The best way to extend your living space? By transforming your patio or garden into an outdoor room. Two alfresco aficionados tell Andrea Childs how
Abigail Ahern enjoying her outdoor room
Abigail Ahern is an interior designer and owner of chic homeware boutique Atelier Abigail Ahern in London’s Islington. She lives in East London with her husband Graham and their dogs Maud, a Welsh terrier, and miniature schnauzer Mungo.
I wanted our outdoor room to look as tantalising and fabulous as the interior of the house. We have a double-height glass extension that opens fully on to the garden, so decorating the space immediately outside the doors is fundamental.
I was inspired by my time living in LA, where outdoor rooms are totally over the top. Mantelpieces, sofas, artwork – they’ve got it. My moose-head light has that decadent feel.
The fireplace is the most ambitious part of the space; everything else is just cosmetic. It took the builders a weekend to construct the chimney. The ‘flooring’ is reclaimed York stone flagstones.
It doesn’t bother me that it’s impractical. I have a problem with most conventional outdoor furniture – it’s drab and not luxurious enough for the look I want. You need texture and the softness of fabrics to give the space warmth, so I drag all the furniture out of the house. The only constants are the two black plastic lounge chairs.
Lighting is the most important part of any outdoor room, but it’s often the most neglected. I’ll pull my indoor lamps outdoors for the evening. I buy freezer bulbs from hardware shops – the little ones that go in domestic fridges and freezers – so I don’t have to worry if it gets damp outdoors. The huge angled lamp is usually in the living room, but it’s on wheels so it’s easy to move. The driftwood light has been outside for three years and still looks great – I covered it in Ronseal yacht varnish to protect it. I use an external circuit breaker to prevent any accidents.
I’ve planted scented bay in pots for fragrance. There’s viburnum, too. I wanted plants that are green all year round and easy to care for.
Friends think I’m nuts because even in winter I get them to put on their coats and
sit outside. On summer weekends, we’ll eat dinner outside at the table, then spend the evening lounging in front of the fire. I need a magical space to make me feel happy, and this is it.
Find out more about Abigail’s designs at atelierabigailahern.com, tel: 020 7354 8181
Jackie Piper's Cambridge creation
Jackie Piper, a product designer, is one half of Whitbread Wilkinson, creators of the iconic Pantone mugs, as well as their own-brand homeware and stationery. Jackie lives in Cambridge with her husband John, children Neve, nine, and Edan, 11, and their whippet Lily Mouse.
This was a typical student garden, with a washing line and weeds and not much else. We tackled it two years ago. The original plan was to put up a summerhouse at the end of the garden but it seemed a shame to cover up the sunniest spot with an oversized shed.
It took two weeks to plan the space, plus another to build it. We had to work out the height of the wall, whether the fireplace should be central, and which side to put the doors into the alley behind the garden. The willow panels at the side soften the look of the bricks, and they’re great for hanging bunting on.
The fireplace gives us a reason to go down to the end of the garden even if it’s cold. We’ve had marshmallow roasts for Neve’s birthday in October, and hosted mulled wine parties on Christmas Day. I always carry down a few blankets for when it gets chilly in the evening.
It was essential to be able to cook on the fire, so there’s a grate where we grill sausages and burgers. I hate barbecues – they look like spaceships that have landed at the bottom of the garden – whereas a fireplace looks suitably domestic.
We chose slate paving as it’s so practical. It can be cut incredibly accurately, so it fits together tightly and weeds don’t grow through the edges. And it makes a smooth surface for furniture.
The table and chairs stay out all year. They’re made from powdered aluminium with UV-resistant mesh seats, so they’re easy to keep clean and can be easily wiped down if it has rained, so you don’t get a wet bottom.
Decorating the space is part of the fun. John made the horse print, inspired by a famous Mark Wallinger painting called Ghost, which was based on the famous Whistlejacket painting by Stubbs. It’s not waterproof, but I like to bring it outside on special occasions for a touch of drawing-room drama. The melamine plates are part of a range that I designed for the National Gallery and are the next best thing to weatherproof paintings!
This space really comes into its own on a summer’s evening, so lots of candles are the finishing touch.
John does indulge in a little alfresco double bass playing, but there’s also a waterproof socket for plugging in an iPod dock or an extra lamp. It’s those practical details that make it a workable space, not just an indulgence.
See more of Jackie’s designs at w2products.com
How to make an outdoor room work
Warmth A fireplace gives that indoor/outdoor look. You won’t need planning permission and a builder can install one with a lined chimney in two to three days. If you don’t have the space, a firepit will give a similar focal point. For added cosiness, drape sheepskins over chairs and keep a pile of blankets handy for chilly evenings.
Lighting This comes into its own at night. Think layers of light – a statement piece such as a floor lamp; ambient lighting from side and wall lights; and mood lighting from lanterns and candles. Get an electrician to wire in a waterproof electrical socket.
Furniture You can now buy wing chairs, sofas, loungers and side tables for outdoor use. And if your outdoor room is adjacent to the house, you can make your furniture multitask indoors and out.
Accessorise Don’t be precious about bringing favourite pieces outside. You’ll get to appreciate them all over again in an outdoor setting.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
California Budget Passed, but Discussions Continue - New York Times
The budget, along with a handful of companion bills, was sent to the governor nearly 10 hours before the midnight deadline on Friday. But Democrats did not take up any of the contentious bills needed to execute the budget because they refuse to make deeper cuts to the state’s welfare-to-work program and to other social services for the poor.
Mr. Brown, a Democrat, wants a welfare overhaul and a larger reserve to help the state bridge its projected $15.7 billion deficit.
California’s fiscal year begins July 1. Without a budget in place, the state would not be able to make certain payments to school districts and vendors or pay salaries of elected officials and their staff members. Democratic leaders said they hoped to work out a deal with Mr. Brown in the next week.
The Democratic-led State Senate passed the main budget bill on a 23-to-16 vote along party lines. The bill was also passed by the Democratic-led Assembly on a 50-to-25 vote.
After the vote on Friday, Senator Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat and the Senate’s president pro tem, said he expected Mr. Brown not to act until all the bills were before him.
“We will engage in more discussion with the governor about the remaining issues that have been vetted and discussed throughout this week,” Mr. Steinberg said.
Mr. Brown did not indicate on Friday whether he would sign or veto the budget bill. His spokesman, Gil Duran, said negotiations were continuing. “We’re still not there yet,” Mr. Duran said.
Republicans, who have been sidelined because Democrats can pass the budget on a majority vote, called the budget incomplete and urged Mr. Brown to veto the bill. To override a veto, Democrats would need Republican support to reach a two-thirds majority.
“This budget is a slow-motion train wreck, and you’re driving the bus,” said Senator Tom Berryhill, a Republican. He criticized Democrats for omitting pension and regulatory changes and a cap on state spending that Republicans say are all needed to rescue state government in the long run.
In passing the main budget bill Friday, lawmakers met the requirement for keeping their paychecks flowing under a voter-approved measure that blocks their pay if a budget is late.
Last year, the governor vetoed the budget passed by Democrats, calling it unbalanced. The state controller withheld 12 days of pay, but a judge has since found that the controller has no authority to block paychecks because it violated the separation of powers in the State Constitution.
In introducing the Democratic spending plan, the chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, Bob Blumenfield, said lawmakers tried to soften the most severe cuts to social services and proposed “more compassionate alternatives to some of the governor’s proposals.”
The governor’s plan and the Democrats’ plan assume that voters will approve Mr. Brown’s tax initiative in November. The measure seeks to raise the state sales tax by a quarter of a cent and increase income taxes for people who make more than $250,000 a year, which is projected to raise $8.5 billion through mid-2013.
If voters reject the tax increases, schools and other public entities would be subject to severe automatic cuts, which include shortening the academic year by several weeks.
The governor and lawmakers propose bridging the remainder of the deficit by cutting the budget and shuffling funds, but Mr. Brown wants larger cuts for welfare, child care, in-home support and college aid.
Jim Nielsen, a Republican and the vice chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, said voters would not approve the tax increases because they understood how poorly the budget was created.
Source: www.nytimes.com
Special fabric, flowers and furniture plus a 200-strong entourage: Are these Madonna's diva tour demands? - Daily Mail
|
She hit headlines after flashing her nipple and her bottom while performing on stage.
And if reports are to be believed Madonna's diva demands are more outrageous than her exhibitionism.
The 53-year-old singer's rider includes all sorts of extravagant conditions as she performs her MDNA tour, according to reports.
Treated like royalty: According to reports Madonna has some outrageous demands included on her tour rider including special flowers and furniture
According to In Touch magazine Madonna travels with a huge 200-person entourage and has very specific requirements to the way her dressing rooms are set up.
A source tells the magazine: 'She requires all furniture be removed from the rooms and replaced with her own pieces that she has shipped in.'
It is claimed the singer demands 20 international phone lines in the room as well as special white and pink roses that must have the stems cut to six inches.
As well as all this the singer is also said to demand special fabric for her room.
Peek-a-boo: Madonna was seen peering out from a balcony with her daughter Mercy in Florence, Italy yesterday
Making a stage booby: The 53-year old singer exposed herself while on stage in Istanbul
A source told the Daily Star: 'Madonna has probably the longest list of requirements of any of the world’s music stars. She expects things to be just right or it puts her off her stage show.'
Within the 200-strong team she is said to have 30 bodyguards, a yoga instructor as well as personal chefs and an acupuncturist.
Madonna is currently in Florence, Italy and she was seen on the balcony of her hotel with her boyfriend Brahim Zaibat and her daughter Mercy.
She needs her people, all 200 of them! Maddona is said to be touring with a huge entourage
The singer stunned fans when she flashed her breast while on stage in Istanbul earlier this month.
But despite critics slamming her for the attention-seeking move it seemed Madonna was not perturbed.
In fact, the singer pulled her pants down to reveal her thong, her fishnet tights and her bottom while on stage in Rome last week.
A spokesperson for the star was unavailable for comment earlier today.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Euro 2012: Wayne Rooney returns to play for England, confident and supremely determined - Daily Telegraph
Now he returns to the international fold, joining a team seeking to build momentum after a draw against France and win over Sweden. There is none of “the big man’s back” bravado that characterized Rooney’s grand appearance at Baden Baden six years ago.
Rooney is back for business, confident and supremely determined, but there also seems a new maturity to him. Roy Hodgson even sought to address that by talking of the “myth” of Rooney, of an unfair perception. No arrogance can be detected around Rooney.
Hodgson’s much-celebrated “game-changer” of a substitute, Theo Walcott, made an interesting point to the BBC’s Gabby Logan in the merry aftermath of the 3-2 win over Sweden in Kiev.
“We are a family,’’ said Walcott, emphasizing the togetherness of all, starters and reserves. England are a family and the prodigal son is about to return.
And he will. Speaking in Kiev, Donetsk and Krakow, anywhere he has been encountered, Hodgson has made it abundantly clear that Rooney will start against Ukraine in the atmospheric Donbass Arena, a ground containing all the most enjoyable echoes of Munich’s template-setting Allianz Arena.
England’s manager constantly lauds Rooney’s virtues and importance to the cause, almost every day celebrating him as “world-class’’, his latest accolade being that Rooney is “the main player” for his country.
Main player? England are unbeaten at the Euros, having held one of the most accomplished sides around in France and then seen the exuberance of Andy Carroll, Walcott and Danny Welbeck knock the spirited Swedes out. They’ve done OK without Rooney. He’s not the anticipated cavalry.
An elision of English plotlines occurs in Eastern Europe. Due acknowledgement is made of Rooney’s flair with the reminder that Welbeck can clearly play a bit, more than a bit, that Steven Gerrard is a fired-up leader of the midfield resistance movement, that Ashley Cole hurtles towards 100 caps, that Scott Parker probably throws himself in the way of runaway trolleys at Krakow airport and Walcott, Carroll and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have all impressed.
Rooney should replace Carroll in the Donbass but England’s Euro stage-show has confirmed that the understudies can cope.
Carroll’s header against Sweden was an epic finish Rooney would have been proud to call his own. England have progressed to within sight of the last eight without their talisman.
Main player? As with most issues, Hodgson does not seem perturbed about how his words are construed. Hodgson is Sir Sanguine.
He has been through the ITAL sturm and drang ENDITAL of 90 internationals, has experienced so much from World Cups to Euros that he is not worried about sensitivities. Hodgson’s old-school. Keep calm and carry on, probably to the quarter-finals.
Hodgson knows Rooney is good and says so. The players agree anyway.
Rooney’s popular because of his undoubted footballing ability, for his work-rate (a quality much commented on by team-mates) and because the man they call “Wazza” is likeable company.
Just listen to Gerrard, a long-term rival at club level (Rooney’s Everton and United affiliations represent double trouble for the Liverpool captain).
“It’s a massive bonus for us,’’ said Gerrard of his friend’s pending return. “I said before the tournament, the key thing is to try and get ourselves in a good position before Wayne comes back.
“It’s a massive boost for the players, supporters, you guys, everyone connected with England that our main player is going to be back.
"He’s been itching to get back. You know what he’s like. He loves football, he’s kicking the ball around in the dressing room and can’t wait to get out there.
"You can see in his face that he is disappointed to miss those two games and hopefully we will benefit from that frustration.” Hodgson also trusts his No 10.
Take two snapshots of life here in Krakow. At the Mayor’s reception in the local art gallery, Rooney was politeness personified.
He walked over, shook hands, exchanged a brief words. He smiled, held eye contact, a common courtesy hardly prevalent in many footballers.
Much to ask? It is important to remember that many footballers exist in a state of arrested adolescence, the maturing process placed on hold during their needs-must, raised-stakes professional years.
It is why many players find it so hard when the roar of the crowd fades and they face vexing new demands like booking holidays, fixing an overheated boiler or paying the milkman. Life’s daily demands that the rest of us deal with.
Taking responsibility can be an alien concept for some English footballers. That is why the Football Association’s desire to involve players more in this tournament off the pitch has been so widely applauded, giving the players a glimpse of the real world. Whatever happens on the pitch, England’s players should return as better people.
The second snapshot of Rooney came during a conversation that four correspondents held with the forward on the coach back from Auschwitz, an hour’s drive from Krakow.
Rooney talked earnestly about the enormity of what he’d witnessed, explaining how he’d been studying the hell behind those barbed wires through watching Lord Olivier’s “The World At War”.
Any right-minded soul with any sense of common humanity would do the same but, remember, this is football, this is the world of peacocks and primadonnas, of scrambled perspectives.
Rooney cannot be accused of belonging to those categories; his disquiet was unmistakable when discussing the story of Heinz Thilo, the SS doctor who blithely decided the fates of hundreds of thousands while standing on the railway platform at Birkenau.
When published, Rooney’s words elicited a strong response across assorted social-media platforms, also including radio phone-ins and television debates, onlookers inevitably sharing his horror at Auschwitz but also expressing surprise that he should possess depth as a person.
The man returning against Ukraine is often pigeonholed cruelly, his image shaped by past escapades and a forearm tattoo reading “just enough education to perform”.
Rooney was not placed on this earth to enter University Challenge but to elude Ukraine challenges. Welcome back, England’s starter in 10.
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
California's cigarette tax initiative picking up votes in late tally - Los Angeles Times
Down by 63,000 votes, the statewide ballot initiative for a $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes was pretty much given up for dead the night of the June 5 primary election.
Then, election workers across California began tallying stacks of uncounted ballots — more than a million of them, mostly sent by mail a day or two before the election or handed in at polling places.
The gap in the vote on the tobacco tax, Proposition 29, began to narrow. And narrow. By Friday night, the margin of defeat had shrunk to 16,778 votes — or four-tenths of 1%.
"I think we're still definitely in it," said Jim Knox of the California Division of the American Cancer Society, one of the major supporters of the Yes on 29 campaign. "Either way, it appears this is going to be the closest ballot measure outcome in modern history — if not ever."
Knox remains cautious for good reason. The measure was trailing by 29,000 a week ago, by 42,000 on Thursday and then dropped to its smallest gap yet on Friday.
The odds of the Yes on 29 campaign pulling off a victory remain long: About 52% of the remaining 436,000 uncounted ballots would have to favor the measure, which would fund cancer research and anti-smoking campaigns. The proposition reached or exceeded that level of support in only 16 of California's 58 counties.
"It's not very probable, not unless it gets the vast majority of outstanding ballots in counties where it's doing very well," said Stephen Weir, Contra Costa County's registrar of voters.
As the uncounted ballots were being tallied, some of the biggest gains were coming from large counties where the tobacco tax support received the strongest support, including Alameda, Contra Costa and Santa Clara. The measure also picked up ground in San Diego County, where it still trails by 1%. The measure made a minute gain — 0.2% — in voter-rich Los Angeles County, where it still is losing by 1.2%, election figures show.
A spokeswoman for the No on 29 campaign, bankrolled by the tobacco industry, said the campaign was happy to still be in "such a good position."
"Coming out of election night with a 60,000-plus vote lead, we have always felt in a good position to hold on and be successful when all the votes are counted," said Beth Miller. "We're not seeing anything at this point to lead us to believe anything different.''
The ballot count could continue to fluctuate until July 6, the deadline for county election officials to submit certified results. Once the official results are announced, any voter has the right to ask for a recount, although requests must be made county by county and paid for by the person making the request.
Proposition 29 would add a $1-per-pack tax on cigarettes to raise an estimated $860 million a year for research on tobacco-related diseases and for prevention programs. The American Cancer Society and cycling champ Lance Armstrong, a cancer survivor, were among the measure's biggest proponents, raising more than $11 million to support the ballot initiative.
Tobacco giants Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. poured nearly $47 million into the "no" campaign and were joined by anti-tax and business groups.
Vacillating counts are common in the weeks after election day, as uncounted ballots are processed and sporadically updated by counties. Some local registrars wait until all ballots are tallied to report their vote updates; others do it as they go. The statewide margin of difference on Proposition 29 is less than 1 percentage point.
"Having been through this experience before, I would always caution against making a bold prediction of victory or defeat until it becomes mathematically impossible for any other outcome," said Democratic political consultant Brian Brokaw.
Brokaw worked as a consultant for Democratic state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris' campaign in 2010, when Harris beat Republican Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles County district attorney, by less than 1 percentage point. Her margin amounted to 74,157 votes.
Cooley, in fact, declared victory on election night. Hours after he strode onto a stage at the Beverly Hilton Hotel to deliver the news, Cooley was trailing. Over the next three weeks, as 2.3 million more ballots were tallied, the lead switched back and forth until Harris finally pulled ahead for good.
"The vote would swing by the hundreds, sometimes by the thousands," Brokaw said. "We were careful about never getting our hopes up too high."
Regardless of the outcome, the fact that the tobacco tax initiative made up significant ground after election day has caught the attention of campaigners and election experts.
Figuring out what sways mail-in voters has become crucial: Nearly half of the voting electorate turns in ballots by mail. Some theorize they may be younger, or busy parents with little free time, and their votes trend liberal. Others believe they may have been swayed by Yes on 29 campaign ads, which aired late in election season.
"There's a lot that goes on in campaigns at the end. There are probably more people who are waiting until then," said Secretary of State Debra Bowen, California's chief election official.
Bowen dismissed the conventional wisdom that conservatives tend to mail ballots early and liberals late. What is apparent, she said, is that the most partisan Republicans and Democrats tend to mail their ballots early because they make up their minds early.
Late ballots tend to mirror the results from traditional polling places, she said.
As for the apparent late surge for Proposition 29, Bowen didn't offer any opinions. Too many factors were in play, she said: a new "top-two" primary system, redistricting and millions spent on independent expenditure campaigns.
"Was it the pizza or the beer that caused you to gain 15 pounds during your first year of college?" she joked.
Source: www.latimes.com
Madonna has been such a big star and admired by thousands, she doesn't need to resort to this kind of diva sexy image. I hope she takes a long look of these photos, as theres nothing flattering about them only drawing more attention to her age.
- Jane , London, 17/6/2012 01:21
Report abuse