Monday, 28 October 2013

Easy, fun Halloween décor

Here are Roost, we think you're never too old to indulge in the spooky celebrations of Halloween - and you'd be surprised what you can do with bits and pieces you might find at home or in the garden.

We plan on re-creating the D.I.Y idea we found at shelterness; a beautiful pumpkin window display that's super-simple to make. We'll also be adorning our outdoor nooks with elegant hand-written white pumpkins inspired by Lil' Luna's trick or treat one (no carving involved, hooray!). If you fancy trying out these super simple decorations, here's what you'll need: 


For Shelterness' pumpkin display:

1. Pumpkins and gourds of various sizes and colours. 
2. Dry fallen leaves (as many as you wish). 
3. Tea lights.
4. Hanging basket (if you want to incorporate it). 

Place the whole pumpkins on a ledge or windowsill and scatter them with leaves (you might want to use glue to fix them). Weave leaves into your hanging basket and top with tea light-filled mini pumpkins. 






For a Lil' Luna's pumpkin: 
1. Permanent marker.
2. Acrylic paint.
3. Paint brush.
4. A steady hand! 
All you need to do is use the marker to roughly write out your message, then go over it with acrylic paint. Let it dry, then pop your pumpkin wherever you like.




1. Mason jars (as many as you want). 
2. Googly eyes (from any good haberdashery).
3. Bandages (from your local pharmacy).
4. More tea lights. 
5. Glue.


For goody bags (designed by blogger Almost Make's Perfect):
1. Cellophane bags (available at good craft shops or eBay).
2. Stapler.
3. Printer.
4. Stiff card (print/colour of your choice).
5. Sweets!
Cut and fold the card to fit each cellophane bag, then fold over these downloadable 'trick or treat' headers and staple to secure. 




Monday, 14 October 2013

Designers we love around the globe: Australia

This week it’s designers from down under that are captivating us here at Roost Living, with a bit of an unintentional print theme – we're sure you'll love them, too.

Everingham & Watson
Brisbane based design duo Susie Everingham and Liz Watson create Australiana inspired homeware, injected with fun and colour.   We love their bold shapes and colour and this very prawntastic prawn

And of course we are not biased,  even if we do know them from our high school days..




Ink and Spindle
Melbourne-based Lara Cameron and Tegan Rose are the creative forces behind interiors label Ink & Spindle. Together, Lara and Tegan screenprint all of their textiles by hand, using ethical and sustainable processes wherever possible. It’s their prints that really set them apart and we’re coveting each and every one. If we simply had to choose, it’d be ‘blockprint’ which adorns their cushions, and ‘wrens’; a lovely inky blue pattern upon neutral cotton that you can use for all manner of furnishing projects.







Bonnie & Neil

Also in Melbourne, Bonnie Ashley and Neil Downie describe themselves as “compulsive hoarders”, clinging onto scraps of vintage fabric and pieces of timber that often serve as inspiration. The design duo, similarly to Lara and Tegan of Ink & Spindle, hand-print their expressive shapes upon bedding and tea towels to beautiful effect. We love the organic feel to their use of paint, and their choice of equally natural materials such as linen.















Thursday, 10 October 2013

Designers we love around the globe: France


While we love nothing more than to support art that's made right here in the U.K. - British designers we stock include Richard Brendon, Thornback & Peel and Rory Dobner -  we're also romanced by several other craftsmen around the world.

We begin in France, where our hearts are captured by three very different designers. The first, is La Cerise Sur Le Gâteau. Their humourous prints ooze grown-up girlish charm and opt for a signature colour palette of chic pastels.

We're also swooning over Mathieu Challiéres whose sculptural lighting takes shape in surrealist forms, including our favourite; wire birdcages, complete with vividly-hued feathered friends.

Lastly, it's Zoé De Las Cases's vintage-like portrait prints and pop art-inspired stationery that we're coveting - she also crafts charming toy sets - choose from a mini garage, kitchen, sweet or grocer's shop, fold and tuck them together and pop up on the wall - adorable.

Whom are your favourite French designers?

















Friday, 27 September 2013

New Season, New Collection

As we wave summer a fond farewell, it's time to embrace all that autumn brings with it - long countryside walks, crisp leaves underfoot, and evenings curled up by the fire.

What that also means is that now is the time our thoughts turn to our interiors - weather-proofing, if you like - with extra throws on the sofa, cosy cushions for that extra bit of comfort, and lots of handy storage that keeps everything nice and neat when not in use.

We've popped a few of our newest warmers below - we hope you love them just as much as us.


layer up 
...with a few of our favourite new arrivals 

cosy factor
new cushions for extra warmth 

throw and go 
Eleanor Pritchard's 525 Line Blanket is as heart-warming as a hug


Friday, 13 September 2013

From tomorrow: The London Design Festival

As of tomorrow, London will become a super-sized hub for British creatives as the first day of The London Design Festival 2013 gets underway.

It's going to be quite a spectacle too; "drawing in the country’s greatest thinkers, practitioners, retailers and educators to deliver an unmissable celebration of design", as LDF describes.

Blurb aside, it’s definitely not just about the designers; the festival brings all walks of life together, from art fans to buyers, tourists to children. Essentially it’s one big wonderful community of folks whom love to explore.

Naturally, we ourselves are huge fans of design; championing home-grown talent including artists such as Caslon & Co, Fanny Shorter, and Richard Brendon. Over the coming months we've plenty of exciting new pieces arriving from a variety of British designers, some of which you can see a sneak peek of below.

In the meantime, we’re jotting down the must-sees of The London Design Festival. On our agenda so far? The "Endless Stair" at the Tate Modern, re-visiting the Victoria & Albert Museum (a key venue for the festival), and taking in the "If Shoes Could Talk" exhibition - just for fun. What are your plans?


"Endless Stair" at the Tate Modern


Coming soon to Roost Living 








Wednesday, 11 September 2013

Desk-friendly plants

If you’re anything like us, African Violets, Orchids or Peace Lilies keel-over in your work space in no-time. We’re officially terrible at keeping plants.

Still, we love having a little bit of the outside, in, so we’re thrilled to have found three indoor beauties that thrive upon desks nearly almost all by themselves.

Aloe
While we’re all pretty familiar with the ‘Vera’ species, there are many other varieties in this plant’s family. This one, the Aloe Polyphylla (or Spiral Aloe), is drought tolerant so no need to worry should you forget to give it a drink every now-and-then.


Snake Plant
Named after its vertical-shooting leaves, this yellow-edged shrub will continue to flourish again and again - no matter how often it's neglected.


Chinese Evergreen
Jewellery designer Winifred Gundeck, whose home is featured on the Design Sponge blog, shows a shining example of why we should opt for this perennial plant. Not only does it blossom year-round, it makes quite the focal point, too.

                                             



Monday, 8 July 2013

Shoes, just not quite as we know them

Every woman loves shoes, but for art and antiques dealer Susan Gaston, they're quite literally an obsession.

It's little surprise really as three generations of Susan's family have worked in the shoe trade -  it was only a matter of time before she caught the bug, too. Susan and her husband Jimmy are the creative force behind White Dove & Wonder. Together, they reclaim the wooden shoe lasts that are used to make shoes; and transform them into all manner of objets d'art. 

From clocks to candle holders, loo roll holders (yes, really!) to coffee tables, the "What shall we do with these?" conundrum that Susan and Jimmy once faced has long been forgotten - only to be replaced with a whole host of striking, one-of-a-kind home accents. 



Vintage Shoe Last Bookends - now available at Roost.