Want A Stylish London Stay On A Budget? Check Out Cuckooz Apartments

in

I prioritise interiors and decor over pretty much all other factors. The food can be great in a restaurant, but if the interiors are awful I'll never go back. I'll always choose a design-led bar over a standard place to grab a drink. Therefore, when it comes to renting a room for a night, the interior stakes have to be pretty high for me to be satisfied! The thing is, unless you can afford one of London's premier hotels, chances are for a decently priced night in the city you'll be stuck in a sterile small white box room with a cheap MDF desk and one bed for company.

Read More

Luxury Vinyl Flooring - What Is It And Is It Any Good?

in

My own experience of replacing flooring has been quite limited. The most I've had to do was replace a hallway carpet in my old home after toilet training a puppy for 6 months; while I also had a very inexperienced attempt at painting my wooden floor boards white at the start of my DIY journey - I decided to skip the sanding and priming part, so the paint started to chip after 48 hours! However, I've recently been working with a client on replacing all the floors in a flat she has purchased. She mentioned to me in the initial design consultation that she wanted vinyl and I flinched - vinyl? - isn't that just like the cheap lino of the 80's? Turns vinyl flooring technology has massively advanced since then, and there is now something called 'luxury vinyl flooring'.

Read More

The New Farrow & Ball Floral Wallpaper Collection (+ I'm In The New F&B Catalogue!!!!!!!!)

in

OK, so this article is about the new Farrow & Ball wallpaper collection -  BUT!!!  - I have to tell you before I talk about the new floral beauties that a mood board I created around one of the new papers, Helleborus, is featured in the F&B catalogue for the collection. At the start of the year F&B got in touch and asked if I would be interested working with them on promoting the new collection. They would send me a sample of one of the new papers (which was all very hush hush) and asked if I would create a mood board around the paper chosen for me. This would then appear in the new F&B Autumn/Winter inspiration catalogue, sent to customers.

Read More

How To Get A Designer Kitchen On A Budget

in

Hate your kitchen? Want to upgrade? Would love a designer kitchen but don't have the cash? Never fear, it is possible, believe it or not, to get a designer kitchen (or your kitchen looking designer) without having to sell one of your kidneys. There are a few tricks out there that can transform your kitchen from bleak and basic, into something much more suited to your style. If you are someone with champagne taste on a prosecco budget (or even a cheap white wine budget) then read on for my tips to get that designer kitchen for less!

Read More

Meet nomi - the stylish, modern high chair that won't ruin your decor

in

Just had a baby or due to have a baby soon? Petrified that your beautiful home is going to be hidden behind a mound of brightly coloured baby tat? Well, I know how you feel. Being an interiors obsessive, when I was pregnant and strolling around the baby section of department stores (clutching my extensive list of things I would 'need' to have in the home for baby), I was quietly groaning to myself as I passed piece after piece of baby furniture and furnishings covered in teddy bears, bright green cartoon apples or pale blue or sickly pale pink toweling fabric. 

Read More

The Designer Look For Less: Hay x Ikea

in

We all earmark IKEA as the place to go to get cheap, 'need it right now' furniture that is basic and functional. Yet in recent years IKEA has been moving up a level - working with highly revered designers to create incredible, but still amazingly affordable furniture. After talking briefly to Kit Neale about his SPRIDD collab with IKEA last year, he highlighted that IKEA's quality control meant that his collection with the Swedish power-brand took two years in the making. It is obviously IKEA's dedication to their designs that has attracted top name designers to collaborate with them on design-led, but affordable, collections. The much publicised Tom Dixon collection DELAKTIG will make its way into stores at the beginning of next year, while super-hip French multi-brand retailer Colette are currently working with IKEA on a new partnership.

Read More

Business Spotlight On: Sweetpea & Willow

in

If you are a regular interior blog reader, you may have come across the name Sweetpea & Willow before. The owner of the furniture and accessories boutique, Jacquie, runs the award-winning Sweetpea & Willow blog 'Willow's Wardrobe,' alongside running the business with her husband Matt. Even though I'd often perused all the beautiful products Sweetpea & Willow sell online, I'd never actually visited their much talked about showroom. When Jacquie invited me down to have a proper look at all their products on display last week, I was so not prepared for what I saw when I visited!

Read More

Clerkenwell Design Week 2017: My Best Bits Round Up!

in

This week is Clerkenwell Design Week, a kind of urban festival if you will for lovers of interiors and design in general. The creative part of London that is Clerkenwell is host to CDW, which houses over 200 international brands within 7 exhibition venues, and more than 90 showrooms (generally furniture and design shops within the Clerkenwell grid).

Read More

Get Inspiration For Your Own Home From The Interior Sets At Grand Designs Live

in

This week I popped along to the Grand Designs Live exhibition at London's GIGANTIC ExCeL Convention Centre (seriously, I got lost in the building, wandering into another exhibition by mistake). Even though it would be amazing to build my own home, I'm quite happy in the already-built home I live in, so it was interiors rather than architecture that I was after at the show.

Read More

Celebrating London Craft Week 2017: Upholstery With Shoreditch Design Rooms

in

Next week (from May 3rd - 7th, 2017) is London Craft Week. Now in its third year, this annual event is all about celebrating creativity and craftsmanship, with 230 events happening over the space of the week in the city. Last week I attended one of these events, the launch party for Heal's Modern Craft Market, and instantly navigated towards the stand hosted by Shoreditch Design Rooms. Based in East London, Shoreditch Design Rooms are successful upholsterers who offer training classes to the public ranging from leisure classes (where you can work on your own piece of furniture), to accredited courses for a diploma qualification in upholstery.

Read More

Creating Bespoke Interiors On A Budget - Being A Guest Speaker At The Ideal Home Show In London!

in

Since starting this blog I've been able to do some seriously cool stuff. It has also opened up a number of opportunities for me career-wise that I would NEVER have been given without it. However, the email that dropped in my inbox on one of the last days of February really had me spluttering out my cup of tea. It was from the PR people behind the Ideal Home Show, asking me to give them a call in regards to doing a couple of presentations on the Interior Styling Stage at the event towards the end of March.

Read More

Farrow & Ball's Key Colours For Spring 2017 & How I Would Use Them In My Home

in

I know this blog is meant to be about getting a contemporary look on a budget, and Farrow & Ball tend to be considered as 'posh paint' due to its price point, but I just cannot stress enough how much of a Farrow & Ball fan I am. To me, its often a false economy buying a cheaper paint brand. For application, colour depth and range, Farrow & Ball really cannot be beaten. If you are going to spend money in one area when decorating, spend it on the paint. It's the foundation of the room and what everything else will be based around. With my Farrow & Ball fan-dom you can imagine I was excited to see what the key colours for spring 2017 were going to be for F&B. This season F&B have picked four hues - two dramatic, intense colours alongside two neutral shades.

Read More

Review: How an Eve Sleep Mattress Actually Saved My Sanity

in

For over a year, me and my husband had been in mattress hell. Our existing 10 year old mattress was a disaster (apparently you're only meant to have the same mattress for 8 years max anyway?) The springs were pushing out everywhere (no doubt not helped by a toddler who loved jumping on it multiple times a day). Obviously, it wasn't a dream to sleep on. You can see for yourself without even needing to lay down on it that the mattress had seen better days.....

Read More

Ardmore Collection - New Wallpaper From Cole & Son

in

If there is one thing I'm rather partial to, it's a jazzy wallpaper. I can't understand putting up a plain, boring, one colour wallpaper - what's the point? If I'm going to be putting up wallpaper in my home, then it has to be interesting, it has to be bright and it has to be good. When historic wallpaper company Cole & Son sent me some samples of their new 'Ardmore Collection' (launching this week at Paris Deco Off 2017) they immediately caught my eye.

Read More

Why You Should Always Create A Mood board Before Decorating A Room

in

Happy New Year! The Christmas decorations are down and rooms are looking bare. At the same time festive and sale items are being moved aside in the shops to make way for Spring Summer 2017. If you are a decorating addict like me, it's this time of year that gets me all twitchy and wanting to completely revamp the house! Less 'New Year, New Me', more 'Same Old Me, New Room'.

Read More

Buy Bespoke Rugs To Perfectly Fit Your Space

in

Cushions, throws, books, art - all these objects are used to build a room. They stop it from looking bland and sterile, give the room depth and provide that much needed cosy feel. Perhaps the most essential part of this layering in any interior is a rug. Rugs, however, can be quite hard to get right.  Too small and it looks silly and out of place. Too large then you'll most likely be catching the door on it, while most of it will be crumpled up under furniture than on show.

 

Read More

From Sloping Shelves To Doodle Patterns - See What New Products Habitat Have In Store For Us For SS17

in ,

Two fun facts to start with - did you know that Habitat is now part of the Sainsbury's group? Did you also know that it will now have mini stores within larger Sainsbury's supermarkets? No? Neither did I! As Habitat's products will now be more readily accessible to consumers, I was interested in what Creative Director Polly Dickens and her team had up their sleeve for Habitat SS17, so popped along to their press show at the Kings Road store this week.

Read More

Can't DIY it Yourself? Design it instead with bespoke furniture from Homeplaneur

in

You know what it's like when you have an exact image in your head of a piece of furniture or homeware that you need in your home. You scour the shops to find something just right, and sometimes you get close to perfection, but it's the wrong size, or the wrong colour. So many times i've said 'oh that's perfect, but only if it was a bit bigger', or, 'i like it, but if only it came in blue'. Obviously I try and DIY lots of stuff in my home, but there is just some stuff that i'm not capable of making! Beds, cabinets, rugs or tables being some of them! But I'm super fussy and particular, and I often want a say in all the finishing touches of my furniture. That's why when I discovered Homeplaneur, a website that enables you to envision and totally create your furniture to your specification (from the colour to the actual design), I was intrigued. An online 'Do It Yourself' approach, with the end result being Italian branded, highly crafted, fully or pre-assembled furniture delivered right to your door, it sounded such a great concept for people who know exactly what they want, but they just don't know where to find it.

Read More

Are Metallics Still A thing? Will Tropical Return? Looking at SS17 High Street Homeware Trends With Next And Marks & Spencer

in ,

This week I was lucky enough to attend the press shows for both Marks and Spencer and Next Home, to get a sneak-peek at their new furniture and homeware collections for Spring & Summer 2017. If you are a regular reader you'll know I love scouring the High Street for interior pieces that look designer, but come with a High Street price tag!

First up was M&S. When I saw the invite to the Marks and Spencer show I knew it was going to be good:

Read More