person I saw wearing flip flops on Friday was taking it a little too far. 

But with today the first day of March and it being Spring officially only just around the corner, I thought I'd choose this chair for today's post. 

I've always loved these "book"chairs from Purves & Purves what could be better than reading a book in a chair with a book's cover.