Monday 27 May 2013

Painting and decorating





Up at Tillypronie, where the sun is shining at last, we have been dabbling with different paint samples, trying to find the right shade for the morning room (redecoration having been called for after the depredations of a cruel winter). I was determined to find an exact match for the beautifully faded chintz cushions; was their background Wimbourne White or Pointing, or could it be String or Clunch? Yes, we ventured down the Farrow & Ball path -- lured by Slipper Satin and Calamine -- but in the end, settled on Classic Cream, from Homebase House of Colour. (And if you ask me, it's just as subtle as F&B, and much less expensive.)
Meanwhile, I have also been diverted by a picture in the study by Winifred Austen (a painter and engraver of birds and animals), which is a preparation for one of her delicate etchings. She sounds intriguing (you can read a little more about her here); and even the briefest biography suggests the outline of a story worth telling at greater length. One of her teachers at the London County Council School of Arts and Crafts was named Cuthbert Swan; her first commissioned work was in 1898, when she was 22, for E. Nesbit's 'Book of Dogs'; her housekeeper in Suffolk, Mrs Field, was also known as Mouse (oh, and she had an early interest in psychical research).
Much more to report -- including a trip to Braemar Castle, on the trail of a former editor of Harper's Bazaar; but first must quickly get outside for a walk in the heather, before returning south to London and the working week again...

11 comments:

enid said...

Welcome back to blogland I was getting tired of the magnolias. I love your decorating description and what an interesting person she seems to be. I would love to read more.
Here winter is starting so I think that my friend who painted her bedroom bright red has the right idea. Do you remember Diane Vreeland's room in the movie The Eye has to travel - the red room it looked so warm.

Justine Picardie said...

Sorry to be so slow in blogging -- and hope all is well with you, dear Enid. F&B have a nicely warm red, calling Dining Room Red, that you might like...

kairu said...

What lovely paint colors...and that chintz is gorgeous. I myself had a bit of a painting mishap when I ordered Creme Brulee instead of the Creme Caramel which is my original paint color. Now I have to go through the mild humiliation of exchanging it. Who knew that Benjamin Moore produced two colors named after custardy desserts?

But at last the Vitsoe shelves are up on the living room wall, and they look so gorgeous it is worth having to patch up the dining wall (long story) and repaint...

Have a lovely week ahead.

Justine Picardie said...

I'd rather eat Creme Brulee than Creme Caramel, but I'm guessing the latter looks a bit more deliciously pale in paint form?
Good luck with the paint exchange!

Anonymous said...

Ah, those paint names! Just as with perfume, I get seduced by the words first!

Unknown said...

The cabbage roses are beautiful, reminds me of the old Sanderson archives.
www.sandradanby.com

The Scrivener said...

Glad you're back on the blog! Love that preparatory painting - especially the ladybird on the leaf.

I have Clunch in the hall and Elephant's Breath in our bedroom - doesn't sound very appealing when I put it like that...

Did you ever get any clue what happened to Bill, or does it remain a baffling mystery? I was thinking about him again this week - our much-loved cat died yesterday, a couple of months short of her 20th birthday, a very long and happy life. Feeling the loss acutely this morning but we know how fortunate we were to have the privilege of being with her at the end.

Justine Picardie said...

If anyone happens to know the name of that chintz -- and where I might track it down again -- I'd be thrilled.
And I too am a fan of Elephant's Breath and Clunch; also Calamine, which looks lovely in a neighbour's house in London.
As for Bill -- his loss is still keenly felt here (and everywhere else besides). No trace of him; a heartbreaking mystery...

The Scrivener said...

To have no chance to say your goodbyes to a much-loved animal must be the hardest thing.
I feel for you x

Justine Picardie said...

Thank you. Have just been for a solitary walk, and kept hoping that Bill might suddenly appear, as if by magic...

Unknown said...


I want to give a big thanks to a great spell caster commonly known as DR TAKUTA for the great spiritual prayers he did in my life by bringing my ex-lover back to me after many months of breakup and loneliness. With this, I am convinced that you are sent to this word to rescue people from heartbreaks and also to help us get the solution to every relationship problem. for those of you out there who have one relationship problem or the other why not contact DR TAKUTA. that is the best place you can solve all your problems, including a lack of jobs and promotions, binding and marriage spells, divorce and attraction spells, anxiety and depression problems, good luck and lotto spells, fertility, and pregnancy spells, and also the business success and customer increase, winning court cases and many more. contact him at takutaspellalter@gmail.com or contact mobile contact +2348158676990