designer notes

Have found so little time to write recently its unreal. Mostly as a result of taking on the almost full time job the last 3 weeks of coercing and hlping to write my son's uni application (and the hellish personal statement), not least the days spent on the road taxiing him to see the uni's on his shortlist. Thank god its now been submitted. Didn't have this problem with my daughter, boys are such hard work!!!

Nearly all the motorway driving done just one more jaunt to go, this time to London for a styling for Photo shoots talk. I am hoping to pick up a few useful tips. I would love to have more opportunity to do styling. By the time I have gotten to the end of a project there isn't much budget left to finish off the whole look which is a crying shame. Its all about styling. What takes up 5% of the budget can give 50% of the impression.

But there again it doesn't have to cost a fortune. I think the best ideas are often really simple. I like this dining room where the centrepiece consists of a simple collection of glass glasses and candlesticks.

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

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

techno fever 1

I am not much of a techno person, I like to keep things simple. But this year I have tried to embrace all things new, hence a facebook account, a blog and now an Ipad. I am a convert it has become a permanent attachment to my person! I bought it with work in mind, the graphics are really good and its a great size to be able to pull out in front of clients to show them my portfolio. I have had great fun searching out some great apps that for an interior designer are indispensable.

i handy or blevelfree for an instant spirit level!

its essential to understand natural light when designing a room, Compass app for working out the rooms orientation

colour change using a picture from your albums you can show a client who has difficulty visualising things what a piece of furniture or even an entire room will look like in a completely different colour.

convert units - to switch between metric and imperial

my measure is a brilliant app for keeping track of dimensions. You can shoot a clients existing furniture, and overlay the dimensions. Once back in the office it takes the guess-work when deciding how to make sure new and existing elements work together.

myPantone app - has a fab function on it which allows you to take a picture and then get the app to work out the colours that its seeing, brill for working out any colour references of colours when your out and about.

How did I manage without out!

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

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

love where you live

cupboard love

Every decade has its culinary object of desire. In the 70's housewives lusted after revolving spice racks and electric carving knives; in the 80's we wanted microwaves; then glossy coffee machines took over in the 9o's and more recently high-tech juicers have become the "it" item.

But the latest kitchen "must have" owes little to technology and everything to the practicality of our ancestors. To be truly chic a modern kitchen needs a larder.

If you've accessed your inner goddess you'll want somewhere to put the trays of freshly cooked cup cakes. And if your buying in bulk to save money then you'll need somewhere to store it. On top of which a walk in larder deals brilliantly with kitchen clutter.

Increasingly clever design means there is no need to abandon the larder dream even if you don't have the luxury of a separate room. Instead of the usual base and wall cabinets you can just block out a space with a tall larder cupboard. Companies like plain english are great at designing larders but they come at a price. A cheaper route, let id homes design and make one for you! I designed a great one last year which hid away all the owners clutter and kept the worksurfaces clear by housing the toaster and kettle.

Food for thought?

lisa@id-homes.co.uk
www.id-homes.co.uk

wall domination

I was completely taken by the exciting and creative possibilities of surface view's products (www.surfaceview.co.uk). I spotted them at Decorex but I am not the only one

their amazing vintage atlas canvas's were used in the guardians photo shoot and Living etc featured their vintage art print (Above).

They have a vast and uniquely beautiful collection of images which they can apply to canvas's murals and roller blinds. Even more fun there is a bespoke option where you can have your own images blown up into art. I am already looking at my walls in a new light and thinking up mad ways to add a bit of excitement to a dull space - I am thinking that I may like to plaster my cloakroom in a Marvel comic mural!

Where will you find room for one?!

Lisa@id-homes.co.uk

www.id-homes.co.uk

single minded statement

The next house we move to ( we are coming up to 4 years in this house a record in one place so it must be time to move!) I would love to design a bathroom with Marble. Its such a tactile luxurious material would be lovely to use oodles of it. This bathroom has gone for the ultimate stlye statement floor to wall marble, A real single minded design statment. I think its off the the estate agent I go!

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

www.id-homes.co.uk

love where you live

sleepless in bath

I am still hoping that life will calm down at some point,

but no light at the end of the tunnel yet (the rumours must be true; because of recession the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off). My work days seem to be getting longer and longer. This week has seen a meeting with a potential client taking place at 9 at night and finishing at 10.30pm Then the morning starts at 7.30 with texts and calls from tradesmen. Yuch!

I am starting to think that my bed doesn't exist I've seen so little of it recently. We had been looking forward to a new one. Our bedroom has quite a tall ceiling and our king size looks tiny in it so had ordered a 6ft Queen. After 16 weeks of waiting I have given up and asked for our money back. Back to the drawing board. I am starting to like the idea of going for a canopy bed, the look is very feminine and glam.

Tonight is the exception I am off for an early night, bed is calling

night, night and sleep tite!

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

www.id-homes.co.uk

love where you live

wide open

It has been a relentless few weeks, I think my brain has reached overload level. I have so many to do lists, emails, phone calls, problems to solve life has just become a blur. It has got so bad that I am not functioning properly, not helped by a constant headache! I travelled to London yesterday especially to see a design lecture being given by my favourite designer Ilse Crawford, I completely zoned out, got the times in a muddle, I arrived late and only caught the last 10 mins. Gutted. It was a hideous journey too, packed on the train to London then packed like sardines on the underground. I did manage to get to Decorex though (a design show for interior designers) which meant the trip wasn't a complete waste of time. I walked past an exhibitors stand which had statistics written across its walls, one stuck in my mind- That the UK builds the smallest houses in the whole of Europe. It looks like as a nation we like to make sure we are all squashed up whether travelling or in our living spaces!

In contrast here are 2 of my favourite big spaces. The first designed by the south african based Saoto archicts. The second is a property in Panama both awesome spaces.

lisa@id-homes.co.uk

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

love where you live

ship shape!

Its great being adventurous with design but I am not sure I would have been brave enough to think about developing this kitchen design though. For sea-lovers looking to bring a nautical theme into the kitchen the new marecucina kitchen concept from http://www.alno.co.uk/ could be just what they are looking for, with its nautical shapes, colours and materials. It even has its own mast. Not sure I would be brave enough to go with such a design. But what the hell if a client wanted a ship-shaped kitchen why not!



lisa@id-homes.co.uk


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


love where you live

space the final frontier.......

Yikes its getting colder outside. Which means having to look for all my winter clothes which are packed in Suitcases somewhere in the attic. Its a reminder that as much as I love my home, the storage space is hopeless. Those Georgians knew how to design beautifully proportioned rooms but had hardly any need for wardrobe space (their clothes collections would have consisted of a handful of outfits). Its really difficult to incorporate storage space without spoiling the proportions of the rooms (particulary in the bedrooms) hence I am always short of space (although my other half would claim its me that has too much stuff).

I have invested in Footstools that have storage in them, beds with storage in the divans and any other means possible to create storage, including lots of hooks on the backs of doors and interesting shelving. These black powder coated cameo's I spotted by adrien rovero are a too good to cover up! If you have any inspiring storage solutions let me know!

Lisa@id-homes.co.uk

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

love where you live

summer time and the living is easy.....

Sort of failing dismally at catching up with some work today. We are having a break away but its also a bit of a working holiday. Its still really warm over here though and my concentration levels are decimated. Either that or it could possibly be the sangria!

Not complaining though , I am not looking forward to temperatures that are going to be at least 10 degrees c. lower when we get home. So I going to making the most of the warmth. Instead of getting on with my marketing plan I have been dreaming about what amazing outdoor rooms I could create if we had better weather in the UK . Found these yummies outdoor spaces which look really inviting. We had our front garden landscaped this year, had a massive patio built as part of it but haven't quite got around to putting any furniture on it yet. Theres space to go for the whole hog, dining set, outdoor sofa, lounge bed, or we would if we had the weather which would justify the investment! I am still loving Philip Stark designed Toy Chairs, www.gomodern.co.uk/phillipe-stark-toy-garden-chair.html so will save up my pennies for them next summer. Well that is it, no more dreaming and back to work!!!