Top Ten Rental Buys: My Curated Sale with Joss & Main

…Just popping in quickly (I’ve been busy with back-to-back festive shoots these past couple of months!) as I wanted to share this rather exciting collection with you. Joss and Main, the American flash-sales site, set up shop on our fair isle several months back now (with Germany and France to follow any day now), sharing their buys from throughout the globe and organising them as curated three-day themed sales (often with discounted prices). The team invited me to guest-curate my own sale and I’m happy to report it’s now live! The sale is themed around the idea of The Stylish Rental and includes clever ideas for both decorative and practical homewares, with the temporary home in mind (yes, I may have been a teensy bit inspired by my book, Home for Now). I pulled together a number of product and theme ideas and presented them to the team of in-house buyers, who then sourced a fantastically eclectic collection of over 90 products to fit the brief. I have mentally purchased most of them myself already, but in the interest of giving an edited selection, here are my favourite ten from the sale below:

1. Chevron Tempaper removable wallpaper in teal : 2. 1000 Ships by Richard Peacock wall art : 3. Two-piece Octa glass planter set : 4. Riba storage box set : 5. Ridgeley Etagere

6. Rainforest candle holder set : 7. Antiqua wall mirror : 8. Bobbin drawer knob : 9. Langton wire shelf : 10. Indigo pedestal table

To snap up any of these goodies for yourself, head over to the homepage and sign up using this link (disclaimer: if you use this actual link, I get a few credits in the bank, allowing me to buy some stuff of my own, so if you’re signing up anyway it’d be marvellous if you could use it!) The sale ends Thursday lunchtime (25th Sep) – now go forth and shop! And do let me know what you buy…

Oh and psst – there’s also an interview with me on their blog, Plume. Think of it as some bonus content.

{Images: All product images taken from Joss & Main. Image used in The Stylish Rental banner taken from my book, Home for Now (Cico Books 2014)

Working Girl: Setting up a (fantasy) Office Space

With my Art Trail, book-flogging debut out of the way, it’s been a busy time at Stylist HQ of late – and with Christmas(-in-July – when us media folk have to put our festive hats on in order to file Crimbo features in time for the big day) just around the corner, I’ve been chasing my tail somewhat in order to get ready for all the press shows that are fast filling my diary.

Back in March, I cleared out my study at home as Men were coming to replace my super-leaky, mega-rotten back window. I thought I’d use it as an opportune moment to completely empty out the room and actually finish decorating it, having only really been camping in there up to this point. I assured the boyf that I MUST be back in there within the week, two at most, so we’d have to work extra-hard to get the space sorted to minimise my camping-in-a-corner-of-the-dining-room-using-chairs-as-in-trays hell.

Yes, needless to say, four months on I’m still shoved in a corner downstairs at my makeshift workstation. Between having no free time and various technical malfunctions (my actual computer, plus issues with all the furniture I’m painstakingly customising prior to moving back in) it’s all I can do not to daydream of sacking it all off and moving into a Proper Office Space. But on my own terms, obvs. I’m thinking some sort of former industrial unit with crittall windows and exposed brickwork, like the space above (OK, technically that’s a coffee shop, but you get my drift.) I’m lucky to live in London anyway so a quick dash on the tube to one of my favourite spots (I’m thinking Clerkenwell, though this one just down the road in the City looks pretty tasty from the outside, too) would be do-able. There’s no shortage of hot desks and communal studios dotted about the capital but there’s also plenty of serviced offices too – definitely something to think about in the future, even if for the time being it’s still just a bit of a fantasy. Of course, the extra space would allow me to take on some staff (an assistant, 24/7 IT support and a Chief Coffee Maker/Biscuit Provider would do for starters) and I could actually catch up with clients in my meeting area (which currently consists of a half-metre corner of said home-study, where I’ve plonked a footstool). Here’s how it might look:

A self-contained, freestanding unit would offer loads of flexibility within a large space, so this clever Shesk freestanding shelf and desk, soon to launch at Habitat, would be a great place to start (1). I do love a pegboard and a few of these large ones in light blue, £60 from Block (2) would provide the perfect versatile display without requiring holes-in-walls – great for a rented space. I often feel I’d benefit from horse blinkers at work to stop me getting distracted – having them built into my chair (ID Trim Cap chair, price on application, Vitra) certainly seems an appealing prospect. For flexibility in an open-plan space, these chunky drawers are ideal thanks to their industrial wheels, and cound happily house all my samples and swatches. House Doctor wooden side table, £495, Bodie and Fou (4).

 

Looking at the wider space generally, a splash of colour to shelf brackets on an open-backed unit would work well to zone off an open-plan space, without feeling corporate. This example – believe it or not – is actually an Ikea hack (5). In-keeping with the industrial style yet with a touch of muted pastel to soften things up, this gorgeous Eikon basic ash lamp, £200 from Furnie (6), would look striking clustered together in a group or hung low over a meeting table, for which the Scrumpy, £645 from Loaf (9), would do a grand job of providing. A chill-out zone is a must, and I’m partial to a bit of button-back as so splendidly showcased on this Ritchie two-seat sofa, a mere £499 from Made.com (7). And if you’re going to have your own little hive of industry, why not realise that childhood dream and commission your very own name in lights from Goodwin & Goodwin (8)?!

Desktop organisation is key and pretty things certainly help achieve that visual zen. Get your secretary (ahem) to manage your diary in style with this Letterpress filecard planner, £19.50, Present & Correct (10). A splash of neon livens up any scheme – and as these sunglasses-inducing-in-a-good-way pencils also moonlight as rulers, why not get one of each? Flourescent ruler pencils, £1.25 each, Future & Found (11). Then, to show you’ve really hit the big time, nothing says success quite like some gold desktop goodies (um, OK, they’re not real gold) in the form of a handy Pencil holder, £44 from Anthropologie (12) and snazzy Paper tray, £61 from Another Country (13). And yes, they might not be as practical as an actual filing cabinet, but I doubt unpaid invoices will ever look as good elsewhere as they would in these stunning Plisse archive folders by Hay Studio, £27 each at Really Well Made (14). Finally, a little lamp to light the way will help when burning the midnight oil, especially if it has little golden feet like the Arles, £96 from In-Spaces (15).

Right, so who fancies a job? Yeah? See you there at 9am sharp on Monday. The address is In My Mind, with salary payable in whimsical notions and dreams, sigh… *goes back to finishing off DIY in real-life study in the hopes of actually sharing some After shots soon*

{Images: Opening shot of The Grounds of Alexandria coffee shop, Sydney. All other images as per the companies’ credited. This post was supported by Flexi Offices but all products and images shown were entirely my own choice}

Hurray for Heal’s – Living Room Design Challenge

Those of your who have scurried down London’s Tottenham Court Road of late may have noticed something rather special going on at Heal’s. After over 200 years in the furniture biz (most of which has been spent at this site), the grand old dame has recently undergone something of a spring clean, including restoring her swooping Cecil Brewer staircase, complete with iconic 1920’s cat mascot (once almost sold in error by an eager shop assistant and later paid tribute to by knitwear queen Donna Wilson). Her floors have had something of a shake-up, too, with a far more curated collection of accessories on the ground floor and a larger smattering of new designers’ pieces throughout, under the Heal’s Discovers umbrella. But you needn’t miss out if you’re not in the Big Smoke, as fortunately their website has also undergone a similar spruce-up, and a much firmer focus placed on seating in particular, with a dedicated sofa site to boot.

With this in mind, Heal’s asked a team of interiors writers and bloggers (including yours truly) to come up with a living room design based around one of their key sofas from the site, with the winning design to feature as a real-life set-up in store. You don’t need to ask me twice to spend hours dribbling over their website, so I duly rose to the challenge, starting with selecting my favourite sofa: the Frame, by Ian Archer (shown above in large and upholstered in coral camira hemp). With its sexy, mid-century-yet-nod-to-the-contemporary walnut frame, boxy sides and striking colourway options, this is one seriously swoonworthy bit of kit, and the perfect basis for a little fantasy-makeover dreaming. The warmth of both the walnut and fabric work brilliantly with this season’s hot trend, copper (it’s the new black, don’tcha know) and also, to my delight, worked rather nicely with a few little Moroccan-infused flourishes. Behold:

 

As the main ‘ingredients’ for the room, these pieces mix together the Moroccan and mid-century touches wonderfully, with slivers of warm colour coming through in the upright dividers of the Kay + Stemmer flow bookcase (4) and bold top of the Punt Stockholm sideboard by Mario Riuz (6). Copper elements are introduced in both the Cantori City side table (2) and Blu Dot Scamp coffee table (6), which also help ground the scheme with their crisp outlines. The stunning Plantation Rugs Bones rug (5) sets the scene for adding Moroccan detailing throughout the space, with Rothschild & Bickers’ Retro pendant light (1) tying everything together in a rather special way.

It wouldn’t be a scheme of mine without adding in some form of slightly macabre animal motif, and Kristjana Williams’ Twin Owls cushion does the job rather nicely here, bringing in a touch of whimsy to lift the look. And whilst being very different in style, the Boeme Aurora Noir cushion (8) and Eleanor Pritchard line cushion (9) all sit happily together, carrying through the tones of the rug without feeling matchy-matchy. The Leimu large table lamp by Magnus Pettersen (12), with its unusual concrete base, contrasts wonderfully with the more ornate ceiling pendant, and the coffee table quite frankly looks like it’s crying out for the Discipline Roule tray by Pauline Deltour (11) and the Cumbria Crystal Six 11 carafe and wine glass (10), filled with some cheeky Rioja.

But what of the remaining empty shelf, surface space and walls, crying out for trinkets and baubles, I hear you wail? Ahem. Well, fear not – I’ve got that one in the bag, too. With several flashes of pattern already going on, the Deknudk Decora Little Lady mirror proves the perfect piece to grace the walls – simple, with just a slight touch of Victoriana, creating an interesting, eclectic mix. The Ontwerpduo (13), Iittala Nappula (14) and Hay Lup solid triangle candlesticks (15) respectively do a grand job of carrying through tones from the rug and sofa and pick up the copper element, and a sneaky little Iittala glass bird (17) helps my beloved owl cushion feel a little more at home, too. Covering off the trinkets department, the opulent yet simplistic Tom Dixon Spun Copper tall vase (18) contrasts wonderfully with the intricate detailing on the Finsdottir Honkadonka black vase (19 – and also winner of my Favourite Product Name Ever contest) and its squat companion, the Finsdottir Twinkle Little Bat grey litbox (20).

To link through to all these lovelies, do pop over to my Pinterest page, featuring all of these and numerous other items also in my design shortlist. What’s on your wishlist?

{Images: all product images and vintage advertising images taken from the Heal’s website. This post was produced in partnership with the Heal’s Challenge – all product choices are my own}

The Perfect Bathroom: What Floats Your Boat?

With temperatures verging on tropical here in Blighty right now, what better time to look at some pretty pictures of more nice bathrooms? Quite frankly I’m hugely tempted to abandon deskwork altogether to jump fully clothed under my shower head for an icy rinse, followed by lying pathetically on my cool ceramic floor until sundown. But sadly I have some gingerbread men to bake for a Christmas shoot tomorrow (yep, natch) so I shall stick to visual-only bathing with my eyes.

As mentioned in my last post, CP Hart recently challenged a group of stylists and bloggers (including yours truly) to design a ‘dream’ bathroom scheme. As my long-slaved-over bathroom is still pretty dreamy to me, I came up with a parallel-universe dreamspace – see it here. What was interesting, however, when attending the event last week (including a tour round their inspirational Waterloo showroom featuring a modern bathroom set-up with a tub so big that six of us designers plus PR’s and showroom types could comfortably squeeze in with no one ‘stuck at the tap end’) was seeing everyone’s variations on the brief. Here are three of my favourite schemes from the day:

Super-blogger Kate, of Fabric of my Life fame, came up with this cool graphic look that for those who know her, is totally her. I LOVE these yellow tiles and super modern feel of her selection broken up with these quirky Marvis toothpaste tubes, and a dollop of geometric goes a long way in my book.

Heart Home editor Carol, of Dear Designer’s blog, cleverly fused a Great-Gatsby-by-way-of-Marrakech vibe to her dream bathing space. Featuring antiqued glass backdrops, subtle Riad floor tiles and touches of souk-chic bling within the accessories, this space is the perfect antidote to a slick silver space.

And finally, Helena from A Diary of Lovely created an easy elegance-inspired bathing space, taking the lead from the bathroom of one of my favourite location houses belonging to uber-stylist Atlanta Bartlett of Pale & Interesting fame. This is a casual, elegantly mismatched look in a firmly neutral palette, with flashes of grey and black thrown in for interest. Vintage frames and mirrors adorn the walls and flooring is – naturally – a simple, whitewashed affair.

So there you have it – what’s your favourite look? If you’re still reading and haven’t run sweltering from the house to shoehorn yourself into the kid’s paddling pool with a Mr Whippy and a sunhat, that is….

{Images: Bathroom Bling pics copyright Joanna Thornhill. Group shot copyright A Diary of Lovely. All other images taken via the Pinterest boards of the mentioned bloggers – for credit details, see here for Fabric of my Life, here for Dear Designer’s and here for A Diary of Lovely}

Refined Natural Bathroom – CP Hart Design Challenge

Followers of this ‘ere blog will know that I’ve been redecorating my bathroom for about the past ten months (the initial four-day quote turned out to be somewhat optimistic), and as discussed in my last post, I’m overjoyed to say it’s now approximately 97% complete (the final 3% involves silicon, grout and electricity, so needless to say it’s unlikely to reach totality anytime soon). And I can gladly say I am utterly in love with my little bathroom, and not just because anything’s better than the ‘dark days’ of washing my hair with a jug of tepid water for weeks on end whilst trying to dodge chunks of plaster gently trickling into the bath. So when CP Hart asked a bunch of interior stylists, designers and bloggers to design their dream bathroom space as part of a campaign, with their favourite design to be recreated in their 2014 brochure, I initially drew a blank. However, after having a squiz through their website and various bathroom design ideas, I decided to simply put my stylist hat on and approach the challenge as if I were creating a set for a photoshoot.

As my own bathroom contains traditional Victorian design elements, with a touch of Moroccan styling in the tiles, I decided to select a very contemporary suite as the basis for my fictional design, to try out a totally different direction to my own home – window-shopping vicariously, if you will. I was reminded of a shoot I styled (above) for Essential Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom magazine a few years back (coincidentally, in CP Hart’s Waterloo showroom) where I had softened the space with lots of natural, earthy accessories and textures, and liked the juxtaposition this gave the space. As I began noticing a slight theme in the sanitaryware and taps I was drawn to – gently curved pebble shapes for the former, waterfall for the latter – I decided my theme should be Refined Natural: less of a stark contrast than my original shoot, but still mixing these very modern bathroom pieces with delicately, rustic-tinged-yet-still-really-rather-classy tiles and accessories.

1. Regent bevelled mirror, 2. Hayon Organico wall-mounted bathroom light, 3. Libero basin mixer, 4. Laufen Alessi One drop-in washbasin, 5. Giro back to wall WC, 6. Libero bath spout, 7. Gessi Collections Minimali shower head, 8. Coniston freestanding bath, all available via CP Hart.

With the basic fixtures decided (and frankly, who wouldn’t enjoy lying in an egg-shaped bath with water from an oversized rainfall tap washing over them?) it was time to choose the backdrop for this elegantly contoured sanctuary:

1.  Stratum tiles in white, grey and anthracite, £5.99 per tile, Topps Tiles. 2. Woods window film, from £75 made to order, Nic Miller for Surface View. 3. Pizarra Black floor tiles 30x60cm, £6.49 per tile, Topps Tiles.

To provide contrast with the sinewy curves of the bathroom fittings, I wanted a textured tile, and the Stratum from Topps Tiles was just the ticket – I’d go with the white for the bulk of the space, adding in feature panels with the grey and anthracite to highlight other elements of the room, such as the inside of the giant walk-in shower area this fictional dream-room undoubtedly contains. Dark slate-effect tiles for the floor compliment the look perfectly without stealing the walls’ thunder, and for a touch of fun – and an alternative to blinds – a woods print window frosting film adds both pattern and privacy. And finally, onto those all-important finishing touches:

1. Jacquard forest towels, from £5.99 each, Zara Home. 2. Tree trunk side table (great to pop towels and clothes on when changing), £125, French Connection Home. 3. English Romantic hooks, £15 each, Chocolate Creative. 4. Light gesso towel ladder, £55, Cox & Cox. 5. Gulping Guppy ring dish, £16, Anthropologie. 6. Zinc lined willow baskets, from £68, Rowen & Wren. 7. Bucket sauna (fab for storage), £16, French Connection Home.  8. Set of two grey gesso candlesticks, £50, Cox & Cox. 

With just a couple of heavy nods to greenery and nature, the bulk of this look is kept light with grey and pale finishes and simple craftsmanship. Plus an obligatory novelty fish jewellery holder for those who enjoy sniggering in the back. I for one am rather taken with it all (just don’t tell my current bathroom – he wouldn’t understand…)

I’ll be reporting back after the fancy unveiling party later this week, where I’ll get to see my fellow internet-buddies’ designs, but to see all these lovelies plus a few bonus extras all in one place, check out my Pinterest board on the subject.

{Image credits: top lifestyle shot photograph by Mike Daines, styling Joanna Thornhill. All product shots as per the companies’ credited}

Desktop Divas: Ten Stylish Pics for National Stationery Week

Sometimes I think (OK, I know) PR’s just make up a National insert-brand-or-product-here Week as a gimmick to get us journos talking about their wares. One even invented National Stilton Week. As if I need my arm twisting to get involved in a bit of cheese and cracker action. But apparently it’s National Stationery Week, as about 48 press releases have told me in as many hours, so like the cheese, off I duly went round the interweb to drool at and (visually) chomp my way through the wares of some of my favourite stationers. I don’t think that first-day-of-term excitement, when you’ve been allowed an entire new pencil case and kit and you vow to keep it clean and organised for the whole year until it descends into I Heart Dave/missing pen lids squalour, will ever wear off. Here’s a few pretties I’d like to liven up my desk with. Hmmm, cheese…

1. Alphabet index tags, £8.95, Papermash. 2. White bunny, scissors & clips, £14.99, Rockett St George. 3 & 4. Knot & Bow neon parcel tags, £3.50 per pack of ten; Magnifying glass by Maison Martin Margiela, £49, both Quill London. 5. Desktop Series by Another Country, £88, FAO Shop. 6. Giant Button Card, £2.75, Present & Correct. 7. Lace envelopes, £6 for five, Papermash. 8. Gradient file, £27.50, Present & Correct. 9. Vintage Holt Harris cat string holder, £23, Etsy. 10. Camera pencil sharpener, £18.95, Katy & June.

Styling Resources: Where I Find Cool Stuff

As I’m often asked where I find fab things for features (and therefore life) and with lots of you looking to do home improvements this Easter Weekend (inbetween scoffing choc, natch) I thought I’d give you a little insight into my processes. So let’s say I’m pulling together a little story on Easter tabletop dining and decor ideas. What do I do?

Well, on receiving my brief, I initially rack my little brains and think what I’ve seen recently at press shows, in lookbooks and in the shops that might fit the brief, and start making a list of people to check out. Then as well as targeting specific go-to retailers, I generally make the following ports of call:

Yes, a bit of an obvious one, but having recently attended a talk on how to get the most out of Google, I’ve learnt a few tricks for getting a more targeted search. The two I’m currently liking best are the ‘search by colour’ option (top – type in your item, then click the Search Tools tab, then select the Any Colour tab beneath and choose your hue) and the “reverse” image search (bottom – take a screengrab/pull an image onto your desktop, select Images in Google, then drop the image file directly into the searchbar to find out what it is and where to source it). The former is a slightly slicker way of doing a colour search than just typing the colour direct into a toolbar, and is great for sourcing items for any colour-based features. And the latter is perfect for tracking down a product to its source or finding an alternative supplier (if the original link is to a website in another country, for example) as well as discovering similar items for any Get the Look type features.

Another fairly obvious one, but as well as being a land to unashamedly ogle over perfect girlie crafts and whimsically beautiful people, for me Pinterest has become an almost refined Google, where I can search for specific product types as well as styling and design ideas around a certain theme, look or colour. I’ve also set up a number of ‘Supplier’ boards in my own account and am constantly adding cool designers, quirky webshops and specialist specialists to my various categories, which forms my very own Little Black Book of design and is something I often refer back to (check out my boards here)

With literally thousands of sellers onboard, much like Pinterest the Notonthehighstreet.com website is almost a second Google to me when it comes to product research. Whatever weird and wonderful item I might be searching for, you can pretty much guarantee that I’ll find it here. By its nature, it’s a particularly good resource for handmade pieces.

A new kid on the block, Clippings seemed to appear out of nowhere a few months ago (well, to me anyway) but it’s quickly snuck its way into my must-visit resources. Part home store, part magazine, it comprises articles on the latest homes trends and product round-ups, with a searchable product gallery linking to various retailers and brands affiliated with them. Theirs is a very carefully curated selection, however, favouring clean, modern, quirky pieces, nearly all either from UK retailers or available in the UK.

Technically a website designed to link up press with retailers, giving us ‘hacks’ an easy way to source and download high resolution images for features, nonetheless this site is still a useful resource for bloggers and ‘everyday’ users – the latter are still able to search through the site without being members (though it’s worth bearing in mind that as it’s geared towards long press lead times, not everything featured will be out in the shops yet). Numerous retailers and PR agencies sign up to the service and upload their product pics then tag them with keywords, meaning you can search away to your hearts content through their bulging image banks. Some canny PR’s, such as the ever-resourceful Zero2One, have even set up their own ‘hubs’ to showcase their various clients all in one place (a tried and trusted trick for the time-strapped journo is to hotfoot it to PR’s who have a large number of clients on their books, meaning that you can organise content from several different brands all via the same middleman. Shhh!)

So to round up, I leave you with some lovely Easter Dining-inspired products from Zero2One via Press Loft, sourced using various keywords (woodland, dining, rabbit…) which would make any Easter get-together go with a bang:

1. Fauna plates by Magpie, £19.99 for four, Mollie & Fred. 2. Traditional foutas (can be used as tablecloths or outdoor throws), £28 each, Febronie. 3. LSA Mezzo hiball glass, £22.99 for four, Drinkstuff.com. 4. LSA Serve cake stand and dome, £52.50, Beautiful Homes Direct. 5. Dutch rabbit salt and pepper set by Quail Ceramics, £13.99, Cotswold Trading. 6. Girl’s rabbit headband, £25, White Rabbit England. 7. Anemone Scabosia vintage bottle with faux flowers, £13.50, Paper Whites. 8. Koziol Pip party picks, £16.80, Red Candy. 9. Stag stopper, £9, Just Slate.

So, dear readers – fancy tearing away from your chocolate gluttony to tell me where you turn when researching your own interiors goodies?

{Images: Opening shot: Madelaine lavender organic cotton tablecloth, £40, and napkins, £20 for four, Ochre and Ocre. Google accompanying product: Birdy egg cups and plates by Magpie Lifestyle, from a selection at Who’s It For? Pinterest accompanying product: Forest Critters wall decals, £55 per set, Love Mae. Notonthehighstreet.com accompanying product: White Rabbit light, £68, White Rabbit England via Notonthehighstreet.com. Clippings accompanying product: Scrabble coasters, £12.99 for 54, Getting Personal. Shopping round-up all as per the credits within the main post. With thanks to Zero2One PR for supporting this post.}

Vintage Delights at Mid Century Modern, Dulwich

Last Sunday saw me and the boyf take a rather drizzly yet still lovely pootle over to the Midcentury Modern show, held in the leafy splendour of Dulwich College (well, it would be leafy, if the weather had actually bothered to become Spring yet, gripe, moan…) With several shows a year at locations throughout London, the show is a mecca for lovers of all things Skandi, mid-century and Eames-ey.

Reluctantly, despite stroking many an Eames, the boot of Serge the Corsa remained furniture-free as we travelled home (once you’ve scored bedside tables for £5 the pair off of eBay, everything else just seems kinda pricey). But if I had dusted out my credit card for a bit of Mid Century wonderment, here’s who I would have been brandishing it at:

1. Some classic vintage plus a rather classy lighting collection from The Modern Warehouse, straight outta trendy Hackney, east London – join their mailing list for an invite to their quarterly open evenings.

2. Mainly drawn over by the quirky name (who doesn’t love both elephants AND monkeys?!) plus this rather charming little chair, mid-century specialists Elephant & Monkey stock a pretty keenly-priced range of mid-century furniture pieces as well as a vast selection of artwork and travel prints.

3. With a magpie’s eye not dissimilar to my own, Winter’s Moon are clearly drawn to highly saturated, folksy-retro style vintagewares (love these tins!) They also do a mean line in upcycled pieces, including some rather clever vintage fabric fused trays which *may* be appearing in a Woman’s Weekly feature I’m working on for a May release…

4. Many south-east Londoner’s I know are always banging on about the virtues of vintage shopping in the Crystal Palace area – and the slick offering from Designs of Modernity, who are based at Crystal Palace Antiques and Modern, might just have convinced me to get out my compass and head down that way.

Although I loves my vintage, I must confess my favourite part of the show is seeing their wonderfully curated selection of new (and new-to-me) designers and makers. Here’s a few of my favourites from the day.

5. A little too cute to leave out are these rather simplistically charming prints by Ruth Green Design – all limited edition and printed on high quality Fabriano cotton rag paper

6. Despite looking like it’s been upcycled from an old bit of a WW2 warship, this striking desk is actually a brand-spanking-new piece of design, named Archie and produced by London-based design collective The Source. He’d look resplendent in my exposed brick loft extension studio that I’ll be converting in 2045, sigh…

7. Headed by Belma Kapetanovic (who sent me a very nice email afterwards about my styling work – thanks, Belma!) Element Interiors plays on Ms Kapetanovic’s graphic design background, resulting in pared-back, retro-style illustrations inspired by natural forms, which are applied to wallpaper, rugs and cushions.

8. Sometimes the simple ideas are the best – and by Kirsty’s laser cut birch ply lampshades, sold in two different sizes and sent as flat pack, are ticking all the Skandi-chic boxes (and they actually come from Wales)

9. A sort of crazed Aztec-meets-Hoxton (in a very good way) offering from newly-launched Jane Oliver, these animal heads caught my eye – step aside, antler trend – I think you have a fight on your hands…

10. Sourced from beautiful Essouira in Morocco, Beldi rugs come direct from traditional makers in a vibrant array of pattern and colour, from hardy rag-rug style boucherouite to delicate, fine-woven Azilal.

11. Hand finished in British pottery epicentre Stoke on Trent, these delightful ceramics by Louise Wilkinson are reminiscent of classic blue and white china, but are given a modern twist with quirky animal motifs and flashes of on-trend fluoro.

And most excitingly, after popping my name on a list to win a cushion from Crush Cube – whose lovely vintage fabric-covered cushions and cubes were on display at the show – I only had an email to say I’d bally well won it! So I get to have a little slice of mid-century loveliness after all *cue excitement and running round the house deciding where to put it*

{Images: Top image, courtesy of Augustus Greaves and taken from the Modern Shows website. All other images taken from each designer/retailers’ respective websites, as per the numbered credits}

Colour Chip Inspirations: Get the Look

After the paint-a-thon of the last few days, I thought I’d down tools today and showcase a little selection of scrummy homewares instead, inspired by Dulux’s Collective Passions colour palette (left). But rather than make life easy for myself, I decided to give it a little twist: each item featured represents one of the sixteen colours that make up the total trend, placed like-for-like on the page. Y’see – clever, huh? Nope, not interested, just want to know where to buy the pretty things from instead? Oh, OK then…

1. Homemaker bookcase, £470, Liam Treanor. 2. Drum stool in yellow, from £400, Tom Dixon. 3. Slangevar love seat in Flint brushed cotton, £945, Sofa.com. 4. Clay fishing lamp outside wall light, £64.99, The Contemporary Home. 5. Go Away I’m Blogging China mug, £9.95, The Literary Gift Co. 6. Leaning man side table in orange, £150, &Then Shop. 7. Side wall clock, £24 (SALE), John Lewis. 8. Milo jug in pale heather, £40, LSA.  9. Offcut bench in flouro, £165, Tom Dixon. 10. Ombre throw in turquoise, £44.99, Mocha. 11. Serving board in dusky pink, from £30, CoucouManou. 12. Porcelain teapot in purple, £30.99, Wayfair.13. Light Blue St David’s Cross wool cushion, £69.95, Melin Tregwynt at Liberty. 14. My Plate in green, £14.95, SCP. 15. Floorlamp Z, £129.95, Design My World. 16. Pappelina Aki mud rug, £86, Cloudberry Living.

Right, I’m off to rearrange my cushions by colour spectrum…

{Images all taken from each company’s respective website – click the links for further details}

{Psst: wondering why I’m blathering on about Dulux all week? Well, I’m working on an exciting online collaboration with them, exploring their latest SS13 trend, Collective Passions. All week I will be producing blog posts with this trend as the starting point, and then on Saturday 9th March I will be presenting my findings at Meet the Blogger London. To find out more about both, click here.}