We are all enjoying the warmth of the August sun but there is nothing nicer than coming in from out of the heat into a cool and breezy home. I am loving the soft patinas, the cool, calm interiors of French country living right now, so I wanted to share with you some of my favourite styles for various rooms around the house.
White washed floors, pale patinas on the walls, natural rugs, white, crisp cotton bed linen, painted furniture, candles, glass lanterns, voiles, shutters and chandeliers are all that will inspire you to create the look of a French Chateaux.
Here are a few of my favourite looks:
I think we have all said "wow" recently when the suddenly the temperature rose to over 30 degrees and we saw the sun for more than just a few hours. Well let's hope Summer stays a little longer and we can enjoy the garden and the out doors for a few more weeks.
People often ask when they are refurbishing their homes or just decorating a single room that they would like to create the 'wow" factor. So how is this created? Well first of all you must accept you need to change your ways about colour and how you live. Move out of your comfort zone and try something different.
People often are attracted to colour or shape but very often creep back to something neutral and safe, they are often too nervous to try colour in their own homes. A good exercise is to flick through 2 or 3 magazines and cut out a few pictures that catch your eye. Do this with a friend and then discuss what you like about the picture, it could be the colour, the item itself, it's shape or it maybe the scene or the material the item is made from. Start to list a few key words associated with the pictures and then apply them to your decorating board to help you identify a colour scheme or a pattern for a fabric. This will start your ideas flowing about how you may want to decorate and furnish a room.
Always try to make each room stand out from the next but don't go over board. What I mean by this is that each room should have it's own identity but the next room must have a connection with the last, this way the house will flow more easily, feel relaxed and calm. A place that is stress free and feels like home and not just a place you live in.
For example, rather than painting one room red and another blue and another green etc choose one colour for the whole house and alter the tone /shade lighter or darker from one room to the next. The house will flow instantly and moving from one room to the next will feel effortless. Add the colour in the room by altering the way you light a room, experiment with a floor lamp instead of a ceiling light, create moods with lighting, soft furnishings and window treatments, blinds, curtains or shutters for example. Add strong colours that contrast with the wall colour by using lamp bases, art work, vases, clocks or cushions. Think carefully about the flooring, make sure a room does not blend as a whole by choosing the same colour from floor to ceiling. Use a contrasting colour on the floor to the walls, add some wallpaper as a feature or add a vibrant rug or grand fireplace that makes a statement to the room. Go bold on texture and mix different materials together creating a tactile environment.
If you like a piece of fabric or item of furniture, even if it is just one cushion, use this as your starting point for colour and build the wow factor into your room from here.
Here are a few examples of how rooms can have the wow factor with just a few simple items of furniture or by adding a bit of colour which can be carried through out the whole house.
Now the Summer has arrived, or maybe not.. We are all enjoying the longer, lighter days and evenings. This has inspired me to think about how we can create a light filled room all year round, that not only enhances our well being but has numerous other benefits too. Creating different ambiences throughout the day, wide panoramic views, the feeling of space and height, low energy homes and enhances our homes desirability.
For many ideas to create a light filled, sun soaked home, planning is not always required.
Here are a few ideas to create that light inspiration:
Bi- fold / sliding doors
Roof lights / lanterns
Sash windows
Glass walls
Front doors
Glass extensions
Now the air is warmer and we are seeing more of the sun, the weekends beg for BBQs and parties! Whether it is a lazy brunch or cocktails and nibbles on the patio, there is nothing nicer than eating alfresco, so here are a few ideas to make the most of the sunshine and eating outside...
Choose a corner of the garden that will give you and your guests the best view of the garden, make sure your planters are full of colourful bloom and the lawn is neatly cut.
Decorate your table with a fresh linen table cloth and arrange clusters of colourful glass lanterns all along the table, it is a good idea to use a few citronella tea lights to keep those annoying little garden bugs at bay! Create a table centre piece with an arrangement of garden flowers, large, bright, colourful blooms or maybe just a few clusters of lavender tied together by garden twine and scattered along the table. Just above the table tie some bunting and for the evening, wind fairy lights through the trees and dot clusters of larger lanterns near steps or door entrances.
Provide some comfortable seating with a range of brightly coloured summer cushions, here the conservations and much laughter will flow; remember to add a little shade for that midday sun and for the evening, when the sun goes down provide a few throws to snuggle under and keep you and your guests nice and warm.
Stay away from using plastic or paper tableware, there is nothing worse than your guests trying to cut through delicious BBQ food with a plastic knife and fork on a plate that is bending under the weight. If you don't want to use your best china and understandably so, opt for colourful wine glasses and fresh, bright white stoneware plates that can be decorated with the use of colourful summer napkins and cutlery. Enjoy!
Are we seeing a little more sunshine this week? April is a good time to get outside and start to tidy the garden. The weather is a mixture of cold winds, sunny spells and heavy bursts of rain, some are even, still experiencing snow!
So whilst the weather is deciding what to do, here are a few things we can do with the first of our May bank holiday weekends:
Clean the patio
Edge the borders
Prune back hedges
Weed the borders
Give the lawn a cut, not too short!
Clean up the BBQ
Once this is done you can start to think about the warmer, longer lazy days a head; so maybe put out the garden furniture.
By adding a few colourful scatter cushions, some gorgeous Moroccan lanterns and a fancy parasol you can create a whole new look.
Here a few of my favourite looks for the Summer garden:
Enjoy!
GR x
The weather is all over the place at the moment but hopefully Spring is here at last. The days are longer and we are gradually seeing more sunshine, so that means more time out doors. With Easter behind us we are all now looking forward to spending more time in the garden. This time of year we tend to go a little mad and have a good spring clean indoors, so why not put some of that March madness into your garden. Start by planting up pots, mowing the lawn, cleaning down the patio and preparing hanging baskets.
Here are some ideas for making your garden more gorgeous this Spring:
Outside storage:
Potted planters:
Bistro table and chairs:
Summer Houses:
It's time to cut the top off the lawn and prune back any deadwood amongst the shrubs, Spring bulbs will now be in bloom and can be enjoyed for the next few weeks.
Clean off any algae from the patio and garden furniture so you are ready for the warmer weeks a head. Enjoy!
