Wallpaper of the Week - Vivienne Westwood Cut Out Lace

http://www.cole-and-son.com/collection_detail.asp?collectionid=116

I know its a while since I've done a wallpaper of the week so I thought it was time to update you on a new range that I have fallen in love with !

I made the mistake of discovering that there is now a direct train from MK to the Design Centre at Chelsea Harbour - its one of my favourite places, I just get all dizzy and excited with the sheer volume of scrumptious fabrics, delicious wallpapers and don't even get me started on the trims ! If you haven't been I'd definately recommend it as its open to the public Monday to Friday - its just where do you start ?

I started with my favourite wallpaper showroom - Cole and Son - I needed to place the order for the flamingo's ! I was on the hunt for a paper to go behind an upholstered headboard to make a feature wall in a master bedroom - in my mind this had always been a dark paper, taupe, chocolate, coffee ...for no particular reason it just had been. I was so focused on the pink birds that it wasn't until I was walking out of the showroom on a mission to visit Romo fabrics and match some linen's that the Vivienne Westwood Cut Out Lace literally made me stop in my tracks !

I have searched and searched for an image of this paper that does it justice and I'm afraid that the ones I have shown just don't show it off to its lushest ! (On the advert above its the second dress in) As soon as I have it in situ I'll post a photo in the meantime the link above will probably be your best bet.

Its called 'Cut Out Lace' and is available in 3 colourways, Charcoal Black, Off White Linen (shown above) and Ecru and Taupe. The design was apparently first used in her Spring-Summer '07 I Am Expensiv collection, developed from a fragment of antique lace. Despite searching for a darker paper I was instantly drawn to the Off White Linen that had a full wall of the showroom dedicated to it.

The colours and shades representing the lace, give the paper a depth and texture that is almost 3D. From some lights the overall feeling is that this is quite a light coloured paper with a few darker accents but from other angles you almost feel yourself getting sucked in ! It was love at first sight. I did the usual, spend the rest of the day trying to find an alternative but there was nothing for it ...decision made !

...sorry I know its just a wallpaper, I'll shut up and go and do some measuring up or something !

"Shall I just keep out of it and put the kettle on ??" ...."ooh that sounds like a good idea !"

We are on week 6 of the works on IvyH. That's 6 weeks of sleeping in the spare room. 6 weeks of dust sheets on the stairs. 6 weeks of no wallpaper on the wall's revealing an interesting combination of pinky / lilac and chocolate brown in the hall that I've now stopped noticing ! 6 weeks of "water's going off" 6 weeks of battling to clear up any dangerous clips of electric cable, carpet grips, random nails that prove attractive to 3 year olds ! ...6 weeks of me getting the teas in !!

As I am now thinking of adding this to my answers in the 'What is your Profession ?' box....Interior Designer, Mummy, Tea Lady....I thought I would share my tips on 'keeping everyone suitably refreshed' ! So here goes :

1. Before they arrive do a shop, you will need the following items :

1. Tea bags - lots

2. Catering pack jar of coffee

3. Milk

4. Sugar - I can't remember buying the previous bag - I'm on my second bag since they started work !

5. A small plastic tray - its not good trying to lug around a standard size one when you are squeezing along a landing dodging the decorators scaffold and the electrician's hidden among the floor boards - there just isn't the elbow room ! Mine is about 15cm by 25cm cost a couple of quid from Ikea and can fit 4 mugs on quite nicely.

6. A selection of cheap multi coloured stoneware mugs. There are a number of reasons for this one :

(1) How many men do you know who could tell you how much an Emma Bridgewater mug costs and therefore, why it should be treated with a little bit of respect ? Don't risk your everyday mugs its just not worth giving yourself something else to worry about.

(2) If you get different colour random mugs you can assign each person a mug dependent on their coffee / tea / number of sugar combinations removing any confusion as to which cup has 6 sugars and which one has 4 - allowing you to speed up your making and delivery time.

I'm not talking about a major investment I got 4 different coloured ones (quite nice shades of taupes, creams, charcoals aka white, mud and grey !!) for £1.50 each in John Lewis so there are definately some bargains to be had out there if they can do them for that price.

2. Frequency of Refreshments : I've assigned the following times as a suitable balance of frequency and quantities of liquid :

(1) On arrival 8.15am

(2) 10am - keep those sugar levels up

(3) 12.30 to go with lunch

(4) 3pm who doesn't need a 3pm nudge !

3. Cakes ! Cakes are for Friday's only as there is no way that I could give out cakes and not join in myself ! The exception being birthday's - I don't go in for the singing but Small1 is usually happy to oblige.

This was supposed to be a blog about where the works are up to but it seems I may have been brain washed into having the same priorities as the builders...talking of which its 15.05 so I'd best dash back to the kitchen !

Ideas, Hints and Tips for Choosing Children's Bedroom Schemes

More than any other room, I get the most queries about children's bedrooms - must be the company I keep ! (A sign of a certain age bracket...the 1st houses are done....the hen nights and weddings slowing down ...time to join in the school run rather than the rat race !) So I thought what I would do over the next few weeks would be to come up with some ideas, hints and tips that would hopefully be a start at helping with these queries ..I say over the next few weeks I thought of this 3 weeks ago and it was my priority for Monday this week - its now Thursday and its dark outside !

So, first off a few thought provokers :

1. Think about how quickly they change their mind on favourite toys and how quickly they grow out of clothes ? The same could happen if your scheme is too focused. Choose an adaptable base. Go for neutrals, especially for carpets and probably the majority of the walls using your accessories to provide the 'story'. One wall of feature wallpaper or colour is easily enough updated without incurring a massive cost when all of a sudden your 4 year old declares that princesses are for babies ! (I daren't mention Hannah Montana !) Having a neutral base enables the room to grow with the child or change its function without too much upheaval, emotional or financial !
2. Think storage, storage, storage - Its Father Christmas, Birthday's, hand-me-downs etc etc they seem to be magpies when it comes to 'stuff'. Priority should be easy to use i.e. can you throw in toys from the middle of the room enabling a full room clear up during the time it takes for them to come up with the excuses as to why they couldn't possibly help you tidy up the mess that they have created because their belly button hurts / their teddy bear has not cleaned its teeth properly / they are listening to the nee nor going past / they are busy practicing their yoga tree ? The slide in fabric drawers are a fantastic option, a sort of easy-aim toy filing system. Never under estimate the amount of storage you'll need and always have some under-bed-on-wheels-boxes ...if nothing else it removes the option of them hiding under there when they are supposed to be getting in the bath !
3. If the child is old enough to speak they are probably old enough to have an opinion - you need to choose whether you are going to go along with it or 'tweak it' but remember if you have asked their opinion they will remember their answer. This could then go a few ways, they'll either stick to their guns until the end of time, probably when the answer didn't meet with your approval or change their minds on a daily basis....in our current building site I asked Small1 what colour he would like the bathroom to be ? Blue! The look on his face when the bath was delivered ..."but its white Mummy I'm having a blue bathroom"... Manage their expectations, if yours are anything like Small1 the whole world will get told the plans, rather like birthday parties ! Let them know that if they have asked for blue that there will be some bits that are blue but some bits that are other colours too !
4. Try not to be too precious about it - after all it is 'their space' and when they insist on lining up a row of dolls in order of 'which-doll-is-best-friend-with-which' rather than your 'predetermined-colour-co-ordinated-height-order' you may just have to learn to live with it! This said, there are some practical times when you need to stick to your guns ...when they decide that the dress-up clothes stand "needs" to be within arms reach of the bed so they can jump out of the PJ's into the Spiderman outfit before you've had chance to realise, then refusing to take it off to go to school / granny's / Tesco's ! All I'm saying is choose your battles wisely.
5. Choose where you spend and where you save - if you are reading this you are probably quite house proud (or my Mum, not saying that she isn't house proud too) - and yes its one of those great rooms to work on, you can really get your teeth into co-ordinating this that and the other ...before you know it you can spend a couple of hundred quid on 'matching accessories'...your 2 year old will really appreciate the £8 you spend on the light switch cover that has a car on it because it will clearly be him that can reach up the 5 foot to switch the light on and off ...however, you will really appreciate the extra investment that you made getting the curtains black-out lined, meaning that you get the extra sleep in the mornings when the clocks change ! (I know the blackout lining will cost more than £8 but all the £8's add up scarily quickly !)

So, now we've covered a few ground rules what do you actually put in the rooms....well that's next on my To Do List ...and I'll get back to you right after I've re-ordered the Thomas the Tank Engine Trains into numerical order!!....first up ...Girls Rooms....

"New, No Faff, Interior Design for Everyone"

http://www.hogstyend.co.uk/Images/Ivy%20House%20Interiors%20Oct%2009.pdf

Just thought I'd update everyone on a promotion that I'm currently running in order to trial a slightly different approach to Interior Design.

I've become very aware over the past few months after speaking to various people, that there is a perception that 'Interior Design' is out of most people's reach, generally for financial reasons. I have decided that my latest mission is to banish this myth !!

My first step was to come up with an offering that is straight forward, self explanatory and with absolutely no room for any concerns over hidden costs. I took some 'inspiration' from the high street and similar to the likes of Laura Ashley and Fired Earth I have put together a package based around a 'Room Scheme'. Basically you show me the room, tell me what you like and don't like and I'll produce you a board displaying a choice of paint colours, wallpapers, upholstery fabrics, cabinet furniture, accessories etc etc as required. Quite straight forward really ?!

Next step was to call on the help of our fantastic local trade handbook 'The Hogsty End Handbook' (Hogsty End was the original name for Woburn Sands) and I have taken a double page advert that you can see from the link above.

The advert is launching the scheme with a £50 saving for all enquiries made before the 31st December 2009 and I thought it only right that I offered it to blog readers too ...that's an entire room planned out for you with no weekends spent dragging the begrudging other half around the shopping centre looking for curtains or blinds, no Sundays spent in Homebase spending a fortune on paint tester pots only to come home and find that you already had most of the colours from the last room that you decorated ! Just hand over the room to me and I'll get on the case on your behalf !

Call 07711 293320 for more details, thank you, SB