[Our] Place: A Place to Dress

My other half will whole heartedly endorse that my clothes, accessories and cosmetics are a major contributor to the lack of organisation in our room. My having to look for things when trying to get ready constantly leaves "us" running late.

The new house allows a little more room in the Master Bedroom and the potential [fingers crossed] to extend to create an en suite and dressing room, which in my book is the ultimate luxury.

Dressing rooms aside, I am very excited about the potential for my first dressing table.

Slone Dressing Table by Marks and Spencer

Elysee Dressing Table available at Very

Marilyn Compact Dresser by Dwell

Habitat Perouse Dressing Table

Ikea Hemnes Dressing Table

Ikea Stockholm Console Table

Ikea Stave Mirror


Getting dressed has never been so much fun!
 

PERIWINKLE COTTAGE: A PLACE BY THE SEA

The town of Aldeburgh on the Sussex coat is an idilyc and exclusive spot for weekend and summer breaks. The area is full of seaside charm and attracts people from all over the country.

This project was the renovation of a property purchased as a holiday cottage investment by the owners.

 

Due to the popularity of the town the standard of holiday accommodation is high. The desired aesthetic was one of understated, rustic comfort with a nautical twist.

 

The palette of finishes was kept muted and light, mostly white, stone and aqua with a red feature colour to keep things fresh and warm.



 

  

The front door opens into the lounge, complete with cast iron and ceramic open fireplace, the lounge opens onto the dining room which contains the stairs to the first floor. Following on from the dining room there is an extension which contains a kitchen and bathroom.

 

On the first floor there were two good size bedrooms, we utilised alcoves as storage and created a space saver en suite WC to the Master Bedroom.

The cottage is a stones throw from the coast and on Aldeburgh High Street.

 

Inspiration from Fashion: Monocrome

The pace of fashion seems, to me, to gather speed on a daily basis. The media today is an explosion of information, choice and concept sharing, which we can access 24/7... its incredible!

The interiors market seems to be following suit with trends emerging on an increasingly frequent basis, more magazines hitting the shelves and infinite numbers of emerging blogs showing what we can achieve in our own homes and businesses.

The choice is limitless.

Sometimes this can feel overwhelming.

In these cases I would advise sourcing inspiration to refine your options.

Fashion trends often influence interior design so to stay ahead of the game, and stay true to your individual style, apply the principles of your tastes in fashion to your interior projects. An approach whole heartedly adopted in Sugar Plum Slippers house.

The latest fashion trend to hit the high street is monochrome, the timeless combination of black and white, which to me calls out for yellow highlights:

 

Shelving Unit by Ikea

Wallpaper by Eco Wallpaper

Cushion By Jean-Paul Gaultier at Amara Living

Stockholm Cushion by Ikea

Grand Duo from Fashion for Home

Rug From Ikea

Lampshade from Not On The High Street

[Our] Place: Lounge Update

Whilst taking photos of [Our] Place for the blog, and mentally comparing them to the schemes I'm currently designing, our house came up short, very short.

The Lounge was one of the first rooms we did and on a tight budget. Five years on and our hand-me-down table and chairs are beyond tired, our 'cheap as chips' sofas are sheading bolts faster than our dog sheds fur and our mis-matched storage is cramping our layout. This is not the home of a interior design business.

However we are planning to move house soon to a place that we can really develop the way we want to with extensions and knocking out walls, so I'm not going to start replacing all the furniture just yet.

In the interim I am planning a few minor updates to maximise the impact with items we can take with us when we move.


The red tones and pattern of the feature fabric [a hug piece of remenant fabric which made two curtain panels, covered six dining room chairs, made two cushions and customised a nest of coffe tables] from Feran Fabrics need updating.

The Theatre Spread, in the John Lewis magazine, featuring metallic lighting spurned my recent metallic obsession and I find myself focused on bringing out the subtle metallics in the Graham and Brown feature wall paper, which I still absolutley love.

The Theatre Spread from the John Lewis Magazine

I intend to do this by replacing the ‘upcycled’ coffee table nest, incorporating the deep pink paint and the red feature fabric and replacing them with, what I consider to be a brilliant and very reasonably priced white coffee table nest from Habitat.

  

The Kilo Table nest is a sleek thin oak frame with a formed powder coated metal top give the apperance of a modern product with a nostalgic nod to 1950’s design. Kilo is avliable as a nest of three or a single table which allows us to inject a bit of symmetry into the lounge and have plenty of flexibility for when guests come round.

The tables are avliable in a range of colours, we have selected white to echo the white in the light fittings we installed when we first did up the lounge which also have a bit of retro appeal.

To make the space feel larger and seat more people we bought an Poang Arm Chair from Ikea for £55. Its so light and versitile we'll be able to find it a new place in which ever home we end up. It is now Milo's favorite new spot.

To accessorise the scheme I bought a neutral dog tooth pattern throw from TK Maxx and the Yves table lamp from Habitat with Grande black and copper lamp shade, also from habitat.

At a total cost of less than £300 the lounge updated has neutralised and updated the lounge ready for potencial buyers.

This is the joy of designing in a neutral base, something I often encourage clients to do, it’s easy to change and won’t break the bank, which is especially important if, like me, redecorating is a professional hazard.