Raising the bar

blog for Happy 2013, I’m excited to be back at my desk blogging (a little later than usual), yabbering to you guys about all things design. I’ve just come back from the coolest break, Christmas Eve in Paris which was beautiful especially at night, wandering along with Seine, the left bank, the Marais incredible, and then off for a four day break in the Dordogne at Chateau La Thuilliere It was amazing; the food, the Chateau, the owners, Patch their dog the whole shebang. I feasted on foie gras soup, risotto with truffles, duck , salmon locally caught, pork, carrot crème, petit pois mousse, some hazel nut bread with a slither of salami, home made earl grey ice cream with whisky, on and on I could go, out of this world food.  The fire never stopped burning and scenting the air with the intoxicating smell of wood smoke, owls hooted at night as the two M’s and I walked the grounds for a late night potty run (not me them just so we’re clear). Hurricane lamps with huge fat candles lit up the castle at night, whilst the huge wooden stairs were layered with t-lights at night so you could see you way to bed. No noise no hustle no bustle just quiet country sounds . I didn’t want to leave and in the summer I’m going back. Being winter we eat inside but in the summer tables and chairs dot the grounds so in the warmest of weathers you sit, relax, drink and eat some of the yummiest food I have eaten in a long time. By day you can drive to hill top villages perching perilously on cliff tops, and stroll by the beautiful river (canoeing is the sport of choice) not sure how Mung’s and Maud are going to handle a canoe but we’re working on that one. I found a super cool ceramicist in Salut who doesn’t want to wholesale to anybody (God I want her life) so I brought most of the place up, jugs, cups, little hand thrown beakers all simply but beautifully hand thrown. So that was my break,  something I haven't done nearly enough off but that I hope to change, now down to biz.   This is the year when dark interiors really take off I reckon. I can see it in the stars, (well almost) as more and more people are getting bored of dullsville white and are wanting spaces that mesmerize tantalize and seduce. Regrettably you can’t seem to get that with neutral hues so you sort of have to ditch convention, think out of the box and take the plunge. You don’t need to paint the whole house, or even the whole room dark,  but once you’ve crossed over there is literally no going back. No more procrastinating I say if you ‘ve been thinking about converting for a while, then covert. We only live once, if you hate it (you won’t) hell its paint you can always go over it the next day! I’m asked a million times a day if going dark will make a room feel gloomier, if having small windows will effect things, if its north facing will it work, if its located in the north pole or the south pole will it work. What if it’s in a hot country or a cold country, a city, or on the coast, uptown, downtown, it doesn’t matter paint it dark. It will work, not only that it will make you happier and change you’re life at exactly the same time. PROMISE. Its called raising the bar, and you can’t raise the bar unless you push a few boundaries and take a few risks, simple as that. Happy new year again x  

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