Playtype offer a fantastic range of typography products – from classic black and white pieces to bold, statement monograms. Everyone loves a good letter product, as they not only make personal gifts but there is such huge variety. Playtype truly live up to their name with a playful element to their products – what can you spell from their oversized letter posters?! Let’s keep it clean…

The above room shots are photos from the Danish magazines Rum (top) and Bo Bedre (bottom).

Z-Light by Lexon Design

Designed by Ming Yang and Alain Lee, the Z-Light was developed as a simple, minimal light structure to work for any customer. It’s made of eco-friendly bamboo and features an LED rather than a standard bulb. The bamboo part can be separated from the aluminium stand, making it really versatile. It was awarded the Red Dot Design Award 2012.

Bamboo Z-Light

This super-cool light sits in Lexon Design’s bamboo range, among a collection of other eco-friendly, contemporary products. We really like this range and hope you will too!

Lexon Design bluetooth speaker

Lexon Design digital wall clock

For me, the most obvious colour to choose for spring is a fresh, daffodil yellow. Whether you like it bright or soft and pastel, yellow is a versatile colour which will bring an airy feel to any room.

Breezy spring yellows

A bolder yellow is striking paired with another vibrant colour, particularly against a white or pale neutral background. To match the colour of a daffodil, why not add a bright bluebell tone?

Yellow and purple

Although not a quintessentially ‘spring’ colour, apple green also looks lovely and fresh against white – perhaps a less expected scheme to choose than some more stereotypically spring looks.

White and apple green living room

… But I do love a paler scheme too. This bathroom works so well with a lilac twist on a classic roll top bath, and it looks crisp next to the green walls.

Spring bathroom

Let’s not forget the power of a print. For me a spring print has to be bright and floral. Choosing an accessory with a bold print is an easy way to update a room for spring.

Floral accessories

Bring a splash of spring colour to your home – you never know, it might even encourage the sun to come out!

This floral arrangement comprising a cake stand and egg cups filled with Spring flowers is a quick, easy and thrifty way to make an impact. Here the palette is yellow but consider a mix of garden flowers and even moss and grasses to add extra interest. Continue the theme with egg cups at each place setting, on a mantle piece or grouped on nearby surfaces.

Easter arrangement

Interspersing the egg cups with beautifully decorated sugar cookies or cupcakes would look lovely too. I’m coveting all of these from Juliet Stalwood:

Juliet Stallwood Easter biscuits

Juliet Stallwood hen cookie

Juliet Stallwood bunny biscuits

Similarly, your favourite tea service can be the basis for a pretty, feminine focus point. Here fresh roses have been arranged in delicate white china, but the colour and style combinations are endless. Pastels give an instantly Spring feel and are perfect for the Easter table. A dome of oasis in the bottom and some florists’ tape will ensure your blooms stay put.

Tea service arrangement

This nest arrangement is from Martha Stewart. She has combined pink tulips and two sizes of daffodil to create this pretty explosion of flowers. You could adapt this idea and make a series of smaller nests which would look great running down the centre of the table. Click on the image below to be redirected to Martha’s instructions if you fancy giving this a go…

Nest floral arrangement

This is perhaps the most inventive floral arrangement I’ve seen on my travels today. The umbrella floral display is charming and very easy to make. Prop it up in a corner or hang it on a hook for an instant lift. Just check the sky first!

Umbrella decoration

And now we come to the many, many uses for egg shells. Indeed what Easter table would be complete without at least some? For a sophisticated take on the painted eggs of our childhoods, try complimentary tones of a couple of pastel shades and fill with wild flowers as below. A water-soaked cotton wool ball will keep the stems perky throughout dinner. Try using tea lights instead – or as well – for a gentle glow at tea time.

Egg shell vases

Some compost and cuttings inside the egg shells would make a more permanent arrangement or a thoughtful Easter gift.

Egg shell centre piece

This ostrich egg is large enough for a substantial bunch of flowers and would be quite a talking point at lunch. The other advantage is that if you rustle this arrangement up before breakfast you’ll have an omelette big enough for twenty people!

Ostrich egg vase

We love bunting here at mydeco.com – why not have some Easter bunting? Whilst we’re unlikely to be dining outside this weekend, you can bring the garden party feel inside with some striped or floral bunting in Spring colours. Wallpaper remnants and craft paper triangles strung together are a quick and easy way to brighten up any space -whatever the weather.

Easter table setting

These pastel paper rabbits have been super-glued to fishing wire to give the floating effect below. The rabbit cup cake flags continue the theme and add to the party feeling. Make your own by cutting out shapes from coloured and patterned paper and attaching to cocktail sticks.

Bunny bunting

If you’re Easter lunch is an elegant affair, why not have a go at this napkin origami? Who could fail to be delighted by this rabbit trio? The soft green table cloth is the perfect playground for them and sets them off beautifully. They’re almost too gorgeous to be ruined by chocolatey fingers…

Rabbit napkins

I’m always as excited by a beautifully decorated table as I am by the feast that follows and I hope this has inspired you to try something fun and festive this weekend. I’ve gathered together some of my favourite things, take a look at my wish list for a shortcut to the Spring feel this Easter.

Lumberjack wallpaper

Andrew Martin offers a fantastic array of home interior products – from wallpapers to home accessories – and we are all thrilled to announce the arrival of these eclectic and striking products on mydeco.com.

Scoops Galactic cushion

The Andrew Martin aesthetic draws inspiration from a combination of cultures and eras; blending products old and new, large and small, from all over the world. This eclectic approach results in an immersive and unique brand experience that chooses statement over subtlety, bringing a multilayered and multicultural, easy living style to anybody who likes it.

Palmer Steel wallpaper

Do not be afraid to take risks – Andrew Martin defiantly shows how being fearless can lead to the most eye catching results. All hail Andrew Martin!

One of my favourite views in Amsterdam

While I was there, I had the chance to peruse a few interiors boutiques. It was hard to choose my favourites as all of the boutiques are so quirky, and immaculately presented – but here are the ones that stood out for me.

1) de Weldaad

de Weldaad

This boutique has a lovely feel to it, with vintage and industrial pieces sitting beautifully together. I particularly liked their displays of cloches and unusual glass pieces.

de Weldaad

2) Fifties/Sixties

Fifties/Sixties

One of the coolest shop windows I saw in all of Amsterdam, Fifties/Sixties definitely catches your eye as you walk past. As well as the lights in the window, they stock a range of vintage appliances and accessories. I loved the eclectic mix of lighting, the way they’re all thrown together has inspired me to be a bit bolder with my lighting at home.

Fifties/Sixties window display

3) E. Kramer

E. Kramer

I have never seen as many candles in one place as in the window of this boutique! With every candle you could possibly imagine, as well as some beautiful candlesticks, this is the only place to go to buy candles in Amsterdam.

Candlesticks at E. Kramer

4) van Weerde

van Weerde

This immaculate antique shop holds some really unique pieces. The striking industrial window display gives you an idea of the style of this lovely store. A real treasure trove.

van Weerde

5) Niels Interieur & Accessoires

Niels Interieur & Accessoires

I couldn’t resist including this bright and colourful boutique. I loved their product range – though that may just be because they stock many of the same brands we carry at mydeco.com…

Niels Interieur & Accessoires

Finally – a special mention for a shop window that rather amused me – two whole floors of cheeses!

Henri Willig Cheese & More

Design Week at the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre

The most memorable collection for me was by Morris and Co, and I had the pleasure to have a talk through the collection, inspiration, and view some original William Morris designs.

William Morris print

The Forest design was inspired by the Morris tapestry ‘the Forest Tapestry’.  It took the designer Alison Gee 3 months to paint, and is digitally printed onto linen and velvet.

Forest inspiration

It truly is the most beautiful piece of art, translated into a repeat for textile purposes, and is a real statement print.

I also fell in love with Bamboo – which was originally designed by E.W Godwin in 1872.  Godwin was a furniture designer, architect, writer, and critic, and this original drawing is housed at the V & A.

Other re-works include Lodden, which is an iconic Morris design, and the new collection features two of the original Morris colour ways.  I love that in the Morris & Co catalogue, they have updated the mood of Morris with contemporary setting, and Tom Dixon lighting!

Other highlights at Chelsea were the Spring colours, and washable cotton velvets from Sonia Rykiel.  This plain but very usable fabric comes in a sweet shop selection of colours, and will definitely be on my list for an upholstery job!

Bright Sonia Rykiel colours

Sonia Rykiel colours

Blackbird

Where did you go to school, and what did you specialise in? What roles do you do now in addition to your textile design and art pieces?

I studied fine art, painting as my first degree and returned to do an MA in mixed media textiles at the Royal College of Art after I’d had a family and my youngest had started school. My career as a textile designer maker has involved a variety of roles and activities; such as commercial design commissions for companies like Anthropologie, teaching and lecturing, designing my own label products, running a small contemporary craft shop and making, exhibiting and selling the stitched and printed artworks that are the basis of all my work.

We love these printed cushions

What inspires you generally and for your current  textiles collection?

Stitched cloth and the processes themselves, of embroidery and screen printing, are my creative vocabulary and also also my inspiration. In terms of imagery, it’s ordinary everyday surroundings, objects, animals, plants and architecture. I am interested in the domestic landscape and family narratives and what home, home making, and the objects we choose to surround ourselves with means to us all. The new collection brings together a broad range of imagery based on daily activities like walking my dog, and the immediate surroundings of my studio in Margate, Kent.

Colour palette for 2013 – what are your focuses for the summer?

I don’t work all that seasonally and don’t really adhere to trends. I tend to collect colours from around me in notebooks and refer back to them when I am in the studio and starting to print. For instance the dirty yellow against the grey in the current collection was inspired by the gorse bushes and slate rocks in a place we stayed at in Cornwall last year. I hope that my collections work all year round. I have always used a fleshy sort of pink in my work, I call it ‘germolene’ pink, and I am feeling very drawn to other shades of pink at the moment, so I might experiment with some deeper pinks in the new work I am planning.

Blackbird prints

How does your process work – idea, sketch, colour version, play around, then final piece?

I usually work very directly with the cloth. With artworks, its sometimes a found piece of linen or wool blanket. I use hand drawn, paper cut stencils and colour is a part of the process right from the start. Embroidered lines and details are worked into and on top of the printed forms and then sometimes more layers of screen printing are added – until the piece is resolved.

Blackbird lampshades

How do you see the range evolving?

There will be much more embroidery featuring in the new work and products, I’m  dreaming of giant, madly embroidered light shades. I’m also I am working on a headboard commission at the moment which is great fun and so I am considering introducing some larger, made to order upholstered pieces.

Lucienne Day tea towel

The furniture designer Robin Day and his textile designer wife Lucienne had a huge impact on British product design after World War II by working with new materials and collaborating with inexpensive furniture for manufacturers like Hille, and developing textile designs with bold patterns for Heals.

Robin and Lucienne Day

Robin and Lucienne rose to fame during the 1951 Festival of Britain, which provided an excellent platform for their talents. Lucienne’s abstract-patterned textiles and wallpapers were displayed alongside Robin’s steel and plywood furniture in the Homes and Gardens Pavilion.

For the Royal Festival hall display Lucienne created her breathtaking furnishing fabric Calyx, an abstract pattern inspired by plant forms, composed of fine lines and irregular motifs in earthy and acid tones. Lucienne’s work was much sought after and commissioned by other textile companies, including Heals, Edinburgh Weavers, Liberty and British Celanese.

Olive Calyx print

The originality of Lucienne’s early designs grew from her love of modern art, particularly the paintings of Miró and Klee. She tried to create a similar vitality in her patterns through irregular compositions, and nature, usually represented with clean bold colours.

I think that this print style and content, is as relevant today, as it was when it was originally produced.

Cosy Socks

Snuggly hot water bottle

When it comes to making your home feel cosy, think about the light. Bright light can make a room feel cold so try softer lighting with dimmers and lamps. A roaring, open fire is about the cosiest thing I can imagine.

Open fire

Fireside seating

You can channel this feeling with candles if you don’t have the real thing.

Relaxing candles

Lace candle

I just love these crochet-covered jars and mugs. How much nicer to have a warm cuppa covered in wool?!

Crochet candles

Covering things in wool has been something of a trend in previous winters, and it’s one of my favourites. See how the bulky, soft texture invites you to sit and relax, to make yourself at home.

Woollen chair

Have a seat

My strategy for surviving this cold spell in comfort is a three-pronged attack:

1. Get out all your warm wool blankets and squasy pillows and pile them on to your bed or sofa to make an inviting pile.

Cosy bed

2. Indulge in some baking (or at least eating) of some serious comfort food. I made these raspberry swirl buns at the weekend and not only were they delicious, but they filled my house with the aroma of baking and almost made me forget the miserable weather all together.

Raspberry swirl buns

3. Put the kettle on. A classicly British solution to our weather and a darn good one too. If you’ve gone to the trouble of baking (or leaving the house to buy) cake then why not go the extra mile and set yourself a nice tea tray and settle in? If you can persuade a friend or two to venture over to join you then so much the better: I love the turquoise example below.

Tea tray

And finally, although additional to the coping strategy, try and keep in mind that Spring really is around the corner. This beautiful tea cup and saucer set might just help get you feeling more springy…

Spring tea set

And if not, not to worry: you’ve just built yourself the perfect, winter-proofed hiding place!