The Peacock Throne

A friend of mine this week was recounting the tales of all the birds (feathered) he was cultivating and nurturing in his exotic garden in Dubai and mused, half seriously, that a peacock might be a nice addition. His partner immediately put a foot down and complained that the song birds were loud enough to wake him at 6am already, without a wailing peacock to add to the dawn chorus. 
However, peacocks have been adorning the Middle East since the Persians captured the actual Peacock Throne in 1789 from the Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan and promptly lost it. Seems like a rather large and valuable thing to lose - perhaps it was melted down for dental work. 
Nevertheless, in the East they are the symbol of beauty and room themes have been created around them for millennia. Now Boho is on trend, those rich colors are coming back in glorious fashion, and we can not only celebrate the breathtaking peacock but the decor inspired by it. 

 Here in India you can see the origin of the homage:

And the color inspiration which is endless and awesome.

So let's look at some incredible rooms where it's been beautifully employed. This is a very modern take and I bow to the combinations and patterns used.

Everything in this room is wonderful. The vases!

Echoes of peacock in the headboard and the vivid colors. Love it.

Iridescent bathroom. Swoon.

Wallpaper:

GREAT use of a questionable carpet. Alone it would be dubious, but they've gone with it spectacularly!

Shimmery tile...beautiful.

Excellent chair

More fabulada wallpaper

This is uh-mazing!

Leaving you with beauty...

And just...WOW.

Mining Silver

Looong before it was uberhip, your fabulada correspondent was plastering it on walls with camp abandon, but I have to say there were drawbacks to committing to a whole room when all you can find are tiny craft pots of paint. It was impossible to brush or roll on, so I had to invent a circular motion to disguise the overlaps. I suffered Tennis Elbow for 3 months after that damn room but I liked it (as they say in the Middle East) too, too much! 
Thank the lord for the new wave of silver inspirations that make it comparatively way easier to glam up a room, and no room cannot be, if you boldly go. 
I'll start you off with the Tennis Elbow room. Where were the sequined, glittered and silver wallpapers when I needed them? No where, that's where.

It don't 'alf look nice with dark greys and black. I really like the pewter sequin cushion touch. I could move in to Apsley House!

The complete opposite - silver on blinded-by-the-light white. Pretty damn cool chair though. 

Antique embroidered silver wall hanging. Look at it! Look! It's gorgeous! 

found on stephiebstyle.blogspot.com

This Tracy Kendall sequin wallpaper is a blinder. Could they have done something with that room, for god's sake? Send me some, I'll put it to good use.

I bet when Fiona Barratt did this silver wall she was glad of a bucket of wallpaper paste. Or her army of minions were.

Silver, silver, silver with a splash of Deco vanity in mahogany. Restrained. Tasteful. Unlike me, but very nice nonetheless...  

You could do this though, without much effort, given the array of great paints out there now. 

A whole roomful of glam in one chair. How cool is this? 

Nevertheless, I'll be carried to Sainsbury's in this, if you don't mind. I think my sedan carriers will be liveried in pink and silver. Right? 

Fluttery Will Get You Everywhere

Anyone who's been round my gaff knows I am a bit of a Lepidopterist. Currently my modest collection adorns my bathroom, which is a bit off-putting for anyone who is terrified of butterflies, and some people are. I think they're the ultimate symbol of beauty, expressed and manifested in the most breathtaking jewelry, art, fashion and furniture. 
I've been looking at some ravishing examples of butterflies expressed in decor, so let's celebrate them with a tour of some fine fluttery rooms and pieces. 

Butterfly stencil on a lovely silver leafed cabinet in London here

Stunning cabinet found on www.vampdecor.com

 

Nouveau gold chair by Claude Lalanne, 1924

 Fabulous butterfly chairs essential to be seen as a pair!

 Butterfly coffee table found on maxitendence.com

Damian Hirst's butterfly wallpaper print

 Phyllis Morris spectacular wallpaper...I so love this

 Timourous Beasties wallpaper in mints and jades

Amazing Timourous Beasties prints on wall, chair and pillow

Bold and wonderful mural from Design Sponge

Lovely delicate mural found on maxitendence

August Louis Moreau, Art Nouveau lamp circa 1905

Lighting by AtLastCrafts

Modern light by little black kitty designs

And finally, because it's so utterly butterly gorgeous, an Alexander McQueen shoe. Tread lightly!

When Life Gives You Lemon, Decorate

I'm very specific about lemon. It has to be Fifties or Sixties lemon or all out sunshine. Acid yellow only begets antacid in this casa. Since spring is upon us and daffs are in season, only a quid a bunch at the market, I'll leave you with a seasonal poem my dad taught me and some lovely photos of lemonade dreams...
Spring is sprung
The grass is riz
I wonder where
The birdies is.  

Photo credits here 

First up some Doris Day heaven. Beautifully restored kitchen cabinets that cock a hat at anything you can buy in a shop

Lemony delight in a fabulada Fifties bedroom. Detail perfect. 

Swans on the walls! Hooray!

Tiki kitsch fun in the sun

Little lemon chair against a voluptuous bevy of beauties.

Summer doors begging to be wafted through in a cotton print dress.

 
 Cupcakes too good to eat. Not that you'd stop me. 

Silver and pastel pink on exquisite lemon cookies.Talent!

 Cookies photo credit here

Sunshine shabbiness, English country house style. 

Not sweet but savory - tangy bedroom! 

Very crisp with contemporary, striking black & white. 

Stace's bunny....vintage darlingness from Lady Luck House of Cakes.

Which calls for tea...with daisies! Years I spent training my kid to make me a cuppa and she goes and leaves home. Have to make one myself after all that...with lemon, of course.