Jamie Theakston's house

  

                

                

            

Be still my beating heart... (And there's more coming soon.)

Images sourced here 

a little cupcake for the weekend?

I spent the weekend styling and staging hundreds of cupcakes for a photo shoot for the new business 'Mary Lou's Cupcakes'. Owner, Georgie Barclay - previously a client of mine (Middleton Rd Project), has made the giant leap from a corporate world to a cottage industry. Or, more eloquently put: from banking to baking. She's one of three women I know who have set up their own businesses this year alone - interesting times.

Staging a shoot for a website or a magazine layout is not unlike designing a room: you're creating an environment that people will (hopefully) want to revisit time and time again - directing friends and family to visit, too, if you've really nailed it. The day was long and after the 9th hour it has to be said, those beautifully decorated cupcakes looked as tired of us as we were of looking at them. Fortunately, the photographer was great: fully prepared for all kinds of lighting influenced by the precocious British weather, and most importantly, quick to get the shot. (Email me for his contact details.)

(I'll post a link to her new website once it's live.)

bringing the outside in

                                   Suzy Hoodless

Whether you're living wedged within the innards of the most cosmopolitan of cities, or out in the starkest of  outdoor wilderness, yearning for something different, there are ways to bring the best of both, seemingly polar worlds, into one space creating an environment that is both comforting and invigorating and everything in between.

(The contrasting nature of the deep charcoal sofa and textured cushions and accessories reminds me of walks along the Devon coastline. Happy Days)

bringing the darkness in

I'm fortunate in that I work with highly creative and intelligent clients, and these images bring to mind one of the projects I'm currently working on. In the client's study, we went dark - much to the horror of his light-loving wife. The entire room is now a charcoal grey with darker cornices and skirting boards and the result is a warm, atmospheric space that has, as it turns out, inspired his wife so, that she now wants one just like it - in a different colour. Watch this space.

The notion that small, dark spaces need a bright colour to wake them up is a dated one. Embrace the darkness of a space, don’t fight its inherent qualities.

new york city does pretty: interiors shops

John Derian

     

    

 John Derian

I went to NYC in April this year to see what the city had to offer in terms of interiors shops and I found two really good shops in Manhattan: John Derian and Michelle Varian. Both stores are beautifully laid out and so well coordinated that I felt the products on display were flirting shamelessly with me...

Michelle Varian

   

 Michele Varian

      

Chatting with owner and designer Michele Varian, I was interested to learn that she designs and makes her range of cushions on-site; I recognised a the particular detailing having previously bought six orange silk cushions from Heals, here in London. It seems, one does not have to travel too far these days to get the New York look...

 

these four walls

(click on image to enlarge)

Living in a truly open plan apartment can be a compromising experience. It is easy, however, to divide the space, creating partitions without needing to build in stud walls. One practical and affordable solution is to install tall frame bookshelves, creating informal partitions that allow a certain amount of privacy without losing the light.

Another way of distinguishing areas is by lighting the particular space according to it's function. Bright over head lighting for kitchen areas, low level and table lighting for bedrooms and living areas.

My new best blog

http://destinedtodesign.blogspot.com/

The designer behind these images

http://www.studiobartleby.com/

every room needs a little bit of black

Twitter has opened a whole new world, introducing me to wonderfully creative blogs and almost too much free business advice (some of which has already been useful). During my daily trawl through the flutter of tweets, I found this interior design website. They illustrate so eloquently what I often say to clients about using the colour black in their homes.

http://www.ong-ong.com/portfolio_detail.php?id=145