Bigshine by Alek Levy

I love me a bit of Hollywood glamour just like everyone, not too much mind! Every home needs that splash of glamour in any form from a gold vase to a ceiling mirror. When I saw this chandelier name 'BigShine' (yes the light obsession continues, and in no way is it slowing down) for me it just had Hollywood written all over it. The halo of bare bulbs creates a soft lighting effect. The base is made of metal and has a total of 55 bulbs in it, I’m hoping when you buy it the bulbs are included. It has a kind of industrial feel to it, with the bare wires on show and the naked bulbs, but it still just screams glamour at me! It is from interior genius Arik Levy, who has so many beautiful and inspirational products it is just cruel to only pick one, so I have included a few of my other best bits including, Rock Canopy and Wireflow, see more here!

Sophie xo

Designer Terrarium

I have always been one of those people that love greenery, whether that is in grass form, flowers, cacti or trees. I’m a firm believer that fresh flowers in your house make you smile, and a bit of plant foliage lifts your spirit a little. So for someone who lives in the city and lacks a garden area, something that appeals to me massively at the moment is a terrarium. I have spoken of them before as a brilliant way of bringing the outside in, but when I saw these simple and classic style terrariums from Lindsey Taylor and Atlas industries I fell in love instantly. Each terrarium is custom made, and being part from architect gods Atlas Industries, you know it is good. The model shown here is 69.5” high, 21” wide and 24” deep…. that’s one big terrarium! In fact I think some balconies in London are smaller than this, so if you’re going to go for one, go large!! Although a word of warning, if your looking for something cheap and cheerful to keep your plants in, this isn’t it, this particular model is $9,500…. yeah. Find out more from Partners & Spade.

Sophie xo 

Kallemo Darjeeling

I looooove me a tea-set! I can’t resist a good solid piece whether it be a teapot, cup, tray, spoon pretty much anything to do with tea! I’m obsessed, I drink too much of the stuff but I find it incredibly relaxing and it calms me down in the most stressful situations (This is probably down to me being British – everything is solved with tea) So when I saw this brilliant little tea caddy/cart I just had to know more. It is from Swedish company Kellemo, Swedish design is iconic for is modernist look, and this little one is no different. Name Darjeeling, the smooth curve of the handle and simplistic wheels all add to this slender and sleek looking tray. The trays are made of ash, so any spillage won’t stain too badly and the frame is made of steel and comes in white, blue and red. The giant ball shaped handlebar all add to this fun and playful wheely tray. Find out more here.

Sophie xo

Carnovsky RGB

Apologies for my late posting, I have been dealing with a very poorly hamster all evening, not fun! So too cheer myself up I wanted something bright colour and creative to share with you! I remember first seeing this design ages ago in Wallpaper* and I just fell in love with it, the abstract colours and illustration really caught my imagination. It is by design duo Carnovsky who are based in Milan, it is their series named RGB. RGB is a technique of overlapping three images, each in a primary colour. The result is a textured paper that is a bit disorientating but at the same time seems to make complete sense. A massive series of these have been released as prints, wallpapers, scarves and skins for various devices including iPhones. I love this crazy and whacky method of design and the results are baffling. My personal favorite is the print just below, part of the horseman series featuring 4 parts, at £260 from No-one it’s a steal of original artwork! Oooo and this silk scarf (top) which you can also find here at No-one, if I had one of these I would probably frame it, it's just too beautiful!

Sophie xo 

String Shelving System

You may remember a few days ago I mentioned that I was getting a little bored of my current, perfectly functional bookcase. I decided what I wanted was a bit of a blank canvas, so I could create my own space but at the same time had character too it. Realistically size is a massive issue, but today I fell in love with the string shelving system, and logic has kind of gone out the window! In 1949 Nils Strinning designed this lightweight yet stable style of shelving. Using a thin string like structure and panels that assemble with as many or as little components as you want to create your bookcase/workspace. I love the idea of having a built in desk into my bookcase. I have little storage space, but am one of those people who like too show off my collection of books, films and all my other rubbish, so the occasional draw to put any paperwork is handy, but mainly the shelving approach suits me down to a T. Only one issue, this is so insanely out of my price range I can’t even begin to comprehend why am I getting my hopes up *Sigh*, oh well! You can view more details right here at Haus!

Sophie xo

Stendig Calender

Don’t you just love that insanely smug feeing you get when you have been trying to find something for some time, and you eventually find it! I like knowing that when I find something I really want and struggle to find its because its special. I first saw the Stendig calendar a few weeks ago and was determined to find out a little more. Designed by Design God Massimo Vignelli, this beautiful piece of history has a limited run (and because it’s a calendar it usually goes on sale in November/December time) at the moment most retailers are sold out due to it being half way through the year – plus you would only get 8 months use out of it…is it worth it? The clear bold dates and varying white to black pages, make this calendar a unique addition to living room, kitchen, office essentially anywhere it can be admired! Only one small issue for me is that they are usually sold in America, just here (you know a calender is good when it has it’s own website!) But I have managed to find an English retailers here, so come December I will be ready and waiting for my 2013 addition!

Sophie xo

Fortuny at Crest Living

This evening my major crush on all things lighting related continues. As I have referred too in earlier posts I am a massive fan of the popular industrial look at the moment, I wanted to find a lamp that reflected that a little. I found these brilliant big floor lamps from Crest Living named Fortuny, they reflect the sort of lights used in a photography studio. For me these lights feel like they are straight off a film set, they have a modernist feel too them, but also feel very vintage! You can find out more here, but they are pretty pricey at around £2,000 a piece. So if your looking for something a little more within budget, John Lewis have a similar light but with a hard shade compared to Fortuny’s fabric shade (Bottom) For $450, I think I could swing in John Lewis’ direction!

Sophie xo

New collection Anthropologie

Like everyone, I go through stages of loving a particular shop, and checking their collections all the time, and then kind of forgetting about them for a while and then going back to them.  It has been a few weeks since I last checked up on one of my favourite high street shops, Anthropologie. The excitement when I saw they had lots of new products in (that I want a lot of) made me get all giddy and excited – I am super cool. I have picked a few of my favourite new items, but I have two absolute top dogs, that I want to get lots of and roll around in. The first is this beautiful and elegant amber orbs lamp, fitting in with my light obsession once again. The light shade is a wire frame, and the base is made of glass and features these big bubbles of amber glass. It kind of reminds of Jurassic park, the bit with the mosquito and the amber…just me? The second is this adorable little apron, I just love it! I think if I owned this and wore it around the kitchen it would instantly make me a domestic goddess…no doubts. Have a look at all their new stuff right here!

Sophie xo

Ps: How adorable is the little octopus decanter?! I will call him squishy and he will be my squishy (For all Finding Nemo nerds...I know it's actually a jellyfish but it works!)

My favourite teapots

Something I want to ‘get into’ a bit more is teapots. A bit of an odd one I know but I just love them. They stand for so much to me, that feeling of always being welcome, of cosy winter afternoons watching a bad Christmas film, and the never ending possibilities of shape, colour and design. I just love a good teapot! It might sound a bit lame but teapots can say a lot about the owner, for example my teapot is a hand painted multi coloured striped number. So I have picked out three of my favourite teapots  right now.

My first option is this very lovely enamel tea/coffee pot from Wild and Wolf, it’s not often you find an enamel teapot any more so I instantly adored it. This cute folk style pot has a quirky illustration on front and back and is a beautiful tall thin shape, it’s the perfect balance of vintage and modern.  Next up is this beautiful oriental style teapot, which has a built in infuser, so if you a bit of tea connoisseur and only leaf will do it’s perfect! I love the bright teal mixed with the bamboo lid, it’s from a collaboration of Typhoon and Ching He Huang. Finally is this nautical number from Whittards. Its hand painted stripes give it a maritime feel, and it has a 6 cup capacity, so if you’re an entertainer it’s the perfect pot. You can see these three at Wild and wolf, Heal’s and Whittards, have fun brewing!

Sophie xo

Industrial pipe bookcase

Everyone has experienced that feeling, when they go out looking for one thing and find something usually completely unrelated, and fall in love and have to have it. I am on the hunt for a new bookcase, I’m not sure why because the one I have is perfectly healthy, I’m just a bit bored of it. So I thought I would see what’s out there. I was having a browse on my favourite, Etsy, and I came across these amazing pipe shelves. They are original industrial pipes (If you saw my clock post yesterday you will know I’m getting into this whole industrial trend a lot) and are a brilliant way of storing books if you have little space, and want something a bit different. They are a genius and easy way of creating a different look. These particular ones are from Dirty Bils, I just seriously can’t get enough of them! I am unsure how easy this look would be to achieve by just grabbing some old pipes, maybe with just the right shape and size it could work, if not these ones are around £70 for the whole bookcase.

Sophie xo