[Your] Place; Bespoke Kitchens

I'm designing a full-scale renovation for my Mum's house; the works include a new staircase, four new bathrooms, external cladding and the creation of a master suite with balcony.

The focus of the scheme, as attested by the Pinterest board, is definitely the kitchen.

It's true the kitchen is the heart of the home and where everyone gravitates towards on almost any social occasion.

Today's aspirations for kitchen design reflect it's prominent place in our daily lives. Clients want to create a beautiful and functional area of the open plan living space with as much attention to detail and personal style as any bespoke piece of furniture deserves.

So lets make it personal...

In my quest to design the perfect kitchen I have discovered some spectacularly clever people who make bespoke fronts for standard units and bespoke kitchens and I couldn't wait to share...

Shaker Doors [Based in Oxford]
These guys make bespoke kitchen doors for standard units as well as external and internal doors

Superfront [Based in Stockholm]
A simply gorgeous range of fronts handles and side panels to turn the most popular Ikea cabinets into stunning bespoke pieces to your specification. I love literally everything.

Bespokea [Based in London]
A small company run by Ben Duncan with a great list of clients. Bespokea makes fronts for Ikea Cabinets at a very reasonable price.

Sustainable Kitchens [Based in Bristol]
A super friendly personable company, who make beautiful bespoke kitchens, with a sustainable ethos.

The opportunities are endless and you get a bespoke product created by craftsmen with a personal service.

Its an exciting way to support and make sure we keep our crafts skills and allows people to afford options that may have previously been unobtainable. An all round win.

I literally can not wait to do ours!

Inspiration from Fashion: Gentleman's Retreat

Whilst discussing our new place there has been a lot of talk, from the other half, about the requirement for a Man Den... sigh.

So far I have tried to discourage the talking over of an entire room for man persuits, [his current study/ Man Den is occupied for approximately 15 minutes a week] however given my recent discovery of this wallpaper from Wallpaper Direct I may have to reconsider a Gentleman's Retreat.

Moustasched Man Wallpaper by Albany £12.99 a Roll

Linea Idaho Swivel Chair at House of Fraiser £899 from £1599

Koldby Cow Hide Rug at Ikea £180

50's Style Writing Desk from Out There Interiors £390

Forsa Work Lamp by Ikea £17

'Ipad Etc' Oak Stand by The Oak and Rope Company @ Not on The High Street £75

Book Lovers Framed Print by Wall Art Envy @ Not on the High Street £24.75

Rules Of a Gentleman Fine Art Print by Masion Privee @ Not on the High Street £48

Man Cave Print By Thursday Press @ Not on The High Street £38.50

 

[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!
 

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

VICTORIA HALE: A PLACE TO ENTERTAIN

OPEN PLAN LIVING:

Victoria is a born [and professional] events planner.  A social butterfly, there is never a weekend when she is not hosting or attending a fabulous event [read about them here]. 

Whether its dinner parties, afternoon tea or full blown Halloween and New Years Eve Parties she does everything with up to the minute finesse,  so when designing her open plan living area, creating a flexible venue for entertaining was key to the brief.

Victoria is into all things current and lifestyle, and already had some strong concepts for the design. The desired tone was  neutral but sophisticated with a touch of glamour. 

Through discussion we agreed that a tonal scheme with a high end New York loft-vibe would provide the perfect base for Victoria's quirky colour pop and vintage inspired accessories.

The space planning concept was developed to emphasise the strongest aspects of the existing spaces and draw together influences to visually link three living areas. Each area  planned according to function [the Living Room, Dining Area and Conservatory] remain distinct but can also become a single space for entertaining on a larger scale.

Conceptual Mood Board for Victoria

The positive qualities and flow of the existing space inspired the selection of finishes, furniture and layout of the lounge/ diner and conservatory. The scheme is focused on accentuating the length of the open floor plan and good natural light that spills into the space from either end.

The conservatory at the rear of the lounge-diner room creates a diffused white light which draws the eye to the end of the space. To replicate and echo this effect in the lounge and dining room we used large white light fittings from Next to create the same diffused white light.

The size of the light fittings, which are half a metre in width, work in the proportions room. The height of the fixture, fitted close to the ceiling, exaggerate the height of the space. 

View from the Lounge Area through to the dining room and conservatory

A neutral palette with a sense of opulent texture and a hint of metallic sheen was selected as the perfect backdrop to Victoria’s strong sense of style and love for vintage inspired and colour pop accessories.

The finishes were kept to a simple palette of complementary tones, with textured and gloss finishes selected to add depth and a sense of opulence. 

The paint colour is from the Dulux heritage range and matches the darker tone of the wall paper, Laura Ashley Lille Truffle Stripe Wall Paper, exactly. The tone is muted and warm and provides a subtle and crisp contrast to the white, skirting, ceilings and storage furniture.

The laminate floor, the same tone and shade as the dining table, provides a continuous finish throughout the room and draws the eye down the space making it appear more spacious.

Dining furniture and accessories and the lighting used throughout the scheme

The subtle metallic tones of the Laura-Ashley wallpaper were reflected in the satin silk curtains hung in the dining room. The stripes provide interest to the walls and the broad pattern is modern take on a classic style.

The neutral stripes are carried through, from the lounge, to the dining room with a table runner to create aesthetic flow.



The dining room side board [Ikea Besta; System] perfectly accessorised by Victoria

Lighting is crucial to good interior design, clever placement of floor and table lamps can make a room appear larger when brightly lit and create an intimate atmosphere when low level lighting is required for entertaining.

Lighting can have a great effect on the mood of a space so we included a selection of lighting in the scheme to allow variety in the atmosphere created. Lamps and lighting are a great way to introduce ornamentation with function.

White gloss storage furniture in both the lounge and dining room keep clutter to a minimum and provide light reflective surfaces reflect light and display accessories and lighting. The TV stand was sourced by Victoria from Dwell and the dining room sideboard is from the Besta range in Ikea

The chairs, Tobias from Ikea, add a modern edge to a classic dining table. The transparent seat means that they can be regularly updated with cushions and fabrics if required. They are comfortable, well designed and very good value and may be featuring in our dining room update very soon. 

View of the lighting in the lounge and dining room and the conservatory furniture and accessories.

The conservatory has been finished all in white to maintain and increase its luminance. White sofas and a pale floor finish make you feel as though you are stepping out into a white winter morning after a fresh snowfall. Victoria has finished this room with soft white throws which makes afternoons in the conservatory feel like wiling away the afternoon in the clouds.

The hot pink feature colour which has been used sparingly throughout makes a final appearance in this room to draw all the spaces together.

This scheme is an excellent example of how a high end look can be achieved with high street furniture and finishes when a scheme is considered, in its entirety, from the outset.

At YPYR we believe that no matter what the budget or the list of requirements with a little bit of thought your home or business can work as hard as you to improve your quality of life. 

1) Next White String Shade £38

2) John Lewis Jolie Table Lamp £35

3) Ikea Tobias Chair £65

4) Laura Ashley Lille Wallpaper in Truffel £13.50 a roll (down from £30)

5) Dwell Basel TV Unit in White £349

[Our] Place: Metallic Obsession

Ever since seeing the spread featuring metallic table lamps in the John Lewis Magazine I have found myself obsessing over the idea of updating our lounge for the festive season with some metallic interest.

No amount of festive cheer can magic up £350 for me to splash on a Kartell bourgie 24 Carat gold plated table lamp [no matter how I try and persuade myself that one day it will be a collector’s item]. So in the interest of getting what I want for what I want to pay I have been researching to find that injection of bling that won’t break the bank.

1. Ikea Tallvik, Copper, £23 [60cm high x 15cm dia]
2. Aimbury Americana Mettalic Table Lamp [50cm high x 20cm wide]
3. Habitat Yves Lampbase , Black £45 [50cm high x 26cm dia]

4. B&Q Massalia Lamp, Bornze £40 [47cm high x 31cm dia] (currently on offer)

5. Kartell Cindy Lamp, Bronze £149 [42cm high x 23cm dia]
6. John Lewis Anais Lamp, Gold £75 [60cm high x 22 cm dia.]
7. John Lewis Milano Lamp , £80 [59cm high x 22cm dia]
8. Kartell Bourgie Lamp, Clear £196 [68cm high x 37cm dia]

Hmmmm, decisions decisions...