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Topps Tile of the Year 2020

18th September 2019

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Kate Watson-Smyth looks at the Topps Tile of the Year 2020: syren in midnight blue

Well we've had the colour of the year and now it's time for the tile of the year as revealed by moi at an event with Topps Tiles last week and for this week's Wednesday AD Break I thought I would talk you through some of the trends around it and the different ways you

Monday Inspiration: We’ve all gone dotty for checks

24th April 2023

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image by sara margareta hellman

A week since I showed you the house we have bought in Italy, less than a week to the publication of my new book and the start of the first week without the builders - don't worry they'll be back next Monday - but, for now, we have a few days of calm. Well I

Monday Inspiration: Beautiful Rooms

27th March 2023

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bathroom at Paris hotel les deux gares

Good morning to you from the dust hole. We are now, hopefully, in the final stages but, as The Mad Husband pointed out, it's the bit where we have nothing and then suddenly we have everything. The base units are in but unpainted and with no handles. The appliances are in the right places but

Monday Inspiration: Beautiful Rooms

21st March 2022

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Kitchen in Pearl Lowe's holiday home

We start this week in the kitchen as I wrote a piece on galley kitchens for The Sunday Times Home section this weekend and that is what was on my mind as I strolled round Instagram in search of inspiration this weekend. The ones pictured here are not necessarily of the galley variety but they

Meanwhile one year later…

22nd March 2021

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designer eva sonaike is taking part in the design for diversity webinar

Well here we are then. One year on. I remember the last time I went on the tube – to interview Orla Kiely for the podcast. I remember shutting the front door and opening it weeks later to find all the plants in the tubs in the front garden had died. And I remember the

Interior Inspiration: Beautiful Rooms

9th November 2020

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pomegranate wallpaper by tatty lowther

Everything's coming up roses... well not necessarily yet but shall we go with the green of new beginnings ? Or maybe just - it was a long week but it all turned out all right in the end. So here are some lovely rooms for you to stroll through on this Monday morning when I,

Monday Inspiration: Beautiful Rooms

21st September 2020

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via wanderinginteriors @lumikello__’s apartment

Never never never would I have thought to paint the ceiling of a pale pink room in pale blue, but the the other day I was lying on our bed in our pale pink bedroom looking out of the window of the blue sky and thinking how pretty it was and then this turned up

Monday Inspiration: Chequerboard Floors

14th September 2020

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chequered floor via the modern house

Podcast listeners will know that on last week's episode Sophie and I had a discussion about where trends will come from in the absence of trade shows (currently taking place online) and the fact that many of us are no longer strolling past high street windows and past showrooms. Maybe this is where instagram and

Styling a Bathroom with Geberit

5th August 2020

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kate watson-smyth in geberit bathroom she styled

Back for another Wednesday Ad Break and this was such a fun job styling a bathroom with our former podcast sponsor Geberit. It had to be done completely in lockdown too with lots of messages and product links going back and forth and neither Sophie nor I got to see the finished rooms until we

Publication Day, New Ways with Wallpaper and a Spring Retox

5th March 2020

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$Kate Watson-Smyth and Sophie Robinson discuss the launch of Kate's 3rd book on the Great Indoors podcast #thegreatindoors #madaboutthehouse #interiorsbook$

And it's Happy Publication day to me! Now I wrote all about the book last week so I won't go into it all again here but do follow the link if you would like to know more. And, of course, it's podcast day so if you would like to hear me chatting to Sophie about

Trend Focus: Granny Chic, Faux versus Real and Buying Berber Rugs (podcast notes)

20th February 2020

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In this week's podcast Sophie and I discuss the rise of Granny Chic, whether faking it is best when it comes to textiles and surfaces and interview Willem Smitt, the interior design at El Fenn, Marrakech, where we held our recent interior design retreat. You can listen here or you can simply read all about

Beautiful Rooms: Bathroom Special

4th November 2019

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green tiles at soho warehouse

These Mondays do seem to rush round fast don't they? So here we are again and I thought I would do a bathroom special this week. I see so many wonderful bathrooms and they're all so different and yet it's a room that we all have so it's good to have a look at lots

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

House Tour: Laura Jackson

19th September 2019

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laura jackson bathroom

This week on the podcast we visited a house that is, or will be, done up in the style of my dreams. Supper Club host Laura Jackson is midway through the renovations of her East London home and is a firm believer in buying nothing new unless you absolutely have to. laura jackson sitting room

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

THE HAPPINESS SURVEY (PODCAST NOTES)

22nd August 2019

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Kate Watson-Smyth takes a look at visualiser apps and in particular the Topps Tiles allows you configure your room with tiles, like a classic emerald square design for the shower and a hexagon design for the floor make a elegant combination #madaboutthehouse # tiledbathroom #toppstiles

This week on The Great Indoors podcast we reviewed the new tv show Interior Design Masters, presented by Fearne Cotton, click here for her house tour, discussed the power of statement walls and floors and also investigated a new report into happiness in the home, which threw up some surprising results. First up the show.

At Home with Kelly Hoppen (Podcast Notes)

8th August 2019

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In the home of interior designer Kelly Hoppen, Sophie Robinson and Kate Watson-Smyth take a tour of her home. The renovated house features a quadruple height ceiling, open-plan kitchen dining table large enough to seat 30. #openplan #diningtable #madaboutthehouse #kellyhoppen

Now the first thing you need to know about Kelly Hoppen's home is that yes while big (enormous) with tall (quadruple height) ceilings and it may be in shades of her signature taupe, there are so many things you can take from it as inspiration for our own (probably smaller. Just a tad) places. You

Biophilila, Colour Blocking Trends and Childhood Home Influences (Podcast Notes)

25th July 2019

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Kate Watson-Smyth and Sophie Robinson discuss colour blocking colour blocking, example by mosey home shown here, biophilia, childhood homes and design crimes on the Great Indoors podcast. #podcast #colourblocking #katewatsonsmyth #madaboutthehouse

Hello and Welcome to The Great Indoors... as it were. It's time for the second episode of this series and this time we spoke about Biophilia (which I wrote about in some detail recently, whether your childhood home influences your adult house and the new trend of colour blocking. You can, as ever, listen here

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

Monday Inspiration: For the Love of the Metro Tile

13th May 2019

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star tiles by ca pietra

Morning morning to you all. It's a five day week which feels like a bit of a shocker after the run of bank holidays doesn't it? Anyway, after last week's tile talk I thought I would show you a few more ideas with tiles that won't break the bank. vertical metro tiles at brepurposed Because