Stylish Spaces

Thankfully -  there is a revival movement churning its wheels silently but surely to reinstate the age old crafts of knitting, crotchet and embroidery - which we saw decline as children of the sixties and seventies growing up. It first came on the ramps - designers showcasing knitted jackets and scarfs, hand embroidered blouses and cute little crotchet tops over smart lambs wool pants - and slowly but surely as it always does, the trend spilled over into home decor - and that is where creativity really hit the jackpot. We saw knitted pouffes, chairs covered in knitted wool, knitted and embroidered lampshades just to name a few. I am a great believer and supporter of carrying on the traditions and crafts of our forefathers- but not blindly reproducing what existed before - rather giving a newness to age old crafts and reproducing them in meaningful context in today's world - and what has appeared on the home scene has been a source of pure joy. I have collated some evidence in pic...

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 nothing like seeing old, what-you-see-everyday-on-your-way- to-work things through the fresh eyes of a newbie in town. Suddenly you are being pointed out or asked about things you never gave a passing glance to and wonder have you really become that oblivious, has it really been that long living here... It seriously worried me that I had become one of those living zombies who go about life without experiencing life much.  Did I really need a niece in town, a fresh, young girl with sparkle in her eyes, a zest for life to match and an enthusiasm for the most mundane things to appreciate the beauty of my surroundings? Abu Dhabi to most westerners is a pleasant surprise - the sun and sand is what they expect and come hoping for, but discover so much more, pristine beaches that stretch for miles, even the public beaches are the cleanest I have seen around, amazing iconic architecture, hospitable people and the service - most visitors are blown away by the courtesy and se...

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...

Substance is the core matter around us, the undeniable, unshakable things that exist in all their glory or unglory (is that even a word?) - for example a chair would be substance, so would a person. Subtext are the labels we attach to substance, our opinions, our feelings and thoughts that we associate with substances around us. For instance, the chair (substance) may be refered to as a comfy lounge chair, or that ugly dump your husband insists on having that you can't wait to get rid of (and believe me you have tried spilling drinks on it, giving it a good beating in the hope the leather would split, all to no avail!). They both are the same substances, both are chairs, but we choose to see them differently based on their merits or demerits as seen by us. We do they same with people, give them subtexts based on our associations with them. We label them and choose to talk about them entirely in subtexts because thats how we see them- completely ignoring or oblivious to the fact...