Worship your walls

It’s easy to feel a bit nervous about using wallpaper with all the pattern, colour and occasional bit of texture that it brings, but I think that wallpaper is a wonderful decorating tool and following a few key principles will help to achieve just the look that you are after.

As with any scheme, it is important to find your own style and stick to it, and this very definitely applies to your wallpaper selection. From traditional to modern, and all the styles in between, there is a wallpaper for you, so keep looking until you find a design that works for you.

Angie Lewin’s wonderful wallpaper with a hand drawn feel in beautiful knocked back colour tones www.stjudes.co.uk

By contrast, if you like a wallpaper to make more of a statement, Osborne and Little’s Tessella could be for you. www.osborneandlittle.com

If you are using a wallpaper, don’t be afraid to hang your pictures – the pattern will still provide a good backdrop to your artwork. This classic country trellis pattern wallpaper creates a lovely background to the pictures – and the impromptu cocktail bar!

Fired Earth Walled Garden Broughton  www.firedearth.com

Look at the paint colours for your ceiling and woodwork carefully as generally you want them to blend with the colour tones in the wallpaper. If your ceilings are low or sloping, think about wallpapering them – be brave, it will look great!

The low sloping ceiling of this room is disguised by wallpapering it in with the walls. Beautiful Blue Roses wallpaper by Kate Forman www.kateforman.co.uk 

 

I generally think that if your wallpaper is patterned (rather than a textured plain paper) that a plain curtain works better. However, there is the odd occasion that using a matching curtain and wallpaper can look stunning.

This very classic damask pattern wallpaper from Lewis and Wood looks wonderful with matching curtains. Lewis and Wood Venetian Damask http://www.lewisandwood.co.uk

Wallpaper is a great way to add personality and fun to your children’s rooms and there are some great new patterns on the market for you (and your little princes and princesses) to choose from.

Gymkhana wallpaper from Rockett St George www.rocketstgeorge.co.uk

Les Bidules wallpaper from Pierre Frey www.pierrefrey.com

Happy decorating!

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Five top tips to a stylish home

Cate was recently interviewed by Cambridge Magazine and she was asked for five top tips to creating great interiors. Here are some of her tricks of the trade.

Be bold with your style

Statement chairs in a contemporary home

This is advice that I give in my classes and that I always try to apply to my design work and what I mean is to know your own personal taste and be confident in it. If your interior style is say neutral, calm, quiet, shabby chic, then don’t be afraid to boldly execute this in your design work. We can sometimes get confused by thinking that there are things we must or must not do in our homes, or that there is good or bad taste in interior design, and when we deviate from our personal style, this is when blandness can set in. Trust your own taste and try to apply it to all elements of your home.

 

Accessories change everything

Flowers, lamps, books and pictures all help to personalise your space

 

Whether you are undertaking a full renovation project or simply freshening up your home, good accessorising makes a huge difference to the final result. Try to bear your own personal style in mind when selecting your finishing touches as it is easy to make a mistake when the purchase is not expensive, and make sure you think about what accessories you need before you shop. If in doubt, add your accessories slowly and see what looks good and the old saying of ‘only have what you know to be beautiful or useful’ is just as true with accessories as with other areas of the home.

 

 

Don’t forget your lighting

Concealed lighting adds glamour to this display

You can create a beautiful interior space but without good lighting, it will never shine. Plan your lighting with the uses of the space in mind – activities like working, reading, putting on make-up need task lighting whilst artwork, favourite spaces and beautiful pieces of furniture need feature lighting and so on. Having some contrasts with lighting will make your home seem larger and more interesting and using separate switching for different lighting types will enable you to change the feel of your home depending on whether you are entertaining, watching TV, working or even cleaning!          

 

Colour is king

Warm blue and cream makes a lovely space of this boot room

 

Colour is an interior designer’s best friend. A coat of paint can add character and personalise a space, create light and dark contrasts, highlight features and create a warm or cool, calm or stimulating, comforting or inspiring impression depending on what you want to achieve. Although the paint on our walls makes up a large part of the colour palette of a room, the flooring, fabrics, furnishings and accessories of a room all play their part in creating a look so consider your colour choices as a whole before selecting your paint or wallpaper colours.        

 

 

Think differently

We are bombarded in the media by images of what the modern home should look like, and we can sometimes lose our own imagination. If you go back to basics and think about how you want to use your home and what you want it to look like, you will start to create a picture of how your home can work for you. Only then will you start to select images, products and ideas from outside sources that will work for you. By using this approach you will be able to create a unique home that truly reflects your personality.

 

A collection of sporting trophies creates a lovely personal feel

 Let us know what you think?

Did you see the article, or do you have some design tips of your own? We’d love to hear from you!

 

 

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New collections from Osborne and Little

We have set eyes on the new collections from Osborne and Little and Nina Campbell this week and we are delighted to say that they are lovely! Wallpapers, fabrics and trimmings in up to date versions of classic designs and all in delicious, delicate colours. Watch this space, they may be featuring in designs coming to you soon!

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Getting summery – in spite of the weather!

The weather forecast may be terrible but as it is June, it is important to be ready to make the most of whatever glimpse of summery sunshine comes our way. So in order to be prepared, here are just a few house and garden goodies that will help you make the most of summer.

This article first appeared on the Cambridge Evening News website 

 Cox and Cox Wicker window box planter

 

 This very stylish window planter is made from wicker with a black liner so it is perfect window sills. It also looks fantastic from both inside your home and outside, so is a good investment, even when the weather is unreliable.  

Hen and Hammock Stooble

  

The Stooble is a table and a stool and this gorgeous little item is perfect for the garden, camping trips and children’s parties. It also folds up neatly into a little bag which is perfect for transporting and storage.

Graham and Green paper plates Paper A-Z Plates and Cups

 

  These delightful alphabet plates and cups from Graham and Green are ideal for parties, picnics and al fresco dining. Not only are they fun and stylish, they are also very practical as you are never going to forget which cup is yours!  

Cox and Cox Fragrant OutdoorFirelighters

 

Come rain or shine, the British barbeque is never cancelled so even if you are cooking under the garage door, add one of these gorgeous little firelighters to the charcoal and you will get the delicate scent of bay leaves, rosemary, chilli and thyme which will make the air smell sweet and flavour the food.  

Hen and hammock Ladies raffia sun hat

 

 It may seem unnecessary now but when the sun breaks through, you will be glad of one of these elegant raffia straw hats. In four lovely colours these hats are made from natural raffia so will keep you cool in the heat.

 Odd’s old rocker

 

For the true optimists amongst us, this garden rocker is the perfect item of furniture for any stylish garden. It is fully upholstered and available in a range of fabrics for you to choose from. It is also water proof so can be left our all summer long.

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Love your home

With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, we hope that you are getting that loving feeling, and of course we think it is highly appropriate to show your home some of that affection as well as your sweetheart. Here are some of our favourite products in inject some subtle romance into your home.

This article first appeared on the Cambridge News website

You can’t get more romantic that this ‘Love Letters’ wallpaper from Andrew Martin – up close you will see names and addresses in beautiful hand writing and date stamped in the 1830s. A beautiful backdrop to any interior scheme and unusual enough to make a statement, it would be great to use on all walls in a room, or just inside a wardrobe to make you smile in the mornings.

It’s true! – all you do need is love (and, we would argue, a fab home). These wooden panels will make a joyful statement in the right place in your home – they are very striking so need a neutral backdrop and some eye-catching furnishings to balance them up. And possibly two very cute children to complete the look!

The Rug Company do some truly beautiful rugs and none more so that this Love Heart rug designed by Vivienne Westwood. It perfectly balances romantic and stylish and is an investment piece that will last you for many Valentine’s Days to come and all the days of the year in between.

New bedding is always a treat but these pillowcases make a perfect accessory too and if you want to make a statement this Valentine’s Day, well these should probably do the trick. They come in red, blue, pink, black and cream lettering and are in cotton poplin.

And finally, I just couldn’t resist this Heart Door Knocker from Jim Lawrence – sweet and stylish, it brings just a hint of romance to the entrance way to your home. Beautifully made as with all things from Jim Lawrence, it is hand forged and come in four different finishes.

Happy Valentine’s Day from all at Angel and Blume!

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Wonderful in Wool

Melin Tregwynt has been a firm favourite of Angel and Blume for a long time and we love their blankets, throws and cushions, not just for the beautifully soft warm wool they are made in but also for their gorgeous colours and designs. If you love the images below, have a browse through their website www.melintregwynt.co.uk because you are bound to find more things to tempt you. Lampshades, scarf or shoes anyone?

    

    

      

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New Exhibition at the Lynne Strover Gallery

Lynne Strover’s new exhibition start this Saturday at her gorgeous gallery in Fen Ditton. Paintings by Peter Joyce and Ceramics by Jim Malone are featured and I am hoping that there will also be some of Rosemary Vann’s beautiful prints to see – I know where she keeps them if they are not in the exhibition!!

I think it is really worth a visit and if you can’t make the private view this Saturday 2-5pm, the gallery will be open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until 5th November.

www.strovergallery.co.uk

Peter Joyce

Jim Malone

Rosemary Vanns

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Cabbages and Roses in Black and Neutrals

We all love Cabbages and Roses for their pink, light blue and soft red roses but their homewares style guide on their website shows how gorgeous their designs also look in black and smart neutrals. I was really blown away by their lovely and inspiring images and whilst once I had browsed through the whole style guide, there seemed to be quite a few things in my shopping basket. Viewers beware!

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Book Club

Our new evening classes started last night at Angel and Blume (see more at www.interiordesigntalks.com) and as the subject of the first class was ‘Finding Your Style’, I chose ten of my favourite books to show a range of different interiors style to the group. These have been sitting on our meeting room table all day so I thought it was a good opportunity to share some all time Angel and Blume book favourites with you! Here are the first five, more to follow later……

 

Practically Minimal

Maggie Toy Published by Thames and Hudson ISBN 0-500-28370-2

Minimalism can be thought of as huge, bare white spaces but this book presents beautiful liveable pared down spaces that focus on light, textures and materials and it makes even an accessories junkie like me want to go home and have a good clear up. It is a truly inspiring book that presents elegant, comfortable spaces that are a triumph of form AND function and I would urge any of you that love the minimalist way of live to invest in this book – I love it and I am sure you will too.

 

Contemporary Chic

Rozemarijn de Witte Photography by Hotze Eisma

Published by Conran Octopus Limited ISBN 1-85029-925-0

I have owned this book for many years and I keep coming back to it for ideas. It is full of comfortable, relaxed, carefully thought through interiors that all have a contemporary slant but often in a period setting. I think it is a very useful book for most people undertaking a project and there are so many lovely images, there really is something for everyone.

 

Shoestring Chic

Gail Abbott with photography by Mark Scott

Published by Cico, ISBN-13:978-1588163097

Gail Abbott wrote this book from her heart and she lives and breathes the art of shabby, shoestring chic. This book is about restrained beauty, seaside influence, vintage Swedish, French antiques and understanding the style so thoroughly that pieces picked up from a charity shop, flea market or car boot sale, anywhere in the world, will look a million dollars when they installed at home.

 

Perfect English

Ros Byam Shaw with photography by Chris Tubbs

Published by Ryland Peters and Small ISBN 978-1-84597-344-5

For me, this book captures the heart of English decoration – it isn’t the perfect, beautiful decoration of Henrietta Spencer Churchill or Nina Campbell but the real look of an English home that has evolved over the years. It encompasses farmhouses, stately homes, townhouses and cottages so if you love a bit of home grown style, this book is more than worth a look.

 

 Dream Homes, 100 Inspirational Interiors (and More Dream Homes, 100  Inspirational interiors, same authors and publisher, ISBN -13: 978-1-8589-4377-0)

Andreas von Einsiedel and Johanna Thornycroft
Published by Merrell ISBN-13: 978-1-8589-4349-7

A friend of mine bought me this book a while ago and initially I thought it wouldn’t be one of my favourite as it is simply a collection of beautiful homes. However, I have to say that I have found so much inspiration for my project work and for my own home that too many pages have been torn out and a new copy has had to be purchased! A really good book if you are just starting to identify your own style and want a wide range to look at and if that still isn’t enough for you, there is the aptly titled follow-up, More Dream Homes!

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Beautiful Bedrooms as featured in Cambridge News

Turn your bedroom into a haven with fresh tones, crisp textures and a dash of luxury. We bring you decorating ideas to suit any style.

In the summer you want your bedroom to be cool fresh and inviting, so make sure it’s kept tidy and clutter free.  The bed, styled by Zimmer and Rhode is wonderfully glamorous with a textured bedthrow,  fabric covered headboard and velvet cushions piped in hot pink. Teamed with a simple side table and a soft blue wall it looks cosy and calm.

For a bit of drama why not make a statement with an oversized upholstered headboard. This one by Chelsea Textiles might be a bit extravagant, but you can adapt this idea to suit any sized room, just choose a fabric that you love and be bold.

Or keep things light and airy with zingy accent colours. This lime green bedthrow, bright towels and simple flowers are all the decoration this bedroom needs.

For a gorgeously rustic look, try using linen bedsheets rather than cotton. The Linen Works is our favourite for this and the beauty of linen is that the more scrumpled it looks the better!

When the evenings start to get cooler you’ll appreciate a soft throw to drape over the bed and Melin Tregwynt have the best selection of throws and blankets in a gorgeous range of shades and patterns. They are all made in Wales and are a firm favourite at Angel + Blume.

Image credits: Zimmer + Rohde, Designers Guild, Chelsea Textiles, The Linen Works, Melin Tregwynt

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