Author: Justine Harvey

Using a mixture of vintage and salvaged items, Lou Rota creates customised homewares, such as these Vintage Love Plates.

Comprising of a set of four bone china tea plates which have been customised with floral letters, they are designed to be hung on the wall or displayed on a shelf. Sadly the plates are not suitable for use actually serving food… As they are created from vintage plates, the exact designs will vary, but they will try to accommodate colour and style requests.

They cost £65 with free delivery within the UK. Order via Not on the High Street.

Supplied in a set of six, the Carnaby Coasters feature designs that are very much in the Swinging Sixties style. The ubiquitous target and Love motifs feature alongside the Union Jack and psychedelic heart and star designs.

They are produced by Disco Butterfly which is the company of designer Anna Shepherd. The coasters, like most of Disco Butterfly’s products, are limited edition.

They cost £12.95 and can be bought via Not on the High Street.

Hereford based Berry Red describes their style as “relaxed country chic with a smattering of Scandinavian and French style”. This means that quite a bit of their homeware stock has a retro flavour such as these Daisy Salad Bowls.

The white ceramic is decorated with a 70s-style oversized daisy motif in a choice of yellow, blue or orange. The bowls cost £19.95 each from Berry Red. Matching ceramic jugs are also available that can be used for serving or for displaying flowers. They cost £10.50 each and are available in the same choice of colours, although the blue is currently out of stock.

Visit the Berry Red website to buy online or for details of their Hereford shop.

I wouldn’t normally give shelf space to animal-shaped ornaments but I would be willing to make an exception for this Porcelain Roe.

Handmade from original mid-century moulds, it has been hand-painted in monochrome, which helps it to avoid the folksy look of many animal ornaments. There is also a swan, panther, collie and mouse in the same range. The roe costs $235 (around £180) with the others costing from $45 for the mouse up to $275 for the panther.

They are available to buy from Eden and Eden.