I use the word ‘giddy’ a lot when I’m talking about decorating and things to decorate with. And that’s because I do, indeed, get extremely giddy when I find something that I truly love. Those who are with me, and get to witness the ‘moment’ in real life, will report strange high-pitched noises coming from my mouth and perhaps a little jigging type dance, accompanied by fluttering hands that are trying their best to contain the excitement coursing through my entire body. It’s a visceral reaction to something beautiful that gives me joy; and is supremely superior to its opposite reaction, the sound of me vomiting into my own mouth when I see something I hate (think 1980’s shiny grey leather sofas that should never still be in manufacture. But are. And tend to be advertised on the telly on a bank holiday Monday).
This excitement and giddiness is exactly what happened when I first clapped eyes on the exquisite rug designs of Wendy Morrison, and I can’t wait to share her amazing talent with you and show you the stunning rug I have of hers, that has slotted seamlessly into one of my room schemes for the Fungalow!
Welcome to the Fungalow! Or at least, to the start of our decorating journey that will hopefully result in a Fungalow!! I’m not sure what you might think of my new little name for our house? It may be that you’re firmly in my husband’s camp, where his toes visibly curl in his shoes and a strangled, helpless groan emanates from his throat every time I say the word. But when I catch him shaking his head despairingly at me, I tell him (in no uncertain terms) to put his tongue firmly in his cheek; and to channel his inner Barry Manilow…he needs to think flamingos and palm trees, drink Piña Coladas from coconuts, sing Copacabana at the top of his voice, and don a big pink feather boa over his shimmying shoulders whilst dancing the Cha cha cha. My husband can get away with a bit of pink (and a shimmy), so I don’t really see his problem.
BYE BYE MY BEAUTIFUL MABEL, RIP MY DARLING GIRL
Sadly, this is the second time within the space of a year that I’ve had to write a post like this. A year ago we lost our beautiful fur-baby Tilly to cancer, and now, less than 12 months later, we’ve had to say goodbye to our gorgeous girl Mabel, yet again to cancer. I am not going to write too much today, as I am finding it very difficult as it’s only been 2 weeks since we lost her, and I just keep getting too emotional.
INTERIOR SPOTLIGHT: NICOLA’S COLOURFULLY DARK VICTORIAN HOME
Even though I’ve had an Instagram account for a while now, it’s actually only been the last month or two that I’ve started using it on a regular basis, and to be honest, I wish I’d started sooner! I could waffle on for a while about community and like-minded people, about making contacts for your business, and all the inspirational images you can find. But for the purposes of this post, I’ll stick to the pertinent point that, during my Instagram travels I have discovered loads of amazing decorators out there, with really beautiful homes that are completely swoonworthy, and I’m loving every minute of it! Every evening, I drool all over their lovely images and I’m forever grateful that they can’t actually see me, or they might feel a bit disturbed.
FLOWER FAFFING (A.K.A. ARRANGING) AT FROG FLOWERS
I’m about to tell you about an amazing flower arranging workshop I went on a while back, so please don’t be misled by the title into thinking that all we did for a day was a bit of ‘faffing’, because the girl who taught us was super-talented and she in no way faffed! It’s just that I seem to find it almost impossible to resist a bit of alliteration, especially when it comes to titles. And faffing is actually a bit more accurate for what I personally do at home with flowers when not in the expert hands of a florist.
6 PRETTY FLOWER DISPLAYS FOR SPRING
I’ve been trying really hard recently to ensure I blog on a Monday and Friday, which is all I can realistically fit in around my work, but this week I didn’t get to post anything on Monday. Sorry about that. I was too busy travelling down to Hampshire to do a measure at a client’s and breaking down on the M40 because I stupidly ran out of fuel (I eventually got to my client’s after waiting for the recovery man on the hard shoulder for 90 minutes and paying £160 for the privilege!) *Massive red face* So, after ‘one of those weeks’, it’s good that it’s a short one and we’ve got the lovely long Easter weekend ahead of us. But I didn’t want to go a whole week without blogging, so I thought I’d squeeze a very quick one in today. And what better way to celebrate Easter, and spring in general, than exploring some really pretty ways to display all the lovely flowers that are beginning to fill our shops.
COLOURFULLY PAINTED CEILINGS (MY CLIENT NEEDS ONE!)
This week I’ve had the pleasure of visiting one of my clients to discuss finishing off a couple of her bedrooms. My lovely client Donna, and I, started working on her house about five years ago now, and slowly over time, we’ve decorated most of her house. The majority of the work has been done and the rooms are looking lovely, but we just need to finish them all off before we embark on a major re-working of her master bedroom suite. It’s all the little details we need to address, you know the thing…rugs, pictures, ornaments, throws, cushions, shelves, etc., the things that make a room feel lived in. So, rather than tackle all the rooms in one go, we’re going to just concentrate on her daughter’s and son’s bedrooms for now. And in particular for today’s blog, her son’s bedroom, as I really think we need to paint her ceiling a different colour! See if you agree…
COLOUR CONFIDENCE: HOW TO DECORATE WITH YELLOW
I’ve been thinking a lot about yellow recently. I think it’s because I do most of my thinking when I walk the dogs, and for the last week or so, when we’ve been out and about on our walks, and as spring is finally blossoming, my heart has been gladdened to see swathes of beautiful, sunny yellow daffodils all over the place. I have always loved seeing yellow daffodils; more than any other flower, they herald the change of seasons to me, and their golden colour makes me think of sunshine and summer and long warm days. And as the girls and I walk along and I admire the sunny flowers, I get to thinking about my soon-to-be-decorated guest bedroom which will be wallpapered in yellow swanned loveliness and I realise that yellow makes me happy, that’s it’s an uplifting positive colour in the world, which should be adored and loved by the masses.
SPOTLIGHT: IBRIDE
THE COOLEST ART BRAND IN THE WORLD. FACT!
My favouritist (I’m allowed to use made up words) art brand ever in the world is Ibride. It’s a French design company whose name means ‘hybrid’ and when you see their furniture and accessory designs, you’ll see why they named themselves as such. When expanding my shop’s offerings from fabrics & wallpapers to accessories for the home, Ibride was at the top of my list and I was mega excited when they said yes, I could stock them, as I am in love with everything they design. Not only do they produce exquisitely painted animals (and you know I LOVE my animals) in gorgeous outfits, but the company’s products are quirky, fun, beautifully crafted and original.
MY TOP TEN FAVOURITE CHAIR MAKEOVERS
Many moons ago, before either of my shops, and way before I even dreamed of being an interior designer, I went to college to learn upholstery. I remember at the time wanting to take an old-fashioned craft and funk it up a bit, and after trolling through the college list, I landed on upholstery. I did it part time for about 3 or 4 years I think, my memory’s quite hazy, but I soon realised that I didn’t actually enjoy the practical upholstery work, which was about 90% of the labour, I just liked putting the pretty top fabric on, with pretty trims! So I gave up doing the actual work, choosing instead to take my stuff to a far more qualified upholsterer, and continued to indulge my passion for revamping antiques by simply designing their new covers. Over the years, I’ve been lucky enough to design all sorts of chairs, either for client’s schemes, or to sell in my shop; and today I thought I’d share with you my top ten favourites:
