Appearances can be deceiving! Take for example where I live! Oslo House is not most beautiful of buildings. In fact it looks like a right dump from the outside. My Mum when she first came to visit thought I was living in a squat ( To be fair, that was before the outside was painted!) So when she actually walked in the flat she was expecting the worst but instead the words that escaped from her mouth were "Well, I'm quite pleasantly surprised!" You see our flat may not be to everyone tastes but you just can't help but love it. For a start there is just the shear size of it, such a rare thing in London. The building use to be an old clothing factory, but now it is separated into two floors of live in work spaces, so the building has turned into something of an artist community. London can be an unfriendly place, but in Oslo I don't just know my neighbours ( a First in London!) but you end up knowing most of the people in the building. With its mish mash of styles and anything goes decor that most buildings could never get away with, it has so much character! The most important thing though is that it feels homely. After Claire and Debs (my old flat mates) left, taking with them all their amazing furniture, the place felt dead and empty. Its taken a while, but I feel the place is looking full of life again and may it keep carrying on. Anyway here are some of my favourite pieces in the flat:
The sunset wall paper is left over from the time of Claire and Debs, but I just love it for its sheer kitschness. The Cream Yak hair rug, we found in corridor. Someone must have thrown it out, so we decided to get get it shampooed and keep it.
The patch work throw is from Anjuna Market in Goa. I made Paula (My sister) take it home in her suitcase, much to displeasure, while I carried on traveling through India. When I went to pick it up from her when I got home, she had it in the garage, wrapped in bags because she thought it would have fleas or something like that. It did not have fleas and I think its beautiful, no matter what she says. On the shelf we have my Moroccan lamps which we got in Marrakesh.
This is an old 1950's salon hair dryer that Claire got from the set of Miss Marple. When she moved out her boyfriend Chris hated it that much she left it with us. My clever house mate Oil has since turned it into a light. I love it so much.
This picture belonged to my God mothers, mother. I remember seeing it when I was a child when we use to go round to her house. I always loved it because the woman's skin was blue which I thought was so strange. When her mum sadly went into care, Chris ( My God mother) just put in under a bed for years until I asked what happened to the picture. With that she gave it to me. Since then these paintings have become very fashionable, but I would still love it, even if it wasn't.
I love old pictures. I'm always on the look out for interesting ones, especially costume related. This is a collection of Lee Miller, pictures from the golden age of Couture exhibition at the V&A and My grandmother in the 1940's ( Which is my favourite, because she looks so beautiful).
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