BRIGHT IDEAS
Christmas is coming so be prepared
ANTHROPOLOGIE’S latest collaboration is with British designer Lou Rota and it’s just in time for Christmas. For those who haven’t added it up, we have 44 days to wait until the big day arrives.
Lou’s range of dessert plates for Anthropologie is a seasonal romp through nature’s hedgerows and well beyond. Each piece is hand-painted, glazed and decaled.
The plates feature illustrations of a diverse range of animals, including a leopard, a highland cow and chickens, all set in halcyon rural backdrops with branches laden with ripened fruits and rich-hued florals. This is her own spin on the age-old carol, “Twelve Days of Christmas”.
There’s also everything you would need for the perfect festive table, including platters, pitchers, napkins and towels all featuring whimsical illustrations of flora and fauna.
The plates are £20 each and that adds up to £240 for the twelve or a single plate would make a perfect gift, especially if you team it with something incredible and edible, such as a Betty’s cake or biscuits.
Lou says: “I wanted to use a quirky menagerie of mammals, birds, insects and fish to give the traditional 12 Days of Christmas story a bit of a twist. These, along with pomegranates and duck eggs as tree baubles, opulent swags of fruits and berries and winter foliage use nature’s own bounty as seasonal decorations.”
London-based Lou has long been drawn to the beauty of the natural world and she spent time producing science and natural history documentaries. The Anthropologie store is in the Victoria Gate centre, Leeds.
originally wanted an outdoor bath, hence naming the property The Velveteen Bath House, but the agent from Gorgeous Cottages said a hot tub would broaden the property’s appeal so she opted for something different with the wooden Ofuro tub, which is for two people and is deep and barrel shaped with water that comes up to your shoulders when you sit in it.
“We put our heart and soul into this project and have tried to create something classic and full of character, while at the same time offering every luxury we would expect on our own self-catering holidays,” says Christina, who has another reason for the no expense spared transformation.
“Phil and I are thinking of retiring to Helmsley to this property and so we wanted everything here to stand the test of time.”
The house is within a few minutes’ walk from Helmsley’s market square and for the uninitiated who don’t now the town well, it is popular for good reason
It is a picture postcard town nestled at the foot of the North York Moors and has restaurants, an outdoor swimming pool, gastro pubs and cafes and there’s also the much-loved Walled Garden countryside, Helmsley, and countryside on its doorstep.