Just 'Doing Up' A House for Christmas...

Can’t anyone just do up a house?

I suppose it is a bit like the food programmes, you see it being done, you know the recipe, but doing it yourself and making it work is another thing all together, it is exactly the same for the home.
I met a friend at the weekend who has just bought a house in a beautiful village in Hampshire. They were at ours for a birthday party and waxed lyrical about the finish and detail we had achieved at our cottage. Their comment was “well anyone can do-up a house”.  Well of course they can, just like anyone can paint a picture. In fact anyone can have a go at just about anything – possibly not surgery unless you are totally bonkers!




Stephanie's Cottage in Dorset

The thing I find so difficult to understand is that you would allow your biggest personal investment to be “sort of done”!! Why on earth are people happy to pay for a solicitor to create their will, or for a hairdresser to cut their hair, and all of these are no more than hundreds of pounds and can be redone; whereas if you build a rubbish extension or decorate your house in awful colours it will cost you thousands to be redone, or worse, you are unable to sell your house for the amount you feel you should get.

Cottage Proposed Floor Plan

Surely to spend a fee to a professional designer to advise them on the redecoration/ redesign/ extension of their home is without question the obvious route, thereby negating mistakes and affording the owner a planned and structured schedule of work.  However this does not seem to have filtered down into the psyche of the majority of home owners in this country.

Scheme Board

Ok whinge over – Christmas is the time for entertaining. Many of us do not have a dedicated dining room and use our kitchen table for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  To make it special for that Christmas meal I recommend the following:

Table Setting

• Tablecloths are a must – this will create something a little grand with minimal effort and cost.

• Floral arrangements – Take 1 to 3 Oasis blocks 17 x 17 x 17cms wedge a candle in the centre, a colour would be great. Begin with foliage first, using bulkier leaves for the base to create the shape - Laurel or Ivy are good for this and in abundance in Winter gardens. If you keep the lengths at around 12 cms per stem, you should get a good shape by placing an even spread around the Oasis. Add your flowers at the end, say 6 roses per arrangement.

•  Layering your crockery creates a really sumptuous look for your table. Place large plates to the bottom with a smaller plate on top, finished off with the obligatory cracker.

• Finally, there really is no substitute for the festivity of candlelight. Plenty of tea lights sprinkled around make for a sparking table.

Good luck, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from everyone at Stephanie Dunning Interior Design!

The Rights and Wrongs of Reds...

Now that both our daughters’ weddings are done and dusted it is time to update the blog. Yes I agree, two daughters getting married 6 weeks apart is interesting!

Right, down to business. We are just putting together some details for a magazine article and we were asked what reds do we like to decorate with? The answer we gave was a “French Red” and of course the next question was “what is that”? We were not sure we knew the exact answer to this so after a bit of research we have decided that “French Red”  has blue in it unlike pillar box or crimson red. French Red has a deep warm tone, more like a burgundy wine. The fabrics we like are the Kate Forman “Pandora” and the Nicole Fabre “Mariotte, Moulin Rouge” both these linens hold the colour in a beautiful soft dense way.

Nicole Fabre Mariotte Moulin Rouge Fabric
used to band curtains

In the picture above the Nicole Fabre "Mariotte Moulin Rouge" is used to band a curtain made from de la Cuona’s Peasant Cloth Cove, a wonderful weighty linen, beautiful when used to upholster or curtain.

The picture below with the Romans in the Kate Forman Pandora shows this fabric in a sitting room in a Dorset cottage, used here it gives a bit of punch but does not overpower. The neutral linen curtains and F&B Light Gray paint work set it off well and the wall lights in bronze sit beautifully with this colour, so much better than brass or chrome.

Sitting Room with Roman Blind in Kate Forman Pandora Fabric

Although we love Red fabrics we find red paint does not float our boat, all a bit 1980’s. However what can look fabulous is say Zoffany’s Raspberry Sorbet  painted on the walls of an old Elizabethan sectioned timber framed wall where the colour is broken up with oak framing and the walls are not at all regular. This can look deep, rich and warm; make sure to get some velvet and brocade in there too!  We have come to realise that to use red paint at all successfully on walls, they require an amount of detail, say panelling so as to not look one dimensional and flat.

Never use strong reds in large light airy rooms - even if they are dining rooms - always stick to light colours. However if you do have a north facing room without much natural light, whatever the size, then may we suggest The Little Greene Paint Company’s French Grey Dark. This looks fabulous with a French Red fabric at the window or on the chairs, in fact all the French Grey scale looks good with French Reds – soo much French!

Bedroom with Nobilis Check Headboard
and Red Wool Throw

 

 

The picture above with the red check fabric as a headboard and the throw in red wool, shows how this colour can work as a sensational show stopper in a small but punchy bedroom. This fabric from Nobilis gave this tiny bedroom just the right amount of detail without being too busy. The walls are papered in Andrew Martin’s Blazer Charcoal wall paper, again that deep grey brown sets off the red tones.

 

Whilst we are at it, the feature wall has surely had its day. Either be brave enough to paper/paint a whole room in a strong colour or do not bother! Get some fabulous original artwork which can move with you when the time comes - so much more of an investment!

 

Decorex and Focus 12

Yesterday was a whirlwind of lectures, Decorex, Focus/12 and chicken sandwiches eaten on the courtesy bus. Not a moment was lost.

 

 

Centrepiece at Decorex

 

After a quick flit round Focus/12 (Chelsea Harbour), where we loved the Porta Romana Miro Pumpkin ceiling light (see below), we went into the Kelly Hoppen lecture. We have started doing at least one lecture during these shows as it confirms we are either doing the right thing, or if not, then what we need to be doing to get better.

 

 

 

Miro Pumpkin Pendant - Porta Romana

 

 

 

 

 I was circumspect at going to Kelly Hoppen’s lecture but Niki my design assistant was keen – she was so right. Kelly Hoppen was brilliant. She was erudite, informed and informative, she has amazing energy and was so enthusiastic. It is not a matter of agreeing with every design detail she chooses ( if so we would all be doing the same thing) but gaining an insight into her passion for design and life which was so reaffirming to other designers. Giles Kime was definitely star struck! She however managed to breeze through the interview/lecture without his help. I was however amazed at Kelly Hoppen's partnership with QVC! Think I am definitely missing something here?    



Kelly Hoppen's London Loft

 

Onto Decorex where we flew round. We spotted gorgeous new fabrics and wallpapers at De la Cuona,  Teasel England, Evitavonni (Innovative backwards!! Clever or what!) and Beaudesert (Cecil Beaton collection). We also loved the tiles and stone at the Stone and Ceramic Warehouse and Lapicida . We are working on a wonderful project in Italy on Lake Como and having spent a couple of days in Milan last week the stone and marble at Lapicida was better than anything I saw there.

Sharon Marston - Dujardin Pendant

 

There were quite a few Games companies this year and the Games Room Company had a shuffle board on their stand amongst other things – I want it!! (sadly need a bigger house), we also loved the lighting at Sharon Marston especially the Dujardin overhead light/chandelier? We are so ready to design a sumptuous town house/penthouse with all the new products we saw. Finally the Rug Company had some beautiful cotton dhurries which will fit wonderfully with our trademark linens we so love.    

Moghul Rug - The Rug Company

 

Then back to Focus/12 where we went to the Kit Kemp lecture. A complete change to the Kelly Hoppen one but nonetheless fascinating. Again she was engaging and informative. However when asked what project started her career I think marryng the owner of a hotel chain kind of gave the game away. Her designs are different and fresh as there is no actual formula. I would not want to have the look in my house but a visit to one of her hotels is a fabulous experience. Not run of the mill and different – so refreshing.



Drawing Room - Soho Hotel by Kit Kemp

 

So to the end of the blog and my top tip. “Dark rooms/Rooms without much light”. How do you design/decorate these?

 

The rule of thumb is if the room is dark go with it, paint/wallpaper in deep warm colours. The enclosed picture is a shower room without windows, we painted it in Marston Slate Blue (everything was this colour the ceiling, the skirting and architraves) we wall washed the shower walls, down lit the washbasins and added a wall light behind the loo.

 

 

 

Shower Room

 

 

The vanity unit was designed by us but made by the English Joinery Company and hides a rather ugly bit of pipe work perfectly behind gorgeous sycamore veneered drawers. The whole thing was stained black and topped with fabulous limestone to contrast all those dark colours. Other colours that would work are F&B Downpipe, Zoffany Shaker Red and Little Greene Basalt. Don’t be afraid to paint everything that colour but remember to add clever thoughtful lighting and the odd very large mirror.

 

Happy decorating!!

 

 

 

 

Weddings and Websites...

This is my first Blog, to coincide with our new web site, I am planning on doing one each week,  always with a few photos and at least a couple of tips. If you have not seen the new web site please do look as there are some recently completed houses and flats we have been working on for the past two or three years which look amazing but then I am of course biased.

The picture below is the cover photograph of the web site and the cushions which we all love are a mixture of linens, wools and silk damasks, piped in contrasting fabrics with the largest at 60cms square and the smallest 50cms square. The stool is deep buttoned and covered in a sumptuous velvet. Cushions do become the icing on the cake. 

I meant to get this blog done the first week of Sepember but our eldest daughter Rebecca married the gorgeous Jeremy on the 1st and so it has been pretty busy. I enclose a couple of photographs from the glorious occasion, which was held in a corn field in Dorset complete with combine harvester.

The flowers in the marquee were done by the fabulous team of Niki (my design assistant), Lulu (sister in law), Sarah (mother of the groom) and myself. All 22 flower arrangements took forever but were well worth it and such fun. The church flowers were done by the hugely talented Pippa of Tussey Mussey flowers and were just right, not too formal but wonderfully large, glorious and country. Top tip with flower arrangements - make them as large as you dare.

We decorated the sides of the marquee with twine, small corn and lavender filled jars and pegs on which to hang all those wedding hats. It really livened up the sides, with barely a spare peg in sight.

I can really recommend trees in a marquee whatever the occasion as they give height and break up the large volume of space which seems to make marquees feel so cavernous and dull. Each one had a set of fairy lights with the pots wrapped in potato sacks and baler twine, thank you Ashley and Kate.

Finally, I could not resist putting this last photograph in of the beautiful early evening light looking through the marquee to the unharvested cornfield beyond.

 

Many thanks to all for supplying the photography enclosed, special mention going to Tiddy Maitland-Titterton for taking the official photographs of the big day.