Express yourself

Having spent a bit of time in Paris recently I have been greatly inspired by the French way of designing. As I walked Maud to school (dog school that is) each morning we pottered along the tiny back streets of the Marais peering into people’s spaces for sneak peaks (Maud being the biggest nosy parker around) we kind of got away with it. Astier de Villatte (one of the sweetest stores in the whole of Paris) pretty much sums up what I love about the French vibe. Supremely causal it’s a look that’s layered almost to fairy tale proportions and lived in. Many spaces are decorated darkly (yay for that) with personal stuff everywhere. They don’t mix styles as much as the English but who cares – these two images below sum up the style. Casual, friendly, dark, snugly  and very, very sweet.  It’s not about labels or the latest this or that designer piece  it’s more about surrounding yourself with stuff that you love. Hosanna to that. A dark liitle nook brought alive by a hotch potch of layering Its the layers that add the details and as we all know the devil is in the details. Happy Tuesday we are up and off early Maud is missing her French buds so we are off for a ramble in Hampstead Heath.