Parisian style

Looking to add Parisian style to your home?

See below for some hints and tips.

Colour inspiration

I just love this colour, perfect for creating drama in a room.

Starting a new scheme

When you are decorating a room at home, pick your favourite colours and begin from there.

The starting point doesn't have to be from a paint card, it could be from 

- cushion

- blind 

- piece of amazing fabric

- vase

- art work

White Christmas

Have a white Christmas with Farrow and Ball.

Colour of the Year 2018

Pantone has now announced their Colour of the Year for 2018.

Ultra Violet.

What do you think?

It's Friday, yay!

Colour inspiration for your home

There is always an opportunity for colour inspiration while out and about.

Shopping in Liberty recently I noticed these balls of wool on display.

The colours are perfect for Autumn/Winter decor in your home.

You may already have some colours in your home but had not thought

about putting another colour with your scheme.

Inspiration is everywhere.

Where do you find your colour inspiration?

The House of Dior

I recently visited The House of Dior at New Bond Street, London.

This room display stood out to me with the beautiful pink wallpaper

with bee motif.

The grey, white and pink colour scheme is just so elegant.

Grey is a colour which runs all through the House of Dior from art

sculptures, flooring to furniture.

It's worth a look just at the decor in here and the icing on the cake 

are the products to purchase!

Autumn is around the corner - get cosy!

September is here again!

If you are looking to update your home for Autumn/Winter the 

perfect way to do this is a nod to Scandinavian style.

Even though this style is based around white which can seem cold,

it can easily be warmed with with natural materials.

Wood, wool, faux fur are just a couple of things

you can include in your home to make it cosier for the 

cooler weather which is on the way.

Layering textures on your sofa is a great way, open up 

a throw and spread out on the sofa with cushions on top

of this. 

In the kitchen add some natural wood by displaying wooden 

chopping boards utensils.

Layer up your bed to create the perfect environment for relaxing

and sleep.

A-Z of Art Deco Style

A - Art archives

Take inspiration for your art deco styling and start with some great wallpaper.

B - Bathing beauties

You can choose to style your bathroom in monochrome or use colour.

C - Cocktail hour

Celebrate the weekend, or any evening with stylish cocktail accessories.

D - Dress up for a meal

Get dressed up and enjoy a meal in your gorgeous dining room.

E - Escapism

Sit stylishly and comfortably in the best seat in the house.

F - Film fantasy

Take inspiration from great films.

What colour is turquoise?

How to tidy up your book shelves

Got messy book shelves?

Don't know how to style them?

After a de-clutter, start with everything off the shelves and on the floor.

It's much easier to put things back onto the shelves and edit again as you go.

Don't forget you can display other items with your books, including frames, sculptures pots, photos, flowers ......

If you have lots of books try putting them in colour order, but only do this once throughout the house.

Even office shelves can have an edit and a make over!

If you love a certain wallpaper you can even cover the back of your book shelves for extra interest, especially if you intend using it as a pure display area so the paper shows through.

Want to show off your bookshelves?

Share before and after images on our Facebook page or tweet us @debfielding!

What colour is teal?

Country Style Lounge before and after

The design brief for this country style lounge was to brighten up the space.

The stone fireplace had to stay but was making the room feel dark.

By changing the light fittings from 3 single pendants to three 5 arm chandeliers this made the lighting more of a feature and provided much needed light.

The floorboards were painted white as these were in great condition and it was a shame to hide them under carpeting.

Adding cream sofa covers brightened up the room and then by adding mercury glass accessories and a large mirror (which is out of shot) to reflect light around finished off the look.

How to make odd numbers work

When displaying objects in your home or garden, make them look really effective by using odd numbers.

Sets of 3, 5, 7 .......

Whether this be plants, photo frames, candle sticks, mirrors.

What colour is taupe?

What colour is ruby red?

Hanging pictures and mirrors

Things to think about

Do not drill directly above or below light switches or plug sockets as cables conventionally run vertically up from light switches and down from sockets.

A cable, pipe and stud detector is an essential tool to help locate timber studs and identify the locations of electricity cables and water pipes below the wall surface.

Consider what type of wall you are working with – for example, a solid wall or a hollow stud wall – and use appropriate fixings for the weight of the picture or mirror.

Lightweight pictures and mirrors can be hung from a pin picture hook hammered into the wall, but check first that the plaster is sound. You want the pin hook to go cleanly into the plaster and not cause it to flake away.

Masonry walls will accept some picture hooks and masonry nails. However, for heavier pictures, a screw fixing is required with the appropriate size wall plug, to ensure that the weight of the picture can be supported. A power drill or drill/driver will be required to make the necessary pilot holes.

With stud (hollow) walls, plasterboard is attached to vertical timbers called studs and horizontal timbers called noggings. Locate a timber to screw into and you have a solid fixing for the nail or screw. To hang heavy pictures on a stud wall you must find fixing positions directly into the studs.

Mirror adhesive or selfadhesive mirror pads can be used to stick lightweight mirrors to a wall surface. Do not attempt this with anything but the lightest of mirrors.

Using two people to hang a picture is best, as one can hold it in place while the other can stand back and make judgements on height and position.

Picture wire is better than string for hanging pictures, as the wire will not stretch or wear through.

Lighting is important to show off pictures to their full potential. Consider having picture lights fitted, above a picture, or directional spotlights that may be tilted and positioned as required to highlight a special picture.

An impression of space can be created by hanging large mirrors in small rooms. They can also help to bring more light into a dark room, by reflecting the natural light.

Equipment you may need

Cable, pipe and stud detector

Safety glasses

Spirit level

Tape measure

Screwdriver

Pencil

Carpenter's awl (bradawl)

Hammer

Hang lightweight pictures and mirrors

Picture hanging kit (if you have lots of pictures to hang)

Picture hooks

Hang heavier pictures and mirrors

           

Power drill (for masonry walls)

Drill/driver and bits

Screws

Spiral/self-drilling wall plugs (for stud walls)

Hollow wall anchors (for stud walls)

Hang unframed mirrors

           

Mirror screws (for mirrors with predrilled fixing holes)

Mirror brackets (for mirrors with no predrilled fixing holes)