Here comes the sun (little darlin')

Well hello! We look like we're back into the swing of things here at Willowbrook after a prolonged period of sporadic blogs. If you're a returning viewer thanks for sticking with us over the past 6 months. If you're new to the blog then please enjoy the vast back catalog of posts.

This week's blog is brought to you by the letters VCP and the colour Marigold yellow!

Inspired by the advent of spring and the cheerful yellow colour which has become almost synonymous with Veuve Cliquot over the last few decades, we have decided to create a sensationally sunny summer relaxation space on the cocktail lawn. Guests will be able to relax outside, and take in the warm summer sun (and a restorative glass of champagne).

Conscious of the long term consequences of too much sun, we also wanted to provide sun umbrellas to protect those guests who didn't want to soak up too much UV. Hence these jolly yellow numbers...

We've purchased eight luxury sun loungers with cream mattresses and matching side tables...

and four large yellow umbrellas. This number of loungers happens to neatly space out between the buxus topiaries on the cocktail lawn...

They should arrived next month, which is fine as we usually experience spring showers before it truly becomes lounging weather. We have also sourced some lovely chic yellow trellis pattern cushions to pair with each lounger...

The end effect will look something like this...

We were somewhat inspired by the yellow of the veuve cliquot brand...

Fun in the sun, or fun in the snow!

Ironically, VCP is not our house champagne, but rather Pol. But I don't think they have copyrighted the colour yellow just yet (unlike Cadbury's and the colour purple).

Once we have the pool and pool house built the loungers may shift. Here are some inspirational pictures to get you in the mood for summer ...

Slow boat from China...

After several months we managed to source some nice silk for the curtains in the China Room. It has been worth the wait...

View of a bunch of Hyacinths on top of the burr walnut table

The final curtains, with gold tassel tie backs.

I still spy some wall space, which will be taken up with displays of plates, such as these marvelous examples below...

Perhaps some sconces and vases as well

 In the end we chose a colour by Resene called "Jasper". There were a bewildering array of blues.

So far we have used the China Room for individual high teas, as well as special degustation dinners, where different guests ate in different rooms, which was a wonderful night. Groups could choose where they wished to dine. It also works well for entertaining prospective wedding couples when they visit. 

Below I've shared some pictures from Tumblr which provided further inspiration in addition to the previous posts (Post 1 and Post 2)...

 

 All non-original photography from Tumlr.