Barbara Hepworth retrospective – and how to buy her art for £75

I'm a little breathless about yesterday's news that a big Barbara Hepworth retrospective is coming to Tate Britain next year. 

I saw Hepworth's work some years ago, in a show at Tate St Ives (in the town so dear to me): the Tate Britain show promises to be very good indeed, but the Cornish branch was possibly the most spectacular building in which to view her curvaceous, earthy work – and not

A bathroom cupboard makeover for £30

We have a lovely, very tall, cupboard unit in our bathroom that holds all our towels and other bathroom gubbins. 

It was actually two units (a wardrobe and drawers) from Ikea that my handy husband stitched together and, hey presto, perfect height storage...






Alas, a joyous union MDF and steam do not make and so after a few years the doors got blown and warped and generally looked pretty

Perky tea towels brighten up rainy days

It's still raining... I'm practically begging the weather to just get on with the winter, enough with the rain already!

Still, I had errands to do and so off I went, umbrella aloft, to my next door manor of Greenwich in south east London. Quite by accident I found myself rummaging around the indoor market which, on a Tuesday, is mainly second-hand stalls. And look what I found...



Aren't they

Impulse buy of the week: a toucan shaped lamp

Ah yes, we've all been there: car boot, chucking it down with rain, no bargains in sight when suddenly your 'phone rings; it's the other half: "Where are you? I've found something fabulous..."

So off I trot, past the tarpaulins and rain sodden traders to find the husband. And here's what we bought:



Yes. A floor lamp in the shape of a toucan. Don't ask me why, don't ask me how. I think it was

Bathrooms have feeling(s) too...

Hello, it's Abi here – sorry for the radio silence but I've been a bit ill and then went off to Marrakesh for a week (expect a post on all things Moorish soon). 

So, after Kate opened up the proverbial can (excuse the pun) when she posted a much-debated picture, it got me thinking about bathrooms. 




You can buy this original, 1956 Briggs Bathroom advert from Arcanium Antiques on Etsy 

Off the wall

A mini post from Abi today.

Remember my zingy apple green kitchen makeover? Well thanks to the lovely Kate giving me this rather splendid Hatch print poster for my birthday...



...I now have another print to put up on the walls. I had it framed and it's going to look lovely in there don't you think?






And another ace birthday present came courtesy of my fabulous husband – also for the

Turning Japanese...

Abi here again. I was lucky enough to visit Tokyo last
October and came back even more enamoured of Japanese design, culture
and general obsession with all things kawaii (that's "cute"). 



I
discovered the delights of the 100 Yen shops (or 78p shops if you do the exchange rate thing); nothing like our depressing pound shops
they are multi-storey caverns of absolutely everything useful,
useless

Introducing: Retropolitan

Hello, it's Abi posting today. In case you don't know it, I want to tell you all about Retropolitan, a very fabulous online vintage store my stylish friend Scarlett pointed out to me the other day. 

And I'm very glad she did – it's a feast of unusual vintage pieces with a slant towards glass and vases (but it's by no means only glass and vases). Like these...



Above left, Riihimaki vase by

For the love of car booty

This bank holiday weekend, contributing editor Abi did this...



I've just got back from the Ford Airfield car boot near Chichester; a not too big market of some of the hands-down best junk you'll ever get to rummage.

I'm feeling very pleased with myself as I've scored a load of treasure for under a tenner and had a joyful couple of hours rootling through boxes and bags and wallpapering tables

Little Nan's Deptford

Last week, Abi reviewed this unusual bar in southeast London for Below the River, a new website I've just launched (for those of you south of the Thames in London, and friends of, I'd love to know what you think).

There wasn't room to feature all the images of the bar's excellently quirky domestic interior designed, literally, to replicate the owner's "nan's front room". So here are some more.