two bathrooms: worlds apart

These are professional shots taken of a project I completed a little while ago - I am bursting to get my new website up (think sexy, transparent layers and slick orientation), where you'll be able to have a good look at this project and the others I've completed since 2007. This client has asked me to redesign the downstairs shower room (which we left out due to budget constraints) and I've decided to carry the atmosphere of this successful room, downstairs.

I found this image a little while ago and l saved it because there are a couple things here I like. Firstly, that the lines are clean - although I find the floor 'grid pattern' tiling quite irritating. Secondly, the layout is instinctive and articulate.

slate flooring and a choice of three tiles - which one would you pick?

I really like this wall tile (right), especially with a dark grey grout

600x300mm slate (porcelain) floor tile with a 600x300mm wall tile in either silver or gold metallic. Which one would you choose? 

Today, I went tile shopping at tiles etc. and from a fantastic selection, I managed to narrow it down to a choice of three. From these strong potentials and on a tight deadline, I picked one shown here.

Unusually, for most interior design projects, this client of mine wants to be surprised  - I'm not to discuss the design with him, at all! And so, I'm not going to say which tile I chose, but as the bathroom needs to be completed by next Friday (27th August), I will be sure to post a couple of photos once it's completed. (It's going to look great.)

Oh, and for a bit of fun, a quick few shots of another small cloakroom I've done for another client: it's not completed - wood work still to be painted dark charcoal, and the house is a good two months away from being ready to be photographed, but for those interested: the wallpaper is called 'Best in Show' by Osborne & Little.  What do you think? The wallpaper makes me laugh. (And secretly want to pet the puppies...) God, I love my job.

Roman & Williams

Roman & Williams from The Scout on Vimeo.


This is one of the best things that I have ever seen. I love their language and their ethos, their design style and approach and I want to be apart of what they're talking about. Every single day.

Thank you Amy from ABCD Design for bringing this into my day; it serves as a(n aesthetically beautiful) reminder of what this is all about and why we do what we do.

Roman & Williams are an architecture & design firm based in New York City.  

A Fashioned Pink

I love this fashion designer (who is it? For life of me, I cannot remember...), her sense of colour is UNREAL!  This particular collection made me think about how inextricably linked the worlds of fashion and interiors are.

Interior stylist, Abigail Ahern explores this look with great aplomb. I popped into her shop a few weeks ago with a client of mine to have a look at the Lola Mirror (a large, round, convex mirror) and it's like stepping into a new world, one that celebrates colour like it's going out of fashion. I found it quite difficult to leave. Fantastic space.

Abigail Ahern

 

There was a time (early/mid 90's?) when navy blue was de rigeur when it came to choosing a sofa and so it's not unusual to find them now tucked away in second homes and spare bedrooms. As a number of my clients have second homes, I am often asked to reintroduce the navy blue sofa into modern life.

This photo (of British socialite, Tara Palmer Tomkinson looking fabulous) demonstrates with ease, how dark blues are supported by grey and green toned beiges - if you have trouble visualising these colours, have a look at F&B's 'Shaded White' or even 'Hardwick White', which has a distinctly green undertone. Teamed with a pop of colour - fuchsia or poppy? Gorgeous. 

red or dead?

                  

So, I cycled past Jigsaw today (on the corner of Upper Street & Cross Street, N1) and I noticed that they've had a bit of a make over. What do you think of the use of red? It certainly caught my eye and I had to stop to have a proper look at it. 

I'm not sure about it... Although, it certainly pulls your attention to the brand rather than the architecture of the building - which is exactly the point, I guess. Using a deeper shade of red on the frames would have celebrated those wonderful ceramic tiles. Of course, this is just one opinion. What's yours, what would you have done?

To the Doctor, with love..

This last series of Dr Who was my first introduction to the Man Who Saved the World and I am so thrilled that it was with this actor, because between you and me, I am a little in love with Matt Smith, as Dr Who; what a great face he has; those eyes... 

This is a screen shot of a  particularly evocative scene where the colouring adds so much to it's emotional impact. To whoever the colourist was on this production: you do a great job. Creating a palette which is both sympathetic to the mood of the programme whilst communicating a vast amount of information - in this case, the Doctor's complex history; their complex relationship and the seriousness of the situation: it's vital that he not be forgotten by Amy Pond, requires serious skill.  

Colour and memory - why can't even the very best designers remember colour?

how I remembered the colours    

closer to what they actually are on the screen

               

Colour plays such an integral part in how we identify the world around us and so, of course it colours our memories of events past. Have you ever remembered a favourite pair of shoes being a brighter shade of yellow because they were your favourite dancing shoes? (Or, was that just me?) Although, I understand why this happens, it still tickles me that it does.