Ebay wins: more lloyd loom

I love Lloyd Loom furniture - but only the old styles from around 1930-50's era. Even though they still make it today, I don't like it as much... it's either boring/modern shapes, or else outrageously expensive.

So, I am always keeping an eye out on Ebay for interesting old pieces to add to our collection. Here's the most recent wins:

Original 1935 Lloyd Loom table



"Marked to the underside MAR 35 and with faded evidence where the original paper label was, we are pretty sure it's a Lloyd Loom" (Actually: I know for certain it is Lloyd Loom as it is an identical match for one of the pieces in the historic catalogue I've got)

"Standing on four cabriole legs in original stained polished beech, with gold top. Excellent vintage condition with just one tiny break in the weave in the centre. 20" diameter x 18" height"


Lloyd Loom armchair



It needs a bit of a cleanup and paint, but the fundamental weave is fine which is what matters. I've been looking out for a chair shaped like this for years, glad to have finally got one. Now I just need another to make a matching pair. :-)

inspiration for our swimming pool

We've just been watching an old episode of Grand Designs Revisited that is one of the most inspiring I've seen. This couple built an amazing place with literally no money in Puglia, Italy. They did all the work themselves, from carving the stone and building the terrace arches, to making furniture, etc etc. You can see more about it on their website.

My favourite part though was the natural swimming pond they made. So much so that I'd like to do something similar at Amherst. To keep for inspiration, I filmed the bit where they talked about it off the TV :


This wish for a natural pool isn't new, but I'd been close to abandoning it given all the ones I'd seen previously required you to have plants in the water to keep it clear... which would be bad in our situation as it would attract snakes and goodness knows what which could hide amidst the greenery. But this pond is just made from rock so no hiding places for any nasties to hide. It would also fit much more naturally in the landscape given we're on the edge of a quartz reef.

Even better, it solves my second issue - how to have a fence that doesn't look hideous. The stone wall surroundings here look wonderful. I think we would do something similar that enclosed the pool area on three sides, including a small terrace area alongside. And if we built it on the hillside alongside the olives, as I'm thinking, we could use a ha-ha to provide the fence on the 4th side - and thus retain the lovely view.

It's not going to be the first project we do, of course, but it's nice to have the idea. :-)

Update on the trees

It's the hot period in Australia now, so the real test for all the trees recently planted.

The driveway trees continue to thrive:


According to Dad, the olives are going well... "Your olives are thriving... All are very well leafed, and two of the small ones at the end have revived from being dead, or so I thought. That means only 2 of the original plants have died".

Unfortunately not so much the Wollemi's... although there is a chance they may be resurrected: "I have capped the Woolamai pines, and perhaps they will survive. One at least of the two that were scorched has very tiny green leaves forming at the topmost of the stem. Both stems are very pliable, although most of the branches are not and break very easily as they are dead. All along the stem are miniscule leaves that are apparently this plant's survival tactic when scorched as this time. I am very hopeful we have sheltered them in time".