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.

[Your] Place; The Brand Behind The Name

Branding is a big decision.

I spent a long time trying to find the right name and image for my venture. The right words and the right look to encompass everything I want this company to be.

Being a designer left to my own devices I was, naturally, a nightmare. The prospect of virtually unlimited possibilities to promote myself and my design ethos to the world left me chasing my tail for weeks.

This issue was alien territory for me; it is not a problem I suffer with when realising my client’s dreams and aspirations. I rarely have difficulty when it comes to ascertaining another's desires and personality and infusing them into a space.

 

Thinking about what I want this company to be is how I came to the conclusion that my brand had to describe my ethos;

I am client focused.

 

I believe that good design is not all about high end glossy schemes, it is about thinking about the people and the place as a single entity and designing the space to the way the people within it choose to live, work and play. Good design is about really thinking through how a space will be used and designing and detailing it accordingly. I believe that no matter what your budget, requirements or restrictions there will be a way to make your space work as hard as you do to improve your standard of living.

Now came the task to find the name and words to encompass homes and workplaces, offices, gardens and public spaces and my design ethos. So I came up with:

Place; The universal description of a space, building or area with defined or infinite boundaries. A word that conveys belonging and ownership

Your; Belonging to you; of you; related to you

 

And finally I am really rather happy with it.