Get the Look: MAISON MOSCHINO IVY ROOM

If you recall a few months back I posted a Hotel feature on the Maison Moschino in Madrid and have decide to include this in my "Get the Look" range - and I highly recommend you do get the look as its surprisingly simple to do, and far more achievable than some other Hotel schemes to implement in your own abode.

Firstly, the rooms are imaginative and fun - both key factors in replicating the look - but not entirely practical (rose petal bedspread = not easy to wash!) so its not necessarily a bad idea to deviate slightly from the actual hotel rooms and go at little less OTT. I've looked at two of the rooms - the Ivy room and the Rose room so far - my favourites. I'm saving the Rose room for a later date, but for now...

Here is the Ivy Room Scheme:

The main feature of this room are the stripes. I think you could go with a dark olive or dark blue and achieve the same result - I've shown dark blue in the below scheme as its widely available and a little cheaper. Ikea have some blue & white striped fabrics in store, but I've shown William Yeoward in my scheme as he does a matching St Ives wallpaper.
The bed style requires a decorative ornate headboard which is both framed and upholstered (ideally customers-own-fabric so you can get the stripe) so the frame helps define the headboard against the matching striped wallpaper. The bed below is from Stokers and is called Sofia, but you could use a divan bed with separate headboard (if on a tight budget, headboards of this style can often be picked up at House Clearance shops or even Charity shops for a bargain price, leaving the relatively simple task of upholstering the board in your chosen material.
The Ikea staple, Hemnes Bedroom furniture, is a close match in terms of style and colour, though french shabby chic furniture would also work for a more decorative look. Top the bedside off with a simple shaded lamp.
Finally, add an Ivy garland and drape up the wall. These are available at many garden centres and would really complete the look.

Get the Look: DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES RENEE

As the vixen on Wisteria Lane with boodles of cash and the co-founder of an Interior Design company to boot, Renee’s Bedroom had to be really impressive to match the character. And it is. In fact, the whole house (formerly home to Edie Britt before her untimely demise) is decked out in some fabulous interior wares. Needless to say, there are a few designer labels dotted about the place. This last season has given us some great shots of Renee’s home, from her textured wall on the stairwell to the uber modern kitchen. I managed to capture a few screenshots of the bedroom and have compiled a little moodboard for anyone looking to create a Renee style boudoir.

The bedding I tracked down at Macy’s and is currently on offer. The bronze tones are complimented by the mocha wallcolour. Combined with splashes on Turquoise, the milky brown is then subdued with white furniture. Though I couldn’t locate the exact pieces used on the show (I’m not from the states and have limited knowledge of their interior industry) I did find some suitable pieces by Italian designer SMA – available at various stockists around Europe. Top it all off with a velvet upholstered Chaise Longue with scroll top detail and you’re onto a winner. The must have piece is the upholstered bed – I found a good match at High Fashion Home – with a high headboard, deep button detailing and winged sides.

Happy shopping!

Mx

Get The Look: HOME ALONE for the Festive Season

Now most of us like to put up a tree at Christmas, drape every available surface in tinsel or maybe place a festive wreath on the front door. Some go to the extra hassle of adorning their whole home exterior in Christmas lights. But few of us coordinate our whole Interior for the festive season.

The 1990’s genius film, Home Alone, however shows us just how, if we ever chose to do so, a Festive Interior can be achieved. With a rich Berry Red and Holly Green colour scheme running throughout the entire house, the house oozes Festive cheer. It makes me want to crack open the Advocaat and Lemonade just looking at it. Quite a design choice for a family who chooses to spend Christmas anywhere but in their home. Hmmm.

Anyway, taking the Festive cheer of Home Alone and looking at the Master Bedroom in particular (the location for the pivotal scene and exclamation “We slept In!!” which kick-starts a mad rush to the airport) I’ve had a little try and creating a very merry bedroom scheme. If you’re a Christmas nut (haha) then maybe this is for you. It’s not for the faint hearted and a liking of red is a must.

Of course, as the film was made a whopping 20 years ago now, a like for like scheme isn’t very easy to achieve so excuse the poor substitutions for some items. However, the overall look still takes inspiration from the film. The items could be acquired from the following suppliers:

·         Cherry Blossom wallpaper by Graham & Brown

·         Four Poster Bed by Stokers

·         Antionette Bedside by Willis & Gambier

·         Rug by The Rug Company

·         Bedside Lamp by Graham & Green

·         Red Bedding by Debenhams

Do you have any items which you think would complete the festive scheme? Or is there another Crimbo Film which has a fabulous Festive cheery interior? For me, Home Alone is my Christmas guilty pleasure without a doubt! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

Get The Look: a DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES bedroom

From the very first episode way back in 2004, I was hooked. I was a Desperate Housewives’ addict from the word go. I would LOVE to live on Wisteria Lane in one of those gorgeous homes, with picket fence and nosy (yet highly entertaining) neighbours to boot. But alas, I am not that lucky. My home doesn’t cut the mustard I’m afraid. It doesn’t have a porch, it isn’t painted lemon yellow and it does not have a front door which you could drive a bus through. But I’m fairly certain that some of the Desperate Housewives bedrooms could work nicely into any home – even mine. So here is my “how to” on achieving a Desperate Housewife bedroom á la Susan Delfino, née Mayer.

As a brief Character Bio, Susan is the artsy one – an illustrator by trade originally and later a primary school art teacher. She’s a dab hand with a paint brush and makes reference to being able to appreciate that art is subjective. Her home, however, is not adorned in designer wares like that of Lee and Bob – there is not an Eames chair in sight – but rather is more homely. The palette is feminine and fresh and she has a definite affiliation with Wicker.  She likes natural materials and seems to have furniture which she has collected along the way, rather than redoing a whole room in one swoop with coordinated pieces. It meshes well without being over themed.

Looking on the web, I’ve found a few pieces which I think conform to the Susan style. Pottery Barn is a firm favourite and I’m fairly certain that the green/blue Paisley bedding seen when Susan is dating Jackson the housepainter is from there (in the episode “Marry me a Little” Season 5). Oh, and they ship to the UK now too. They also have a wicker headboard which is super important in achieving the Susan look, though a similar one is also available from Ikea. Laura Ashley have some cute country furniture which could certainly work and wicker drawer units are available from several online shops.

Add architectural detailing with low level tong and groove panelling to complete the look, wood flooring with an understated area rug and an eclectic range of framed prints to embellish.

And there you go: the effortless Susan Mayer/Delfino bedroom yours for the taking. I can't guarantee that recreating this look in your home will lead instantly to a Mike or Jackson lookalike appearing half naked in your room, but it can't hurt to try, right?

Grease is the Word: Get the Look

I think that for a generation of teen girls, Grease really was the word. There are few girls who haven’t donned black leggings and a pink satin jacket with the words “pink ladies” emblazoned across the back for a girls’ night out or fancy dress party.  The iconic film with its catchy songs and risqué tale of teen love continues to spawn new fans and romanticises 1950’s America, making us all wish that, despite its lack of internet and sky TV, we had been lucky enough to have been born in the era where a circle skirt was compulsory attire and school looked (almost) fun. But are today’s teenagers still as gripped by the film as we were? Or will the sight of Pink Ladies on a hen do disappear in years to come? No – I think it has a longevity which most films and musicals can only dream of. So, why am I, a self-confessed interiors addict, talking about films and fashion? To help any Pink Lady wannabes out there recreate a true Pink Lady bedroom of course, with a nod the 1978 classic film.

If we look at a screenshot of the movie during Rizzo’s rendition of “look at me I’m Sandra Dee” , we get a great snippet of Marty’s bedroom. Are we surprised the room is mostly Pink and Black? Not really.  Are we surprised that there are pictures of 1950’s heart throbs pinned to the wall above her bed? Nope. And who wouldn’t have wanted to have such a cool bedroom as a teenager? I know I would have killed for my own en suite “powder room” that’s for sure. I’ve searched the web for furniture currently on the market which could help achieve a Pink Lady bedroom with inspiration drawn from Marty’s room.

To begin, the wallpaper in the film is a vintage coral pink swan design and there are a couple of options available for this: the Flamingo design by Cole and Son (£55 a roll) or Swan Lake by Nina Campbell (£52 a roll) both available from Wallpaper Direct. Use this in moderation like Marty, as a Feature Bedhead wall.

Accessorise: Marty is a real man eater and clearly a fan of Elvis and James Dean. If old 50’s heart throbs aren’t your thing though, how about using black and white photos of your own teen crush instead? But I’ve got to say, who wouldn’t have drooled over James Dean in this picture? Marty also shows her arty side with her half-finished Paint By Number’s Horse picture and a patriotic token Rydell High banner in red.

Furniture: Marty’s room is nice and girly on the colour side but has some fairly plain and simple furniture, much in-keeping with the era. The Ikea Brimnes bed with its headboard storage is ideal for a teenager’s room and matching simple bedsides and chest of drawers to complete the basics. Marty also has a deco style dressing table with marble effect top and vanity mirror –but I love this 1950’s style one available from Bouf.com.

Her bedding sticks with the pink and black colour scheme, much like this vintage 50’s fabric with lighting in the form of a tripod standard lamp and simple bedside light. Finally, finish the room with a weave chair like this one available from utilty – a classic 50’s design.

Is there anything else which you think should go in a Pink Lady bedroom? Feel free to leave comments and links below,

Oh, I forgot about the wall colour! in the words of Rizzo: Peachy Cream.

Get the Look: An Abercrombie & Fitch Inspired Bedroom

Owing to the popularity of my Hollister Bedroom post, I have decided to also put a quick “how to” for their ever-so-similar competitor store, Abercrombie & Fitch. I might point out, this is not a like-for-like copy of their Store decoration but rather an inspired piece – simply using Abercrombie and Fitch as a bouncing off point: if you’re keen on the shops and the style they sell, you might like this style too. So, on with the scheme:

I think a nice deep blue wall colour is appropriate to create that Aladdin’s cave feel, something like Hague Blue by farrow and ball could do the trick. I’ve used this colour in a bedroom before and it’s delicious – rich and deep, yet mellow in tone. Marry this with Vivienne Westwood’s tartan wallpaper by Cole & Son, in homage to a lumberjack style shirt.

The Furniture could be a real eclectic range:

• A slatted modern type bed like the Zanzibar bed by Willis & Gambier
• A rustic Armoire, antique or replica
• Rather than two matching bedsides, how about a drawer chest to one side, with tall legs elevating it from the floor for variation
• Tan leather armchair, like the Hugo from Graham & Green
• This compilation rug by The Rug Company pulls inspiration from many styles, for an almost flea market mixture of patterns and colour but with a luxurious feel under foot.
• To go for the store look, why not integrate an open clothes rail to show off some of your favourite and most worn garments.

Now, something which all the American youth stores remind me of is Taxidermy – though of course I don’t recommend you mount a real stags' head above your bed. However, there are lots of ways to represent this within your interior. There are loads of taxidermy inspired pieces on the market at the moment and Graham & Green have some of the best, including these Rhino Wall Lights.

Moooi (That’s Danish for Beautiful, with an extra “o” to make it Very Beautiful didn’t you know) launched the Rabbit lamp a while back and would make an excellent bedside light. In fact, Next have done a copycat design available for 1/10^th of the price, a snip at £35 and a nice feature piece. Finish the scheme with wood: wood venetians and wood floor, either a walnut or cherry for best effect.