Friday 8 March 2013

loveWANTneed

Just a quick post about what I will be dreaming of until I have it hanging over my head.


www.mineheartstore.com

I think this would look amazing in a room painted the deep mauve colour that's on the image- a white room would look gorgeous too but I love the idea of a darker hue against the white of the shade. This is such an easy way to introduce a stand-out stylish feature that will makes your friends wish they had found it first.

Have a great weekend everyone!
xxx

Wednesday 6 March 2013

concrete. brutalist or loveliest?

In a recent project re-vamping the Topshop Oxford Circus Personal Shopping suite (images of this will be up soon!) I pitched the idea of taking the dated white space and creating a 'cool girls apartment', with a mix of upholsteries, art work and furniture so it looked like a collection of treasured belongings that reflected the Topshop girls style.
I was really keen to use tin-tile effect wallpaper by Abigail Ahern on some of the walls to add an industrial but feminine feel (see here http://abigailahern.com/collections/wallpaper) but alas, the creative director wasn't sold on it. So I came up with the idea of concrete... polished concrete! This is an effect created by plastering walls and polishing them up- in the middle stage before you take it to the white plaster we are all used too. The slight sheen on it looks polished and slightly luxurious with an industrial edge. This is what you will find if you ever go in to the suite, sneak peek picture below....
TOPSHOP Personal Shopping Oxford Circus

We had the work done by hand- BUT there are some fantastic wallpapers available that let you create this look by yourself! Paper's in concrete  tiles, brick and wood are available and the effects are amazing. High resolution details make them realistic so these papers aren't cheap, but as a feature they are affordable and definitely worth the money- I love this sort of thing, I'm all about texture and love a little decayed character in a home. Below is a list of a few styles and suppliers, follow the links! These websites are amazing- some really talented folks who I will blog about in more detail soon. Also last months Elle Decor did a piece on this style of decorating if you can still get your hands on it!

Patina- Ageing with Beauty - Mr Perswell www.mrperswall.co.uk

Stone Angels - Young & Battaglia www.youngbattaglia.com

Stones - Mr Perswell

Attic #01 - Tom Haga

Cast Iron Gate -  Young & Battaglia

Concrete Wall #15 - Tom Haga









Monday 4 March 2013

green with envy


Green decor? And I mean pea green- not like Farrow & Ball greens, but green...green. Not a colour I can say I've really given much thought about for an interior not in a Mediterranean climate. (which obviously relishes with even the most vibrant shades.) But then this picture came to my attention- I love it and think this is the way to work green in any interior. The white in the wallpaper freshens it up, and the im-perfect, slightly distressed green paint is rustic and charming. I personally love distressed looks but I appreciate that's not everyone's cup of tea. Mixing this up with the addition of a glossy tiled floor, an opposing element to the distressed walls- creates a romantic and eclectic look. So that's the way to do it!


Inspired? Here's a way to achieve a similar look yourself.


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1. italian floor tiles. 2.matt dark green via www.vinyldepot.co.uk 3. floral wallpaper by Designers Guild.
4. Kartell Combeck armchair by Patricia Urquiola