Pretty flowers
A little photo of the beautiful lilies & pussy willow on my dining table at the moment…. so pretty, I thought I’d take a snap & show you. I love the shades of red & pink in the sunshine – it makes working indoors on sunny days not so bad after all! The scent is delicious too.
Eagle eyed readers will spot the new candy bowls I bought last week on the table…. I love them!
This is almost certainly the 1st and last glimpse of my home that you’ll get before Project Décor is implemented – a complete overhaul of my new place here in Edinburgh. Designs are still in the making but I can tell you one thing for sure – the next time you see those dining room walls they won’t be cream!
Have a wonderful sunny weekend.
Pretty Paisleys
I was delighted to receive an enquiry today about some cushions and possibly a headboard for a new client – not least because of the choice of fabric – a beautiful paisley from none other than one of my top favourites: Peter Dunham.
Swoon!
Peter Dunham’s beautifully laid back prints on linens and cottons are just so wonderfully relaxed & low key; the colour ranges are pretty fab too. We’re looking at using a paisley called Kashmir Paisley:
Peter Dunham Kashmir Paisley
Peter Dunham Kashmir Paisley
Veranda magazine has a great article in it this month about small patterns and the use of relaxed printed linens and cotton fabrics including a selection from Peter Dunham; I think they have a great “summery” look. Aren’t they pretty?
Veranda magazine
Veranda magazine
Veranda magazine
Parc Monceau Veranda
Timothy Whealon Veranda
Blue & White & Beautiful
Blue & white – perhaps one of the most classic colour combinations of all time. I love it. With such beautiful summer weather here in Edinburgh, I’ve been thinking how I love the crisp cool combination of blue and white….
pinterest via verandahhouse
via pinterest
via pinterest
via pinterest
from Good Bones Great Pieces
Anna Spiro
via chinoiserie chic
via chinoiserie chic
via conspicuousstyle
via habitually chic
via withlovefromkat
Diane Bergeron in Ivy & Piper
The fabulous and extremely talented Diane Bergeron is so hot right now – I saw two of her stunning designs in Susanna Salk’s book (“Be Your Own Decorator” – see my blog post about this amazing book here) and she has a double page spread in Ivy & Piper’s latest issue, showing all her wish-list picks. Everything is super stylish, naturally.
Congratulations Diane – I love it all!
From Ivy & Piper:
Photos of Diane’s beautiful home in Melbourne, as featured in Be Your Own Decorator:
Diane Bergeron
Diane Bergeron
Lorca
I was checking out the latest collections from fabric houses yesterday and I’m loving the colour and patterns that I saw. These beauties are from Lorca, a Parisian fabric house available in the UK through Osborne & Little, and I loved them so much I had to share them:
Wouldn’t they make amazing blinds or curtains? Or maybe just cushions or something fun?
I loved these velvets too – I have my eye on something like this for an upholstered bench seat to run along the foot of my bed…. on the wish-list!
Attic space Part II
As happens more often that one would expect; I post a blog on a morning only to find a photo that’s perfect for my post later on that very same day….
This one came courtesy of Mark Sike’s blog, and is another stunning attic space. Small but perfectly formed. For some reason I had it in my mind that sloping walls meant hanging pictures was off the agenda but I see now that it can be done in style….
via md sikes
Attic space
I know many people have ideas of turning attic space into a guest suite or an office or a kids’ room – and I’ve seen many which may well fit the bill in terms of function but I’ve not seen all that many which really look the business. It’s something about the sloping eaves and awkward spaces that makes it tricky to get it looking right.
But I saw this image recently which completely changed my mind about attic spaces – isn’t this a great picture? I love how the light plays on the walls highlighting the different angles like facets on a crystal. I love the clean sleek masculine feel of the space too – very smart. One for my inspiration files!
Eric & Holly Montgomery via Elle Decor
Antique hunting
This weekend I have the pleasure of having my mother come stay with me – we have a fun girls’ weekend planned whilst poor Dad gets to stay at home & fend for himself.
One thing on our to-do list is to head off for a spot of antique hunting. I’m fortunate to have a mother who not only loves antique furniture but it also pretty knowledgable on the subject having studied it and collected pieces over the years. I’m hoping she can tutor me as we have a good look around Edinburgh’s antique stores… I have my eyes peeled for a dining table but who knows what treasures we’ll find.
I’m a quite a fan of having a search around vintage/antique/junk shops – high and low end – every once and a while you see something that you just have to have.
I saw this book which I thought looked pretty funny – could be worth a look for those who like the occasional rummage for treasure!
Have a lovely weekend!
Green Goddess
I loved this green bedroom I spotted in the recent issue of Rue magazine. What a colour! It’s the bedroom of Valorie Hart, author of the Visual Vamp blog which I highly recommend. On her blog, she graciously shares how she decorated the room – so many interior designers keep their how-to secrets very close to their chests so it’s refreshing to see a talented designer spill the beans. I hope she doesn’t mind me re-posting it here.
Great room, no? Upholstered green linen walls! Yowsers.
Valorie Hart via Rue
Valorie Hart via Rue
Valorie Hart via Rue
From the Visual Vamp:
“I upholstered it in green linen (from fabric.com - they are out of what I use, but I gave you the link for something similar). I purposefully chose black trim on the hotel bedding (from an eBay store), with the oversize black monograms in a font called Tango (done by Uptown Embroidery).
I used extra green linen to make a bed skirt. The upholstered headboard and slip covered bench are done in Schumacher Nanjing in Jade Green. The headboard is very affordable from Country Door. I had the double piping removed by the Leonels the upholsterer, The chevron Missoni style rugs come from a big box store, and I put two together to make a larger rug,
The lamps are vintage that I painted to look like alabaster, and the oversize shades came from Lowes.
The nightstands were a close out that I got about six years ago, and have been painted a couple of time.
The color is Benjamin Moore Kelly Green.
The flower ball chandelier is discontinued, but it came from perch. and I am sure they could find you something similar.
It takes a village to make a pretty room, and I thank Anne Harwell and Mitchell Settoon for their help, andrue magazine for including me in the current issue May/June 2012 issue.”
Good bones, great pieces
Good bones, great pieces: the title of one the latest additions to my interior design library…. and what a book! It’s colourful and sprightly and seems to hit all the right notes as far as I’m concerned.
As well as being packed out with photos of some amazing interiors, it has great snippets of practical advice (what to consider when re-upholstering a sofa, how to style cushions on a sofa, how to accessorise a table top…). And more beautiful photos. I’ll leave you with image which is featured in the opening pages of the book to give you a little taste of what to expect (isn’t that sofa amazing?!).
Highly recommended reading!
from Good bones, great pieces by Suzanne & Lauren McGrath