I thought it would be nice to end the week on a personal note by sharing a spontaneous moment of creativity with you. Lately I seem to have reverted to a 'hunter-gatherer' role - foraging for natural materials to decorate our home for the festive season, with my Christmas wreaths, for example. So I decided to throw together this rustic midwinter mood board and daydream about the holidays...
I have always loved the process of creating mood boards and find it a very therapeutic one, thinking about materials, colours & texture, and their relationships. Here I have opted for some warming blonde tones, using wood as the dominant material. I have further accentuated this Scandi-isnpired warmth by incorporating gold and copper accessories.
There are, of course, some personal touches included too, like my spiced apple tea - a must-have Winter drink for me, and my copy of Elle Decoration for some essential reading when I 'down tools' for Christmas. The pastel tones of the olive and Rosemary sprigs are some of my favourites from the garden, not least because they are true troopers - never shying away from Winter and providing all year round greenery and colour.
I should mention the semi-glazed terracotta jug, which once belonged to my awesome grandparents and yet it looks totally 'current' - I love working old finds into new compositions! Although I am a huge fan of candles all year round, it is during the darkest winter nights when I most treasure their ambience. With the soothing flicker (and scents) of their flames, candles create the perfect backdrop for a cosy candlelight supper, don't you think?
Happy Christmas folks,
M
I have always loved the process of creating mood boards and find it a very therapeutic one, thinking about materials, colours & texture, and their relationships. Here I have opted for some warming blonde tones, using wood as the dominant material. I have further accentuated this Scandi-isnpired warmth by incorporating gold and copper accessories.
There are, of course, some personal touches included too, like my spiced apple tea - a must-have Winter drink for me, and my copy of Elle Decoration for some essential reading when I 'down tools' for Christmas. The pastel tones of the olive and Rosemary sprigs are some of my favourites from the garden, not least because they are true troopers - never shying away from Winter and providing all year round greenery and colour.
I should mention the semi-glazed terracotta jug, which once belonged to my awesome grandparents and yet it looks totally 'current' - I love working old finds into new compositions! Although I am a huge fan of candles all year round, it is during the darkest winter nights when I most treasure their ambience. With the soothing flicker (and scents) of their flames, candles create the perfect backdrop for a cosy candlelight supper, don't you think?
Happy Christmas folks,
M
All images / Mike Ahern