Penguin Books

Penguin Books revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through it's high quality, inexpensive paperbacks. Avoiding the gaudiness of other paperback publishers of the time, Penguin opted for the simple appearance of three horizontal bands, the upper and lower of which were colour coded according to which series the title belonged to. In the central white panel, the author and title were printed in Gill Sans typeface.


Group them together in colour blocks




With their range of simple, bright coloured, uniformed covers, they have become popular to have on display. They look quite stunning when grouped together in colour blocks. I recently came across this photo (below) of a Penguin book blown up and framed, which I think is gorgeous. And after further searching I was pleasantly surprised as to how many Penguin products are available. Not bad for a design created by a twenty-one-year-old graphic designer nearly 80 years ago!


Simple and graphic, this print looks stunning in it's neutral surroundings

A collection of coffee mugs

A box of 100 postcards each featuring a different and iconic Penguin book jacket

I love these deckchairs available in a range of bright colours

Also available in drink bottles and luggage tags

Delightful Kids' Rooms

It's the beginning of the school holidays, so I though it was appropriate to do a post on some gorgeous kids' bedrooms. They are from the Finnish blog Weekday Carnival, and if you're a fan of Scandinavian design you must pop over, you will be inspired no end. The author, Riikka Kantinkoski, also has an online shop stocked with products she designs and makes.


These first images show a cute little playhouse made out of a series of fabric & foam triangles. With the help of zips and domes you can create the playhouse; alternatively unzip them and you have a play mat; un-dome them, stack them on top of each other and you have a cute seat - so clever! The pattern and instructions will be available at some stage in a DIY book that Riikka is putting together.







Here is the rest of this cool bedroom...









And wait, there's more! The toys are so great, and the artwork & posters are gorgeous - so simple and graphic.




J'adore Adore!

I hope you've all had a lovely long Easter weekend. We started with grey skies and rain, and have finished with an absolute pearler of a day, where we all pulled out our shorts and headed to the beach. The first couple of days were perfect weather for curling up with a good book. I finished 'The Hunger Games', which my 12 year old nephew lent me. I can highly recommend it to kids & adults - so gripping, plenty of action and a touch of romance.


Speaking of great reading material, have you seen the latest addition of Adore magazine? One of my favourite online mags, this one doesn't disappoint with plenty of gorgeous colour and inspiration. My favourite article is the one about Koskela's new showroom. I wish I could jump into the pages and devour all their divine products. If you haven't read this issue yet, here is just a taste of what's in store for you...