Colour Sense

I have recently taken on a project to create a latch-work rug.  Note not got very far with it as yet.

I got given a black sack of old uncut wool.  The colours instantly said 60's/70's pattern and started seeking online resources for inspiration.

I found this website: http://www.colourlovers.com/trends I have been totally smitten with it ever since. So go have a look.

Colour plays an extremely important part of our lives, it influences our mood, makes us happy or sad. We all have favourite colours and know of colours that don't suit us.  The same can be said for our homes or houses.  Indeed some colours have a long connection with homes like blue for bathrooms, yellows for kitchens.  We also seem to use colours based on genders, little girls rooms tend to be painted or decorated pink and little boy's rooms painted blues or greens.

Also different eras dictate different colours, red or green dinning rooms used during the Victorian era. Bright yellow withdrawing rooms in the Georgian era used in only the most affluent homes.

During the 90's we had a surfeit of decorating programs trying out new colours and new schemes.  Unfortunately the aftermath of this in the 00's led to the view that your home as an asset to be sold on, paving the way for neutral colours dare i say it 'Magnolia' and bland, boring but clean spaces.  Colour was almost banned if you were ever going to sell on, but little or no consideration was made for while 'you' the house owner were in it.

I am hoping that colour returns, it certainly looks like it is trying to make a come back.  You can have a home that will make you money when you come to sell it, if you know how and use colour wisely.

I am going to include some more links, of course you can always contact me :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color
http://www.papers-paints.co.uk/colour_historical_colours.asp
http://www.heritagepaints.co.uk/
http://www.firedearthshop.com/epages/FEShop.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/FEShop/Categories/Browse_Catalogue/Paint&PageSize=12
http://www.farrow-ball.com/productlist.aspx?cid=PC&language=en-GB
http://www.housetohome.co.uk/articles/advice/style_ideas/Interiors_trends_2010_436589.html?subslug=
http://www.channel4.com/4homes/design-style/trend-watch/decorating-design-interior-trends-for-2010-09-12-21_p_1.html

Edwardian Pleasures

This is a bit of a long story.

For a while we (my mother and I (we share a house)), have been pondering on purchasing a new sofa or two if we could afford it.  We have a few issues with this.

1. We have a perfectly good, and stylish original late 60's Le Corbusier pair of chairs and sofa.

2. We would love a pair of 2 seater squishy sofas.

3. Needs to be dog friendly, preferably with removable, washable covers.

4. We would not get them up the narrow tight turning Georgian staircase of our current home.

So we had two solutions. Put up with what we have and be content or move house.

Now for most it would be fair to say would be horrified at the prospect of moving house just to get a new sofa, but both mother and i love houses and love moving.  It is an  opportunity to live in another style and for me a chance to decorate and ornament to my hearts desire.

We begun our research on sofas and houses.  Although the sofa search is relatively easy with all the companies offering deals at the beginning of the year, we took the opportunity to compare prices, time of delivery etc.

I also begun my normal routine of going on all the 'to rent' websites to get back up to speed on the costs on renting a more suitable sized dwelling.  The standard that i was expecting at the top was high, but to my disappointment when viewing i felt let down.

Sure i fell in love with a edwardian detached villa, with stained glass windows, porch, downstairs WC and room sizes that would blow your mind, but when it came to the decor and overall taste it was lacking.  When renting, the AST (assured shorthold tenancy) would prohibit any decorating changes.  If you are allowed to decorate a proviso that you get permission off the landlord or put it back to the way it was in normally added to the lease.

Now, not that i mind i know that it would look better once i had finished it than when i had moved into it, but that really is not the point.  Why are houses that are up for rent fall into a) bland - magnolia b) utterly disgusting c) tasteless.  I am so frustrated that just because we are renting we have to put up with houses that are not homes!

Rant over!

So what do we do now? We carry on looking for better accommodation and then and maybe then we will get our sofa.

Stay Tuned.

Here are a few links for you.

fondationlecorbusier

sofasofa

rightmove

bbc.co.uk - period_edwardian

fromtimespast

The-History-of-Sofas---A-Long-Loved-and-Leisurely-Way-to-Relax

250620092874

250620092874
Originally uploaded by KatherinelvJackson

I took this picture a while ago. But it reminded me to talk about Deco furniture and inspired furniture.

In my house i have a wonderful two seater sofa and two single arm chairs. They are corbusier; and wonderful to look at. However with the adverts on the TV showing discounts on those soft sofa's it is easy for me to be disenchanted with what i have got.

They are not the most comfortable, but they are fab. I think it is a design choice when you chose to keep something that is stylish over comfort.

I do feel guilty about them though, i feel that they are not in the correct setting for them. If i have the space and ultimatly the house i would decorate a room to suit the theme (deco-esque). This would also then require me to buy a new sofa.

Hmm i need to ponder on this thought.

Sleigh bells ring...

As an interior stylist I could dictate to you that Christmas should be coloured co-ordinated. You should have got everything planned at least two months ago and that to be an enjoyable Christmas everything should be perfect.

But guess what, I am not. Why? Because even I do not get that anal about it! Sure if I had a ton of spare money I could invest in a whole new set of Christmas decorations to go up all over the house. But in this climate I just do not see the point.

Instead I am going to tell you what; if anything I am going to do.

1. TRY and enjoy the time off from work.

2. SPEND as much time as possible with family.

3. RECYCLE my old (yes saved) Christmas cards into festive bunting to decorate the small hallway in my house.

4. PUT up my tree and decorate it with the decorations I had last year, make it look pretty and sparkly oh and stick the lights on a timer so I do not have to crawl underneath to switch them off from behind the TV!

5. DIG out the Christmas CD and play constantly.

6. NOT WORRY about all the mess and unorganised-ness of the place – I will save all of that for spring cleaning in SPRING.

7. COOK just enough food for the family and me.

8. FIND all the Christmas inspired DVD’s I can and plan to watch them and not TV.

I am still working on a plan for the wreath at the door, I am thinking of gathering a few twigs (fallen of course) and bundling them together and if I feel brave and venture out in to the garden I may spray paint it!!!

http://familycrafts.about.com/od/christmaswreath1/a/PineConeWreath.htm

I think ultimately unless you thrive on the stress – don’t stress about it. My response to people who comment that it is not Christmassy enough is that they can do it next year and pay for it too! After all it is the fact that you are spending time with family and making an effort to be joyous around each other that matters. Let old dogs lie, forgive and forget and let the New Year herald a fresh start.

If however you want a few more crafty tips there is a load of websites out there.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/christmas/christmas-crafts.html

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christmas/

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/christmas_crafts.htm

http://www.craftown.com/xmas.htm

Although I have to say I was fairly impressed when I went into the B&Q in Canterbury to see their Christmas shop display, not bad on the purse strings either.

Luck be a Lady

Recently I have been involved in some craft markets in and around Canterbury. The lovely ladies at the Lady Luck bar in St Peter’s street, host a monthly craft-tacular market. The setting is truly inspirational.

http://www.myspace.com/ladyluckpub

http://www.canterburywanderer.co.uk/#/the-lady-luck-bar/4534078104

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thorskegga/3826875523/

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=97240340534

I have been thinking on the 50’s vintage style and the two extremes we are often presented with. Although I think this could apply to most interior settings too.

On one hand you are given the perfect 50’s housewife, with all the mod cons and homely comforts and on the other the rock and roll, darker more vice inspired communities.

So how can we translate this to the homes that we live in? Well I guess your first choice is whether you would consider yourself a lover of all things vintage and want to have a few choice items which enhance and make statements. Or in fact you live the life and want to surround yourself with the era of your choosing and only want to use modern day consumerables in a hidden and utilitarian way.


http://photos.gardenweb.com/home/galleries/2007/10/our_50s_kitchen.html&usg=AFQjCNEa4MLda4rsWNKQKJQRlhd9tXhxeQ

It have been my experience that if you already live the lifestyle and want to create it in your home or workplace – like the Lady Luck, that you already have a strong idea about what colours and furniture you want around you, often only needing input to bring it all together and the physical work to get it done. However if you want the look and have no idea how to achieve, then asking an interior stylist/designer like me can help. We have a huge store of resources to help give get an idea of how you want the space to work.

Depending on your budget, the cheapest way to create the look is with colour. But this needs to be carefully considered, to dark and you will look as if your room stepped out of a Victorian Gothic novel, to light and it will look as if you have a Childs nursery.

Try and find original, posters with colours and picking a colour from a piece of furniture can help get the tones right.

If you want to splash out, original wallpaper can still be bought, alongside the modern replicas. Choose, something you can live with for a while, otherwise it will just be a huge waste of money.

If you can visit homes that are already 50’s inspired – even better, no two home is alike. Equally check out all the resources available to you online. Take note the 50’s was a hugely important era of America and as such there are a lot of images and decorative items so if you are looking for a more British style, then consider that Britain was still coming out of the war, and despite advances in things more families could not afford the luxuries and so you need to temper your enthusiasm and look for quality over excess.

If you are just gathering ideas or just browsing about have a look at the link above and the following.

http://www.ladylucksboutique.com/catalog/

http://www.rockabillyrave.co.uk/

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1950houselovers/

Retro Shot

DSC00003
Originally uploaded by KatherinelvJackson

I had a set just like this in my shop! Except mine were priced at £6 bargin I think!

I still have a few retro bits and pieces, i try to do markets and fairs, so if you are on the look out for some thing, stay tuned and I will keep you updated of where I will ne next :)

CAAG and OTAG

Well the second week into the month is always the busiest for me.  I have two evening meetings in two days running.  

CAAG: for those who do not know is Margate's Conservation Area Advisory Group.  We get to have a look at any planning applications that fall with in the conservation area and make our comments/objections on them.  if you are interested in becoming involved then please contact me stylecounsel@katiedid.co.uk and I will give you details or where and when.  The group has a google group (closed group for members only) for easy collation and dissemination of information and a flickr group (again a closed group for members only) so that we can photo-document changes in the conservation area.

OTAG: Margate's Old Town Action Group, has in the last year grown and become a formidable force with in the locality.  It has just started it's summer markets and there is another one coming up at the end of the month. Stay tuned I will post more information on this at a near time. However it is a great meeting to attend it you are a trader/resident or interested party in the historic Old Town. They have even got a community portal website. www.margateoldtown.co.uk So go and check out their calendar of events :)