Gleaming

A client, of British interior designer Harriet Anstruther, once said this about her work:

She knows the importance of the quality of small things; a handle on a door, a switch on a wall. The parts of an interior that we touch every day are the parts we see every day and remind us if we love or hate where we are, if it works or grates. It shows attention to detail, a love of what she does and a wish for the client to continue to love their home long after she has torn up the snagging list and gone home."

Here is Anstruther's 1840's London town house, which she resurrected from shambles to sanctuary...

See and read more here

Walnuts Farm

Beautiful Walnuts Farm consists of a traditional Wealden farmhouse built around 1800, with a separate two-storey granary outbuilding. Set in 5 acres of gardens, meadows and woodland, it is available for location shoots...

Homestore Kitchen

Much of my previous kitchen was tiled in subway from floor to ceiling, and I must admit that I never tired of its pristine and gleaming whiteness. The spectacular kitchen of British chef, photographer, and design impresario Alastair Hendy rekindled my obsession with those thin rectangular slabs - my new kitchen may be clad shortly...

See more at Remodelista

An Old Stoic for a Night or Two?

Never thought I would be so excited to go back to boarding school. But this is somewhat different. My dear nephew is getting married at Stowe (where he teaches economics), and we are staying in one of the school houses. This is no ordinary institution, however. Very Brideshead Revisited, I cannot wait to whip out my camera...

Incidentally, while I am away, the blog will morph into a travelogue of sorts. I won't bore you with the nuts and bolts of the trip, but promise an interesting image at least once a day.

All images from here, and further info here

Jean Shrimpton

Penzance, or 'Holy Headland' in the Cornish language, is where my husband, 13-month old daughter and I once spent a special night in a Georgian Gothic hotel with views across to St. Michael's Mount. Dating back 400 years, the distinctive sky-blue Abbey Hotel is chock-full of antiques, books and gilt mirrors - rather like staying in a grand and slightly eccentric English home. The owner just happens to be... Jean Shrimpton.

The Shrimp, as she was known (a nickname which she loathed), was said to have represented the 'coltish, gamine look of the Youthquake Movement in sixties swinging London'. That retroussé nose, doe eyes, aristocratically arched eyebrows and naturally pouting mouth defined the look of the day.

Shrimpton still owns the hotel and has done so since 1979. It is a wonderful place to stay, and naturally I was desperate for a glimpse of that elusive face. No luck that time, but these images are penetrative enough to suffice, for now...

Photographer: David Bailey 1963

Thanks to here for an extraordinary bank of images...