Living Room Envy

Black, white and blush pink. An elegant combination I've been seeing a lot of recently. I'll take the loft too.

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Three's A Crowd Pleaser /// Leather

Following on from my first post of 2013, here's another trend prediction for this year: Leather. It's a fairly timeless texture but little hints of it, faux and real, will be rife this year. This chiffon blouse with faux black leather collar and pocket details is so pretty but I'd love to get my hands on that mirror (check out this DIY clock version). That day bed's tubular steel base adds an industrial element covering another trend for this year...bonus! I've mostly seen black PVC and leather popping up everywhere but I'm a sucker for this more natural tan hue.

mirror / blouse / day bed

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 

Inside Down Under

I love this interior by Australia based, Scandinavian designer, Anna Carin. It's a good one to add to the inspiration bank for that terraced house renovation project I'll find one day. There are some great tips here for getting the most out of a narrow space. The opening at eye level between the entrance hall and the dining space borrows light and extends the view across the limited width of the house. The kitchen is my favourite space; one elevation is made up of horizontal lines creating an illusion of a longer space. The other, shorter, elevation has tall, narrow units to contrast and maximise storage space. All in all, a very clever and beautiful space.

Images from Anna Carin via Yellowtrace's pinterest board.

Framed

I know...it's already the 7th January. It took me a while to get back in the swing of things after enjoying lots of family time. I hope everyone has detoxed, recovered, purged the Christmas tat and already broken all resolutions ready for another fun filled year ahead?!
To take us all into the new year I want to share some predictions of interior trends with you over the next few posts; Something I was asked to write about recently for a local property paper, soon to be published.
I think we'll be seeing lots of beautiful metal framed pieces, powder coated in black or white, or bare naked brass, copper or steel, like these incredible lights by Iacoli & McAllister. I love the simplicity of the single pendant and the drama of the cluster but the two piece is my absolute favourite.

I've seen tables, lighting and and  accessories already and still haven't seen a single metal framed item I didn't like! I have my eye on a white powder coated frame coffee table from Catalog pictured in a previous post (more to come on that very soon). My letter to santa must have gone awray because it wasn't in my stocking on the 25th...

Cabin Fever

Take a look at the beautiful photographs, by Brian Ferry of The Blue Hour, of his friend's cabin in the Angeles National Forest in southern California. Quite possibly the perfect and most whimsical place to spend the festive period. Where ever you're spending yours, I hope you have a lovely family friends and food filled few days. Merry Christmas. x

For more Cabins, check out Cabin Porn.

Three's A Crowd Pleaser /// Animal Heads for the Nursery

Bodie & Fou's decorative animal heads are an excellent way to fill a space on a kid's bedroom wall. Choose from Mister Elephant, Mister Fox or Mister Polar Bear. 

My Stylin'

Last week I set up a couple of little corners in two very different spaces for a feature I've been asked to do about the trends for the new year for Edinburgh's property paper. One little corner was in my flat and the other was in The Last Word Saloon. I had lots of fun styling the shots with photographer, Rachel Hein, and the results are better than I'd expected so I'm pretty excited about seeing them, in print, in January.

I borrowed the cushions, the red 'birdie' lamp and that beautiful, white metal framed side table from Catalog in Stockbridge; my new favourite shop. It was very difficult to give that table back...my living room is a lesser place without it. I have notified Santa...

The little art deco table with blue painted top was borrowed from Cherubim, a great little gallery on St Stephen Street with an ever changing stock of interesting upcycled furniture for sale. It's always worth a visit for an unusual statement piece.

The antlers were visiting my flat from The Last Word and the rest of the stuff is mine...received as gifts, bought, found or inherited over the years. 

I promise to share the final shots and pictures of the feature when it's been printed but in the meantime here's a sneaky peak of how the day went from behind the scenes.

If you reeeeaaaaally can't wait you can see some of the shots here. 

Main photograph by Rachel Hein, the rest were taken by me.

Home Stylin'

Check out this great interior styled by Emily Henderson. I love the easy mix of white walls with richer darker corners and the bright pops of colour. This, to me, is a great 'home', bursting with the family's personality and character. The gallery walls, layered textures and glass pendants give it such a relaxed, welcoming feel. That's a great way to hang kid's pictures too!

Photography by Bethany Duart

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

Lindsey Adelman

Incredible lighting by Lindsey Adelman. If I was ever to describe lighting as sexy, this would be it. Sexy.

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