White on White

I adore white on white and collect all sorts of embossed stationary. So I could't resist this French linens catalogue printed in 1952, from Wayward's stall at Brighton's Saturday market.
When I'm working on interior projects, I rarely use standard bright white paint colour I always specify a shade of white that complements the total environment.

I have just spent weeks selecting the white for my new workspace. Only to realise it was almost irrelevant once I'd moved in all my files and boxes. They are all different shades depending on age;but these different levels add such a texture.

I had to get a photograph of these white towels on the white wall, at the new Jane Scrivner spa treatment rooms, they seem to have a real rhythm about them.

Cabana Magazine

I'm fascinated by what's happening with magazines at the moment. The effect of the internet has meant a rethink on all levels of design and consumerism. Main stream fashion magazines now have a constantly updating online presence, but this hasn't made them more desirable to me. What I have found most inspiring is the rise of the elite design magazine with a very focused edit. Magazines like The gentlewoman and Kinfolk, full of great engaging copy and beautiful imagery. But best of all is this new interiors magazine Cabana; it is stunning.

The attention to detail in the production.......from the choice of 7 silkscreen printed fabric covers by Pierre Frey, to all the different paper stocks used for the spreads inside......this is design heaven. I've tried to find out more about the magazine on the internet but could only find this review by Dryce on Style.com

This is not a magazine you will find in every newsagent, I bought my copy in Astier de Villatte, the beautifully quirky interiors shop on Rue St Honore in Paris, which also features in the magazine. There is so much to see, and feel and to be inspired by in this magazine, it is pure joy!

My current mood board

Normally by February I start dreaming of pastels and this coming spring's colours are beautiful. However the mood board in my studio is still reflecting the weather outside due to the relentless rain and howling wind. Since December I've removed the black and introduced greys to work back with my navy and indigo palette - so the mood is lifting a bit. But there are some lovely things on my board......

My friend Kate just gave me this gorgeous hot water bottle, as I have no heating yet in my new flat. It's so lovely though, that I'm keeping it at my studio until my building work stops. By Jules Hogan, she got it from Not On The High Street and it'll look fabulous with my crumpled grey, linen sheets from H&M 

The other fabrics on my board that I'm hoping to introduce into my interior scheme are from Eleanor Pritchard - I love this whole mix of pattern and texture......

So until spring arrives and my building works complete, this is my inspiration.

London Design Week

 Things I loved at last week's design shows.......

Louise Wilkinson's exquisitely naive fine bone china at Tent

these wonderfully considered utility products from Turner and Harper at Design Junction

and the beautiful upholstery fabrics from Eleanor Pritchard, also at Design Junction

Farrow & Ball new colours

I recently attended the launch of Farrow & Ball's new colours, pictured here are my two favourites"Mole's Breadth" above, and "Stiffkey Blue" below.

World Interior News asked me to write up my take on all the new colours - you can read it here:-
http://www.wantoday.com/interiorsblog/farrow-balls-new-colours-for-2013/

A recent photo shoot

 

I've just done a photo shoot of some of my recent interiors, with photographer Leigh Simpson. I love working with Leigh because I have an excuse to play around with the styling, as he likes to shoot the detail as much as the overall interior.

These pictures are from two kitchens I've worked on for male clients. I find that men like very functional kitchens with lots of clean lines; my female clients prefer a softer look; so plenty of scope for styling these photos. With this grey kitchen I thought the deep mauves of figs, aubergines and beetroot would work well.

The client for this white kitchen, wanted an uncluttered look with no visible electrical sockets or appliances, with the exception of the minimal hob and oven - so here I've added textural leaves.

But this is my favourite; I like the earthiness of these potatoes and mushrooms against the sleekness of the straight clinical lines.

A life less ordinary

One of my favourite shops in Brighton is the i gigi General Store. So when the owner's Zoe Ellison and Alex Legendre bought out their book, a life less ordinary, I just had to get a copy.

It is full of beautiful images from their store, homes and personal inspiration. The store opened 10 years ago, and it's interior and products have always concentrated on an intense neutral colour palette. There is always a wonderful mix of old and new, lots of layering of texture and colour levels.

As Zoe and Alex say in the book "We love to reclaim old things and put them in a modern space. Such places offer a story and a history, and bring a sense of individuality." It is interesting to see how this has translated through into their own homes. Very inspirational!

Wabi Sabi

I really love this summer's trend for all things Wabi Sabi, from the beautiful Miu Miu coat above, styled and photographed by Damian Foxe, to my favourite scarf of the moment below -

the fabric for this came from The Cloth House in Soho. The term Wabi Sabi refers to the Japanese aesthetic of finding beauty in imperfection, but to me the rawness and simplicity of these print effects are perfect. The trend is as strong in interior design as fashion, with these great wallpapers from Harlequin

Deceptively modern wallpapers

I've been sourcing wallpapers for a regency property in Brighton and came accross the Little Greene wallpapers reproduced from historical archives. A lot of their papers originate from actual London addresses as with the one above from St James Place. 

This 18th Century design looks surprisingly contempory when reworked into Little Greene's colours. However property I'm working on dates from 1825, so this design is a little early.
According to Little Greene the 1800's was a key period in the evolution of wallpaper production. During this century the introduction of continuous paper reels (from France), and subsequently roller-printing in 1840, replaced the widespread, artisan technique by which individual rolls (called 'pieces' measuring 12 yards x 23 inches) were printed by hand.

Little Greenes 19th Century designs include patterns from Japan, where printing methods had evolved in a similar way to those in the west. I love this design 'Pines' - the wonderful ombre effect of the folliage seems so right for now.

Little Green suggest coordinating this design with the following colours from their paint range -    Normandy Grey, Stone - mid cool, and Fray

                                              

Faded Glamour; this season's colours.

Harpers Bazaar's "A Moment In Time" photographed by Yelena Yemchuk, styled by Leith Clark

I subscribe to various fashion and interior magazines, and I find it very interesting how each one covers a trend, and how this crosses from clothing to lifestyle. This month there is a feeling of romantic nostalgia; of faded glamour. The fashion story above, in Harpers Bazaar is very English country home with a decadent nonchalance.

Vogue's "Heartbreak Hotel", styled by Lucinda Chambers, photographed by Jervier Vallhonrat 

 Whereas Vogue have focused on this season's sharper, mid-century influenced silhouette, but still softened in the same wonderful faded shades, with a beautiful backdrop of De Gournay wallpaper.

Elle Decoration's "Beyond the Pale" photo Sean Myers, Stylinh Hannah Bort

These gorgeous sepia tinted tones are crossing over into interior trends, as the move away from minimalism continues. The overall effect reminds me of hand tinted photos.

Louis Vuitton Autumn Winter 2013/14

This soft and sensuous colour story is very current, but also set to run through to next autumn, as shown at the Louis Vuitton catwalk show last week. A fabulous mix of colour, pattern and texture - dreamy!

Modern Mosaics

The other week I visited the Surface Design Show in London, and several companies were showing mosaic style tiles in neutral shades. Here are my favourites - above is Estrela Nero and Cubo Nero from Vicalvi. And below is Frame by Refin

To me they are reminiscent of Victorian tiles, refined for modern tastes. I like this re-introduction of patterning for floors especially after years of plain surfaces.

This is the Frame flooring in a retail environment but I think it would look equally fabulous in an open plan living area.

My pink crush.

Hawkins Brown Biochemistry Building, University of Oxford      WAN photos Tim Crocker 

I've never really liked pink, even as a child, I found it a bit too sweet. But things started to change when I fell in love with the Hawkins Brown Biochemistry Building in Oxford, a couple of years ago. The Beautiful tones of rose pink, apricot and honey used for the bris soleil, work so well with the surrounding sandstone brickwork.

Raf Simmonds for Jill Sander A/W 2012 / The Sartorialist Milan 20.4.2012    

Then last spring Raf Simmonds showed this stunning camel and pink coat for the Jill Sander A/W 2012 collection. By coincidence at the same time I saw this fabulous picture from The Sartorialist - the pink of those shoes mixed with the strong neutral palette of chocolate, cream and caramel - gorgeous.

So the trend for the neutral and pink mix just grew on me. I started to see versions of this palette everywhere; form Farrow and Ball's promotional pictures above, to these palettes below from the ever inspiring La Boheme blog

I particularly like the way orange and ginger tones are being added here.
But the level of pink that completely swung it for me, is this subtle shade of blush.....

The Independent magazine 29.12.2012

This picture, styled by Magda Bryk and photographed by Rory Payne, captures spring's tone on tone colour look perfectly. The strong clean lines of the burgundy Prada coat, softened by the 'hint of pink' silk top from COS - I'm won over!

City of Coventry Health Centre - Award winner!

 Last week City of Coventry Health Centre won the Building Better Healthcare "Clinicians Choice" award. This is fabulous recognition for a project I was involved with, and for the team at Coventry Care Partnership and architect Cressida Toon of Sonnemann Toon Architects.

The Brass palette for the 2nd Floor - Dentistry, Physiotherapy and Podiatry

Dr Roy MacGregor led the judging panel who selected City of Coventry Health Centre from 220 entries. Dr MacGregor was the driving force behind the acclaimed Kentish Town Health Centre development, so I was really pleased when he mentioned the use of colour in his decision.

The Copper palette for the 3rd Floor - Sexual Health

The colour palette I developed for the centre was inspired by Coventry's industrial heritage. We focused on a different metal for each floor and used this starting point to create palettes for the interior design scheme and the Arts - the murals shown here are digital artworks by Kelly MacPhee who won a competition we set with Coventry University.

The Bronze palette for the 1st Floor - GP Services

What I'm really pleased about with this scheme was everyones willingness to work with the colour palettes to make this building a very special health centre. As you can see from the photos we even managed to get the colour to work from the inside out and the outside in.

London Design Shows

The recent London design shows were the best I've seen in a long time - here are some of my favourite finds.

 Julie Kouamo's hauntingly romantic wallpaper - Exotic Vine from her new Bangou Collection at 100% Design.

Bethan Gray's elegant and beautifully crafted 'Brogue' leather -topped, solid wood tables at Design Junction.

Flaster  concrete tiles at SuperBrands, I adore how traditional tile designs have been reinterpreted in a truly modern way. I had seen these tiles previously in Liberty's - gorgeous.

And finally, this completely brilliant concrete design from The Sculpture House at Design Junction

  formed of cut concrete paving blocks, the reassembled textured pieces resemble a stunning luxury carpet.