Inside Decor Diva Interior Design

A 'closed' mind opened

2011-01-28T06:49:00.000-08:00

This 'tired' bathroom was screaming out for a transformation...especially as it is the master bathroom in a beautiful river side property in Oxfordshire. The interior of the house has not been 'done' for many years and the master bathroom was the first place the owners wanted to start. The brief was clear; the end result had to be in keeping with the Victorian home. Anything therefore to contemporary could not to be considered..not that I would have necessarily suggested that.They also wanted the room to be inviting, warm, functional and relaxing.

Being gifted with the ability to 'see' the end result of a room before (as in this case) an old tile was removed....I had a good view of what would look amazing and in keeping with the property and would also give the owners an uplifting feeling consciously
and sub-consciously each and every time they used the room...this feel good factor I aim to achieve with my clients in every one of my commissions.

One of the owners was very precise in what they like and do not like and no one can persuade them otherwise. This is always a real challenge for an interior designer. How does one steer away a made up mind to being a mind open to options and visual expansion? By including the client in the creative process and choices...most clients have an idea of what they want...they just cannot translate it verbally, or physically...but they feel it and intuitively I get that and with them ..create their vision.

Firstly, I laid open my ideas about how the tiling should be to really enhance the space, how the windows should be dressed and we both agreed that all the new furniture should be white. Then we went shopping. First stop; tile shops. This being the most crucial of choices. Get the material choice wrong, the tile colour(s) wrong and even the grout colour wrong and one may as well have left the bathroom as it was. I knew what would look stunning and in order to get there I started with combinations that on first glance seemed to be right. I offered up several of these 'false' steers until we got to the natural stone and marble combination that I knew would be amazing in the client's master bathroom. The client completely loved the stone and marble together and right there the process began. I watched as their inspiration came alive and I took the greatest of pleasure feeding it as much and as often as I could!

Please see my projects page on my web site: www.decordivainteriors.com
for more before and after pictures of this master bathroom transformation.

Visual Feast

2010-06-01T07:31:00.000-07:00

I have been to quite a few antique fairs but none quite so full of visual delight as the Art Deco fair my husband and I visited this past bank holiday Monday. Being an interior designer I am always open for inspiration and I am so grateful that I receive so much that feeds that need. And sometimes one gets a real feast of breathtaking design all in one hit.....and that best describes the items I saw for sale on Monday. Frames that would seduced any picture within; desk, wall and ceiling lighting that defied one to just glance and move on.

Now anyone reading my blog would know that I am a great believer that just because a piece has a 'designer' label does not therefore make it gorgeous and or a 'must have'; and indeed not all art deco is fabulous. Some of the furniture... I personally find ..to be...unattractive and to styled but having said that, some pieces I have seen are simply stunning. Dining tables, console tables, coffee tables, dressing tables and sideboards that are made from 'flamed book matched maple' (same process as used on numerous vintage guitars) are highly desirable and sought after items that were built by highly skilled craftsmen in the art deco era. Finding good examples is still possible but expect to pay a premium.

Where I would perhaps deviate with these purchases is looking at placing furniture around it that is from a different period. I do think that the beauty that Art Deco represents can be supported by pieces from other times. All to often now, one sees a room that is ill equipped in its size to handle the large furniture that is art deco. When it was originally made and bought for people's homes, those purchasers had houses with large well portioned rooms, high ceilings and the absolute sense of space. But don't be put off this incredible period for design because your rooms do not match the aforementioned description. Instead consider for example a deco dining table with contemporary dining chairs. Using the one item as the feature and 'building' your space around that can make a room seriously fabulous.

I salute the incredible affluence of this era that was so spectacularly translated through the designs of the buildings, furniture, lighting, cars, clothes and jewellery. If the UK is the manor house of this period then America is the mansion. For inspiration aplenty all you have to do is journey to South Beach in Miami to gorge yourself on Art Deco in all its splendour. The beating sun reflecting off the art deco buildings and the colours they hold is simply awe inspiring. Most of the buildings one can enter and see the lobby and the explosion of colour therein. Everything about that time makes sense in that setting; but that does not mean we cannot adopt the sentiment and give it life under the grey skies of England.

To me Art Deco is all about elegance; it is without doubt 'Luxury with Imagination'.

You've Got To Let It Simmer

2010-05-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since I updated my blog but I return to these pages with news of a purchase I thought I would never make!

My husband and I have bought a real fine top quality 'lived in' aniline leather sofa...now I am the one who has always turned my nose up at the idea of having leather furniture in a home ....as face it..most of the choices out there are pretty awful. You know the type of leather sofas I mean...cheap nasty shinny hard ones that you sit on and slide off in a nano second; spending the rest of your time trying to get comfortable and staying put. The aforementioned normally come in the most appalling designs, colour shades and are just plain ugly.

Aniline leather is a type of leather in which high quality hides have been treated with aniline as a dye. This produces a delicate, soft, supple leather that is really quite stunning and the most attractive and natural leathers are used which are prized for their soft natural feel. These are leathers which have been aniline dyed in a vat process with no colour coating added to the surface. They are the most expensive leathers to produce because only the very best selection of hides can be used to produce full aniline leathers. Full aniline dyed leathers are more susceptible to absorbing liquids because of the natural porosity of the hide. Because they don't have a top coating the leather breathes more easily and is cooler to sit on. And you've guessed it...brand new... they are not cheap. But with all the access there is 'out there' for buying and selling one can find the real deal for a lot less in a pre-owned sofa.

Although I had never entertained the idea of owning a leather sofa ..ever..I did maintain one of my golden rules when discussing this ...the sofa had to have a 'lived in' look and feel to the leather. And the top quality aniline leather will produce that in bucket loads the older sofa is. So the hunt was on and it was my husband who eventually found the one we bought on a London Internet buying and selling site. Once we got it home, I thought about how best to clean it. I grew up with horses and part of that was cleaning the tack so what better product than saddle soap to clean the sofa? I cleaned the sofa thoroughly with the saddle soap then fed the leather with a nourishment cream (always clean leather in circular movements). It now sits in our sitting room looking gorgeous and inviting ....the feather filled seat and back cushions make it so comfortable....and the smell of the leather is divine.

As an interior designer, I know only to well that tastes change ...but style is a constant...a built in barometer; and a major purchase (as I think sofas are) should be made with 'simmer time' aplenty. Just because one sees a new sofa with a hefty price tag in a designer store does not automatically make it: a)nice b)comfortable and here's the important one...right for your room. So many times I have to steer clients into the world of other options regarding sofa style, fabric and colour choices and that is when my in built radar for luxury with imagination can divert an impending disaster!

As for me and our new leather sofa .....it just goes to show...sometimes you've got to let your choices simmer.

Style is a vibe

2010-02-19T08:02:00.001-08:00

I met up with two fabulous ladies today who are real good friends and women of style. As we manoeuvred our way through hoards of people (we forgot it was half term) in one of London's busiest and largest shopping malls, I harboured a strong desire to turn a corner and find a interiors' shop with an 'edge'.

Of course the major companies were present ..(the prices of scented candles up by £2.00 in one of them....no...the candles were still the same size....so what was I getting for my extra £2.00?) but wouldn't it be cool to also have a store that was unique in its wares. The kind of place that if you did not buy the piece you just fell in love with, it would more than likely be sold by the time you went back, because there was only one of it...not many of it.

Having that special something, even if it is just the one item; albeit a mirror, a lamp, a picture, can really put a stamp of your personal style in your home. You can 'dress' the room around that piece, or it can simply 'be' an item that is not only pleasing to your eye but satisfying for the soul.

Style is vibe, translated into a look. Explore, really enjoy where you shop for your home....and if you need some help.....drop me a line.

Colour by the ocean?

2010-02-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

I looked at various rental properties on the Gulf Coast in Florida to take a look at the decor. Many owners seem to opt for either the 'magnolia won't offend anyone' approach or 'don't remove your sunglasses inside' colour scheme and rental properties overlooking the Gulf Coast,(or any other sun filled location) I think, deserve the opportunity to look stunning. This can be achieved by using colour on the walls, that complement and support the space.

Who ever hypnotised the public into thinking that light colours on walls make a space look bigger should be....well..I will leave the rest of that sentence to your imagination! Equally terrifying is the use of bright colour shades that scream constantly at you ...albeit consciously or sub consciously.

I love colour; look at the picture of the hall's before and after shots...the colour I used is called 'Sunrise' and indeed it is the warm, secure and spectacular hue of the sun rising. It certainly is not orange, it has a richness and a depth to it that does not jar the eye, to the contrary; it seduces the eye, giving one a sumptuous feeling within. And to me, that is what each room in your home should do. Neutral colours can also achieve that, they just have to be the 'right' colours.

New pictures are my web site http://www.decordivainteriors.com/ of a kitchen transformation I completed in Hampshire before I went to the States. I will be adding further pictures of that property as I was also asked to 'do' the hall and sitting room. The aforementioned both achieved with merely changing the colour on the walls.

Do you have an interior nightmare and would like it to be your interior dream? If so, let me know.

Stateside

2010-01-31T06:19:00.000-08:00

I found a fabulous interiors shop in Indian Shores on the Gulf Coast of Florida. The owner has sourced some unique pieces some of which came from a Paris flea market! Inspiration is aplenty here and colour is a given.

It is so clear to me that the weather plays such a major role in how we 'dress' our interiors. I am all about 'luxury with imagination' and bringing colour into homes in 'greyier' climes. My current fave is the most goregous colour for an entrance hall .....my clients love the feeling of this colour as well as the stunning visual feast it gives to one and all.