Pippa Jameson Interiors: Blog, Hints, tips, trends and advice for the home » Furniture

Bold & Graphic trend shoot

Pippa Jameson — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 08:00:22 +0000

This is our latest shoot that is now on Channel 4 Homes. Unless you have been away for all of 2011 then you must have noticed the ongoing trend for all things bright and graphic. It’s a certainly a striking scheme and not for the faint hearted. To recreate the look, use a graphic image for your background and pick out one of the colours for your bright piece of furniture.

It must be my editorial background as I always like to see my images layed out as a spread! I’ve included the larger versions below. I hope you like it ;0)

Credits
Wallpaper styled and designed by Kirath Ghundoo, wallpaper Arne Jacobsen inspired Egg Chair, £335, Interior Icons, Sanderson Dandelion cushion, £30, John Lewis, Studio Arc floor lamp, £169, Click 4 Interiors, Glass table (part of a set of 3), £399, Dwell, Coloured wine glasses, £29 for 4, Found Home Store, Hula glasses, £16 for 4, LSA-International.com, Striped Cuckoo Clock, £195, Pantone chairs, both Found Home Store, White glass vase, House of Fraser. Red Anglepoise lamp, £150, John Lewis.

Styling Pippa Jameson, Photography, Jemma Watts, Background boards supplied by Set surfaces

Our selection of the best beds

Pippa Jameson — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 21:26:07 +0000

I’m afraid it’s been a while since my last post as we have been out of the office shooting. I’ve been looking at a lot beds recently as we are thinking of buying a new one for ourselves, hence this feature. Whether you are thinking about solid wood, rattan, metal or maybe leather, there are a wide range of choices. I have included images from some of the major players, showing one in each material. My favourite is the first one, a beautifully carved bedstead made from solid oak.

Antoinette Bed, French Bedroom Company

Matalan bedding

Sol bed, Natural Bed Company

Emer Oak Bed, Living it up

Rattan bed, House of Fraser

For the Tv addict! Dante bed by Littlewoods

Lit Lit bed by French Bedroom Company

Iris Bed by Beautiful Modern Thing

Some other compies to consider are:Leather beds by Bedstar, Feather and Black & The Sleep Room

LDF 2011 – some more favourites…

Pippa Jameson — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 09:38:24 +0000

ARCO OKAY LONDON was a great exhibition showcasing 10 designers work which was produced after one week inside an empty furniture factory in the Dutch countryside…

The new John Lewis – in Stratford

Pippa Jameson — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:50:36 +0000

There is just under two weeks to go until John Lewis unveil their new Stratford store, but as you might expect from an Olympic site shop, this is going to something completely different… Image credits: Clements Riberio, ercol cabinet; Bottles Blue cushion, James Joyce; Ikat print cushion, Ikat Broadstripe chaise, Seattle Chaise, Adras Indigo all Ptolemy Mann;

There are many elements that make this new Home store exciting including collaborations with designers that are completely new to John Lewis. One that I am really excited about is the vintage boutique brand, Pedlars. As well as their signiture pieces, they will be offering reconditioned 1950s telephones, original London bus blinds, vintage 1960s bread baking tins sourced from the Hovis factory, along with 1960s lamps, maps, and globes.

Customers will also see a new focus on design-led, directional products, particularly in furniture and lighting. One particular designer lighting brand will be Design House Stockholm, a firm favourite of mine, you might know them for their ever popular and gorgeously stylish Nordic Light.

There will be a section dedicated cushions, wallpaper and fabric by Jocelyn Warner, a new dining range from Bethan Gray for John Lewis, and fabrics from Mulberry Home. The area will see a new installation by the renowned stylist Emma Davidge, her concept is inspired by Tibetan flags, and uses long drops of John Lewis fabric to create a breath-taking entrance to the Home floor showcasing the array of fabrics available.

Other collaborations include Original BTC and Modernica, as well as designers Clements Ribeiro, James Joyce and Ptolomy Mann (images above).

Another service will be from Image library guru, Getty, where customers can customise a range of art and photography to suit their own requirements – altering the print size and frames to suit their taste.

Finally, there will be a Home Design service offering customers a design consultation in-store or at home. Customers will also be able to pick-up swatches and samples, browse interiors magazines and books, and speak to one of their interior design-qualified home designers.

The official opening will be on September 13th 2011
John Lewis

Shabby Chic Furniture

Carrie Graham-Clarke — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:00:42 +0000

The consumer practice of throw-away buying and not caring about the origin of a product has drastically changed in the last few years. We’ve grown increasingly interested in learning about where our food is from, is it ethically sourced, is it organic, is it healthy, were the animals properly cared for? Our habits of recycling are also improving – we don’t want to waste, we want to buy responsibly and we want to buy items that will last. It’s these traits, this new mentality for intelligent purchasing that is spreading to all aspects of our life and affecting our buying habits; especially when buying interior products. There is one particular interiors trend that follows the ethical ethos.. shabby chic.

The trend for all things shabby chic has been around for a while now, and is showing no signs of leaving. With the recent revival for choosing up-cycled over reproduction furniture, it’s clear that consumer buying habits are changing. We are going back to vintage roots by thrifting and creating, with a make-do-and-mend attitude. I think the reason shabby chic furniture has been so successful is down to its transferrable nature – blending in to most interiors seamlessly. This is due to the variety of shapes, styles, colours and differing degrees of furniture painting techniques used. Every item of shabby chic furniture looks different and any style of furniture can be up-cycled. Many of the high street chains cottoned on to the trend over the years and have decreated mass produced reproduction shabby chic furniture which I am not a fan of; it all looks the same, devoid of any character. The paint is flat, the wood is cheap MDF and the style is unimaginative. I believe that shabby chic furniture should be up-cycled from antiques or pre-used furniture – you can see the grain of the wood, it distresses authentically and more often than not the furniture is imperfect. It is these imperfections that make great shabby chic furniture – the dents, scratches and uneven surfaces, they all add to the character and individual nature of the piece. For these reasons, I buy from independent suppliers who up-cycle the furniture in-store and by hand. Below is a selection of the best shabby chic up-cyclers!

The following antiques dealers also offer a great selection of beautifully painted, French shabby chic furniture: The French House, A & L Antiques, Maison Artefacts, Belle Epoque, Jensen and Ballantine and for the occasional piece MADE.

My visit to Marston & Langinger

Pippa Jameson — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 21:26:10 +0000

A few weeks back I was invited on a press trip to visit the Norfolk based factory of Marston & Langinger who produce handcrafted Garden rooms, greenhouses, glass roofs, poolhouses, furniture as well as accessories and paint. It was a great day all round, not only because we were flown there by Helicopter (so much fun!) but because we had the chance to see true craftsmanship in action.

Within the factory we were shown the complete building process of a garden room, right from the early stages of the architectural drawing through to the finished article; painted, labelled and ready to be delivered. They have a vast selection of paint finishes available in a timeless muted palette with new colours being introduced all the time. What struck me more than anything was how proud the staff were of what they were producing (many of whom have been with Marston and Langinger for over 20 years) this passion is clearly filtered through to the customer as nearly all of their work comes from referrals.

The garden houses are all made from solid timber and glass and range vastly in price depending on the scale of the project. The factory has taken on commissions that are in excess of 1 million but has also built much smaller items such as bespoke made bookshelves, it seems that no projcet is too big or small.

A selection of their painted furniture

A stunning glass roof that allows the light to flood in, I think this is so pretty

Top 3 deck chairs this summer

Pippa Jameson — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:58:51 +0000

With the ever changing weather, who knows when we might be hit with a heatwave of scorching sun so our advice is to be prepared!

Daniel, from My Deco, has prepared a list of the top 3 deck chairs as recommended by 3 key design professionals

Margarita Lorenzo from Chocolate Creative says:
“My favorite has to be the ‘Vintage Rose Funky’ chair from Furniture Divas. It is eco and handmade in the UK, and has the romantic & vintage look that I like so much. My tip for the summer is to escape down to the picture-esque English seaside and enjoy the Summer as much as possible in a quintessentially English way… ice-cream, and fish and chips by a colourful beach hut covered in lots of sun cream! The Vintage Rose Funky deck chair is £95 and available from Furniture Divas Next to make her choice was Karine, from the super-stylish BODIE and FOU boutique which sells beautiful home objects. Karine’s vote went the VÅGÖ easy chair By Ikea. Finished with a classy, glossy black coating, it’s easy to see why this was her prefered choice.

“The VÅGÖ chair by Ikea is a classic design they stopped manufacturing a few years ago and have just re-released this
summer. The lines and curves of the deck chair would give instant style to any roof terrace. It’s affordable, light and
stackable, simply perfect!”

I totally agree… the VÅGÖa chair would make a stunning addition to the garden and at only £20 this chair will be a huge hit! http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30193224

Finally, I chose a deckchair from a small designer in London that I have adored the prints for some time… I am
in love with this print from Thornback & Peel and to see it applied to a deck chair is a really nice idea. Hand printed with a grey pigeon & pink jelly pattern, which is also available as wallpaper and a tote bag, this deck chair is made in solid beechwood and will last really well throughout the Summer days in the garden.

Anyone for lemonade?

An idyllic retreat, on The River Thames…

Pippa Jameson — Thu, 12 May 2011 21:18:08 +0000

It was while I was searching for inspiration on my next blog post that I stumbled across the stunning home of Josie Curran, as featured on The Times Online in 2009. Josie’s life seems to be what a lot of us dream about, living by the water, right on natures doorstep. This idyllic houseboat is moored on the the river Thames and is more of a house than a boat. Imagine waking up to this view every day and yet have the convenience of the city just 25 minutes away. Josie talks about how her day starts with an early morning swim followed by a breakfast of fresh eggs (that the ducks lay in her tomato patch). Josie chose this houseboat after a 10 year stint working at an ad agency, she couldn’t bring herself to leave London completely and so this was her compromise – a very good one I’d say!

The house has been styled beautifully, the neutral walls and carpet create the perfect backdrop to the confident blocks of colour that have been used throughout the space. The decor is a stlyish mix of modern and vintage with most of the accessories looking like they tell a story, an old chest used as a coffee table, a floor standing vintage lamp and a very weathered leather armchair from the much loved Alfie’s Antiques Market.

I know I must say this quite a lot as I see so many incredible houses but ‘I want to live here!’

Pictures: Jake FitzJones & Alun Callender

It’s a real testament to a place when you look at it and think ‘I want to love here’…

Make your own mosaic garden table

Laura Timmons — Tue, 10 May 2011 08:00:02 +0000

Design and create a unique table by revamping an old one, the final result looks so impressive but it is actually a very simple process.
You can create any design you like but a very simple pattern can look impressive; coordinate your colours so the final result isn’t too
chaotic. Coloured grout is available premixed or you can add a dye or acrylic paint to plain grout. The hardwearing materials are ideal for
the garden but it can be used to decorate a bathroom or kitchen table.

You will need…
2.5cm plywood – you will need a square piece large enough to cover your
original table top
String
Drawing pin
Pencil
Jigsaw
Wood primer and Paint brush
Sponge
Broken China and/or mosaic tiles
Tile nippers
Tile adhesive
Flexible knife
Tile grout and additional grout colour

To draw a circle on the plywood, tie the drawing pin to one end of the string, push the pin into the centre of the plywood, pull the length of
string to a middle of edge of your plywood cut the string and tie the pencil to the end. Use the pencil to draw a circle around your table,
cut the circle using the jigsaw. Draw your design onto the plywood. You can adjust the length of the string to draw concentric circles.
Prime the plywood all over.

Use the tile nippers to snip the china to fit your design. Position the nippers in place and squeeze the handles together – mosaic tiles
have grooves in the back so the break is controlled. When using broken or unwanted china firstly wrap the object up in a heavy cloth and break with a hammer – its not a controllable break but it will give you smaller pieces to cut with the nippers. Using a hammer also gives you irregular shapes, which can add interest to the surface. Arrange your design on the tabletop.

Spread tile adhesive on the back of the china pieces, fix into position. Cover the whole table in your design. Grout adds extra strength and a smooth finish. Work the grout into all the gaps, clean off any excess; when wet though, most grouts can be
scrubbed off when dry and then polished off.

Please send us any pictures you have of your own creations and we will try to publish them on the site!

Pastels with a punch!

Carrie Graham-Clarke — Tue, 03 May 2011 09:02:25 +0000

The trend for sorbet pastels with a hot summer kick are sending designers wild. Even the slightest touches of these vibrant shades will quickly add vibrance to a dull room; whether it’s a cushion on your sofa or a lamp on your bedside table. Gradually work small accessories & soft furnishings into neutral settings, but avoid going over the top & sickly sweet with paler tones. The bright tones compliment each other very well, so be confident in your choices and mix both your colours and textures; old & new. To watch the pennies and recycle, a lick of bright paint to an old item of furniture will give it a new lease of life.

Here are a selection of my favourite vivid gelato colours to tickle your interior taste buds!

Credits From Left to Right: ‘Don’t Say Nothing’ poster, Anthony Burrill. Sandcastle bowls, Caroline McGrath – Not On The High Street. Ochi multi plastic LED colour changing lamp, Habitat. La versha chair, Anthropologie. Blue signal table lamp, Conran Shop. Halston aqua sofa, Made. PARC folding chair, Habitat. Maharaja cushions, Plum Chutney. Sausage dog cushions, Jimmie Martin. Food processor, Kitchenaid. Collection of ceramic vases, Sophie Cook. Pink & yellow glass, Zara Home. Grey flamingo chest, Jimmie Martin. Yellow sense bin, Made. White side table with pink legs, Habitat.