Kingdom Of Style

Ok let's talk orchids...

Another week and Wintwo has another four buds getting ready to bloom...

As Bramblebush said below, it is all pretty simple.

1.Location location location - you should sit your flower friend in a bright window with lots of light, but not direct sunlight which can burn the leaves.

2. Don't water from the top! Once a week put some water in the bottom of the pot and let it drink it up slowly

3. Bigger isn't best! although it may look like your orchid needs a bigger pot because the roots are visible and spilling over, that is just what they do. Smaller is better.

4. Be patient! When in bloom your orchid could be in flower for over two months, then one sad day all the blooms start to fall off. Orchids take time to bloom again. Sometimes you may get another flush in about three months or you may have to wait for about 12-14 months.

As I get ready to share the next couple of things I do, I am aware of the fact that they may sound a bit strange.

5. Talk to and touch your plant

Be specific and tell them how well they are doing and that you know they will be in bloom soon and they will be beautiful. Talk to them every day, even if it is just to say, Good Morning and Good Night! Don't think of it as crazy, think of it as Nuero Linguistic Programming for Plants.

Touch your plant. Gently rub the stem just where the new buds will form. This may seem weird but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Touch is vital to the health and wellbeing of all beings. It is our first language, universally understood and more powerful than we give it credit for in our modern world.
Think how good you feel after a hug?

6. Don't give up
It may take time and your plant may lose their looks, but you have to hang on in there.

Strangely, although in life, I am one of the least patient people you can imagine, when it comes to plants and trees, I can happily wait for an age.
To that end, my latest project, has these poor looking souls in 'intensive tree care'...

They may just look like sad little sticks just now, but just you wait until next Spring...

Queen Marie

My Dearest Darling...

It has been so long since last I wrote to you.
I have wanted to write for so long. The words build within me without release.
I could email you or text you but the depth of my feelings would be diminished as the words floated through an electronic miasma

I don't know about you! but I miss writing letters.
I miss getting leters.
Not just because of my enduring love of paper and stationery but because of the 'realness' of a letter. You can hold it, touch it, read it, look at it, hide it, flaunt it, but you never fail to treasure it...

Perhaps if I was to have this heavenly writing desk, designed by Michele Burnet for Established &Sons, then I would once again put pen to paper.
This desk is costly at £3507 but it is thing of true beauty. You could write your will at a desk like this, passing it on to the next generation (who soon will be unable to write...) What I love most, is the built in felt hood in the most perfect Tiffany blue, sheltering you and your secrets...

You can find it at the lovely Leigh Harmer

Now if you will excuse me, I am off to fill my inkwell!

Queen Marie

Sunshine in a box...

Good Morning!
To apologise for my tardy start, I bring you something extra delicious.
I bring you cup cakey joy and happiness in a box.
I bring you little drops of lemon yellow sunshine.

"Oh feck off, it's only a cupcake" I hear you cry.
That is what I thought until I scoffed almost a whole box earlier this week.

Buy them
Try them
And tell me it's just a cupcake...

A slightly squeamy Queen Marie
x

Shame on you B&Q...

A few months ago, I was in my local B&Q with my mother. There was a stand with sad, dying plants of all kinds marked down for a quick sale.
I cannot resist a plant in need. The further gone it is, the speedier I snatch it up and bring it back to the Royal Gardens for an immediate intervention. Invariably they respond most splendidly to the love and care.
There was a moth orchid in a pot, that having bloomed already was basically no more than a stick in a pot...

What caught my attention and made me really mad was the instruction card which read - "discard when flowering is over"
What total utter bolllocks. I knew that the orchid would bloom again with care. So I named her Wintwo and brought her home and Lordy just look at her now...

A lovely lesson, that all living things can be coaxed back from the brink, to bloom and blossom once more...

Queen Marie
x

Like a Bat out of Hell...

You can always depend on the lovely people over at Cloudberry Living to stock the coolest things.

Things like this BAT mug by Finnish designer Sami Rinne

Maybe, you're feeling more angelic this morning

But my runaway favourite is of course the reindeer

Which one would you choose?

Queen Marie

You can ring my bell...

Last year, when Sir Dan and lady Bex came to visit me in the new palace in the Far East, among the charming house warming gifts they lavished upon me, were some pretty new plants for the garden.

While everything else in the garden seems to be struggling due to the neverending rain, these beautiful little bells they brought, are flourishing and blooming big time...

I was immediately put in mind of my garden, when I came across this stunning vintage evening gown by Nettie Rosenstein...

At $450, it is not cheap but for a special occasion, it may just be worth it.
You can find it here

Queen Marie

A stitch in time...

In view of my toast burning abilities, it will come as no surprise that I cannot cook, knit or sew.
I can however embroider things! although it is many a long year since I held a needle.
I have always loved embroidery, so it is no surprise that I loved all the homely goodness found on the site of Jan Constantine

These plump velvet diamante crown cushions would be perfect for my Queenly couch (£75)

Thinking that Lady Winona would be loving this LOVE wallhanging for her front room (£80)

This cozy felt scarf is sweet beyond words (£70)

Now if you will excuse me, I am off to burn some more toast...

Queen Marie

Burning toast for Scotland...

I am going to write to the Olympic Committee to propose a new Olympic Sport - Toast Burning...

Every morning, it's the same freakin' thing. Smoke, burning and me standing underneath the smoke alarm waving a magazine, shouting- "shut up, shut up"
I could blame the toaster at home, but ACDC and The Boy Potter will confirm that this week alone I have burnt toast, scones and bageuttes using both the grill and the toaster at work.

Gold Medal here I come...

Queen Marie

Mmmm chocolate orange...

No! I'm not talking about the chocolate version

Although I could murder one of those bad boys right now. No I am talking about chocolate and orange in The Royal Gardens.

At long last my chocolate plant has bloomed. Silky brown and smelling really strongly of chocolate, this is a total beauty...

Equally delicious are my orange geraniums which are slowing getting ready to burst into vibrant life on my front doorstep.

Yum yum yum.

Queen Marie

The lunatics have taken over the asylum...

Well to be more accurate - the furniture designers!
Designer Nick Melville has created quite the most luxurious padded cell you ever will see!
This is the Paddy Chair.
It costs a whoppping £3235.00 but it is large enough for two...

You can find it here
It may also feel like sitting inside a big sugar bowl, as the padding makes me think of sugar lumps!

Queen Marie

The Red Devils are flying tonight...

The Royal Gardens are under attack from a dastardly new foe.
From out of nowhere, all my flowering plants have been besieged by unidentified red flying objects. They look like beetles but are bright red in colour and can fly (usually at my head).
So far I have tried soapy water and several bug sprays but all to no effect.

To add insult to injury, they appear to be engaged in constant congress!

I need help dear friends.
All advice and any identification will, as always, be greatly appreciated.

Your blue Queen Marie
x

Perseus and Porcelain...

Legend tells of brave Perseus who slayed the Gorgon. A creature so hideous that she could turn you to stone with just one look...

The people at Nymphenburghave been turning people into porcelain figures for almost as long!
Now they have asked contemporary designers to decorate figurines in a very limited edition special collection.

The Gareth Pugh one is particulary striking as he has turned the whole thing into an abstact form.
There is however nothing abstract about the prices - €13,500. That's enough to turn anyone into stone...

Queen Marie

The Nun and her Forbidden Lover...

When I visited with P&M(f) last week, they entrusted to me The Nun and her Forbidden Lover...

To protect them from gossip and prying eyes, I was to offer them sanctuary in the Royal Gardens and employ them as 'Guardians of The Willow Way' ( my newly planted avenue of willow trees with a black slate path)

Under the watchful eye of Our Lady from her grotto,by day, they stand chastely and quietly...

They wait patiently for nightfall and the protective cover of darkness. Then they can be together once more

"The sound of a kiss is much softer than that of a canon - but it's echo lasts a great deal longer."

Queen Marie

Mr Panton and his flowerpots...

In 1969 Verner Panton designed the Flowerpot Pendant lamp...

Costing £125 from design my world, they were named after the flower power movement.
But to me, they look like they have been made out of gigantic skittles

Mmmm delicious...

Queen Marie

Missoni flowers for your floor...

Missoni for your home is nothing new, but these rugs are...

They are breathtaking, but so is the price!!!

Januba (110cm dia) £2252.00

The Botanica is a bit more reasonable at £354

You can find them, along with a host of other goodies at the stylish amara

Queen Marie

At my shoulder all week...

My brother Prince David has a charming *ahem* turn of phrase. On being told that another one of our once large family has passed away he usually says 'och well, they had a good innings before they bought the farm' For some reason 'bought the farm' always makes me want to laugh. Luckily we have all been raised to realise that even though someone may no longer be here, does not mean they are not still part of your life in some way. Sometimes a person seems very present once more, their name comes up in conversation, you pass someone that reminds you of them, whatever it is, they are the focus of attention and conversation. Sometimes the feeling of the person is so strong, that I feel if I were to turn round quickly enough I would see them standing at my shoulder. I find this comforting and not at all unsettling.
This week my Big Gran has been at my shoulder.
My gran was one of seven sisters, all of them unique, independent and very plain speaking. My gran loved a gadget - she bought them all. Lava Lamp, fibre optic lamp, brick maker, ice cream maker, projector lamps. They would be flavour of the month and then would be shoved in the back of the kitchen cupboard. Yet on the other hand, things she loved would remain in situ forever.

This was one of them...

This Tretchikoff print of the Balinese Lady sat over the fireplace. It arrived before I was born and was there until she died. It was part of my life and I never tired of gazing at her bright red lips, the green satin or her dramatic neckpiece. All over the world, I'm sure lots of you did the same.
Vladimir Tretchikoff was one of the most commercially successful artists of all time - his painting Chinese Girl (popularly known as "The Green Lady") is one of the best selling art prints ever.
He worked in oil, watercolour, ink, charcoal and pencil but is best known for his reproduction prints which sold worldwide in huge numbers. The reproductions were so popular that it was said Tretchikoff was second only to Picasso in his popularity.
When I saw it in The Times yesterday, I realised with a start that my constant and unfailing love for a bright red mouth, emerald green satin and large statement necklaces go back a very very long way indeed...

I'll bet that makes my gran laugh!

Queen Marie

Bringing bathtubs back to life...

I love it when designers find another use for an object that may otherwise go to a sad end.
Here is another one.
Clever but expensive at £2620, brought to you by product designer Max McMurdo of reestore

Reestore is a line of green products based on the recycling of old home products. Taking everyday waste objects and turning them into charming yet functional pieces of furniture and accessories, Reestore attempts to “avoid traditional eco materials in favor of contemporary finishes, fabrics, and, above all, style.”

Clever and cool but I don't know how comfy it would be!

Queen Marie

You put your left leg in...

You put your left leg in
You put your left leg out
You put your left leg in and you shake it all about
You do the hokey cokey and you turn around
That's what it's all about...

As a female of the species, at some point in your life you will be expected to take to the dancefloor and take part in The Slosh, The Birdie Dance and The Hokey Cokey. This will usually be at a wedding or a birthday party.

There will be no escape!
You will be dragged to the floor.
Resistance is futile.
You will dance...

Driving past a small gift shop yesterday, I saw this wooden sign in the window. I laughed like a drain, parked the car , ran in and bought it!

Queen Marie
x

A sequinned jellyfish?

Nothing makes me quite so happy as sequinns, so I am happy to see them everywhere.
On clothing, on christmas trees and now hanging from my ceiling!
This is the new light for the Royal Bedchamber. Its dancing light helps to mask the pain in my heart that comes from the fact I will never own The Tree Bed from last week ( thank you for the lovely thought Sister Wolf x)

Lying on my bed, looking up, it looks just like a jellyfish made of sequins.
Not only does it look real purty but it won't sting me.
Joy!

Queen Marie

Drusilla and The Dream Bed...

Clever Drusillafound and featured the most beautiful bed I think I have ever seen...

William Morris once said - " have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" The tree bed is both.
It is the work of Shawn Lovell who works with metal using traditional and modern forging methods. The true joy of craftmanship lies in the creation of art that you can live with! Practical art that will enchance your life each and every day. Shawns work would do just that.
Beds, gates, lights - each piece unique and special...

At $15,000 for the tree bed, it may seem a lot of money but it truly would be an investment. This is something that has been crafted with love and hard work, not just popped out of a mold in a factory...

Words can scarce express how much I wish this bed were upstairs in the Royal chambers.
I wonder if I could use Queen Michelles 'My UPS' account to have one shipped over immediately.
Oh if only....

Queen Marie

Stick 'em up...

When designers Yves Malka and Pierre De Poucques set out to design the Lexon Sticksound Radio, they were inspired by the retro ergonomic simplicity of the oldschool atari joystick

They wanted it to be simply a radio. They wanted it to be sleek, simple and stylish. They more than succeeded...

To switch it on/off, the volume up/down or change station, all you have to do is move it in a different direction.
You can find it here for a mere $49.

The Atari Joystick has become iconic and continues to cast a pretty long shadow. It inspired Nahoko Koyama and Alex Garnet of Mixko to produce this ceramic candleholder...

I like it but don't think I would spring £50 for it...

Queen Marie

Precious little pansy...

I love pansies.
I love their happy little faces.
Sadly so do the slugs.

Most of us will be familiar with this little flower fairy

But she is a million miles removed from The Pansy Fae! This fairy is a moody, stroppy cow
Here she is featuring on this precious little bag. Made by babastudioPrague and available on etsy for the insane price of only $21.

.

About their bag they say -

"Our bags are individually printed on satin and then made by hand individually, so that almost every one is slightly different. This one is backed in a vintage (1940s we think) brocade that has a lovely sheen to it. It's fully lined. All in all it feels unusual and delicate.

The image is based on the French Victorian illustrator JJ Grandville's "Les Fleurs". We actually took it direct from an 1847 first-edition hand-coloured engraving that we're lucky enough to own. It shows whimsical and rather melancholy Pansy-girl - with wings of course.

These bags are generously sized at a touch under 8inches by 6inches. They make lovely small storage bags or are simply beautiful for display. Double-cord fastening with Czech-made metallic gold cords and Czech glass beads. Fully lined"

About their bags I say -

"I want them all..."

Queen Marie

ps - I'm sorry I tried to put up a link but it kept crashing.

A little lavender love...

Another sweet smelling way to start a saturday - lovely lavender!

Mine is just starting , but in France, for Jean-Colas it is in full bloom...

I'm also feeling love for a more unexpected lavender-
This necklace by Vera Wang Lavender

At only £110 from net-a-porter this seems like a whole lot of necklace for the money.

Queen Marie

A fragrant way...

A fragrant way to start the day.
Oh how I wish this bloig came with smell-o-vision.
At long last my lilac has bloomed and it smells heavenly.

The lilac symbolizes first love. We all know that money can't buy you love, but you are going to need big bags of the stuff if you fall in love with these...

Available at Browns by designer Lydia Courteile , they cost a stonking £8175

Queen Marie

Snow in summer...

When I was very small, we lived in a flat so there was no garden. When we visited my mums friend Chrissy, her garden was filled with snow in summer. This is a ground covering plant with bright white flowers and silvery leaves, that looks just like snow on the ground.

I remember thinking- when I grow up, I'm going to have a garden and I'll have snow in summer too!
But strangely, although you see it everywhere, it is a very old fashioned plant, and I was never ever able to find it in a garden centre. So I had to go old school and get a cutting from another garden and bring it on myself. I am happy to say, it has taken and my first snowfall is here...

But how about some snow indoors?
This is the snowflake light shade-

I love love love these and at only $48 you could have them all over the house.
You can find them here

Queen Marie

Coming or going...

On a day, when I don't know whether I am coming or going, this made me chuckle.

This doormat acts as an optical illusion, bidding your visitors welcome or telling them to scram, depending which way round you place it.
At only $27 from here, this could be money well spent.

Queen Marie

Nice Rug

I am a real sucker for anything typographical. No surprise considering my job I suppose, but when I saw these rugs by John Pour Home I was rather smitten.

Whilst I doubt their actual usefulness as a rug per se, I still think they'd be a great addition to my floor. Having said that, I'm also sure Bo would see it as a great addition to his Possible Places To Pee list, which appears to be getting more epic by the day.

Queen Michelle

Forest Gazing

As someone with a keen eye mentioned, the photo's of me in the last post have a nice background. Out the back of my house there is a pretty mini forest walkway which is where I walk the dogs in the afternoon. So, as I walked them this afternoon I took some photo's since it is such a beautiful, sunny day in the Kingdom.

Don't you just love all the spring colours?

Queen Michelle

Blowing hot and cold...

We all know how diferent Queen Michelle and I are when it comes to shoes and style in general, but there is another major area of difference- that of temperature!
Put simply she is always too cold and I am always too warm. When I visit her Palace I am usually gasping for air after five minutes and pulling at my many layers in a anxious manner as I rapidly overheat.
Generally heaters and fans are pretty ugly things but the clever clever people at Authentics have found some that are functional as well stylish.

Keeping it cool for Queen Marie

First up is Lilly. Lady like and silent, she will sit on a tabletop . £90

Otto is the opposite of ladylike. He will blow up an industrial force gale. £249

Heating things up for Queen Michelle

Make room for Max. With 1000/2000 watt power he can make you hot. £74.95

But Max is nothing if not versatile. He can blow cold as well as hot. I would be forever tempted to switch him to cold when Queen Michelle was looking the other way. Oh how I would laugh as she ran from the room screaming as the temperature plummeted. *evil laugh*

Queen Marie

Keys to the Castle...

Some essential items in life are dreary and dull.
Keys for instance.
But eagle eyed Johanne had spotted these jewelled keys in the Neiman Marcus catalogue and suggested they would be perfect for the Castle.

But before I got too excited she wrote to say -

" the keys on the Neiman's site are only for Schlage locks. On the manufacturer's site they do both Schlage and Kwikset. Not sure if those locks are for sale in the UK, so if one's house happens to have a Yale, one is shit out of luck."

It does indeed appear that I am "shit out of luck".
That phrase makes me laugh lots. But the rest of you could be in luck.

Cheers Johanne.

Queen Marie

The Bride wore white...

At long last, spring has arrived and with it 'The Bride'

The Bride is quite possibly one of my favourite plants in the Royal Gardens. She is a three year old ornamental shrub who blooms in spring. Her white blossoms tumble to the ground in profusion and sway in the breeze.
She is charm personified.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

My dear friend Jean-Colas provided the something borrowed and blue.
When you think of an Iris, you picture a perfect blue flower. But he noticed the whole rainbow of colours there and scanned the petals to make these wonderful images

Of course it goes without saying that were 'the bride' a real girl, she would wear a fresh and charming wedding gown just like this one for Oscar de la Renta, Spring 2009...

Queen Marie

By my side...

At the present time, my bedroom is basically a room with a bed in it. I have been looking for bedside tables on and off for months. Now I am perfectly aware how absurd it is to be so fussy over a piece of furniture that I will see for about five minutes a day! But the heart wants what the heart wants and what the heart wants is something charming, whimsical but practical!
Now this would be no problem if I had money to burn but at the present time, I do not. The options within my price range were all little boxes of horror. Cheap, nasty and guaranteed to give this Queen nightmares. I had just about given up hope until Sweetpea and Willow arrived to shine a light in the darkness.
Behold

The Nordic Grey Nightstand £125

The Cream French Dainty Bedside Table £120
(I love the word 'dainty')

And perhaps my most favourite of all - The Nordic Grey Table £125
(because it looks like a little grey octopus!!!)

Problem solved I think...

Queen Marie

If I were thinking about new thrones...

If I were thinking about new thrones for the palace these stunning Aero Stools would be pretty near the top of the list.
Inspired by a mirror image on a still lake, the stool brings together the smooth hardness of Pau Ferro, an FSC certified Brazilian wood, with the comfort of a cream coloured cushion. At £895 each, they are expensive but surely the comfort of your Queens is worth every penny!

You can find them at the inspirational One Eco Home
Queen Marie

Kitchen DJ

This post is pretty much just relevant to, uh, me. OK, maybe not just me, but also any other DJ's out there who read this blog. Are there any?

Unless you are blessed with a generously spaced home, as opposed to a small flat, then finding a place to store your decks, records and assorted music gear is a bit of a nightmare to be honest. As much as I love the beauty of a Technics 1210 it doesn't exactly blend into most homes' decor. In our flat we have had to make do with putting the decks and mixer on top of a table in the corner of the kitchen. Yes, the kitchen.

We do have a particularly large kitchen, but still it's not exactly ideal. My Prince has been trying to find the time to make a stand for the decks from scaffolding, which he plans to polish up and make all shiny and new looking, but so far the scaffolding still sits propped up again a wall awaiting it's revival.

All my woes would disappear however if I was to have this stunning DJ pod nestling in the corner, providing a stylish home for my gear.

It's designed by Reynold Rodriguez, who is a master at integrating wood and wood veneer into many of his stunning creations. The smooth, rounded curves give the pod a retro feel yet maintains a startling modernity which allows it to blend into many a stylish home. Clearly it's too nice to languish in the kitchen, it would simply have to be displayed in the living room and I'd happily move out my sofa to make room.

Queen Michelle

You big baby...

This is the 'Showtime Poltrona Armchair' designed by Jaime Hayon for BD Barcelona...

Costing £504 you can get it from Leigh Harmer
It is being hailed as 'an iconic piece' illustrating the influence of Gaudi and Dali on the designers work.
But if I walked into someones house (especially a guy) and he had this chair, I would be slightly unsettled.

I wouldn't think - "hey you have great taste!"
I would think - "hey boy you got issues!"

Your chair looks like a big pram. A silver cross pram to be precise.

Showtime?
More like bedtime!

Queen Marie