Yes, I love chocolate. Not sweet, sugary chocolate, not boxes of chocolates (a nut intolerance makes them very dull indeed – Himself gets sole rights to any boxes gifted to us) but rich, chocolatey, chocolate!
Some would say I get this from my Grandmother who absolutely loved dark chocolate but I think it’s a joint effort of genes and the chocolate brown interiors obsession so fashionable during my childhood. If I’m honest, this brown interior style is still in my life today.
I love a bit of 85% Green & Blacks with a glass of red wine or a Cadbury caramel with a cuppa. Chocolate (like the colour), goes with everything. Hands up those of you who put a square or two in a homemade chilli? If you don’t, try it next time. I think you’ll approve.
If I have to share chocolate with another flavour, please let it be orange. I find this combination absolutely heavenly. I love a dark chocolate orange at Christmas or a hot chocolate drink with a shot of Cointreau on a cold, wintery day. Bliss! What are your favourites? Do you have a new suggestion for me to try?
As this blog is supposed to be about homes, I’ll get back to interiors…
If I’m honest, this 1970’s chocolate obsession is still alive and well and prominent in my home today. After all, if you are going to buy a leather sofa of course you buy it in tan or chocolate brown – It’s timeless and goes with absolutely everything. Wood flooring, brown! Solid wood furniture, brown! Storage baskets, brown! This is my fourth blog, I‘ve looked over the past editions and brown seems to be a common theme in all the pictures!
Brown sofa – seriously, hand’s up! How many of you? We have two; a neat, mid-century version from made.com in our living room and a (now rather shabby looking) version built for comfort in the back of our kitchen, purchased from the House of Frazer sale site (This is a top tip! It took a fair bit of hunting, but if you’re patient you’ll get what you want in the end).
The other thing the 1970’s gave us was pattern. Huge, magnificent patterns! We have two lampshades in our living room of Dandylion Clocks in grey and orange – another favourite of the 70’s. In fact, there is quite a lot of orange in this house. If grey is the colour of this decade (ok, it IS the colour of this decade), orange is surely the best contrast? I know yellow and grey is a really popular combo for interiors and I really do like it but for me it doesn’t beat orange. Plus, of course, it matches the cat!
If you are talking magnificent patterns, we must mention Orla Kiely, she has shown us the way to be brave in modern interiors. She has a totally iconic status. In this house her patterns feature in towels (a TKMaxx bargain, hanging in the downstairs loo), enamel plant pots and I‘ve used offcuts of her wallpaper in little craft projects – I’ve given many away as presents and they are always very well received!
I wonder what influences will live on in the toddlers and children of 2019? I guess there must be the colour grey? Sustainability? The war on plastic? Recycling? Re-purposing? Cleaning (or Hinching as it’s known in some quarters) – how did that become so fashionable?
In the future, will there be more respect for a classic old formica kitchen table or will interiors return to the use and abuse attitude of the last few decades? For my generation, this new way of reuse, recycle and repurpose is taking a lot of thought as we spent most of our growing up in the throwaway times of the 1980’s and 90’s. Please forgive us if we’re a bit slow on the uptake!
So, what will the future bring? All I know is that unless we start having these conversations and changing our ways, the future for those toddlers might be pretty bleak.
To conclude, do you see my point? The 1970’s and the colour brown live on a little in all of us… Tortoiseshell specs, bold patterns, tan coloured boots in the winter… and who doesn’t love a man wearing a good pair of tan oxfords (not brogues) – another line from a film. Gold star if you get it!
I hope you enjoyed reading my blog this week and if you are around my age or maybe older, I’m sure this wallpaper sample will take you back! It reminds me of my grandparents house and endless Sunday afternoon teas – mostly comprising sausage rolls, tinned fruit and trifle. Yummy!
PS. It’s Kingsman. The Secret Service.
Ceinioghome 