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