ESPC Feature: Part II

Tomorrow my feature in the ESPC will be lining paper recycling bins so don't forget to pick it up if you're out and about today. Alternatively, the feature is now up on the ESPC blog for all to read.
For those bold enough to go for a dark colour on their walls, here are the images from the dark living room set up. They were staged in the husband's bar, The Last Word. As much as I tried to convince them to go for black on the walls, when they first opened, they chickened out and went for a very dark green, which actually looks great in the space. The bar was a perfect backdrop for my dark interior set up as I could contrast with that awesome raspberry 'birdie' lamp; another coveted item borrowed from Catalog, on St. Stephen Street, along with those gorgeous cushions. Check out the sale (ends on 2nd February) for some great designer pieces at bargain prices! I love the table top on that little art deco side table (borrowed from Cherubim), it's such a great colour.

The husband was pretty chuffed with how the bar looked in Rachel's photographs. I took that as positive feedback. Either way I enjoyed doing it and would love to do more!
Arm chair: one of a pair I found in a Glasgow charity shop (2 for £40!) | Black textured cushion and red aztec cushion: borrowed from Catalog | Cow hide rug: mine | 'Birdie' lamp: borrowed from Catalog | collection of books: the husband's | art deco table with blue painted table top: borrowed from Cherubim | plate, bowl and glass bottle vase: mine | Butterflies: borrowed from The Last Word (found on Ebay) | Beetle print: ours (a gift) Hagedornhagen
See ESPC Feature: Part I here.. Follow ESPC facebook page for regular posts and more info.
Photography by Rachel Hein

ESPC Feature: Part I

Check it out! As I mentioned here, I was asked to write a little piece for Edinburgh's free, weekly property paper, ESPC, about interior trends for 2013. The issue hit stalls on Tuesday and I'm really happy with how it looks (and reads)! Pick it up from estate agencies and most bank branches, this week only, or like the ESPC facebook page for a sneaky peek. If you want to read my trend predictions check out the ESPC blog next week.

I thought the best way to illustrate my points would be to set up a couple of different room settings so I planned a light and a dark arrangement and asked Rachel Hein to take the photos. Rachel took fantastic pictures of Sebastian and Kingston at the beginning of last year so I knew she'd do a great job. I asked the lovely Dixie of Catalog on St. Stephen Street if I could borrow a couple of items from their gorgeous shop, when I started to panic that a whole load of my stuff chucked together just wasn't going to cut it! They stock beautiful contemporary furniture, lighting and accessories, from the likes of Hay and Foscarini, (two of my favourites)! I spent quite some time choosing what to borrow from the showroom floor and was very upset to have to give back that white side table!
Here's a closer look at the light arrangement which I set up in my living room.

Weathered leather sofa: mine (2nd hand from Retrouvius) | Black and white throw: mine (2m of wool fabric from John Lewis haberdashery department) | Sheepskin: mine (IKEA) | Skull and antlers: borrowed from The Last Word Saloon | Belle & Sebastian poster: Sebastian's (from StrawberryLuna framed in white with black frame interior by Carol Coulter) | Candelabra: ours (a wedding gift (muuto)) | Black vase: mine (IKEA) | Tall jug: mine (from The Adam Pottery by Lara Scobie) | White metal framed tray table: borrowed from Catalog Interiors | Black and white striped runner rug: mine (Broste Copenhagen).

I've always been interested in doing a little writing and I loved the styling aspect of this little project so hopefully I'll get to do some more of both in the future. What do you think of the outcome?
Photographs 1 & 4 taken by me, 2, 3 &5 by Rachel Hein 

Rachel Hein Photography

It's almost a whole year ago, that Rachel Hein came to our home and took these amazing photographs (amongst others) of Sebastian and Kingston. Sebastian was six months old and we wanted to have some beautiful pictures to record this stage of our lives. Aren't they great?
Rachel was so relaxed and after a chat and a cuppa she started snapping away. We weren't even in the room for this shot! Kingston is such a nosey dog (typical boxer), that he had to 'oversee' and slowly edged his way into the limelight. I love the result and I'm so glad Rachel let Kingston poke his nose in.
A photo shoot is such a lovely idea if you have new additions to your family, or for a kid's birthday party or just to record something special like your family decorating the Christmas tree. I love the ideas of getting vouchers towards a photo session, or prints, as a Christmas gift. Check out Rachel's blog for more photos and this super cute shoot she did for Perdie & Boo.
I loved the result of our family shoot so much that I asked Rachel to help me out with an exciting interiors editorial project I'm doing at the moment. The still life scenes are completely different to the active kids she's used to snapping but the results are brilliant! More on that very soon so watch this space!

Rachel Hein Photography

Resin-ate

My uber-creative sister-in-law, in the 'world down under', introduced me to some pretty awesome stuff from Dinosaur Designs this week So, in turn, I am sharing them with your lucky selves.
I never get bored of resin. I think it's the smooth-but-matt texture that makes it so tactile...and those colours are just so milky sweet. The new and old collections are all worth a look, here.

As you may know, if you follow me on twitter, it was my birthday on Saturday and said 'SIL' sent me this awesome message via Instagram. Foooolly seeeck maayte...x

You may be able to tell from the images, that I also received a new toy; a Wacom Bamboo, from the husband, son and dog! So expect more of my handwriting splattered all over images, á la the ones above! I did well!

Yeah...Ok...Instagram

For snippets of day to day life you can follow me on Instagram...if you like. It can be food and family heavy but hey, that's where my life's at right now...

Instagram users search username 'yeahokbye'. PC users can follow via webstagram here.

The Zoo

I thought I'd had my fill of all things safari after visiting Edinburgh Zoo (for the first time) a couple of weeks ago, but by the looks of theses photographs, it appears I'm still drawn to interiors with skins, patterns and textures inspired by the kingdom of animals. I went with quite a few members of my family, some of which were over from Australia, to see the famous pandas. As exciting as the pandas were, my highlight were those of another monochromatic nature.........As the heavy rain of the Scottish summer drenched us, my mum and I, separated from the group and pushed a sleeping Sebastian, in his plastic covered pushchair, to the top of a ridiculously steep incline, to see the zebras. There were five of them, all sheltering from the rain, standing under the viewing platform. They were beautiful...perfect. And so close. It was the end of the day and the zoo keepers started calling them up to their shed. The zebras ignored them for a while but after a couple of whistles, they flicked their stripey, funnel-like ears and trotted up the field like obedient dogs. Magnificent.
The point of my rambling? Inspiration from nature in design is, as always, excellent. I love the giraffe inspired rug in this beautiful, masculine interior. 

Much to my disappointment, there are no giraffes at Edinburgh Zoo (Sebastian had a toy giraffe with him on the day to compensate), if there were, they may have stolen the show but for now, the zebras reign...in the rain. 
P.S. The shiny, wet hippos (mum, dad and baby) grazing, came in at a close second place.

Interior photographs by the super talented Phillip K. Erickson. Zebra photograph by me on my iPhone 4, then edited with Instagram.

The Last Month...

I thought I'd share a little Instagram round up of my goings on this past month. It's been pretty hectic but it seems 'hectic' makes for some interesting images.
Highlights have been the opening of the husband's new bar, The Last Word, and the first bar, Bramble making it into The 50 Greatest Bars on Earth in The Sunday Times Travel supplement. We also enjoyed a trip up north to Glencoe for a friend's birthday, and watching Sebastian discover Kingston's tail one rainy Sunday afternoon was pretty cute...

Edinburgh castle in 5pm sunshine | Sebastian finds a new toy | Bramble makes it into 'The 50 Greatest Bars on Earth' according to The Sunday Times | a gift from my sister (handmade!) | my grandfather's orange lamp on my great aunt's piano in the corner of my living room | coral and leopard print | the best pizza in Edinburgh | Sebastian eating 'Lolipop and Grandpa' (illustrations by Cate James) our current favourite book | the husband opens a new bar, The Last Word | Liberty fabrics | Cramond beach | Sebastian's heart shaped birthmark | mummy and daddy swans with 9 cygnets at Rouken Glen Park | Kingston gets comfy on the new old sofa | 'Spaces' by 'Frankie' magazine arrives from Oz | bargain purchases | Kingston looking super white (and a little confused) after a bath | a few days in Glencoe | mmmm...antipasti | 'homely' Stockbridge market Edinburgh

Thinking of Sunshine...

In a few weeks we're taking a trip. A trip to the other side of the world. A trip to a place where, right now, it's summer. We are, to say the least, excited. So here's a little summer balminess in the form of a spring/summer 2012 sneak peek from b.young. It's going to be a bright summer...oranges and pinks all over the place! Which is just as well because apparently 'Tangerine Tango' is Pantone's colour of the year!

We are not too excited, however, about travelling for 24 hours with an 8 month old baby who loves his routine and will be between nutritional stages...any tips will be gratefully received!

My Kitchen

We got a new kitchen fitted about five years ago. We had the tile splashback applied in July of this year. It's easier to make quick decisions, as an interior designer, when there's a deadline and you're spending someone else's money. When it comes to my own home, little decisions take approximately five years, evidently. It doesn't help that I'm a Libran. Anyway, I love the result. Here's a sneaky peek...

Photography by me

Naked Nursery

When I was pregnant I wanted the baby's nursery to look something like this. 

 I still LOVE this look but now that Sebastian is 4 months old, his response to bright colours is incredible (and exciting considering his daddy is colourblind!). So far his nursery is still a work in progress...not that he even notices...and we are slowly collecting colourful bits and pieces, including these, and this to add to the pale gray walls we finished just days before he arrived (we're fly-by-the-seat-our-pants types). I'm so looking forward to the day it's done...if it ever is...
P.S. Still want the white rocking sheep!
Images from Smallable Christmas catalogue

Aikwood Tower

Whilst I was off growing a baby, I was also working on a very exciting refurb project in the Scottish Borders. Aikwood is a 16th century tower about 40 miles south of Edinburgh, deep in the beautiful Ettrick Valley. With many an outdoor pursuit on its doorstep, my client felt the 5 bedroom tower was in the perfect location to be transformed into an luxurious exclusive-use holiday let and wedding venue. His parents had lovingly restored the tower from a ruin into their home in the late 80's and were now ready to to pass it on to the next generation.
We had three months to turn it around so it was intense and stressful but pretty exciting and everyone was more than happy with the result. I'm pretty proud of it, even if I do say so myself...

We sourced local tweed from Andrew Elliot and Hinnigan (who also made the gorgeous cushions and throws) and scoured antique markets from London to Glasgow, and everywhere in between, to source key feature pieces, furniture and lamps that sit comfortably next to the brand new bespoke items. After many doubts, lots of persiverence, a little convincing, plenty of elbow grease, not to mention the searching, sourcing and shopping, it all came together in the end. What do you think?
P.S. It looks even better in the flesh...so go ahead and book a long weekend of luxury...
Photography by Douglas Robertson

Sebastian

So...I had a little blog hiatus. For around nine months I didn't feel too inspired in the way of blogging so I thought it best to take a break.
In the meantime, I grew a baby...and this, blogworld, is him...


Many thanks to those who stuck around, apologies to those who have abandoned and hello to those who are new. I promise not to become a mummy blogger and continue, as much as possible, in the same ilk as before, although I can't promise a completely baby free blog from here on in...x
pictures taken by yours truly