From the Home of Fi Douglas
An artist and designer based in Glasgow, Scotland
From Blakely:
I can't wait for you all to see Fi's gorgeous art collection in her beautiful home in Scotland. I first met Fi when she attended the very first retreat I hosted at Melisses in Greece — and we hit it off immediately!
Fi is fearless with color, and she has this amazing ability to see beauty in the unusual. She treats odd, whimsical objects not just as decor, but as treasures to be celebrated and savored. Beyond her creative eye, Fi is genuinely one of the kindest, most delightful people I’ve met. She’s thoughtful in every conversation and shared the most meaningful descriptions of her artwork — you can feel how much it all means to her.
So without further ado, enjoy a peek into the world of Fi Douglas, her stunning artwork, and the lovely stories woven through each piece.
HOME PAINTING STUDIO
Free Rhudarb | Archie + Ted
“This is one of my most precious pieces of art in our home, it was done by both of my boys, Archie and Ted. We had an abundance of Rhubarb in our garden, and had just moved to our street and didn’t really know our neighbors yet. The boys were in this sweet era of loving the idea of setting up little stalls outside on the pavement, as they wanted to get to know their new neighborhood. They decided to set up a little stall outside for the neighbors to help themselves to the rhubarb. I love that it says ‘Free Rhudard’ rather than the correct spelling of rhubarb, it captures such a beautiful little moment in time of their childhood. I adore children’s art almost more than anything else, and there is a magical moment around the ages of 5 and 7, before they have started to understand what the world expects their art to be, it’s so free and pure. This hangs in my home studio and makes my heart happy every time I look at it.”
Nevis | Fi Douglas | @fi.douglas.designs
Landscape | Fi Douglas’ Grandmother
“All of these paintings are some of my most treasured things in life. They are all paintings by my granny, I never knew her as she died when I was a toddler, but having these paintings give me a connection to her and I love having it in my studio”
LOUNGE
Beaded Animals | Monkey Biz | @monkeybizcape
“These beaded animals are by the most incredible South African artisans called Monkeybiz. It’s a social uplifting project based in Cape Town. We traveled to South Africa for a special family trip a couple of years ago and the arts + crafts were I think the most incredible I have ever seen. These pieces are using beadwork methods traditional to the area".”
Woven Plates | Found
“These woven plates above the mantel were also purchased in South Africa, but they were made in Zimbabwe using old telephone wires which gives them their bright colors. I regret not buying more! If I ever go back I want to buy enough to cover the whole wall!”
Paper Pattern | Gifted
Blue and White Plate | Gifted
Blue and White Textile | Found
Framed Textiles | Found
Floral Mural | Fi Douglas | @fi.douglas.designs
“In the same room as the textile pieces I have a floral mural. This room overlooks our garden, and I painted all the flowers in our garden the first spring we moved into this house. This house is a beautiful old arts and crafts house, and doing this felt like my contribution to the house.”
DINING ROOM
Collected Plates to the Right | Found
Collected Plates to the Left | Ben Fosker | @foskerben
“One of my favorite things has always been to hang plates on the walls. The blue and white ones are mainly vintage collected from our travels, and the pieces to the left are mostly by one of my favorite ceramic artist Ben Fosker. Ben has an amazing illustrative style. I first met him and saw his work at a pottery festival called Potfest. I fell in love with Ben’s work as soon as I saw it, his stand was painted the most incredible bubblegum pink color and is an artist in the absolute truest sense of the word. His art is him.”
LIVING ROOM
Ceramic Plates and Figures | Ben Fosker | @foskerben
Streetscape | Chelsea Frew | @chelseafrew
KITCHEN
Sea Breeze | Blakely Made | @blakelymade
“In our kitchen hangs one of Blakely’s paintings. It is one of my most treasured art pieces, and I love that it hangs in our kitchen because thats the heart of our home. I first met Blakely at Melisses in Andros Greece at on of her painting workshops. I had always loved her art and it was an absolute joy to spend time with her in such a beautiful place and see in real life the magic she creates. That week was one of those beautiful moments in life full of pure creativity, joy, and inspiration. My husband bought me this painting as a surprise from Christmas after I had been on the trip. It is one of my favorite gifts he’s ever given me!”
Floral Jug | Ceals Wood | @cealswood
Red and White Bowl | Marigold and Lettice | @marigoldandlettice
Blue and White Plate | Gifted from a Friend
Blue and White Tile | Delft
Painting of Tom | Calum Douglas | @cal.douglas.photo
“These are paintings by my brother, Calum. I love them SO much. I love animals, and our pets are a huge part of our home and life. My brother is actually a photographer, but he’s super creative in every way so he painted these as a Christmas gift for me one year. I love the humor in them and how he captured them perfectly. This is ‘Tom’ our beautiful rag doll cat, with a rather majestic tail.”
Painting of Bobby | Calum Douglas | @cal.douglas.photo
Large Abstract Painting | Fi Douglas |@fi.douglas.designs
“This large abstract is one of my own pieces. I love painting at scale. I’m probably more well known for my floral work, but my true creative heart lies in large scale abstract works. When I studied painting at art school, before I trained in textile design, my work was full of huge scale, colorful abstract pieces. These days I translate my abstract pieces onto my textile designs. I’ve spent a long time building my textile business, which I adore, but I’m ready to get back into my canvases. There’s a freedom to painting a piece of abstract art without the pressure to turn into a commercial design that I love.”
KIT’S ROOM
Abstract Painting | Fi Doulas | @fi.douglas.designs
Topsy and Tim Book Cover Prints | Jean Adamson
TED’S ROOM
Vintage Boat | Found
“I *adore* vintage thing, one of my biggest joys in life is searching for vintage treasures. This amazing old boat is one of my best finds, it sits atop of a lovely old vintage cabinet in my son Ted’s room. I found it at an antique market, and the guy selling it said it came from and old closed down fish restaurant in France. Outsider art is one of my absolute favorite art forms and, to me, this boat feels like a piece of outsider art. I think pieces like this appeal to me so much because they remind me of things my dad used to make for us when we were kids. He is actually a doctor and not artistic in the traditional sense, but he’s always been amazing at making things with his hands.”
SITTING AREA + MANTEL
Tablescape Painting | Lucy Anderson | @around_the_houses
“This painting was done by one of my dearest friends Lucy Anderson. Lucy has worked with me at Bluebellgray for over 12 years, she’s my creative soul mate! She inspires me everyday and I *adore* her work. Just when I think I can’t love her work any more, she paints something even more incredible than the last.”
Horse Sculpture | Ben Fosker | @foskerben
Vintage Painting | Panter and Hall
RANDOM WALLS + HALLWAYS
Two Framed Paintings | Archie + Ted
Floral Painting | Fi Douglas | @fi.douglas.designs
“This is an old piece that I forgot about. It’s one of my few pieces I have left from my art school days, I painted so much at the time, and over the years the paintings just kind of disappeared with moving house multiple times and gifting to people. This is really the only substantial pieces I have left. I like to look back on it, it’s when I was wrangling inside over whether I’m a textile designer or an artist, and my textile design tutors were not very happy with me painting on a canvas! It’s a piece full of personal references and drawings that capture that moment in time.”
Abstract Figure | Annie Hutchison | @anniefhutchinson
Embroidered Cloth | Cait Gordon | @caitsews
“My dearest friend, Cait, made me this embroidery. We met on the very first day of art school and have been firm friends ever since. She is an art and design teacher and doesn’t sell her work, but she is an incredible maker and can turn her hand to anything. I love this piece because it feels so her, It’s her handwriting embroidered on a piece of vintage cloth, which is a nod to a part of her I love (her love for vintage!). The bread quote is because we both went through a bread baking journey of discovery together, and it’s something we both love. Cait is always so incredibly thoughtful in the gift she makes, and her creativity know no bounds.”
Fruit Painting | Claire Maclellan | @claire_maclellan
“ The first piece of art we bought specifically for this house when we moved in 5 years ago is this incredible pink painting by the Scottish artist Claire Maclellan. We met Claire at an art show and immediately loved her and her work. We then visited her incredible home studio overlooking beautiful Loch Lomond in Scotland and commissioned this special piece. Family weekend breakfasts are such an integral part of our family life and we wanted to capture all the kids favorite things to eat. Claire got it all perfectly, even popping in some of my favorite blue and white ceramics as well as a good pot of coffee, which my husband loves!”
SEASIDE CABIN
Landscapes of the west coast of Scotland | Fi Douglas’ Grandmother
“My Granny was a creative soul and I like to think her artistic genes were passed down to me. I’ve never had any of these pieces reframed, I love the original frames because I love that she must have gone to the framers and chosen them. She wrote on the back of the paintings where she painted them. and one day, when time allows, I’d love to go to the same places she painted and paint my own paintings of those places to see the views she saw. The one’s hanging in our cabin were actually painted along the west coast of Scotland, so it felt right to have them there.”
Collected Shells | Found
Old Kids Book, Scanned and Printed | Found
Hope you enjoyed a peek at Fi’s art collection! You can find more of Fi’s work with Bluebellgray on her website and instagram, along with her personal account here. Don’t forget to leave a comment telling us which piece is your favorite!
Cheers!
ps — Up next week is… Mimi Striplin!
This is an inspiration. Thankful to have been introduced to several new to me Scottish artists. I'd move in if I could! Virginiaxx