I HEART New York

One place I have wanted to visit for years now is New York, however I am glad I waited until now to do so. I just got back last week and had the most amazing time. Whilst it is renowned for the great shopping, for me New York was all about three things - the architecture, the interiors and the food. So I thought I would share the highlights of my holiday snaps with you.

The Architecture:



The attention to detail is amazing - not just the older buildings but the modern ones too

The Interiors:

The food:

we ate a lot!

There were also some amazing home furnishing shops, my favourites were Fish Eddy and ABC Carpet & Home 


Thanks for reading!

The product of my Sunday...

How cute are these cakes?! Me and the boyfriend spent our morning making them. Recipe can be found here

Berry nice colours

Mmmmm berries! Not just tasty with ice cream but I also love the colours. I have noticed that these delicious purple and red hues are a common theme in the high street fashion stores this Autumn/Winter, but as well as in the wardrobe I think they are great in the home.

Paints on the market

Some home accessories

What I love about these colours is the fact that they can be versatile depending on how they are used.

Adding warmth...

...through purple tones on the walls and soft furnishings



...through mixing with dark wood



...through luxurious fabrics in berry colours

Or, by mixing berry coloured accessories with white or pale grey you can create a freshness to a room...

Aside from the ones above (all from House to Home) I haven't seen an ambundance of berriness in the interiors market just yet. However, warm or fresh, I think the berry palette is a trend that we will be seeing in the not so distant future....

Building obsession: Michelin House

London is a city full of beautiful architecture. Ever since I was really young riding around London in the car with my dad, there have always been certain buildings and structures that have really captured my interest because of their beauty. Michelin House is one of them.

Located in Chelsea, London, Michelin House was commissioned by the Michelin brothers in 1909 and designed by one of their employees - François Espinasse, for their British headquarters, it is a great example of Art Deco architecture. It was bought in 1985 by Sir Terrance Conran and Paul Hamlyn.

More information can be found on the Bibendum website - here. Bibendum is the real name of the brand trademark, more commonly known as "Michelin Man".

Dining in style

The dining room is a room that has been a common theme for me this month. I have helped one friend make the most of her conservatory-come-dining room; am in the process of helping another friend add colour to her dining room. In addition to this, I am designing a dining room in the style of Philippe Starck for my course (photos of all of the above to follow); and I am also still in the (long) process of designing my kitchen-dinner for when we get our extension.

I must confess that I have never given that much thought to the dining room, as an owner of a small flat, to dedicate one room to eating and entertaining is too much of a luxury. However, during my research, I have been insipred by the ones below (all from House to Home).

Eclectic dinning room with a mish mash of colours and types of chairs

Pretty in pink

  

I LOVE the way the wallpaper continues on the ceiling - very brave!

Two-tone green and turquoise works surprisingly well

Dramatic dark blue is softened by the pink flowers

Whilst I love these colourful rooms, the ideas I have for our extension, will mean a more simple palette for a calm effect, more similar to the images below.

The floor to ceiling glass doors make the garden almost part of this room

Simple monochromatic palette brought to life with patterned textiles and chairs

A simple bench set-up is made more interesting with an unusual arrangement of paper lanterns



This is gorgeous - black bentwood chairs and large glass doors in black aluminium - makes me swoon!



Less shabby, more chic

My boyfriend and I have been having a bit of a "desk-off" recently. It started when I bought a small desk from Ikea. He then put his printer on it. So I bought another one, the same style so they would look like one big desk. The idea being that we could both use it, but as we were using it for completely different things, it just didn't work and looked a complete mess.

Whilst scouring eBay in search of something pretty and compact, that would fit in an alcove in our living room, I found this.....

.....not very pretty but it ticks two out of three boxes, and best of all it only cost £5! Bargain!

And so last week, I went about making it pretty. In the past, most of my restoration jobs have consisted mainly of gold spray paint, this time I was using the grown-up stuff:

The £5 1960s bureau from eBay (with the help of my boyfriend) was sanded, drawers removed, handles replaced, primed and painted. The result is something I am VERY proud of..... 

The colour I used was Farrow & Ball "White Tie" and the brass handles were from Graham & Green. I removed the two bottom drawers and put some thick MDF on the bottom so there was an open shelf area - much more useful for my needs.

 The total cost of this project was around £60 and it took three days (to allow paint to dry).

And no gold spray paint in sight....

...almost!

**Handy tip: if the paint is sticking after it has dried (i.e. drawers tough to open), rub some candle wax along the bits that are sticking - works a treat! (thanks Mum)**

A quick snog

A short post this evening.

I have walked past SNOG in Soho a few times but have never been in...until last night! I think I was drawn in by the pretty lights...

...or by the delicious selection of toppings....

Yummy!

(they weren't both mine by the way!)