Classic Cars

Now, I won't pretend that I know a single thing about cars. I know how to open the doors, switch on the engine and if I'm lucky, open the bonnet to refill the windscreen wiper fluid. But I certainly admire good design, even if it is purely aesthetic appreciation. This Sunday was the Port Sunlight Village Festival - a highlight in my calendar - and the village was host to a Vintage Classic Car show, amongst other entertainment. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are just a couple of the cars which I especially liked.

Ok, so I don't know what this car is exactly, I only know its pre-war, and its classic :D but by happy coincidence, I took the photo as it cruised past one of my favourite buildings in the Village - it has a very Agatha Cristie look about it, and I though this car really fitted well with it.

This next car I do know: its a Vauxhall Cresta. It says it on the side. It also happens to be my favourite of those I photographed - its a real 1950's gem. Oh, and its Pink! I just adore the shape - the curve of the roof, the neat little wings on the back, and the beautiful tyres. These weren't just practical modes of transport: they were pieces of Art on wheels.

And finally, this is the gorgeous MG A (?) with a hard top. It hails from the late 1950's/early 1960's I believe and for some reason makes me think of driving across a windswept Yorkshire moor towards Whitby. I imagine that's down to seeing something similar in an episode of Heartbeat (which I swear I don't watch. Often). What really made me smile was the little rack on the back with a picnic hamper strapped on. You rarely see that feature on modern cars, mores the pity.

Well, that's all folks! I should have taken more photos, but alas, the funfair was beckoning. Which is your favourite? If money wasn't an issue, would you choose to drive a vintage classic? I think I would, but only if the picnic basket was included.

Nifty Fifties

I've been getting an inkling lately that a revival is on the horizon: stand back Shabby Chic, the Nifty Fifties are making a come back.

I'm a HUGE fan of 50's design, so in part I'm trying to lay the seeds for this design revival and in part, I think the Industry is leading that way. (Please note, when I refer to classic 1950's design, I am NOT endorsing the overused 50's American Diner style which has been peddled since the 1980's)

There are already a few wallpapers, fabrics and furniture items out there that are heavily influenced by this fabulous Design Era, and quite a few items which never went away.

For anybody with any learning in Interior design, you will invariably be familiar with Charles and Ray Eames furniture designs: The Eames Lounger; the Eifel Chair. These classic 1950s designs have been so successful, that they have never left the fashionistas' must-have list and remain as popular today as they were when first released. I might even say that these iconic designs which laid way for all modern furniture are unparalleled. And I think that it is their undeniable popularity that has encouraged some manufacturers to reinvent the 50's vibe. So, if you're interested in recreating the 1950's in your own home, why not check out these items?





Utility Design is one of many suppliers of classic furniture, including the designs of Charles and Ray Eames. And if your budget doesn't stretch to the authentic, then there are some excellent copies on the market, such as those available from Blue Sun Tree for a snippet of the price. And there are some new designs out there too: Morgan Furniture have a gorgeous new range which would fit nicely into any Nuclear Family lounge.

Sanderson Wallpaper has a whole 1950's range new to their books. As stated on their website:

"This is a bold and iconic collection of wallpapers that celebrate a decade of design which transformed the boundaries of interior decoration. The Sanderson 50's collection combines original 1950's designs from the Sanderson archive with designs from contemporary artists who have taken great inspiration from this era."

HOTEL BEDROOM TOURS: The Charlotte Street, London

To kick start my Hotel Bedroom Tours, (where I try to source the fixtures and finishes of some of the best Designer Hotels to help you recreate the look in your own home) I thought I'd begin with one of my personal favourites: The Charlotte Street Hotel.

Part of the Firmdale Hotel Group and designed by owner Kit Kemp, the Charlotte Street has set the bar for many Hotel Designers to follow. Kit has spent many an hour sourcing lots of different manufacturers in order to create some inspiring and unique interiors. Thankfully, after a bit of research, I have been able to find some of the exact suppliers and source what I think are some good substitutes for the items which were a little more elusive, for what I like to call "the Blue Room"...

The key element for this rooms' design is the wallpaper and headboard fabric: the Jack Damask by Daniel Croyle. At a reasonable £40 a roll (cheaper than many high street wallpapers I may point out) the wallpaper has been used on all walls, rather than just a feature wall. Combined with the matching fabric in a cleaver colour change, the pattern really comes alive yet doesn't seem to overpower the space, most likely due to the calming colour scheme. The Fabric is a little more pricey at £57 a metre, and you'd probably need approx. 4m for a headboard of a similar design which would set you back around £300, making the Headboard an investment at £500-£550

Cleverly leaving the walls to provide the pattern and excitement, Kit has then used some fairly simple fabrics in the Curtains and Upholstery. Though I couldn't find an exact match, this fabric by Designers Guild is a good alternative, and they have a similar armchair design to that used in this scheme too.

Now, onto Furniture, I think the Keraton Range by Lombok works well with Kit's scheme - this costs £3680 for 2 bedsides, a chest of drawers and a wardrobe. The dark wood in a rustic, masculine form, really compliments what could be considered a feminine backdrop. the Bedside lamp is by Graham and Green, a not-too-bad £130 each: simple and classic.

And finally - what Firmdale Hotel would be complete without the Female Mannequin upholstered to match the headboard? I actually consider this a neat and practical addition to a bedroom and worth the extra expense - approx. £50 for a plain mannequin and then maybe 2.5sq m of fabric to upholster.

So how much would it cost to recreate this room's style? For your average bedroom, I would suggest a budget of £6,000 would do it. Of course, to reduce costs you could substitute the Lombok furniture for the Hemnes Range from Ikea and save £3,000.

I've quite enjoyed taking a look around Kit Kemp's design and am sorely tempted to try another one of her Hotels... the Soho perhaps? But in the meantime, let me know of any Hotel you'd like included in this tour

Up the Wooden Hills

Whenever it was bedtime as a child, I'd hear the fateful words from my Dad that it was time to climb the wooden hills to Bedfordshire – a place which sounded lovely but which was actually code for my bleak little box bedroom, which had the habit of being freezing cold in winter and blisteringly hot in summer. I remember, as a child, when we moved to our second home, that I specifically requested the front bedroom as I was under the misguided belief that the front bedroom was always the biggest. I based this on the knowledge that it was the case in our previous home and my grandparents' house. What can I say – I was three years old. When my mum announced that I was of course getting the front bedroom, I was delighted. Then we moved in, and I was a teeny bit disappointed when faced with a space which didn't quite have enough space to fit a bed and a dresser. I stayed in this room until I moved out and left for University at 18.

Consequently, I have a little bit of an obsession with bedrooms in general. I spent a lot of time in my room growing up (playing Sylvanian Families when I was 8, listening to music and generally moping about when I was a teenager) and the room became an extension of me. I painted it bright yellow when I was 13 as I was fed up of the baby pink my parents had thrust upon me and I was convinced it would make to room seem bigger. It didn't.

Now, all grown up, I'm still a firm believer that a bedroom is an extension of yourself; your private self – the bit that maybe not everybody knows about. You only invite a few people into your bedroom after all. If you watch any design programmes, they talk about achieving a boutique hotel look in your bedroom, and as I used to design these I can see the appeal to try and replicate that feeling of a luxury hotel in your home. You're relaxed in a hotel right? And somebody else cleans up after you… and you only have a suitcase full of clothes. But in reality, Hotel Bedrooms are not really practical for day to day living. Storage usually consists of a small wardrobe and a couple of bedsides. It does not account for your huge shoe collection, your 15 coats and your drawer full of underwear, and it certainly doesn't account for 2 people having all of the aforementioned. So the trick is to take what works, but adjust it to suit your individual needs.

So, what makes a hotel bedroom so appealing?

A 3* Hotel is plain and functional: everything is simple in design and the walls are plain, with a single coloured feature wall. The colour scheme will be simple too: white or cream, with a single colour represented on the cushions or upholstery.

A good 4* Hotel will have what appears to be coordinated furniture: a wardrobe (fitted or freestanding) which matches the desk and bedsides, and even the headboard. The bed will be located in the centre of a "feature" wall of (usually) some designer wallpaper or oversized graphic. The bedding will be white, with lots of pillows and scatter cushions of matching, luxuriant fabric, and a bedspread to add colour or pattern. There will be a desk with a desk chair, and at least one lounge-style armchair, both in a fabric which in either tone or texture, links to the bedspread, cushions, wallpaper… or even all three.
A good 5* Hotel will go one step further. The furniture will coordinate, but maybe not quite match; it will look individually sourced. Generally, the rooms seem more eclectic: the chairs may be different; the furniture is generally freestanding and does not come from a "range". They may even have a vintage, or an antique appearance.

Make it your own
So you loved the bedroom of the so-and-so hotel in that place you went for that long weekend, but was it really you? Could you stand to wake every day to that wallpaper? Could you really put up with the hassle of taking off all those scatter cushions every day, only to set the stage again in the morning? Do you need an armchair and side table if all they're going to do is play clotheshorse to your dirty shirts? Nope – Hotels work because they are selling an ideal. You walk into the room and go "wow" because you didn't spend 10 minutes making the bed and dressing it with an array of cushions that morning.

So… still keen on reproducing the hotel look?

If so, I'm going to take a look around some of the most loved designer hotels, and see if I can source the furniture, fabrics or wallpaper in a series of Hotel bedroom Blog posts. So, if you love a particular hotel, let me know and I'll see if I can help you to recreate your dream bedroom.

Wallpaper Conundrum

A small feature today on Wallpaper and its applications. Now, I'm a big fan of wallpaper: nothing has a bigger impact on a room than pattern and colour on the vertical surfaces. But it's not always a cut and dry affair when considering how or where to apply it.

Over the decades, wallpaper has fallen in and out of vogue, and its currently experiencing another popularity boost, owed extensively to the hospitality industry and their use of signature wallpapers in 4 and 5* hotels. Designer wallpaper has become synonymous with luxury. Not a day goes by without another celebrity designer hopping on the bandwagon and putting their name to a new range of wallpapers for your local DIY store. But sometimes, it's not what paper you use, but how you use it which makes the real impact. I would say there are maybe 5 different ways of applying wallpaper which can dramatically change your interior.

As you can see in the sketches, the same design has been applied in completely different ways into the same room to generate a different aesthetic. Three of the applications are fairly well used: the "Feature Wall" application, "Full Room" application and the "Low level" application are well recognised methods.

The other two are perhaps a bit more adventurous but do have some valid pros. With high quality designer wallpaper, these applications are often the more practical approach. When a roll of paper costs in excess of £100, a "less is more" approach is a little easier on the purse strings, particularly when you consider that the average roll will only cover around 4 drops – that's an average wall run of 2m. To create a designer style on a budget, using a single strip all around the room or the up and over effect can be a much better solution.

The above image shows this beautiful Jocelyn Warner wallpaper applied in the "up and over" method. It works particularly well with the floral motif which then extends across the ceiling.