Some decorating tips

Big thank you to everyone who attended Design School on the weekend, I had a fabulous day! The weekend past in a nano second and with just Sunday as a down day I had a list as long as my arm to get through. It went a bit like this; garden (i.e. pour bucket loads of miracle grow, seaweed, tomato feed or whatever else I can think of over plants to encourage vigorous growth to hide neighbours ugly building at the back of the garden; put up shelves in the bedroom; style shelves in the bedroom (more on that in a bit) cook from Gwyneth’s book some recipes to get back on track, slipped off the wagon Saturday evening as had wine and an Indian takeout (whoops); nail what I have to get done this week, clean house, do the washing blah blah blah. A question I get asked alot is how to style a mantle, a console a table and my answer is a simple one - patience! I don't just throw a shelf or console together in a second, I put something together, hate it, stand back, tug my hair  try again, hate it, do the same thing over and over again until it feels right. The bedroom shelves for instance are tiny narrow little things  so everything on them has to be front facing. Easy peasy I thought to myself at 6 o’clock last night - I can pull this together in 5, WRONG took at least an hour, until I was happy and we're just talking about a few mags, the odd postcard and a bit of art - hardly anything as the shelves are small.So below I have listed some pointers which may get you on your in way in creating (as the Americans say) a tablescape. 1) Tucking something smaller like a postcard or notebook behind something major like a mirror or a piece of art takes the eye further and adds an element of intrigue 2) Stacks of books really help you out. A little pile of say 3 books with a small bunch of blooms or candle on top, adds texture and interest. 3) Rather than leave gaps, vary the height of your objects its far more intriguing 4) If you know anything about interiors or styling then the  old trick of everything  having one unifying tone plus one extra shot will get you out of all sorts of trouble. I tend to push it with maybe two colours but everything else is pretty much neutral. It allows me to mix far more easily. Finally never ever ever put things in rows. Its to boring, its way to show home ish, and its  to easy. Interiors aren't easy; putting things in rows is like decorating by numbers, interiors should make you curious. Being curious is being daring and being daring is being alive! Pretty deep sentence for 6am on Monday morning, but there you go! Shot of my pad below (from the Independent) - a simple little detail of my desk, oh and by the way a big thank you to the Independent on Sunday this weekend for their fabulous feature on my house, love the images x