An idea: the blue room

Blues of every shade are suddenly everywhere, with teal (thanks to Dulux with, oddly, Alesha Dixon) and navy two of the most photographed shades.

And I've just fallen for this room, which features both.

It's cosy and calming and I am feeling a yearning to repaint the front room. I think I would read more books if there was a room like this in which to do it.

And don't you just love those brilliant, make-like-a-tiled-wall blinds? They're made-to-measure rollers from The Fabric Box (prices from £72 for a 61cm x 61cm size blind) and go by the name of Sunara.

Over the summer, a younger, cooler colleague than I noticed that I was wearing Birkenstocks. "Oh they've really come back in this year after ages haven't they?" she said. I have been wearing them since they first came in. Oblivious to anything but comfort and a chirpy array of colours. And so it is with my paint choices: I've just painted over a striking Yves Klein blue wall in my kitchen, which I introduced way several years ahead of this current trend. I'm either way ahead of the curve, or deeply unfashionable.

See more of this ilk of pattern inspiration at Pinterest. After several years of pin shirking, for fear of becoming addicted, I am now tragically dependent. Do join me.

Image and blinds: Thefabricbox.co.uk

The Friday edit: the week's best bookmarks

I'm dabbling with making this a regular Friday regular: a round-up of some of my favourite stories from around the web, the homes and design-y things I've bookmarked in the last week or so. 

Let's give it a go.

Clockwise from top left

1. Donna Wilson has designed the interior for the remote Fogo Island Inn, off the coast of Newfoundland. There's a lovely story behind it and the building is incredible. Check it out at Donna's blog, Leaves and Twigs.

2. Close-up images of skyscrapers blur the lines between graphic design and photography. See more of Alexandre Jacques's architectural photographs at PSFK.

3. This print (designed by Marcus Eriksson) appealed because, just like Anna Dorfman, book cover designer and author of the excellent (and also newly discovered) blog, Door Sixteen, I'm going to Sweden too – for the wedding of some friends of my boyfriend in June. Never met them. Never been to Sweden. Love this poster because it made me even more excited about it. And made me laugh.

4. A very 70s Californian beach house – featured on Apartment Therapy, it is the real deal, pile carpets and pine kitchen cupboards and all. Loved it.

5. Peruvian textiles meet mid-century Danish design at A Rum Fellow with their new chair collection. Prices aren't small (£325-£950) so if you, too, can't stretch to the chair check out their colourful Peruvian tape (£7 in the sale) and trim one you already own. Read more about them here.

6. Painted wooden spoons! So simple, yet so pleasing. These ones are from Canadian Etsy shop Storiebrooke.

Good weekend all. What you up to in this grim weather? I'm looking forward to seeing Bill Callahan...



...and other than that, staying at home out of the rain eating cosy food, seeing the lovely Jill and Terence who live in this amazing house, watching Shane Meadows' Stone Roses film with them on the sofa and employing the dog as a hot water bottle.

Post by Kate. Images: Fogo Island Inn; Alexandre Jacques; Marcus Eriksson; Apartment Therapy; A Rum Fellow; Jessica Helwick

Object of the day: CUSTHOM's latest embroidered fabric

I've written about Custhom before: the young design company's particular speciality is their unusual and striking digital embroidery technique, which gives their textiles a tactile, 3-D quality.

Now they've just launched a new range of cotton wallpaper and fabric using the same methods.

The south London-based pair behind Custhom Nathan Philpott and Jemma Ooi only met – at the Royal College of Art – in 2009 but have already created designs for Anthropologie, Liberty and John Lewis among others.

This latest collection from them has been inspired by ancient Mexican Otomi embroidery: graphic and organic shapes combined to depict man living in harmony with the natural environment. The style is said to date back to prehistoric cave paintings in Tenango.

But Custhom have given it a contemporary twist, not least with their innovative use of digital embroidery which gives the patterns a sharp precision. Each piece design has been created with skilled British craftsmen who embroider onto non-woven paper or cotton fabric.

The textiles come in navy on an off-white background, or in off-black. The fabric is £126 a metre and the wallpaper comes in 55cm wide rolls and costs £84 per metre. Not cheap, but the work involved makes these pieces works of art. And a little, I think, could go a long way with a bit of creative use.

Do check out some of the other striking designs from Custhom: I would particularly recommend their distinctive Offset cushions, and the elegant Palladian collection, which features ceramics and textiles. I have particularly fallen for the Palladian Loop wallpaper. For a budget buy, they also sell some of the designs in tea-towel form, for £12.

Check it all out at Custhom.co.uk

Post by Kate. Images from Custhom