Vintages - A touch of lace

The depths of most people's understanding of lace is of the nosy, suburban housewife tweaking the lace curtains aside to see what the neighbours are up to.

Those dust, net horrors are but the sad, machine-made remnants of what, for 300 years, was an extraordinary fashion in the decoration of clothes and household goods. A fashion that saw the creation of some of the most exquisite treasures in the history of textiles. Treasures that, in their time, were prized above jewels or silks. Men were robbed and killed for a lace handkerchief and thieves were as ingenious as any in Gauteng today. They slunk up on coaches, slit open the leather backs and snatched the wigs from women's heads as these were festooned with costly lace. (Women were instructed to sit with their backs to the driver in order to foil criminals.)

Four layers of rouched fabrics were added to cutwork lace panels to make these exquisite window draperies.

The labour that went into making a few centimeters of lace is almost incomprehensible to us in an age of mass-production and rampant consumerism. How could anyone spend a year making a mere 600mm of lace? Yet thousands did, by the light of candles in uncomfortable places such as cow byres, where the moist warmth from the cows below kept the fine flax thread supple and prevented the hands of the lace makers from becoming stiff with cold.

A vanity table dressed in lace with antique dresser accessories arranged around a collector plate and a vintage red-velvet jewelry box.

The glorious era of lace ended with the French Revolution of 17809. Gowns were suddenly simple and untrimmed. Lace was used only for state occasions and people became puritanical about its expense and frivolity. Large collections were cast out by families to their waiting-maids. Fear of death may also have played some part in this destruction, lace being associated with aristocrats - and aristocrats with the guillotine.

 

A glimpse of vintage ladies' fashions ads its old-fashioned charm. Between the dresses is an antique hair-ribbon holder.

Most cast-off lace was wasted by deterioration or by cutting up and wearing out. Old pieces were worn again during the 19th century, when it became fashionable and people began to assemble collections, but the lace soon wore out and there was nothing new, or of equivalent quality, to replace it.

Serious collectors will, of course, keep their lace packed safely away, kept flat between acid-free tissue paper, mostly unseen, but there are many people who buy old lace to decorate their clothes and furnishings, knowing that they will be wearing something old and rare and quite unique.

A bouquet of dried hydrangeas and cockscomb, accented by silk flowers sits high on a wicker plant stand covered with a pink damask throw. Rich drapes of vintage lace adorns the vanity and footstool. The Oriental rug delicately complements the softly muted tones of the room.

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Vintages - A touch of lace

The depths of most people's understanding of lace is of the nosy, suburban housewife tweaking the lace curtains aside to see what the neighbours are up to.

Those dust, net horrors are but the sad, machine-made remnants of what, for 300 years, was an extraordinary fashion in the decoration of clothes and household goods. A fashion that saw the creation of some of the most exquisite treasures in the history of textiles. Treasures that, in their time, were prized above jewels or silks. Men were robbed and killed for a lace handkerchief and thieves were as ingenious as any in Gauteng today. They slunk up on coaches, slit open the leather backs and snatched the wigs from women's heads as these were festooned with costly lace. (Women were instructed to sit with their backs to the driver in order to foil criminals.)

Four layers of rouched fabrics were added to cutwork lace panels to make these exquisite window draperies.

The labour that went into making a few centimeters of lace is almost incomprehensible to us in an age of mass-production and rampant consumerism. How could anyone spend a year making a mere 600mm of lace? Yet thousands did, by the light of candles in uncomfortable places such as cow byres, where the moist warmth from the cows below kept the fine flax thread supple and prevented the hands of the lace makers from becoming stiff with cold.

 

A vanity table dressed in lace with antique dresser accessories arranged around a collector plate and a vintage red-velvet jewelry box.

The glorious era of lace ended with the French Revolution of 17809. Gowns were suddenly simple and untrimmed. Lace was used only for state occasions and people became puritanical about its expense and frivolity. Large collections were cast out by families to their waiting-maids. Fear of death may also have played some part in this destruction, lace being associated with aristocrats - and aristocrats with the guillotine.

 

A glimpse of vintage ladies' fashions ads its old-fashioned charm. Between the dresses is an antique hair-ribbon holder.

Most cast-off lace was wasted by deterioration or by cutting up and wearing out. Old pieces were worn again during the 19th century, when it became fashionable and people began to assemble collections, but the lace soon wore out and there was nothing new, or of equivalent quality, to replace it.

Serious collectors will, of course, keep their lace packed safely away, kept flat between acid-free tissue paper, mostly unseen, but there are many people who buy old lace to decorate their clothes and furnishings, knowing that they will be wearing something old and rare and quite unique.

A bouquet of dried hydrangeas and cockscomb, accented by silk flowers sits high on a wicker plant stand covered with a pink damask throw. Rich drapes of vintage lace adorns the vanity and footstool. The Oriental rug delicately complements the softly muted tones of the room.

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Vintages - What every Guest room needs

Treat your weekend and holiday guests to bedside tables equipped with beautiful, thoughtful accessories, like a carafe of water to quench late-night thirsts; a shallow wicker basket brimming with notepads, pencils, pens, stationery and stamps; and a small vase for flowers - always fragrant, invariably out of season.

Remember to stock your spare room with good books and magazines (biographies, histories, novels, and gardening tomes are always welcomes); a reading lamp with a 40-watt or brighter bulb; an alarm clock with an easy-to-read face and easy-to-set controls; an extra blanket or throw within reach in the middle of the night; plenty of close space, not to mention a dozen empty hangers for guests' clothing.

A perfectly cosy guest room - A mosquito net for peaceful summer sleep, books, cosy scatter cushions, some flowers and a comfortable armchair to while away the hours with an interesting book.

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Vintages - Simple bath pleasures

"Solitude is not a luxury - it's a right and a necessity."

When last did you spend time in the bath? No, I don't mean bathing to clean yourself - I mean spending time in the bath with flower petals, floating candles (because who can wash while candles are floating around?), candles on the side of the bath and soaking in a luxurious bath crème or bath salts. Even just listening to some soothing music or reading a couple of chapters of a good book.

Spending time by and with ourselves is essential for a healthy mind and outlook on life. It brings things into perspective and allows us to connect with our inner strength that gets scattered by everyday life pressures.



Whenever I use an exquisite flower... whether it's roses, lavender or violas, I simply toss the entire contents into my bath and sit back to watch the gossamer petals float by.



Then I have another question: when last did you look at your bathroom - really look to see what you're surrounding yourself with? Has your bathroom become a sterile room of necessities? Towels (maybe a bit old and frayed because the good linen is for visitors), facecloths and toothbrushes?

Making your bathroom a pleasurable place to visit takes just a little bit of imagination and not much effort. Buy beautiful soaps in stead of the everyday bars. A small vase with some fresh flowers, candles and a beautiful bottle of perfume displayed on the wash basin or vanity goes a long way towards perking yourself up after washing your hands and splashing on some cool cologne. Display your best towels in a basket and have some luxurious scatter pillows nestling in a corner. Hand and body lotions can also be displayed within easy reach.



Hang out your best nightgown, ready to use as you step out of your luxury bathing session, wrapping yourself in soft white towelling or silky satin if you're getting ready for an evening of romance!



Spotless white towels and linens and some white roses make this small bath a pleasure to walk into.

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Vintages - A niche to dream in

"Plain shelves filled with good editions in good bindings are more truly decorative than ornate bookcases lined with tawdry books."
- Edith Wharton, 1902

Adults love inviting nooks just as children do; such spaces seem protective, made for the imagination. A place apart, where you can gather notes, thoughts and plans. It's simply the idea of a silence in one's self that allows one to think or to feel. Creating a corner where that silence can happen - even in the busiest of households - calls for beauty like the shelf above.

Setting up a reading nook or dreaming niche for yourself is as exciting as building a new house! Lovingly storing your favourite books and stationery in one place where you can relax with a cup of coffee, snuggling under a warm throw, is one of life's blissful pleasures.

Reading is one of the great pleasures of life and an important part of nurturing our soul, gaining knowledge and finding pleasure in fiction. As such, we must make special time for ourselves to pursue our pleasures and make it high on our list of priorities.

Whether you are lucky enough to have a library filled with books and comfortable couches or choose to use a bay window area, filled with light, or a special corner in your bedroom, your reading nook will be YOUR private hide-out where no-one is allowed in except by invitation.

Your first consideration should be a comfortable chair or chaise lounge embellished with all the luxuries like cushions and throws. A coffee or side table will come in handy for a reading lamp, tea pot, some fresh flowers, reading glasses and some extra books.

Incorporating some shelves or a bookshelf for storage of your books and favourite collections is next on the list. Be creative and innovative with your bookshelf - fill blank spaces on the shelves with candles (in case the electricity goes off!) and some of your favourite photo frames. Fill a vintage jug with some pens and pencils for making notes and have a dictionary at hand for reference.

Some extras like a footstool and magazine rack always come in handy and a soft rug underfoot adds a luxurious touch. Also give some attention to the wall colour - find a soothing theme and hang some of your favourite paintings and artwork as a finishing touch.

A corner in the living room used as a reading nook.

A bookshelf and a comfortable chair on one side of the dining room denotes this as someone's dream corner.

Storage for some favourite books

A perfect reading nook

- image from decor8

So settle in with a creamy cup of coffee, your favourite book or your daily journal and enjoy the simple pleasures of life - don't get to the end of your life and find that you have just lived the length of it. You want to have lived the width of it as well.

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Vintages - Chintzware

HEART-CATCHING CHINTZWARE - For avid collectors of Chintz-ware, the flowered pottery with old-fashioned airs, the joy is in the hunt, tracking down wayward pieces that have all the innocent charm of a wild flower meadow.

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Leonard Grimwade's Royal Winton Chintzware is considered the finest and he sought patterns everywhere. He even stopped ladies in the street so he could copy the designs from their pinafores.

One of my Royal Winton Chintzware Biscuit trays - Pattern "Julia"

"Julia", "Florence", "Sweet Nancy", "Summertime", "Sunshine", "Maytime" - the names given Chintz-ware patterns are as blithe and fresh as their clustering blossoms. Yet, often collectors must go by hunch to find out the history of a piece they discover, for the marks on the bottom, if there are any, don't always reveal its origin. Take the patterns of Royal Winton, for example, perhaps the most avidly sought by collectors today.

Royal Winton's "Cranstone" pattern, with roses echoing roses. A brass wire net over the top of the vase catches the stems and arrays he blossoms. Some Chintz-ware flower vases have perforated lids instead. The amount of precise work involved in covering entire pieces with transfer patterns is probably one of the reasons that efforts to revive old patterns have usually failed.

The widespread use of these designs, and the absence of accurate records, give that extra edge of mystery to today's pursuit of Chintzware. Many pieces have 'Royal Winton' on the back stamp, along with the name of the pattern and the country it was exported to, but some older ones were numbered, not named. If there is no stamp, it may or may not be Royal Winton - you can't tell.

If it says "England", not "Made in England" on the back, it was made before 1920.

Another collectors' favourite - a Royal Winton stacking teapot in forget-me-not-scattered "Julia". An ode to efficiency, the teapot, sugar bowl, creamer and lid all fit together as one.

A prized breakfast or bedside set in Royal Winton's "Welbeck" pattern. To aid hurrying housemaids, the pudgy teapot, teacup, sugar bowl, creamer and toast rack all fit, snug and secure, into indentations in the octagonal tray.
Pics from a 1970's 'Victoria' magazine

For all the nostalgic charm that makes Chintzware at home with Victoriana, the most collectible period is form the late 1920's, characterised by the daintiness of the floral patterns, to the 1960's. In the 1940's, the colours became increasingly vibrant and became scarce during the war, but afterwards it was revived, probably because it was so bright and cheerful.

Not only are the designs heart-catching, but Chintzware's pleasingly idiosyncratic shapes and uses also ensnare collectors.

If you close your eyes, you can almost smell the flowers!

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Vintages - A brush with Silver

 Cutlery for daily use

I'm an avid collector of antique glass and silver accessories and am always on the lookout for anything with a silver handle, tableware, sewing tools, buttonhooks, powder jars, salts, trays, mirrors and brushes, even ink wells and handbags. I have a special weakness for silver cutlery with bone handles, which I use for everyday use. They do require slightly more care than stainless steel which can just be thrown into the kitchen sink, but the little effort is worth the pleasure.

Cutlery close-up

Vintage and antique accessories add a special touch to any room, no matter what your décor. Glass and silver on crisp white linen looks great on a table for a special dinner party or celebration, together with flowers in any vintage or antique vase.

A sketch of Hydrangeas on my dinner table arranged in my vintage Hollands pewter pitcher from the mid-1950's.

Out of my collection - A Fish knife on Cut glass knife rest - Sheffield 1899

Amid the cruets and crystal on a formal table, every proper Victorian hostess would have set out - to the right of each place - a gleaming knife rest: an artful little bar that handily propped up knives to keep the tablecloth spotless. Rendered in such rich materials as cut glass, silver and bone, rests came in a wonderful array of elegant and whimsical shapes. Whether newly minted or antique (now the province of collectors round the world), these charming accessories can still ad a note of festivity to any well-appointed table.

Some of my silver collection displayed on Cut glass knife rests. The knife on the left is a Silver Wedding cake knife - Sheffield 1921, all in daily use.

Dressers or vanity tables are another great place to use and display your silver and glass collection. Today's vanity tables, though less elaborate than those of a century ago, can be just as appealing - especially when enhanced by cosmetic brushes with antique silver handles that not only recall a luxurious era, but also impart a soft glow to the complexion.

At the turn of the century, a vanity table always included an assortment of jars, or cabochons for holding creams and salves, as well as hair, make-up and clothes brushes.

A fan-shaped brush is especially good for applying blush and highlighting cheek-bones. When you hold any of these brushes in your hand, you experience a sense of continuity and permanence - a link to the past.

My guestroom Vanity

Hallmarked Silver and Blue enamel brush set

Silver Hallmarked hand mirror - next to it is an antique Silver chain mail mesh purse (unlined) dating from the Edwardian era c1908. Specially for those evenings when you don't have pockets and don't want to carry a purse! It's just big enough for an ID and a lipstick and a couple of R100 notes.

Close-up of chain mail mesh purse

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Vintages - An Old-fashioned Flower room

For the pleasure of puttering bouquets, any little alcove with a sink could turn out to be the happiest space in your house.

If you've ever trailed apple blossoms across the carpet as you hunted up the right vase, you might well have envied those grand Victorians who devoted one room exclusively to the arranging of flowers. Here, everything was at hand to shape beautiful bouquets - scissors, moss, pebbles, vases.

I like keeping all my flowering arrangement tools in one place and dedicated a cupboard with glass doors to this task, so that I can see everything at a glance. Available vases, secateurs, scissors, string, oasis, baskets to put the flowers into while cutting them in the garden, plastic liners, vase flower food, and all the necessary display items like pebbles, marbles, etc.

Today, one might dedicate a pantry, wet bar, half bath, or even a plumbed shed to the same creative purpose. Imagine all your favourite containers lined up on open shelves, and drawers for tools, foam and wire. Efficiency, after all, is the mother of the muse.

Call it your flower nook and paint the walls apple green or sunshine yellow. An old ladder or laundry drying rack makes a great space for hanging dried bouquets of lavender, hydrangeas or rosemary. Then let the snippets fly.

(All the above pics scanned from a 1970's "Victoria" magazine)

Now, what to put with these tulips? Ivy, or Ferns?

 Image from Pinterest

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Come to tea!

"Let each and all then grateful be

And hail a welcome guest in tea."

- Samuel Pepys

The pleasures of a cup of tea is known the world over. Find a comfy chair and pour yourself a spot of tea, preferably near a sun drenched open window, and revel in the sweet cakes and pastries to go with it.

Take a friend out for Afternoon Tea this week! It will be good for both of you! Nothing beats a cup of tea to promote good health and mental well being. Imagine that a little cup of tea can bring a smile to your face, warming your spirit and keeping your mind and body happy! We've all heard of the antioxidant benefits now consider the fact that going out to tea will boost your immune system by relieving stress! When was the last time you went to a quiet enjoyable lunch with a friend and really took time to listen?

The Preparation of tea is an elaborate affair and taken very seriously in tea drinkers' circles. The perfect cup or pot of tea is determined by the following factors:

• Type of tea

• Amount of tea leaves

• Water quality

• Water temperature

• Steep time

Type of Tea

The amount of tea leaves, water temperature and steep time depend on the type of tea to be infused, whether it is black tea, green tea, oolong, white tea, fruit blend, or an herbal infusion.

Amount of Tea Leaves

Using a teaspoon in your utensil drawer may result in tea that is too weak or too strong, since these teaspoons are not necessarily a standard teaspoon measure. Be sure to use a standard measure to measure your tea leaves, such as a Tea Measure Spoon. When making tea you haven't tried before, start by following the package directions and adjust the amount of tea leaves to taste the next time you make it. A rule of thumb is that fluffy teas, such as white teas, will require more of the leaves for making your infusion.

Water quality

Always be sure to use fresh water that is either filtered from the tap or bottled.

Water temperature

Black teas, herbal infusions, and fruit blends are hearty enough to stand up to boiling water. Oolongs, green teas, and white teas will be scalded if boiling water is used, which results in an infusion that is bitter and un-drinkable.

Steep Time

Black teas, herbal infusions, and fruit blends take longer to infuse and for the flavor to fully develop. Oolongs, green teas, and white teas are more delicate and will get bitter if steeped too long.

And, of course, the crockery and cutlery are of major importance. Drinking tea out of fine porcelain is one of the world's great pleasures. Drinking tea out of a thick mug or tin can only be tolerated under the most dire circumstances, like being on a camping trip and even then, preferably, it would have to be coffee, and not tea!

Throwing a tea bag into just any old cup and quickly pouring on boiling water and then filling up with milk is total sacrilege. Most English people I know have this ritual of steeping the tea (leaves) in a tea pot, and after the customary amount of time, pouring the milk first and then the tea.

Afternoon Tea at the Ritz in London is certainly a grand affair, for which you have to make a reservation. They have Afternoon Tea menus, absolutely scrumptious, Chocolate Afternoon Tea and Celebration Afternoon Tea and they are a member of the Tea Council's prestigious Tea Guild.

Tea at the Ritz, London

The pastries and accompaniments to serving tea are equally important and part of the ritual. Setting your tea table with your best tea pot and cutlery can be an exciting and fulfilling exercise and baking the pastries and biscuits yourself gives it a special, unique touch.

Exquisite cutlery for the perfect tea party


3-Tier biscuit tray

And, of course, a special tea towel is a must, embroidered or appliquéd (by yourself, naturally!) with vintage 19th Century French tea towels being at the top of the list.

Tea towel embroidered with a sprig of Lavender

SOME TEA PARTY RECIPES :

Royal Tea

Beginning with a glass of Pear Sparkler,

Freshly baked Scone with

Clotted Cream & Lemon Curd,

Petit Soup du Jour,

A selection of Seasonal Tea Sandwiches

with Assorted Savouries & Sweet Delights

Tea of your choice

Cream Tea

Freshly baked Scones with

Clotted Cream & Lemon Curd,

Strawberry Preserves &

Tea of your choice

Full Tea

Beginning with a

Freshly baked Scone with

Clotted Cream & Lemon Curd,

Petit Soup du Jour,

A selection of Tea Sandwiches

with Assorted Savories & Sweet Delights

Tea of your choice

Child's Tea

~ 10 and under ~

Peanut Butter & Jam Sandwich

with fresh fruit, home baked Cookies,

Lemonade or Chocolate Milk

Call your girlfriend this week and take care of each other's mind and spirit over a good cup of tea!

(Some pics scanned from a 1979 'Victoria' magazine)

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