Taking Shape

With the bedroom finito, I though a living room update was overdue. 

Though far from finished, this space is finally taking shape and feeling more like home. The space in front of the sofa has been filled with a ming-like coffee table, and the bare bulbs hanging overhead are now hidden behind giant white drum shades.

As the days get longer, the need for curtains is becoming more and more apparent, and the 10 ft windows certainly make it a tricky task. Also on the to-do list are 2 bolster pillows (in the sofa upholstery fabric), and 2 square pillows in the perfect shade of pale pink.

Here is what it looks like now:

Spot the kitty (and the plant she is in the middle of taking down, one leaf at a time).

The basket on the table holds all of our laptop wires, earphones, plugs - all the valuables the kitty has attempted to chew through.

 We're getting there.

Sourcing: Opium Coffee Table - Maison Du Monde, Alseda Footstools - Ikea, Hovet Leaning Mirror - Ikea, Nymo Drum Shade - Ikea, Woven Basket - Rachel & Malika's Brixton Village.

Layered

When I popped into Woven Ground to see the rug in this post in person, it wasn't on display in the showroom. I was shown something similar, but unfortunately I was not convinced.

The pile was just a little too deep - the rug too new, too fluffy. So after realising that what I was really seeking was a faded and worn rug, I began trawling Ebay.


Cue hour after hour of looking at antique Persians. It seemed impossible to find the size I needed, at the right price, with the right colours. Hours turned into days. Days turned into weeks. The rugs all started to resemble each other, and I started dreaming about geometric patterns. Then, I had a light bulb moment. LAYERING.

via Lonny

via Milk & Honey Home

The decision to layer 2 rugs opened me up to a host of new options, and the next day I ordered the one: a semi-antique Persian.

The rug is mostly made up of faded reds and pink, with touches of blue and green, and an intricate geometric motif in the centre.

And I'm not the only one loving the new addition.

It works well in the space, but is a slightly too narrow for the room. It is also centred to the room, (not the sofa), so feels slightly unbalanced (to me). So in due course, it will be layered on top of this.

In addition to the new addition, I also finally ordered this Ming style coffee table, which I'm hoping turns up this week.

I initially planned for a glass waterfall coffee table, so as not to take up too much visual space, however I felt it was a little to modern for the eclectic look I'm going for. I think the dark wood table not only adds much needed warmth, but also tones down the contrast of the rug and sofa.

 Watch this space.

Happy Holidays

So it's been a while.

In the last few weeks, I have spent a fortnight in South East Asia, spent several hours in A&E with a chest infection, and spent not so much time working on the flat.

In other words, not much has changed around here aesthetically.

The chandeliers are STILL on the floor, but not for long as we are preparing for a new addition, in the form of a kitten. Kitten + delicate chandeliers balancing on the floor = disaster.

The only significant change in the flat has been the addition of bookshelves, which enabled us to finally unpack the last of the boxes (which were filled with books).

So this wall:

Now looks like this:

The photo in the frame is just something I tore out of Elle Decoration as a place holder, as I got sick of looking at the Ikea Ribba label. It works...for now.

The dining table and chairs are working out perfectly. It's so nice to be able to sit down to eat properly! We are still waiting for the black wool seat pads, but for the time being we are using bright red ones which are just a little too bright for me.

My main priorities are now finding shades for the pendant lights (in place of the chandeliers), making a final decision on a rug, and of course, buying a coffee table.

I probably will not have any more updates until the new year, but by then I expect to be fully recovered and back on track.

Until then, happy holidays to you all!

The Best Laid Plans

It's been a rough week.

We were told by our electrician, that due to the construction of the ceiling, hanging the "terrible twosome" would be more complicated (and expensive) than anticipated.

We're now waiting to hear from the Barratt electricians, who initially said that hanging these lights wouldn't be a problem, and every single digit of mine is crossed. In the worst case scenario, should these chandeliers prove to be as problematic to hang as indicated, we will just have to dismantle and store them until we are in a better position to get the job done.

I was not happy. However, watching the footage of the devastation in the Philippines certainly put it into perspective and made me realise that though disappointing, this can firmly be filed under "first world problems".

As the chandelier saga unfolded, there was more drama brewing in the form of our dining room chairs. They were already about a week late when we were informed that the delivery would be "curb side". As in, they don't bring them into the flat. As in, someone needed to be there to receive them (full time job, shmull time job).

To make a long story short, after arranging for someone to be here, ONE chair was delivered. The company (which shall remain nameless) for some strange reason split the order, and one delivery truck got lost and drove back to the depot - with the other three chairs!

Cue very angry telephone conversations in which they finally agreed to redeliver on the same day, despite it being "not something they usually do", and we received the remaining chairs late that evening.

We had also ordered black wool seat pads, but won't receive them until the new year when they are back in stock. 

In other news, there is this one wall without windows in our living area, that I have been giving the side eye to ever since we moved in. I keep thinking that if I paint it a very dark hue it will visually recede - and bizarre as this may sound I HAVE been missing our old black wall.

 

This wall runs straight into the kitchen, and I was thinking of painting the entire thing (under the ledge).

The boxes contain books, as this is also the wall where our bookshelves will go, like so or similar -

I've also begun to tire of having no where to rest my feet/glass/stuff and so have been giving more thought to a much needed coffee table. I mocked up the moodboard below to show the direction in which I intend to go.

1. "Railings" - Farrow & Ball   2. Glass Coffee Table - Habitat   3. Alsed Footstools - Ikea   4. Persian Rug - Woven Ground

Though I'm loving this merging of aesthetics (contemporary, traditional, and modern) on paper (screen?), we all know that looks can be deceiving. I plan to visit the Woven Ground showroom to see the colouring of this rug in person before making any final decisions, so there will probably be more on these plans later.

Here's to this upcoming week being better than the last!

Let There be Light

In the often elitist industry that is interior design, "replica" can be a real dirty word. In fact, even shelter magazine Elle Decoration recently waged a war on fakes, led by editor-in-chief Michelle Ogundehin and Sir Terrance Conran. Though Michelle is a personal inspiration to me, I must respectfully disagree with her on this issue.

As an interior designer who fell in love with the mid-century design classics whilst studying for my degree, I will unashamedly use replica pieces until my budget allows otherwise. After all, many of theses famous pieces - the molded Eames chair for example (below), were meant to be mass produced, affordable furniture.

Perhaps I should back up just for a second. You may remember in this post, in which I talked about finding the perfect pendants for our new flat. I really liked the basket pendants, but couldn't commit for some reason and always had my eye open for something even better. Then, I saw this...

...and I knew it was the one.

I found the Gino Sarfatti fixture on replica site Milan Direct, and instantly began picturing it in the space (with the help of the internet of course).

via Modern Design

via Jeff Lewis

via Zsa Zsa Bellagio

Modern Living Room by Los Angeles Architects & Designers Paul Davis Architects PC

Contemporary Living Room by New York Architects & Designers Axis Mundi

Modern Dining Room by Dallas Interior Designers & Decorators R Brant Design

I was sold on it immediately.

I twiddled my thumbs for weeks, and on a whim checked the website the other day, quite frankly, just because. It paid off.

The chandeliers were on sale, so bagsied two of them without a second thought (saving £100 in the process). Result.

Buying online can be risky, so I was quite nervous when they arrived, partially assembled, this week. After unwrapping, I was surprised at just how heavy each component was. They seem to be built to a very good standard, though I will reserve full judgement until they are installed. I've also added them to my CAD model and I love the drama they bring to the space.

Do I hope that one day I can afford the real Sarfatti chandeliers? Of course. But until then I will enjoy my replicas unabashedly.

The Plans

It seems like just last week I was in the park, basking in the sunshine. In fact, it WAS just last week I was in the park, basking in the sunshine. Now it feels like suddenly autumn has been thrust upon us, without even so much of a grieving period for the long, warm evenings that are no more.

Ordinarily this transition is the cue to for my usual "I hate winter/winter is stupid and serves no purpose" chat, but things are different this year.  This year, as the seasons change, we're preparing to move to our brand new flat.

Gone is my praise singing for period flats with their tall ceilings, sash windows, and charm (although not quite). These days I'm looking forward to double glazing and underfloor heating, and hoping that they will make winter easier on me. I'm looking forward to my first full sized fridge in 7 years, and more adequate storage than "behind the sofa".

I realised that I had not yet shared much about the space that we expect to call home so soon, so with that said, these are the floor plans!

As you can see, the ground floor is quite narrow, which at first posed a small issue when choosing a sofa, but we have since decided to replace the door into to the lounge with a bi-fold style like this or this, to free up some space. We are keeping our Eames rocking chair, and we definitely want a hide rug, so these are shown on the plan.


In the mean time I have been preoccupying my time by looking at similar duplex flats online.

via Freshome

Contemporary Bedroom by Toronto Photographers Andrew Snow Photography

Modern Bedroom by San Francisco Architects & Designers Feldman Architecture, Inc.

via Avant Garde Gothic

via Modern House

via Pinterest

These are all much larger than our flat, but hey a girl can dream.

The Sofa Saga

For the last 7 months, I have felt a bit like Goldilocks, searching for that "just right" sofa bed.

Easier said than done.

My first choice was Karlstad in Lindo Biege as not only was it easy on the budget, but also ticked all the boxes.

...And there were a fair few boxes to be ticked.

I wanted a sofa with wide, low proportions and clean lines. I wanted a sofa in a neutral colour with thin arms...but not TOO thin arms. I wanted it to have a structured shape, but at the same time I wanted soft enveloping cushions. Oh, and it HAD to have a bed in it. And a partridge in a pear tree.

With the exception of the partridge in the pear tree, Karlstad had it all.

via Ikea

I thought it needed just a quick leg upgrade, and bish bash bosh, job done.

I walked around for days, smug in the knowledge that I had found my perfect, inexpensive, sofa bed. My bubble was swiftly burst upon realising that the sofa bed only came in one size, and that that size was about 15cm too wide for our space.

In the months that followed, I threw my toys out of the pram on more than one occasion, as I crossed sofa after sofa off of my already small list of options.

Lawrens Sofa

Otto Sofa

Harry Sofa

You can now see just how apt the Goldilocks comparison is.

Finally, I decided to pop into Sofa Workshop and see what they had on the shop floor, as sometimes looking online can be misleading. Luck was on my side in the form of the beauty below.

Behold, Brandon:

Brandon Sofa

Brandon was the exact shape I was looking for, and was available with dark legs (though the legs are slightly shorter than shown, to accommodate the bed inside). We chose an oatmeal coloured linen fabric for upholstery and saved about £200 in the sales.

I wasn't crazy about the pillows (I would have preferred if they had piping along the seams like "Harry" above), but the store staff were very helpful and arranged for me to have extra fabric delivered along with the sofa, so that I could have custom pillows made. I feel that the linear shape of this sofa is begging for bolster pillows and I'm looking forward to transforming it to something that looks a little more like this:

via Easy Living

I'm now officially counting down the weeks until we move - only 5 more to go!

Basket Pendant Lust

This image is fast becoming the hussy of the internet.

Photos of this St. Barts home have been doing the rounds for ages now, and I'm pretty sure that somewhere I have the very magazine issue that the shoot features in.

The high contrast colour scheme is balanced by the baskets, a touch of greenery, and of course the over-sized rattan pendants that really just seal the deal for me. They lend the room much needed warmth, and provide texture in the most spectacular way. They are also single-handedly responsible for my 2 day, marathon-like internet search, of all images basket pendant related. Here are my favourites:

IBDB

Residence

Contemporary Living Room by Sydney Home Builders Capital Building

Annaleenas Hem

This then led to me desperately trying to source a similar pair for above the living area and dining area in our new flat . After looking, brainstorming, and then looking some more (and even plotting to have big baskets sent over from Burma to convert to pendants), I found this little beauty - right. under. my. nose. (She can even be stained or painted).

 

Benjamin Dhong

Remodelista

I then crossed my fingers and prayed to the lighting gods that the scale was right for our new space. According to my CAD drawing, the larger size is pretty spot on!

So, I think these may be the ones, or at least are top of the list right now. I tend to change my mind constantly when it comes to designing my own spaces, and with a move in date that is still a vague "between August and September", I'm definitely keeping an eye out.

In the mean time, suggestions are more than welcome. If you see something that you think I would love, send it on over!