illuminating lighting mistakes!

I love good design, simplicity, understated looks, nothing brash or cheap. There are a few things that I really make me cringe though and offend my design ethic. Artex ceilings, upvc windows and energy saving light bulbs used to be my least favourite additions to any room. But now I have a new most hated to add to my list. What is this trend for sticking halogen lights everywhere, they are appearing on bathroom floors, kitchen plinths and seem to serve no purpose what so ever. I am not against feature lighting though, a good designer will incorporate lighting as a subtle design feature and not a design after thought. Great lighting should have a top note (ultimate aim to provide great functional light), middle note (to create drama and a wow factor, like an amazing pendant light or oversized floor light) and a bottom note (just subtle beautiful high light lighting). I spotted in the local property mag a kitchen with the halogen lights in the kitchen kick-plinth, worst of all they are blue, why?. It reminds me of boy racers who add these neon strip lighting to the underside of the car (why again!). On the opposite end of the spectrum what about this stair lighting for the ultimate in understated glamour and simplicity. Its a great example of bottom note lighting.

There I feel better for my little rant! What are your design hates?

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

http://www.id-homes.co.uk/

love where you live

style before substance

Yes, I have finally managed to sit down. I feel as if I have been on my feet for 3 days solid.

Its all in a good cause. One of those things, met a person who introduced me to another person who specialises in interior photography www.iain kemp.co.uk .The upshot is that he is doing a shoot at my house speculatively (tomorrow) and will send of the pics and a story to see if he can get a commission from a magazine.

Easy I thought only got to get 6 rooms ready. No, not easy styling rooms for a shoot is hard work. I ended up deconstructing all the rooms, moving all my junk and day to day knick knacks (which nobody but me would understand why I have them in the first place). Then days finding the right shade and shape of vase to fill a gap, the ideal picture for another gap, cushions to be rearranged into the perfect formation, furniture moved around to get a better angle in a shot. Fresh bread, herbs and fruit for the kitchen the list of things to do was endless. I think I would really enjoy doing it for a living but in your own home its a nightmare. Trying to keep the house clean and tidy until tomorrow, I am just about ready to pack everyone off down to the travel lodge so I don't have to do another wipe down of the floors.

I am sure it will all be worth it though and I will get some good publicity from the shots if they get used and I will have some great shots for my website and publicity material.

Designing a room for a shoot and designing a room to be lived in are completely opposing design wills. Its all about identifying a style, following it through and finding the right props. Its is not about day to day living! I only hope I can find everything I have hidden when thy have gone.

Have a look at some of the shots I love for the simplest but most stylish of styling. If you have any pics of fabulous styling would love to see them email them to me at

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

www.id-homes.co .uk

love where you live

charlotte

Bath is a small place and it feels even smaller this week. Results at my sons schools were made incredibly sad. A terrible car accident the day after the results resulted in the loss of a hugely talented life. Charlotte was an amazing artist and had already exhibited at Chapel art gallery.

www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/portfolio/schoolinfo/kingswood+school+bath/512.html.

I know its been a week of reflection for the parents and the pupils at the school. How does anybody begin to make sense of such a terrible loss.

We, me included, spend our lives propelled at a million miles an hour, bombarded my emails, texts, phone calls. But today has been reflective day, appreciating what I have, a promise to myself to spend more time with my son and daughter. A promise to forget not to take anything for granted

To Charlotte, forever beautiful, forever loved, forever missed.

simples!

Nights are growing shorter and temperatures cooler, yuch! Never mind only a few more weeks then a trip to Spain where it should be a bit warmer. Just the next 2 weeks to get through; this week getting our house ready for a photo shoot on Friday, then the following week getting another house dressed and ready for sale.

Just thinking that adding panelling to a room has got to be the simplest way to create a really beautiful, glamorous, timeless space. The house I will be working on in a couple of weeks has the orginal panelling.

But its simple to add to an existing room. Tongue and groove to add a cottage feel or cut ply a more contemporary feel which is what has been used to clad the bedroom above at Chiswick house hotel. Its doesn't have to be prohibitively expensive but a good carpenter is a must. I am really looking forward to starting work on an ensuite next week where we are going to use panelling, its going to look amazing. Pictures to follow in a couple of months.

I am going to upload some pictures tonight onto my facebook site ( interior design bath id homes) of a room where we created a panelling effect by just using dado and architraves. The carpenter used a laser spirit level which made sure that it all looked fab when it was up.

Happy days, off to watch a couple of Gavin and Stacey episodes for the rest of this bank holiday Monday, tidy!

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

http://www.id-homes.co.uk/

Refound

I booked to go on a 1 day upholstery course months and months ago. I have been so busy I completely forgot about it until the day before, then had to madly look for a smallish piece of furniture to recover. What a revelation, I hadn't really appreciated how much time is involved and how many stages there are. It took over an hour just to strip the chair back to its frame. I loved every minute of doing it though. It was so rewarding to see an object completely transformed. Thank god I am so busy otherwise I would be straight down to the auction house to start filling up the house with potential recovering projects.
I am passionate about recycling objects they have much more soul than anything you can buy new. My favourite sites are RE http://www.refound-objects.com/ who sell these amazing recycled newspaper place mats and old jelly mould lights. I would love to find room somewhere in my home Baileys apple storage crates they would look fab in a contemporary or cottage home http://www.baileyshomeandgarden.com/

so much stuff to buy, too little room to store it all!

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

http://www.id-homes.co.uk/

love where you live

entertainment built in

when your successful property developers and have 7 kids, what do you do when you build your own homes? The only thing you can do, build in as much entertainment to keep the kids occupied. I love the way Husband and wife team Cortney and Robert Novogratz have built their trampoline into the ground ( much safer) at their Hampton's home. In their New York homes they have build the most amazing roof baseball court and an indoor bowling allies. You can find out more about their inspiring design style in their book downtown chic. Its chronicles some of their best known projects. Each project features an eclectic mix of contemporary and vintage finds and shows their unfailing knack of seeing beauty in the most unlikely locations and places. Its a great book, put it on your reading list!

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

http://www.id-homes.co.uk/

love where you live

pushing up daisies

Not sure that anybodies first choice of location for a home would be a cemetery. But this home owner thoroughly recommends is. Built in Highgate Cemetery London it took 10 years to get planning permission and build. Richard Elliot the owner a developer and photographer says "it not like living in a graveyard, its more like an enchanted forest"

The brief to the architect was to build a James Bond baddies lair, thoroughly masculine and modern with acres of polished concrete and Italian furniture. Features include an amazing kitchen roof that fully retracts.

I think the views from the house are to die for and I would imagine the neighbours are very quiet! I am not sure I have the patience to wait 10 years for a new home though

what do you think?

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

id-homes.co.uk

up the wall

I love wallpaper but in our home its banned by he who must be obeyed (not really I get away with all the decorating decisions, the wallpaper ban is the only concession I have made!).

I have thought about sneaking in a decorator and getting a few rolls up on the wall. But I am not brave enough to risk being made to take it all off again. I guess he has a point it is quite permanent and not like a paint which is cheaper and quicker to change. I haven't found a business project yet where the client is adventurous enough to go with wallpaper either. But its doesn't stop me admiring some of the ranges that are out there. My favourites this year are Farrow and Ball's Chelsea papers in Stone, Cole and Son and Cowslip. Plus a new collection from Catkin Collection, I love Birdhouse and Porcelain, would look fantastic in a cloakroom or if your feeling very decadent the inside of cupboards and wardrobes, a great way to put to brighten up the day. http://www.catkin-collection.co.uk/

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

www.id-homes.co.uk

Maximum Impact

I love blue as a colour for interiors but with our sour summers and cool light it can look

horribly flat and cold. Challenged with blue being the only colour that a client would have in his house (despite there not being much natural light in the house) meant getting creative with accessory colour. Particularly as the scheme had to stay masculine (no hot pinks or lilacs to add vibrancy). In the end mustard's, golds, yellows especially in soft fabrics like velvet had a magical effect of just bringing a scheme to life (and his!). I am voting it my favourite colour combination of the month!

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

www.id-homes.co.uk

hotel couture

The interior designers dream job has got to be designing hotel bedrooms. Gone is the need for too much practicality (storage and all that) and much more the need for supporting the brand values of the hotel and flights of fantasy to entice customers back. In Milan the ultimate whimsical rooms must have been created for Hotel Moshino. Its billed as a "fantasy, fairy tale world" a contemporary take on wonderland. There is definitely a wonderland theme with cloud shaped lights in the lobby and iconic dress lamp shapes. The restaurant wall features frocks as wall art and the rooms range from Alice room with a giant teacup room and little red riding hood complete with its own fabric wolf. Where else can you sleep on a giant velvet or silk ballgown or a bed of velvety rose petals.

I am completely enthralled by the look of the place. I am smitten by the luxuriousess, the glamour and the quirkyness. Look out Milan here I come!

http://www.maisonmoshino.com/

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

http://www.id-homes.co.uk/