Stylish Spaces

I was out dining last night at a lovely Italian restuarant and the only thing that spoiled the otherwise perfect evening was the temperature - it was too chilly and even though I asked the waitress to turn up the temperature control at our end of the restaurant, it still remained a tad uncomfortably cold making me wish I had brought my jumper or shawl with me. Living in Abu Dhabi with 40 plus temperatures in the summer, I tend to forget that it can get quite chilly in malls and restaurants with the aircon on full speed - a mistake I have made repeatedly, but who can blame me, it is unbearabily hot outdoors and picking out a shawl or cardigan seems ludicrous when you are getting ready to go out. But a light and  warm pashmina is a must here in the summers  - more so because it folds easily in the tiniest of bags and unfurls to provide you the warmth when needed. There is something real comforting about throws and shawls in general. The cocoon effect they improvise is reminisc...

There is no getting away from the fact that numbers and design are intrinsically and intricately linked together. Even though, when we think of design we think of slightly crazed or eccentric artists with their heads engrossed in labyrinths of forms and shapes and colours and textures, and not a thought of sterile mathematics or boring numbers crosses our mind. But the truth is numbers and mathematics determines every aspect of design from dimensions to proportion to symmetry to costs of production - every which way we look at it, design is numbers.  Remember Fibonacci and his golden ratio or the divine proportion, as its known?   It determines the proportion of the worlds smallest building block ie the atom and those of celestial bodies as well. Nature relies on it to maintain balance and it crops up amazingly everywhere - for example the ratio of male bees to female bees in a bee hive is the golden ratio and...

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel the need to runaway from everyday life, places to be, things to do, its crazy pace and not-so-crazy but nevertheless demanding  people  - and hide, almost retreat into my shell to a calmer, slower world. That doesn't mean actually running away or abandoning family to board a flight to some exotic location -no, I do not shy away from responsibilities-  but I do make myself  deliberately  inaccessible - go off the radar, put my phone on silent,  lay off tasks and meetings that I know can wait. Selfish I hear you say, yes maybe but that is the only way I can be fair to my true self. Even in my teens and twenties I was never one of those high energy, flitting from place to place person and never will be now that I am much older. Giving my self time to slow down is my way of acknowledging my value and worth to those who do matter to me the most and need me the most.  Sometimes I just...

Benedetta Ubaldini's wire sculptures Generally speaking, when one thinks of garden features or garden art, stone statues, water sprinkling fountains, rockeries and feature walls spring to mind first and foremost.  All things solid, heavy and (mostly) permanent. But some artists have blown away this myth by creating the most amazing outdoor art made entirely from chicken wire. Yes, you read it right -  plain old chicken wire that they mould and wrap around to create the most fabulously light, almost translucent and frozen-in-motion art that would be a talking point in any outdoor space. +Benedetta Ubaldini, +Derek Kinzett, +Kendra Haste, +Cedric le Borgne are amazingly talented chicken-wire artists who have created waves in the art world and (not to mention) all sorts of fine sculptures using nothing but chicken wire. Check out their profiles on their websites: www.d erekkinzettwiresculpture.co.u k...