Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts*

Today is my favourite event of the year, The RHS Chelsea Flower Show - a day where I get to spend quality time with my Mum, sip ridiculously expensive champagne, eat seafood platters and wander around looking at the fabulous displays of flowers, all of which both relax and inspire me. It is always fascinating to see what colour trends are being used in the gardens at Chelsea as there is usually a fairly consistent theme that emerges… a theme that may pervade into other aspects of design.

On Monday this week I also went to the launch party of Kasthalls new rug collection, created by their chief designer, Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg – like Chelsea, this is also an event that involved imbibing copious amounts of champagne (I think I will have blown my units allowance for the next month by the end of today)…. Now I know I always bang on about concept images, but this collection was truly beautiful and is inspired by Gunilla’s interest in flowers and gardens. She has created a series of images using flowers that she had collected herself, pressed and arranged in multiple layers to create kaleidoscopic geometric patterns.

(Image from Kasthall - Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg)

(Image from Kasthall - Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg)

(Image from Kasthall - Gunilla Lagerhem Ullberg)

It is a truly classic example of the power of concept images in providing direction in the colours and textures that are applied in the work of a designer.

So, ready for a solid dose of relaxation and inspiration I am off to Chelsea for my lovely day of the year. Perhaps if I drink enough champagne I will begin to see geometric and kaleidoscopic concept images of blooms in the award winning gardens... and if I do, maybe it’s time to drink some water.

*Sigmund Freud

Money for nothing…*

In the current economic climate it’s hard to make money (unless you are a hedge fund and/or speculate aggressively around the volatility in the markets), but what if you could make even the most basic financial thingamajig, for example, a ten pound note into something that has intrinsic and sustainable value. That is the essence of design. It may also be the way to sort out Greece and the rest of the Eurozone, but we’ll need lots and lots of paper.

(Image from Agrablewski)

Origami is simple, it’s intricate and it uses the most basic of materials to create spectacular and desirable outcomes – in 3D – and let’s be clear, 3D seems to be a hot trend at the moment...

A supreme example of design excellence from basic principles is how origami was used at the heart of NASA's space programme – it was used to help structure and engineer the unfoldy, solar panel bits (the bits that make satellites look like pretty flowers)… There is nothing more cutting edge or enduring in design than a satellite that is up in space for up to 30 years with these superbly simple unfoldy bits…

So, what’s the point of my blog this week? – It’s simply to say that design is about more than just having lots of money to splash out on the latest designer stuff - the best design is about focusing on the detail, the intricacy, the effort, the beauty and the intrinsic value of the finished product... or you could just make a paper plane…

* Dire Straits

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that…*

Lighting can have a huge impact on the ambience of a space, both positive and negative – effective lighting can open up a space, make it a welcoming space (or not…), emphasise key features (both architectural and furniture/artwork) and, ultimately, bring an entire design to life. That said, many designs do not capitalise fully on the role that natural and artificial lighting can play as part of the overall design. Of course, there are many, many different ways that you can light up a space – in this blog I am going to focus on one of my favourites… One way to create a dramatic statement within your home is by using pendant lighting. These days there a huge number of pendant lights available, from what can be simply described as ‘the standard’ to the weird and wonderful – it’s those that fall into the latter category that can be used to make a design statement. And, just to be clear, I am not talking about attaching a pendant to the light fitting over the bed (i.e. in the centre of the room) – the fitting that builders typically wire a building to be able to support – this is about thinking cleverly and more creatively about how you can use pendant lighting within a space as part of an overall design. It’s worth bearing in mind that just because you have preexisting light fittings within a space, you don’t necessarily have to be constrained by them…

(Image from Marie Claire Maison)

(Image from vartnyahem.se)

These images illustrate that you can break the deeply ingrained and accepted rules about lighting and achieve a fantastic and impactful outcome - whether it’s asymmetric ceiling pendants in the bedroom, feature lighting in the kitchen or multiple ceiling lights in the living room…

*Martin Luther King (used completely out of context in this blog… sorry.)

The new high tea – take it at 2pm instead of 4pm. Cake for lunch, basically….*

A Design for Life (my blogging adventure) is a year old this month and to celebrate I thought I would go for Low Tea at one of the many fabulous hotels around central London – it transpires that, according to the Sunday Times Style Magazine, the New High Tea is Low Tea and it is to be taken at ‘2pm instead of 4pm – cake for lunch basically’ – and apparently it’s super cool again… loving it! The image below might not accurately represent the somewhat rarefied experience of tea at the Dorchester or the Ritz, but it is a wonderfully glamorous illustration and the colours are amazing…

(Images from French by Design and Lushush via The Reluctant Fitness Princess)

On several occasions during the past year I have highlighted the importance of concept images when either selecting the colour scheme for a home or as the inspiration for the overarching style of the space. At the moment I am designing several houses and, to be perfectly honest, I couldn’t stress more the importance of having a clear understanding of the concept behind the design – the concept that is the basis for how you want the entire space to look and feel and to ensure that there is a flow between all the rooms. And, most importantly, so you and your clients have a clear understanding of and consensus around the design ambition you are trying to achieve.

It can sometimes be quite scary to play with colour schemes when designing a space, particularly when you are dealing with some of the bolder statement colours – but the above images prove that by rooting the design in a concept image you can actually demonstrate how the colours will work together (which will hopefully give you confidence to be braver when combining them…). Now, I’m not saying that every concept image works… practical design sensibilities still apply in all circumstances… but a concept image that you love and one that really works can be the basis for a very successful design… a design that may help to push the boundaries of your comfort zone as a designer.

*Sunday Times, Style

“I am the Resurrection…”* - well I’m not, but you get the idea…

It’s Easter and the start of new beginnings for all of us (unless of course you were ‘the big JC’). This time last year was the birth of my blog, ‘A Design for Life’, which is now one year old and still going from strength to strength (although in recent months I have decided to write shorter more punchy articles rather than the huge tomes that were a characteristic of the blog during its early days). I recall the nervous anticipation when I sat down to put pen to paper (or ‘fingers to keys’) for the first time – after quite some effort, redrafting, editing and polishing, the first blog was published/uploaded on the 11th April – and a year on, I still love doing it…. Not only does it force me to proactively keep abreast of what is going on in the industry, it also keeps my mind and brain switched on – these babies don’t write themselves – they involve quite a bit of research, particularly when searching for images to support the subject matter (this blog possibly excluded).

The past year has absolutely flown by and my blog has gone from very humble beginnings to being selected as a finalist in the Decorex Bloggers competition and then becoming the official blog for UK Interiors. Not only has it received recognition as a blog in its own right, it has also resulted in several large projects that have kept me busy during the course of the past year.

(Image from www.marthastewart.com)

I personally think Easter is a great time in the year to start something new, so why not set yourself a challenge for the year ahead and get cracking next week. You never know what it could lead to… I couldn’t have imagined the success of my blog when I came up with the idea… all part of my ongoing quest for global domination.

Wishing you all a wonderful Easter break…

* I am the Resurrection, The Stone Roses

“I have tried to be as eclectic as I possibly can with my professional life, and so far it's been pretty fun.”*

Eclectic design can be quite daunting and overwhelming, particularly when you take into consideration all the discrete elements that contribute to an eclectic scheme. Although it can often look like it has been thrown together (which it sometimes has, depending on the experience of the designer), it actually takes considerable skill to create something that works really well in practice. The core skill at the heart of eclectic design is being able to understand how a completely different and diverse variety of stuff can be mixed together to deliver a cohesive scheme.

There genuinely is no right or wrong when it comes to eclectic design, but there are a number of basic design principles that you can take into consideration when creating an eclectic scheme to make sure that it works as a whole… or, from a theoretical Gestalt perspective, to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts…

Fundamental to achieving a successful and effective eclectic scheme is understanding the visual relationship between elements in a space. These guidelines provide a sense of order that aid the design – they are not intended to restrict it. Two really basic principles that are very powerful and effective are symmetry and asymmetry in a room.

(Image from Elle Decor)

Also, by organizing dissimilar (and sometimes very different) design elements in close proximity they are viewed together in the scheme as a group.

(Image from Living Room Decorating)

Finally, the repetition of colour, pattern, shape, texture, etc. causes the viewer’s eyes to see a rhythmic continuity of movement within a space…

(Image from Living Room Decorating)

So, there you go – a beginners guide to eclectic design. If you have always wanted to create an eclectic scheme but haven’t really been sure where to start, just think about using these really simple principles... and then go and buy a book about Gestalt Psychology and the Theory of Visual Perception... no, not really...

*Roland Barthes (dead French literary theorist/intellectual – don’t worry, I had to Google it...)

“The spring has sprung, the grass is riz, I wonder where dem birdies is?”…*

Spring has officially sprung (according to the BBC Breakfast weather forecast and this does not necessarily include Northern Ireland or Scotland) and I am loving the lighter, brighter mornings and longer evenings and the fact that the daffodils are out. Before the clocks go forward this Sunday and the stupidly bright retina burning mornings disappear again for a few weeks, I thought I would share some inspirational images of interiors that make me feel like spring has arrived, i.e. uplifted, fresh, new, virginal, full of hope, inspirational and all that nonsense. I love how fresh and bright these interiors feel – this has been achieved very simply by a completely neutral colour scheme injected with pastel colours – brilliantly fresh and uplifting.

(Image from French By Design of Vanessa Bruno's Home)

(Image from style files of Vanessa Bruno's Home)

(Image from style files of Vanessa Bruno's Home)

Why not consider whether you can rejuvenate your home for Spring by simply changing some accessories – for example, cushions, lighting and throws – to inject some bright and fresh colours.

* Winnie the Pooh