An ambassadorship and some cool decorating secrets

Hugely excited to announce that I have become an ambassador for ratedpeople.com and along with other fine luminaries including Phil Spencer from Location Location will be posting over on their blog each and every month. Rated People is the largest online trade recommendation service around - so if you're looking for a tradesman you can post your job for free and you will get back quotes from interested tradesman along with ratings from other homeowners who have already used the guys. It completely and utterly takes the worry out of wondering if you've got the right team. My builders get booked up months in advance so often times are not available so this service is fabulous its a bit like having your very own personal assistant, finding the right team for the right money, on time, on budget and quality driven AMAZING no? A busy week this week with Paris at the end on Friday which is hugely exciting but a list as long as my arm to get thru before jumping on Eurostar. The bijou magazine is shaping up, the new look website is looking amazing and the store is about to go thru a complete overhaul and shut down (we're getting the builders in for an exciting overhaul at the beginning of Feb once I'm back from Australia so will be closed for a few days). Will post all that info way in advance, will be 2 possibly 3 days at the most! Right then onto some of my decorating secrets - in no particular order of importance: Decorate your bedroom for nighttime not daytime. It’s a cool trick the minute you start thinking about evenings snuggled under the covers you decorate in a completely different way. Lots more textures, soft glowing lights, beautiful soft (SLUDGY) hues -  super cool! Obviously it will look beautiful in the day but you will cosy up a room far more easily if you think of it at night not day! Don't neglect the hallway. I bang on about this all the day but hallways are the  entrance point to our homes and need personality. Think consoles, lamps, paintings, rugs - stuff. Anything scruffy like tons of shoes, plop into a basket or get some storage. You wont get that pulse-quickening feeling if you're hallway feels neglected. Move the furniture around. If you're space feels like its lacking something before running out and buying something new or old, reconfigure the furniture. Its like giving a room a facelift, as much furniture away from walls as possible please - don't let the size of the room worry you, if its small fabulous work with it! Lacquer the ceiling in a dining room or gold leaf it as below.. I've been meaning to do this for like EVER. At night in a dining room particularly if you have a pendant of chandelier - light will dart, bounce off and create the most magical reflections. Farrow and Ball (my go to paint source) sell Full Gloss paint that has 95% sheen. Oh and if you have low ceilings its one of the simplest drinks in the book because with the light bouncing off it it creates the illusion of another foot of space. Genius! Right then must go, its Top Drawer today over at Earls Court and I'm going for a whiz around to get myself in the mood for Maison Objet at the end of the week. Have a lovely day