I urge everyone out there to stay away from the tat and take a look at these lovely things that will help you join the party but still be stylish enough to grace your home when the hangover kicks in! There’s some statement pieces and some smaller accessories so you can decide how much you go to town on them.

By the way each one of these brilliant items is made in the UK and by some very talented little designers – so all in all you can feel very smug all round about the support you’ll give by purchasing them.

First up – these stamp cushions by The Colour Union, £68.00.

Range of colours, including black and white, or the more Andy Warhol pop are style. Also have some fab pouffs and chairs.

Next, Snapdragon Jane has designed these wonderful mugs, available for £9.50 each!

Ideas for your wall number one (maybe for the MOST patriotic of you!), I love this Vivienne Westwood for Cole and Son, £139.00

And following on my love of typography prints, this fantastic crown print from Arthouse is just £15.00

How brilliant are these London Phone Box Candle Holders, £29.95 from The Vintage & Handmade Gift Company, I want them!

And this is next on the things I want! Fantastic doorstops from Lily and Lime, £25.00

Then my last, is these wonderful cards from Rosie Wonders, £3.50.

Send them out as brilliant keepsakes for all your friends. (btw I’ve just ordered one of the other designs as an anniversary surprise for the other half, they’re fab!)

So there we go – British, stylish and independent – what more can you ask for? Please don’t use these all together either – one of two pieces are tons more effective that the whole crate! Hope you all have a lovely bank holiday weekend over the Jubilee!

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

Whether you’re feeling really brave and bold, or want some colour that’s not too powerful, these two collections from Voyage Decoration will work wonders to brighten up your home:

Voyage Studio Line

Let’s start with the brave of you – take a look at these fantastic little numbers! All the designs are available on a linen or velvet background which makes them really versatile and useful for many spaces. I see these working brilliantly in a kitchen or living room that needs a boost of colour to bring it to life. For maximum impact, use these fabrics in rooms with few features of their own, and layer up the fabrics through curtains, cushions, and prints to create an eclectic mix. For a contemporary look make sure you mix a few prints together, so for example two florals, a stripe and the leaves. For something a little bit more traditional, just stick to two patterns and mix in lots of plains to match. Just a little word of warning – be a little bit careful when using them in a room with any view (like a garden room perhaps) as they’ll tend to dominate and detract focus from the outside view.

Voyage Country

Following on from it’s first selection of hugely popular Country range, Voyage have added to this with some stunning new designs. They are all a little quirky and add some real personality to the rooms they are used in. The colours are more muted than the Studio Line range but they are still incredibly effective at brightening up spaces and making you feel more summery. I love the wobbly

stripes printed on linen and the lovely hand painted aspect to the animals, welly boots and watering cans! You’ll feel much more comfortable mixing these fabrics together to create your own look as it’s a more classic design with colours complementing each other, rather than competing. Also, try these in different rooms than you might first think – they’re perfect for guest bedrooms and children’s bedrooms as well as kitchens and utility rooms!

If you’d like to see any of the fabrics in the flesh, or in other colour ways then get in touch and we can arrange for samples to be sent out to you.

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

The series of articles focus on renovating your home, where to start, what to avoid and general tips and tricks from myself, and other other interior designers, all with the aim of getting your home to look fantastic. If you take a look at one of the feature images you may even recognise one of my projects.

It’s really lovely to be able to help more people make the most of their homes through this series of articles, and hopefully enable them to achieve the look they want, first time and on budget, and I hope you all enjoy reading them! It’s really interactive too so you can leave messages on here or on the Yahoo! website to let us know what you think.

You can read the articles by clicking on the links below:

Re-decorating – where to start

The 10 biggest decorating blunders

How to choose a colour scheme

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

One of the most loved trends is the boutique hotel look. Clients have a wonderful time away in a hotel and get in touch with me to create a similar feel for them in their home.  It’s really special in the master bedroom for example, as it really gives you your own little sanctuary.

So how do you go about creating this? Well, here are 5 key design features to follow:

1. Layer up – texture is key

Think warm, cosy, textured fabrics and use lots of them. Wools work especially well in this look as they add a real snuggly feel, like hibernating away. Add texture and fabric wherever is possible – cushions, throws, and curtains all need to be overstuffed or interlined so they are lovely and thick. Use trims and borders to add some real detail and create your own look. You don’t need tons of cushions (because really can you be bothered to put heaps of cushions on the bed every single morning?) but the ones you used need to be large and nice and thick. Hollowfibre pads work best, and preferable over 50cm square. You can get an idea on how many different textures, fabrics and ideas are used in just one room in the image below:

2. Go large!

When you break down the items in hotel rooms, you’ll see there’s not actually that many of them, but what is in there is on the larger size. So lamps are used to fill spaces, and large lampshades create drama. Ceiling lights are the same – if you have the space go one or two sizes bigger than normal as you want to make the most of every piece in the room. The same with curtain poles – make a feature out of these with heavier, thicker curtain poles to give windows even more prominence. This look is about making the most of each feature, not about cramming the room full of furniture.

3. Add something extra

Saying that, if space allows, you can really get an amazing hotel style bedroom by adding a piece of furniture that’s just ‘nice to have’. If space isn’t a problem, add a chaise longue, reading chair or ottoman at the end of the bed adds more texture, but also makes the room more than just a bedroom.  It makes is a room and a living space. Or what about a little mini bar fridge hidden in the wardrobe?!

4. Bed Symmetry

Most hotel design is built around symmetry and balance – in the bedroom it’s two bedsides, two lamps etc with everything around, and on the bed, in pairs. The bed really is the focus of the room and everything around it needs to balance and work together.

One little tip here is don’t restrict yourself to table lamps by the bed. They often take up most of the bedside table so some slim floor lights (with swivel heads) with large shades tucked behind the tables or beds is a really good use of space.

5.  Co-ordination is key

Cohesion and coordination amoungst all the items is fundamental to achieving this look – choose a colour palette of two, or three colours and stick to those for the basis of your scheme. Use these colours in different tones throughout all the elements of the room and mix and match them throughout to create a ton of interest and depth to the scheme. You can always add in something quirky, but the real base level of the room needs to be very well coordinated.

Best places to create the look? I love Osborne and Little and Zoffany for their strong, timeless designs that are full of drama. Lombok furniture is also fantastic for clean lines and solid wood pieces, and 4 Living Furniture is a great place for sustainable, durable furniture in simple, enduring styles.

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

Already a big fan of Jocelyn Warner wallpaper designs. I have the lily design in my bedroom and it’s just fantastic – cheers me up whenever I go in there! And so am not disappointed with these beautiful additions to the collection:

The great thing about Jocelyn Warner’s designs is that they are at home in so many spaces – from period Victorian homes to brand new flats, they lend themselves so well to adding a unique sense of style to the home and are guaranteed to be a talking point.

Prices start at £55 per roll, all all designs are available in different colourways, but used in the right areas, the effect is definitely worth ten times that. Get in touch if you’d like a sample sending out!

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

With many suppliers displaying some fabulous products, that are set to be big is 2012, so here’s my take, from that show, on the trends that are due to be big:

Traditional shaped furniture with a modern twist

We’re talking classic design, but brought right up to date. Sofas shapes are looking back to the 1950’s and even earlier to inject some real glamour and form back into our upholstery.  They’re far cosier than the early designs though.

These chairs show exactly how this trend works – with a traditional wing chair design covered in charcoal wool and lifted with the mustard silk cushion.

Bright, bold colours

This year, bright and colours are going to be hitting our homes with a bang! Different colour palettes lend themselves to a number of styles – from more muddy colours for the retro schemes, tropical colours for modern, clean spaces, and strong, period colours adding depth to traditional interiors. Used in various different ways, they enable you to stay on trend and on budget. I have to say, these modern, bright lights really stood out for me – perfect for family spaces!

All in the detail

Less is definitely more in this trend, and it’s about keeping it quite minimal, but ensuring the detail speaks volumes throughout the scheme. Sofas with contrasting trims are going to be very big, following on from how we’ve seen a rise in popularity of contrasting buttons on various upholstery items.  Using patchwork is still a lovely way to make your interior unique – as seen on one of the entrance displays on the way in to the arenas – this display was great at showcasing a real vintage theme, set off with these fab chairs.

But be careful here as it has to be used in the right way – too much detail and it all merges in to one. Choose your pieces carefully to ensure you get the right impact with them.

What’s ticking all the boxes?

Well, for one example, this fantastic new range of occasional furniture. It would work in so many homes and you don’t have to be a fan of the 1950’s to love it. Just the bookcase alone in a dining room or hallway would create a fab focal point – plus it literally hits every one of the trends above!

And what’s not?

Well for me, it has to be this sofa and chair set…

Just a little taster – but hope it’s got you excited to start thinking of ways to update your home! Would be great to hear your thoughts so feel free to add your comment below

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

I know that my flat isn’t to everyone’s taste, but I absolutely love it! I love bright colours and bold patterns, but only used in the right amount as I love the clean and airy feeling. I’m really in to prints where the inspiration is natural items such as leaves. Sophie Warren-Smith was the stylist on the shoot and it was great to work with both her and Lu.

The readers comments were really positive which was a relief to be honest. It’s always nervous showing your own home to others as they expect a lot from an Interior Designer. One of the readers, Leigh, said “You can tell Anna is a designer as her home is fantastic – one of the nicest I’ve seen. Painting the doors green was brave, but works really well”. Thanks Leigh! If you’d like to leave me a comment too, then there’s a box at the bottom of this page.

Excuse the not so great photos of me, but I’ve scanned the article in for you to have a look at too:

Sophie is a brilliant interiors stylist who works for lots of magazines. She has her own blog “all things stylish and beautiful” which you can read here. Lu is a fab photographer who reguarly features in home magazines. To get inspiration from other homes she’s photographed, take a look at her website.

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

So I thought I’d ask one of our previous clients how the process was for them. I worked with Ann and Trevor on the renovation of 3 of their rooms (you can read a little more on the project page here…).  It was a huge renovation project and so heres how they felt during the project and why they sought the help of an interior designer:

Ann, you have a really good eye for interiors yourself, so what made you look for an interior designer?

The main reason for deciding to go with you was time.  Working full time at that stage meant that I did not have the time to source either decorators and/or products.  In addition Trevor and I have very different tastes and although I usually get my own way I thought it would be good to get a third person’s view on what would work!

Were you nervous? If so, how did you feel and did this change as the process went on?

Yes we were nervous especially as we both like to think we know what is best and because we were investing a great deal of money in this project!  We had to get our heads around trusting someone else to carry out both the design and the work and that did not come easy.  This was the first time we had used an interior designer so both of us did not really know what to expect and it did take a while for us to just let you get on with things.   We gradually learnt to do this by you showing us that you could deal with any thing we needed.

Do you feel you had a lot of input in to the project?

We did have a lot of input and found that you were always willing to compromise whilst keeping to the design themes agreed upon.

Does it feel like your home?

Although everything is done to a high specification it is still a home and is very comfortable whilst being very impressive.

So even if it might feel a bit nervy at first, the brilliant guys who work with me on the renovations and I ensure that we’re in control of everything, in as much contact with you as needed and in the end, deliver a fantastic result!

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

The room designs had to have mass appeal with the emphasis on the carpet itself, and rooms designed to show how the carpet can suit many styles and tastes – without a specific one to work towards. It was a real challenge to work on but really enjoyable!

My favourite shot was this bedroom one – we designed two totally different themes using the same range of carpet, to show how the same range can be used across a number of schemes and tastes.

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna

So I opened the September news from Harlequin about their new Kallianthi range and thought ‘Oooooo!’. Bright colours, modern patterns, something a little bit different and some fantastic designs. And it looks a bit familiar. Like the Clarissa Hulse wallpaper I had in my bedroom. Then lo and behold, it turns out this is the Clarissa Hulse for Harlequin Collection.

Now bear with me, I did feel a bit miffed as I like little known wonders and something a bit different! It took me ages and ages to find the perfect wallpaper for my bedroom and I do love Clarissa Hulse designs. Okay I know that there was some bed linen with House of Fraser so she was opening up her designs to more people but I like things that aren’t normally seen – something to make each room stand out, in my home and my clients! Something that’s not in every interior’s shop window.

But this collection is beautiful.  They’ve won me over and as more people start to see these designs around I’ll hopefully get to use one of my favourite designers more often!

Harlequin say that Clarissa has designed the collection by  “drawing on a number of influences, including her love of plants, pressed flowers and all things botanical, long walks in the countryside and her half-Greek heritage…The collection rejoices in glorious fusions of bright and bold, offset by pared back neutrals: tumeric, magenta, paprika and chartreuse; hot pinks, coral and stone; indigo, aqua, lime and ashes of roses; pebble and shocking pink; absinthe, citrine and putty; charcoal, ash and cloud.” How colourful does that sound??!

I say that the deep orange colours are bang on trend for interiors at the moment and I just love the Grasses design. You can imagine these designs sitting perfectly with some fantastic oversized furniture and lots of candles on the go for a beautiful winter’s evening.

Feeling brave? Then you can go to town with the colours and mix and match the fabrics together brilliantly. It’s coordinated without being matchy matchy. Going all out you can use these to create a modern morrocan theme in your house. Warm and inviting yet still contemporary.

Just want to dip your toes in the water? Mix in these earthy and natural patterns in more of the netural and metallic colours. They’ll work with tons of schemes and even as a couple of cushions will just inject a little bit of something different in to your room.

You can see more pictures of the collection here and leave me a comment below as I’d love to know what you think of it too!

Interior Design Projects and Articles from Furnished By Anna