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A Warm and Cosy Sitting Room – Top Tips

Posted by deardesigner in Interior Design - (1 Comments)

I’m drawn today to this warm and cosy sitting room as the best antidote to the cold grey weather outside.

Skona Hem

To me, it’s just the perfect combination of colours, pattern and texture and it has a few tricks up its sleeve too.  So here are my top tips for creating your own little cosy corner to snuggle into with a good book.

  1. Keep the wall colour neutral so that the artworks and furnishings take centre stage.  This grey is perfect for a background colour.  It’s not as cold as white but it’s cool enough to handle the other hot colours.
  2. Choose a classic sofa in another, darker neutral shade.  The style will never go out of fashion and you can ring the changes simply by changing the cushions and accessories.

Black Grey Gold3. Add colour and pattern with a rug.  Sometimes the rug can be the starting point for a decorating scheme which may have been the case here.  This one is colourful but not too bright and although it’s busy, the patterns and colours work together well.

4. A coffee or side table is more than just a piece of furniture.  This pair is the ultimate in flexibility as they can be moved apart when necessary and yet work together perfectly.

5. The rule of three is always a good rule to follow.  Here the three pendant lights at different levels create just the right effect for a seating area.  Not too low and not too high.  And the three framed prints inside the bigger frame are echoing that effect.

red yellow black

6. Pick out the colours of the rug in the cushions and by using stripes again as in the rug but differently the effect is of subtle co-ordination.

7.  Use small accessories to repeat colours and effects.  The gold bowl echoes the gold inside the pendant lights and the gold frames.  The grey ‘string’ candle holders repeat the same grey as the wall and even the colours of the book covers are similar to the cushions.

The overall effect is one of perfect harmony.  Nothing shouts too loud and it all appears effortless.  My favourite kind of scheme.

Main image: Skona Hem

Ingredients: Tom Dixon Beat Lights, Conran Shop Oswald sofa, Tom Dixon bash vessels, gold frame from Antique Frames Eu, vintage patchwork rug from Bazaar Velvet, Hay Bella occasional tables from Nest, yellow cushion from H & M Home, patterned cushion by Jonathan Adler, knitted vase by Urban Cuckoo.

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Confessions of a Property Stalker

Posted by deardesigner in Houses - (4 Comments)

Have I ever told you about my guilty pleasure?

No, it’s not eating chocolate in secret(although I do that too), and no, I’m not a secret drinker!  I can hardly bring myself to say it…I am addicted to all kinds of property search programmes on TV.  Location, Location, Location is my favourite, but I also watch Escape to the Country, Sarah Beeny’s Selling Houses, Property Ladder….etc, etc.   If I’m home alone, I can watch them for hours at a time and I’ll even watch the repeats.  Is this an addiction I can get therapy for?

Savills Bath 1

I think it stems from the fact that I have lived in the same house for many years, and although I am constantly redecorating, it’s not the same as starting from scratch somewhere new.  It’s years since I have experienced the thrill of walking into a new place and imagining the possibilities that it presents.

Savills Bath

Designing for clients is different.  You are putting yourself into their shoes and designing for them.  I just love to escape into fantasy and imagine what I would do with that sitting room and how would I re-configure that layout to the best possible solution for my life.

So, just as I am thinking of going cold turkey, I discover a new way of feeding this addiction.  Estate agents websites.

Savills Bath 2

How beautiful is this Georgian terraced house in Bath?  I’m already fantasizing about the life I will lead.  All of that light flooding in is just a dream come true.  That workspace above could be my new office and I would be super productive I’m sure.  And the period features!    Swoon!

Savills Bath 3

And who would complain about living in this neighbourhood?

Currently available for a cool £1.7 million from Savills.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

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Lotta Agaton At Home

Posted by deardesigner in Interior Design - (0 Comments)

I raved about Swedish interior stylists Lotta Agaton and her studio/shop last month after my trip to Stockholm.

So when I chanced upon photographs of her home, well, where else would they end up but here?

Lotta Agaton

Lotta Agaton 4

I’m realising that this is such a Swedish thing to have lots of plants around the house.  In Stockholm even the shop windows were filled with greenery and I absolutely love it!  It brings the rooms alive.  We need to take a few lessons here and ditch the curtains in favour of a house plant or two.

Lotta Agaton 3 Lotta Agaton 2

The graphic black and white palette is certainly softened by the soft wood tones and the liberal sprinkling of furs.  How cosy would that daybed above be?  Two radiators and a fur throw – I’d be asleep in two ticks.

Lotta Agaton 1

What do you think? Are you tempted to break open a tin of white paint?

Styling: Lotta Agaton
Photo: Pia Ulin

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Bring me Sunshine

Posted by deardesigner in Interior Design - (3 Comments)

If there is one colour that is guaranteed to add a little sunshine to our lives it’s yellow.

House to Home 2

You don’t need a lot.  In fact I don’t think I could live with yellow walls.  My childhood kitchen was saturated with yellow of the very vivid kind on almost all surfaces and I don’t think I could go through that again.

House to Home 3

But just think how a vase of simple yellow daffodils can brighten the day and bring a smile to your face.  It’s the unexpected jolt of a yellow accent or the colour used in unexpected places that really adds a cheerful note.

House to Home House to Home 4 House to Home 1

All images from House to Home

yellow

Sources

Do you love it or hate it?

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Designer Envy – Fiona Barratt

Posted by deardesigner in Interior Designers - (0 Comments)

Fiona Barratt interiors was founded in 2006 and designs high-end, international residential and commercial interiors.

Fiona Barratt 1

Her philosophy behind creating fluid and elegant spaces is that they are born of understanding the aspirations of the client, the relevance of the location and maximising the potential of the existing elements of the space.  Then add in imagination and vision and the result is an interior that tells a story in relation to its location, the consideration of the four walls in which it exists, and most importantly reflects in essence the client’s individuality…

Fiona Barratt 2 Fiona Barratt 3 Fiona Barratt 4

“A successful interior should enhance, not dictate the way you live“.

Fiona Barratt 7 Fiona Barratt 6 Fiona Barratt 5

 And as if these beautiful interiors don’t keep her busy enough, Fiona is opening her first retail store in London in June on the Pimlico Road called FBC London.

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A Fresh Look at Laminate Flooring

Posted by deardesigner in Interior Design - (2 Comments)

I think it’s time to take a fresh look at laminate flooring.

It’s major advantages of course are that it’s quick and fairly easy to install (anyone with moderate DIY skills can do it) and it’s inexpensive.  It’s also hard-wearing and if installed correctly, it can look almost as good as the real thing.

Topps Tiles Laminate Flooring 1

And while you’re at it have a look at the laminate flooring at Topps Tiles.

I’m rather partial to the darker tones as seen above.  In fact I have similar flooring at home.  I think it adds a real warmth to the room and looks great with neutral and paler colour schemes.  Looks even more stunning with white!

Topps Tiles Laminate Flooring 4

And I love the sawn effect oak above.  Notice the deep skirting boards and remember to always lay the skirting boards on top of the flooring for a really professional look.

Topps Tiles Laminate Flooring 3

And don’t we all dream of white-painted boards on the floor?  How many of us have boards in good enough condition and the patience to continually re-paint.  Laminate floors could be the answer?

Topps Tiles Laminate Flooring 2

They don’t have to be wood effect either.  These slate effect boards are just perfect for a kitchen or bathroom.

For tips and instructions on how to lay laminate flooring visit DIY Network.

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Dutch by Design

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

Do you ever wonder what the homes of the big names in design look like?

Well, this is a glimpse of the home of Casper Vissers and his wife Suzy.  Casper is the co-founder of Dutch company Moooi and the house is in Breda, the Netherlands.

Casper Vissers co founder of Moooi via Elle Decoration 1

I love the quality of light and the view from the dining room window is to die for.  I’m quite partial to some clipped hedges.

Casper Vissers co founder of Moooi via Elle Decoration 3

The house has some wonderful period features and the addition of the more contemporary Moooi designs just seems to highlight the mouldings and the ceiling roses.

Casper Vissers co founder of Moooi via Elle Decoration

Its also a good lesson in the use of a restained colour scheme.

Casper Vissers co founder of Moooi via Elle Decoration 4

The full story can be found on Elle Decoration.

 

Styled by Tatjana Quax; Photography by Inga Powilleit

 

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A Little Green Goes a Long Way

Posted by deardesigner in Interior Design - (0 Comments)

As I look out of the windows at another grey miserable day I feel blessed that I have a room in my house where plants will flourish.  Building a conservatory on the back of the house was one of my better decisions, and it is always filled with light even if it’s only for a few short hours at this time of the year.

Just take a look at these lovely images from Finnish website Ullamaija Hanninen and then try to imagine them without the green.  They would still be undeniably handsome but it’s the living, breathing plants that really make the rooms so inviting.

Ullamaija Hanninen 1 Ullamaija Hanninen 2 Ullamaija Hanninen 3 Ullamaija Hanninen 4 Ullamaija Hanninen 5

I can’t promise you that plants will look this good in every room in every house.  They do need lots of light to look this green and healthy but just try to add one or two to a window ledge and see how they brighten up your day.

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Photographer Portfolio – Richard Burns

Posted by deardesigner in Photographers - (0 Comments)

Richard Burns kindly emailed me his portfolio the other day and I was immediately drawn to these winter warming images.

I love how he has managed to convey the feeling of being warm and cosy.  I would like to step into each and every photo to pour myself a cup of tea and cuddle up with chunky knits and that gorgeous dog.

I’m working from home today, so the heating is cranked up and the woolly socks are on.  Hope you are all keeping warm.

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Celebrity Snoop – Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Malibu Home

Posted by deardesigner in Celebrity Snoop | Interior Design - (1 Comments)

I have just fallen in love with the Californian home of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith!

Designed by Architect Stephen Samuelson, it is full of intimate spaces, organic forms and handcrafted details.

I think it’s the views that really grab you.  Every room seems to be designed to take in those glorious vistas.  From waking up to sundown there is a little nook for drinking in all of that fresh air.

For more photographs and details of the house head over to Architectural Digest.

Photographs by Roger Davies.

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