A Splendour of Summer Florals

I recently bought a large quantity of textiles and have been slowly sorting through them. There are all sorts of wonderful old linens and barkcloths and some super patterns. A few of them have been added to the Vintage Home website and I thought I would share some of my favourites with you. Those shown here are all English fabrics as I am yet to sort through the French ones! Above, is a close-up of a bold and beautiful barkcloth door curtain.
This is a close-up of a stunning floral linen fabric, with a gorgeous blue background.

How about this for a cheerful fabric? This is a large piece of a boldly patterned 60s towelling - perfect for a retro bathroom!
This is quite stunning; a 1940s printed linen, covered in a wealth of pretty Spring flowers.

We were really lucky to get hold of some pretty eiderdowns - alas, they had seen better days so we re-used the fabric and made lots of patchwork cushions, these look lovely layered on a bed or garden bench.

These sweet trailing roses are a delight...

This is one of my favourites; cameos with tulips and pretty paisleys.

Briar roses, trailing roses and paisleys.

As well as sorting the textiles, I have a few projects on the go; I am re-upholstering a large footstool and re-vamping an old cupboard. Then there are 'new' curtains to be made for the living room (from old fabric naturally!) and a very 'vintage' tandem (a recent quirky buy!) which needs some tlc - photos will follow soon!

Enjoy the rest of your week and the coming weekend!

An English Village Festival

St. Denys' Church

Our village hosted its annual 2-day Village Festival this weekend and we were fortunate to have glorious weather, with the sun hiding behind the odd cloud just a few times! The Festival has been a popular village event for many years and was originally a Flower festival, set up to raise funds for our Norman Church. We got there nice and early before the crowds so we could snap a few photos to share with you. There were lots of stalls selling bric-a-brac, plants, home-made cakes and books, plus a flower display in the church. The stalls and sideshows are manned by enthusiastic villagers - here is the bowling alley(!) Can you see the village stocks on the left of the photo?

There was a local band playing...

...and the children really enjoyed this...
Jousting

Three years ago, this beautiful row of thatched cottages which face the village green, were badly damaged by fire. It started in one of the end cottages and spread rapidly right across the thatch. Fortunately, the quick and heroic actions of a passer-by ensured no lives were lost. You can read more about this here. There was no Festival the following year due to the restoration work on the cottages, but 2007 saw the Festival resume in celebration of the villagers moving back to their homes.

On the other side of the green is a really beautiful old cottage which was built in 1535 - it is rumoured that Rudyard Kipling lived here for a while. (The white-painted cottage with the dormer windows.)

We left just after the Festival officially opened and strolled home to enjoy a nice cup of tea back at Pottery Cottage...

Everything's coming up roses!

Well, here we are at the end of May! I don't really know where the last month has gone to as it has been a whirl of activity here at the cottage and at the Vintage Home website. Lots of exciting things have been happening here including some re-decoration, quirky purchases of the vintage-type and chance meetings with some wonderful people. I promise I will elaborate on all of this, and more, throughout the coming months! I'm also hoping to spend some relaxation time in the garden during June, appreciating the many flowers; isn't that rose a beauty? After several days of wet and dreary weather, it was a treat to be able to get outside and photograph the signs that Summer really is on its way!
This is a nice little spot, don't you think? I look forward to sitting here with a cold drink and a good read.


We have lots of these wild gladioli growing the garden, such a pretty colour...

One of my all-time favourite cottage garden flowers, the sweet william...

Here are the geraniums in the greenhouse, they are just about ready to plant out into their terracotta pots.

Despite the recent wet weather, we have been out and about gathering together lots of vintage stock for the website. There are some pretty additions which reflect the season ahead; this delightful green and cream basket is so sweet...

...these stunning curtains are covered in carnations!

This pretty lamp has a wonderful floral shade...

...and this 1950s chair is covered in gorgeous roses!

This is the star of the show though; a Victorian prie dieu with original fine hand embroidery - exquisite roses, of course!

A really big thank you to every one who has recently purchased from the shop and I hope you enjoy your browse at the latest goodies. I think I might have that little sit-down now - have a wonderful weekend and week ahead!