Pondering the Persian

After my last blog post where I declared my eldest son to be my favourite because he shed a few tears in the movie "Lion", my second born felt he would like to make a play for the position of favourite. "I have been moved to tears too by something I watched on TV," he declared. My heart started to beat a little faster - maybe I have raised another son who is in touch with his emotions after all. What, I wondered, had he seen to cause his eyes to well up? Well it seems that it was when some very well known soccer player missed a crucial goal during the Euro 2016 final. The player in question cried and so did my son! "These are the moments that matter, Mom," he said. Gotta love boys!

In this post, I thought a would debate the merits of Persian and Oriental rugs in today's decorating scene. I had coffee at a friend's home recently and she had a Persian rug in her dining room that she had decided she was going to sell and replace with something a bit more contemporary. Her dining room is beautifully and simply decorated in shades of grey and I thought the deep red Persian added a beautiful touch to her room, but I can also understand why she wanted a change. I think we associate Persian's with our parents or even grandparent's homes. I certainly grew up in a home full of them.  

But do they have a place in decorating today? I think it depends on how we use them. I waded through picture upon picture on Pinterest and other sites and saved the ones that I liked and then analysed them. It seems that the common thread was that the Persian's look best when the accompanying furnishings and decor are pared down. 

Make them a centre piece and keep furnishings around them minimal and neutral. Don't crowd or clutter them because then they become what they were in granny's house. 

Also don't limit them to entrance halls and living rooms. They can look beautiful in kitchens....

....bedrooms....

 



...and even bathrooms!







So don't discard your Persian just yet. Rather use it in a new, more current way and fall in love with it all over again.

And if you are interested in my friends's Persian, contact me and I'll pass it on. Here is a pic.

Till next time

Sharon x

Desert Daydreaming

My household is a cultural desert! A while back, I suggested at the family dinner table that we might like to go and see a musical. Well, my suggestion was met with deathly silence accompanied by a complete lack of eye contact from anyone, my husband included! You would think that I had suggested some sort of interactive, avant-guard fringe theatre rather than a harmless musical.

 I have now learned to have less lofty cultural ambitions, but did recently suggest a family movie outing. This sounds a lot simpler than it is. With 4 teenage sons and a husband who all have slightly different movie tastes, it isn't easy to find anything with general appeal. But I pulled maternal rank and decided that we should go and see the movie Lion, partly because I'm just a little bit in love with Dev Patel and it seemed to be a good option for the whole family. The youngest relented only because we decided to go to the Labia Theatre and he never sees anyone he knows at the Labia!

What a beautiful movie. I cried bucket loads of tears. The rest of my family all said that they didn't cry, but when I declared them to be cold and heartless, my eldest confessed that he did shed a tear or two during the reunion scene. Even though he probably said it just to placate me, he is now officially my favourite!

So do yourself a favour and go and see Lion,. Nothing like a box of popcorn and a good cry.

Moving from cultural deserts to real ones.... I grew up in the Karoo which is a semi-desert area of South Africa and I still find those wide open spaces endlessly appealing.

 While trawling the web looking for Karoo scenery, I came upon this place called Klipspringer near Calitzdorp in the Little Karoo. It is set high up in a mountainous area and has panoramic views of  the surrounding landscape. The homestead is off the grid and is built with stone from the area. So all very  green and eco-friendly.

There is something decidedly peaceful about this view of...well....nothing. A good book, a nap, a dip in the pool, maybe a tall drink. Bliss!

Having dinner out here on a balmy Karoo evening followed by some stargazing would be hard to beat. 

The bedrooms have French doors to let the air flow through and their are views all around. 

Stone walls and muted colour schemes blend seamlessly with the surrounding landscape.

And you might spot some wildlife while sipping your G & T. 

The good news is that it is available for rent through Perfect Hideaways.

So are you packing your bags yet?

Till next time

Sharon x