Drapes that drag

I wasn't always a fan of this type of curtain - it seemed a bit precious, all that silk and taffeta and hand gathering. I was always more of a seventies vintage sheet hung with fraying ribbon kind of gal. But as my taste evolves I find myself attracted to new things all the time. That's the great thing about interior design really - you can always change your mind and layer new styles as you go along. You never have to get stuck in one particular look nor do you have to follow the rules about mixing styles.

Anyway, what I love in particular is the way these all puddle on the floor. There's nothing worse than curtains that are too short (now some may argue these are too long...), it looks as though you ran out of material. There is something really luxurious and extravagant about all that extra fabric pooling on the floor.

The mum in me says, ugh, they're going to get filthy dragging on the floor like that, but the stylist in me says yeah but who cares when they look so good?

via decorology

the home of marianne cotterill

via thisisadesignblog

via you are my fave

Fill the (fireplace) void

In our flat we've got this brick wall built around a non-working fireplace in the living room. It's one of those really awkward spaces to fill.  Because there's no fire in it, it's just an empty space that looks sad and lonely and like it's missing something (it is - a fire!)

I've always felt like empty fireplaces need something substantial in them, nothing bitty and small that gets lost in the gaping hole. Of course, a real fire in it would be my number one preference, but if not there's always books and logs and logs and books...

David Carter

Apartment Therapy

Australia Vogue Living Oct '05

Ryan Corban

Unknown source

Domino Dec/Jan '08

Logs with a coat of insane paint

Home of Jenna Lyons, J Crew Creative Director

Fireplace for stylish toy storage

Sixx Design via Casa Sugar

I love what these guys have done with this, their country house (in upstate New York I think?)

The books and logs en masse thing is not a new idea by any means, but I still think it's one of the best. The trick is to really cram them in there - not 10 or 20, but 100 or whatever fills the void completely or mostly. Same goes for anything else, candles etc.

 Do as they do at Anthropologie - notice how their displays are always OTT when it comes to quantities? If 10 glasses displayed on a table look nice, 110 look better - seems to be their motto. Same approach works here.

VOLT ink

Remember when I posted this pic showing my house as we packed up for our Transatlantic move from LA to London? Well, all those plates weren't actually ours. As well as moving I was in the middle of a few prop styling jobs. I like a little chaos to keep me on my toes.

One of them was the last cookbook I styled, VOLT ink by the Voltaggio Brothers (the brothers were winner and runner up of Top Chef's sixth season).  This beautiful book was produced by Weldon Owen and came out not too long ago.

With some cleaning and some gorgeous photography by Ed Anderson some of those plates ended up looking like this:

It was the first time I'd ever had to not provide cutlery for a shoot. It was simple and sort of modern and rustic with some really nice moody, dark tones as well. It certainly makes the food pop.

And it's making me hungry.

Prints Charming!

I've been so immersed in ancient looking historic fabrics lately for my current project, that I'm starting to quite like them. Watts of Westminster, Morris & Co, Claremont all do incredible historic fabrics. Of course I wouldn't use any of them in an old house. It would only work for me if everything else was modern and eclectic. Otherwise it can be stuffy and traditional, which I don't do. 

I do love the contrast between a modern or industrial room and a floral covered chair. There are definitely ways of using antique inspired prints for a more modern eclectic vibe. 

These images from Sanderson are very cool, aren't they? 

And these from William Morris are amazing. Put these chairs in a concrete box loft with sheepskin rugs, lots of white and walls lined with piles of books and they'd be far from stuffy.

Rugs Reinvented

For my current interior design project I've been doing some research on rugs and runners. I came across this first image and even though it's not right for this project, I'm desperate to do it in my own house. A collection of carpet scraps sewn into a stair runner. Pretty fabulous.

There's been a huge trend in the past few seasons for rugs that are reworked, patch-worked, over-dyed,  and generally pretty bohemian and funky. Mixed with a more modern space that's not too busy, I think it can be a great look. I personally tend to shy away from trends - I never let myself buy a pair of Uggs, comfy though they are, simply because everyone had them! BUT, if I sourced the carpet scraps myself and chose how they were pieced together, I'd feel like it was actually mine. Would I sew it myself? Umm...maybe. Is that taking it too far?

However, for those not as obsessed (it's an illness, I admit) with making everything themselves, there are loads of companies making nice ones. The following images are from the website of Golran and feature their Carpet Reloaded collections. I checked them out at Decorex in London last Autumn - they were one of only a few booths there I actually liked. The rest was a bit blah.

What do you think? Too trendy?

Kettner's

The clients with whom I'm currently working dropped a magazine tear on my desk recently. On the other side of the tear was the image below and I was unable to get it out of my head for days. Upon further investigation I discovered it was a room in Kettner's in London's Soho, literally a 30 second walk from my office. When I went out for drinks for my birthday a few days later I decided to go there, mainly to check out the interiors. I didn't get to see this particular room in the end since it's one that they hire out, but I'm obsessed with it! The contrast of the old and new and the dark and moody with the bright and poppy is spot on. 

Below pic - a great idea for a bar, big chunky table painted a brilliant hue.

The powder room, below is a bit muted for me, but what I love is that neither the chair, nor the lamps, nor the mirrors are matching pairs.

It turns out the design was by the brilliant Ilse Crawford whose portfolio image below has been in my inspiration binder for years. Image below is not Kettner's but it is a public place, a hotel I think (can't remember which) and I think that's what makes it so unexpected. It looks like someone's home doesn't it? You don't often see such a haphazard collage in a hotel room. That's why I love her. 

The Dark Side

For years now I've been a fan of bright interiors - light walls, light floors, lots of pops of colour and print - perhaps because I was living in Los Angeles where it's hot and sunny all the time. Lately I've been shifting ever so slightly towards the darker side. Maybe it's because now I'm back in London where it's a bit dark and gloomy for much of the year. Whatever the reason, the rooms I'm drawn to these days make me want to light a fire and curl up with boozy hot cocoa and a big stack of magazines.

The first and last images are from the portfolio of Abigail Ahern who has perfected the art of creating a dark and cosy room. I have a feeling when we move into our new house next summer, there will be some dark, chalky paints going up.