Wanderlust – transforming your home with the beauty of maps

Tags

cushions, design, Interiors, London, maps

Guest post by the lovely Megan Charnley – llustre.com 

There is something magical about maps.  Even today, when we can virtually explore almost every street in the world thanks to Google, there is something mesmerising about an abstracted plan of the world committed to paper.

Perhaps it has something to do with humanity’s need to discover, record and communicate knowledge, combined with our instinctive drive to explore unknown territories.  Perhaps its the pleasure of working out our own place in the world.  Perhaps its the beauty of the skilled cartographer’s work.  Whatever it is, my flat is filling up with them, fast.

credit: House Beautiful

We’ve been making maps for thousands of years.  The oldest known world map is a Babylonian carving known as the Imago Mundi, although I’m fairly sure that mankind would have been scrawling directions in the mud to the nearest watering hole millennia before this.  Throughout the middle ages, the need for accurate maps became more demanding, and recorded some fascinating understandings of the world (see Peter Barber’s brilliant Map Book for an overview, and some lovely images).

Today technology has enabled mapping of almost every mile of the Earth’s surface, yet our fascination with the medium hasn’t diminished and increasingly I’m spotting maps in the most unlikely places.

Although I love the elegance of framed maps, (see the image above from House Beautiful) I also adore maps that are pasted straight onto the walls – like New York designer Steven Gambrell has done here in a nautical themed bedroom.

Credit: Steven Gambrell

And imagine the wild dreams of exploration this sleepy designer is enjoying under a map from the National Geographic.  Similar scale but more modern maps are available from the wonderful Stamfords in Convent Garden.

Credit: National Geographic

Printed Space will make their maps up into wallpaper so you can cover a whole wall with a massive plan of a city you love: (though not sure about the yellow crockery!)

Credit: Printed Space

If you like framed maps, why not try something a little different, like this map of Italy featured in Marie Claire Maison, or cut up a big map and display in lots of smaller frames as interior designer Keller Dovovan did here:

I’m endlessly fascinated by Charles Booth’s Poverty maps of the late 19^th century – I live in what was a semi-criminal area (not sure much has changed!).  However, even such an ardent map-lover as myself would concede that the lower image might be overdoing it somewhat…

Credit: Museum of London

On a more sensible scale, these cushions by Australian designer My Bearded Pigeon bring a touch of vintage international charm to your sofa (weirdly, my favourite is the Antarctic Circle – it must be those cool colours).

Credit: My Bearded Pigeon

And I absolutely love these plates from notNeutral – every dinner-time would be an excuse for an adventure.

Credit: notNeutral

And finally, this is the brilliantly named “Oh The Farmer and the Cowman Should Be Friends” from Ron Arad a few years ago.  Its way too big to fit into most people’s homes (and isn’t for sale!), but what a way to exhibit your library (of Americana, obviously.)

Credit: Timothy Taylor Gallery

Designer Spotlight: Kartell – an iconic Italian brand

Tags

bookshelf, Chair, design, Ghost chair, iconic design, Italian brand, lighting, plastic

So although my own taste veers towards the more rustic/traditional/feminine end of furniture and product design, I still appreciate a great modern brand when I see one. Kartell is one such great brand, hailing from Italy it’s a real design powerhouse (and has plenty of history to go along with it!)

Kartell started out in the 1940s, when the company founder Guilio Castelli – a chemical engineer – began manufacturing plastic car accessories. Later he moved into the creation of plastic lab equipment and from there onto the creation of plastic household goods. This history gave the company a lot of skill with the manipulation of plastics, and this is evident today in its fantastic range of furniture and decor products. The brand has a team of incredibly talented designers and produces accessible, unique designer pieces for the home. The use of unusual shapes, clever designs and bold colour choices make a real statement and they have some truly iconic pieces in their collection.

By far and away my favourite thing from this brand (being a bit of a bookworm myself) is this bookcase that takes something practical and makes it into a piece of wall art:

Kartell bookworm bookshelf

OK so to keep the effect you probably wouldn’t want to cover it in books, but a few carefully chosen titles would complement the shape. You can pick yourself one up here for £395 (its available in black, white, cobalt blue, matt aluminium and red)

My next choice from this brand is a rather sexy set of lampshades. I seem to feature a lot of lighting on this blog, and I think it’s because changing a lampshade is one of the easiest but more effective ways to update your space and add some personality. The Fl/y Icon suspensions lamp is made in all the colours of the rainbow, and whilst they are available singly, I think they look best hung as a beautiful bright group. You can pick up the whole range here for £149 each.

Kartell Fl/y Icon Suspension Lampshade in Rainbow Colours

Finally, no blog post on Kartell would be complete without mentioning their most iconic piece – and one that has been copied countless times since it was first released to market – The Ghost Chair. This chair’s shape was based on a Louis XV chair (in fact I saw one in just this style last weekend at the Palace of Versailles!) but Kartell (along with designer Philippe Starck) reinvented this for the 21st Century, manufacturing from various colours of transparent glossy plastic. The original clear version remains my firm favourite however, and you can get one for £179 here. I recommend pairing it with a rustic wooden dining table to get the maximum impact (and because their chair has such classic styling, it will look like they were made to go together!)

Kartell Ghost Chair in Transparent Plastic

The Ghost Chair paired with a solid wooden table (Image credit to theoutfitoftheday.blogspot.com)

Designer Spotlight – Beautiful Bespoke by Zoe Murphy

Tags

20th Century Furniture, Colourful, cushions, design, footstool, Silk, UK designer, Upcycling

Not got much time today sadly, but when I discovered the delectable work of this Margate based designer I had to pause and blog. Zoe has apparently made quiet a name for herself since she graduated in 2008, and her website lists Libertys as one of her customers. Looking at her designs, it’s obvious why! Zoe takes the upcycling trend I wrote about in an earlier blog post to another level with her carefully considered, rainbow-colourful, fun reinterpretations of 20th century furniture and eye-catching soft furnishings made from recycled wedding dresses! (Yup, wedding dresses, how cool is that!)

Here are a few quick screengrabs from the “Margate Collection” on her website, but be sure to go check it out yourself – you won’t be disappointed!

Zoe Murphy - 20th Century Upcycled Furniture

Zoe Murphy - Recycled wedding dress cushions

Zoe Murphy - Recycled wedding dress footstool

Lighting the way – chandeliers with a difference

Tags

chandeliers, design, homewares, lighting, modern

Continuing on my French inspired theme, today’s blog post is about chandeliers. This elegant and rather feminine type of lighting is the a typical choice for either traditional high end or popular shabby chic decoration schemes. But, as I very quickly discovered, you don’t have to stick with traditional shapes and materials – the chandelier has run wild (and so have the price tags!!)

For a real colour statement we love the Johnny Egg flocked chandeliers. A choice for the brave, their acid bright tones would look striking in a modern clean neutral apartment!

You can buy yourself one for £770 at Heal’s

Johnny Egg Flocked Blue Chandelier

Next up is this AMAZING work of art by Ingo Maurer, available from the ever fabulous SCP Ltd. Each lightbulb has its own pair of goose feather wings evoking an image of birds. Of course, it will hurt the wallet at the rather sensational price of £5160 but if you have the pennies to spare then how can you resist?

Bird Chandelier by Ingo Maurer at SCP Ltd.

Finally for something totally unique and quite stunning because of its beautiful organic shapes and natural material, we had to showcase this amazing deer antler chandelier. Before you get all worried, it’s made from the antlers of Norwegian deer who shed their antlers naturally, so no animal cruelty worries! It is going to cost you a fair whack though, at around £2,800 from The French Bedroom Company

Norwegian Deer Antler Chandelier

And if like me, none of these are in your budget, well you can always cheat with a fabulous cushion from RawXclusive starting at just £35

Blue Chandelier cushion by RawXclusive

Retail Therapy: French Bedroom Company

Tags

desk, dressing screen, French Style, interior decoration, Interiors, sofa

Sorry for a relatively quiet week – turns out in August everyone in Paris goes on holiday, so I had to content myself with mostly window shopping! No matter, because now I’m back in London I’ve had chance to check out what opportunities there are to source French style from right here in the UK.

The French Bedroom Company is actually a big favourite of my mums, and now I have taken the time to explore their website I know why! Their range epitomises elegant French chateau style – a lot of it’s not subtle but it is OH so pretty….here are some of my favourite pieces:

The colour of this dressing table/desk really does it for me – its bright and feminine and Id love to make it a focal point in my bedroom! At £495 I’m going to be saving my pennies for this one!

Duck egg blue desk from the French Bedroom Company

I love limed wood – in fact my entire house is floored with solid limed oak. The liming brings out all the beautiful patterns and details in the wood, and gives it an “aged” (or as I prefer to say, “loved”) feel. So this next piece really floats my boat – it is both beautiful AND practical (adding a bit of privacy or a non-permanent way to divide up a room) and I’d happily have it on display anywhere in my house! Again, it isn’t cheap at £495, but it IS beautifully made – so ladies and gents, please be upstanding for the “Gatsby” dressing screen. (Note: I love their suggestion to dress it up with a feather boa and make a virtual walk in wardrobe!)

Limed wood "Gatsby" Dressing Screen

My third and final pick is this lovely Versailles Bedroom Sofa. It isn’t exactly practical, but it won me over with the subtle metallic sheen of its fabric and its homage to times of true French decadence. It would need careful accessorising to not take a room into OTT but I think in a pale shabby chic bedroom scheme it could be a real centrepiece! So if you have £895 to spare…why not?

Silver and gold versailles bedroom sofa

This is a tiny selection from their very broad stock list, so why not check it out for yourself!

A dose of Parisian Chic

Tags

Designer Apartments, French Style, Interiors, Parisian

So I am currently operating from a little hotel room in central Paris. Sadly, Paris is a rather expensive place, and my budget means it looks very like a Premier Inn in here…but have no fear because all I need do is throw open my curtains and gaze across the beautiful vista of Parisian rooftops and I am transported away. Of course, whilst I’m here I plan to spend an unhealthy amount of time checking out local interiors stores, and to start me off I had a quick trawl of the web for what French style is really all about.

Here are some of my favourite room finds, and I can promise lots of beautiful product finds to follow over the next week!

Elegant Grey Parisian Interior photographed by Richard Powers (feat on http://www.arrenwilliams.com)

Bright home of fashion designer Cordelia de Castellane as seen on Elle Decor

Relaxing Washed out tones Parisian Apartment by http://www.theparisapartment.com (via Coco Male)

Stunning Apartment of interior designer Jean-Paul Beaujard via http://www.fashioninmyeyes.com

Retail Therapy: Ruby Roost – delightful home accessories to suit any budget

One of our favourite things about twitter is that it lends itself perfectly to discovery, and sometimes a real beauty crops up in our tweet stream. Ruby Roost is one such find – their product range ticks all our boxes with an inspiring handpicked selection that blends the “ooh isn’t it pretty” effect with “oh that’s so unusual, where did you get it?” You might not need everything this online boutique sells, but you are certain to want most of it!

Describing itself as selling “little treats for the home” we stumbled upon something we liked inside every category. Here are a few of our favourites:

Stoneware coffee beaker by Karin Eriksson

These smart vessels have a beautiful hand thrown finish and although we haven’t held one ourselves, we are betting they feel rather lovely in the hand. Practical (dishwasher and microwave safe), interesting and unlike anything else we have drunk coffee out of we think at £30.40 for the pair (in the sale) they are a must have! Get them here

Individual mini wooden drawers for storage

We are always looking out for attractive says to store bits and pieces and these mini drawers are a great idea for a study or a crafting desk. Made from lovely dark wood and with a very useful slot for labelling, we would use them exactly as shown in this picture, stacked haphazardly for best visual effect. They are just £5 each so no complaints on price either! Get them here

Silver aluminium pendant lampshade

We love kitchens which have low hanging pendants over a dining room table, and this pendant lampshade is just perfect for that effect! I would line them up in a row for the most striking look, so get one, two or better still three here for £36.99

There are plenty of other fantastic things on the website, so go check it out! www.rubyroost.com

Product Spotlight: Hand Made Wallpaper – A child’s dream come true

So every now and then I stumble upon a product or item that is just too cool not to share and this fun wallpaper from Bodie & Fou is one such find:

Hand Made Wallpaper by Bodie & Fou

This wallpaper with its range of shadow animals pattern is bound to keep a child quiet for hours on end, which according to my friends with little ones, makes it a guaranteed winner! Actually, I think it would keep ME quiet for hours on end! (I never managed much other than a chicken before now!) Add to that the fact that its actually a pretty lovely shade of twilight blue and how can you not love it?

So why not add a bit of fun to your walls – you can get yourself a roll here

 

The beauty of driftwood

There is something about homewares that use driftwood as their base material that I find really appealing – I think it’s a combination of the muted colours and unpredictable textures, and the knowledge that the driftwood has been something else before.

Lovely enough to make a piece of art...

I stumbled across this mirror during one of my regular Etsy trawls and I think it is really very beautiful – I love all the tonal browns, beiges and greys of the wood that frame but don’t overwhelm the mirror.

Cork & Driftwood Handmade Mirror by holmsie on etsy

It’s also possible to make a much bolder statement with driftwood as well – its beautiful form can give otherwise mundane pieces of furniture their own unique presence.

This table is a great example:

Driftwood Table

Of course, the best thing about driftwood is that it’s totally free and anyone can wander along a coastline and find inspiring pieces for themselves,
and even the raw unmodified pieces can be perfect to decorate a fireplace or make a natural sculpture in the corner of a room.