Retro & Vintage Inspired Corner of my Home Linky

My Favourite Corner

Today I'm welcoming you into my home - its not the sort of post I would usually put together, but I decided it might be fun to join in a link-up (its my first!). This one is hosted by the lovely and ever stylish Kylie at Lucy Violet Vintage. 
Kylie hails from Perth in Western Australia and if you are not already a regular visitor of her blog please pop in an pay her a visit - you won't be disappointed.

Kylie is co-hosting the linky with Donna from Hung up on Retro. 
This is the first time I've had a chance to see Donna's blog and it was also a real treat. 

The idea of this link-up is to share some pics of our favourite vintage/retro inspired spaces in our homes.  At first I wasn't sure if I qualified - if my home is at all retro it is by accident rather than design.  Most of my possessions originally belonged to my mother or grandmother.  I surround myself with them because of the memories they hold and jumble up the good, bad and indifferent as their value to me has no correlation with any monetary worth.

The little tables (like the one with the vase of roses at the top) were made by my grandfather.  The tablecloth in the foreground of the photo above was embroidered many years ago by a relative - it has been lovingly and carefully patched over time - you can see the patches shining through in the sunlight.

I chose to photograph this vase as I knew Kylie would like it - and it was one of my mother's favourites.  I feel her presence with me whenever I walk past and look at it.  My father on the other hand hated it.  I can remember him saying that the colour always reminded him of the sign outside a police station.

I've included this second vase because I thought the colours and design fitted in quite well with the vintage / retro theme - although I think it is a bit older than the period we are celebrating here.  It comes from Gouda in Holland.

I've always loved this set - its quite a well known one called Gossamer by Royal Albert but my mom always called them her Harlequin cups.  They fascinated me when I was a child.  Today I'd never use them but keep them carefully put away in my china cabinet.

The last of my 'treasures' I thought I'd show you is this coffee set.  It was given to my grandmother as a present from my grandfather to celebrate my mother's birth in 1930.







This room is the original part of the house and started out as a forge 300 or so years ago.  (When it comes to retro and vintage I'm REALLY retro!)  I love it because it is full of character, solidly built and has this funny little staircase up the side that leads to what must have originally been a loft but is now a study.    

The only unusual thing about this room is that it is the first one I've inhabited that faces away from the hearth and fireplace.  (I couldn't take a pic of the hearth I liked - they were either too dark and blurry or the flash bounced off the mirror above it.)  Because we can't see the clock on the mantelpiece anymore we stuck the little cheap clock above the brass tray on the wall.

As all my blog friends already know we have only been in this house since March.  I'm still moving everything around to get the right balance.  The paintings in particular have all changed places since we first came here and I took the earlier pic of the room.

The pictures in the photo below are copies I painted many years ago of illustrations by two of my favourite artists.  The one on the left is taken from a Sleeping Beauty illustration by Maraja.  The painting on the right is based on one by Kay Nielsen although I changed it a bit by putting the girl next to the tree in the foreground.  The medieval looking picture in the second photo at the beginning of this post is a tapestry I made in 1980 from a small illustration in a Disney book of Sleeping Beauty.  When I went to buy the tapestry canvas and discovered how cheap blank canvas was at the time I got a bit carried away and bought a really BIG piece.      

Eagle eyed South Africans will have noticed the potjie pot (a three-legged cast iron pot).  Its used to make potjiekos - a type of stew cooked over an open fire.  There is an art to doing it well (my husband is the only expert in our house) and the results are delicious.

When we first moved into the house at the end of winter I posted some photos of the garden here (In the Realm of Faerie).  Now the garden is finally coming to life, the magnolia is in full bloom and the trees are soft and green.

In the earlier post I also included a pic of the river at the bottom of the garden.  Next to the river are the foundations of a long gone building and this big millstone.  My son calls it the Irish Round Table.

We are only supposed to post our link-ups on Saturday but because Kylie is in Australia and it will be Saturday there much earlier than here I've decided to publish mine tonight.  I think that matches the time requirement a little bit better.

Hope you enjoyed your short visit with me!