Wallpaper of the Week - Bird in the Bush by Anna French

http://www.annafrench.co.uk/collections/wild-flora/birdinthebush/index.shtml

Following on from last week's discovery of sparkly, shiny, glossy, beautiful traditional yet with a twist wallpapers from Anna French (I kind of liked them just a little bit), this week's paper is another one from her Wild Flora collection. Its called Bird in the Bush ...but I can't find any birds in it ??

I have to admit that this design is not usually what I would go for and I think that its the room set image that has won me over. I love the dusky pink upholstered day bed working with the aqua foil finish of the wallpaper. There are six colourways available, the majority are rather more traditional in colours and finishes. Probably not to the mass market taste but loverly all the same...

If it does tickle your fancy, its range of price is quite vast dependent on finish. For a standard paper finish its available for around £40 a roll up to around £82 a roll for the foil finish above.

Off to go to the opposite extreme for next week I think and find something so mass market that everyone will be able to find a wall for it. And yes, I did mean to say loveRly !

Wallpaper of the Week - Songbird by Anna French

http://www.annafrench.co.uk/collections/wild-flora/songbirds/index.shtml

As part of 'Big Plan' (more details to follow) I have been researching a few new trade accounts to set up. To my delight I stumbled across a beautiful range of wallpapers that has such amazing finishes from flocked to a tarnished foil that actually gives a mirrored look !! (Wallpaper does have an odd effect on me, its quite bizarre, when I discover a new range I'm like a kid in a toy shop - I found them on Tuesday morning and have been trying to grab a second ever since to look into them further !)

The range is from Anna French (a division of Thibaut) and is called 'Wild Flora'. If you're not a floral fan don't be put off by the name - its not all flowers ! Anyway, I'm going to stretch this one out and stick to delivering what the title states - 'A' Wallpaper of the Week.

The first one that I have chosen (that's a lie Small1 chose it as I was torn between two) is called Songbirds. I have to admit that it was the finish rather than the design that initially caught my eye. The image above shows it in 'Gold on Tarnished Foil' however, there are seven versions available ranging from 'Grey Pencil on White' to 'Gold on Purple'. Just flicking through the different colours shows how a completely different effect can be achieved by changing the base colours and textures, if you didn't know that they had the same pattern, you probably wouldn't link them together.

This range of finishes also has a range of price tags - ranging from around £60 up to £80 a roll - its not cheap but its very beautiful and doesn't deserve to be hidden away - if you are going to spend on what could be a considered a work of art it needs to be hung where it can be admired. I'd love to see it in an entrance hall sitting behind a classic console table.

Be warned, this range has really got to me, and its so diverse due to the range of patterns and effects that you're going to be seeing a lot more of it over coming weeks !

Wallpaper of the Week - Scribble by Flame Interiors

Isn't this fab ? You've seen it somewhere before haven't you ? You just can't quite put your finger on where it was right ?... Wrong !

This is a very special one off design created by Fiona Flame of Flame Interiors to meet the brief of a client who knew exactly what he was after.

Fiona met with her client, a jeweller, who was looking for assistance with the interior design of his new store. The brief was for "a feature wall with a scribble on it, just like when someone is doodling". After various findings didn't quite meet with her expectations, Fiona decided it was time to jump to the other side of the fence and exchange the "Interior Designer Hat" for the "Wallpaper Designer Hat" et voila...Scribble by Fiona Flame.

In real life the paper has a shiny silver background and the feature wall is going to be 2.8 metres high by 1.8metres tall ! Imagine this supported by a colour scheme of dark blue, white and platinum in silk wall coverings and light catching wallpapers - lush. I can't wait to see the final results !

I suppose the moral of this mornings rambling is that communication is key. If you have a clear idea in mind and can communicate that idea then it 'can' be achieved, I'm not saying its going to be cheap, but there are ways of making things happen.

With thanks to Flame Interiors (www.flame-interiors.com)

Trying to help make things a little bit better....

I prefer not to think about it. I try to deny its existence. I can shut it out of my mind and pretend that it doesn't, hasn't and won't affect my life. But in reality, just like everyone else there is no hiding from this monster.

I'm a Mummy, I'm expected to fix things and put things right, make things better...but this eludes me. I can't bring back my Grandparents, I can't bring back my children's Grandpa.

My feeble attempt to make a difference, to try and help make things a little bit better is to go for a walk, a 10 mile walk. At midnight - well I'd probably end up getting up in the middle of the night anyway to find a missing teddy (or a missing wellie boot...but thats a whole different story).

I've got a t-shirt and a note to say that I could get it personalised...."I'm walking for ..." well lets just say I'd didn't know where to start. Its too big for my liking, too real. I've left it too late to get my personalisation done (and to start training), but I have decided who I'm walking for. I'm walking for GB, Small1 and Small2, my 'happy little family', my responsibility. If me walking can raise a little bit of money to help another little family like ours have some happy times when things are tough then I feel its definitely worth doing.

The last time I did a sponsored anything was in the final year at secondary school - a sponsored 24hr famine. I ate a crisp, a monster munch and caved in. I can't cave in on this as I have to make it back to the car, to make it home to check that there are no stray teddies or wellies. I have to help that Mummy when she needs to try and make things better for her little family.

If you could please spare some money, I am walking for Willen Hospice in Milton Keynes on Saturday 17th July.

http://www.justgiving.com/sarahbarnes01

Thank you very much x

Wallpaper of the Week - Mood by Camengo

http://www.wallpaperdirect.co.uk/new-collections.php?page=2

A lovely delicate yet distinct wallpaper for this week. The collection by Camengo is called Mood and this paper features pretty cherry blossoms giving a non-flowery-floral pattern if there could be such a contradiction ! I have chosen it as its light and airy despite its deeper background taupe colour. There are various colour-ways available, I think my personal favourite has a duck egg flower head.

Rather than a standard flat image, this design has great depth due to the shadowing effects and variations of the colours used.

The collection also has a range of plain coloured wallpapers, however, I would recommend that you consider a paint mix to complement the rest of your scheme. From a practical point of view this allows you to touch up and marks and makes your feature wall all the more special.