CLIENT PROFILE:
Large Edwardian family home in Tooting, South West London, with a well established bed & breakfast Parklands Bed & Breakfast.
I was contacted by the client to revamp the guest suites and communal areas with new colour schemes and to restyle each room with different accessories. In most instances I was able to recycle all the accessories in the property.
Read moreCLIENT PROFILE:
Single professional male; first home he has owned; South West London two bedroom ground floor Victorian apartment; east facing.
The client had no furniture when he moved in except a deck chair! The whole apartment needed to be painted, decorated and filled with furniture and accessories. His brief was for a stylish and comfortable design as his previous abode had been a real bachelor pad! And all on a very small budget.
Read more30 something professional couple; first home they have owned; South West London first floor two bedroom apartment; south facing; adding a loft conversion to give them a master suite.
The clients initially sought my help with paint colours for the whole flat but I ended up providing a full interior design service for many of the rooms.
Read moreOne of the biggest problems with posting my projects on my website is the fact that the projects are ongoing. My clients are all residential and the projects don't have a start and end date mainly due to budget restrictions or the time it takes to source a particular item(s). I'm happy to roll with it - dip in and out of the project as and when the client needs me but it makes it difficult to share the finished article with you. So I've decided that I'll share my projects with you as a work in progress.
Read moreSorry for my radio silence since my last post on 31 October - in the run up to Christmas I was manically busy with client work and in January I headed to Sydney for five weeks.
I thought I'd kick off with one of the highlights of my Sydney sojourn - the coastal walk from South Coogee (where I was staying) to Bondi, a distance of about 10k with some of the most spectacular scenery. I did this walk last year with a friend but this time it was just me, my iPhone and my DSLR. The weather was cloudy, windy and about 26C so perfect for a long walk.
Read moreA couple of weeks ago a friend and I went to Charleston, the home of the Bloomsbury Group, to do a lampshade painting workshop with Cressida Bell who is the talented artist granddaughter of the artist Vanessa Bell and daughter of Quentin Bell. I wonder if you are as passionate about the Bloomsbury Group as I am? I devour books about them and have often visited Charleston, Berwick, Firle and Monk's House.
Read moreAt the end of August I paid a visit to Sissinghurst Castle Garden. This was my second visit to Sissinghurst (I went a couple of years ago) and it is one of those places that you could visit two or three times a year and always see something new.
Read moreRecently my home was opened up to members of the Decor Cafe for an evening event. The DecorCafe Network, of which I am a member, is a collaborative community of those of us whorun our own businesses in the interiors industry and those who just need inspiration and help to decorate their homes. These home tours bring members together to connect, learn and share ideas.
Read moreot sure if you are aware but Petersham Nurseries have opened a second site and it's in London's Covent Garden. I zipped up there on my moped last Friday to see what all the fuss was about (I'd seen a lot of images on Instagram of it). It was certainly worth the journey! They have taken over a large building in Floral Street called Floral Court. There's the shop and the separate deli with florist both opened a couple of weeks ago and in between these two shops is a space where they are going to open two restaurants later this year.
Read morePetersham Nurseries is one of those places that is good for the soul. It is all about beauty and style, both outside and inside. I'm there at least three times a month and have rarely left there empty handed!
It's a half hour drive from my home which takes me across Richmond Park, another place that is good for the soul. It's hard to believe that you are in a big city when you are in the middle of the park surrounded by trees, bracken and deer.
Read moreThe trend for grey interiors continues, at least in south west London where I and most of my clients live. Most paint their interiors in various shades of grey and then wonder what they can do to brighten them up. After all, it's grey outside most of the year in London so why would you want to bring that indoors?!
Read moreAre you afraid of introducing colour in your home? It can be daunting and it’s easy to make mistakes; it takes boldness to identify the perfect palette. One of my workshop offerings is a day's course, Colour Style Home in which I will equip you with the confidence necessary to inject colour, style and personality into your home. Click here to read about the workshop.
Read moreDo you like noseying around other people's homes? I love it ! If you would like a nosey around my home, there will be a Private Home Tour on Wednesday 16th August organised by The Decor Cafe.
Read moreHello everyone. Just a very quick post before I rush out the door.
I recently did a Q&A interview for one of my favourite lighting stores Pooky Lighting and I thought you might be interested in reading it.
Read moreIt’s been a few weeks since my last blog post mainly due to been manically busy with client work but I also had a two week break in Italy over Easter. As many of you know, I was married to an Italian and lived in Italy for ten years so it’s my spiritual home and I try and go back at least once a year. I stay with friends who live in the Piemonte region and we usually jump into their camper van and head off somewhere for a few days.
Read mores many of you know, I love Petersham Nurseries and am a frequent visitor. It's described on their website as "Internationally prized garden centre, Petersham Nurseries is a tranquil oasis
and seedbed of inspiration" and that about sums it up. The highlight is always the shop which is in one of the glasshouses. The styling of the furniture, accessories, plants & flowers is superb and I find it a real inspiration. I love to wander around admiring and of course buying one or two things as it's very difficult to leave empty handed!
Most of my clients and friends are daunted by the task of hanging their artwork so it usually never makes it on to a wall !
Styling your walls with artwork and mirrors is something that people struggle with because they don't know where to start and when they do start, they usually hang everything too high and don’t group things to give a feeling of cohesiveness (see my separate blog post How to Hang Artwork).
Read moreIt may have been the long winter months or just time for a change that prompted me to change the colour scheme of my bathroom. Either way, I felt it needed lifting from meh to tahdah and the way to do that is with a massive injection of colour!
Read moreAs many of you know, I have a passion for mirrors and my home is full of them. At last count I had 27 and it's only a two bedroom apartment!
You can't have too many mirrors in the home. Apart from their functional purpose, they are a superb way to bring light into a space, can be used as artwork or generally to enhance the aesthetics of a room.
Here are some of the mirrors in my home and how I've used them.
Read moreappy New Year everyone! Apologies for my radio silence over the last six weeks; I was in Australia for a month visiting my two sons who both now live in Sydney.
I thought I'd share some of the photos of my trip to Australia. It was the most amazing holiday with plenty of wonderful memories. I flew over the city in a helicopter, did a jet boat ride at breakneck speed across the harbour, an evening out on the harbour in a friend's boat, visited some beautiful beaches north and south of the city, a trip to Adelaide and most importantly I ate oysters nearly every day!! However, I found it strange having Christmas in a hot climate (the last one I had was back home in NZ in 1976!). I definitely prefer a northern hemisphere Christmas.
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