Ok, so slightly longer than a week since the last blog, but excuses, excuses… I have been busy!

This week, I will be advising you on budget, ecological and fairly easy ways to make your living room a cosier and more interesting and relaxing space to be in. You may need to just take the tips that apply to your actual space and adapt the tips that don’t, to suit your needs. Easy!

I have seen many living rooms/ lounges in desperate need of some styling, and often it is the simplest things that I end up advising people to do, to make small changes that make a big difference.

• Storage: If your living room is full of clutter (magazines, books, dvds, music, kids toys, ornaments, etc)… then the first rule is to find some great storage solutions in the means of furniture and shelving. There are loads of great coffee tables out there now, that have hidden storage or drawers in. Dwell have great ones for very reasonable prices. If you’re a bit of a DIY-er, you could attempt to pick up a wooden pallet (always dumped on streets/ skips) and sand, varnish and attach wheels for a very eco coffee table. *See images below! For smart shelving ideas and creating custom shelves/ side tables, I like to use wooden crates. Baileys Store sell apple crates for £24 or try a local farm if there’s any near by. I got mine from car boot sales. Once sorted your shelving and coffee tables (try to not mix and match too much, unless you are very design savvy, otherwise stick to naturals with wood and painted wooden furniture or modern gloss/ laquered furniture), organise nice chunky books onto shelves, looks good done by size or colour. Then hide away unwanted clutter- toys into large wicker baskets (I like the old picnic baskets sold in 2nd hand stores and car boot sales- which you can stack on top of each other too), DVD’s into drawers, magazines into coffee table shelves or wooden crate side tables (a wooden crate stood upright- magazines can stack up in a pile inside).

• So, opposite end of the scale (and I know many people who have lounges like this), you have a very minimal living room… ie. sofas, TV stand/ table, TV & DVD etc, shelves for DVD’s/ music, coffee table and not much else! To make the minimalist look work in a living room, it requires really key and interesting pieces of furniture, clever lighting and fairly coordinated colour scheme. Sadly, this often isn’t the case. If you are trying to achieve this look in the living room, I would suggest you invest in a couple of really nice matching sofas (you dont need to spend a fortune, but comfort and style should be forefront). Made has some classic and vintage styles (around £500-1000). Or for retro sofas like old Robin Day sofas, etc… check your local vintage shops, car boot sales or if you dont mind spending a bit more to save time, then The Old Cinema (London) often has some great pieces! Next, picture frames, art work and displays on the walls can make or break a minimalist room. Think about the style, if going with retro sofas, you could combine mis-matched and different sized/ coloured frames in a more informal arrangement on a wall above a sofa, or for a more minimal clean cut look, try making an arrangement of artwork, images by placing your selection in frames that are all the same colour and style and arranged in straight lines or in a square/ rectangular shape. *See images middle row. Or of course, if you are lucky enough to have one or two extra large framed art works then simply hang one on each suitable/ spare wall. Make sure they co-ordinate with the rest of the room though. If your living room is predominately white, then art work is a great way to introduce colour- go wild with bright colours in your art work if everything else is plain. You can ‘mirror’ some of these colours with sofa cushions or throws. To cosy up a minimal living room, introduce vases of flowers, cushions on sofas, candles, lamps (more on lighting in next section), some books or magazines arranged on shelves, plants, and as just mentioned, framed pictures on the walls.

• Lighting! PET HATE: Living rooms with no lamps/ mood lighting! Sorry if that’s you, but in my opinion there is just no need for harsh lighting in a room that is designed for relaxing in. I never use the main light in the living room (although I do have a rather excessive amount of lamps-4 exactly, not including fairy lights around a framed picture on the wall). It is one of the factors to achieve cosiness. Soft mood lighting (include candles if you can- not everyone is a fan of these I know), achieved by a mixture of lamps at different levels works wonders in the living room. If you like to read on the sofa, then choose slightly stronger angle poise lamps to go either side of this- if you dont have space for side tables, you can get taller free standing angle poise lamps instead. Choose softer lighting to place anywhere near a TV and to enhance an area of the room, such as the alcoves either side of a fireplace. And if your living room is blessed with a fireplace, as mine is, then a large mirror or picture framed above this works well, and candles (mixture of heights) in front of the mirror creates a lovely glistening reflection around the room. Opt for the vintage heavier mirrors, usually gilded frames, much nicer than pine framed ones.

• Decoration! I’ve covered a lot of the decor tips in the last few paragraphs, but a short list/ recap here of basic and cheap decor ideas for quick touches and changes:

1. Clean! Hoover those carpets and rugs; wash the curtains, sofa throws and cushion covers; get rid of anything really stained; open the window to circulate air, and if you have an oil burner, burn some nice oils, otherwise fresh scented flowers can help.
2. Once everything has been cleaned, dried and aired and badly stained items replaced, de-clutter.
3. If your sofas are patterned (in an old, out of date, not so good pattern) then buy extra large throws to cover them. If you dont have pets, messy children, then cream is a great neutral.
4. Re-paint walls that need doing. I rairly do a whole room in a bright/ bold colour, instead, I usually opt for a subtle natural shade of chalky white, soft greys, and do one feature wall in a subtle colour. I have 3 white walls and one chalky aubergine colour wall behind the sofa.
5. Try not to make the TV a focal point, best if it can be to the left or right of the room (if your rooms a square/ rectangle shape). I think above the fireplace is too domineering!
6. If your living room is small, minimise patterned fabrics, it will make it look more cluttered and even smaller. Stick to plain light colours (creams, whites where possible) and introduce colour through cushions, throws, artwork and flowers.
7. If hanging pictures in frames, like mentioned above, place them all on the floor first to see how to make the best arrangement, then get someone to help you hold one in place at a time while you make a small pencil corner marks on the wall. This will help you place nails in the right place and not end up with pictures too close together.
8. Turn those main lights off and just use lamps- either sides of sofas, in corners of rooms, etc. Fairy lights or string lights work well hung around artwork or picture rails on the walls, or if you have nice wooden floors, then around the skirting boards (though if you’re doing this, you need to use rope lights that don’t overheat).
9. Let the air in and scent your room- it should be a place to relax! Open windows when you can, buy fresh flowers when you can afford to, light candles or burn essential oils. Avoid artificial room sprays! Room sprays made with water and essential oils are ok.
10. Tactile! Enjoy a few luxuries like sheepskin rugs, lambswool blankets thrown over the sofa, cushions soft enough to cuddle, cosy rugs, slippers by the door. Lastly, enjoy your clutter free, cosy, warmly lit, gorgeous smelling, design conscious and relaxing living room!

           *See images bottom row!

So, as promised, I will be writing a weekly blog with easy, cheap, eco- friendly decor tips for a different room of the house each week. I will also try and give a more detailed description or instructions of one practical thing to make or do for that room!

This week (first week), I will be writing down my tips for making your bathroom look lovely. These ideas should be easily achievable, though will require some shopping or bargain hunting, and if you’re no good at that, or frankly just can’t be bothered, then mail me and for a small fee I will come and do all the sourcing, shopping and hard graft for you- simple!!

• Paint! Sounds obvious, and is… but any room, particularly the bathroom looks a hundred times better and fresher with a new lick of paint. I’m a fan of keeping the bathroom quite simple with a fresh coat of white on the walls. Obviously, if you have any damp patches then remove these first with proper mould spray and buy paint specifically for bathrooms if damp is a problem. Homebase has 2.5l for £15.99.

• Lighting, lighting, lighting! So important and so often people get it wrong. The lighting you use should depend on whether you have a bath in there or just a shower (ie is the function sometimes for relaxing in, or always just for showers, shaving, etc). If you have a bath, as I do, then lighting for a relaxed environment is important. You can either have a dimmer switch fitted to alter the brightness or if thats not possible or too pricey, then start collecting lovely glass tea light holders to keep in a cupboard or large wooden bowl with a load of tea light candles (and matches) and when you run your bath, spread them around the edge of the tub, either side of the sink, window sill, etc. If you do not have a bath, lighting should be bright enough for the ability to shave/ do make up/ whatever you do in the bathroom, but not too bright- I once went in a bathroom with strip lights- why would anyone fit strip lights in a bathroom?!

• Mirrors. Use mirrors in the best places to serve a purpose- above the sink (obvious reasons) and if your bathroom’s big enough then on a wall to reflect any natural light back in. Functional mirrors  should be well lit and if using mirror tiles, shouldnt split the reflection where the tiles meet so plan well!

• Pictures personalise a space and theres no reason that your bathroom can’t be another gallery space. Just be aware of the condensation, which can seep in and ruin pictures even when in a glass frame. I found a couple of retro fabric and metal bird pictures which are perfect, but otherwise I just frame postcards and photos to make an eclectic arrangement (see images below). For a more formal arrangement, buy a set of 3 matching frames for 3 favourite images and hang them in a row across one wall, if you have a longer wall to fill, try 5 or even 7 pics in a row- uneven numbers work better!

• Plants can contribute to a bathroom both visually and therapeutically, as they contribute to the quality of air, stopping it from getting too stagnant. They also give a more natural look to an otherwise clinical space. This site Indoor Gardener has a list of the best plants for bathrooms.

• Scent. A very important aspect of enjoying being in your bathroom, as well as making it a nice experience for guests. I strongly recommend investing  in an oil burner (try Body Shop or online here) and a few essential oils. Avoid over chemically ‘fake’ scented toilet/ bathroom sprays, which do not small great, are not good for your health and have no beneficial qualities as essential oils do. Suggested basic oil set: lavender (relaxing and kills airborne germs), geranium (energising yet relaxing), peppermint (for energy, helps remove unpleasant scents), lemon (refreshing), eucalyptus (for alertness and helps ease bad chest, nasal congestion). All essential oils can be either used in a burner with some water or added directly to your bath.

• De-clutter. To avoid your bathroom being a dumping ground of bottles and products on every surface, try to only have products you actually need to use daily around the shower and bath. Use up and bin old bottles before putting out new ones, keep products that are used less often (bath oils etc) in a cupboard or wicker baskets on a shelf if no space for a cupboard. The same around the sink, keep it clear with a nice soap dish or liquid soap and a pretty pot for toothbrushes etc. I love these Mexican style cups.

• Re-use, recycle, mix it up! If you have seen other work on my site, you will know I am a big fan of re-using items in an unusual or interesting way, and mixing up items to give them a use other than that they were created for is fun and usually makes a talking point. I use glass vintage jelly moulds (try car boot sales, charity shops or ebay) for holding my soaps and gorgeous old German medicine bottles for storing my bath oils (see images below). I dont like the look of all the plastic packaging that most bathroom products come in so the idea is (other than your daily basics such a shampoo) transfer anything like bath oils/ bubble bath/ bath salts into new and more unusual containers. Plastic is absorbent so look for containers in glass or metal.

As an example of this, I am posting below basic instructions and images of creating lavender bath salts in a gorgeous old milk container.

Make it:

Lavender Bath salts

4 cups Epson Salts,

1 cup Coarse Sea Salt,

1 cup Dried Lavender (Neals Yard sells this),

30 drops Lavender Essential Oil

Metal or glass container with a lid (large enough for the bath salt mix)

Use a metal or ceramic mixing bowl to mix all ingredients together, with a metal spoon (wood and plastic too porous). When putting in the oil dont pour it all in one area or it will clump the salt together, pour drops in as you stir to spread them out.  This makes quite a lot (see my images above) so choose your container first then try to judge how many cups of salt will fill it and change the recipe accordingly. I found this amazing stainless steel container (think it was to hold milk?) at a market in Berlin. The ceramic scoop was from a pack of 3 different sized scoops from the Garden Trading Company.

Happy creating and don’t forget to check in next week when I will give you design ideas for the Living Room.

Kate Burt writes a great article for the Independent newspaper back in January this year- yes I have been a little slow at adding this, on the topic and current trend in reusing, recycling, reclaiming and upcycling items to produce new and interesting interiors.

The article features some of my own work and ideas, but also some wonderful quirky ideas for the interior decoration of a London pub, as well as some key ideas from Sally and Mark Bailey, shop owners and authors of Recycled Home & Handmade Home, whose books are full of such wonderful images of reusing and upcycling items for the interiors.

Unfortunately, the text is a little small for reading so I posted the link for the online article below the main image.  I have also shared a few details about my ideas featured in the article, so check below for some re-made inspiration … Enjoy!

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First time to Berlin!! What an amazing city, even in the cold and grey of January, traipsing around in the rain and being slightly limited as to where we can go, I still loved it! Although I can definitely see how different a city this would be in the summer time too!

Lots of hanging out in cool bars and cafes around Mitte and East Kreuzberg (often sheltering from the rain), as well as a visit to the amazing Flohmarkt (for those that havn’t been- this is a massive market full of art, antiques, retro, vintage, homeware, and more) and of course some important historical sights and many great art galleries. I wanted to share just a few of my snaps that inspired me and hope that you find inspiration in these too. I am already planning my return there in the summer (and bringing a bigger bag to cart back all my finds from Flohmarkt!)

I was impressed by the use of space in the buildings, which all had a rather industrial feel to them, and in two of the bars we visited, they had made clever use of the steps within the building as a seating area (see images above).

The feel of exposed pipes, raw brick work, art on every wall, miss matched furniture and unusual lighting is right up my street for cool design on a budget and clever use of space and materials.

The accommodation we stayed in was equally impressive (and less of the industrial feel), which we found on http://www.airbnb.com/search and featured some very lovely designs including this brilliant upcycled bedside table (see image above) made from an otherwise old and most likely ready for the dump cassette player. Genius!

On my pursuit of transforming something old and pre-loved into something new and interesting, I took inspiration from my recent visit to Amsterdam (see old post for details), where a large crane in an industrial area made me think of hanging lights off something similar.

It’s nothing new I know,  to look at lighting in this architectural and industrial way, however I did want to put my own take on it. I’m not quite sure where the idea for a fire truck came in, but when I saw this one, I knew it would be perfect. Large, old, covered in stickers, well used, with a moving ladder and red lights at the front that illuminate, it couldn’t be more perfect! So, the story begins of the old red fire truck, transforming to a table lamp….

• First, I gave it a good clean, removed most the stickers and scrubbed well.
• Then, for the fiddly part- masking taped all the areas I wanted to keep and behind the windows, over the tyres etc, surprisingly took a very long time for this!
• On to choosing the colour… a matt red, gold or black, I still think gold could have looked good but went for black as keeping some parts of the truck silver and red so the colours worked well together.
• About 10 layers of spray paint later to get in all those tiny little nooks and crannies and within the ladder spokes. I kept some of the stickers on, which I sprayed over, so you can still see the imprint of them coming through.
• Un-masking, then the wiring of the lamp itself.
• I went to an electrical shop to buy all the lighting parts and sought advice before wiring of the switch. The bulb used is an energy saving 10yr lifespan globe.

And here is the finished product, hope you enjoy, feel free to share…

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Dishoom Exterior

For my birthday last Friday, my lovely man and I took a visit to the Festival of Britain, we had the whole leisurely afternoon to ponder about before seeing a ‘free-running’ show at Udderbelly in the afternoon- very fun!

Anyhow, after my visit I wanted to share some of the great design I saw. Unexpectedly it was not a show or the art that inspired me the most, but a pop-up restaurant- Dishoom Chowpatty Beachbar. Not living in London, I have not come across this restaurant before, and to be honest we did not end up eating there this time (too busy), but I did sneak in for a quick look at the decor after being inspired by the outside ‘beach-hut’ style of the exterior.

This is right up my street (of course not literally), I love the innovative style and resourcefulness and use of products, especially as this is just a pop-up restaurant as part of the 60th year celebrations of the Festival. I hope to visit again soon and actually eat there next time…!

The exterior walls look reminiscent of your garden fence, cleverly pieced together like puzzle pieces and painted in my favourite sort of colours, merging from red to orange to yellows. The outdoor seating is made from what looks like railway sleepers, with the menus written directly onto the tables (like it!), rubber tyre planting and some seats made from old tin drums. This is the sort of project I’d like to get my hands into, eco and very fun!

The Interior has amazing weaved fabric walls, light fittings inside glass storage jars, a wall made out of rolled up Indian newspapers, quirky pictures, painted colourful chairs  and a lovley beach shack slatted wood wall effect.

Railway sleeper seating

Tyre flower beds

Beach shack Interior

Dishoom (photo- Paul Winch-Furness)

Woven walls

Newspaper Wall (photo- Paul Winch-Furness)

I remember searching for eco wallpapers a few years ago and coming up with very little online, then Graham and Brown set a competition directed at Central St Martins students ’To design a collection of innovative wallpapers with a focus on sustainability’. Some beautiful designs were created and Jo Angell won first prize with 3 wallpapers chosen for the company (Bittern).

This, I’m sure, helped bring eco wallpaper designs into the spotlight with such a large company showcasing some new designs. More recently though, I have come across a much larger range of amazing hand printed, quirky and very beautiful eco wallpaper designs, so many in fact, that it was hard to pinpoint a top 10.

Eco centric have, in my opinion one of the best selections of eco wallpapers, some of which are featured below. For gorgeous hand printed designs, Brighton based Emily Dupen-Hopkins of Dupenny produces some really unique designs, as does Louise Body, whose new collection sees gorgeous paper tiles, and Lizzie Allen, whose designs are wonderfully charming with a vintage feel and a London twist.

Check them all out yourself and happy choosing if you are looking to update your room with some lovely eco wallpapers any time soon!

What is recycled/ upcycled furniture?

For an item to be classed as recycled, its material needs to have been broken down and made again into a new product. This usually happens by making a new material or item from our everyday waste products that  fill the landfills. The recycling ‘loop’ is completed when the new recycled product is purchased for use. Upcycling, becoming increasingly popular in design, is the creation of a new usable product out of an old/ broken/ useless product (eg. creating a newly painted set of bookshelves from an old wooden ladder, otherwise destined for the dump).

Why buy recycled/ upcycled furniture?

I have made a quick summary list of some of the most important reasons for buying recycled/ upcycled.

1. Recycled furniture increases demand for waste products, keeping them out of the dump, and putting money into the industry of recycling, creating more jobs within this industry.
2. In buying recycled or upcycled furniture, and stopping more items heading to landfill, you are helping to reduce pollution and increase the chances of less landfills (and homes near them) being built.                                                                                   ‘Landfills sites are the largest source of methane production, a greenhouse gas 23 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, whilst Incinerators produce hazardous air pollutants including known cancer-causing substances’ (taken from http://www.elementgreenrecycling.co.uk/).
3. Helps to protect the wildlife from losing their habitat, through cutting down trees to make furniture.                                                  ’Forests are home to some two-thirds of the world’s plants and animals. As they are cleared and degraded, the unique flora and fauna that depend on these ecosystems become threatened with extinction’ (taken from http://www.rainforest-alliance.org ).
4. It saves energy. It uses much less energy to recycle than to landfill and make products from new materials. It takes even less to upcycle and make something new out of something old or broken.
5. It saves money. (Selling the recycled materials offsets any money spent collecting and processing)
6. And one which I consider hugely important, you are working towards a more sustainable way of living, to consume and waste less.

Top 10 favourite eco furniture designs:

Below, I have sourced a pick of some of my personal favourites of either recycled  or upcycled furniture. When you scroll through each one, try to think about anything you currently have sat at home that is unloved, broken, ready for the bin or useless, and then look at it again and try to think if it couldn’t be made into something new and loved again. And if your brain does not work in that way, don’t fear, there are loads of fantastic designers already making recycled and upcycled furniture to choose from….

1.The Murakami Rocking chair by Rochus Jacob. This wonderful looking chair produces power as it rocks, making the light glow as you gently rock’ n’ read. It is also light sensitive, meaning that in the daylight, if you rock, it will store the energy to use as you read in the evening- pure brilliance!

2.Cardboard furniture by Giles Miller

3.Recycled cabinet drawers by Rob Southcott

4.Wonderful assortment of suitcase chairs by Katie Thompson

5.Vintage Tennis racket mirrors (as featured in House& Garden)

6.High tech chairs by Design Gezunt, made with recycled metal and foam.

7.Not officially furniture, but what a great accessory! Beautiful sewn together doilies to throw over sofa, bed, table or whatever you fancy. By Marian Duijvestijn.

8.Coral chair by Ton Haas, made from fibre-glass reinforced Nylon.

9.Upcycled shelves made with shipping crates by Linda Jose. I just love the colours and effect this gives- great!

10.Paper table made from remnants of paper and recycled into this wonderful table form, by Matt Gagnon Studio.

Fresh back from a trip to the beautiful Amsterdam and now bursting with creativity and ideas that I can’t wait to try out and get going on…

Firstly,  some images that have inspired me and my colour palette of choice. While roaming through the streets of Amsterdam (mostly on the back of a push-bike), I snapped away at all those things I see beauty in, I hope you can see it too! The most inspirational and vibrant of places was the Keukenhof Gardens (Lisse), having gone at the best time of year when everything is in bloom- I really think you have to be there to see how vast and amazing it really is, but the photos should give you an idea.

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Feeling more like summer the last few weeks, it’s hard to not start getting excited by the beautiful sunsets, flowers, and bright colours popping up around us!

So… it feels only right to give you some Spring time colour and style inspiration for your house, garden or venue.

While researching and planning for a few current projects, including the re-style of a beautiful bed and breakfast room, I kept coming back to the same vibrant colours and floral influences, which evoke warm happy feelings, perfectly apt for this time of year!

These gorgeous cobalt blues, yellows and bright whites are the perfect combination to brighten up any dreary room, inside or out and now is the best time of year to do it.

I particularly like the accents of colours, such as the yellow doors (image from Elle, Norway), that work well when using such bold colours in a room. I am planning to use some of these (slightly Moroccan influenced) colours for the b&b project to really freshen and brighten an otherwise slightly dark room.

My other Spring influence at the moment is rather more obvious, but none the less important, and when displayed in interesting and quirky ways, can define a space…

The floral influence! Flowers can make a space come alive, especially if displayed in unusual holders. I like to take the unexpected and create it into something new. With displaying flowers, think old lemonade bottles, milk bottles, jugs, buckets, storage jars, unusual tall mugs… the list is endless! Chop large petalled flowers close to the stem and display in smaller vessels also.

I am very fond of the hanging flowers (image shown from fiftieswedding.com), and think this sort of arrangement would look great hanging in front of a large (without curtains) window.

Bringing the outdoors in like the wonderful tree growing behind the bed image (from Anthropologie) is another great idea to breath new life into a room.

So there we have a few little ideas and inspirations to get you thinking…

Look out for my updated images and projects to see what I’m up to. You can also join my facebook site for quick updates to Jasmine Orchard Styling:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Brighton-United-Kingdom/Jasmine-Orchard-Styling/191094764267311