Category: Renovations
Grounded x
Headboard (still undecided), side tables (sort of there) and now thoughts for a rug: Since the advent of wall to wall carpets the rug has shrunk in popularity yet it’s design prowess can’t be denied. It adds warmth, colour, texture and interest like the tail feathers of a particularly beautiful bird of paradise. A rug, like the one above, can pull together two different pieces of furniture by linking them together on a shared bit of floor.
(All pictures Pinterest)
Judging by these pictures, pink tones is the subconscious way to go…
Laters, Kate x
Head Space x
The spare room has definitely been unquestionably subservient to the rest of the house. Not surprising as it’s the least used space. But I’m starting to think it needs to be finished with it’s own injection of glamour.
It needs four elements to complete it – a headboard as the focal point, a rug to ground it, a wardrobe for storage and 2 bedside tables for practicality.
Which way to go? Dramatic contrast? quiet luxury? or boho bliss?
Spoilt for choice..
Laters, Kate x
Pod luck..
This is more of a dream than a reality, but it’s something The Husband and I keep talking about..converting our slowly decaying shed into a state of the art office pod.
Given we live in London, it’s never going to be very big. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be well designed.
Nows the space to make a list of all the features that appeal, just in case the green light happens – like noting the slatted wall on the left for future reference.
Not practical for a garden, but the shelf-desk across the large window ticks the boxes.
As do these simple modular seating cushions.
(All pictures Pinterest. Somewhere!)
And black. It must be black..
Laters, Kate x
Floored..
I was clicking through Architectural Digest (as you do) when I alighted on this photo of Jessica Chastain’s New York apartment. It wasn’t so much the design that caught my eye or the pretty cornflower blue – or even the impressive array of copper in the cupboards, but the cork floor tiles.
A fallen high achiever, cork tiles now equate with seventies bad taste and sticky beer after raucous student parties. And yet there’s something about them – a warmth and sense of forgiveness blended with a subtle hint of nostalgia..
This Blogger had a kitchen laid with them last year and she’s written a follow up post on how she’s feels about them a year on. It makes interesting reading.
Maybe, as with all things seventies, it’s time for a revival..
Laters, Kate x
September..
The school term has begun which should be heralded with joy and relief except for me there’s always an element of wormwood and ashes: The early mornings, the sense of cramming round pegs into square holes, all the boxes to tick plus the tiredness, the flagging stamina interestingly mixed up with hockey socks, mouth guards, rugby boots, new shoes and never knowing exactly where to pick the kids up from each day. The start was also a deadline for me..and I’m sort of there – I wanted the house to be running as smoothly as possible to give me free reign on another creative project – generally if I hand over my head to creative challenges the house collapses under the strain of chaos and constant trip-ups..this time I’m trying to learn the lesson and do my best to pre-empt them..hoho.
It’s not finished (when is a house ever??) but the study is sorted and everything filed away, there is now a runner made of kilims on the main stair, which I fitted in the same way as the cellar stairs here. Plus a bright newly painted yellow mirror right at the top of the stairs.
The sitting room is almost back to normal, painted a very chilled green (a few bits of skirting and one small bit of wall to go)
And the vintage media unit is hung..it just needs a few books and bits to bring it to life, but because it hangs rather than hogs, it really works.
The footstool went pink..it said pale pink on the packet..hmmmmmm..more like taramasalata..I’m thinking how to turn it down – maybe put it back in the washing machine with a packet of colour run??
And so it starts..
Laters, Kate x
Frankly it’s fringe..
Some would say it’s an affliction, others a disease…all I know is I’m in love with everything fringe.
Particularly the type you find at the bottom of an inviting sofa: There’s an echo of the past, a touch of glamour..a sense of time standing still. A cat at play..
(All pictures from Pinterest)
The painting in the sitting room is finished. All it needs now are a few finishing touches. Where’s my needle..
Laters, Kate x
The Sitting Room: The Return
It started with an itch when I saw this picture in the summer edition of Elle Decoration magazine. A room bathed in a magical greeny grey that shouted both chic and warmth.
The itch had to be scratched when I found these Poul Cadovius shelves on Ebay to house the TV…if I wanted to change the colour of the sitting room, it had to be done before they went up. But why change it? The white worked – except it was an easy decision made at the end of building works when ‘easy’ was the best solution…it didn’t mean it was the best choice.
I’ve gone for it….here I am again, working on one corner each day (the maximum limit with the kids at home, otherwise blood (theirs) would be spilt)
What I was after was a colour I could paint the ceilings in as well..and Pale Powder from Farrow & Ball seems to be it…warm, enclosing..but not dark and oppressive.
It’s the final proof that I am mad and have lost the plot!
Laters, Kate x
Time to Study..
September is fast approaching and I’ve made a mental commitment to have the house ready for the new school year. Not finished, but papers sorted and filed, noticeboards cleared, detritus binned which has meant the study is in the mortal throes of a mid-summer spring clean and it’s not pretty.
I wish the room looked like any of these pictures, but it doesn’t. My desk is piled high with with every piece of crap possible. The floor littered with paper, shed like dead skin. I’ve lost my ipad – it’s waiting to be re-discovered under the bin bags. It’s four days in now…and it’s still not looking any better.
A girl can dream. And possibly invest in a desk foot hammock..or am I just distracting myself?
Laters, Kate x
Black and Right x
The only room that hasn’t been decorated downstairs is the toilet. It’s a conundrum and I’m still butterflying between different ideas, the latest of which is a growing love of irregular patterns and wallpapers, particularly in monochrome.
(For more details on wallpapers click here)
I like to think that small spaces can take big ideas…
Laters, Kate x
Sitting room storage..
Sometimes I dabble, sometimes I dream through half-closed eyes looking at the offending room, or in this case, corner of a room wondering what trick will create the magic. The present corner in question is in the sitting room which is less hipster chic more family mess with the tv balanced on an unloved old side table, multiple plugs, leads and consoles plus a most unattractive plastic box filled with…tat. So instead of chaos I think of clever storage and chic solutions…..and it’s vintage wall units all gently glowing with decades of love and charm that focus into view.
(You can spot the offending item next to the yellow chair in the lefthand corner)
TV’s are always problematic – large, black, ugly they dominate a room. I sorted it in our cellar cinema room (aka The Underworld) by darkening the walls and designing a specially made fireplace that sneakily both hid all the cables and opened up to reveal the dvd player, set boxes as they were needed…the front has a grill that drops down for easy access but also works closed as you can change channels etc through the mesh. It’s been a revelation.
The storage needs to be practical and beautiful so the current thought is to go for a Poul Cadovius style wall unit. The appeal is the simple design and it’s flexibility – the shelves/cabinets can be arranged in any order.
I’m thinking the cabinet with sliding doors, like the one above, could sit with it’s back cunningly removed over the plugs on the wall and hide all the leads and house the dvd/etc (I refuse to get rid of my dvds..one day they’ll be like vinyl. Promise.) And then, because it’s deeper, the TV could also sit on top…even be angled.
The rest of the shelves could be then arranged above.
I think it’s a solution. Can it be a reality?
Laters, Kate x
Maison Bentley Style 