She sells CLAMSHELLS by the seashore

My crazy new obsession – clamshells! Bit of an odd one I know, but stick with me for a few minutes.
It all started with this beautifully classic Graham and Green chair:

Ariel Shell Chair £695

You starting to see it, make sense? Ahh yes I told you didn’t I. For me, clamshell interiors are about as elegant and exquisite as pearl jewellery – pure class. The stunning shape and natural muted tones that usually come along with clamshells means they can sit perfectly in any home and any scheme, adding a touch of sophistication wherever they go.

Once this chair had caught my eye I did a quick Google search and discovered that clamshells for the home can come in many different shapes and sizes, and to my delight, the possibilities are endless. You can keep it simple with a subtle piece here and there:

Or, go clamshell mad with a massive statement piece:

Either way, there are so many options to choose from, though I would probably stick to one statement piece, or one or two smaller shells around the house as this is a style you really don’t want to overdo.

Probably my favourite type of clamshell is the gold or brass decorative kind you might spot in your own home if you look closely enough. Just enough to add a touch of glamour without going overboard, is the perfect balance. Like the feet on this bath:

Or the detail on my bed which I hadn’t really thought about too much before:

My antique paper weight is a fine example of that old classic clamshell look that I love:

For me, iconic images of clamshells conjures up thoughts of two of my favourite eras – art deco, with its clamshell wall sconces, and the 50’s with its clamshell chairs. A match made in heaven. Here are some of the best clamshell inspired interiors and pieces I’ve seen around, including some antique beauties which I adore the most and will certainly be on the lookout for when I start a clamshell collection of my own. Enjoy.

Bit too far? Yeah I think so!

 

Shhh…no talking in the library!

So my house is in that kind of in between – decorating/organising/moving all the rubbish from one room to the next phase. I literally bag all the stuff up that I don’t want any more and move it into another room. It’s driving me mad.
One positive thing that is happening though, is my daughter’s new bedroom is being decorated. It’s painted, the toys are in, and her bed is stuck halfway through the doorway of her old bedroom (I’m waiting for someone to come over and help me carry it. Like with everything else, I thought I could do it on my own, but failed. Must remember, I am not Superwoman!). Anyway, I’ve come to realise somewhere along this ‘sorting my house out’ journey that whilst I have a big flat with lots of space, I hardly have any storage. I am in desperate need of places to put things so that, again, I can move all the things that I don’t know what to do with, somewhere else.

On that note, one of my recent purchases, well actually my mum bought it *thanks mum*, is this classic library style bookcase for my daughter’s new room.

Also known as the Potter Library Table from Great Little Trading Company this bookcase conjures up memories of sitting on the library floor as a child, when public libraries were at the centre of our childhood and we could spend hours around one of these little tables quietly scattering books all over the place and entertaining ourselves undisturbed.
Thankfully we have a wonderful little library near us so my daughter has been able to enjoy the peaceful memories I have of visits to the library, and now she can play library everyday in her own room.
It’s the perfect size and height; we managed to fit the majority of her fairly large book collection into the table, and she can access all the books without any help which means she loves having a good rummage through before bed to choose her bedtime stories.

The bookcase is £95 *again, thanks mum*, but keep your eye out for their sales which do happen quite often. I will have more bedroom decorating news soon, I hope, so look out for that.

XO