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Decorex International 2011 – 10 Reasons Why I’ll be there……….

Posted by deardesigner in Events | Interior Design - (5 Comments)

1. Decorex International is the only interior design show for professionals. It’s been at the heart of the design community for over 30 years, and remains in a league of its own.  I’ve been visiting for six years and each sumptuous show surpasses the last. It really is a feast for the senses.

 3. It’s worth a visit just to see how the exhibitors and designers interpret the theme every year.  This year it’s ‘cherished places’ which for me conjures up all sorts of wonderful visions.  I cannot wait!

 5. This year the Champagne Bar will be designed by Interior Designer Martin Hulbert and as I’ve never been known to turn down a glass of bubbly you just might see me there too!

7. And I’ll be sure to have a bite in the café.  Designed this year by Boosk Saib.  It’s sure to be bold and adventurous and will be a great place to catch up with friends and fellow bloggers. 

8. I’ll do quite a bit of loitering and taking of furtive notes in the Sloane Square Lobby.  The designers this year are Nicky Haslam and Colette van den Thillart from NH Design so it should be full of innovative ideas and products to swoon over.

10. Last but not least, I’ll be filling my Decorex International carrier bag with all sorts of pamphlets and leaflets that will keep me blogging happily on Dear Designer’s Blog for a very long time to come.

 

Will I see you there?

Inspiration – Outdoor Fireplaces……….

Posted by deardesigner in Inspiration - (4 Comments)

What we all need at this time of the year is an incentive to stay out in the garden longer.

It’s such a shame that at the first chills of  late summer (I’m not going to utter the dreaded word  autumn just yet) we all rush indoors and draw the curtains.  We are shortening the seasons unnecessarily and there is still so much to enjoy.

What we all need is an outside fireplace.  Not one of those flimsy fire pits, although they can work in the right garden.  No, I’m talking about a proper, built from brick, permanent structure.

 And this one above is just perfect.  Enclosed on three sides (or at least two that we can see) and with comfy sofa’s and armchairs that just invite lounging.  Even though the fire is not lit, it still looks cosy.

Still lovely, although not quite as cosy.  You might get a chill around the backside after a while.  If the patio had been extended just a tad there would have been more room to make a feature of the fireplace.  

Now this is good.  An outside area for breakfasts in the sunshine and a heated nook to retreat to when the sun goes down.  It doesn’t get better than that.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Undeniably substantial enough but both a little exposed for my liking.

Not as comfortable but a great place to dine all year round.  And what a great party pad.  Move the table and benches aside and there’s room for dancing even and the perimeter walls look ideal for perching.

 
 

Ditto, but so stylish I had to include it.  Check out the rest of the house. No 7 link below.

What’s your fantasy outdoor room?

Sources: 1.Atlanta Homes and Lifestyle, 2.BHG, 3. House and Home, 4. Sohautestyle, 5. HGTV, 6. Houzz, 7. Schappacher White

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I Spy – Sheepskin at the White Company……….

Posted by deardesigner in I Spy | Interior Design - (2 Comments)

I know it’s not even September yet, but dreams of an Indian summer are evaporating pretty quickly around here.

The shops are full of autumn knits and the cool soggy British summer is almost over.  Thoughts are already turning to cosy nights in with a large glass of red and I’m currently lusting after one of these from The White Company.

How comfy and cosy does this look?

Quite pricey it has to be said, but I could quite easily stay on one of these until spring next year.  Just re-fill my glass every now and again.

And just in case you need to beat the chills in the bedroom too.  Voila…

Wake me up next year!

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Designer Envy – Broosk Saib……….

Posted by deardesigner in Interior Design | Interior Designers - (2 Comments)

Just take a look at these stunning interiors by Broosk Saib.

A basis of English country house, mixed with tribal artifacts and contemporary colours.  Luxuriously comfortable and with such exquisite lighting effects but actually rather daring.  He either has very adventurous clients or he is very persuasive.  My guess is on the latter. 

 

Stop press:  Broosk is designing the Café and Ranelagh Restaurant at Decorex International, 25-28th September, Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London.

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Assignation at Soho’s Secret Tearoom……….

Posted by deardesigner in Events - (1 Comments)

It was a bit hush hush. 

The dbcollective were meeting at a new venue for the August meetup. 

Situated in busy Soho, but oh, so secret unless you’re in the know.  Go through the Coach and Horses public house, sneak behind the bar and up the creaky, windy narrow stairs and then you’re there.  Soho’s Secret Tearoom.

Shhh, if you want to know who was there, you’ll have to pop over to the dbcollective facebook page.

Oh, and a big thank you to our host Lucy of A Gifted Existence

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I Spy – Camilla Brent-Smith……….

Posted by deardesigner in I Spy | Interior Design - (1 Comments)

Camilla Brent-Smith lived and worked in India while she was studying for her textile degree and her first fabric collection is hugely influenced by this experience.

Each design is hand-drawn or painted first and then manipulated on the computer to create a repeat pattern.  Digital printing is then used to ensure that every brush stroke is still visible.

“Swirling patterns of coloured powder laid out as far as the eye can see and flowers; garlands, petals, single buds, strewn across the painted ground”

“And the sky is full of birds, lit in the warm evening light, circling ancient palaces”

“Every inch of the palace wall is painted, every brush stroke visible through the carved lattice-work screen”.

Can you feel the heat?

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Zebra Rugs……….

Posted by deardesigner in Inspiration | Interior Design - (3 Comments)

There’s one trend out there that I’m not sure I can buy into.

They are just about everywhere and undeniably glamorous.

Gracing the floors of bedrooms, sitting rooms, entrance halls, even dressing rooms!

 Adding sophistication to any type of decor.  From ethnic, to urban, to contemporary to rustic. 

And they enhance just about any colour scheme for monochromatic to pastels to much richer hues. 

But I just don’t think I could bring myself to imagine something as beautiful as a zebra adorning my floor!

 

How do you feel about zebra rugs?

Image sources: 1.2.Decorpad, 3.4.House and Home, 5. Inspiring Interiors,

I Spy – Neisha Crosland Ceramics……….

Posted by deardesigner in I Spy | Interior Design - (0 Comments)

For all you Neisha Crosland fans out there.

Neisha Crosland has collaborated with Make International to produce her first collection of Fine China ceramics.

 A gorgeous collection of espresso cups and saucers, mugs and saucers, teapot, sugar bowl, milk jug and cake stand in two patterns that are instantly recognisable and that can be mixed and matched.

Inspiration for the shapes, she says, came from a set that she inherited from her great-aunt, late 19th century Russian Imperial porcelain and her many trips to Morocco.

Personally, I love them!

Colour Inspiration – Yellow and Turquoise……….

Posted by deardesigner in Inspiration | Interior Design - (0 Comments)

After two days of rain in the UK we all need a little reminder that it is still summer…

Yellow and Turquoise.  As summery as it gets.

And if we all took a little risk now and again, and used such daring combinations in our homes, it could be summer all year long.

Julian Wass

Pinterest 

Better Homes and Gardens

Graham and Brown

Apartment Therapy

Go on, bring on the sun!

Moodboard 1. Urban-Myth via Flickr, Stephanie Williams Photography, Inspire Bohemia, Style me Pretty, Decor8, Anthropologie.

Moodboard 2. Love made me do it, Tumblr, Flickr, Curbly, Shabby Apple, Flickr.

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Summertime, and the living is easy……..

Posted by deardesigner in Houses | Interior Design - (2 Comments)

I don’t have a beach hut.

But if I did, I think I might decorate it like this one from Shootfactory.

Or possibly like this…

 How about you?

1. Wallpaper, Fabrics and Paper. 2. Quayside lamp, Pedlars. 3. Floral bunting, HomeHomeHome. 4. Place settings, Bombay Duck. 5.6. Chair and table, John Lewis. 7. Fabric, Celia Birtwell. 8. Mug, Royal Worcester. 9.10. Teapot, and floral cushion John Lewis. 11. Pink cushion, Rume.

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