Knock Knock...................................

                                                          First Impressions count

One of the first things you will notice about a house is it's front door.
I think sometimes we overlook this, and the thought of changing or even just painting our front door doesn't even occur to us. Also the thought of perhaps pushing the boundaries and making a real statement with your front door scares a lot of people.
They say your eyes are the window to your soul, I think perhaps the front door is the entrance to the soul of your home. So be bold,don't let colour scare you, why not paint your door a vivid,shocking shade,it's sure to put a smile on your and your neighbours face everyday. Throughout history colour has been closely linked to changing humans emotions and creating different moods.So surely by painting your front door in a colour that you are fond of it will make you feel happier everyday.Also the idea of a sense of unity if you and your neighbours were all to paint your front doors in a colour to reflect your personalities.Perhaps if you were to pose the question it would make them think "why have I never thought of painting my front door in a colour I love?". Why indeed? Paint is cheap,easy to do,easy to change,and provides an instant face lift to your house.

  I love how each home owner has painted their front door in their desired colour and although they don't match this only somehow adds to the charm and helps to reflect each individuals life which is going on within each home.

I thought I would show you a few of my favorite front doors, so here are my top 5!!!!!

1. I like the way these doors are uniformed and how the the green of the plants acts as a contrast against the blue.






2. Bringing a little ray of sunshine into your life everyday

3. How about introducing a stained glass window front door with a vivid shade of paint on the wood, not only does the stained glass reflect in your hallway but it adds a beautiful feature to the front of your
home.

4. Now I had to get a pink front door in here, as I do love something pretty in pink!! Pink raised panel front door at a Palm Springs, CA home! This brings to mind retro 1950's living.

5. My last door, is of a muted red door,I liked this image because it showed you a glimpse inside the home,and how the door reflected what is inside!

So why not paint your door your favorite colour, if it was me I would paint mine a gorgeous turquoise, so it reminded of the ocean and made me smile everyday!!

Collect me

Now there are collectors and there are hoarders, distinct difference. I want to focus your attention on collectors. And how a collection can become part of the interior design of your home.

I started my collection quite recently of perfume bottles.Its amazing how quickly your collection can grow and how it becomes a feature of your room. Mine take pride of place on my dressing table. Every morning when putting on my make up I admire my collection of every kind of perfume bottle. In beautiful coloured glass and crystal.

I think that if there is something you collect make it a part of your room.
Perhaps you have a love of all things to do with clothes, how about having  a collection of mannequins where you display your most beautiful finds.

The use of mannequins to display your finds and also a lovely collection of mirrors to gaze into.

Or if reading is your thing, why not turn books into displays, books are not only filled with beautiful words but as objects themselves they too can resemble furniture. Books are full of tales of wonderful lands,romance,mystery and so much more, by filling you home with these wonders you  are showing all your guests your indulgence into literature.

I also think photographs are something that can be seen as a collection, photos help show the lives of the family who live in the house and also all the people that are special to them. We live in a digital age, where we store all our photographs on our computers or networking sites. But there is something special about actually getting your pictures printed and displaying them. I think this is a wonderful thing to collect and make a feature of in your home. There are so many ways you can do this. You don't just need a photo frame!!

Unusual ways to display your photos............

Incorporate frames with the same finish in a variety of sizes to create a smart, contained area, a perfect alternative to the traditional over mantel display.

There is something about this room that almost makes it feel like a gallery,and really makes a feature of your wonderful collection of photographs. People will stop at look and this will create an element of intrigue and added interest to your home.

So if there is something you collect or would like to collect make it a part of your home, once again I think this is another way of reflecting you through your home.

How very true...........

Interior Design is the language which expresses the use and the mood and the possibilities of a place.

If you go down to the bottom of the garden.............

As a child I used to love spending hazy,lazy summer afternoons at my grandmothers. She had this amazing gift for bringing things to life.
My grandmother had a long garden,where at the end stood an old metal swing surrounded by wild sprung forget me nots. She told me that this was where the fairies lived and that we should make them clothes from all the flowers that grew in her garden.
We collected every type,colour and shape of flower imaginable and carefully assembled them into dainty fairy outfits.Once we had finished we lay them out underneath the swing and carefully crept away and waited for them to be taken by the fairies.
And when I went back a few hours later they had  all gone.My grandmother told me that the fairies would now be wearing their beautiful flower clothes.

Its summer in London at the moment and my garden is in full bloom, the colours got me thinking about colour in your home. I strongly believe that colour originally comes from nature.

Here are a couple of  the photographs I took of the flowers in my garden.

I always think these look like happy smiling faces.

Natural colours that can be used in the home calm greens,white with just a hint of pink.

Colour schemes not only influence mood, but you can use them at a low cost to improve the whole shape and feel of a room. Remember the decorators rule of thumb: light colour expand a space, while dark colours reduce it.

Colour palettes

To choose a scheme for a room, think of things you love. Are you influenced by the heady and exotic colours of India. Make homage to this thru colour.

An indian inspired dining area.

I found a very interesting article on BBC homes website .

www.bbc.co.uk/homes/design/colour_wheel.shtml

This explains how to combine colour to work well, and whether they are toning, harmonious or complementary.

Don't be reluctant to experiment with colour, so many of us take the safe option and paint our walls white. If you paint your room a bold exciting new colour and get bored of it changing it is easy just the flick of a paintbrush.!!!

I think the reason why I told you the story about the fairies at the bottom of the garden was to show you that as a child we use our imagination but when we become adults we stop. I think by introducing colour in your home you can rekindle your imagination.Take inspiration from your garden and nature and the colours you see outside.Bring some of that beauty inside your home.

Not just little girls like sugar and spice and everything nice............

I feel pretty..............................................

Pretty rooms,there is something about this look that transports me to my childhood. I remember my first ever room as a child being painted a sugary pale pink.How I loved that room, my first bedroom all to myself and so pretty. Sometimes by adding an element of your past to your home it makes you remember fond memories.

 An assortment of floral china and chintzy fabrics makes me think of my grandmothers house and items you use to create this look have a feeling of being passed down from generation to generation.

This look makes you want to take afternoon tea and sit and chatter.

It is not a perfect, strict, 'finished' style, but mixes and matches different looks and styles. It includes treasured family heirlooms, handed down, and items of many different eras and styles.

I think one of the simplest  and cheapest ways to create this looks is by adding some flowers to your home. Look out for old fashioned pottery - use water pitchers and bowls to hold big bunches of flowers (gathered from your own garden maybe?). Or even use an something more unusual to display your flowers, how about a tea cup and saucer?

If you like your nick-nacks, this is definitely the look for you! Look out for all sorts of little boxes, bowls, pots and pretty ornaments. Display collections of tea-pots, porcelain dolls, precious family heirlooms.

I like the fact that there are no real rules for this look, its all about slowly adding pieces that you love the look of.

The below two images show some ways to create this look in your living room. I think they work particularly well as they look so sickly sweet but yet remain stylish.

 There are antique pieces used which some people feel date a room but when you use antiques in a precise well thought out way you can reinvent them and make them once more a feature of your home.

So if you want to add a little sugar to your home, go on, why not,make yourself and  your home feel pretty.

Some places just take your breath away................Venice

The world is an inspiring place and I have been lucky enough to travel to places that have opened up my eyes to a whole new way of seeing things.
I had always wanted to go to Venice,a place surrounded by water,it all seemed unreal, unimaginable.
A place literally soaked in history.When we think of Venice, Italy, we conjure up images of grand palaces on a Grand Canal with gondolas bobbing up and down in a romantic haze of watery loveliness.

Your eyes have to adjust upon your arrival as the buildings almost overwhelm you. Beautiful works of art.
 The concept of travelling around by water only seems to enhance the beauty of Venice. It allows you to see things from different angles and slow down to wonder what has happened in such a magical and historical place.

Now the Venetians knew a thing or two about style.

From the Middle Ages, Venice was in the money. Not content to be a mere city state, it had its own empire and by the 16th century held a monopoly over trading. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in a shameless flaunting of wealth by its rulers and merchants, who wanted the best that money could buy. They employed the finest craftsmen to decorate their sumptuous palazzi with lavish stone and marble, and filled them with intricately carved wood, fine mosaics and rich silks.

Now this got me thinking how could you re-create this in your home, well here are a few easy tips.

Venetian mirrors..........

A simple item to add to your home, mirrors are essential (not just for checking your reflection) but to create a feeling of light and space in your home. They can make a feature of a wall and break up a space.

                                                           Murano Chandeliers

Now don't be overwhelmed by this picture. Chandeliers today are no longer exclusive to Churches and Domes. Gone are the days when you see giant crystal lights suspended from high ceilings of historic establishments. Because of technology, these magnificent chandelier fixtures are available for everyone who is looking for ways to lighten up a room while enhancing its beauty.

Enhance your dining space by hanging your chandelier directly above your table.

Illuminate your dining experience and add a touch of romance to your meals with your family and friends.

The diverse, intellectual history of Venice can also be recreated by displaying an eclectic mixture of art and accessories such as those collected on worldwide travels. Try filling bookcases or shelves with vintage books and interesting objects.

Also the use of brightly coloured silk fabrics in cushions will also help you achieve this glamorous Venetian style.

Venice inspiring.

My Restoration Project

Restore the Awe...............

Sometimes you can visualise something in your head but are unable to find that item you see in your mind.
Don't let this stop you, as you can create, and have something that is truly personal to you.

I decided I wanted an Ottoman, a handy place to store my vast collection of shoes! I wanted something classic but individual to me. I started with the usual hunt for one,online stores, Ebay and second hand shops, but alas it just didn't seem to exist.

Then I went to a car boot sale and there sitting next to someones car was a Lloyd loom ottoman. Now a great deal of vision was required.It had a terrible paint job, thick coats of Matt white paint,clearly painted over years worth of previous paint. And the top had been recovered in a horrible pale blue vinyl fabric.

My Ottoman at the very beggining

I got the ottoman home,and decided to restore it to the ottoman of my dreams.
Preparation and love is the key. I needed to sand as much of the old paint off as was possible and also remove the horrible vinyl fabric from the top.

So I removed the blue vinyl, and underneath was some beautiful gold flocked fabric, but where the vinyl had been glued on top it was ruined. Also when I started to sand away the paint, I discovered the ottoman was in fact gold!!

Mr Pug decieded he would help me too, an extra set of paws is always handy!!

Mr Pug helping.

I had an image in my head of a beatiful,heavily embroidered fabric, covered in flowers in a mixture ivory,duck egg blue and dusky rose.

I went to a massive fabric warehouse and looked at rolls after rolls of fabric. Evey kind imaginable.

Rolls after rolls of fabrics.

But I couldn't find one I like, I think the problem was I was trying to find something that was in my mind.

But Never give up!!!!

I went to a second hand clothes store and there hanging up was the material that was in my mind, well I say mateiral when infact it was a silk kimono style 1970's dress!!! But why could that not become my fabric for my ottoman. There was enough fabric as it was a floor length dress and the embroidery was intricate,clasic and perfect for an ottoman in the bedroom.

My perfect fabric for my ottoman

I continued to sand my ottoman,and then I brought some white Matt spray paint,I sprayed it all over, it required two thin coats.

I decided to the keep the orginal horse hair foam that goes on the top underneath the fabric.

As I did not want to use new foam and make it look really heavily padded.

I set to work cutting the dress to allow enough fabric to cover the top, and then using a staple gun attaced it to the top.

And Voila the Ottoman of my dreams.

My finished perfect ottoman.

So if you know there is an item you want for your home but just can't seem to find,change something to make it look how you want. Don't limit your imagination or creativity as you can have an item that is truely personal to you.

Welcome to Lucy's Land of Wonders

Well here we go this is the first posting for my blog,I have decided to keep a lifestyle/interior design blog.
The main reason behind this is I am going to start an evening course in interior designer and have decided to show what things I see that I love and inspire me. There are so many moments when you stop, and look, and see something that makes you stare, I want to share those moments with you and explain why I think these certain things make you do this.
I even have my first one for you today.


Not Really Grey.................

A while ago I watched the film "Grey Gardens". Based on the life stories of the eccentric aunt and first cousin of Jackie Onassis (both named Edith Bouvier Beale aka "Big and Little Edie") raised as Park Avenue débutantes but who withdrew from New York society, taking shelter at their Long Island summer home, "Grey Gardens."
Well the house Grey Gardens inspired me, the beautiful shingled summer mansion built by Joseph Greenleaf Thorpe in 1897 at Georgica Pond in East Hampton, Long Island. The interior was flamboyant,plush,intense colours and somehow expressed the personalities of the people who lived there.
Which I think is what interior design is all about,being able to show aspects of you thru your home decor.

This is the living area from the HBO film Grey Gardens but they replicated this from photographs.

The thing I love about this room is the intense purple shade on the walls and they way your eye is immediately drawn to the picture above the mantle piece.

    

The Bedroom at grey gardens. I loved the shade of buttercup yellow on the walls and this is actually very on trend now, as the whole shabby chic look is ever more in demand. There is a mixture of colours and textures,it has a glamorous feel about it yet doesn't look unlived in. I do believe a home should show the lives going on there, and have some tasteful clutter (now i don't mean mess,there is a distinct difference between some clutter and mess!),

The idea of having a alternative living area that almost looks like two single beds from a bedroom, makes us break the rules a bit, and not always use furniture that is labelled as being for a specific room. By taking different pieces furniture and using them in a room you wouldn't normally you can create a truly unique space.

The reason for my last picture is because this is Edith Bouvier Beale, who lived at Grey gardens with her mother. I wanted to show you that if you look at how she is dressed and her dramatic pose this is expressed beautifully in the interior of the house. So express yourself thru your home!!! After all its you who lives there!


I think my first entry was just a little taster of things to come,I will be sharing with you things I have seen on my travels that have inspired me,things I see on a day to day basis and also all the other many hundreds of inspirations this world of ours has to offer.


Welcome to Lucy's Land of Wonders, I hope you enjoy the exploration!