Retro glassware & wallpaper

The retro look is having another revival.  Cool brown and orange tones combined with sharp splashes of citrus colour.

The trend started its come back on the catwalk and, like so many other looks, has now filtered down into the interiors world.  I do like the look but in moderation.  I think the key is to add ‘touches’ and mix it cleverly with modern simple pieces for an ‘up to date’ take on Retro.

There are some good and some bad retro accessories to be found!  Retropolitan is good source of accessories.  An affordable company that has some very stylish and bespoke pieces.  It also has a good online shop so that you can have items delivered directly to your door.  The glassware in the above picture is all from Retropolitan.

Retro furniture

If you are looking for a retro look in the kitchen then try Cola Red.com for some stylish 50’s American diner furniture.

Photograph: Lizzie Orme

With all this doom and gloom around due to the credit crunch, I thought I would post some bright colour schemes to brighten things up.  If you are bored of the neutral colours adorning the magazine pages then liven things up with hot South American tones .  The image above was inspired from a trip to Cuba.

Paint: To create the look use colours confidently with strong green,  bold blue and hot pink and team them with lighter colours such as soft lime and cool cream for furnishings and accessories.  There are several paint suppliers you can use to acheive the look: The  Serenity collection at Craig & Rose offers a good selection.  Dulux paints have a Rich collection that offers vibrant colours perfect for this scheme.  Their selection of ‘blue’ paints are especially stunning.

The Brief

We are two female colleagues starting a new business in Wedding Photography. For about 4 years, the space has been used as an office for a photographer’s agent and a photographer. The room has always been (invisibly) split down the middle to accommodate the two businesses. At present there is no order to the room and boxes are on the floor everywhere.

The new business will be the two of us working together on the wedding business but also running our own businesses at the same time. We therefore need to look like we are working together but also have the space to run our separate affairs. Basically, we don’t want to be on top of eachother, if you know what I mean!

We want to be able to bring clients to the office to show them our work and our products. We were hoping we may be able to fit in a small sofa and a coffee table. The storage therefore needs to be tidy and attractive. We would really like to have shelves that also hold lovely books, and other products that ’say’ we are in the creative industry, as well as the obvious photography.

We also want the room to be ’softened’. The white walls are very corporate and bare, so maybe we can have a colour on one wall. The lighting is terrible - strip lights in up-lighting constructions! See the pic showing the side walls. There is a great window down one side of the room that is a wonderful feature, I think. The carpets are standard tile mats, dark blue in colour - these can’t be moved but rugs could be an option.