I hope you will forgive me a little indulgence here but I am constantly blown away by gorgeous pictures featuring the book and I thought that this week, it would be fun to do a 10 Beautiful Rooms post featuring it. I always said I wanted it to be a pretty book and, only half-jokingly, said to my publisher – but it must look good on instagram too.
Well so it has proved and I’m thrilled to feature some of my favourite rooms with my, well, favourite book, appearing in the background. And it turned out to be 15 not 10 because it was too hard to choose and there were some lovely entries for us all to wander through.
First is this wonderful pink bedroom by Fiona Cameron, whose gorgeous house has featured on these pages before and who gave me the idea for today’s post. Yes pink can be very feminine and girly but throw in a drop of black or charcoal and it’s immediately cool and one of my favourite colour combinations.
Then the book turned up in the bath and what a relaxing space this looks like – slightly wishing the background wasn’t blurred so we could see that instead of the book but in short, I’m all in favour of a bit of tongue and groove in a bathroom if you can get away without having tiles.
These next few are all about the flowers. Last year I took out a monthly subscription to Freddie’s Flowers (which I pay for although I know he is promoting heavily to bloggers at the moment) and I have to say it’s always so exciting when they turn up. Fresh flowers is a real treat and I seem to be faux plant real flower at the moment. At least you know the latter is supposed to die.
I only just spotted the cat peaking out from behind the pillow in this picture of Kathyrn’s too. Sticking with bedrooms is this lovely blue panelling from HomeRunway, who has a similar colour palette to above. A couple of years ago those grey walls would probably have been styled with more grey but now that colour has come back into fashion the warm golds and blush pinks are popping up everywhere and warm up grey beautifully. They’re also great with green as, on my computer, this second bedroom may well be green rather than dark grey.
Another flower shot and this is a more classic style of decor but the flowers and soft draping curtain give such a relaxing feel to them I could happily sit in this room all day. And that way I would get to see what’s behind the screen. I’m guessing telly?
Back to the dark side with this deep blue/green/teal room by Beth Shehata. I love that picture on the wall which goes so beautifully. It would be so much less dramatic on a white wall don’t you think? Recently we painted a wall in the kitchen blush pink and even pictures on that look more dramatic than against white. Although who I am to argue with generations of gallery hangers? Mind you during a recent visit to the National Gallery (and that’s the sort of thing I will cover in the monthly newsletter although I didn’t blog about it) we didn’t go into a single room with a white wall so times are changing there as well.
And I know this is supposed to be about rooms not shelves but these are very superior shelves- I love the idea of painting them green. It ties in with the point above about how things look great against a dark background as it really allows them to stand out. What do you think?
Staying with dark and another bedroom again with warm pinks and peaches against the grey. Grey is very easily influenced and if you have ended up with one that is too cold you can change that with the accessories that you put against it. Likewise if your grey is showing more beige – perhaps because it’s a south-facing room with a warm golden light – then stick some black and cooler colours against it.
I recently painted the sitting room in a dark chocolate colour as you know and the dark grey velvet sofa has definitely taken on a pinker tinge to it so it doesn’t clash as much as we feared. The Decorating Domino Effect means that we will probably change it however as the yellow sofa I stole from my mother is falling apart and needs re-upholstering so there are new colours to ponder all round now.
Sticking with bedrooms and this is another pink and grey affair with a little exposed brick thrown in for edginess and to stop the pink being too sugary.
Then there was this recent loft conversion by Megan with shower included. Of course this idea isn’t for everyone but if you have a loft space where ceiling height is an issue and it’s a master bedroom suite that’s just for you then it’s a good idea. I once visited a loft conversion where the loo had been crammed in under such a low slope that the man of the house, nearly 6ft tall, basically always had to wee sitting down. I mean it’s a first world problem but if it works for you.. and remember what works for you isn’t necessarily what works for the architect. Stand firm and remember that it’s your house and you will be living there.
Moving outside to this lovely outside space from Kellie – this time with the bricks painted white, which I’m also keen on as a look. And again with the grey and pink. I was asked the other day if instagram was influencing how we decorate and I wasn’t sure but perhaps it is after all.
But then there was this by Emma White with a blue velvet sofa against a tonal wall. This is such a restful room. And that’s another tip – when you are decorating a room you do need to think about how you want to feel in a space and what colours will help you achieve that feeling.
Here’s a case in point. Another blue velvet sofa this time against a riot of colour by Lucy Tiffney, which just goes to show right there how you can take one piece of furniture and style it in two completely different ways to create two completely different effects. So do think about the effect you want a room to have on your mood. If you love a design but it doesn’t give you the right vibe for that room then think about using it somewhere else where it will fit.
And finally for a green velvet sofa. Another classic colour that works beautifully with grey – both dark and light. Throw in some natural wood and it’s a room that will stand the test of time perfectly – with or without a certain pink book.
Now I said I would send out a signed copy of the book to one of the photographers included in today’s post. As I will be on a plane back LA when this post goes live I have already notified that person by private message. I have videoed the drawing of the name from the hat and I will post that on stories either in the middle of the UK night before I get on the plane or when I get back around lunchtime so you can see it was fair and square but I couldn’t think of another way to do it given the logistics which, clearly, I didn’t think through when I came up with this idea. Congratulations to Emma, here is a shot of the Mad Husband holding the winning ticket:
There have also been more entries than I thought so I will perhaps do this again for those who weren’t featured this time. And, finally, I have some copies of the book that I can sign and dedicate so if anyone wants one let me know and it’s £23 to include postage.
