Devil may care attitude

Some very exiting news to start off the morning, the Observer Magazine have asked me to share the news that  they are working with Todd Selby (of theselby.com) on a new column for the mag, and are looking for interesting, beautiful, odd homes in the UK for him to shoot. As you probably know Todd took the most amazing pics of my pad last summer and is the nicest guy on earth. So if you're home is an interesting  one, (if you're reading this blog I'm guessing it will be)  then submit pics along with your name, email address and location to  magazine@observer.co.uk. Cannot tell you enough how amazing Todd will make your home look plus it couldn't be published in a cooler mag than the Ob. Very exciting. Down to business and my title of the morning a devil may care attitude. When it comes to interiors and decorating the most important element to introduce I would say is a stroke of bad boy behaviour since bad boy behaviour adds an edgy twist and will knock your interior out of the park as Ms Rachel Zoe would say. By this I mean doing things a little unconventionally, for example a ton of asymmetry in a room (hate, hate, hate perfectly aligned mantles and shelves with everything in a neat and little orderly row). Instead shake things up plop sunglasses on a bust as I have done on my desk, hang art from the ceiling to the floor, plonk a messy stake of books on a table so your pad immediately doesn't take itself too seriously but more importantly feels informal. Contrast different styles, throw in a mish mash of patterns by layering rugs on top of each other, its easy peasy stuff but it adds instant drama. The more drama you add the more magic you create. Now I know we've probably seen images of Jenna Lyon's old living room a thousand times over but it illustrates my point beautifully: Logs piled up in the alcove, the amazing yellow sofa (very bad boy), rugs layered over rugs, piles of books on the coffee table, this interior feels laid back and loved.It oozes personality and I adore it. Below Jenna's studio at J Crew, the laid back demeanor comes from stuff piled on the window sill, fabulous pops of colour , note the red furniture and yellow cases. The dark floors make the rug literally zing and if you're frighten of going dark then paint out your window frames black - see how amazing they look contrasted with white. That's me done for the day, happy Tuesday.