Some before and afters

A very big thank you to everyone who attended my Retail Class on Friday – it was a fabulous day with a very inspiring bunch of people. Also I know I’ve got a zillion comments to respond to but thought I would do that after I’ve written this and whizzed to my early morning Pilates session which always sounds like such a good idea when I book it until reality strikes!

Right then to kick start Monday morning and to inspire us all to decorate more not less I thought I would show you some before and afters of a fabulous apartment belonging to the interior designer Nate Berkus. I bang on about layers all the time, the more layers the more intrigue and these images will show you why.When it comes to decorating and creating something jaw on the floor  and pretty darn drool worthy the only thing stopping us is our imagination. If you’re in a rut then Pinterest is a fab resource, cool magazines around the globe are a fab resource, books are a great resource – pull, grab, post it note images that inspire you, jot down why they inspire you and then take the plunge!

Lets go see what Nate has done – we’re begin with his kitchen. So as you will see from the image below its a rather depressing space but rather than rip the cabinets out Nate has kept the existing cabinetry and countertops and painted them out. Paint is the (repeat the) most transformative thing you can do to any room! A different splash back, a change of paint colour and door pulls just look at the difference.

The family room screams layers and does what every cool room on the planet should do in my opinion it tantalises the eye because you don’t know where to look. The other thing worth pointing out is that this space isn’t especially big but its been decorated as if its the hugest apartment in Manhattan. Furniture isn’t small scale or plonked around the perimeter, you can tell the person living here has confidence and the ability to think outside the box  a little!

Another shot of the living room where rugs skim over rugs, furniture is placed in the center of the room and layers abound.

Pretty inspirational no? Its the reason I am so obsessed with interiors, taking a room from drab and dull as anything to this just comes to show what you can do with a bit of imagination!

Happy Monday

Decorating Paralysis

Morning – today I am flinging open the doors of my pad for our retail master class. Once every 4 or 5 months I hold such classes breaking down every little business trick I’ve learnt along the way; the good, the bad and the ugly! People arrive all excited and then leave thinking I’m never ever going into retail!

I’m Kidding!

I don’t want to put anyone off opening a store bricks and mortar or otherwise, the more the merrier I say there are not enough in my humble opinion. I just impart all the knowledge that I’ve learnt along the way so you guys can go into it with eyes wide open unlike me who went into with eyes well and truly shut! So the day is very much like one big fat tool box, pick and choose from it what you will – and nothing makes me happier when I get emails from past pupils with details about their new ventures up and running and steaming ahead!

As I mentioned the other day it’s far easier to sit on the fence, bumble along with life, with ideas with plans rather than actually ever implementing them or doing anything about them.  Be that a career change, a personal change or simply a change of wall colour.  All I would say is this – life is short, super short so live it to the max. Its easy to get wrapped up in the day to day – I do all the time, and not think about the bigger picture – but the true secret to success at home in life is thinking big but acting small!

Shall I go into therapy do you think – kind of quite like this self-motivating stuff?

Every great thing starts with one small step; the trick  is taking the long view whilst implementing the small steps! So think big but remain humble, hungry and hands on on the front line, do that and you will succeed in creating your dream home or creating your dream business. Talking of creating your dream home you can absolutely have one whether you’ve living in a shoebox rental or a palace because the best bit about style is that its got not a thing to do with money!

Its got more to do with ‘decorating paralysis (forgive me by the way for taking way to long to get to the point). If it all feels overwhelming start small as I mentioned above but think big. Break the room down and tackle section by section. A tiny alcove for example (think shelves, think art) a long expanse of wall (think wallpaper maybe, think layers – table, mirror, lamp, succulents and so on and so on). You can shop cheaply by going vintage; you can customise what you have by revamping. Restrictive budgets can make us more creative rather than less! Lets not forget paint – one of the cheapest most transformative things you can do – just see what its done to this fab bijou Parisian bathroom.

 

Oh and if you need a little creative boost I’ve added a whole ton of images to my pinterest boards – happy decorating.

Talking floor plans

Lets talk floor plans. Really I here you cry, yes really because whether you’re living in a bijou apartment in Paris, a Victorian 4 storey pad like me, a cottage in L.A (yes please) an apartment in NYC (double yes please) knowing how to stretch a floor plan will really help you out. Big, small, bijou there are some fundamental elements that turn rooms around.

BALANCE

The main thing you have to worry about is balance. Lets say you have  a fireplace on one wall which is a major focal point or maybe a floor to ceiling bookcase, or a large piece of art you’ve got to make sure that the opposite wall balances with something equally as TA DA.  Otherwise your space will feel a bit like a sinking ship – all up ended if you get my drift! You could paint the opposing wall a strong colour, layer it up with a console, lamps artwork – something to make the eye dart from one side of the space to the other in a frantic kind of manner. As oddball as this sounds it will intrigue the senses and automatically when you walk into the room you won’t know where to look and it will read as exciting, engaging and beautiful. Trust me!

MORE IS MORE

If you have limited square footage ditch the less is more theory. Less is boring; more on the other hand adds intrigue. Chose pieces of furniture that double duty if your space is small – a coffee table could double duty as a dining table, an ottoman doubling up as a side table or spare seating. Whenever I hold design classes here people are sometimes a little surprised about where all the boring stuff is – remotes, light bulbs, cleaning stuff – all of those kinds of things I stash away behind closed doors. However I also can’t stand homes that feel uptight where you have to take off your shoes the moment you walk through the door, and everything is fluffed within an inch of perfection. I for one am super relaxed about toys. Mung’s has a bed full of toys – a squeaky sheep and a father Christmas with half a body being his favourite They are flung all over the house – on the stairs, bed, in the garden – its life you can’t be forever stashing things out of sight.

OPEN STORAGE

Open storage as I say a lot always helps a room out no matter the size. Ikea do these great wall hung lacquer units that have storage underneath – and a shelf on top which is fabulous because I am sure you are sick of me saying this by now but the more layers in a room the more intrigue. The more things on display however the more important it is to reign in the colour palette that way your room or rooms will feel sophisticated not crazy. Homely not bonkers – same goes for kitchens I should say. My countertops are crowded – juicers, coffee machines, bread boards, platters – couldn’t stand to put those things away each and every day so they stay out but the colour palette is pretty much the same!

I think the thing to do when it comes to floor plans is not follow conventional decorating rules – ditch all of that  stuff its way to constrictive. Instead make your space your own no matter the size and the try and add the odd shot of the unexpected  so when you enter you’re hit with a sense of wonder.

The reason (for me at least) is because each and every room I walk into no matter the size needs to make me feel compelled intrigued and inspired. Tough ask I know but it’s pretty easy when you break it down right!

Couple of images below (both bijou) that push it.

First up this bedroom, if conventional wisdom ruled that wall would be plain and boring but instead it’s layered up so our eye rather than going straight to the bed which takes up the most room goes to the shelves.

Secondly this small living room is layered to the max so when you first look at it you don’t know exactly where to look. That’s what I call nailing it!

Happy Thursday x

More bang for your buck

Morning, starting sometime in early June the blog is going through a bit of a makeover. More posts, more content, a bit more yabbering about cool sources that kind of thing. One of the sections I am pretty passionate about is one I’m entitling more bang for your buck – or decorating on a shoestring. Some people are a little snooty when it comes to DIY (me included if it looks like a craft project). If however if it looks like you’ve just purchased something that has cost a zillion bucks but infact has cost you very little then I’m on board big time!

That is the great thing about style it has got nothing to do with money. Money helps obviously, as my business has grown I’ve brought the odd high ender  but in order to create an interesting dialogue I’ve coupled them with pieces that have cost next to nothing or pieces that I’ve revamped, tweaked ‘made over’ if I dare use that phrase. So whether you have the cash to splash  or  whether budgets  are tight DIY should be something that from time to time we all embrace. Oh and just to warn it gets a little addictive.

A couple of images below to inspire you to get on the DIY bandwagon – firstly this beautiful staircase brought alive by the incredible runner. Whenever I am at flea markets or auction houses I often come across small rugs that cost next to nothing – how cool to buy a load and put them all together as a runner on the stairs. There are two reasons why this image is so cool:

A – pattern. Whatever rug you choose no matter how small or large, try if you can to have some element of pattern in it. Pattern as I say a zillion times is like an herb it brings a space alive, no pattern no intrigue.

B – colour palette reigned in. I say this a zillion times also but if you restrict your colour palette you can actually mix way more patterns than you think possible. Large motifs with small motifs, stripes with geometrics it all comes to a restricted colour palette. Forget what you’ve learnt at design school or read about in books – you can totally put any pattern with any other pattern as long as there are only a few colours going on – otherwise as the Americans say it will look like a hot mess!

The second image to inspire is this one.

Art isn’t easy to find at the best of times but if you can pull something off like this then wham bam gold star to you. Couple of pointers go supersized if you can, not only will it elevate your space it will feel immediately grander and edgier than it really is. Any kind of font on a large canvas or board constructed from MDF or ply looks super cool in any space. Bedrooms, hallways, living rooms you name it.

Both these projects are lazy Sunday afternoon kind of tasks – I for one don’t have the patience for things to take a age. Want it done now this minute so I can get onto the fun stuff – styling it up! Not quite sure what that says about my personality but lets leave that to the therapist shall we!

Have a lovely day x