mint leaves

Mint leaves: an initial (and rather imperfect) attempt at designing a patterned fabric. (I'm really into mint at the moment). I'm planning on experimenting with illustrating and printing my own fabrics very soon, so please do watch this space.

in the press... stylist 28/04/2014

hone at home

What do you think of our new Ionic capital? It was made by master plaster caster Peter Hone and it's absolutely my favourite new thing. With work, we recently commissioned Peter to make about twenty very large casts (including an extraordinary 4' x 6' griffin plaque) for the decoration of a house's grand stair hall in Wiltshire. A selection of his smaller pieces can also be found at Pentreath & Hall. After years of yearning, I'm so happy to finally have a piece of Hone to call my own. Until the capital can be hung safely in our hallway, we've put it in the sitting room fireplace, and crowned it with a pineapple.

We collected the capital from Peter's flat a couple of weekends ago. For half a century Peter has lived on the same West London square - his flat is one of the most incredible homes I've ever been lucky enough to visit. The walls are covered from floor to ceiling with his wonderful plaster casts. The place is a pantheon to classical ornamentation in the spirit of collector Sir John Soane, bursting with busts, urns and architectural fragments collected over the years.

Peter and his (extremely) energetic little dog Basil. I completely adore this quote from Peter: 'Asking how many plaster casts I've made in my life is like asking how many peas one's podded in the pea factory.' O ho! My collection of Peter Hone plaster casts has has started life...

miles redd

Wow, what a title. I'm really enjoying my enormous new book from Miles Redd, the Atlanta-born, Manhattan-based decorator. Chronicling the fantastical settings Miles has created, The Big Book of Chic sifts through the Beaton Portraits, Cocteau sketches and Fitzgerald novels that have influenced his dramatic style. This is one of those really rare, special books that I come across only every so often - it's one of those books that I know I'm going to want to flick through over and over again and I'll find totally inspiring for years to come.

'This is a book about dreams coming true; the curiosities in the rooms I have decorated; and the people, artists, and places that have inspired me. When all is said and done and I am long forgotten, maybe someone will find this book in a dusty library—if such a thing still exists—and glimpse a bit of the pleasure my life has given me. I want them to have the sensation of dancing across an MGM soundstage, silhouetted in a klieg light, because that was my intention with this book, a very personal blend of work and fantasy.'

Miles Redd

Miles Redd's very own art-filled sitting room. I mean, isn't it utterly fabulous? I'm enjoying pink and red as a colour combination very much at the moment, no doubt originally inspired by Mendl's, the fictional bakery in The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Packaging perfection. Oh how I wish I could actually pop into Mendl's and pick up a gorgeous, pastel coloured courtesan au chocolat. (See below!)

Talking of pink and red colour combinations, I love my new fisherman's pullover from American Apparel - it's the perfect shade of dusty pink. I'm very much into wearing it with my old red woollen jacket - I picked it up on Brick Lane, I think, four or five years ago. It's still one of my favourite jackets, even though it's kind of falling apart. I love the colour so much - pure old-fashioned telephone box.

Heaven!

wish list: spring bags

Junya Watanabe Leater-Trimmed Flower-Print Canvas Backpack from MR PORTER.
WANT Les Essentials de la Vie Orly Leather and Canvas Tote Bag from MR PORTER.
Fjallraven Kanken Classic Backpack in Warm Yellow from I Love My Kanken.

Image: Three Sunflowers in a Vase by Vincent Van Gogh.

in the press... grazia 14/04/2014

hockney dreams

A new addition to the walls at home - this fabulous Hockney poster from a 1988 exhibition at the Met. (The exhibition closed almost exactly a year before I was born!) Resting above our 40s Italian bar cabinet, we chose a bright yellow frame to compliment both the poster itself and our freshly painted dark green walls. I love the overall effect, especially with the added palm tree candlesticks, pink candles and pineapple ice bucket. It's a pretty tropical corner. We've got a few extra things for the sitting room on their way - a new mustard velvet sofa, marbled paper lamp shades and an Arts and Crafts side table. Photographs to follow shortly!

cushions by luke edward hall

I'm very excited about my first collection of cushions which I am launching this spring (I've spoken about this new venture previously here and here). Visit my newly created Facebook page by clicking on the image below for details and updates. (You can also follow me on Instagram - @lukeedwardhall and Twitter - /lukeedwardhall.) Handmade in England from linen with a contrasting silk trim, each cushion has been embroidered with an illustration inspired by nature and the classical world.

All cushions from my first collection are available to order from my online shop. New designs and colourways coming soon - watch this space!

wish list: three good things

1940s Mirror with a Blue Glass Frame from Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler Antiques.
Large Plaster Bust of Antinous from Nicky Haslam. (I need this.)
Pair Early C20th Sicilian Jasper Marble Obelisks from Gary Wright Antiques.

art on a thursday

The Snail by Henri Matisse.

After 1948 Matisse was prevented from painting by ill health but, although confined to bed, he produced a number of works known as gouaches découpées. These were made by cutting or tearing shapes from paper which had been painted with gouache.

Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs opens at Tate Modern later this month. I can't wait!

art, gardens and houses in sussex

We sped out of London early last Saturday morning; we were headed for Sussex and we'd arrived in Lewes by midday. After picking our friends up from the train station, we made our way over to the Ram Inn for lunch (we stayed here back in November, when we were in town for the infamous Lewes Bonfire). We'd come to Sussex first and foremost to visit Charleston, the country home of the Bloomsbury group. I've been banging on about Charleston for the past six months so it was delightful to finally be able to see it for myself, and on such a delicious spring day too... Photographs were banned inside the house but I managed to sneak just one of my favourite room - the light, bright studio shared by Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell.

Perhaps the best ever reason to close your folly garden?

I couldn't resist.

D. and I stayed at Pelham Hall on Saturday night - an absolutely charming bed & breakfast owned by ex-Londoners Chris and Matthew. The boys opened the doors to the Tudor house last October after a year and a half of hard work and renovations. I'd highly recommend the place; we stayed in the garden room (Phoenix). Importantly, they'll whip you up an excellent breakfast too.

Pelham Hall is the oldest house on the High Street in the village of Burwash, perched on a ridge overlooking the rolling hills of the Sussex weald, nestled between the North and South Downs.

On Sunday we visited Bateman's, Rudyard Kipling's 17th-century Jacobean house - all sandstone, mullioned windows and oak beams. The rooms, described by Kipling as 'untouched and unfaked', remain much as he left them, with oriental rugs and artefacts reflecting his association with the East. The wooded landscape in which the house sits is utterly perfect, so much so we really didn't want to leave.

After lunch we took off to Sissinghurst Castle - another place I'd been wanting to visit for some time. Sissinghurst's garden was created in the 1930s by Vita Sackville-West, poet and gardening writer, and her husband Harold Nicolson, author and diplomat. This is the panoramic view one is rewarded with after climbing to the top of the Elizabethan tower.

The gardens seemed to be on the verge of bursting into full bloom.

'Historic, poetic, iconic; a refuge dedicated to beauty.'

Incredible colour. A great weekend. Totally inspiring.

stay gold

I am very, very excited about the new First Aid Kit record, Stay Gold, due for release on 10th June. Listen to an outtake from the album, My Silver Lining, below. It's a real step up, production-wise, for the Swedish duo's sound. Those beautiful strings give My Silver Lining a rich, cinematic feeling. It makes me dream of wide open roads and glowing sunsets.