New gull prints from Howkapow

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside... where giant seagulls swoop down and snatch your sandwich from your hand. 

Oh stop it. Put that cynical image out of your head and marvel, instead, at these lovely new prints, by Bristol-based illustrator, Paul Farrell, on sale for £50 each at Howkapow.

From left to right: Greater black backed gull print; Herring gull print; Black headed gull print

Paul's work draws mainly on nature for inspiration and I really like lots of his other work too. Especially his colourful tree silhouettes, bright pigeons and sleeping foxes. If you can't stretch to a print, most of his pieces come as cards, too, printed on nice recycled card in different shades, for just £3.50. Size isn't everything.

See more at Paul Farrell's website.

Make your own Victorian engraving, mash-up style with Kristjana S Williams

London Design Festival looms large – it opens this Friday, with a zillion aesthetically interesting events filling the capital's nooks and crannies. There are the five key – official – locations, which you can check out here, if you're interested, but what I always love most are the side events – the quirky shows, practical sessions and social gatherings in interesting and beautiful shops.

Such as the make-your-own-Victorian-botanical-mash-up event, on Saturday, hosted by Icelandic artist Kristjana S Williams, whose intricate, colourful work – appearing at her exhibition Anachroquarianism, hosted by the excellent Outline Editions, and inspired by Victorian engravings – you can see below...

Andy Audubon, £215 (841mm x 590mm)

Barraband Parrot, £110 (420mm x 297mm). Also available in a larger size.

Fjoluraut Pall, £110 (420mm x 420mm). Also available in a larger size.

Aren't they beautiful? Her show's official title is 'Kristjana S Williams Vs The Victorian Engravers' and Kristjana's 'mash-ups' of the old and the new have already been shown at the V&A and Somerset House. One to watch.

And this new show – which runs from this Friday to 22 September – also takes place at a rather special venue, Shapero Rare Books, in Mayfair which, alongside rare books, also has a substantial, original collection of natural history prints from naturalists and illustrators including John Gould, Joseph Wolf, Jacques Barraband and Edward Lear.

Kristina's prints will be available to buy, from £85 upwards, alongside the original Victorian works in Shapero's collection.

But you also have the chance to create your own illustration and collage based on the originals – in a free workshop that Kristjana is hosting during the exhibition. It happens at the book shop, this Saturday, 15 September, between 2pm and 4pm. Reserve your free place by emailing info@outline-editions.co.uk

Raudbedur, £145 (594mm x 420mm). Also available in a larger size.

Rosaur Hjartur Tre, £215 (841mm x 590mm)

This, below,  is one of the originals, also on sale direct from Shapero Rare Books from £100 upwards. This beauty, however, L'Aracari Koulik male de la Guyane. No 13 by Jacques Barraband, costs signficantly more...

Anachroquarianism 14 – 22 September 2012 at Shapero Rare Books, 32 St. George Street, London, W1S 2EA. Tel: 020 8451 3400. Mon – Fri 09.30 – 6.30 pm; Sats 11 – 5 pm. Free entry.

How to… bring some outdoors inside

My most calming room is the one painted with a-hint-of-green, a big painting of a palm and trees through the window. Now the sunshine is out, the outdoors is even more enticing: but how to bring as much of it inside, and what else can maximise this feel-good style beyond stocking up on pot-plants? 

Most of us would like more light, but if additional windows aren’t an option, a mirror opposite, or at right angles to what you already have will double the view (pick those overlooking trees, gardens or even window-boxes).

Natural textures and colours are the ticket – but don’t go beige-ly boring: love the flat near me with a wall adorned with shallow rattan baskets gathered on a sunny holiday. So easy and cheap as chips. More advanced, Rattan Man also created a ‘chandelier’ out of a delicate, shapely tree branch – it was suspended by fishing wire from the ceiling over the dining table. 

Stone or wood walls and floors can lend a delicious calm to a space. But you can cheat – with self-adhesive wood and bricks effect wallpapers from Decowall (£9.95 for 100cm x 1m). You could also try the Brewers wood effect range at Wallpaper Direct, £36.95 per 8ish metre roll. Check out also the log wallpaper in the Pedlars country pub interior and Piet Hien Eek's Scrapwood papers.

Photo via Wantist.com

Grow your own indoor living wall with Wally Woolly Pockets, £29.99 each from Amazon, or from Wantist in the US.

National Geographic do a range of photomural wallpapers for Graham Sanderson interiors. As a feature wall it could look a bit dodge but love the idea of swathing a downstairs loo or small bathroom with ‘Sunday’ – a forest of beautiful birch trees.

Paine’s Balsam Fir or Cedar incense cones, from Labour & Wait, promise to add ‘log cabin’ feel to any home. And the packaging is gorgeous. 

For further inspiration, check the Flickr group, Inspired by Nature.