Pattern showdown!

I went to the opening weekend of Damien Hirst’s exhibition at the Tate, and whether you love or loathe Hirst’s work, his simple ‘Spot Painting’ just doesn’t do it for me.  I naturally gravitate towards stripes, but I thought for the sake of this piece I would give spots a chance.  Made infamous by Cadbury’s cleverly engineered “Spots or Stripes” campaign, these two forms of pattern have been at odds throughout the ages.

 

Try as I might, I really struggled to find any room set or scheme that wasn’t childish, or scarily garish.  I’m sorry spots, unless someone can prove otherwise you are just better suited to little girls rooms (nothing wrong with that!) or clothes.  A pretty dress with spots can be the perfect summer outfit, and it’s best just left at that.

Which do you prefer? Send me the case for and against and perhaps you can persuade me to change my mind…

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Images (Left – Right, Top to Bottom):
Stripes: lolobou; country living, kelly wearstler, house and garden, the house home.
Spots: costal living, pinterest, design sponge, caterinaregina

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Posted on April 19th, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ From Haute to Home

During fashion week, both on and off the runways we saw plenty of fur.  Whether you agree with it or not, fur has always been a luxurious addition to any scheme, be it fashion or at home.  The world of interiors works at a slower pace than than that of fashion, however the influences of previous year’s looks are often seen filtering into chic interiors.

Ryan Korban is well known for his use of fur, adding to the sexy and grown up feel of the interiors he creates.  Schumacher has a fantastic and (trust me) eye wateringly beautiful range of hand crafted wallpaper using all natural feathers.  A fur throw on the end of a bed, or a feather trim on a lampshade are just the beginning for ideas on fur and feathers in the home.

Do you have a favourite animal print?

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Posted on March 1st, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Blue is the Colour

I’ve been asked to expand on my previous post about how to achieve a great look in blue.  Blue is once again the hue of the moment (although, when does it ever really go out of fashion?!)

From the runway to the home, blue is having yet another renaissance.  Giorgio Armani shows off with different shades of cool blues and playing with silk in the S/S12 Fashion Week.

Speaking of renaissances, you can see how the popularity of the colour blue was prevalent even during the Renaissance, when the pigment derived from the mineral lapis lazuli was so prized that it was used to paint the sacred robes of the Madonna.

Anyway, I digress. Using Giorgio as a springboard for inspiration, here are some key elements of putting a colour scheme together.


1. For nautical, denim and blue fabrics go to Ralph Lauren Home, Elanbach, and Sanderson
2. For silks in a variety of blues, go to Fox Linton
3.  For  traditional ikats and matching trims, go to Turnell & Gigon,
4.  and 5. Hand glazed tiles from Fired Earth
6. Oyster Slate Split Face Split Mosiac from Topps Tiles
7. Paint palette – various {via Elle Decor}.  Another excellent colour to add is ‘All White’ by Farrow & Ball


1. Blue and White Amari Vase from Vaughan
2.  William Yeoward Piers Court Navy cushion from Designers Guild
3. Twisted tumblers and wine glasses from OKA
4. Johnson Brothers Blue Denmark Plate from John Lewis
5. Square Blue and White Vase from Vaughan 

The key is to mix as much as possible! What I mean is mix the patterns and prints, but be careful of mixing shades of blue that could clash. There is a difference between colour and tone ~ colour is blue, tone is navy. You wouldn’t mix a turquoise tone with a navy tone unless you were intentionally clashing up the colours, which is best left to bright and bold to make a statement.

Blue is of course best contrasted with white, so pick a tone you like, layer it with pattern, texture and sizes and you’ll be on to a winner.

 What is your favourite blue?

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Posted on February 23rd, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Place Settings

When I’m styling a completed interior design project, laying the table is a an absolute must-do.   There are so many ways to lay a table, especially depending on the room’s scheme and the occasion.  When laying the table at home, even for an informal kitchen supper, I always like to make sure I have put a little thought into it so that my guests can feel relaxed and enjoy their meal.

There’s often some confusion on how to lay a table, so I wanted to share a few ideas and give you a visual guideline which might be helpful.


{via HouseofFifty}

I love the idea of the above placement, which literally shows you where to place your utensils.

I also found the below, which gives a visual layout for place settings.


{via tumblr}

Here are 4 ways for a dreamy table setting, all that I’d love to be dining at…


1.  Polo Ralph Lauren     2. TW Design Project     3.  Style Me Pretty     4. Luxe Finds

Any other ideas on a theme for a table setting?

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Posted on February 16th, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Pally-o’-pallet

In the theme of Tuesday’s post, I’ve been thinking of other ways to up-cycle for the home. Here are 5 cool ideas to recycle pallets. You can find them all over the place, from freecycle, skips, working warehouses, even sometimes the edge of the road (although be careful if you are that hardy!)

1. Why not use palettes instead of a futon base for your bedroom.  To add to the rustic look, tie in muted colours and even use an old fruit crate as your bedside table. {via chic deco}
2. Hang a palette on the wall, and you have a nifty plate rack.  {via tumblr}
3. Create a garden planter, this is ideal for a balcony garden! {via Craft}
4.  A slick of paint and some nails, plus a little bit of imagination transforms old bits of junk wood into a contemporary kitchen island unit.  This will save lots of pennies that you can spend on cool chairs and fun lighting pendants to complete the look.  {via Apartment Theraypy}
5.  For a commercial space, you could commission Most Architecture, a Dutch architectural practice, to design a recycled interior for your office.

If this is all too much hassle, and you want the look but are not DIY friendly (although to be honest, these are really easy except no. 5), then Made.com does a fun coffee table made under the same principle.

I know you are all extremely creative and fun, what would you make or have as a palette feature?

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Posted on February 9th, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration




I don’t think the concept of living in a converted warehouse will ever get old.  City living is becoming more cramped as the population continually increases, and warehouse spaces are becoming even fewer and far between as industries die or move away. If you look carefully, there are a few hidden gems out there.  I’d like to use these inspirations for my own warehouse conversion project…


{via BrownDressWithWhiteDots}


{via tumblr}


{via Desire To Inspire}

Would you like to live in warehouse conversion?

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Posted on February 2nd, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Cool customer

One of the design projects I’m currently running is for a very cool guy.  Although he’s got a very serious job, he is actually a creative at heart and the brief for his pad is to create a cool space that he can let his creativity flourish.  I thought I’d share with you a few images that I’m working with as inspiration for his mood boards.

I’m swooning over the desk, above left (via Splendid Willow) and the neutral colour palette is masculine without being too ‘bachelor pad-ish’.

Have you got any ideas that can incorporate into our schemes?

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Posted on January 26th, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Be Yourself

As the first working week of January is coming to a close, how was it for you? New Year’s resolutions are pitfalls, purely because you should resolve every single day of the year, not just one day, what you want to do, who you want to be and how you are going to get there.

New Year is a great time to review and to look at areas that you need to work on. Make new determinations as to what you are going to do, and who you are going to be in the next year. Set a programme for yourself, follow it through and you will find how much happier you are. Failure to keep to your schedule of improvement means you have paralysed your will. You have no greater enemy or friend than yourself, if you befriend yourself you will find accomplishment.

Don’t follow fashion trends, the most fashionable thing is to just be yourself. Cultivate your vision, tenacity in what you love and confidence in what you do. Listen to your heart, it knows what makes you happy; and trust your intuition, it is strong and powerful.

My motivation this year for the blog is to include more lifestyle posts, to create a broader subject topic that hopes to inspire you in any way possible and to help you to get to know me a bit better. Plus, we’ll be launching our website soon so lots of exciting things on the way. I invite you to get in touch with me with thoughts, musings, comments or anything else you’d like to share, or requests for topics you’d like me to cover. My door is always open!

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Posted on January 5th, 2012

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Grown Up Bunk Beds


{via tumblr}

If space is limited, don’t discount bunk beds. They don’t have to be only for the kiddies and overflowing with toys. This is a very grown up space saving solution, I’m not sure about you but I’d be very happy to bunk down in this room!

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Posted on December 1st, 2011

Thursday’s Inspiration ~ Sartorialist Girl

I have a geeky confession to make. Sometimes I play this game in my head, especially on the tube (don’t you just love people watching?!?) where I imagine what a person would look like if they were from a different background or country, imagining how they would dress or talk. I’ve recently realised that what I’ve started doing is taking this one step further and imagining what a person’s home would look like. I’m a nosy person by nature and love getting sneaky peaks into people’s lives through their homes, and so my over active imagination plus my natural inquisitiveness gives me hours of daydreaming, so I thought I’d invite you to come on a little imagination tour with me for today’s Inspiration post.

One of my most favourite blogs is The Sartorialist.  Scott Schuman has revolutionised fashion blogs, and his inspirational images have captured the imagination of thousands. Anyway, I was perusing his blog (a daily distraction, I have to add) and I came across this gorgeous lady. Straight away my imagination kicked into over drive and I found myself building up her life and what her home is like. This is by no means any sort of scientific process, and as I’ve mentioned and will continue to mention, design is completely subjective, and where I see something you might see something completely different.


{via browndresswithwhitedots}

She’s got such a relaxed manner, and her choice of outfit makes me think she’d have a bedroom like the above.


{via tumbl}

Which would have an en-suite like the one above.

And she’d have decorative objects thoughtfully scattered around her apartment.


{via browndresswithwhitedots}

I imagine her to do something creative, and sit at this fabulous desk above sipping espressos absorbed in making something magical.

What do you see?

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Posted on November 24th, 2011
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