Tuesday 25 August 2015

Office Space

Here are a few things that can jazz up your home office space. Going for the shabby chic/retro look? Well this will be perfect for you. 


This traditional old fashioned desk would be perfect for a large office space. This could be seen as more suitable for a traditional home interior because of the size, style and decoration of the desk itself. The depth of the desk means that there is ample storage in the drawers, perfect for those with mountains of paper work. The large surface also allows comfortable space for a computer without it becoming too crowded. This piece would look great surrounded by some of the other things in this post. 
Please visit our Pinterest for some more inspiration. 


 This old school desk would look great in a children's bedroom, a place for them to draw and let their imagination run wild. The rustic old wood may not fit perfectly into your home environment, so why not give it a makeover? This can simply be done with a lick of paint. This can really brighten up this old fashioned item and make it brand-new, allowing it to sit in either a traditional home interior or a modern interior. Please visit our Pinterest page to see how you can do this. 


 This beautifully woven world map looks great against a backdrop of wooden cladding walls. The map could sit above a desk giving the office a wall feature, a conversation starter for people visiting or simply something that you can look at and imagine where you could be when you're sat at home working. The material texture of this map allows you to mark where you've been without creating holes in the fabric, so you could simply hand thing against a corkboard to save your wall from any pin marks. 
This piece can become a feature on a plain wall in any room of the house. 


These old fashioned suitcases are a great accessory for any house, modern or traditional. Stacking these in a hallway or under the stairs creates a unique space that can be used to display flowers or ornaments. 
Take a look at what we have pinned



Friday 21 August 2015

Kitchen Collection

This summer could be the perfect time to give your kitchen a little makeover. Want a little inspiration on how to do so? Well keep on reading and I'll tell you how. 
 
The beautifully crafted Kitchen Island made using reclaimed timber and oak would look great in any home. The contrast between the painted timber and oak worktop makes it perfect for any style house that being modern or traditional. My favourite design feature of this is the large storage area at the rear of the unit. This space could be used to store a number of old apple crates giving the unit a shabby chic look. If this isn't your style then you could use it to store the necessities like plates or any kitchen tools that are too big for the worktop. Or you could simply leave this space free and use it as a place to comfortably sit at to eat your meals. 


The butcher's block. Perfect for a smaller kitchen giving you that extra space you've wanted. It's like a smaller version of a kitchen island. You can use it as storage and an extra area to prepare food. The unusual checkered pattern on the wood will create a real feature in your room, a focal point, and a conversation starter. This piece would look great in a traditional country kitchen.


A church pew is a great alternative to dining chairs. They are however usually seen as old and antique more suitable for the country-style interiors, but they can work just as well with modern decor. Church pews usually have relatively simple designs making it easy to place in any room in the house. If you don't like the colour of the wood, fear not. Painting the pew in a white or pastel colour modernises the pew and still allows the detail to show through. Not only can the pew be used in the kitchen, but also another great place is the hallway, a great focal point as soon as you enter the house and a great spot to put your wellies on. Please visit our Pinterest to see more ideas on how to style your church pew. 


How can you use these old apple crates in your kitchen at home? You can simply just use these for storage, in the kitchen unit or under the butcher's block for example. But there are other ways to show off these vintage boxes. Fix them to the wall and use them as shelves for your kitchen essentials or fix them side-by-side to create a book case for all those recipe books clogging up your worktop. You could convert this retro piece into a herb garden giving your kitchen an extra bit of colour. 
Please visit our Pinterest to find more ideas. 




Monday 17 August 2015

Zaza


Hello, 

I'm Zaza the zebra who you might see hanging around the Cotswold’s. I guess you're wondering what I'm doing all the way over here and not at home in Africa with my fellow zebra friends. Well that's why I've decided try out using this thing called the internet to tell you where it all began. (Please bare with me on this one, I'm not used to this writing malarkey). 

So, in May 2015 my good friend Dave Danson Hill was asked by the Wilderness Wildlife Trust and TUSK to build a 4-meter tall rhino to raise awareness of the species and how its global population has been endangered by decades of poaching. The Wilderness Wildlife Trust supports a wide variety of projects across Africa, seeking to find solutions to protect and save endangered species. TUSK has worked to help keep many different endangered species safe. These include the African Elephant, black and white rhino, cheetah, chimpanzee, mountain and lowland gorilla, African wild dog and Grevy's zebra. 
This Rhino stands proudly on the cliffs looking over Port Isaac in Cornwall. He named this masterpiece Wryno. Due to Dave's links with friends in Africa, it was decided that this could not only support a number of different charities but also become a wide range of beautifully crafted 4-meter tall wild animals. And this is where I come in. 

I support the plight of my cousin, the Grevy's zebra - we are becoming one of the most endangered species because of hunting and losing our habitats. We used to be found in many different areas of the world. Here are just a few: Ethiopia, Kenya and East Africa. However due to our rapid decline, we are now confined to the Horn of Africa (Southern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya).... and now the Cotswold’s!! Who would of thought it ay?! Apart from all the rain and chilly weather, I'm actually really enjoying it here, no running away from cheetahs and lions, just relaxing and nibbling on your wonderful green grass. YUM! Our main predators are lions, cheetahs and leopards. We do however have extremely good eyesight, handy for spotting anyone coming our way. Our stripes on our bodies makes it difficult for the predators to pick out an individual, so running away as a group is safer for us all. 


Let's rewind a little bit so I can explain to you all how I became such a wonderfully beautiful, fantastic zebra. Believe it or not, my life began as a single sheet of wood; this became drawings that became paper models that finally became ME! Dave the designer spent many evenings figuring out the best way to build my 4-meter tall figure, how my stripes would be fitted and how my ears would be made.


Below are a few selfies of me showing off my stripes...  












If you have a moment, please take a look at my twitter page- Zaza Zebra to see what I get up to.




Tuesday 4 August 2015

Our Top 5 Buys For Summer:

1: Bespoke Kitchen Island
2: Garden Sleepers
3: Traditional Staddlestones

4: Ball Foot Planters

5: Green Metal Bench

1: Bespoke Kitchen Island - This beautiful kitchen island unit made using reclaimed timber would be a great feature in any home. Includes a large, oak worktop and plenty of storage....
2: Garden Sleepers - These Summer months offer the perfect opportunity to sort the garden out and these sleepers could be used in most projects. Great for raised beds, vegetable gardens, steps and even homemade furniture or planters. We have treated and untreated new softwood sleepers in stock at present.
3: Traditional Staddlestones - Originally used to support structures such as grain stores and barns, these Staddlestones or stone 'mushrooms' have plenty of character. We have a number of different examples in stock, including this impressive set of five...
4: Ball Foot Planters - We have stocked these English-made, frost resistant garden planters in terracotta before but this Cotswold cream colour is particularly well suited to the area. Traditional basketweave design upon ball feet. Would look great either side of a main entrance, maybe planted with bay trees......
5: Green Metal Bench - A simple iron bench finished in a sympathetic green hue. Suprisingly comfortable with a deep seat - the perfect place to sit, relax and enjoy the outdoors before Autumn creeps in....
We have other design ideas for this Season on our Summer Pinterest Board - why not take a look?