This months British Vogue has a fab feature about three women who without a big budget have beautified their homes with clever styling tricks and canny ideas.
It seems whether we have oodles of money or very little we all want our homes to look personal and individual. Mixing a little bit of high street, a ton of vintage and the odd one off piece creates quirky individual spaces. When I was shooting my book in New York last fall two homes blew me away with their creativity, First up Rita Konig's hallway (see below). It was a teeny tiny space but rather than painting it in a neutral to supposedly expand the space Rita went in the other direction and wallpapered in the inkiest, darkest hue. She also created an impromptu mini bar - totally unexpected and I have to say I loved it.
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Next up Lorraine Kirk's brownstone in the West Village. It was amazing, crammed full of vintage with a strong sense of colour. Every room had a dramatic energy no matter how big or small. It felt relaxed, homely, personal and offbeat. If you are ever in New York please visit Lorraine's store its a litte gem of a store called Geminola. Vintage dresses, skirts tops are all crafted from vintage fabrics (pre 1950) and given a magical re invention - think SJP and Sex in the City (infact I believe Sarah Jessica wore a number of outfits on the show from Lorraine's boutique).
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A bathroom that doesn't look or feel anything like a bathroom - clever, clever, clever.
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Pieces just pop out against the dark colour palette and unusual artefacts found in junk shops and flea markets add immediate interest and intrigue. The whole house felt super glamourous even though most of the pieces were from thrift stores - genius!
