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.

Beach Chic – a Hollister Inspired Bedroom Scheme

When you tell somebody you're an Interior Designer (or used to be) they can't help but say "ooh, that sounds exciting" closely followed by "I've been wondering how to decorate my living room…". Such a conversation took place a couple of weeks ago, with our Mortgage Adviser:

Mortgage Advisor: "what did you do for a living"
Me: "I was an Interior Designer"
Mortgage Advisor: "Wow, that sounds interesting. I've been wondering how to decorate my bedroom…"

Firstly, the walls need to close in on the space - a dark marine-inspired palette would be best, maybe a deep teal or oceanic blue. "Green Smoke" by Farrow & Ball is an interesting shade: a strange mix of blue, green and grey which oozes masculinity. I think it important to explore further than the usual pale blue hue, white weathered wood and nautical stripes. I like how Hollister create this dark rabbit warren which is in no way nautical and yet undeniably Beach Chic.

Next, the furniture is almost Antique – has a certain worn, threadbare appearance. Wallis & Gambier have a great furniture range, "Zanzibar" which is a beautiful red brown wood which compliments the Green Smoke perfectly. Add in a wrought Iron bedframe, black, with plain white bedding, and a wingback armchair in a rich Grey or Hessian fabric. And finally, this Beach haven isn't complete without the dark wood plantation shutters. Ceiling and floor should be dark too – maybe even a black ceiling – and a walnut floorboard with feature Zebra print rug (the Rug Company has a fab design by Diane Von Furstenburg, or alternately her Climbing leopard design)Then he said that he loved the Hollister Store in Liverpool and would love his bedroom to be styled like that. I can see the appeal, I thought later, and ever since I've been thinking about how that could be achieved.