designlint

Using a Concept Board to Inspire a Theme

Kelly Sparkes — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 08:00:49 +0000

Do you use concept boards or tear sheets to inspire you? To be honest when I did my first one for my KLC course, I wasn’t really sure of the value, but since then after doing many more and following it through with a room design I couldn’t begin a new project without one. That’s [...]

Say hello to Phoenix & Fox!

Kelly Sparkes — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 14:42:02 +0000

Thank you everyone for all your lovely comments on my last post, it’s an exciting time for Mr S and I :) I’m also pleased to announce some more details on the new online venture I mentioned, in collaboration with my wonderful friend Sam Lennie. We are still a few months off opening our online [...]

Christmas and some exciting news!

Kelly Sparkes — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 06:59:42 +0000

Christmas in the Sparkes household starts in early December, with the decorations put up on the first weekend. This year has been different, I got one of my trees up when the floor was finished on the 14th, a week before we travelled up north for Christmas and it didn’t seem worth doing the rest! [...]

Abigail Ahern Christmas Masterclass

Kelly Sparkes — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 07:33:26 +0000

Christmas is my favourite time of year, spending time with loved ones and a house filled with folliage, sparkly stuff and twinkly lights. A couple of weeks ago, to get Christmas started, I visited Abigail Ahern’s house for her Christmas Masterclass with the lovely Annabel from Insideology. Walking in through the black door, I’m hit [...]

Why I love Tenerife

Kelly Sparkes — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 05:00:13 +0000

Tenerife, a place infamous for its drunken teenagers and ‘Veronicas’ has come a long way since my parents bought their apartment here seventeen years ago. These days you’re more likely to see pensioners doing Pilates on the beach at 7am than see drunken kids stumbling home. Like anywhere, some areas of leave much to be [...]

Country House Bedroom Design Before & After

Kelly Sparkes — Sat, 17 Nov 2012 22:08:13 +0000

Last weekend I enjoyed a couple of beautiful, crisp autumnal days up in Lancashire with my family and finally got a chance to take some photos of the completed bedroom. My Mum & Dad asked me to design their room back in March I was pleased to be able to do it as part of [...]

Why I think my floor is jinxed…

Kelly Sparkes — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 06:51:32 +0000

Following on from my last post, Mr S & I moved into our newly renovated home the day after our honeymoon and lived in bliss, in a dust free zone for three months. Then, just before Christmas, as the building nightmares became a distant memory, the heating system started losing pressure. We couldn’t find a [...]

Colouring in my home

Kelly Sparkes — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 10:52:16 +0000

My house is white, very white, with a touch of pale grey. It has been likened to an ‘ipod’ (a white one I’m guessing) and to be honest it desperately needs some colour. There is a reason for this, back in 2009 I thought it was a good idea to plan my wedding and totally [...]

The High Line, Manhattan

Kelly Sparkes — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 06:58:55 +0000

It’s six weeks today since we got back from New York and I’ve finally got around to sorting out all my photos. For the last week we stayed in the Meat Packing District, at the Gansevoort hotel and it was my favourite part of the trip. The Meat packing District has changed so much since we [...]

Decorex 2012

Kelly Sparkes — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:44:11 +0000

Decorex is a trade show for design professionals, situated in the South Grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Stuffed with high end, luxury brands and inspiring seminars it’s a must for the design calendar. I visited on Sunday, shattered after a week of work and attending design events for London Design Week but that was all forgotten [...]