Interior style

Local Christmas Shopping Guide #2: art and craft

Unless you’re buying for Alex Salmond, it’s too late to commission a full size portrait of your loved one for this Christmas but all of the artists and makers featured here offer commissions and vouchers for their work which would make an exciting start to 2016 for anyone lucky enough to receive one. Pictured above is a typically vivid piece by celebrated illustrator Jill Calder. Calder is based in Cellardyke

Miniature Film Set Museum, Lyon

Before CGI was commonly used for movies, models of film sets were painstakingly created by hand and some of the sets were in miniature. Dan Ohlman, a former cabinet-maker of 15 years, opened the Palais de la Miniature in Lyon, France to display the miniature movie sets and other works by miniature artists.

Not all creatives are artists

Artists, more often than not, get the credit for bringing creativity to a neighbourhood. Rarely do hairdressers get acknowledged for their creative input to high streets up and down the country. In Dunfermline, Fife, Craig Hutchison has been particularly resourceful in shaping the interior of the shop that he shares with colourist, Clair Karran. Where ever possible he has tried to use local artists, tradespeople and suppliers at Vollood Hair and

Pretty vintage glassware at the Antiques & Collectors Fair, Edinburgh

Vintage tea and coffee sets always look beautiful but they sit neglected in cupboards for years on end taking up space because the cups are too small for modern builders tea. Vintage glassware on the other hand gets used all too frequently. At the Edinburgh Antiques & Collectors Fair, the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston there’s a great selections of glassware that is often no more expensive than a box of

John O’Groats, more than a signpost

It was a long way to travel to get a photo of a signpost. However, these days visitors to John O’Groats are less likely to turn on their heel disappointed at travelling all that way just for some signage. Thanks to Natural Retreats, who worked with Scottish architects GLM and Manchester interior design company, No Chintz, there is self-catering accommodation, a shop and co-operative cafe.  Admirably, Natural Retreats decided to keep

Beautiful walled garden at Maggie’s centre, Lanarkshire

Without a beautiful old stone wall it’s always tricky to make a walled garden look truly appealing. However, Reiach and Hall, an Edinburgh-based architectural practice, have pulled it off at the latest Maggie’s Centre which opened in Lanarkshire in 2014. Neil Gillespie of Reiach and Hall says: ‘ A Maggie’s brief is challenging for many reasons, it is a unique building type. A Maggie’s is all about a different kind

Kara Burke’s dog cushions capture the heart

Kara Burke is an illustrator from Portland, Oregon who brilliantly captures the personality of dogs and cats in these adorable cushions and mini stuffed ornaments. Off the peg designs start at around £20 from Kara’s Etsy shop and she is happy to accept custom orders based on a photograph of your pet. You can find out more here and can contact Kara at kara.l.burke [!at]gmail.com.    

Stylish ‘beach house’ to rent in Morar, near Mallaig

Want to stay in this stylish ‘beach house’ in Morar, near Mallaig in the Scottish Highlands? Designed by Glasgow-based Dualchas architects, the house was shortlisted for the RIAS awards in 2015 and is available to rent a week at a time.  The Glasgow-based firm adapted the concept of the traditional Highland agricultural building for modern living. The house is called ‘Faire Chaolais’, pronounced ‘Fara Chulish’ to rhyme with Ballachulish and

Luxury camping near Falkirk

If you want to make like Clark Gable and Ava Gardner in Mogambo and hang out in a safari tent, look no further than Falkirk. Carr’s Hill Caravan site, which enjoys fine views of the Ochil Hills, has just introduced two luxury safari tents. The tents are located separately from the touring pitches and offer a unique retreat in the Stirlingshire countryside . Carr’s Hill is situated in a peaceful

‘Beautiful small buildings’ by Dumfries & Galloway company

When Sam Booth was asked about planning permission for a static caravan to generate income as a holiday let for a Galloway farming couple he came up with much more attractive proposal. Instead he offered to build something that would be more in keeping with the surroundings, that met the same planning conditions and could be built for the same budget so long as he kept the design rights. Brockloch