BLIMEY

Has it really been this long since I posted anything?!

Time seriously flies when you're having fun - and I've had lots of it!

I've been working on some very exciting projects all over the world including Raffles Hotel in Paris and Dubai (now there's a hotel you should stay at - such glorious attention to detail), Design Consultant for a major BBC1 design show (exhausting to say the least) and numerous private clients all of whom have been a joy to work with.

There seems to be a real air of 'design comes first' with interiors at the moment - I've always maintained that good designs (of all kinds) are good solutions to problems and people are evidently less fussed with the additional decoration of an item, but more with whether or not it actually performs in the way it should - it's so important. This has taken us into the Industrial look that is omnipresent right now - basic, functional and solid - all good stuff.

But having said that, does this mean we're on the cusp of the next big thing?

As the pendulum swings from ornate to ordinary and back, is now the time to start looking at the items that have fallen by the wayside? The ornate items that have been banished from our homes? I don't mean unnecessary, gauche, ostentatious fancy frills, but rather items that have been beautifully made with skill and tremendous craftsmanship - a gilt table lamp, an inlaid mahogany box, a Sevres mantle clock - things that have gone from our homes in favour of the plain and the useful. But where are these things? Who's still got them and when will they come back in fashion?

A sprinkle of luxe should always be welcomed, and the mix of that with the utilitarian is a very interesting one indeed, so let's start looking for the gems that really sparkle and get them back into our homes - but let's not call it 'Vintage' - it deserves better.

Maybe we should be looking at what's for sale and get ahead of the game.

Make Do And Mend

Never before has there been such an array of amazing recycled designer goods out there (two words that no-one would have put together a few years ago).
I've put together a few to have a rummage through...


www.zoemurphy.com - Bespoke pre-loved furniture


www.squintlimited.com - Patchworks from heaven (nothing is left uncovered!)

www.lourota.com  - The most brilliant collection of re-vamped furniture and tableware you'll see in a while....

www.vivafabric.co.uk - A brilliant site with everything covered in great fabrics....

www.alexenacayless.co.uk - Discarded furniture made into Super-desirable pieces for the home....

This type of stuff is the future my friends, and I, for one, am delighted.


I think it rocks!

All White?

I love fruit and I've always had a bit of a thing about ceramics and as I'm an uncomplicated kinda man, I love monochrome too, so you can imagine how I felt when I saw this collection of monochrome ceramic fruit. 
It ticks all the boxes for me.

Each piece is carefully hand made and looks stunning; I bought 3 apples for my kitchen at Chelsea Flower Show last year and I love, love, love them.


Each price reflects the amount of time it takes to make it, but you can rest assured that you will have the most stylish fruit bowl in your area...


www.penkridgeceramics.co.uk

Meeting In Style

Those clever, stylish people at UKTV have just moved their entire operation to Hammersmith in London and they asked me to design the HOME meeting room (no-one laughed when I called it The Home Office).

So, in tune with the 50s throwback in interior styling of the moment, I've given them possibly the most stylish meeting room in London.

I'm completing it this weekend so will post the details with pictures for you next week.....

It's Not Retro, It's Right Now

Clever old me predicted the 50’s come-back way before Madmen decided to send the interiors world into a pea green and ochre frenzy, but even I didn’t realize what an impact  it was going to have – everyone’s at it
                                                                                                        

Heal (www.heals.co.uk) have just re-launched their Lucienne Day designs on pretty much everything they can squeeze it on to from china and cushions to condiment sets and canvasses (evidently if it starts with a C then it’s in with more of a chance)
                                                       

TwentyTwentyOne (www.twentytwentyone.com) have always specialized in this kind of look, but I’m imagining their order books are swelling right now.

Likewise Original BTC, with their stunning range of lighting.

                                                    

But is there a connection between National economics and Retro Style?

(That came out a bit Carrie Bradshaw)

Possibly there is.

During these times of empty coffers, the New Retro style is an exercise in restraint and economy of line, and we’re collectively after the same thing: style on a shoe string; it almost sums up the 50’s when our National Economy was stunted as we paid off our astronomical war debt.

Maybe we revert to a more frugal design when there isn’t so much cash.

It’s an interesting thought.

Anyway, whatever the reason, go get some Retro in your life: it’s big, it’s back and it’s here to stay (well, until the economy is sorted out in any case).

Are You Sitting Down?

If you thought that traditional skills had fallen by the wayside in recent years you might be right, but there are a lot of small manufacturers that are still making beautiful pieces of furniture that are available to everyone - we just don't know about them because they don't have the funds to sponsor, say, Coronation Street.

Anyway, my job is to find these people and products so you don't have to.


www.sittingfirm.co.uk have a variety of traditional and contemporary furniture that have two thing in common - craftsmanship and quality.






Y'know when you watch Antiques Roadshow and they say quality will always out? well, these are the kind of thing they're talking about - beautiful, desirable and (still) affordable.....


It might be the best way for you to get onto The Antiques Roadshow in a few years to some....

Spring Bulbs

In these times when we all have to do our bit to help mend the world we inhabit, I know it’s a terrible thing to admit to, but I really do dislike low energy light bulbs – I think the light they omit is dull (until they warm up, which means leaving them on for longer), and they are often too big for most light fittings, making them look a bit, well, ugly.

Having said all that, I was at ‘Interiors’ in Birmingham recently (you should go to the next one if you get time) and saw these 'Plumen 001' by Hulger (www.plumen.com)

How sexy are these?!

Good looking light bulbs that are (almost) good enough to have without shades!

I’m now going to change all mine.