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The Enduring Appeal of Mid-Century Furniture, Do Less Harm and Garden Updates (Podcast notes)

11th July 2019

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mid-century modern chairs at El Fenn hotel. Marrakech

And we're back! The Great Indoors Podcast Series 4 is up now for you to download from your preferred platform. We've got a brand new shiny sponsor, Topps Tiles, and for those of you who don't listen (why not?!) here is what we discussed this week: the enduring appeal of mid-century modern furniture, everyone's talking

Do Less Harm; Join My Campaign

18th June 2019

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madaboutthehouse sitting room in fallen plum by atelier ellis

The core promise of the Hippocratic Oath, taken by all doctors, is “First, do no harm” – Primum, non nocere (a Latin translation from the Greek). I have been thinking about this a lot recently amid society’s increasing awareness that the planet is burning; that we have squandered our resources and failed to protect the

The Househunter: The Berdoulat Building in Bath

26th May 2023

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If you ever read blog post titles this one may not mean that much to you but if I show you the pantry that possibly broke the internet it may seem more familiar. This narrow pantry was pinned and admired by everyone. My mother-in-law got contractors' quotes to recreate it, I revised my whole philosophy

Eco Paint: What Do You Need To Know?

28th April 2022

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glazed pantry doors by berdoulat painted in edward bulmer london brown

This week on the podcast, Sophie and I have done a fairly deep dive into eco paints. She was mostly enraged that there is no industry standard and everyone does what they want so we have looked into the subject in more depth to try and understand what's what and what you need to know.

Giveback January – Recycle or Donate Unwanted Electrical Goods

6th January 2021

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Boxes of electricals in front of book shelf for Giveback January – Recycle or Donate Unwanted Electrical Goods

It seems appropriate for this first AD Break of the year to begin with a piece about recycling. And I’m also posting this the day after 12th Night (yesterday for the record) when new research has found that the UK alone has thrown away nearly 35m Christmas tree lights - enough to wind around every

London Design Festival Round-Up and Colour Trends (podcast notes)

3rd October 2019

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In this week's episode of the podcast Sophie and I report back on London Design Festival and what we found there. This event gets bigger every year and more and more venues now take part. Set up in 2003, over a million people from 75 countries now visit the capital to see both new products

Phaidon: Interiors The Greatest Rooms of the Century

21st May 2019

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roger de cabrol, east village loft 2014 image by David S Allee from Phaidon Interiors

When I was first trying to find a publisher for my book, my agent was told that interiors books weren't really popular. That they didn't sell well and they weren't that interested in them. Well, we persevered and many of you will know how that turned out. However, there has been a bit of a

Discussion: Designing Sustainably for the Home

1st June 2022

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Last week at Clerkenwell Design Week (back in real life for the first time in two years) I was delighted to chair a panel discussion on designing sustainably for the home. And yes it was just before I succumbed to the dreaded C (I kept a distance from most people and none of the panel

Is this the most Eco Paint in the World?

16th February 2022

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GRAPHENSTONE-Lovat on walls and columns Graphclean Matt Interior and Bengal for doors and surround Graphclean mid sheen interior. Furntiture The Conran Shop

We know, now, about the importance of low VOCs* in paint, about trying to find paints with few synthetics, the issues of recycling and the problem of all those leftover tester pots. But there is one company that is one of the most certified eco paints in the world and yet, as it doesn't advertise

It’s Earth Day

22nd April 2021

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nomad sultan rug by weaver green made from 54000 plastic bottles

The interiors business has traditionally been wasteful as we seek to constantly change our homes the way we used to change our clothes, but over the last couple of years, it feels like change (and awareness) is beginning to happen and filter through. There is a real passion for vintage and antique furniture now and

8 Of The Prettiest Bedrooms for National Bed Month

9th March 2021

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bedding by bedeck1951 and wallpaper by morris and co

I'm not normally one to mark National this and Daily that but given that schools went back yesterday and I discovered it was national bed month, it felt like there was a link. I have kept going by telling myself that as soon as life returns to normal (whatever that is) that I will celebrate

How To Buy Ethical Interiors

5th November 2020

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tortoiseshell bamboo covered cupboard with peach glass floor lamp, cream sofa and orange striped cushion. .interior designer Em Gurner, image by anna yanovski

This week on the podcast, Sophie interviews Chloe Bullock, a BIID member and the first interior designer in the UK to be vegandesign.org certified. There is no doubt that we are all becoming more aware of the need to decorate our houses sustainably and in a way that is less damaging to the planet. interior

Shop Vintage for Second Hand September

17th September 2020

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joe colombo 4867 chairs for kartell via the peanut vendor

We may already be halfway through the month but did you know it was second-hand September - an Oxfam campaign to ask people to shop secondhand for the whole month to prevent some of the 13 million clothing items that end up in landfill every week. Shall we pause and read that again. Thirteen.Million.Every.Week. Now

Sofa Sale and Eco Credentials

22nd January 2020

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As regular readers will know I have worked with Love Your Home for many years now and I often tell you about what they are up to. This year they have offered to extend their sale period to you for an extra month and increased the discount as a treat to loyal Mad About The

Christmas Gift Guide Room by Room: The Sitting Room

3rd December 2019

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madaboutthehouse sitting room in fallen plum by atelier ellis

Well I feel it might be hard to top the kitchen gift guide which resonated with so many of you but for those who are rarely in the kitchen at parties - or unless it's absolutely necessary at any other time then let's move to the sitting room. This is a bit of a catch

Six of the Best: Striped Duvet Covers

24th September 2019

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Organic Pyjama Stripe Duvet Cover ORGANIC PYJAMA STRIPE DUVET COVER from toast

I have loved mattress ticking for as long as I can remember - and actually slept on it for years at boarding school - but when, a few years ago, I decided I wanted some for our bedroom there was none to be found. Suddenly now it's everywhere though so I thought I would include

New Collections and Launches for Autumn

17th September 2019

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Organic shapes, soft textures and natural materials feature heavily in the Zara Home collection. The warm colours and natural materials of these bathroom towels help to create a minimalist feel. #newseason #bathroom #madaboutthehouse

I spoke the other week about September being the start of the new year for many and we talked around how you can update your home without spending any money. But the other thing that comes with the new year is new launches, and, as London whirls itself into a frenzy of fashion and design

New Book Reviews and Minimalism v Maximalism (podcast notes)

5th September 2019

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Kate Watson-Smyth and Sophie Robinson review three new interior books, shown here on Kate's side table for the Great Indoors podcast. #podcast #thegreatindoors #madaboutthehouse

I spoke earlier in the week about how to revamp your home without spending any money (see previous post) as part of that new year feeling which is always such a big part of September. Another marker of the start of the season is the release of new interiors books. Sophie Robinson and I discussed

What Paint to Use on Which Surface: A Guide.

1st August 2019

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As regular readers know I take a break from blogging in August. This is partly to recharge my batteries and partly because I suspect that since I blog four times a week many of you don't have time to read everything, or you might skip a post because it doesn't feel relevant when it's published