Category: Art Deco

1. "This is a Spot Most Beautiful" Eltham Palace's Art Deco Elegance

   Posted on 8:00am Sunday 13th Sep 2015

   

   Entrance Hall

   Eltham Palace is best known today for its sumptuous art deco interiors created in the 1930s - 1940s when Stephen and Virginia Courthauld resided there. The house however has an amazing history, from medieval manor house and Tudor royal palace to the Courtaulds, which is covered my original blog post.

   Last month I made a long overdue return visit to as this year they have opened five more rooms and this blog is going to focus on its art deco interiors, although at the time this style would have been referred to Moderne, as the term art deco wasn't coined until 1960s. If you think the Entrance Hall looks amazing wait till you see the bathroom. Warning there are rather a lot of photos. 

2. Scones of the Month - August 2015

   Posted on 8:00pm Sunday 6th Sep 2015

   

   Maison d’être

   This month’s blog is a bit of a scone fest, featuring a whopping six reviews, and including scones from London, York, Oxford and Northampton. Be warned it’s a bit of a long one but hope you enjoy the photos. I’ll start with this month’s only London entry which serves an extraordinary selection of  jams.

3. The New Lady Betty Afternoon Tea in the Art Deco Splendour of the Queen Mary Inspired Belmont Room

   Posted on 6:00am Saturday 15th Aug 2015

   

   Bettys has just introduced the new Lady Betty Afternoon Tea and earlier this week I visited their elegant Belmont Room in York to partake of this. For anyone unfamilar with this small chain of delightful tea rooms in Yorkshire you may like to read my original blog post Bettys is Brilliant. 

4. The Roof Gardens in Kensington - London's Enchanted Gardens

   Posted on 7:00am Friday 19th Jun 2015

   

   The Roof Gardens London are utterly magical. I visited recently, when the gardens were open as part of the Open Garden Squares weekend, and although it was a dull and drizzly morning, they certainly have more than a touch of Hollywood glamour about them and I felt like I had just walked onto a movie set. Don't forget to look out for the flamingos!

5. Meet Raving and Melancholy Madness

   Posted on 9:00am Saturday 23rd May 2015

   

   Melancholy (right) and Raving (left)

   On arrival at the recently re-opened Bethlem Museum of the Mind I was met by Raving and Melancholy Madness. These two iconic, 7 foot tall, reclining figures depict two different forms of mental ill health. They were made by Caius Gabriel Cibber, who also made the bas relief at the base of The Monument, and the sculptures were originally on display at the hospital’s entrance in Moorgate, from 1676 to 1815. When the hospital moved, into the building which is now the Imperial War Museum London, the statutes were moved to the entrance hall but kept behind curtains. Today once again they welcome visitors to Bethlem Royal Hospital as they grace either side of the beautiful, art deco staircase. 

6. Croydon Airport - London's First International Airport

   Posted on 7:00am Sunday 17th May 2015

    

   Before the days of package holidays and low cost airlines, back in the early 1900s the thrill of air travel was only available to the wealthy. In 1920 Croydon Airport became London's first international airport when customs and passanger handling facilities were introduced. Today the main terminal building, with its control tower, has been converted into offices and is home to a fascinating visitor centre which is open to the public on the first Sunday of every month.

7. Scones of the Month - April 2014

   Posted on 10:00am Thursday 30th Apr 2015

   

   Baglioni Hotel

   April has been another busy month which has involved some delicious scone eating in London, Birmingham and Exeter and saw me trying scones with nutella, I will give you my verdict about that shortly.

8. How cool is this bespoke ice cream sundaes at The Colony served with art deco glamour?

   Posted on 12:00pm Tuesday 24th Feb 2015

   

   When I heard that The Colony Grill Room at The Beaumont was serving bespoke ice cream sundaes we just had to investigate. So on Sunday (very appropriately) Davide and I went along to sample its delights.

9. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, How Can Anyone Not Love a Man who Designed Tea Rooms?

   Posted on 9:00am Wednesday 18th Feb 2015

   

   Today Mackintosh Architecture opens at RIBA (The Royal Institute of British Architects) and is on until Saturday 23 May 2015. Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868 – 1928), the Scottish architect and artist, is one of the most influential designers of the late 19th and early 20th century and this exhibition devoted to his work features over 60 original drawings, models and films. This is one of the exhibitions I am most looking forward to seeing in London this year as Mackintosh is very special to me as it was discovering more about his work that started my passion for architecture and design, particularly my appreciation of modernist styles.

   Mackintosh was born in Glasgow and most of his surviving work can be found in his home city. In 2006 Wendy Jo, dear friend and fellow CRM lover, and I visited Glasgow and joined the Mackintosh in Style weekend organised by the CRM Society.  The weekend was amazing as we visited so many wonderful buildings so I thought I’d post a few photos of our trip.

10. Seeking Out Art Deco Delights - The Hoover Building London's Most Elegant Supermarket?

    Posted on 10:00pm Sunday 20th Apr 2014

    

    In my quest, *cough* ok our obsession for all things art deco, the other week we out geeked ourselves by visiting a supermarket. Needless to say this was no ordinary shop as the Grade II* Listed Hoover Factory had been on our Must Do list for a while as it is one of the finest art deco buildings in London.