a piece of the past

In December last year I was forced to spruce up the house quite a bit as we were renting it out over the Christmas season (it's amazing how you suddenly notice how shabby things are looking when you have to look at your house as a stranger would. Eeek!)

Anyhow, although nothing will beat white-on-white-on-white for bed linen, I did want to break things up a bit and create a bit of a mood. So, I found these gorgeous Swiss prints at my local haberdashery (Global Textiles for those in Cape Town - and yes, they still have them). I kept the bed linen very neutral (white or pale grey) and then added the floral prints on the pillow slips. The base-cloth is the most sublime, soft 100% cotton and I paired the print with plain taupe, white, grey or pale blue slips.

They've been such a hit (OK, mostly with me) that I went to see if I could find some more. I did! Fabric World in Wynberg has a BIG FAT range of vintage prints. So so lovely. They also have plain, striped and gingham chambrey which works wonderfully with the floral prints. If you like the look but can't find any near you, track down quilting fabric. Some of the designs can be a bit naff but you're bound to find some gems (like the small floral on the chartreuse and duck-egg blue background in the second photo). 

If you're worried that the men in your life will come down with hives if you bring florals home (BK once told me he doesn't like fabric that looks like "granny fabric), the secret is to a) sneak it in bit by bit and b) mix it up with something like the geometric blue and green prints (above).

The course-woven grey cotton (above) is home dyed. If you're a perfectionist, I don't recommend home dying - it's not very neat! (Don't look too closely!)

How insane are these bright colours? The one with the turquoise background is my latest find and I always have sweet dreams when I sleep on it :)

I know not all my readers are based in Cape Town, so I hunted down some other vintage prints and found these ones (below) from americanfolkandfabric.com. So stunning.

Pip Studio are of course the besterestest when it comes to beautiful, fresh florals. You can buy all these goodies in the next four shots online. 

Last but not least, if you like the vintagey, romantic styling, do do do check out Selina Lake's work. She has a number of books you can buy (deliciously lovely) and you will find tons of her work online (mostly on Pintrest).

Till next week flowery nerds x :)